Naturalization Update ** First Quarter, FY 1999

In the first quarter of fiscal year (FY) 1999, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) has been making steady progress in the number of naturalization applications completed. Although the agency continues to encounter a number of problems related to re-engineering the entire naturalization process, this encouraging growth in production indicates that INS is beginning to see positive outcomes as a result of its diligent efforts.

Background

Rebuilding the naturalization system is the Immigration and Naturalization Service's (INS's) top priority. The agency's focus has been, and will continue to be, improving customer service while ensuring process integrity. To that end, the INS has laid the groundwork over the past year for significant changes to the naturalization process.

First, the agency began by restoring the integrity of the system by requiring in house fingerprinting of applicants and opening more than 100 INS fingerprinting sites across the country to accommodate the requirement, Naturalization quality procedures were implemented along with appropriate oversight provisions to further ensure integrity. An outside auditor, KPMG Peat Marwick, has validated the success of INS' quality assurance procedures.

Having strengthened the integrity of the program, INS has begun its efforts to provide better service to customers by implementing a direct mail program to improve efficiency, installing new technology to ensure consistency, hiring more adjudicators, and developing strategies for dealing with the backlog.

Productivity

As a result of these efforts, the agency is beginning to show steady improvement in productivity during the first quarter of fiscal year (FY) 1999. Preliminary data indicates that the agency completed 238,067 naturalization applications during the first quarter of FY 1999. This is a 97 percent increase over the same time period last year (120,838 completions during first quarter, FY 1998) and a 16 percent increase over last quarter (204,774 completions during fourth quarter, FY 1998).

Other signs that INS is improving naturalization processing include:

• An increasingly larger number of applicants are clearing a critical naturalization processing stage ** fingerprinting.

• Applicant fingerprinting increased 62 percent** from 97,000 in August 1998 to 157,000 in November 1998.

Fingerprint rejection rates fell from 14.3 percent for FY 1998 to 6.7 percent for the first quarter of FY 1999 ** resulting in fewer processing delays for our customers.

• A 32 percent increase in the number of naturalization interviews conducted in the five biggest offices which account for 65 percent of cases nationwide ** from 41,343 in August 1998 to 54,448 in December 1998.

While this upward trend is encouraging, INS continues to encounter unexpected production problems, The agency has been working diligently to identify the causes of these problems and to tackle them promptly, but it has taken somewhat longer than anticipated to solve them. Some of these include:

• High Turnover of Temporary Staff ** Several offices are experiencing difficulty hiring and retaining temporary employees. To help solve this problem INS is deploying 200 adjudicators in cities with the largest pending caseloads (see next section, "New Resources"). In addition, the agency is identifying possible causes for high turnover rates.

• Technology Issues ** There have been system and interface problems with automated systems, most of which have been resolved. For example, while the mandatory fingerprint background check process with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is working well, cases were not scheduled for interviews due to interface problems with other biographical information checks. Interface was successfully established in November. In addition, the learning curve for new technology has been especially difficult in certain areas and has resulted in productivity losses.

First quarter data shows that INS is making progress and gives the agency confidence to believe that if application receipts remain steady at a projected rate of 700,000 per year, INS will be able to cut average processing times from 23 months to approximately 12 months by the end of this fiscal year, and further reduce them to approximately 6 months by the end of FY 2000.

New Resources

The naturalization program received a major boost when Congress approved and President Clinton signed, as part of INS' $3.96 billion budget for FY 1999, the full $171 million reprogramming request to support naturalization activities plus an additional $5 million for records initiatives. The funding includes existing INS and Department of Justice funds and, for the first time, $60 million in appropriated resources. It will provide the following major enhancements to the naturalization program:

• Hiring 200 term adjudicators who will be deployed in the following areas to augment the completion of naturalization applications: Chicago *15; Los Angeles * 56; Miami * 25; New York City * 40; San Francisco * 35; Boston * 11; Dallas * 8; and Houston * 10.

• Hiring 100 Immigration Information Officers who will be deployed at INS Service Centers to expedite application processing by ensuring that naturalization applications are complete before they are forwarded to District Offices for adjudication: California Service Center * 38; Nebraska Service Center * 14; Texas Service Center * 15; and Vermont Service Center *33.

• Developing a national telephone customer service center to answer questions about eligibility for citizenship and other benefits, application procedures, and individual case status; and Centralizing INS' 25 million paper files that are currently located in 80 offices throughout the country. This will expedite application processing by cutting file retrieval time from weeks, and even months, to a matter of a few days.

In addition, naturalization application fees will increase from $95 to $225 on January 15, 1999. Federal guidelines require INS to review fees every two years and to charge the full cost of processing applications. This new fee for citizenship, as well as the new fees for other immigration benefits which became effective on October 13, 1998, are based on a comprehensive fee study INS completed two years ago in cooperation with a private consultant. The new fees will enable the agency to recoup the actual cost of processing immigration applications.

Both the vital funding received and the application fee increase will help INS continue to move ahead to provide better service for naturalization applicants. New national customer service initiatives include the "Guide to Naturalization."

"Guide to Naturalization"

To better inform naturalization applicants about the naturalization process and improve customer service, in late December INS published a "Guide to Naturalization." The Guide helps potential applicants determine whether they are eligible for naturalization and answers some of the most frequently asked questions. The new publication will be sent out with requests for an Application for Naturalization (Form N-400). It is also available at information counters at INS offices, through the INS Forms Line (1-800-870-3676), and will be available on the INS Internet site (www.ina.usdoj.gov) by the end of this week.

Informed applicants who understand naturalization requirements and procedures will help promote faster application processing and more efficient use of INS resources. Moreover, the Guide's eligibility worksheet will help potential applicants determine whether they meet the basic eligibility criteria and spare them the time and expense of applying unnecessarily. Also, the comprehensive information presented in the Guide may help provide some protection against the false promises of fraudulent immigration practitioners.

To reduce application processing delays caused by insufficient documentation, the Guide also includes a checklist of the documents applicants may need to send with their Form N-400 or to make available to INS at the time of interview. The checklist does not impose new filing requirements on applicants. It is designed to provide applicants with advance notice and adequate time to obtain documents that are necessary for INS to make a prompt decision on their applications.

During the next six months, INS will be tracking changes to naturalization policies and procedures, seeking feedback on the Guide both from users, (via a postage-paid survey card included in the Guide) and immigrant advocacy groups, and revise the Guide as necessary. When the update is completed, INS plans to translate the Guide into several languages.