4/11/2010

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on November 9, 2009, the settlement of a class action lawsuit filed in 2007. The press release on this settlement regarding hundreds of delayed N-400 naturalization applications is available online.

The plaintiffs in this lawsuit were individuals whose naturalization cases were greatly delayed, due to chronic problems with the processing of FBI background checks. The delays often spanned years, as the USCIS awaited FBI feedback.

According to the press release cited above, the USCIS has agreed to adjudicate hundreds of delayed naturalization petitions filed by individuals living in the Los Angeles, Santa Ana, and San Bernardino areas. These must be adjudicated within six months. The settlement agreement also requires DHS to provide ongoing reports on the processing times of N-400 naturalization cases to the groups involved in this lawsuit, so that future delays may be noted and reported early.

The National Immigration Law Center, American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, and the Asian Pacific American Legal Center filed the class action lawsuit against the USCIS and FBI in 2007. This resulted in Federal Court supervision of the FBI's processing of name checks for thousands of people who essentially had been lost in the bureaucracy. The plaintiffs in this class action lawsuit provided proof of how the delays in their naturalization cases affected their families, their jobs, and their ability to lead normal lives.

Since the events that led to the filing of the class action lawsuit, there has been significant improvement in naturalization processing times. This is due in part to such lawsuits and other actions aimed at addressing the delays. These results are being seen nationwide, as naturalization cases are being processed often within the stated goal of six months.

This is a remarkable turnaround. Individuals who currently are eligible for naturalization may wish to consider taking advantage of these faster processing times. While it appears that the name-check delays have been addressed, to a large degree, there is no guarantee that the overall processing will continue to be as fast as we are seeing at this time.