Great idea, Marilyn. What a great guy to make it public right away. And his reasoning is a good way to say it.
Thank you, Debbie On Fri, Dec 13, 2019 at 7:13 AM Marilyn Thompson <mari...@jmtmlt.com> wrote: > I really think contacting your congressmen/women will help. I sent an > email to mine. Yesterday I heard on the radio a short blurb from him saying > he is looking into the reason for the raise in price. He is also asking for > an audit of that department. He stated that the fee should match the actual > cost of the work done to obtain the requested record. > > I am so excited to think that by contacting my congressman might make a > difference for many people. > > Marilyn > > > On Thu, Dec 12, 2019 at 9:29 PM JesseAndDeborah Mendonca < > jessdebmendo...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> Thanks Gordon, >> >> Yes. Everyone needs to get their response in ASAP so we can enjoy the >> holidays. But get friends and neighbors and family too. It’s US records >> and it affects all of us. So if you are doing genealogy for your entire >> family, make it easy for them to put in a response, too. >> >> Debbie >> >> On Thu, Dec 12, 2019 at 6:58 PM Gordon soares <gws...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >>> Cheri should not be carrying the heavy load on this price increase. >>> Search a little? Then this will affect you when you want a record and this >>> google group may not be able help you. Search a lot and you’re in for some >>> heavy fees that will be hard to pass on to others who need your help. Get >>> off the dime and support this google group and make your own feelings >>> known. >>> Gordon >>> >>> Sent from my iPhone >>> >>> On Dec 12, 2019, at 6:13 PM, Cheri Mello <gfsche...@gmail.com> wrote: >>> >>> >>> >>> Cross posted to Azores, Madeira, and IslandRoutes lists. >>> >>> The deadline to squawk about the records increase has now been moved to >>> Monday, Dec. 30th. >>> >>> I read an article in the Washington Post. For some who want dual >>> citizenship, you'll need that naturalization file of your immigrant >>> ancestor. We've discussed dual citizenship on the Azores list before. It's >>> probably been discussed on the Madeira and IslandRoutes lists as well. >>> Maybe you're not interested in dual citizenship today. Maybe you will be in >>> a few years. And then you'll be paying $600 for that file. >>> >>> Also, all researchers should care about the issues involved, even if >>> your research does not include these historical records. What can be done >>> to one type of record can be done to others! >>> >>> 1) Go to https://www.recordsnotrevenue.com/? (Yes, the question mark >>> is part of the URL). Read the information. >>> >>> 2) Open another tab with the writing prompts at: >>> https://www.recordsnotrevenue.com/conversation-starters/ >>> (I blended a couple of them together). >>> >>> 3) Then submit it via their portal. This must be done by DECEMBER 30th! >>> >>> Thank you to all who will take the 5-10 minutes to write in! >>> Cheri Mello, An avid, hard-core, die-hard genealogist >>> >>> On Wed, Dec 11, 2019 at 9:14 AM 'Sam (Camas, WA)' via Azores Genealogy < >>> azores@googlegroups.com> wrote: >>> >>>> I totally agree that we have to try and yes, if the “noise” was loud >>>> enough in protest, we might have a hope. I did specifically state that the >>>> records should be available for us to personally peruse. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Sam (Mazatlán, MX) >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> *From: *Cheri Mello <gfsche...@gmail.com> >>>> *Sent: *Wednesday, December 11, 2019 10:57 AM >>>> *To: *Azores Genealogy <azores@googlegroups.com> >>>> *Subject: *Re: [AZORES-Genealogy] Re: USCIS Proposed Fee hikes >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Thank you Sam. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Once in a while, I am surprised and they DO listen. We have to TRY. If >>>> only those records could be scanned by NARA so we could access them! >>>> >>>> Cheri Mello >>>> Listowner, Azores-Gen >>>> Researching: São Miguel island: Vila Franca, Ponta Garca, Ribeira >>>> Quente, Ribeira das Tainhas, Achada >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> On Wed, Dec 11, 2019 at 8:34 AM 'Sam (Camas, WA)' via Azores Genealogy < >>>> azores@googlegroups.com> wrote: >>>> >>>> Not that I think that they will listen to us but; I have submitted my >>>> comments. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Sam (Mazatlán, MX) >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> *From: *Cheri Mello <gfsche...@gmail.com> >>>> *Sent: *Tuesday, December 10, 2019 9:05 PM >>>> *To: *madeira-geneal...@googlegroups.com; islandrou...@googlegroups.com; >>>> Azores Genealogy <Azores@googlegroups.com> >>>> *Subject: *[AZORES-Genealogy] Re: USCIS Proposed Fee hikes >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> (Cross posted: Azores, Madeira, IslandRoutes lists) >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> When I was 10 years old, my immigrant ancestor, who was my >>>> great-grandmother, was still alive. I received a photocopy of her >>>> naturalization certificate for my history project for school. Pretty cool! >>>> She became a U.S. Citizen in 1956. Her husband was already deceased and I >>>> was told he didn't want to become a U.S. Citizen. Or so says the family >>>> story. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> The 1940 U.S. Federal Census tells a different story though: >>>> >>>> [image: cid:16ef5e356b2c42658f1] >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> In the Citizenship column, it states that Manuel Mello has filed papers >>>> (at least as of April 1940). His wife, is still listed as an Alien. