Green
Feb. 12, 2008, 11:04AM
Green cards will go out, background check or not
Move meant to ease huge backlog of applicants, but critics warn it's a threat to security
By SUSAN CARROLL
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
RESOURCES
Immigration Chronicles debates the latest issues To ease an application backlog, the federal government plans to issue green cards to about 47,000 immigrants before the FBI finishes a complete background check - a move that critics warned could compromise national security.
The policy change is designed to address a mounting backlog of green card applicants who have met other requirements for permanent residence and have passed an automated fingerprint check, yet are waiting more than six months for FBI "name check" clearance, said Chris Bentley, a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service spokesman.
The green card holders will still be expected to eventually pass the "name check" portion of the background check process, which in some cases takes the FBI more than two years to complete. If U.S. officials find serious problems after issuing a green card, the permanent resident could be deported, Bentley said.
"This maintains national security," Bentley said. "It doesn't compromise the system, but at the same time it allows us to get benefits to people who deserve them."
The decision was outlined in a Feb. 4 USCIS memo. Bentley said officials are still reviewing how to implement the new policy and could not say when they will start issuing green cards from the backlog.
Before applicants are approved for a green card, they must pass an FBI fingerprint check and be screened against a law enforcement database.
But after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Congress strengthened the requirements for the background check for green card and citizenship applicants. As part of the process, the FBI is required to do more in-depth name checks on immigrants to see if applicants have any connection with suspicious activity.
USCIS officials reported an estimated 329,160 applicants for citizenship and green cards were waiting in the FBI name check backlog as of May, the most recent data available. Of those, about 104,600 - or 32 percent - had been in the system for more than three months but less than a year. Sixteen percent, some 51,497 applicants, were pending between one and two years. About 17 percent of applicants had been waiting more than two years.
'Holy grail' of documents
Critics raised concerns about issuing green cards without completing the full name check since permanent residents are able to travel without restrictions and sponsor relatives for legal status.
"Basically a green card is the holy grail of terrorist documents," said Bryan Griffith, a spokesman with the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington D.C, which advocates for stricter immigration controls. He said the changes will create a "loophole" that could be easily exploited.
An FBI spokesman could not be reached for comment. The agency has attributed the backlog to understaffing and the large volume of requests. The FBI received about 70,000 name check requests per week from 70 agencies in 2007, with half of those coming from USCIS, according to FBI statistics.
The backlog has become so pervasive across the country that hundreds of would-be citizens and green-card holders are suing the federal government to expedite their background checks. Recent cases in Houston include doctors, researchers and oil company employees. In December, a 50-year-old native of Jordan with three U.S.-born children filed a complaint in federal court in Houston to expedite his green card application, which was filed in 1999.
"There are a lot of people who have been waiting for these green cards," said Naomi Jiyoung Bang, an attorney with the Houston immigration firm Quan Burdette & Perez. "It's very frustrating, because unlike the naturalization applicants, they have no rights. They're in limbo."
Ibrahim Abumaria, a 29-year-old from Palestine, came to Houston in 1997 on a student visa and married a U.S. citizen. He said he applied for a green card in 2001. Abumaria, a nursing student, said USCIS officials told him about two years ago the case was pending a background check.
In 2005, his mother died, and he wasn't able to go to Palestine for her funeral, he said, because his visa limits international travel. Now his father is ill, he added.
"It's restricting," he said. "And it's frustrating. I'm not a criminal."
Green cards will go out, background check or not
Move meant to ease huge backlog of applicants, but critics warn it's a threat to security
By SUSAN CARROLL
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
RESOURCES
Immigration Chronicles debates the latest issues To ease an application backlog, the federal government plans to issue green cards to about 47,000 immigrants before the FBI finishes a complete background check - a move that critics warned could compromise national security.
The policy change is designed to address a mounting backlog of green card applicants who have met other requirements for permanent residence and have passed an automated fingerprint check, yet are waiting more than six months for FBI "name check" clearance, said Chris Bentley, a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service spokesman.
The green card holders will still be expected to eventually pass the "name check" portion of the background check process, which in some cases takes the FBI more than two years to complete. If U.S. officials find serious problems after issuing a green card, the permanent resident could be deported, Bentley said.
"This maintains national security," Bentley said. "It doesn't compromise the system, but at the same time it allows us to get benefits to people who deserve them."
The decision was outlined in a Feb. 4 USCIS memo. Bentley said officials are still reviewing how to implement the new policy and could not say when they will start issuing green cards from the backlog.
Before applicants are approved for a green card, they must pass an FBI fingerprint check and be screened against a law enforcement database.
But after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Congress strengthened the requirements for the background check for green card and citizenship applicants. As part of the process, the FBI is required to do more in-depth name checks on immigrants to see if applicants have any connection with suspicious activity.
USCIS officials reported an estimated 329,160 applicants for citizenship and green cards were waiting in the FBI name check backlog as of May, the most recent data available. Of those, about 104,600 - or 32 percent - had been in the system for more than three months but less than a year. Sixteen percent, some 51,497 applicants, were pending between one and two years. About 17 percent of applicants had been waiting more than two years.
'Holy grail' of documents
Critics raised concerns about issuing green cards without completing the full name check since permanent residents are able to travel without restrictions and sponsor relatives for legal status.
"Basically a green card is the holy grail of terrorist documents," said Bryan Griffith, a spokesman with the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington D.C, which advocates for stricter immigration controls. He said the changes will create a "loophole" that could be easily exploited.
An FBI spokesman could not be reached for comment. The agency has attributed the backlog to understaffing and the large volume of requests. The FBI received about 70,000 name check requests per week from 70 agencies in 2007, with half of those coming from USCIS, according to FBI statistics.
The backlog has become so pervasive across the country that hundreds of would-be citizens and green-card holders are suing the federal government to expedite their background checks. Recent cases in Houston include doctors, researchers and oil company employees. In December, a 50-year-old native of Jordan with three U.S.-born children filed a complaint in federal court in Houston to expedite his green card application, which was filed in 1999.
"There are a lot of people who have been waiting for these green cards," said Naomi Jiyoung Bang, an attorney with the Houston immigration firm Quan Burdette & Perez. "It's very frustrating, because unlike the naturalization applicants, they have no rights. They're in limbo."
Ibrahim Abumaria, a 29-year-old from Palestine, came to Houston in 1997 on a student visa and married a U.S. citizen. He said he applied for a green card in 2001. Abumaria, a nursing student, said USCIS officials told him about two years ago the case was pending a background check.
In 2005, his mother died, and he wasn't able to go to Palestine for her funeral, he said, because his visa limits international travel. Now his father is ill, he added.
"It's restricting," he said. "And it's frustrating. I'm not a criminal."
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