These new fees are so unfair !!

[NavarreMan 10]

Yeah, yeah...unfair, unfair. Not surprised to see so many people crying foul and blaming it on those darn "illegals."

I've worked with people without papers for quite some time and have NEVER seen the sense of entitlement that a few people here have ascribed to them.

I'm definitely facing financial hardship throughout this process, and am pleased that I have the opportunity to file for AOS before the fee hike.

But what I find REALLY unfair is not the discomfort caused by a fee hike, which is painful right now, but in a few years will be all paid off. What is UNFAIR is paying a coyote $2000 to be stuffed in the back of an 18wheeler with 60 other people and left to suffocate to death. Or screwed over and left to die in the desert. Until people dealing with immigration are faced with a life situation that makes suffocation or cooked insides sound like an acceptable risk, then I think that discussions about unfair are pretty much navel-gazing.

who put a gun to their heads and made them sneak over the border stuffed in a crate instead of applying for a visa?

What visa can they apply for? Unless you have family here that are LPR's or Citizens, there isn't one.

I cannot believe you actually wrote that! Did you think that through before you clicked "Add Reply'. My fiancee has no family here either. Is she trying to swim the Atlantic or stowaway on a ship to get here. HELL NO!!! Every immigrant, whether they are our neighbors or not MUST BE HELD TO THE SAME STANDARD OF PROCESS!!!

[eric&gen 0]

Glad we don't have to worry about the fees anymore accept when my wife files for N400 next year ouch $675.

[NavarreMan 10]

No one is condoning illegal immigration. That's why we are all here trying to obtain passage for our loved ones legally. But there are two sides to everything. Put yourselves in their shoes. What wouldn't you do for your family? What wouldn't you do to feed your starving children? What wouldn't you do get money for treatment for your ailing mother who will die without it? I thank God that I was born American and don't live in an impoverished country. I'm not supporting illegal immigration in any way, but I don't see anything wrong with having a little compassion for someone who is only trying to survive. I can't imagine living on the border and knowing that right on the other side of the river is different world. I see it everyday because I do live on the border...but on this side. No, we can not accept illegal immigration in our country. We already have enough problems. But to hate a people because they seek to better their lives and the lives of their families is sad. I don't know what I would do, but I know that I love my children more than anything and faced with desperation.....I would probably do what ever it took to take care of them. Think about it. To be in a situation as in the above post (suffocating in the back of a truck, etc) means that you are desperate. You would not put yourself there just for the adventure. Yes, it's wrong, but I don't think it's reason enough to stereotype a people or have malice towards them. I would probably do the same thing. We cannot let them come here illegally, but we can at least try to understand why they do.

No we don't have to understand it. Can I go rob banks to support my family? The law is being broken. PERIOD.

p.s. I don't hate illegals. But you are arguing a very thin case for breaking the law.

[trueimage 0]

No one is condoning illegal immigration. That's why we are all here trying to obtain passage for our loved ones legally. But there are two sides to everything. Put yourselves in their shoes. What wouldn't you do for your family? What wouldn't you do to feed your starving children? What wouldn't you do get money for treatment for your ailing mother who will die without it? I thank God that I was born American and don't live in an impoverished country. I'm not supporting illegal immigration in any way, but I don't see anything wrong with having a little compassion for someone who is only trying to survive. I can't imagine living on the border and knowing that right on the other side of the river is different world. I see it everyday because I do live on the border...but on this side. No, we can not accept illegal immigration in our country. We already have enough problems. But to hate a people because they seek to better their lives and the lives of their families is sad. I don't know what I would do, but I know that I love my children more than anything and faced with desperation.....I would probably do what ever it took to take care of them. Think about it. To be in a situation as in the above post (suffocating in the back of a truck, etc) means that you are desperate. You would not put yourself there just for the adventure. Yes, it's wrong, but I don't think it's reason enough to stereotype a people or have malice towards them. I would probably do the same thing. We cannot let them come here illegally, but we can at least try to understand why they do.

No we don't have to understand it. Can I go rob banks to support my family? The law is being broken. PERIOD.

p.s. I don't hate illegals. But you are arguing a very thin case for breaking the law.

I'm not arguing anything. I don't even believe it's ok and I do believe that they should be deported. I don't even support amnesty. I was only making a statement that I see it everyday in Mexico and I understand their desperation. My SO is not coming illegally. I've had 2 speeding tickets my whole life and felt awful about it. I don't support any kind of crime or lawbreaking. I'm only saying that I see it and I understand why.....and if I was unfortunate enough to be in their shoes....who knows? And yes you can go attempt to rob a bank to support your family and chances are you would not get away with it and you would be convicted. The jury would show you no mercy no matter what your circumstance was for doing it. Like I said, I don't condone it, but I do understand their desperation.

[Dan J 277]

Yeah, yeah...unfair, unfair. Not surprised to see so many people crying foul and blaming it on those darn "illegals."

