Toronto Short squib in the papers in the US caught my eye. Immigration fees for green cards and work permits all were announced as increasing by 10%. Reason: business down. Fewer applications were submitted in this bad climate for immigrants and in this terrible economy so there was a $200 million shortfall in the “business plan” of these departments.

The unstated point is that for all of the uproar about immigrants and competition in scare times for jobs, this seems more evidence that in fact the numbers tell a somewhat different tale. The numbers also seem to say that you need a job to get a job in this area just like in so many others, since the fees are around $1000 a pop! Cash on the barrel head.

The Administration announced no increases in the cost to become a citizen. That seems not to be an issue because as long as we’re not solving that problem, increased costs are not a problem since we are not speeding up the process, but delaying it for years.