Gonzalez Address to Congress Immigration Sub-Committee Hearing on Backlog

L

LolaLi

Active Member
Hi All,

I came across the transcript of Gonzalez's speech or briefing to the immigration sub-committee regarding the current backlog situation. I am upset about the fact that he insists - despite the hiring of 1500 new employees and the temporary use of 700 ex-employees - that it will take 2 years to process the current citizenship applications.

I am glad Congress has called hearings on the progress of the backlogs. I hope they follow up with guidelines/time lines and monetary appropriations for USCIS to bring down the backlog.

I am not sure things are looking good. Needless to say, I am in a very bad mood.
 
Yes this is very sad and depresing. This might have different impact based on DOs but one thing is sure that NYC folks are totally screwed. July 07 applicants may not get their interview letters before Dec '08. Those who filed later can hibernate till late '09.
 
This is the part frustrating to me (quoted below). ..Always preference to Employment based GCs over needs of citizens or prospective citizens. I lived 2 years apart from my wife and now when i applied for citizenship it took longer and even longer to petition for her.

"As we have reported, the average processing time
for naturalization applications has increased from the current average of seven months or
less to approximately 18 months. Family-based adjustment-of-status applications
increased from the current average of six months or less to 12 months. Our two-year
response plan will help us accomplish reducing processing times to six months by the
third quarter of Fiscal Year 2010."
 
newuscitizen said:
This is the part frustrating to me (quoted below). ..Always preference to Employment based GCs over needs of citizens or prospective citizens. I lived 2 years apart from my wife and now when i applied for citizenship it took longer and even longer to petition for her.

"As we have reported, the average processing time
for naturalization applications has increased from the current average of seven months or
less to approximately 18 months. Family-based adjustment-of-status applications
increased from the current average of six months or less to 12 months. Our two-year
response plan will help us accomplish reducing processing times to six months by the
third quarter of Fiscal Year 2010."
Click to expand...
You think that because family-based AOS are faster than naturalization that they are being given preference? Ever occurred to you that those applications may be simpler to process than naturalization (e.g. for I-485 they specifically exclude traffic violations, and don't require you to list every time you traveled outside the US), and that FB applicants have other steps like the I-130, thus making the total time often longer than 12 months? And EB applicants have to go through labor cert + I-140 in addition to AOS, which usually totals more than two years?
 
So it will take USCIS over 2 years to bring processing times down back to normal (6 months). By then, they will probably be ready to announce another round of fee increases and future applicants will go through the whole mess current applicants are facing again.
 
Once again, I understand the delay for Green Cards..you are letting a stranger sit in the country legally..
However, I do not understand the need to delay Naturalization applications this long since anyways, we have been here for 3 years at least and most of for 5+..
ABSOULUTELY illogical.
What is the point? Security? if we are terrorists or bad, we are here already legally and the delay gives those who have bad intentions more time to do what they want..

REDICULIOUS...
 
I wonder what exactly this 2 year response plan is. Suppose it really does take 18 months to process N-400s. This clearly means that while they are processing the current applications, the backlog will continue growing and growing and growing. At that rate, it'll eventually take several years to process N-400s, and that excludes the name check victims. 15+ years to become a citizen, anyone?
 
Vorpal said:
I wonder what exactly this 2 year response plan is. Suppose it really does take 18 months to process N-400s. This clearly means that while they are processing the current applications, the backlog will continue growing and growing and growing. At that rate, it'll eventually take several years to process N-400s, and that excludes the name check victims. 15+ years to become a citizen, anyone?
Click to expand...

The hilltop is July'07 applications. Once that is cleared all others will sail thru. The biggest question is how long July '07 will take.
 
Vik Pal said:
The hilltop is July'07 applications. Once that is cleared all others will sail thru. The biggest question is how long July '07 will take.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Consider the fact that it took nearly 3 months to issue receipts for applications received during the last week of July. My brain hurts even thinking about the possibility of waiting until 2009.
 
Thank you for posting that LolaLi.

It's depressing though. I was beginning to feel optimistic, seeing recently on the forum that one or two applicants are getting interview notification very quickly.

