A Better, Not Harder Citizenship Test

On October 1, 2008, USCIS began administering a new naturalization test. The need for a standardized and meaningful test has been the source of study and discussion for more than a decade. I’m proud of the new test and the commitment we’ve made to giving applicants a meaningful and consistent testing experience across the board.

The purpose of the redesign was twofold: to make sure we have uniform testing experiences nationwide; and to develop a civics test that can effectively assess an applicant’s knowledge of U.S. history and government as the law requires. Naturalization applicants deserve a fair and standardized testing experience no matter where they take the test.

USCIS has made every effort to minimize the impact of this change by allowing one full year for preparation and by working closely with national and local immigrant-serving organizations along the way. Since announcing the test in September 2007, we have trained more than 2,000 educators and service providers, launched a variety of new study materials, and embarked on an unprecedented outreach campaign. You can see the study materials and judge for yourself their quality by going to http://www.uscis.gov/. I believe that the result is an effort all Americans can be proud of and one immigrants need not fear.

I would like to take this opportunity to let applicants know that what we have is a better, not harder test. The format is the same, just standardized across our offices. The civics test has been revamped and improved; and our 2007 pilots showed that those who study for the new test should pass. As for the English test, applicants now know exactly how to prepare through publicly released vocabulary lists. Also, all naturalization applicants now receive a new English and civics study booklet when they are fingerprinted at one of our Application Support Centers.

The new test was designed to serve as a tool to encourage civic learning and attachment to the country. Our pilot studies and research have shown that better content and a consistent format have not made the test more difficult. Through proper preparation and study, eligible candidates will be successful in achieving their dream of becoming a U.S. citizen. We will, however, monitor the results of the new test carefully and make this information public.

I want to commend those of you preparing for U.S. citizenship. The decision to apply is a very personal one. As you take this important step, it is my hope that the naturalization process helps strengthen your attachment to the United States and the democratic ideals that make this nation great. Thanks for reading and I look forward to your comments.

Jonathan “Jock” Scharfen
Acting Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Citizenship Day: An Opportunity to Reflect

My earlier entries for the Leadership Journal discussed the day-to-day operations of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and our efforts to improve service. Today, I would like to recognize the importance of Citizenship Day for our agency and our nation.

The law creating Citizenship Day was written in 2004 to celebrate the signing of the Constitution and recognize those who have become citizens. This holiday reminds us of the importance of citizenship.

Throughout our rich history, immigrants have come to the United States seeking liberty and a better life. Many decided to become citizens and have played key roles in the success of our Nation.

Citizenship Day reminds us that many of our greatest citizens were born in other countries. Alexander Hamilton, born on the tiny Caribbean island of Nevis, served with George Washington in the Revolutionary War and as our first Secretary of the Treasury. Felix Frankfurter, a civil rights supporter and Supreme Court Justice, came to the United States with his parents from Austria in the 1890s. Knute Rockne, who first moved to Chicago from Norway as a young boy, was one of America’s greatest college football coaches.

These and other great Americans remind us today and every day that citizenship is far more than a piece of paper – it is part of what makes our nation great. USCIS has no mission of greater importance than that of naturalizing citizens. This week alone, we will welcome nearly 40,000 new citizens during 177 ceremonies across the country.

The photograph next to this entry shows the pride of new Americans. Attending naturalization ceremonies and watching new citizens raise their right hand and wave the flag is the best part of my job.

Jonathan “Jock” Scharfen

Acting Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Fit to Print?

The Times got it wrong again. I feel compelled to set the record straight for 17,000 employees who work late nights and weekends to welcome lawful immigrants into our society. I will not stand idly by as the New York Times insults the dedicated and professional services they provide.

If the Times seeks to add legitimacy to its editorial, they should first get the facts straight. USCIS received more than 600,000 applications for citizenship in June and July of 2007 - a 350 percent increase from the same time the year before. While this surge was substantial, it isn’t close to the “perhaps a million empty promises” the Times suggests.

Further, all applications received during that time have been opened, issued receipts, and entered into our processing queue. The idea that there are “envelopes with large checks and money orders, delivered by truckloads, waiting in shrink-wrapped pallets, unopened” at any USCIS facility, is an outright fabrication, hastily conceived by an imaginative writer.

What the writer failed to mention, and what I personally conveyed to the Times, is that more than half of all the citizenship applications received in June and July will be completed by September 30. Further, many of the applicants who filed for citizenship after July 2007 have already been naturalized. The writer also omitted that not withstanding our challenges, in 2008 we will process some 20-25 percent more citizenship applications than in 2007, while maintaining the integrity of the immigration system and the security of the process.

The fact is, last year we anticipated an application surge, and dedicated USCIS employees at our Service Centers worked hard and long hours to process the increased number of applications received before fees were raised in July. As a result of their dedication, nearly 750,000 applications were processed in a record amount of time. Instead of commending this effort, the New York Times degraded it, suggesting “intentional disenfranchisement” of Latino voters. That is both absurd and an insult to our workforce.

