“Back of the line buddy!”

You want in on the United States? Well it is now going to cost double. Starting July 30, the fees applying for citizenship, green cards and other services will double in an attempt to help speed up the process. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Emilio Gonzales had this to say:

I understand anytime there’s an increase there’s concern. The big difference here is what people will see with the price increase: a much improved agency that will do what it says it will do, an increase in efficiency and an increase in productivity. That’s something we’re going to stand by and we need the funds to accomplish.

So the lines will also be shorter? The conditions improved? The said the same thing about the NYC Subway, but for a price increase, all New Yorkers got were less snobby people in token booths.

Some people tend to disagree. Tammy Fox Isicoff, a Miami immigration attorney had this to say:

I’ve been doing this almost 25 years and I’ve heard this promise so many times that I hate to say it, but it falls on deaf ears at this point. I don’t think anyone believes it.

So here is a breakdown of the fee from current cost to increase:

Application fee for Citizenship – $330 to $675
Work Permits – $180 to $340
Temporary fee for victims of human trafficking -$270 to $0
Legal Permanent Resident – $325 to $1,010*
*Children under 14 and filing with a parent would pay $600; applicants 79 and older would pay $930.

So unless you’re making serious cash, what this implies is, go back to Mexico. That or wait until Immigration Naturalization Services deports you.

I wonder how many lawns would I have to cut to pay: this.