June/July Applicants Information Tracking

I applied 8-20-07, which was five days after I became eligible. For me, you cannot really put a price on citizenship so I did not mind paying the extra fees although I understand that for many people it is a lot of money. A family of four for example, now has to pay an additional $1,100 with the fee increases.

Yes, a lot of people applied in July to beat the fee increase, but let's not forget that most of the Spanish language media have, for the past year, been organizing citizenship drives to encourage latino LPRs to become citizens. Here in California, the number of applications was way up even before the fee increases were announced. However, the USCIS was actually doing a halfway decent job of keeping up with the original increase in filings. It was only in July, with the huge spike in filings, when the wheels fell off the proverbial wagon. The irony of paying a larger fee for slower service is not lost on many of us. Though having dealt with the USCIS for years now, I know that the only thing most of us can do is try to encourage each other, help each other out and hope that everything ends well for all of us eventually.
 
I applied 8-20-07, which was five days after I became eligible. For me, you cannot really put a price on citizenship so I did not mind paying the extra fees although I understand that for many people it is a lot of money. A family of four for example, now has to pay an additional $1,100 with the fee increases.

Yes, a lot of people applied in July to beat the fee increase, but let's not forget that most of the Spanish language media have, for the past year, been organizing citizenship drives to encourage latino LPRs to become citizens. Here in California, the number of applications was way up even before the fee increases were announced. However, the USCIS was actually doing a halfway decent job of keeping up with the original increase in filings. It was only in July, with the huge spike in filings, when the wheels fell off the proverbial wagon. The irony of paying a larger fee for slower service is not lost on many of us. Though having dealt with the USCIS for years now, I know that the only thing most of us can do is try to encourage each other, help each other out and hope that everything ends well for all of us eventually.

What I find encouraging is the fact that after the July/August rush, the number of applicants dropped significantly, undoubtedly due to the fee increase. I'm hoping that the drop in applications will help move the process along.
 
From the USCIS graph in the link below, the rise in N-400 applications receipted started in January 2007 and peaked just before the fee increase in July. Also, the number of receipted cases went up in September. USCIS has not posted the receipting graphs for October or November yet, so it will be interesting to see if receipting leveled off during those months.

http://www.uscis.gov/files/article/N-400%20NATURALIZATION%20BENEFITS_September07.pdf
 
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