People should apply for citizenship as soon as they are eligible, especially since there is such a backlog and it takes a long time to get it finished. DP
Applications jump 79 percent this year as fee increases, new test and other changes in law loom
By Anna Gorman and Jennifer Delson, LOS ANGELES TIMES
contracostatimes.com: Citizenship applications are skyrocketing across the nation as green-card holders rush to avoid a proposed fee increase, a revised civics test and possible changes in immigration law.
Applications filed in Los Angeles and six surrounding counties shot up to 18,024 in January from 7,334 in the same month last year, a 146 percent increase, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Nationwide, the number hit 95,622, up from 53,390, a 79 percent increase.
The jump is the largest in a decade, officials said. The numbers of applications first spiked last March with mass immigrant rights rallies and saw the most dramatic increase after the new year.
The filings are expected to continue as Congress prepares to restart the debate on immigration reform.
"Every time we have this much talk of immigration in the news and on the Hill, we get a lot more interest," said CIS spokeswoman Marie Sebrechts. "We tend to see a surge in applications."
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