Citizenship too costly for many immigrants

BOSTON, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- Scores of immigrants in Massachusetts and other U.S. states are unable to become legal citizens due to high citizenship fees, experts say.

The Boston Globe said Monday while nearly 300,000 legal immigrants in Massachusetts alone could become U.S. citizens, most are unable to afford citizenship application fees that increased from $60 a person to $675 during the last 20 years.

Andrew Sum, head of Northeastern University's Center for Labor Market Studies, said those individuals unable to complete the citizenship process remain unable to fully participate in the American dream.

"You have a lot of people who are here who can't register or don't vote," Sum said. "What kind of democracy is that?''

"Other than the United Kingdom, the United States is a very expensive country (for citizenship) -- and notably more expensive,'' political science Professor Randall Hansen of the University of Toronto told the Globe.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services estimates 8 million legal immigrants nationwide are currently eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship.