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CITIZENSHIP
U.S. citizenship is an integral part of the democratic process, by which millions of
immigrants have secured greater rights and accepted their civic responsibilities. U.S.
citizenship carries many benefits, including the rights to vote and hold public office;
the possession of a U.S. passport; the right to leave an re-enter the United States
freely;protection against removal; greater access to employment and educational
opportunities, and the ability to expedite admission of family members to the United
States.
The rights and responsibilities that accompany naturalization allow immigrants
to participate fully in our constitutional democracy and society. The naturalization
process should serve as a model democratic process for our country's newest
members. Despite the importance of the naturalization process, several factors
contribute to making it a frustrating and inaccessible one. These factors include poor
customer service, increased application fees, processing backlogs, improper
naturalization denials, and efforts to revise the naturalization test which will make it
more difficult for vulnerable immigrants, such as elderly or those with limited
education, to pass.
Poor Customer Service
The inability of applicants and their legal representatives to obtain information about
the status of an application aggravates the naturalization process. U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration Services (USCIS) rarely responds to written inquiries requesting
information about the status of a case. Although USCIS has implemented an on-line
case status system, the system does not always provide detailed information about
the reason for the processing delay. Moreover, the on-line system is not accessible
to many low-income immigrants who do not have access to a computer or know how
to use one. As a result, applicants often resort to making personal inquires at a USCIS
office to determine the status of a case, where they are subject to long lines and
waits of multiple hours.
Processing Backlogs
Despite President Bush's pledge to reduce naturalization processing backlogs to six
months, the backlog has increased. At the end of fiscal year 2003, USCIS reported
that the average naturalization processing time was 14 months, up three months from
March 2003. Furthermore, once an application is approved, there is an additional
waiting period to be scheduled for an oath ceremony. The waiting period varies from
district to district, averaging approximately two to three months. The naturalization
process is not complete until an applicant takes the oath ceremony after which he or
she receives a naturalization certificate. See Immigration Processing Delays for more
information.
Increased Application Fees
Naturalization processing is supposed to be supported entirely by application fees.
After the former INS conducted an internal audit and discovered that naturalization
fees do not entirely support the process, the fee was more than doubled. In 1999,
despite nearly 1,300 public comments opposing the fee increase, the naturalization
fee was increased from $95 to $225. Since that time the fee has increased again to
$260.
Applicants must also pay an additional $50 fingerprinting fee. 1 A total of $310 per
application has proven a prohibitive amount for many people on fixed or low incomes.
2 Many individuals are forced to borrow and save for months before they are able to
file. Others postpone or simply give up on applying for citizenship. Although USCIS
has broad discretion to waive any application filing fee if the applicant establishes
that he or she is unable to pay the fee, fee waiver guidance is not consistently
followed, and there is significant variation among USCIS local district and service
center offices in grants of fee waivers.
Improper Naturalization Denials
In order to become a U.S. citizen through naturalization, a person must demonstrate
that he or she has been a person of good moral character during the required period
of residence. Good moral character is not defined in the law. The law only contains a
list of conduct, acts, attributes, and characteristics that preclude a finding of good
moral character. As a result, the discretionary judgment of good moral character has
been subject to abuse. Hundreds of persons have had naturalization applications
denied due to lack of good moral character for things as simple as inadvertent and
innocent omissions of information on the naturalization application.
Naturalization Test Revisions
According to regulations, applicants for naturalization must "demonstrate an
understanding of the English language, including an ability to read, write, and speak
words in ordinary usage in the English language. 3 The law also requires applicants
to pass a test on U.S. history and government. However, in evaluating responses,
USCIS must give due consideration to several factors including the applicant's
education, background, age, length of residence in the United States, and efforts to
acquire the knowledge necessary to pass the test. USCIS is required to adjust the
difficulty of the test based on these factors.
In the past, the government has been criticized for failing to administer the
naturalization test with fairness and uniformity. These criticisms led the USCIS to
revise the citizenship test. The new test is not expected to be implemented until 2006.
