Oct 27, 2006 2:48 pm US/Eastern
U.S. Immigration To Pilot 1-Stop Shopping in S. FL
MIAMI (AP) ―
The Department of Homeland Security will start a pilot program in 2008 to create one-stop shopping centers for immigrants applying for citizenship services in South Florida, a top federal immigration official said Friday.
Immigrants can already complete their fingerprinting at satellite offices. But the new computerized centers, three offices planned for Miami-Dade County and one for Broward, will allow them to complete all requirements nearer to their homes, said U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Emilio Gonzalez.
Gonzalez said he hoped the new offices will also help improve new citizens' perceptions of the federal government.
"For the vast majority of the immigrant population in the U.S., their first interaction with the U.S. government is through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services," Gonzalez told reporters at the agency's Miami office. "I didn't want their first encounter to be in a ratty building where they don't feel comfortable.
Between September 2005 and September 2006, more than 97,000 immigrants became citizens in Florida.
If the pilot program is successful, it will be expanded to Los Angeles and other major metropolitan areas with large numbers of immigrants.
The proposed offices, scheduled to open in the fall of 2008, mark the agency's first major service improvement since 2004, when it unveiled an Internet system for scheduling appointments that cut down on long lines outside immigration offices. The service also recently opened a center in Williamsburg, Ky., to house and manage the agency's growing number of digital records.
These improvements will likely come at a cost to immigrants.
Unlike other Homeland Security agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the citizenship service is generally self-funded from application fees.
The agency has received more than $400 million since 2000 to reduce its backlog from about 3.8 million applicants to 1 million. The vast majority of those still on the list are now delayed due to State Department visa quotas, additional Homeland Security investigations or delays caused by the applicants, Gonzalez said.
But that money runs out this year.
On Friday, Gonzalez confirmed earlier statements that a "not-insignificant" fee increase was likely.
"The plan is to raise fees. There's no other place to go," he said.
Applicants currently pay about $400 in citizenship fees.
Gonzalez also said a policy announced in August to make it easier for Cuban doctors to enter the U.S. from third countries has been "hugely successful," but he declined to give specifics, citing the effect such information might have on those seeking the visas.
(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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