Naturalization Processing : Higher Fees, Slower Service
Posted Feb 25, 1999

As readers of the Law Office of Sheela Murthy's Immigration Law Bulletin are aware, INS increased fees for most applications and petitions on October 13, 1998. However, the fee increase for the Application for Naturalization, N-400, was postponed to January 15, 1999, in order that improvements in processing times could take place before the fee increase went into effect. While the substantial fee increase, from $95 to $225, took effect on schedule, the promised improvements by the INS failed to materialize. Over 1.8 million people are now caught in the naturalization backlog.

When INS enacted the fee increases, the agency promised that improvements in its service would be part of the package. As INS continues to shift more of the work to the Service Centers, the INS needs to also allocate the necessary funds to handle that increased workload. The local District Offices, too, need more resources.

The Law Office of Sheela Murthy certainly hopes that these new funds in the fee account will be allocated to the timely processing of naturalization and other immigration applications. An unnamed source from one of the INS Service Centers has stated that the amount generated in fees in one month is about the same as the Centers actual budget for a whole year for services, meaning that the money is going elsewhere. What has tended to happen historically is that money from the examinations fee account (application fees) has been diverted to enforcement. The 1996 law authorized additional funds for enhanced border patrol efforts, to defray costs associated with detention and removal, and to hire more investigators, but not for hiring more examiners to process applications.

Of course, if the rules that apply to private companies applied to the INS, they would have to reinvest more funds towards service and to those who are paying for it. Unfortunately, that is not the case and it seems that unless the American Immigration Lawyers Association and individuals challenge or file a lawsuit against federal agencies, they tend to be complacent towards their service obligations. One encouraging note is that INS is emphasizing naturalization in its latest budget request, and is touting improvements to the naturalization process as one of its major goals. One can only hope.