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INS: ADJUSTMENT APPLICANTS TO PAY PENALTY FEE ON LATER APPLICATIONS
Congress has approved an INS request for the reallocation of .6 million dollars to increase the agency's staff by more than 1,000 positions. The staff increase is intended to reduce substantial backlogs that have resulted at INS as a result of two major developments 1) the new adjustment of status law that has made it possible for many previously disqualified individuals to adjust status to permanent residency in the US rather than pursue consular processing and 2) a dramatic increase in the number of naturalization applications largely due to increased fears that Congress and state legislatures will restrict access by permanent residents to public benefits. The number of adjustment cases pending at the INS has jumped by 110% since this time last year and the number of naturalization applications has jumped by 86%. Funding for the new positions is largely to be drawn from INS filing fees. Penalty fees associated with the new adjustment laws have resulted in additional revenues of  million. 
The INS has stated that it will allocate the funds as follows: 
428 positions/.8 million for naturalization application processing; 
172 positions/.2 million for processing adjustment of status to permanent residence applications; 
71 positions/.9 million for the "Ask Immigration" automated telephone system; 
16 positions/.1 million for positions eliminated in a 1994 hiring freeze; 
133 positions/ million for mail and data entry personnel; 
104 positions/.6 million for INS regional service centers; 
11 positions/.8 million for refugee applications in Moscow and Havana; 
78 positions/.9 million for legal, management and intelligence support. 
INS Commissioner Doris Meissner told Congress that the fees will allow the agency to begin to eliminate application backlogs and improve customer service.