HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

149

TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

strongly opposING the fee increases proposed by the United States Citizenship and Immigration ServiceS.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services has proposed instituting substantial fee increases for citizenship applications, visa applications, and other basic services; and

 

     WHEREAS, immigration services fees would increase by an average of eighty-six per cent under the proposal; and

 

     WHEREAS, the increase in fees constitutes a substantial economic barrier for many immigrants:  the fee for citizenship will increase from $400 to $675 and the fee for filing a legal permanent resident application will increase from $325 to $905; and

 

     WHEREAS, fees for naturalization and other immigration matters have increased at a rate faster than inflation while, at the same time, immigrants and their families have endured, and are still facing, continuing backlogs and delays in processing naturalization requests and other applications; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii has the fourth largest immigrant population per capita in the United States, with 17.5 per cent of its population being foreign born, and 18.6 per cent of its immigration population living at or below federal poverty guidelines; and

 

     WHEREAS, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services is the only federal agency funded almost entirely by the fees it charges; and

 

     WHEREAS, the United States is an immigrant nation strengthened by the contributions of newcomers of all backgrounds, and it is clearly in the national interest to invite immigrants to integrate into American society through naturalization and to support family unity through family-based visa petitions; and

 

     WHEREAS, the proposed fee increases are contrary to the nation's tradition of welcoming and assimilating immigrants and convey the wrong message to immigrants at a time when they are seeking to embrace American citizenship and strengthen their family ties; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, that the legislature strongly opposes the fee increases proposed by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, particularly those that affect the attainment of United States citizenship and the preservation of family unity; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature strongly urges Hawaii's congressional delegation to support a legislative inquiry into the proposed fee increases and to also support increased federal funding for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States through the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate, the Speaker and the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, members of Hawaii's Congressional delegation, and the Director, Regulatory Management Division, of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services of the Department of Homeland Security.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

Immigration Fee Increases; Opposition