By SUZANNE GAMBOA
The Associated Press
9/29/03 4:48 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Immigration officials are planning to raise fees for citizenship applications and other services, hoping to offset the costs of increased security checks.

Russ Knocke, Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesman, said the agency has told immigration groups to anticipate a fee increase, but he said the final amount has not been decided.

Immigration advocates said the agency told them that an increase of about $15 in application fees would be announced in the first or second week of October and take effect about a month later.

A permanent resident currently pays $260, plus a $50 fingerprinting fee, to become a citizen. An immigrant over the age of 14 must pay $255 to apply for permanent residency or what is known as a green card, and the $50 fingerprinting fee.

The increases will help cover additional costs for checking names and fingerprints against intelligence databases and to cover cost of living increases, Knocke said.

Since January, the agency has been rechecking names of immigrants who are nearing naturalization for any new information since they first applied. Applicants often wait a year or more for their applications to be completed.

"We are not cutting any corners on national security and we are not cutting any corners on background checks. We are doing the job and we are doing it right. There is a need for resources and this fee increase or potential fee increase is one possible remedy," Knocke said.

The agency has checked an estimated 3 million names thus far, said Larry Gonzalez, Washington office director for the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.

Gonzalez and others say the fee increase demonstrates the problem with immigration funding. Fees alone pay the agency's expenses. Congress should be providing a separate appropriation to help the agency, they said.

"You can't blame the agency for trying to balance its books, but the whole system on which it's based is faulty," said Judy Golub, senior policy and outreach director for American Immigration Lawyers Association. "Congress needs to step up to the plate."

The agency is mandated to review its fee scale every two years and adjust according to financial needs.

Advocates also were told of other costs:

-- The agency lost an estimated $30 million when Congress did away with a surcharge tacked onto application fees to pay for processing of applications of refugees and asylum-seekers. The surcharge was reinstated in February.

-- Citizenship and Immigration Services officials have told immigration groups that fee waivers, provided for immigrants who can't pay application costs, are increasing.

-- The agency is anticipating additional costs from legislation working its way through Congress that would make becoming a citizen easier for legal residents who serve in the military.

The proposed increases come as the administration has been trying to promote citizenship and attempting to woo Hispanic voters. Hispanics make up most of the immigrant population.