Wednesday, October 31, 2007








Immigration Fee Hike Creates Application Backlog.

Immigrations fees went up this year, and now have some waiting times.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services advises customers that "due to a tremendous increase in applications filed" the agency is now "behind schedule".

Fees doubled or even tripled in July. The cost to apply for a green card jumped from $395 to $1,010.

The agency touted the increase as a way to speed up the massive backlog within the system.

"With the fee increase, we've had more of a backlog than we ever had before," said Karan Kler, executive director of Coachella Valley Immigration Service and Assistance that has more than 4,000 cases. "People are looking at possible deportation if they do not have the documents to prove that they are here legally."

Applicants have been waiting for up to two months for a receipt notice.

Immigration experts say proof of mailing is the best thing to do while waiting for immigration documents to arrive

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