Published today 03-01-2004 in Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0403010214mar01,1,4874665.story
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0403010214mar01,1,4874665.story
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Story published in Chicago Tribune regarding delays in processing
- Thread starter noknurd
- Start date
Here is the Text of the News Item
Vezir and Hata Omerinovic have waited nearly 18 months for their green-card application to be processed.
Last month, the inconvenience became a crisis when the Bosnian couple stopped getting their monthly Supplemental Security Income check after failing to meet a deadline for U.S. citizenship.
"If we didn't do our part, I could accept the punishment. But we did," said Vezir Omerinovic, 61, of Chicago. "We're not guilty of what's happening."
With Monday marking one year since the U.S. Department of Homeland Security took over oversight of immigration benefits, immigrants like the Omerinovics are fuming at a swelling backlog of applications.
Even more frustrating, immigrant advocates say, is that the federal government wants to increase fees to help reduce the mountain of applications for U.S. citizenship and other benefits.
Advocates in Chicago, New York and elsewhere will release a "report card" Monday that gives failing grades on backlogs and fees to the new U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency. The problems affect many in Illinois, home to the fifth-largest immigrant population in the nation.
Activists and some lawmakers argue that the new immigration agency has not reduced delays even with additional revenue. Critics say the agency needs systemic overhauls before asking immigrants to pay more.
"It's like someone selling a defective car that is being recalled and then increasing the price. I don't know if you're going to sell a lot of cars that way," said U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.). "Unfortunately, immigrants don't have a choice about where they're going to get these benefits."
Agency officials said a fee increase is necessary to chip away at the backlog. The Bush administration wants the agency to rely more on application fees and less on outside funds.
The proposal would increase fees to apply for U.S. citizenship from $260 to $320 and boost fees for green cards from $255 to $315. Fees for about 35 other applications also would rise.
In announcing the proposal, agency Director Eduardo Aguirre said the increase "is necessary to deliver a more compassionate, effective and secure system."
Since the beginning of fiscal 2001, the number of pending applications increased 59 percent to about 6.2 million at the end of fiscal 2003, according to a January report by the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress.
The backlog has ballooned despite an infusion of $80 million a year since 2002 to pare down the waiting list, GAO investigators found.
Immigration officials say stringent security checks and a wave of immigrants seeking citizenship after the 2001 terrorist attacks put added stress on application processing.
The Omerinovics said immigration officials lost their first application for a green card. They reapplied in September 2002, but the added screening has kept their application from being processed. They cannot seek U.S. citizenship until they receive their green cards.
Based on the government's projections, their application will not be processed for about 10 months. With the checks dried up, the couple have been forced to borrow money from friends or beg their landlord for leniency. They are even considering going back to Bosnia.
In addition to depriving potential U.S. citizens of government benefits, application delays make them wait longer to reunite with relatives they plan to sponsor for entry into the United States, said Fred Tsao, policy director for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
Then there are the financial burdens of higher fees.
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus sent agency officials a letter last week warning that the fee increases were not justified and might deter some immigrants from seeking U.S. citizenship.
After word of the proposed increases circulated on Spanish-language radio, more than 300 applicants overwhelmed a citizenship workshop Saturday on the Northwest Side.
Some, like Edison Lopez, arrived before dawn. Around 9 a.m., organizers had to start turning away participants.
Lopez, 36, said he sought U.S. citizenship to make it easier to bring his 6-year-old daughter, Evelyn, from Mexico. He hopes that processing delays will be minimal so they can be reunited soon.
"I used to figure that I'll do this tomorrow or next year. Now it's important to me because of my daughter," said Lopez, a legal permanent resident from Cicero. "And I'm sure all the other people in this room have important reasons too."
Vezir and Hata Omerinovic have waited nearly 18 months for their green-card application to be processed.
Last month, the inconvenience became a crisis when the Bosnian couple stopped getting their monthly Supplemental Security Income check after failing to meet a deadline for U.S. citizenship.
"If we didn't do our part, I could accept the punishment. But we did," said Vezir Omerinovic, 61, of Chicago. "We're not guilty of what's happening."
With Monday marking one year since the U.S. Department of Homeland Security took over oversight of immigration benefits, immigrants like the Omerinovics are fuming at a swelling backlog of applications.
Even more frustrating, immigrant advocates say, is that the federal government wants to increase fees to help reduce the mountain of applications for U.S. citizenship and other benefits.
Advocates in Chicago, New York and elsewhere will release a "report card" Monday that gives failing grades on backlogs and fees to the new U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency. The problems affect many in Illinois, home to the fifth-largest immigrant population in the nation.
Activists and some lawmakers argue that the new immigration agency has not reduced delays even with additional revenue. Critics say the agency needs systemic overhauls before asking immigrants to pay more.
"It's like someone selling a defective car that is being recalled and then increasing the price. I don't know if you're going to sell a lot of cars that way," said U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.). "Unfortunately, immigrants don't have a choice about where they're going to get these benefits."
Agency officials said a fee increase is necessary to chip away at the backlog. The Bush administration wants the agency to rely more on application fees and less on outside funds.
The proposal would increase fees to apply for U.S. citizenship from $260 to $320 and boost fees for green cards from $255 to $315. Fees for about 35 other applications also would rise.
In announcing the proposal, agency Director Eduardo Aguirre said the increase "is necessary to deliver a more compassionate, effective and secure system."
Since the beginning of fiscal 2001, the number of pending applications increased 59 percent to about 6.2 million at the end of fiscal 2003, according to a January report by the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress.
The backlog has ballooned despite an infusion of $80 million a year since 2002 to pare down the waiting list, GAO investigators found.
Immigration officials say stringent security checks and a wave of immigrants seeking citizenship after the 2001 terrorist attacks put added stress on application processing.
The Omerinovics said immigration officials lost their first application for a green card. They reapplied in September 2002, but the added screening has kept their application from being processed. They cannot seek U.S. citizenship until they receive their green cards.
Based on the government's projections, their application will not be processed for about 10 months. With the checks dried up, the couple have been forced to borrow money from friends or beg their landlord for leniency. They are even considering going back to Bosnia.
In addition to depriving potential U.S. citizens of government benefits, application delays make them wait longer to reunite with relatives they plan to sponsor for entry into the United States, said Fred Tsao, policy director for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
Then there are the financial burdens of higher fees.
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus sent agency officials a letter last week warning that the fee increases were not justified and might deter some immigrants from seeking U.S. citizenship.
After word of the proposed increases circulated on Spanish-language radio, more than 300 applicants overwhelmed a citizenship workshop Saturday on the Northwest Side.
Some, like Edison Lopez, arrived before dawn. Around 9 a.m., organizers had to start turning away participants.
Lopez, 36, said he sought U.S. citizenship to make it easier to bring his 6-year-old daughter, Evelyn, from Mexico. He hopes that processing delays will be minimal so they can be reunited soon.
"I used to figure that I'll do this tomorrow or next year. Now it's important to me because of my daughter," said Lopez, a legal permanent resident from Cicero. "And I'm sure all the other people in this room have important reasons too."