Velázquez Immigration Amendment Passes House
Velázquez Immigration Amendment Passes House
December 19, 2005
Implements innovative pilot initiatives to eliminate immigration application backlog
WASHINGTON - Congresswoman Velázquez (D-NY) successfully passed an amendment to H.R. 4437, the Border Protection, Antiterrorism and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005 that will help ease the tremendous application backlog that has plagued the immigration process in the United States. The amendment enables the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to explore new ways of tackling the issue through pilot initiatives that would ultimately eliminate the immigration backlog and prevent further backlog from occurring.
"Millions of close family members in New York City - and across the country - are finding themselves languishing in a wearisome visa application backlog process for years, waiting to be reunited with their loved ones," Congresswoman Velázquez said. "In a nation where we hear so much about family values being a priority, we must provide relief for these families struggling to be together. My amendment will help reduce the backlog that prevents families from reuniting."
The backlog has affected communities across the country, including New York's 12th congressional district where there continues to be backlogs of over a year. In a number of those cases, the individual has been mistakenly identified by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) as naturalized, when in reality, they are not - creating unnecessary backlogs and posing national security concerns. In other cases throughout the country, individuals have been waiting up to 22 years for their application to be processed.
In 2002, President Bush proposed a $500 million initiative to eliminate the backlog and attain a universal six month processing time standard for all immigration applications within five years. However, while this has helped, recent GAO estimates indicate that USCIS still has 1.2 million cases in its backlog and the agency is unlikely to meet the September 2006 deadline of a 6 month turn around time for applications. The Velázquez amendment directly addresses this issue, and encourages flexibility at the local level so pilot project sites can examine the issue in new ways. The new initiatives would include increasing and transferring personnel to areas with the greatest backlog, streamlining regulations and paperwork, upgrading technology information, and increasing immigration service centers throughout the country.
"The bottom line here is that we must reunite families and ensure immigrant families have the same opportunities to live and work together as native born families," Congresswoman Velázquez said. "This amendment recognizes that there is not one specific approach toward eliminating the backlog, encouraging flexibility at the local level so pilot project sites can examine the problem in different ways."
http://www.house.gov/velazquez/PressReleases/2005/pr121905.htm