Advertising

The Seattle Times Company

NWjobs | NWautos | NWhomes | NWsource | Free Classifieds | seattletimes.com

The Seattle Times

Nation & World


Our network sites seattletimes.com | Advanced

Originally published November 20, 2007 at 12:00 AM | Page modified November 20, 2007 at 5:46 PM

E-mail article     Print view

Paperwork logjam threatens 2008 voting for immigrants

Millions of people who applied for naturalization and other immigration benefits to beat a midsummer fee increase are caught in a paperwork...

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Millions of people who applied for naturalization and other immigration benefits to beat a midsummer fee increase are caught in a paperwork pileup that threatens the chance for some to become U.S. citizens in time to vote in next year's presidential election.

The application backlog is so large that Citizenship and Immigration Services, a division of the Department of Homeland Security, is months behind schedule in returning receipts for checks written to cover fees — an early step in the process.

"Were we caught off guard by the volume? Let's just say it was anticipated it would increase. It was not anticipated it would increase by that much," said Emilio Gonzalez, director of Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The immigration agency would not say how many applications it has received. The American Immigration Lawyers Association, a private legal advocacy group, said it was told by agency officials that 3.5 million applications had come in over a two-month period. The agency projected a workload of 3.2 million applications for fiscal years 2008 and 2009.

Gonzalez ordered his staff to give priority to naturalizations, but some applicants will miss voting in primaries, which begin in January.

"I really want to target the elections," Gonzalez said. "I really want to get as many people out there to vote as possible."

The onslaught of applications has led to some files being sent back with errors or mistakenly rejected, while others seem lost in the system, applicants and attorneys say. Service centers in Nebraska and Texas have the longest delays. The Texas Service Center is working on applications dating from July 26, according to the agency's latest Web posting.

Boston janitor Betsy Camacho, 44, applied for U.S. citizenship on July 27. On Nov. 9, she got a receipt acknowledging the check she wrote for her fees had been deposited and her information was logged in the agency's computer.

Normally such receipts are returned to applicants within a week to 10 days, immigration attorneys said.

"I would like to vote, to participate, to travel with a passport, have freedom of expression," Camacho said. A native of El Salvador, she has lived in the United States for nearly 25 years.

Some groups that have been waging national campaign to help 1 million legal residents become citizens and vote in 2008 fear the pileup will hurt their efforts.

Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company

More Nation & World headlines...

E-mail article Print view      Share:    Digg     Newsvine

advertising

NEW - 12:51 AM
A Bing deal for Microsoft, News Corp.?

NEW - 11:02 PM
Amazon, Wal-Mart escalate Web price war

8 charged in probe of terrorism-recruiting network in U.S.

Hate crimes against gays, religious groups up, FBI says

UPDATE - 12:11 AM
SC legislators begin Sanford impeachment hearings

Advertising

Video

PNW Magazine | Easy As Pie
A little friendly competition between professional pie-baker Kate McDermott and The Seatttle Times' Kathleen Triesch Saul is handled with great taste.

Real Salt Lake wins MLS Cup
Raw Video | Real Salt Lake fans celebrate
Raw Video | Real Salt Lake receives the MLS Cup trophy
Real Salt Lake fans enter Qwest Field
Raw Video | MLS Cup Opening Ceremony
LA Galaxy's David Beckham
Real Salt Lake's Kyle Beckerman
MLS trophy arrives in Seattle
Chittenden Locks Inspection

Marketplace

Open Houses

Find this weekend's open house listings.
Or search by location:

nwautos

Less is more: Group rides, good gas mileage have led to a scooter swarm in Seattlenew
Local riders say they've seen a surge in scooter interest in recent years, mostly from people wanting another commuting option. Seattle now ranks as o...
Post a comment

 
Most read
Most commented
Most e-mailed
 
 
Advertising