I've worked with people without papers for quite some time and have NEVER seen the sense of entitlement that a few people here have ascribed to them.

I'm definitely facing financial hardship throughout this process, and am pleased that I have the opportunity to file for AOS before the fee hike.

But what I find REALLY unfair is not the discomfort caused by a fee hike, which is painful right now, but in a few years will be all paid off. What is UNFAIR is paying a coyote $2000 to be stuffed in the back of an 18wheeler with 60 other people and left to suffocate to death. Or screwed over and left to die in the desert. Until people dealing with immigration are faced with a life situation that makes suffocation or cooked insides sound like an acceptable risk, then I think that discussions about unfair are pretty much navel-gazing.

who put a gun to their heads and made them sneak over the border stuffed in a crate instead of applying for a visa?

What visa can they apply for? Unless you have family here that are LPR's or Citizens, there isn't one.

I cannot believe you actually wrote that! Did you think that through before you clicked "Add Reply'. My fiancee has no family here either. Is she trying to swim the Atlantic or stowaway on a ship to get here. HELL NO!!! Every immigrant, whether they are our neighbors or not MUST BE HELD TO THE SAME STANDARD OF PROCESS!!!

Under US immigration, you do count as family for your fiancee. She may not qualify for any other visas, but I don't know her situation.

[Dan J 277]

The fees paid to the USCIS are user fees. Just like the taxes you pay on gasoline go to pay for the roads, the taxes you pay on your property go to pay for local services. Basically the principal is, you use the service, you pay for it. The fee increases reflect inflation, higher costs due to more stringent background checks and higher security, and to help speed up processing.

The fee increases have zero to do with illegal immigration. Enforcement of immigration money comes from taxpayers. In other words, everybody pays, not just the users of the USCIS immigration services.

[hmm1 0]

The fees paid to the USCIS are user fees. Just like the taxes you pay on gasoline go to pay for the roads, the taxes you pay on your property go to pay for local services. Basically the principal is, you use the service, you pay for it. The fee increases reflect inflation, higher costs due to more stringent background checks and higher security, and to help speed up processing.

The fee increases have zero to do with illegal immigration. Enforcement of immigration money comes from taxpayers. In other words, everybody pays, not just the users of the USCIS immigration services.

While it may seem bad for me to say, the fee increase is a great thing finacially...the increased fee will make people think twice before bringing a loved one here, which they can not afford, thus causing more people to rely on government assistance, which puts a drain on teh tax system and it keeps going...it is not fair, but seldom is anything in life, pay it or do not file a visa...pretty straight forward.

[hmm1 0]

Yeah, yeah...unfair, unfair. Not surprised to see so many people crying foul and blaming it on those darn "illegals."

I've worked with people without papers for quite some time and have NEVER seen the sense of entitlement that a few people here have ascribed to them.

I'm definitely facing financial hardship throughout this process, and am pleased that I have the opportunity to file for AOS before the fee hike.

But what I find REALLY unfair is not the discomfort caused by a fee hike, which is painful right now, but in a few years will be all paid off. What is UNFAIR is paying a coyote $2000 to be stuffed in the back of an 18wheeler with 60 other people and left to suffocate to death. Or screwed over and left to die in the desert. Until people dealing with immigration are faced with a life situation that makes suffocation or cooked insides sound like an acceptable risk, then I think that discussions about unfair are pretty much navel-gazing.

Not to sound like an a$$, but if you try to sneak across the border...you deserve what you get...next thing you know, you will ask for pardons for bank robbers...they didn't kill anyone, they just robbed the bank...illegal is illegal, and a criminal is a criminal...do it the right way or don't come, well you can try your luck at the way you explained...

[kittykatwoman 0]

Yeah, yeah...unfair, unfair. Not surprised to see so many people crying foul and blaming it on those darn "illegals."

I've worked with people without papers for quite some time and have NEVER seen the sense of entitlement that a few people here have ascribed to them.

I'm definitely facing financial hardship throughout this process, and am pleased that I have the opportunity to file for AOS before the fee hike.

But what I find REALLY unfair is not the discomfort caused by a fee hike, which is painful right now, but in a few years will be all paid off. What is UNFAIR is paying a coyote $2000 to be stuffed in the back of an 18wheeler with 60 other people and left to suffocate to death. Or screwed over and left to die in the desert. Until people dealing with immigration are faced with a life situation that makes suffocation or cooked insides sound like an acceptable risk, then I think that discussions about unfair are pretty much navel-gazing.

Not to sound like an a$, but if you try to sneak across the border...you deserve what you get...next thing you know, you will ask for pardons for bank robbers...they didn't kill anyone, they just robbed the bank...illegal is illegal, and a criminal is a criminal...do it the right way or don't come, well you can try your luck at the way you explained...

I believe you can't only have rights in life, that where there are rights (in this case having the right to live somewhere), there are duties. Entering a country illegaly is not. PERIOD.

