Part two...
Subject: INS
Date: Wed, Nov 26, 1997 17:55 EST
From: Halkhave
Message-id: <19971126225500.RAA04340@ladder02.news.aol.com>
Bill Enactment Launches New Naturalization Process and Fingerprint Procedures
WASHINGTON, Nov. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- President Clinton's signing today of the fiscal 1998 Department of Justice Appropriations bill will provide the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) with the 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 fingerprinting program.
According to INS Commissioner Doris Meissner, "The new funding Congress has provided to continue building our infrastructure and change our fingerprint procedures will make a dramatic difference in our ability to provide better customer service and guarantee integrity in granting citizenship."
New Streamlined Fingerprinting Procedures Under the existing system, INS accepted fingerprints taken by either the Service, Designated Fingerprint Services (DFS), or law enforcement agencies. Under the terms of the legislation, effective December 3, 1997, the Service can only accept fingerprints taken by the Service, registered law enforcement agencies, or United States consular or military offices abroad. A regulation will be issued shortly
that formally terminates the DFS program.
Under the new process, fingerprints for naturalization 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. Effective December 3, 1997, naturalization applicants will file their applications without a fingerprint card. INS will contact naturalization applicants by mail after it receives their applications. The notice will designate
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 procedures 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 should obtain fingerprints from state and local law enforcement agencies that are registering with INS. In order to minimize the impact of the elimination of DFS services, INS is registering an additional 250 law enforcement agencies as fingerprint sites. Eventually, applicants for all benefits will
be able to have their fingerprints taken by INS.
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 a total of 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 process. 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 naturalization applications.
INS is now developing individualized backlog reduction plans for each of its district offices. Nationwide 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. We have identified approximately 300 cases who appear to have disqualifying felony convictions and we are 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.
Fingerprinting Procedures for Immigration Benefits Other Than Naturalization
Background The President's signing of the 1998 Department of Justice Appropriations bill provides the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) with the funding necessary to make critical improvements to the naturalization process. One of the most important components of the improved process is a new fingerprint program.
Under the existing system, INS accepts fingerprints taken by either the Service, Designated Fingerprint Services (DFS), and law enforcement agencies. Under the terms of the legislation, effective December 3, 1997, the Service can only accept fingerprints taken by the Service, registered law enforcement agencies, or United States consular or military offices abroad. A regulation will be issued shortly that formally terminates the DFS program.
Effective December 3, 1997, naturalization applicants will file their applications without a fingerprint card and will be scheduled for a fingerprinting appointment at an Application Support Center (ASC) or other INS-designated location.
Procedures To Follow For Other Immigration Benefits Applicants for benefits other than naturalization should obtain fingerprints from state and local law enforcement agencies that are registering with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), and should submit their fingerprints with their benefit applications. In order to minimize the impact of the elimination of DFS services, INS is registering an additional 250 law enforcement
agencies as fingerprint sites. Eventually, applicants for all benefits will be able to be fingerprinted by INS.
A current list of law enforcement agencies registered with INS may be obtained at local INS offices.
-Hal
Subject: Y'all miss me
Date: Wed, Nov 26, 1997 18:43 EST
From: Brutusone
Message-id: <19971126234401.SAA10901@ladder01.news.aol.com>
admit it
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