Keiko and all;
Halkhave from AOL posted this:
Subj: INS Announces New Naturalization Process and Fingerprint Policy To Ensure Integr
Date: 97-11-14 20:40:26 EST
From: AOL News
BCC: Halkhave
WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- With passage of the 1998 Department of
Justice Appropriations bill late yesterday, the Immigration and Naturalization
Service (INS) announced that once the President signs the bill it will receive
funding necessary to make critical improvements to the naturalization process.
These improvements will help guarantee the integrity of the citizenship
program, improve customer service, and ultimately reduce the backlog of
pending cases. One of the most important components of the improved process
is a new fingerprint policy.
According to INS Commissioner Doris Meissner, "The new funding Congress
has provided to continue building our infrastructure and change our
fingerprint process will make a dramatic difference in our ability to provide
better customer service and guarantee integrity in granting citizenship."
New Streamlined Fingerprinting Policy
Under the new system, naturalization applicants will be required to be
fingerprinted by INS after they have filed their applications, instead of
submitting fingerprints at the time they file. Under the existing system, INS
accepts fingerprints taken by Designated Fingerprint Service (DFS) entities
and by law enforcement agencies. The new policy will effectively terminate
INS' DFS program. Under the terms of the legislation, the new policy will
become effective seven days after being signed by the President.
Under the new policy, fingerprints for citizenship applications will now
be taken at INS fingerprinting centers, known as "Application Support Centers"
(ASCs). The first ASCs are scheduled to open in the coming weeks.
INS will contact citizenship applicants by mail after it receives their
applications. The letter designates a specific window of time in which
applicants should come in to an ASC to have their fingerprints taken.
By taking fingerprints in-house, INS will be better able to prevent fraud
and improve efficiency. The new procedures will help INS move toward its goal
of ensuring that biographical information about each applicant is captured
correctly, that the fingerprints are those of the applicant, and that the
prints are clear enough to be read by the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI).
Under the DFS system, the majority of fingerprints were rejected due to
incomplete or inaccurate biographical information or administrative errors.
As a result, many applicants required multiple reprinting, delaying the
completion of their FBI background checks. The new system will greatly reduce
inconvenience to applicants of having to retake their prints and it will
reduce the further delays caused by the need to have them resent to INS and
then on to the FBI.
The new fingerprinting process will not increase an applicant's waiting
time because the background check will be completed during the time the
applicant would normally wait for an interview to be scheduled. The new
procedures for processing fingerprints will reduce the turnaround period for
completing FBI background checks.
"These changes are important steps toward our goal of processing
applications in a timely fashion," Meissner said, "while also ensuring that
the background checks are complete. We know that in the last year, the
increasing number of citizenship applications, combined with the procedures we
put in place to ensure integrity, have slowed down the process. This has
caused some understandable frustration among the people we serve. We ask for
their continued patience as we make a transition to a better system."
New Fingerprinting Instructions for Individuals Applying For Other
Immigration Benefits
Applicants for benefits other than naturalization will be able to continue
to obtain fingerprints from law enforcement agencies that have registered with
the INS. In order to minimize the impact of the elimination of DFS services,
INS has signed up an additional 250 law enforcement agencies as fingerprint
sites in the last several weeks. Applicants for all benefits will eventually
be able to have their fingerprints taken by INS as the new ASCs open.
Application Support Centers in Immigrant Communities To Take Fingerprints
In the next several weeks, INS will begin to open Application Support
Centers in the six major metropolitan areas -- Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami,
Newark, N.J., New York and San Francisco -- that account for approximately 70
percent of citizenship applications. Over the course of the next several
months, INS plans to open more than 80 offices nationwide. It will choose
sites by taking into account the density of immigrant populations;
availability of public transportation, highways and parking; and accessibility
for people with disabilities. INS is now working with state and local
governments and community-based organizations to identify appropriate
locations.
The Application Support Centers will be staffed by contractors whose
function initially will be solely to take fingerprints. They will be hired
and trained by INS, cleared by the FBI, and overseen by INS personnel.
"In addition to improving integrity and efficiency, our focus at these
neighborhood-based fingerprint centers will be on providing better customer
service," Meissner said. "We will have weekend and evening hours to make the
services as convenient as possible."
INS aims to ensure that accessibility to fingerprint services is not
significantly diminished by the new fingerprint policy. It is establishing a
fleet of vans that will serve as mobile fingerprinting centers, in addition to
the permanent sites. The vans will make regularly scheduled visits to areas
not served by the Application Support Centers. INS plans to work with local
communities to arrange stops for homebound applicants, those in nursing homes,
and others with special needs. INS is also prepared to fill gaps in coverage
by supplementing mobile services with support from existing INS facilities and
law enforcement agencies.
