Number of Naturalization Applicants Falls 62%

[WhichWay2Go]

But for the vast majority, there is no pressing need to apply for citizenship in the middle of a bad economy.

JOL, I am with you on this one. If a GC holder has no real pressing need fro Citizenship then holding off until their financial postion is more secure it makes sense.

I think the 62% drop is just the media twisting facts for a story. The rush prior to the price increase went from 900,000 to 1.8Million I think the figures were. That caused huge backlogs and now things are probably back to pretty much where they were prior to the price rise.

Also as Ash29 says, the cost is much more for some.

N-400 application $675.00
Mailing $9.00
Passport application $120.00
Fingerprint trip gas $75.00
Interview trip gas $75.00
Oath trip gas $75.00
Parking Oath/Interview $17.00
Total so far $1046.00

I am not complaining, I am happy to pay that to now be a Citizen, but the cost of the application is not everything. I was lucky as the FP, the interview and Oath where all scheduled for the afternoon. Had they been in the morning I would have had to go down the day earlier and stay in a motel.

 

[WBH]

JOL, I am with you on this one. If a GC holder has no real pressing need fro Citizenship then holding off until their financial postion is more secure it makes sense.

Of these peopel who delayed, there are bound to be some among them who
would regret they did not apply.

 

[NewRunner]

The rush prior to the price increase went from 900,000 to 1.8Million I think the figures were.

The specific figures from the article are:

"1.38 million people filed applications in 2007, creating a backlog that nearly tripled the average processing time.

Last year, the number of applicants fell to 525,786, the smallest since 2003. The largest was 1.41 million, in 1997, just before a 76 percent fee increase."

I agree that the Washington Post reporter could have written a less dramatic sounding story (or headline), or one that provided a more complete picture, if the article also contained information about the number of applications in each of the years between 2001 and 2006.

I know there was speculation immediately following 9/11 that many PRs would attempt to naturalize en masse just in case there was going to be some kind of backlash against immigrants. The naturalization figures for 2002/03 as compared to say 1999/00 may have been able to shed some light on the validity of that speculation.

 

[WhichWay2Go]

Last year, the number of applicants fell to 525,786, the smallest since 2003. The largest was 1.41 million, in 1997, just before a 76 percent fee increase."[/I]

Thanks NR for the actual figures, my tired old, new-US-Citizen brain is in coasting mode now.

 

[sanjoseaug20]

Like Me

Of these people who delayed, there are bound to be some among them who
would regret they did not apply.

I was due to file N400 for about 5-6 months, and I did not apply as there was no emergency. Then I did apply, and 2-3 weeks before interview I had an emergency requiring me to return to India for an indefinite period. I delayed going until the interview was over, but then I had to make a two-way trip with wife and kids for the oath. Cost me well over 7 grand. Then the OCI has to be filed from India, so that's another expense, plus a more complex process (since there is very little information in terms of managing this from India).

I can always justify (to my wife) that I could not have foreseen the emergency, and 10K (with hotel expenses and salary loss etc.) is a small price to get citizenship and not get into the permanent / continuous residence hassle. This after having both a permanent and continuous residence for 14 years, with maybe 250 days out of US in those 14 years. Although the price of the application was not a factor in the filing delay (laziness was), and there was never a question of whether we were taking citizenship or not, the delay proved very expensive. And this does not account for the kids joining school mid-session as for 1.5 months we were just traveling rather than being able to send them to school.

I know each person has his/her own situation and their own financial constraints, but my learning is that if money is not a concern, just get done with it. You never know what is in store in the future. People here seem to be most worried about driving tickets, but there's lot in life that can derail the process

Lessons from this board, and life:
You hurry up if your file is clean
You delay if your file is not, and you can get it clean(er) with time. That is - if you are trying to outrun some statute of limitations (have you done this or that in the last 5 years)

 

[PerpetualGC]

A big reason is business and personal travel, in light of longer delays associated with PR's re-entering. The biggest reason is being able to have more of a say into one's community via voting and such. A smaller reason is plans to be out of the country for longer periods (but that's not the case for a lot of people)

I have an European Union passport and my birth country allows dual citizenship; nevertheless I delayed applying for USC for a couple decades (my wife filed her (free ) N-400 a day or two after eligibility (5 years GC) in 1991 or so.

It's costly, don't get me wrong (and $675 does not buy a good digital camera these days, my preferences range more into I-485 fee territory for a family :eek). But, in this day and age, and job market such as it is, one wants all the asterisks off one's resume (and there are plenty of cases where a GC is an asterisk)

In my personal case it was always the X+1 syndrome. Maybe next year. Then 2007 came and went and the fees doubled, and the system was clogged. My lawyer suggested I wait it for a few months for the backlog to clear.

Still, those who think it takes too long now... My wife's case took nearly a year in 1991.

 

[WBH]

The people out there are innocent in that many think GC is a done deal
except for voting rights but the posters here lost their innocence. There
can be some potential trouble with just GC and one has to renew it anyway for every 10 years so even the long term cost is greater with just GC.

Unless one wants to leave the USA someday or keep that option open,
one should go on to get citizenship after getting the GC. This is especially
important if you have non-citizen children. If they grow up here who knows
what will happen to them? The status of PR is actually very delicate.