However, initial revisions to the test that is being administered to participants in a pilot
project include changes in the scope, content, format and methodology. The revised
test is longer and more complex than the current test, with 30 multiple choice
questions on history and civics, 16 multiple choice questions on reading
comprehension, two writing tasks and four speaking tasks. This is a significant
departure from the current test, which involves ten history and civics questions, one
dictation sentence, and the reading of several sentences at the elementary literacy
level.
Solutions
The integrity and accessibility of the naturalization process must be restored. USCIS
must be given adequate funding to reduce the naturalization backlog to the six-month
goal set by President Bush. Application fees should not be increased, as any
additional increases will deter even more low-income residents from applying.
Congress should appropriate more money in order to avoid any future increases in
the application fee.
The revised test must be carefully constructed so that it does not raise the bar to the
point that it precludes the elderly, those who are low-literate, or individuals with
limited educational backgrounds from becoming U.S. citizens. Revised naturalization
testing methods must remain flexible enough to accommodate applicants with special
needs. USCIS officers must give adequate consideration for age, education,
background, and other factors when administering the test.4
footnotes
1. Proposed regulations, which are expected to be implemented in the spring of 2004,
would increase the naturalization application fee to $320. The fingerprint fee would
increase to $70.
2. See CLINIC, "Citizenship at Risk: New Obstacles to Naturalization," (2000) at p. 12.
3. 8 CFR § 312.1
4. Principles for the Redesign of the Naturalization Test.
U.S. citizenship is an integral part of the democratic process, by which millions of
immigrants have secured greater rights and accepted their civic responsibilities. U.S.
citizenship carries many benefits, including the rights to vote and hold public office;
the possession of a U.S. passport; the right to leave an re-enter the United States
freely;protection against removal; greater access to employment and educational
opportunities, and the ability to expedite admission of family members to the United
States.
The rights and responsibilities that accompany naturalization allow immigrants
to participate fully in our constitutional democracy and society. The naturalization
process should serve as a model democratic process for our country's newest
members. Despite the importance of the naturalization process, several factors
contribute to making it a frustrating and inaccessible one. These factors include poor
customer service, increased application fees, processing backlogs, improper
naturalization denials, and efforts to revise the naturalization test which will make it
more difficult for vulnerable immigrants, such as elderly or those with limited
education, to pass.
Poor Customer Service
The inability of applicants and their legal representatives to obtain information about
the status of an application aggravates the naturalization process. U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration Services (USCIS) rarely responds to written inquiries requesting
information about the status of a case. Although USCIS has implemented an on-line
case status system, the system does not always provide detailed information about
the reason for the processing delay. Moreover, the on-line system is not accessible
to many low-income immigrants who do not have access to a computer or know how
to use one. As a result, applicants often resort to making personal inquires at a USCIS
office to determine the status of a case, where they are subject to long lines and
waits of multiple hours.
Processing Backlogs
Despite President Bush's pledge to reduce naturalization processing backlogs to six
months, the backlog has increased. At the end of fiscal year 2003, USCIS reported
that the average naturalization processing time was 14 months, up three months from
March 2003. Furthermore, once an application is approved, there is an additional
waiting period to be scheduled for an oath ceremony. The waiting period varies from
district to district, averaging approximately two to three months. The naturalization
process is not complete until an applicant takes the oath ceremony after which he or
she receives a naturalization certificate. See Immigration Processing Delays for more
information.
Increased Application Fees
Naturalization processing is supposed to be supported entirely by application fees.
After the former INS conducted an internal audit and discovered that naturalization
fees do not entirely support the process, the fee was more than doubled. In 1999,
despite nearly 1,300 public comments opposing the fee increase, the naturalization
fee was increased from $95 to $225. Since that time the fee has increased again to
$260.
Applicants must also pay an additional $50 fingerprinting fee. 1 A total of $310 per
application has proven a prohibitive amount for many people on fixed or low incomes.
2 Many individuals are forced to borrow and save for months before they are able to
file. Others postpone or simply give up on applying for citizenship. Although USCIS
has broad discretion to waive any application filing fee if the applicant establishes
that he or she is unable to pay the fee, fee waiver guidance is not consistently
followed, and there is significant variation among USCIS local district and service
center offices in grants of fee waivers.