This agency does not lose focus by such editorial bias. Our workforce will continue to do everything possible to assist immigrants on the path to legal residency or citizenship, facilitate the smooth transit of others who wish to work here temporarily, and safeguard the security of the United States through the integrity of our immigration system. Modernization efforts to build a fully-electronic immigration platform continue to move forward. More than 34 USCIS facilities will be renovated or replaced nationwide, and more than 3,000 new employees will join our ranks by the end of this year. Our professional training programs are varied and robust.

My posting today demonstrates to the more than 700,000 newly naturalized citizens that this country embraces free and open debate. It is a shame, however that a newspaper like the New York Times – which boasts with each paper that it contains all the news that’s fit to print – only values its version of a story and leaves no room for that debate or for the facts.

Emilio T. Gonzalez
Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Our Commitment to Iraqi Refugees

Today, both Senior Advisor for Iraqi Refugees Lori Scialabba and I testified before Congress on welcoming Iraqi refugees to the U.S. Bottom line -- since last spring, more than 3,559 Iraqi refugees have been admitted to our country and we expect many more in the coming months.

Make no mistake that the Iraqi refugee program is a top priority for this department. We are committed to working with the State Department and other program partners to welcome as many eligible Iraqi refugees as possible to the U.S. Every effort will continue to be made to provide protection to qualified refugees from Iraq as we work to ensure that the Iraqi refugee population is not infiltrated by individuals seeking to harm the United States. We have a moral and humanitarian obligation to help the people of Iraq equal to our obligation to also remain vigilant to preserve our national security.

Since the spring of 2007, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officers have interviewed Iraqis in Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Turkey and Lebanon. During FY2007, USCIS interviewed nearly 4,500 Iraqi refugee applicants; we anticipate that more than 8,400 interviews will have been completed by the end of the first half of FY2008, for a total of over 12,000 interviews to date. We expect both the number of interviews and the number of admitted applicants to rise in the coming months.

In just a few months time, Lori Scialabba, her counterpart at the Department of State – Ambassador James Foley – and all our partners have worked tirelessly to help guide and streamline our efforts to resettle Iraqi refugees in the U.S.

One recent change -- in-country refugee processing in Iraq to offer resettlement to embassy staff and their immediate family members in Baghdad who are at risk of persecution based on their association with the U.S. government. The first group of referrals from the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad includes 31 staff and their immediate family members who, if approved, will receive expedited processing.

We currently have 20 USCIS employees in the region performing Iraqi processing and many other employees here in Washington devoting substantial time to this effort. We have also begun new hiring for our Refugee Corps, increasing the base level of 47 positions to 62 this year. Further, we are leveraging more of our Asylum Division employees to conduct interviews; we expect that asylum officers will assist in adjudicating half of the refugee cases we will process this year.

We’re the first to say that there is more work to be done, but important progress is being made. On average, the total processing time for Iraqi cases is significantly less than for any other refugee group worldwide. In fact, Iraqi refugees are able to enter the U.S. in four to six months – certainly much faster than refugees from anywhere else in the world.

We pledge -- along with our State Department colleagues and other partners -- to further the humanitarian mission of admitting Iraqi refugees while at the same time ensuring the highest standards of security for our homeland.

Emilio T. Gonzalez
Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Our Commitment to Military Naturalizations

On February 24, the New York Times published a factually inaccurate front-page article entitled “After the War, a New Battle to Become Citizens” about the commitment U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has made to processing military naturalizations in a timely manner. We intensely manage every aspect of the path to citizenship for our immigrant Armed Forces Service Members. As an American by choice and a veteran myself, this program has my close personal attention, and I can tell you that it is a real success story for our agency, the Department of Homeland Security, and our nation.

In 2007 alone, USCIS naturalized 4,735 military service members, with more than 1,300 taking the Oath of Allegiance at ceremonies overseas, in places like Iraq, Afghanistan and along the Demilitarized Zone in South Korea. Since 2001, USCIS has helped more than 36,900 immigrant soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines become United States citizens. These service members and their families have made extraordinary sacrifices for our nation, and USCIS does everything possible to ensure that qualified immigrants who serve in our military receive U.S. citizenship at the absolute earliest opportunity.

Despite exhaustive efforts to fulfill our obligation to our men and women in uniform, there are rare instances when we are unable to favorably approve their applications in an expedited time frame. Service members frequently move from post to post, sometimes internationally. Therefore, gathering the information necessary to process their applications requires additional time, notwithstanding the significant efforts employed by USCIS to ensure that applications are handled in a timely and expeditious manner. Let me say this, nothing stands in our way when it comes to supporting the military. We move mountains and travel to military installations worldwide to help members of the military in their quest to become citizens of the United States. This is the least we can do on behalf of a nation grateful for their service.

Working with the Department of Defense (DoD), we have, through these military naturalization efforts, cut in half the number of non-citizens serving on active duty. But numbers alone cannot tell the story of the USCIS commitment. USCIS has a specialized team at our Nebraska Service Center dedicated to processing military naturalization cases. Once the up-front processing is complete, dedicated specialists in our field offices complete the interview and testing for military naturalization -- a privilege our employees consider an honor. These immigration experts work tirelessly to ensure that applications are processed and completed before these brave men and women are deployed to combat zones overseas.

