It would make it impossible for most average people to access” the files, said Rich Venezia, a Pittsburgh-based professional genealogist who teaches courses on how to obtain the USCIS records. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials declined to explain exactly how they arrived at the new fee amounts. ADThese amateur genealogists and their professional counterparts extol the value of the USCIS files in unraveling family histories and, in some cases, revealing long-buried secrets. Much more consequentially, Mendelsohn said, she never would have known her great-grandmother’s hometown were it not for a USCIS file she obtained in 2018. The USCIS file contained a photograph of the colleague’s grandfather as a young man that is now treasured by the whole family.

Source: Washington Post December 05, 2019 23:02 UTC