Myimmigrationpath Blog

nstructors and directors at several Inland adult schools and immigration groups have noticed a small bump in enrollment in citizenship classes in recent weeks. They attribute that in part to students wanting to beat the Sept. 30 deadline for eligibility for the current civics exam, which requires less detailed answers than the one about to be put into use. But they say the increase in students would have been greater if there had been no application-fee increase.

People who apply for naturalization before Oct. 1 have a choice between taking the new or old exam. Kathy Bywater, citizenship coordinator at Riverside Adult School, said most students at her school are opting for the old exam.

Teachers at the school have been trying to alleviate students’ concerns by assuring them that the new test is not necessarily more difficult. But students are convinced that it is, Bywater said.

The new exam is designed to make studying for citizenship more meaningful, Rummery said. It tests concepts rather than easy-to-memorize facts, she said.

For example, the current exam asks, “Who was the main writer of the Declaration of Independence?� The new exam asks respondents to name two rights in the document.

Fred Tsao, of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, which spearheaded a nationwide petition drive against the new test, said many questions are too abstract.

For example, one question is “What is the ‘rule of law?’ �

“It’s hard to know what the questioner is looking for,� he said.

English Level

In addition, the test requires a higher level of English — and educational attainment in general — from applicants, because the questions are sometimes worded confusingly and require longer answers, he said.

“We don’t want to cut off citizenship for people who are hard-working, patriotic and fully committed to life in this country, and to people who are struggling with the language and may not have had educational opportunities here or in their home country,� he said.

Rummery said the government has always required a high-beginner level of English. Study materials for the tests come with answers, so students will not be confused by questions if they study the answers in advance, she said.

The immigration agency administered more than 6,000 of the new exams last year in a test run and saw the pass rate rise, from 84 percent with the old exam to 92 percent with the new one, Rummery said. The government used feedback from the test run to eliminate questions that applicants found confusing. In many questions on the new exam, students have a range of answers they can give, such as naming one of the five rights in the First Amendment.

With the new and old exams, applicants can study from a list of 100 questions. During their citizenship interviews, applicants are asked up to 10 of the questions, she said. They must get at least six right.

Amaya said he likes the new exam more than the old one.

“It permits people to think a little more what it means to be a citizen,� he said. “That’s something we support, because we want citizens to participate in the political process.�

Citizenship applications are down dramatically this year, with the sluggish economy and a big fee increase deterring many applicants.

The financial burden is discouraging even those who were hoping to apply for naturalization before a new citizenship exam — which many fear is more difficult than the old one — becomes mandatory Oct. 1.

Last year, new applications soared 89 percent nationwide, as immigrants rushed to beat a July 30, 2007, increase in the application fee, from $400 to $675.

In the weeks before the fee hike, an average of 100 people showed up at citizenship workshops sponsored by Catholic Charities San Bernardino/Riverside, said My-Hanh Luu, director of refugee and immigration services for group. “Now we’re lucky if we get 10,� she said.

From May to July 2007, more than 70,000 people applied for citizenship in Riverside, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, up from under 30,000 in the same three-month period in 2006.

In May to July of this year, applications tumbled to just over 16,000.

That is partly because people who might have waited until 2008 instead applied earlier to beat the fee hike, said Sharon Rummery, a spokeswoman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

But Inland nonprofit groups and adult schools that help citizenship applicants say the biggest reason for the sharp decline is that people cannot afford to pay the steeper fee.

“They have to choose between citizenship and food on their table for their children,� Luu said.

Miguel Sanchez, a Mexican immigrant from Banning, wants to apply for citizenship as soon as possible. Last week, he asked a citizenship class teacher at Beaumont Adult School whether the government would let him pay the $675 fee in installments. He was disappointed when she told him no, but he signed up for the class anyway. He plans to find day-labor or other work to supplement his $8-an-hour packing job to raise the money.

“I’ll do whatever I can, because it’s for my family,� Sanchez, 30, said during a break in an English class.

His wife and four children are U.S.-born American citizens. He is a legal resident, but he wants the permanence that citizenship would afford him.

Many immigrants work in construction and other industries that have been hit hardest by the economic downturn, so they’re among the least able to afford the fee, said Emilio Amaya, executive director of San Bernardino Community Service Center, which assists immigrants in the naturalization process.

Last year, immigrant-rights groups that fought the fee increase had predicted it would lead to a drop in applicants.

The extra revenue is paying for expanded security checks and fraud detection, modernization of computer systems and increased efficiency, said immigration service spokeswoman Marie Sebrechts.

Yet the backlog in applications caused by last year’s surge has caused processing delays that will prevent many applicants from voting in the Nov. 4 election. People who applied at the end of July 2007 are just now getting their citizenship interviews, Rummery said.

Wait times for new applicants are already falling as the immigration agency works through the backlog, Sebrechts said.

A lot of fees for the immigration forms increased too. USCIS is just making it harder and harder every year.