As of May 1, 2006, we began accepting fingerprints from service members submitted at the time of enlistment. This upfront intake of information has helped streamline the process for service members. In addition, the Federal Bureau of Investigation will expedite background security screening for any service member who notifies us of an impending deployment.

To improve communication and outreach with the armed forces community, USCIS recently established a dedicated toll-free hotline exclusively for military members and their families stationed in the United States and overseas. Through January 2008, we’ve responded to more than 7,200 calls requesting information about immigration and citizenship services. USCIS also accepts emails to ensure that the military, some of whom are stationed overseas, can find the most expeditious way to communicate with USCIS about their pending applications. Additional efforts include local initiatives in communities with large military populations, the development and dissemination of educational materials, a USCIS military brochure and targeted media efforts designed to reach our constituents both in the United States and overseas.

In all of our military naturalization efforts, we work in concert with our colleagues at DoD to ensure that the military community has accurate and up-to-date information about immigration services and benefits. We provide training to military lawyers, and USCIS community relations officers regularly conduct seminars and classes at military bases around the country, answering questions about naturalization and assisting with paperwork.

I am proud and extremely honored to serve this agency in support of our military men and women and their families. USCIS has always been, is now, and will remain steadfastly committed to exhausting every effort to ensure that the processing of military naturalization applications are a top priority and that qualified members of the military receive this honor on behalf of a grateful nation.

Emilio T. González

Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Our Commitment to National Security

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is committed to protecting national security as we go about our mission of providing the most fair and transparent immigration service possible to our customers.

Let me repeat just one part of that phrase to remove all ambiguity – we are committed to protecting national security. USCIS will never put expediency ahead of national security.

Recently, we modified our policy regarding the adjudication of applications for permanent residence, commonly know as green card status. USCIS will favorably adjudicate those applications where the cases are otherwise fully approvable and FBI name-check requests have been pending for more than 180 days. These cases will not be approved unless the applicants are otherwise eligible and have cleared the FBI fingerprint check and the Interagency Border Inspection System (IBIS) check. In the unlikely event that the FBI name check produces actionable information against an applicant, DHS will initiate removal proceedings.

This is not only good business, but it is also the right thing to do. The policy change better aligns the background check screening processes between DHS agencies. It’s worth noting that 99 percent of all FBI name check results are received within six months. Through process improvements, we fully expect all name-check results to be obtained within that period by the end of this year.

There is no change to the normal background scrutiny conducted on every application for any immigration benefit. All applications are checked through IBIS to gather information from a multitude of law enforcement agencies. It should also be noted that there has been no change to the name-check policy pertaining to naturalization applications.

As a department and as an agency, we are committed to providing immigration benefits and services as quickly as possible to eligible applicants. But, let’s be clear -- we will not shortcut our procedures or processes to the detriment of immigration integrity or national security.

Emilio T. Gonzalez
Director, USCIS

Americans By Choice

As the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and an American by choice, I find it satisfying that so many people want to become a part of the American fabric. The significant increase in the number of immigration applications and petitions filed is clearly welcome news as applicants demonstrate a deep desire to participate fully in our country’s civic life. I understand well that processing delays are not abstract numbers. Each case affects an individual’s or family’s dreams and aspirations. At USCIS, we are committed to providing immigration services and benefits to eligible applicants as expeditiously as possible.

In July and August, we received almost 2.4 million applications and petitions for immigration benefits, double the normal volume. During fiscal year 2007, the agency received approximately 1.4 million naturalization applications. That is more than the total naturalization applications filed in 2005 and 2006 combined. For the months of June and July of 2007, it represented an increase of nearly 350% compared to the same period in 2006.

This surge in filings initially resulted in receipting delays for many naturalization applicants. We have addressed this situation, and have returned to normal timeframes for issuing naturalization application receipt notices. USCIS projects this filing surge will impact overall processing times for naturalization applications received after June 1, 2007. USCIS is projecting that under current conditions, the average processing time for these applications is expected to be up to 18 months. It is likely, however, that some applicants in jurisdictions less heavily impacted by the filing surge will be processed sooner.

We are finalizing a plan to specifically address the application increase. It will detail how we expect to improve this situation by enhancing our information systems, realigning our internal processes, and expanding our workforce capabilities. In the interim, we are taking some immediate steps. Our new fee schedule (pdf) has provided the resources to expand our workforce by about 1,500 employees and invest in information technology, facilities, training and other areas to improve service. We now have more than 690 new staff members onboard, including more than 400 adjudicators, who have a direct effect on this workload. Many more will be arriving in USCIS offices this summer.

Our goal is to continue these efforts and accelerate them where possible to better meet demands. We will not shortcut our procedures or processes to the detriment of immigration integrity or national security. Processing applications fairly without sacrificing national security and public safety is our core mission, and the American people deserve our utmost dedication and commitment. USCIS remains committed to fulfilling its promise of maintaining the integrity of our immigration system while also providing world-class customer service.

Dr. Emilio T. Gonzalez
Director, USCIS