A USCIS hearing is scheduled on March 6, 2023 to hear arguments about increasing the fees for all services to persons requesting copies of documents held by USCIS.
It is important for members of the genealogy community to file an appeal not to raise these fees.
USCIS has requested to raise the cost of an Index Search from $65 to $100 and the cost to receive the files up to an additional $340. The search only provides you with a list of available documents and the fees to obtain them. The current wait time, once you submit a request, is currently 245 business days. Once you receive the results of your Index Search, there are another 275 days to receive any documents you request that were discovered during that search.
Reclaim the Records has done a good job laying out what the proposed issues are and how people can appeal NOT to raise the fees.
https://www.recordsnotrevenue.com/
There is a webinar tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 2 at 11 a.m. Eastern time, that explains some of the naturalization files at USCIS. It will be presented by Rich Venezia for the Suburban Genealogy Society.
To register, go to: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcofu6vrjgtHtyPkPk5oLsfHGA-BylFIT3c