Need To Revise Fees For Services Provided By The Immigration And Naturalization Service And United States Marshals

Why the Review Was Made

Under Government policy charges for services performed by Federal agencies of special benefit to individuals should be sufficient to recover the full cost of providing the services.

The General Accounting Office (GAO) was concerned with whether the fees charged by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and the United States marshals (USMs) for services provided to certain persons were sufficient to recover the full cost of providing these services.

Findings and Conclusions

Certain fees charged by INS for various services dealing with immigration and naturalization matters were insufficient to recover the cost of these services by about $2.8 million during fiscal year 1967. Certain other fees exceeded the cost of the services by about $2.2 million during the same period.

Public Law 90-609 of October 21, 1968, in effect, authorized the Attorney General to revise all the fees charged for INS services in accordance with the Government's general policy that services provided to or for any person shall be self-sustaining to the fullest extent possible. As of June 30, 1969, none of the fees had been revised.

Statutory fees charged by the USMs for serving processes (subpoenas, summonses, complaints, writs, and various other court order) for private litigants were insufficient--by about $470,000 during fiscal year 1968-to recover the costs incurred.

GAO believes that both these fees should be revised so that the revenue attained approximates the cost of providing the different services.

GAO found that the INS method of computing the cost of providing services for which fees are charged needs to be revised to comply with Bureau of the Budget Circular No. A-25, Revised. GAO's review showed that INS's computation of the costs applicable to the services provided in fiscal year 1967 were understated by about $200,000. The Department does not develop costs for USMs' activities.