Over 2,000 foreign spouses of United States citizens who paid hundreds of dollars in fees to get on what they thought was a 90-day government fast track to a green card interview learned last week that they were instead stuck in the two year backlog with everyone else. A spokesman for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services confirmed that the eight-month-old fast track program was halted in New York last week but was continuing indefinitely in Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago and Dallas to attempt eliminating paperwork backlogs.

Spokesmen for USCIS said the pilot program was dropped last week because it was not meeting its goals: to handle applications within 90 days and to detect a higher incidence of fraud among marriages. He said no refunds were due because the program was an internal management tool and not a guarantee that applicants would be on a fast track.

Some immigration lawyers are disputing these claims, saying that if a marriage-based case was filed in New York after April it was on an expedited track. Some lawyers advised clients stuck in the waiting list to re-file, even though it meant paying fees again, because in most cases approval was granted within four months.

Other immigration lawyers in New York are saying that it was up to the government to end the program, but are critical of the lack of notice. Many applicants now have expiring work authorization and travel permits. Those already scheduled for interviews may still be handled on the fast track, but those who applied in December and January - roughly 2,000 couples - can expect a two-year wait instead.