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- In December of 1999, the INS proposed a ruling,
no.1991-99, authorizing the collection of fees
on certain non-immigrant visas to fund their
CIPRIS tracking program.
- The fee program is poorly conceived. It imposes
the same fee upon someone in the country four
years as four months. Collection and accountability
are not well thought out.
- ACA supports a permanent exemption for non-immigrants
in the U.S. less than a year from the proposed
fee ($95).
- ACA members employ approximately 16,000 non-immigrants
each year for periods ranging from two to four
months.
- The fee will discourage short-term employees
from working and seeking employment in the U.S.,
creating a manpower shortage in camps.
- If the non-immigrant is unable to pay the
fee, the burden will fall on camps, 75% of which
are run by not-for-profit organizations.
- The rule does not provide for the cost of
paperwork and additional manpower that will
be required to process the fees.
- INS will not receive any benefit under the
CIPRIS program, by the time the information
is collected the counselor will have left the
country.
- There is no need to track camp counselors
because their employers are aware of their whereabouts.
They remain at the camp's facility for the duration
of their trip to the United States.
- A pro-rated fee structure will not solve the
problem this program will bring upon camps,
because camps do not have the resources to hire
the additional manpower needed to process the
paperwork.
- ACA believes it was not the intent of authorizing
legislation's sponsor, former Senator Alan Simpson
of Wyoming, to effect camps in this way. His
discussion of the legislation specifically addressed
the need to track long-term students, those
in college for an anticipated 4 years.
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