CNN REPORT!

[Sibtain 1]

Hi!

Guys this is very important info for all AP fellows and speacially for those who are in AP since 1 to 3 years.

Plz read it carefully and then u can understand the present situation.

3:26 p.m. EDT, Mon June 9, 2008

Report: FBI's immigration checks too slowStory Highlights

Watchdog agency: Old technology among reasons background checks are delayed

Checks also are unreliable, Justice Department inspector general says

FBI blames backlog on increased demands after 2001 terrorist attacks

Next Article in U.S. »

From Terry Frieden

CNN Justice Producer

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- FBI background checks of potential U.S. immigrants are slow and unreliable, the Justice Department's internal watchdog agency said in a highly critical report Monday.

Justice Department Inspector Glenn Fine says the FBI's processes to check names rely on outdated technology.

"The FBI's name check processes are inefficient and untimely, rely on outdated technology and provide little assurance that pertinent and derogatory information is being retrieved and transmitted to customer agencies," said the report by Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine.

Fine identified not only old FBI technology but also "limited supervision and training, and inadequate quality control measures" as reasons for the delays.

The bureau's system includes searching paper files in far-flung FBI field offices, adding to backlogs of hundreds of thousands of immigration applications and petitions for citizenship and services.

The FBI said the backlog built up because of additional demands in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service asked the FBI "to 're-run' 2.7 million names through a more in-depth name check process following the terrorist attacks of 9/11," said John Miller, the FBI's assistant director for public affairs, in response to the report.

"This unexpected deluge of immigration-related name checks overwhelmed existing resources. ... Corrective actions implemented over several years have improved the [National Name Check Program's] operations, resulting in record numbers of completed name checks and a reduced backlog," Miller said.

By far the FBI's largest customer is the Department of Homeland Security, which is responsible for processing immigration requests. But DHS immigration authorities have been unable to get prompt responses to many of the clearances they need from the FBI, the department says.

The report acknowledges that a huge rise in DHS requests -- from 2.7 million in 2003 to more than 4 million in fiscal year 2007 -- is partially responsible for the backlog.

The report said 14 percent of the name checks can take from several months to more than a year to complete.

In March, investigators found the FBI had more than 327,000 pending name check requests from the DHS Office of Citizenship and Immigration Services. Ninety percent of the requests were more than 30 days old, and some requests had been pending for more than three years, the report said.

At a briefing for reporters, FBI executive Michael Cannon said the backlog is being reduced sharply this year, and he expects it to be fully eliminated by July 2009.

Immigration lawyers have been especially critical of the FBI, blasting bureaucratic delays and filing lawsuits for government failures to act on immigrant applications.

The inspector general did credit the FBI for its much more efficient fingerprint check system. The report praised the relatively quick work by the FBI division that queries the massive fingerprint repository. The system maintains the largest biometric database in the world, with fingerprints and corresponding criminal history information for more than 50 million subjects.

The FBI scheduled a briefing later Monday to respond to the criticism.

The report is titled "The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Security Check Procedures for Immigration Applications and Petitions."

I hope it will work for all AP fellows.

Best of luck

Sibtain

Edited November 25, 2008 by SIBTAIN

[WonTanNara 0]

One thing it's important for those of us on AP to remember is that the USCIS/FBI name check processing for AOS is different than security clearance for a visa. When the DOS has to do security clearance for a visa, requests could be submitted to many different agencies other than the FBI. These articles saying that cases pending more than six months will be cleared by Feb 2009 are talking about USCIS name check requests to the FBI for AOS, but hopefully clearing up their backlog will in the long run help those of us that are on AP when an FBI clearance is required. This whole process sucks.

[JULIAFERNO 0]

One thing it's important for those of us on AP to remember is that the USCIS/FBI name check processing for AOS is different than security clearance for a visa. When the DOS has to do security clearance for a visa, requests could be submitted to many different agencies other than the FBI. These articles saying that cases pending more than six months will be cleared by Feb 2009 are talking about USCIS name check requests to the FBI for AOS, but hopefully clearing up their backlog will in the long run help those of us that are on AP when an FBI clearance is required. This whole process sucks.

But it says "FBI background checks of potential U.S. immigrants..."

Wouldn't that include us?

[WonTanNara 0]

But it says "FBI background checks of potential U.S. immigrants..."

Wouldn't that include us?

Yes, it includes us but those of us that are waiting for visas are not necessarily waiting for just an FBI clearance. We could be waiting for clearance from several different gov't agencies. FBI, DEA, NSA, CIA, ATF, etc etc etc. That's why I said that clearing the FBI backlog would help us, but I don't read this to mean that we will definitely have our visas when the FBI backlog is cleared. All these articles seem to refer to name checks that are requested by USCIS, and that's not us. Our requests are originating from DOS.

My fiance is very good about reminding me that "When God is ready we'll have our visa." Backlog or not...

[nunyab 0]

But it says "FBI background checks of potential U.S. immigrants..."

Wouldn't that include us?

Yes, it includes us but those of us that are waiting for visas are not necessarily waiting for just an FBI clearance. We could be waiting for clearance from several different gov't agencies. FBI, DEA, NSA, CIA, ATF, etc etc etc. That's why I said that clearing the FBI backlog would help us, but I don't read this to mean that we will definitely have our visas when the FBI backlog is cleared. All these articles seem to refer to name checks that are requested by USCIS, and that's not us. Our requests are originating from DOS.

My fiance is very good about reminding me that "When God is ready we'll have our visa." Backlog or not...

mine says the same... some people have waited only days while others years.... when God wants it, it will happen insha'allah