I'm still not clear whether the 18 month/2 year estimate is supposed to start from the date they received our N400s or the date they officially receipted them. Logically processing time doesn't start until the acknowledge receipt and pass the application on to be processed. So does the 4+ months I and many others waited for cheque cashing count for nothing at all?

Maybe some senator or official will press for further improvement. It appears that even after appointment of new staff and returning retirees, nothing much has changed in their estimates. Doesn't make much sense.
 
Here's my calculation based on VSC's Receipt processing time. VSC took 3 months to clear July 07 frontlog and then 2 months (Nov & Dec) to clear the rest and go current. Now if they want to get current by June '10 (6 months processing time) then they will take around 15 months to clear July 07 mountain and then 10 months to clear the rest and go current. Hence for folks with PD close to mine (7/28) I believe a heavily loaded DO like NYC, which may truly follow the average processing time as per USCIS, might process N-400 by March '09. Then the rest of the folks could see the daylight of approvals in Q3 and Q4 of FY'09 & Q1, Q2 of FY '10.

The only silver lining could be that for 99% cases the namecheck would already be in since it kicks in immediately at the time of FP. That again is just an opitmistic belief but who knows what may happen...
 
Vik Pal said:
Here's my calculation based on VSC's Receipt processing time. VSC took 3 months to clear July 07 frontlog and then 2 months (Nov & Dec) to clear the rest and go current. Now if they want to get current by June '10 (6 months processing time) then they will take around 15 months to clear July 07 mountain and then 10 months to clear the rest and go current. Hence for folks with PD close to mine (7/28) I believe a heavily loaded DO like NYC, which may truly follow the average processing time as per USCIS, might process N-400 by March '09. Then the rest of the folks could see the daylight of approvals in Q3 and Q4 of FY'09 & Q1, Q2 of FY '10.

The only silver lining could be that for 99% cases the namecheck would already be in since it kicks in immediately at the time of FP. That again is just an opitmistic belief but who knows what may happen...
Click to expand...

According to your estimate, applicants who file now should expect to have their interview in January 2010. As I've mentioned a while ago, everyone will have to be fingerprinted again, due to the fact that FPs are only stored for 15 months. What a tangled web the USCIS weaves!
 
Vorpal said:
According to your estimate, applicants who file now should expect to have their interview in January 2010. As I've mentioned a while ago, everyone will have to be fingerprinted again, due to the fact that FPs are only stored for 15 months. What a tangled web the USCIS weaves!
Click to expand...

Doing another FP is no big deal. It takes 15 mins in Queens in and out and turnaround time from FBI is amazing. They should just get the job done.
 
Perhaps a big reason for the delays is the time it takes to hire and train adjudicators. Only once they have additional adjudicators later this year will processing times begin to go down.
 
Vik Pal said:
Doing another FP is no big deal. It takes 15 mins in Queens in and out and turnaround time from FBI is amazing.
Click to expand...
Multiply that by a million, and you see how much of a waste it is for them to spend on taking fingerprints more than once during the process. Without that waste they could direct more people and money towards actually processing the applications.
 
Bobsmyth - yes, I suppose that is likely, but you'd think they'd be able to factor it into estimates. They know the length of training and the extra capacity they'll have once new staff go "on-line" - but they haven't seemed to include any of that - or if they did it didn't make much difference.

They haven't set themselves any goals, or benchmarks, e.g. "Once new staff are trained, no later than May 08, we would expect to increase capacity by one seventh (or whatever) leading to siginificant improvement on processing times experienceced before that date".

It all sounds so downbeat - as though they're glad about it all!
 
Another issue is whether the additional staff will be provided to those DOs that are heavily loaded like NYC & Washington or will be distributed to other DOs as well like Ohio which are already fast. If they bring back retired employees then will they be sent back to the same DO where they retired from or to the backlogged DOs? Nothing seems to be clear.

We need to raise this with Senators since this is election time. Hillary Clinton had written a letter earlier to USCIS so she may be the right person to approach.
 
Or Senator Chuck Schumer (from NY) - he's the one suggested using retirees. Ms Clinton has other things on her mind just now!!

Good idea - I'll get on to it!
 
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