The result was better accounting practices but also another proposal for dramatically higher fees for certain types of applications. When the study results were first aired last August, immigrant constituent groups strongly opposed the idea of further large increases. Nevertheless, in January, INS Commissioner Doris Meissner announced the agency was officially proposing to raise 30 different fees. INS is in a Catch-22 situation, Meissner said. We want to improve our services, and we know our customers deserve better service, but in order to get there, we have to charge what it costs.
Some applications now take an average of two years to process.
INS implements uniform use of a process by which applications are sent directly to the agency s service centers, so that district offices can focus on conducting interviews. New software is installed to ensure consistency in processing naturalization applications. INS expects to meet these goals by late spring. But NAPA argued in its 1996 report that the advantages of a funding source that is not subject to the normal limits on discretionary accounts are so great that the difficulties pale in comparison. The core problem with the fee accounts as in managing other INS activities is inspiring a level of trust in Congress that will allow the agency to receive sufficient flexibility to manage its funds.