Citizenship Applications Down 59%

USCIS has released the numbers of citizenship applications filed for the first six months of 2008.  For the period January-June 2008, on average, there were approximately 46,000 citizenship applications each month.  As a comparison, the monthly average for the same period in 2007 was approximately 115,000 citizenship applications.   This marks a decline in the average number of monthly applications of 59%.

The decline is attributed mainly to the higher filing fees.  The citizenship application fee rose from $400 to $675 on July 30, 2007, and prompted many who are eligibleand have been postponing their filing to do so before July 30, 2007.  In fact, July 2007 recorded a record-high 460,000 citizenship applications.  (See chart)

There is some concern that some foreign nationals who are eligible for citizenship are priced out due to the increased filing fee.  USCIS defended the increase on the ground that it is necessary to cover processing and security check costs.  USCIS has further stated that it allows citizenship applicants who are not able to afford the filing fee to apply for a waiver.  However, the reality is that there are very few such requests actually made, of which, some are denied.  In July of 2008, there were only 1,578 requests for fee waiver, of which only 1,052 were approved.