Letter: David M. Walker, Comptroller General, Government Accountability Office

Letter: David M. Walker, Comptroller General, Government Accountability Office

Dear Comptroller Walker:

We are writing to formally request that Government Accountability Office (GAO) conduct a study on the legal permanent resident and the naturalization process. Specifically we would like GAO to analyze the system that the Federal Bureau of Investigations' (FBI) uses to conduct background checks during the legal permanent resident and naturalization processes. We have heard from many constituents who have lost their eligibility for citizenship or for legal permanent resident status when the length of time used to conduct their background checks went beyond the allotted time for the residency and naturalization process. We would like GAO to determine:

The number of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services customers who have been waiting for their names to clear for more than:

6 months;
1 year;
1.5 years;
2 years;
2.5 years; and
3 years.

? The breakdown of the countries of origin for applicants who have waited over 6 months, and the number of applicants per country;

? The reason why the checks currently take so long;

? The process changes that would be needed to reduce the length of time for name checks for each applicant;

? The estimated time when the FBI will have all records and files for background checks stored electronically; and

? The estimated reduction in the backlog once all of the applicants' files are stored electronically.

http://www.house.gov/schakowsky/PressRelease_2_12_07_GAOImmigrationLtr.html