Number of Immigrants Applying for U.S. Citizenship Is Down 62%, Study Finds
In late 2007, the application cost increased from $330 to $595, plus an $80 fee for computerized fingerprinting. Partly in anticipation of the price increase, 1.38 million people filed applications in 2007, creating a backlog that nearly tripled the average processing time.
Last year, the number of applicants fell to 525,786, the smallest since 2003. The largest was 1.41 million, in 1997, just before a 76 percent fee increase. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/11/AR2009091103727.html