Naturalization Backlogs

U.S. war veteran Abdool Habibullah is a Guyanese immigrant who has been waiting over 3 years for his naturalization application to be approved.  He first applied to become a citizen after his return from Iraq and honorable discharge as a sergeant in the United States Marine Corps.  “I’ve pretty much given up on finding out where my paperwork is, what’s gone wrong, what happened to it.  If what I’ve done for this country isn’t enough for me to be a citizen, then I don’t know what is.”  [After the War, a New Battle to Become Citizens, N.Y. Times, Feb. 24, 2008]

Yousuf emigrated from Pakistan 17 years ago and passed the citizenship exam in 2002 – yet he is still waiting to have his naturalization application approved. Federal law requires that the government make a decision on the application within 120 days of passing the exam. However, since 9/11, Muslim and Middle Eastern immigrants have experienced unexplained and lengthy delays in the processing of their immigration applications. South Asian American Leaders of Tomorrow, Immigration Reform and the South Asian Community: Myths and Realities, Sept. 2007.

  • Backlogs in the naturalization process have forced applicants to wait for long periods of time to become citizens.  In November 2007, USCIS announced that the average processing time for naturalization applications was 16-18 months.1 As of February 2008, USCIS had a backlog of nearly 1 million naturalization applications.2
  • The backlog is due to the inability of USCIS to process the applications received, which doubled in number from 2006 to 2007.  This increase was caused in large part by the increase in naturalization application fees from $330 to $595, which led many to submit their applications before the fee increase went into effect in July 2007.
  • USCIS justified the fee increase on the basis of achieving a 20% efficiency improvement in processing times for processing naturalization applications, but the lack of preparedness by the agency to handle the increase in applications has only lengthened processing times far in excess of the 6-month wait time recommended by Congress.3
  • Another major reason for the backlog is the need for applicants to pass a FBI name check, which USCIS requires before allowing an applicant to naturalize.  If an applicant’s name matches one in FBI files, the applicant’s file goes through a highly inefficient and decentralized process of review and verification.  It is not uncommon for name checks to be pending for over a year.
  • The name checks are having a disproportionate effect on Muslim and South Asian applicants.  The selective investigation of men from Arab and Muslim countries after 9/11 has led such groups to be disproportionately represented in FBI databases, and the prevalence of certain common names and their many variations are causing a high number of name check “hits.”
  • The FBI name check, the scope of which was expanded in 2002, is part of an array of security checks that are part of the naturalization process.  But it is unclear if the name check has yielded additional information that the other security checks do not.  Its impact on national security is even more suspect considering most naturalization applicants are already living in the U.S.
  • Hundreds of thousands of individuals who applied well ahead of the November 2008 elections will be denied the opportunity to vote due to the lack of preparedness by DHS and USCIS to process their applications in a timely manner.  

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1 USCIS News Release, USCIS Updates Projected Naturalization Case Processing Time (Apr. 2, 2008).
2 USCIS, N-400, Application for Naturalization Fiscal Year 2008 (Feb. 29, 2008).
3 8 U.S.C. §1571(b) (“It is the sense of Congress that the processing of an immigration benefit application should be completed not later than 180 days after the initial filing of the application….”)
 

Discussion Questions

  1. Naturalization has a profound impact on the rights of immigrants, such as the right to vote. Should the government provide any minimum guarantees in the process, and if so, what should those be?
  2. Should the government guarantee that those applying for naturalization by a certain date will be able to register to vote in time for November elections? What type of resources should the government commit to the naturalization process?
  3. Is it acceptable for DHS/USCIS to treat different groups of people differently based on their race or ethnicity in the naturalization process?
  4. Delays due to name checks are happening to applicants who are law-abiding immigrants like Yousuf and even include war veterans like Abdool. Should the government allow the name check process to take more time than Congress has approved for the application process?
  5. What kind of effects do these naturalization delays have on immigrant communities (or even on your own families)?
  6. What should be done to hold USCIS or DHS accountable to the individuals who will not become citizens in time to vote?

Additional Resources

Organizations

American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee – www.adc.org
Asian American Justice Center – www.advancingequality.org
Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights – www.icirr.org
Muslim Public Affairs Council – www.mpac.org
South Asian Americans Leading Together – www.saalt.org

Government information

USCIS Naturalization Homepage, http://www.uscis.gov/naturalization. Provides an overview of the requirements that need to be met in order to become a citizen of the United States. Click on the ‘General Naturalization Requirements’ link on the right for additional details.

USCIS news releases concerning projected naturalization case processing time, http://www.uscis.gov/files/article/naturalization_processing_2apr08.pdf, http://www.uscis.gov/files/article/processing_update_042208.pdf

News article

FBI Name Check Cited in Naturalization Delays, Washington Post, June 17, 2007.