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New US Green Card fees puts many NRIs in red

Arthur J Pais in New York

C V Vyas, father of two, earns $ 250 a week selling newspapers in New York. His wife, a part-time housemaid for a wealthy Indian family, brings in another $ 50.

Life on $ 300 in Big Apple is no joke. Vyas will vouch for it.

But if things were bad before for low-earning immigrants, they are going to take a worse turn now.

Vyas is among the thousands of immigrants in America who may have to borrow money to pay immigration and work permit card fees, which jumped dramatically this week.

Vyas plans to ask for citizenship. Like hundreds of low-earning Indians (and other immigrants) in America who already have their Green Cards but must soon ask for citizenship, he also knows that the lawyers who usually charge about $ 1,000 to help prepare for citizenship examinations are also hiking their fees.

"It is a bad feeling," he says with a sad smile, "One fee goes up, everyone wants to increase fees... but my boss does not want me to get more money."

Meanwhile, immigrants with residency permit, commonly known as Green Card holders, will have to pay more if they lose it; the replacement cost rose from $ 75 to $ 110.

The processing fee for Green Cards has also shot up. From $ 130 to $ 220.

"These increases are going to hurt immigrants from working class families," said Tito Sinha, a lawyer with the Asian American Defence League in New York. "On one hand, the president of the country urges Green Card holders to become citizens. On the other, we see so many obstacles."

A slew of legislation passed during the past 12 months has cut off legal benefits to Green Card holders, including emergency medical help, making it imperative for them to become citizens. Pro-immigrant groups believe that becoming citizens and acquiring voting rights will give them some visible clout in the society.

The fee has been raised for the first time in four years. Critics say the Immigration and Naturalisation Service is one of the slowest government agencies in the country and is yet to clear thousands of files. The fee-hike, they go on, is unfair as it invariably affects the poorest immigrants.

But the INS thinks otherwise. "The fees that we've charged does not even cover the costs for processing the forms," claims Sharon Gavin, a spokesperson. She said the $ 1 million a day in new revenue still leaves the agency in the red.

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