Comment to USCIS Not to Increase Fees and Eliminate Fee Waivers for Immigrants

On December 16, 2019, NAPAWF submitted a comment to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to oppose proposed changes to their fee schedule for immigrants, which would increase fees and eliminate fee waivers in some circumstances. The rule proposed a number of changes that would harm immigrants with lower incomes. NAPAWF commented on the harm that API communities, particularly API immigrants with low incomes, face in relation to a number of components of the rule.

NAPAWF also opposed USCIS’ proposal to transfer applicant fees to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for enforcement purposes over 2 years. As a result of misguided repatriation agreements, 14,000 Southeast Asian Americans in the U.S. have final deportation orders to Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, living day-to-day not knowing if or when they will be deported. As a result, many Southeast Asian communities live in constant fear of detention and deportation by ICE.