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Monday, August 11, 2008
Citizenship delays down to 10-12 months
Processing times for citizenship applications will be 10 to 12 months by the end of September, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced Monday.
The agency — known as USCIS — has been under heavy criticism for delays in processing times after an unprecedented number of applications last year, especially in July.
The delays could cause thousands of immigrants to miss the deadline for voting in the November election.
USCIS said it is making “steady progress in reducing the number of citizenship applications.” The delay was previously as high as 16 to 18 months.
“We are working steadily toward achieving our goal of processing all naturalization applications within five months by this time next year,” said Jonathan Scharfen, the acting director of USCIS.
Last year, more than 1.4 million immigrants applied for citizenship, setting a new record.