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Want to know how much faith I have in the USCIS finding the CORRECT >>>> Manuel Mello? This much: . Yep, that little dot. That's not much faith in >>>> them finding the correct Manuel Mello for the current $65 USD. And there's >>>> absolutely NO WAY I'd order it for $240. And that's just for them to LOOK >>>> for it. I'd rather look myself. I would do a much better job than the >>>> government employee. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> And what about his 2 sisters that came to America and stayed on the >>>> east coast? The citizenship data is missing on the 1940 on one sister. I'd >>>> love to scour the records myself to see if she naturalized or not. Wouldn't >>>> it be great to access these records ourselves? >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Please write to Records Not Revenue and leave a comment. It takes about >>>> 10 minutes. We need a ton of responses whether or not you have the >>>> information on your immigrant ancestor or not. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> 1) Go to https://www.recordsnotrevenue.com/? (Yes, the question mark >>>> is part of the URL). Read the information. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> 2) Open another tab with the writing prompts at: >>>> https://www.recordsnotrevenue.com/conversation-starters/ >>>> >>>> (I blended a couple of them together). >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> 3) Then submit it via their portal. This must be done by DECEMBER 16th! >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Thanks everybody! Cheri >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> On Mon, Dec 9, 2019 at 8:26 PM Cheri Mello <gfsche...@gmail.com> wrote: >>>> >>>> (Cross posted to Azores, Maderia, and IslandRoutes lists) >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> The fees for the United States Naturalization records are under review >>>> and the new increase will cost us over $600! We have *ONE WEEK* to >>>> write and complain. Below are some articles. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Dick Eastman's article: >>>> >>>> >>>> https://blog.eogn.com/2019/11/15/uscis-proposes-fee-increases-for-genealogy-records/ >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Judy Russell's article with a place to complain (with samples and >>>> writing prompts). You must complete this by MONDAY, DECEMBER 16. >>>> >>>> https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2019/11/21/records-not-revenue/ >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Judy Russell, The Legal Genealogist, blogged about this again. She says: >>>> >>>> <<If this rule is adopted, the cost of getting a record search done at >>>> USCIS — the first step that lets us know if the agency actually holds >>>> records about a research target — will rise from $65 to $240. And the cost >>>> of getting a paper record identified in that record search, such as a visa >>>> file, will rise from $65 to $385. So a record that, today, costs a maximum >>>> of $130 will cost *$625* if this rule goes into effect. >>>> >>>> And that vastly higher fee will be for records that, in many cases, >>>> should have already been transferred to the National Archives and so >>>> available to us all for much lower fees.>> >>>> >>>> Full article here. >>>> >>>> https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2019/12/02/fight-the-fee-hikes/ >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Then someone (Ronnie French? Elaine Mello?) posted this. >>>> >>>> <<My cousin followed Judy's advice and emailed Reclaim the Records. She >>>> said: >>>> >>>> "I just got an email from Reclaim the Records, and they are talking to >>>> their lawyers about this. Apparently, a lot of these records should have >>>> been turned over to NARA a while ago, but they urge everyone to comment on >>>> the https://www.recordsnotrevenue.com/? page in the hopes that they >>>> can in the short term stop the increase while they work on the long term to >>>> release the records." >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> 1) Go to https://www.recordsnotrevenue.com/? (Yes, the question mark >>>> is part of the URL). Read the information. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> 2) Open another tab with the writing prompts at: >>>> https://www.recordsnotrevenue.com/conversation-starters/ >>>> >>>> (I blended a couple of them together). >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> 3) Then submit it via their portal. This must be done by DECEMBER 16th! >>>> >> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> I'm going to keep sending this email to the list(s) every couple of >>>> days until December 16th! All U.S. researchers need to write in!! >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Thank you to all who will take the 5-10 minutes to write in! >>>> >>>> Cheri Mello, An avid, hard-core, die-hard genealogist >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> On Sun, Dec 1, 2019 at 9:30 AM Cheri Mello <gfsche...@gmail.com> wrote: >>>> >>>> (Cross posted to Madeira and Island Routes lists) >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Dick Eastman, as well as Judy Russell (The Legal Genealogist) wrote >>>> about the huge price increase for U.S. Naturalization records. The new fees >>>> are ridiculous! Over $600 total!! >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Dick Eastman's article: >>>> >>>> >>>> https://blog.eogn.com/2019/11/15/uscis-proposes-fee-increases-for-genealogy-records/ >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Judy Russell's article with a place to complain (with samples and >>>> writing prompts). You must complete this by MONDAY, DECEMBER 16. >>>> >>>> https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2019/11/21/records-not-revenue/ >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> My cousin followed Judy's advice and emailed Reclaim the Records. She >>>> said: >>>> >>>> <<I just got an email from Reclaim the Records, and they are talking to >>>> their lawyers about this. Apparently, a lot of these records should have >>>> been turned over to NARA a while ago, but they urge everyone to comment on >>>> the https://www.recordsnotrevenue.com/? page in the hopes that they >>>> can in the short term stop the increase while they work on the long term to >>>> release the records.