By: Alison Roush, Constituent Services Representative

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has been working diligently within the last six months to decrease the naturalization case processing times. The backlog of naturalization cases happened last summer due to application fee increases. The surge of applications during June, July, and August of last year totaled nearly three million, compared to1.8 million filings during the same time period in 2006.

This historical surge in naturalization applications for the USCIS has significantly increased the average processing times for these cases. Although there are differences in local USCIS offices, the average processing time that was once a 6 to 9 month wait is now projected to be at least 13 to 15 months. Note that this is an average wait time. Constituents who have contacted our office on behalf of loved ones have been waiting for up to three years for their husbands, wives, or children to become citizens of the United States.

What is taking so long? In an effort to strengthen national security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) conducts a “name check” on each and every naturalization applicant. Their goal by June of 2009 is to complete 98 percent of all name checks within 30 days, and the remaining two percent, which are the most difficult and take the most time to complete, within 90 days. However, as it stands now, there are still name checks pending more than three years.

A joint plan between the FBI and the USCIS will focus on resolving the oldest pending FBI name checks first. The following table was published by the USCIS as completion goals for processing name checks:

Our office understands that seeking more detailed information on the status of your pending immigration application from the USCIS can be a difficult process. Whether your case is naturalization or a change of status, our office can inquire more specifically on your behalf as to the status of your application, any additional information USCIS needs, or what additional steps need to be taken to complete the process.