Fees may rise 500% for some genealogy records in the USA

From CNN: The cost of getting genealogical records from the government could go up nearly 500%. An effort is underway to stop that.

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the agency that oversees the country's immigration and naturalization system, has proposed significantly increasing fees for a number of applications and documents, including historical records of deceased immigrants who came to the United States between the late-19th and mid-20th centuries.

In some cases, the proposed fees would amount to an increase of nearly 500% -- making what was once a relatively affordable process out of reach for many people.

A group of genealogists, historians and records-access advocates is organizing a public campaign to persuade the USCIS not to hike the fees.