Immigration Agency Says It's Improving

[I'm Gone 60]

http://www.federalnewsradio.com/?sid=914402&nid=78#

WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal officials say they are closing in on President Bush's goal of processing immigration applications faster, but that is largely because they no longer count many stalled applications as part of the backlog.

As of July 31 there was a backlog of about 139,000 applications from immigrants seeking everything from legal residency to work permits, Emilio Gonzalez, director of Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Homeland Security Department, said Friday.

However, the latest figure excludes nearly 1 million applications not completed because of circumstances the agency says are outside its control.

If all applications were counted, the July 31 total would be 1.12 million, down from 3.8 million in January 2004, the agency said.

"We're on track to get where we need to be, where we want to be, which is to have our work done in six months or less," Gonzalez said

The agency's count of 139,000 pending cases doesn't include applications from immigrants not yet granted visas to enter the U.S.; those awaiting green cards making them legal residents; and those with pending FBI background checks or with other problems, such as missing paperwork, said Mike Aytes, associate director for domestic operations.

Bush pledged in his first presidential campaign that all immigration applications would be adjudicated in six months. After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the Bush administration said it would reach that goal by Oct. 1, 2006.

Immigration officials say they consider that target to be a national average, not a schedule that would be hit in every community. The president's goal remains to have a six-month turnaround time in all offices for every type of benefit, they say.

Of the 16 types of applications the immigration agency processes, Gonzalez said 14 are already being completed in less than six months without security suffering. The number of applications denied has increased in some categories because of stricter enforcement of standards, Aytes said.

The agency hired 1,800 temporary employees, the last of whose jobs expire by January. Gonzalez said he is hoping to keep some of them longer, paid for in part by a proposed increase in fees paid by people applying for immigration benefits.

Gonzalez would not say what fee increase he will propose. The fee to naturalize is now $330, and the fee for legal residency is $325. Applicants also pay a $70 fingerprinting fee.