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According to The Los Angeles Times, a legislative mandate that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) be a self-sustaining agency may result in application fee increases. USCIS faces a $118-million deficit, partially due to decreased volume of applications. In Southern California alone, the number of citizenship applications in 2008 fell by more than 75% compared to 2007 (from 254,000 to 58,000). USCIS has requested $206 million from Congress to help offset the shortfall.
Officials claim the fee increase is necessary because a special congressional appropriation to help reduce application backlogs has run out. Immigrant advocates, however, contend that increased fees will deter legal immigrants from pursuing citizenship. Citizenship application fees were previously increased in 2007 (a 69% increase, bringing the total application cost to $675).