>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> 1) Go to https://www.recordsnotrevenue.com/? (Yes, the question mark >>>> is part of the URL). Read the information. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> 2) Open another tab with the writing prompts at: >>>> https://www.recordsnotrevenue.com/conversation-starters/ >>>> >>>> (I blended a couple of them together). >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> 3) Then submit it via their portal. This must be done by DECEMBER 16th! >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> I'm going to keep sending this email to the list(s) every few days >>>> until December 16th! >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Thank you to all who will take the 5-10 minutes to write in! >>>> >>>> Cheri Mello, An avid, hard-core, die-hard genealogist >>>> >>>> -- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>> Groups "Azores Genealogy" group. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>> an email to azores+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>> To view this discussion on the web visit >>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/azores/CAKUUw_GrEA0%3D03_PyueKQNEkb4XaJ%2B%2BdoKohcqMLLAFQcyBB-Q%40mail.gmail.com >>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/azores/CAKUUw_GrEA0%3D03_PyueKQNEkb4XaJ%2B%2BdoKohcqMLLAFQcyBB-Q%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>>> . >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>> Groups "Azores Genealogy" group. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>> an email to azores+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>> To view this discussion on the web visit >>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/azores/5df11a82.1c69fb81.9047c.0d94SMTPIN_ADDED_MISSING%40gmr-mx.google.com >>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/azores/5df11a82.1c69fb81.9047c.0d94SMTPIN_ADDED_MISSING%40gmr-mx.google.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>>> . >>>> >>>> -- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>> Groups "Azores Genealogy" group. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>> an email to azores+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>> To view this discussion on the web visit >>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/azores/CAKUUw_EbxwQHR0PozMMeuic%2B2tmVhaDz3sH_9_L%2BSB%3D7OuwCGg%40mail.gmail.com >>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/azores/CAKUUw_EbxwQHR0PozMMeuic%2B2tmVhaDz3sH_9_L%2BSB%3D7OuwCGg%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>>> . >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>> Groups "Azores Genealogy" group. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>> an email to azores+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>> To view this discussion on the web visit >>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/azores/5df123e9.1c69fb81.d95bd.189cSMTPIN_ADDED_MISSING%40gmr-mx.google.com >>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/azores/5df123e9.1c69fb81.d95bd.189cSMTPIN_ADDED_MISSING%40gmr-mx.google.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>>> . >>>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "Azores Genealogy" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>> an email to azores+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>> To view this discussion on the web visit >>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/azores/CAKUUw_EOPEMy-d5HVcYDOrZwwYz8HGsqZzK8vscJY6kx6LVv%2Bw%40mail.gmail.com >>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/azores/CAKUUw_EOPEMy-d5HVcYDOrZwwYz8HGsqZzK8vscJY6kx6LVv%2Bw%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>> . >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "Azores Genealogy" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>> an email to azores+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>> To view this discussion on the web visit >>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/azores/42FFF218-6E25-4F47-B119-DB12942C0476%40gmail.com >>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/azores/42FFF218-6E25-4F47-B119-DB12942C0476%40gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>> . >>> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "Azores Genealogy" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to azores+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> > To view this discussion on the web visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/azores/CAJ7050sezoL%2BonRv2FyndLEav6KAb9x0DEUryY2vOfW755%2B-ng%40mail.gmail.com >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/azores/CAJ7050sezoL%2BonRv2FyndLEav6KAb9x0DEUryY2vOfW755%2B-ng%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Azores Genealogy" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to azores+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/azores/CAJyL4ejcg47WnpOwKzochE-yHcMo63gwX%3DVZOgbBpNiS8pi-Rg%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/azores/CAJyL4ejcg47WnpOwKzochE-yHcMo63gwX%3DVZOgbBpNiS8pi-Rg%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Azores Genealogy" group. 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