A big win for access to immigration records

Alien Registration File for Raymond Hiroshi Hirai.
Courtesy of Rina Hirai.

A hard-fought battle to keep records affordable has resulted in victory. The U.S. Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS) has backed off a proposed "astronomical increase" in fees for copies of records essential to immigration research.

In late 2019, genealogists and other research advocates sounded the alarm about a proposed increase of fees for USCIS records. Rich Venezia, founder of Records Not Revenue, spearheaded the campaign to protest the fee increases, spurring nearly 40,000 individuals to post comments on the agency's website. We wrote about the issue at the time, detailing the ways in which increased fees would effectively put this unique resource for immigration records out of reach for many researchers. CGS members Grant Din and Linda Okazaki were among those active in spreading the word, and the California Genealogical Society board wrote a letter opposing the fee change, along with hundreds of other genealogical societies, historical organizations, and genealogists around the country.

The proposed fee increases also would have applied to visa and immigration filing fees, increasing hardship for current immigrants, as well as hobbling their access to their A-Files to defend against removal, apply for immigration benefits, and naturalize. A recent article on the website Immigration Access details the judge's ruling in December 2020 which ordered USCIS to make those records available in a timely fashion. On February 2, President Biden issued an Executive Order directing that agencies should promote access to the legal immigration system and specifically calling out the proposed fee increase.

The work continues for access to immigration records. Genealogist Judy Russell points out that there may still be a fee increase in the future. Many people have asserted that these are public records that should be available through the National Archives. Records Not Revenue is working on strategies to push USCIS to get these records to NARA. The story continues. Meanwhile, congratulations to Grant and Linda and everyone who lent their name to this effort!

Copyright © 2021 by California Genealogical Society

Speak Out Against Exorbitant Fees: Deadline is December 16

A chart showing how the proposed fees for 2020 compare historically.
Click to enlarge.

The genealogy world is abuzz with news that U.S. Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS) has proposed a sharp increase in fees for searches and copies of genealogical and historical records, beginning in 2020. The USCIS Genealogy Program describes itself as "a fee-for-service program that provides researchers with timely access to historical immigration and naturalization records of deceased immigrants." The records include naturalization certificates, alien registration forms, visa and registry files, and alien files (A-Files), all invaluable resources for researchers.

The bureau already charges a nonrefundable $65 fee per search. It proposes to raise that search fee to an exorbitant $240—an increase of 269 percent. A copy of a paper file would incur an additional $385 charge—an increase of 492 percent! By charging these extraordinary fees, USCIS would effectively deny access to thousands of genealogists. This will have a tremendous impact on anyone engaging in 20th century immigration research, and would be detrimental to all who wish to understand our history.

The CGS Board of Directors urges you to join the larger genealogy community by registering your opposition to the proposed changes. This is an uphill battle, and only with thousands of comments submitted will we have a chance to change these proposed fees. A group of researchers have created the website Records, Not Revenue which has instructions on how to submit a comment. You are encouraged also to send a copy of your comments to your Congressional representatives. Be sure to mention you are writing about the genealogy program, as the fee increase relates to all aspects of USCIS. Comments must be submitted no later than Monday, December 16. Please take a moment now to share your concern, and notify everyone you know.

Records, Not Revenue website: 

https://www.recordsnotrevenue.com/

Some other blogs posting about this issue:

Dick Eastman Genealogy 
Judy Russell (The Legal Genealogist)
Linda Harms Okazaki
Jennifer Mendelsohn 
The Chinese Exclusion Files 
American Immigration Lawyers Association

Copyright © 2019 by California Genealogical Society