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
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
Labels: citizenship, security, USCIS
posted by DHS at
11:30 AM
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