Why should we expect a category of people to go through the nest because they made illegal choices. This is unfair to the people that live in the country in the first place, I don't even talk about the people immigrating through the USCIS procedure. Just the citizen of the country in the first place. There is nothing like rules that can apply to one and not another, that is precisely the picture of unfair.

The circumstances of the illegal entrance in the country are infortunate but they can't be held as an excuse to legitimate anything.

Edited July 12, 2007 by kittykatwoman

[NavarreMan 10]

Yeah, yeah...unfair, unfair. Not surprised to see so many people crying foul and blaming it on those darn "illegals."

I've worked with people without papers for quite some time and have NEVER seen the sense of entitlement that a few people here have ascribed to them.

I'm definitely facing financial hardship throughout this process, and am pleased that I have the opportunity to file for AOS before the fee hike.

But what I find REALLY unfair is not the discomfort caused by a fee hike, which is painful right now, but in a few years will be all paid off. What is UNFAIR is paying a coyote $2000 to be stuffed in the back of an 18wheeler with 60 other people and left to suffocate to death. Or screwed over and left to die in the desert. Until people dealing with immigration are faced with a life situation that makes suffocation or cooked insides sound like an acceptable risk, then I think that discussions about unfair are pretty much navel-gazing.

who put a gun to their heads and made them sneak over the border stuffed in a crate instead of applying for a visa?

What visa can they apply for? Unless you have family here that are LPR's or Citizens, there isn't one.

I cannot believe you actually wrote that! Did you think that through before you clicked "Add Reply'. My fiancee has no family here either. Is she trying to swim the Atlantic or stowaway on a ship to get here. HELL NO!!! Every immigrant, whether they are our neighbors or not MUST BE HELD TO THE SAME STANDARD OF PROCESS!!!

Under US immigration, you do count as family for your fiancee. She may not qualify for any other visas, but I don't know her situation.

I am not sure that I count as "family" but more as a legitimate sponsor. Much the same as a business may sponsor an immigrant worker. Regardless, the end result is the same and I agree with you that she has an advantage in that she has someone here who LEGALLY can, and is willing to LEGALLY sponsor her and petition for her visa. Prior to that happening though I doubt she ever tried to sneak into our country illegally. It is pretty black and white. Right way - wrong way. There is very little in-between.

I do understand the motivation for many of the illegals and do have sympathy for them. If I were in their environment and could see prosperity across the border I do believe I would probably try to get here myself. I might even be tempted to break the law to do it. But one must be prepared to face the penalties for doing this and accept the responsibilities for their unlawful actions. If they cook because they tried to do it under the hood of a Ford truck, their choice, and their stupidity.

To get back on topic, the increased fees is just the price of doing business. It sucks but that's the way it is. Cowboy up!

[Yodrak 7]

Sheriff Uling,

Do you realize that the new AOS fee does include the EA and AP fees?

Not everyone needs or wants those associated benefits, but for those who do it does take some of the sting out of the increase.

Yodrak

OMG! I had not realized that the AOS fee went from $325.00 to $1,010.00 (and it does NOT include the biometrics fee of $70.00). .....

[John & Annie 0]

Okay, I read through this thread from beginning to end and I see only 2 perspectives. those that are against the increase or feel it is unfair and those that disagree with this viewpoint.

It seems for the most part that those who feel the fees are unfair are those who are going through or starting the process and those who disagree are the ones who have been through it. I can undrestand both sides. I am in the middle if the K1 process and will have to fork over a small fortune for AOS and other fees as I go along. Yes, it is absolutely worth it. Fair? It sucks but I would not describe it as unfair. I think we are getting lied to as to the reason for the increase. I think the "just because" approach comes closer to the truth. I don't see the wheels of the visa process speeding up any time soon.

I don't blame the illegals for the shortcomings of our government to police/enforce their own laws. Illegals want a better life too. Our government tends to turn a blind eye to those they cannot control and nail to the wall those that abide by the laws. Old saying, "better to ask forgiveness than permission".

I would like to see more respect given to those who do spend the time and money to do this the proper way. More like a hearty handshake and "Welcome to America" speech when you arrive @POE. Who am I kidding!

Either way, it is what it is. Complaining will do no good. If you don't like it, VOTE!!! If the cost is not worth it, then you are going down the wrong path anyway. Don't blame the illegals, they did not vote for our government. They just take advantage of the situation. If you were in their place you probably would do the same thing.

Just one man's opinion...

They did issue a report where the USCIS detailed out the costs; they determined the new fees based on those costs.

[NavarreMan 10]

I hate to sound like a geek about this but do you know where I can read this report. I am interested in what it has to say.

[John & Annie 0]

I hate to sound like a geek about this but do you know where I can read this report. I am interested in what it has to say.

Go to : www.uscis.gov. on the top bar is the press room, go there and you will find an abundance of information

btw, your not a geek. I want so far as to print out the reports and read them.

[NavarreMan 10]

I prefer reading Heinlein but seeing as how I am going thru this process a little info can go a long way.

Ooops... almost forgot - Thanks for the info.