Government sued over citizenship delays

[Ban Hammer 13,151]

SAN FRANCISCO - Eight immigrants who have waited years for their citizenship applications to clear tougher post-9/11 background checks claim in a lawsuit filed Thursday that the delays violate their constitutional rights of due process.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco and names the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security among the defendants. It seeks to enforce regulations in which the federal government must act on a citizenship application within 120 days of the applicant's interview.

The eight immigrants cleared traditional criminal background checks and other requirements only to see their applications bogged down by federal immigration officials' process of checking names against an FBI database, the plaintiffs' attorneys said.

"The system is broken, and it's time to fix it," said Maya Harris, executive director of American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of the eight immigrants. Also named as plaintiffs are the Asian Law Caucus and the Council on American-Islamic Relations, San Francisco Bay Area Chapter.

The name checks were adopted before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, but only after the attacks did every application go through the process, said Christopher Bentley, spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The majority of the 35 million background checks the agency runs every year are cleared within nine months, Bentley said. The others require more research and can take years, he said.

Calls to the FBI were not immediately returned.

Bentley defended the rigorous background checks as vital to national security.

"The American public expects that as an agency we won't grant a benefit such as citizenship to someone who is not qualified," he said. "We will not and do not grant any benefits until all background security clearances have been resolved."

One plaintiff, Sana Jalili of Pakistan, applied for citizenship in December 2003. She gave her fingerprints, passed a criminal background check and completed the final interview in September 2004.

Jalili, 26, said she was told she would be naturalized in three months, at most. She's waited almost three years with no conclusion.

"We are continuously told the same message, that my name has gone for a background check," she said. "But how long does it take to complete a simple background check?"

Cecillia D. Wang, senior attorney with the ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project, said a faster approval process would improve national security.

"If there are lawful permanent residents who pose a security risk, the government should discover that quickly and get to the bottom of any possible problems," Wang said.

Three other lawsuits are pending around the country asking the government to act on citizenship applications within 120 days of the last interview.

Immigration officials now conduct name checks before interviews, following the letter of the law but violating applicants' due process rights, said Sin Yen Ling, staff attorney with the Asian Law Caucus.

The suit asks for a time limit for name checks and a speedy review of the plaintiffs' own applications.

link

[YuAndDan 153]

I posted that one December 21

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=47094

Sounds like judges are starting to dismiss some of those cases.

[Ban Hammer 13,151]

I posted that one December 21

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=47094

Sounds like judges are starting to dismiss some of those cases.

ah ####### yahoo is recycling news

[rebeccajo 14]

No Dan they haven't started dismissing them.....yet.

They are attempting to modify the CFR so that suits can be quashed.

http://frwebgate4.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/w...action=retrieve

[YuAndDan 153]

I posted that one December 21

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=47094

Sounds like judges are starting to dismiss some of those cases.

ah ####### yahoo is recycling news

Yes bust I guess reposting it gets the ones who did not see the older posts to read them. This is a very good one to recycle from time to time.

[Reba 2]

what I don't get is these people have all been through the background checks already when they got their green card, and whatever other visas that got them into the country in the first place. So why should it take several years to complete the background check the second, or third time around? If they had offended, then it would likely have been right here in the US and the checks should be rather routine.

We all know the delays are a crock. There are people in this country who've been given green cards and student visas and spousal visas and citizenships who haven't been checked. How many people just here at VJ have received their green cards without an interview? How many others outside of VJ are there? How many people who apply for citizenship get it within months, rather than years?

[Fandango 1,439]

"If there are lawful permanent residents who pose a security risk, the government should discover that quickly and get to the bottom of any possible problems," Wang said.

totally agreed!

[rebeccajo 14]

OK, looks like the link I posted earlier is blank. Here's that proposed change to the CFR I alluded to above.

[December 11, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 237)]

[unified Agenda]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [frwais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:ua11de06_009-66]

[Page 73306]

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Final Rule Stage

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

_______________________________________________________________________

1306. WITHHOLDING OF ADJUDICATION

Priority: Other Significant

Legal Authority: 8 USC 552; 8 USC 552a; 8 USC 1101; 8 USC 1103; 8 USC

1304; 8 USC 1356; 8 USC 1421; 8 USC 1443; 8 USC 1447; . . .

CFR Citation: 8 CFR 103; 8 CFR 208; 8 CFR 310; 8 CFR 335; 8 CFR 336

Legal Deadline: None

Abstract: This interim rule codifies the Secretary of Homeland

Security's current discretionary authority, as delegated to the

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) directors, to manage the caseload

of pending requests for immigration benefits in districts or regions

over which the directors have jurisdiction. A component of this case

management authority is the ability to withhold adjudication of any

pending application or petition, particularly when an investigation is

ongoing and background and security checks are still pending

completion. This interim rule expands the circumstances under which DHS

may withhold adjudication or toll any applicable regulatory deadline

for completion of adjudication of an application or petition. This

interim rule also modifies the regulations governing processing of

naturalization applications to define when a naturalization examination

will be deemed ``conducted'' for purposes of seeking administrative or

judicial review under section 336 of the Immigration and Nationality

Act (Act). The interim rule also requires that background and security

checks be completed to the satisfaction of the Secretary before an

alien may be found to have ``good moral character'' for naturalization

and before the alien may be naturalized in accordance with title III of

the Act. These changes will aid DHS in its efforts to improve case

adjudication overall while simultaneously ensuring that no immigration

or naturalization benefit is granted until any pending investigation or

required background and security check is completed to the satisfaction

of the Secretary. These changes also will ensure that no immigration

benefit is provided to an ineligible individual or person who may pose

a threat to public safety or national security.

Timetable:

________________________________________________________________________

Action Date FR Cite

________________________________________________________________________

Interim Final Rule 01/00/07

Interim Final Rule Comment

Period End 03/00/07

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: No

Small Entities Affected: No

Government Levels Affected: None

Additional Information: CIS No. 2234-02

Transferred from RIN 1115-AG86

Agency Contact: Alice J. Smith, Chief Counsel, Department of Homeland

Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 20 Massachusetts

Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20536

Phone: 202 272-1418

RIN: 1615-AA86

[Kathryn41 3,205]

If they haven't 'found' anything yet after 3 years of searchingand researching, do you think someone might actually come up with the novel idea that it is because there isn't anything to find? Enough already - if these people were a threat they would have been arrested and rounded up and deported already. "Gee, I think that person has a funny name, I wonder if I can find a reason not to let him stay in the country . . . no? Well, keep looking!" just doesn't pass muster.