September 12, 2008

Update on FBI Name Checks and Naturalization Processing

The Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a press release reporting a significant decline in the number of pending FBI name checks and reduced processing time for pending naturalization cases, attributing the decline to recent increased funding from Congress. For example, the statistics report that as of May 6, 2008, there were 269,943 pending name checks whereas on August 12, 2008, there were only 95,449 pending. This is good news as the slow processing of FBI name checks had seriously delayed the approval of naturalization applications for thousands of applicants. With respect to processing times for naturalization cases, the USCIS Ombudsmen reports that processing times are projected to be close to 10 to 12 months by the end of September.

The DHS press release can be viewed at http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1220993097713.shtm.