Feds proposing new round of immigration fee hikes

WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal immigration officials are proposing to increase the fees to apply for legal U.S. residency to nearly $1,100, but would leave existing citizenship application fees intact.

The Citizenship and Immigration Services has scheduled a news conference later Wednesday to announce the fee increases. It now costs a total of $1,010 to apply for legal residency and get required fingerprinting, and that cost would rise to $1,085.

The agency is required by law to review its fees regularly and decide whether they are covering the cost of doing business.

The CIS had a major fee hike in the summer of 2007, helping to trigger a flood of citizenship applications that were filed in advance of the increases.