By Eric Cohen, Executive Director of the Immigrant Legal Resource Center
This week, a bipartisan group of legislators submitted a letter to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) addressing the proposed increase to agency fees.
The New Americans Campaign is very vocal about the need to keep citizenship affordable for the nearly 9 million lawful permanent residents (LPRs) who are eligible to become U.S. citizens right now. We know that fewer than 800,000 have naturalized in each of the past five years. Why? For many, the reason is cost.
It’s encouraging to see our members of Congress, who represent people of diverse political beliefs, faiths and ethnicity, come together in support of those who want to naturalize and those who’ve already chosen to become U.S. citizens.
Naturalization is beneficial for individuals, families and entire communities. Our network of legal service providers show LPRs that the naturalization process isn’t as expensive or as difficult as they think. And, our New Americans Campaign leaders continue to inform policymakers on the need to keep citizenship within reach for everyone. You can read these pieces here and here.
We cannot do this work alone. It’s up to our government to encourage those who are eligible to become citizens to take that critical next step. This letter is a step in the right direction.