FBI Documents Responsive to Naturalization Delays FOIA Request

In November 2002, Citizenship and Immigration Services ("CIS") expanded the background check performed for naturalization applicants, known as the FBI Name Check. Following this change, the ACLU received an influx of reports from individuals suffering extreme delays — some as long as four years — as they awaited their determination of citizenship. To address the languishing naturalization process, the ACLU filed several individual lawsuits and three class-action lawsuits seeking prompt adjudication of naturalization applications. Additionally, on April 16, 2007, the ACLU submitted a request to the FBI under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) seeking information about the cause and extent of the delays. In April 2008, in the interim between the ACLU's FOIA request and the FBI's response, CIS and the FBI released a Joint Business Plan establishing various target milestones for the gradual elimination of the backlogs. Subsequently, on May 27, 2009, the FBI provided documents responsive to the ACLU's request. These records provide insight into why the naturalization system became plagued by systemic delays starting in 2002, and what steps the government has taken to meet its milestones and reduce the delays. Of particular note are the following documents:

• A December 2002 FBI report summarizing the status of name checks performed for the immigration agency. Key features of this document include a summary of the Memorandum of Understanding between FBI and then-INS (the precursor agency to CIS until March 2003), and a description of the post-9/11 re-check of 2.2 million names and expansion of the name check process, which led to systemic delays. View document (PDF) >>
• Finance Talking Points on the National Name Check Program. This document enumerates the various reasons for the name check backlog, including the 2002 re-check. View document (PDF) >>
• The FBI's Response to a May 2, 2006 hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding FBI oversight. In this document, the FBI addresses congressional concerns about systemic naturalization delays. The document also provides a statistical breakdown of the name check delays by duration of the delay. View document (PDF) >>
• A request to the administrative arm of the FBI to establish an employee development program for the National Name Check Program. In this document, the FBI acknowledges that lack of training was a significant contributing factor in systemic naturalization delays, and seeks funding to institute a more extensive training program for naturalization personnel. View document (PDF) >>