According to Meissner, "We believe that we can provide sufficient coverage
throughout the country so that people who need to submit fingerprints to apply
for immigration benefits will be able to obtain fingerprinting services within
a reasonable distance of their homes."
Technology to Improve Fingerprinting
INS has developed and is now testing new systems for streamlining the
fingerprinting process, including:
* Electronic fingerprint machines that will help to reduce errors in
printing that occur manually; and
* Bar codes on fingerprint cards and applications that ensure the results
of FBI background checks are correctly linked to applications; use of
the bar codes also will reduce the number of cases delayed by manual
data entry errors.
Restructuring the Process Using Automation and Standardization
In addition to the new, streamlined fingerprint process, new
infrastructure and technology will help improve the integrity of the
naturalization application process and make it more efficient.
* Up-to-date computer systems in all offices that handle naturalization
applications by the end of December. Six months ago, half of the
offices handling naturalization applications lacked adequate computer
systems.
* New CLAIMS 4.0 software to process all naturalization applications.
This software program has been designed to ensure consistency and
includes checks and balances that prevent applications from moving
forward before all of the necessary steps have been completed,
including the FBI background check. This software will generate
receipts for applicants and will make it possible for INS to implement
a variety of methods for applicants to obtain information on demand
about the status of their cases.
* Expansion of direct mail, under which an application is sent directly
to one of INS' highly automated Service Centers for clerical
processing, allowing INS district offices to focus on conducting
interviews.
Backlog Reduction
In addition to various technological and process improvements, INS is
taking a number of critical steps to reduce the backlog of pending citizenship
applications.
INS is now developing individualized backlog reduction plans for each of
its district offices. The plans, which will be completed by December 31,
involve analyzing critical problems and redirecting resources as needed to
resolve those problems. The new legislation also provides funds to INS to
hire additional staff to help address the backlog.
Meissner said that despite the growing backlogs in pending naturalization
cases and the new supervisory checks that were instituted to ensure integrity
in the citizenship process, the agency had actually completed more than
700,000 cases in fiscal year 1997 -- a larger number than in any previous year
except 1996.
Background
By 1996, INS was faced with an unprecedented increase in citizenship
applications. Receipts historically at the 300,000 level annually had risen
to more than 1.2 million in 1996. INS became aware that its systems did not
permit the agency to be certain that each applicant's FBI background check had
been completed prior to INS granting citizenship. An INS' review overseen by
KPMG Peat Marwick, an outside auditing firm, of the 1.049 million
naturalizations granted between August 1995 and September 1996 found that
approximately 6,000 cases required further review to determine if revocation
is appropriate. INS has identified approximately 300 cases who appear to have
disqualifying felony convictions and is reviewing the remaining 5,700 cases
for potential misrepresentations or other disqualifying conditions.
INS received more than 1.6 million citizenship applications in the fiscal
year ended September 30, 1997, an increase of 34 percent over 1996.
Section 245(i) Adjustment of Status
Section 245(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act allows eligible
aliens who have a current immigrant visa number available but who are
unlawfully in the United States to remain and adjust their status on payment
of a $1,000 penalty. This section of law was scheduled to terminate on
Friday, November 14, 1997. However, yesterday Congress passed an extension of
eligibility for certain aliens, as part of the FY-98 Commerce-Justice-State
Appropriations Bill.
Specifically, adjustment of status under section 245(i) will continue to
be available to aliens whose sponsors have filed an immigrant visa petition
with INS, or an application for labor certification in accordance with
Department of Labor regulations, by January 14, 1998. This means that the
filing of a visa petition or an application for labor certification may
preserve an individual's eligibility to apply for adjustment of status in the
future.
In addition, certain persons seeking an employment-based visa who are visa
overstays or worked illegally for 180 days or less may be eligible to adjust
status under another provision of law, section 245(a), which does not require
payment of a $1,000 penalty. This provision will apply to the first, second,
third employment-based preference categories and religious workers under the
fourth employment-based preference category.
INS is accepting immigrant visa petitions -- as well as applications for
section 245(i) adjustment of status -- at any INS District Office or Service
Center through close of business Friday, November 14, 1997. However, after
November 14, INS will return to normal operating procedures. Individuals
should follow the instructions specified on INS forms and file their
applications at appropriate locations.
A continuing resolution is in place which extends section 245(i) until
President Clinton signs the FY-98 Commerce-Justice-State Appropriations Bill
into law. |
