Slowdown in INS Green Card Processing Likely After New Security Mandate
On Friday, May 10, 2002, the INS sent out an agency-wide memo requiring that the names of applicants for green cards and naturalizations be checked against the Interagency Border Inspection System (IBIS) database. This database contains criminal information and immigration histories compiled from the FBI, the INS, the U.S. Customs Service, and other government agencies.

According to reports, INS employees in some offices lack the necessary computers and familiarity with the IBIS in order to complete the mandated checks quickly. As a result, applications are beginning to back up at these offices.

The extent of this problem is not known – it may be confined to a few INS offices, or it could be an issue throughout the country. What is clear is that this situation is causing a slowdown in the processing of green card and citizenship applications in the affected offices, and causing the once-diminishing backlog of immigration applications to grow again. The INS has not issued any guidance on which specific offices are experiencing these slowdowns, but there are indications that this problem could be agency-wide. A Congressional briefing on this issue is likely to be held the week of May 20.

The INS has not indicated that the processing of non-immigrant visas is being affected by this issue, but the possibility of slower processing should be taken into account when beginning any non-immigrant application, such as an H-1B, TN, or L, in the next few weeks. If you have a pressing work visa issue, you may want to consider premium processing for the matter. Premium processing is a service offered by the INS that guarantees the agency will render a decision on selected non-immigrant applications within 15 calendar days.

The Bottom Line: Expect longer processing times for your green card and citizenship matters, and possibly for your work visa applications as well. Take this extra time into account when planning your upcoming immigration issues.