Improper Naturalization Denials
In order to become a U.S. citizen through naturalization, a person must demonstrate
that he or she has been a person of good moral character during the required period
of residence. Good moral character is not defined in the law. The law only contains a
list of conduct, acts, attributes, and characteristics that preclude a finding of good
moral character. As a result, the discretionary judgment of good moral character has
been subject to abuse. Hundreds of persons have had naturalization applications
denied due to lack of good moral character for things as simple as inadvertent and
innocent omissions of information on the naturalization application.
Naturalization Test Revisions
According to regulations, applicants for naturalization must "demonstrate an
understanding of the English language, including an ability to read, write, and speak
words in ordinary usage in the English language. 3 The law also requires applicants
to pass a test on U.S. history and government. However, in evaluating responses,
USCIS must give due consideration to several factors including the applicant's
education, background, age, length of residence in the United States, and efforts to
acquire the knowledge necessary to pass the test. USCIS is required to adjust the
difficulty of the test based on these factors.
In the past, the government has been criticized for failing to administer the
naturalization test with fairness and uniformity. These criticisms led the USCIS to
revise the citizenship test. The new test is not expected to be implemented until 2006.
However, initial revisions to the test that is being administered to participants in a pilot
project include changes in the scope, content, format and methodology. The revised
test is longer and more complex than the current test, with 30 multiple choice
questions on history and civics, 16 multiple choice questions on reading
comprehension, two writing tasks and four speaking tasks. This is a significant
departure from the current test, which involves ten history and civics questions, one
dictation sentence, and the reading of several sentences at the elementary literacy
level.
Solutions
The integrity and accessibility of the naturalization process must be restored. USCIS
must be given adequate funding to reduce the naturalization backlog to the six-month
goal set by President Bush. Application fees should not be increased, as any
additional increases will deter even more low-income residents from applying.
Congress should appropriate more money in order to avoid any future increases in
the application fee.
The revised test must be carefully constructed so that it does not raise the bar to the
point that it precludes the elderly, those who are low-literate, or individuals with
limited educational backgrounds from becoming U.S. citizens. Revised naturalization
testing methods must remain flexible enough to accommodate applicants with special
needs. USCIS officers must give adequate consideration for age, education,
background, and other factors when administering the test.4
footnotes
1. Proposed regulations, which are expected to be implemented in the spring of 2004,
would increase the naturalization application fee to $320. The fingerprint fee would
increase to $70.
2. See CLINIC, "Citizenship at Risk: New Obstacles to Naturalization," (2000) at p. 12.
3. 8 CFR § 312.1
4. Principles for the Redesign of the Naturalization Test.
415 Michigan Ave., NE
Suite 150
Washington, DC 20017
202.635.2556
202.635.2649 fax
media inquiries:
e-mail me
(202) 635-5810
Suite 150
Washington, DC 20017
202.635.2556
202.635.2649 fax
media inquiries:
e-mail me
(202) 635-5810
Advocacy Topics
Alternatives to Detention
Asylees and Refugees
Asylum-Seekers
Barriers to Family Reunification
Board of Immigration Appeals
Border Enforcement and Immigrant
Deaths
Citizenship
Consular Identification Documents
Detention
Department of Homeland Security
Driver's License Restrictions
Immigration Processing Delays
Indefinite Detention
Legalization
Local Law Enforcement
Mandatory Detention
National Security and Immigration
Unaccompanied Minors
Undocumented Immigrants:
State/Local Initiatives
Video Conferencing
Voter Registration
Alternatives to Detention
Asylees and Refugees
Asylum-Seekers
Barriers to Family Reunification
Board of Immigration Appeals
Border Enforcement and Immigrant
Deaths
Citizenship
Consular Identification Documents
Detention
Department of Homeland Security
Driver's License Restrictions
Immigration Processing Delays
Indefinite Detention
Legalization
Local Law Enforcement
Mandatory Detention
National Security and Immigration
Unaccompanied Minors
Undocumented Immigrants:
State/Local Initiatives
Video Conferencing
Voter Registration
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