Photo Courtesy of DHS
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas
By Michael V. Cusenza
A group of 27 members of the House of Representatives, led by Reps. Grace Meng (D-Flushing), Norma J. Torres (D-Calif.) and Jesús “Chuy” García (D-IL) recently sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Ur Mendoza Jaddou encouraging them to take further action to address existing barriers to naturalization.
The missive encourages DHS to make the citizenship process fairer and more effective by taking the following steps:
- Provide information about the naturalization process and resources to potentially eligible populations. “We believe this information should be provided at adjustment of status approvals, with removal of conditions (I-751 and I-829 approvals), and with every 10-year green card renewal (I-90) approval. Again, we commend the release of the Interagency Strategy for Promoting Naturalization and hope that this and other positive changes result from that strategy.”
- Fee Waivers for naturalization and immigration applications. “We believe USCIS should offer fee waivers for eligible applicants for naturalization and other immigration applicants. Waivers ensure naturalization and immigration status is accessible to everyone, not just those who can afford it, and will help tackle the massive backlog.”
- Implement remote interviews and oath ceremonies. “We believe USCIS should permit but not require remote interviews and oath ceremonies expeditiously during and after the pandemic to assist in balancing workload across offices and reducing processing times.”
- Appoint a Special Advisor to the Secretary of Homeland Security for Citizenship and Immigrant Integration. “We believe this advisor, preferably a naturalized citizen or expert, should be charged with working across the DHS immigration agencies and components that affect immigration to help ensure that all agency personnel respect and recognize the importance of positive interactions between stakeholders and government agencies.”
- Promote customer service and public engagement. “We believe USCIS should reestablish the USCIS Office of Public Engagement and the USCIS Office of Customer Service would help USCIS engage in regular dialogues and share information with community stakeholders.”
- Establish a process to solicit and accept donations for the Citizenship Gift and Bequest Account. “We believe the agency should fully use 8 U.S.C. § 1382 to obtain funding for grants and related activities; specifically, we believe it should revisit the feasibility of accepting private donations to support the USCIS Citizenship and Integration Grant Program. We understand that DHS has proposed examining this option in the Interagency Strategy to Promote Naturalization, and we strongly encourage the agency to use this opportunity.”
- Improve agency policy related to immigration data transparency and the naturalization process by providing more information and data. “We believe these statistics should include the naturalization exam pass rates by fiscal year and USCIS district; data on the annual number of fee waivers and reduced fees requested and approved for the Form N-400; data on the number of disability exceptions waivers (N648s) requested and approved; and the cost breakdown used to determine individual fee levels.”
- Finally, please provide an update to Congress on: (1) The current naturalization application backlog, both nationwide and at individual field offices; and (2) current naturalization application processing times, both nationwide and at individual field offices.
