You have all likely seen some mention of an outrageous proposed fee increase by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS).  Essentially what they are proposing for fees are:  raising the search fee 269% from $65 to $240 and the cost of the actual file 481% from $65 to $385.

If you had relatives who immigrated to the United States in the 20th century, USCIS is the place to order the above records.

USCIS has provided an opportunity for the genealogical community to comment on this proposed Rule that dramatically impacts the USCIS Genealogy Records Program.  In coordination with the leadership of other organizations in our community, we want to encourage our members to make their voices heard and express your concern with this outrageous proposal.

Chicago Genealogical Society is recommending everyone to send a letter outlining some of the objections. Your help is needed!  

 If you would like to read the proposed rule, see:

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2019-11-14/pdf/2019-24366.pdf

The Genealogy section is Section N which starts on page 62315-62316.

See Section 103.40 for Genealogical Research Requests on page 62359.

The Washington Post had an article on the proposed fee increases last Thursday which may be read at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/12/05/genealogy-boom-has-hit-roadblock-trump-administration-plans-huge-fee-hikes-immigration-records/ . 

Additional background may also be found at https://www.recordsnotrevenue.com

We strongly urge you to get behind this process and let USCIS and your local representatives know that you object to this unsupportable, exorbitant charge for access to value genealogical documentation.  You can contact your Senators or Representatives via www.senate.gov and www.house.gov, respectively.