Federal judges in some parts of the US are delaying the swearing-in of new citizens, with the intent of courts keeping millions of dollars of naturalization fees paid my immigrants, according to a new USCIS report and immigration analysis.  The Washington Post reports that USCIS ombudsman Michael Dougherty’s 13-page report details numerous instances of delays.  In one court, a federal judges delay caused nearly 2,000 people to not receive the oath in time to register for November’s general election.

The report adds new fuel to the history of complaints that citizenship applicants face long waits, poor service, and uneven treatment from US immigration courts depending on which office handles their application.  USCIS has made improvements in clearing applicant backlogs since summer 2007, including working with the FBI to speed up background checks, but the new report still suggests that a more improved system is vital.

The findings are atypical of most citizenship procedures, Dougherty notes, as “federal courts are very responsive” to USCIS requests for naturalization processes.  However, the report finds that in some instances, “court officials denied USCIS the opportunity to naturalize persons in time to vote in the recent general elections” and “otherwise engaged in conduct inconsistent with the letter or the spirit” of the nation’s immigration law. 

Citing one specific example, the report state that immigration officials asked a US district judge this summer to schedule more ceremonies or to allow the agency to administer the oath itself to new citizens, but the request was denied.  A USCIS district director was told the court had already “done more than its share” in swearing in new citizens, according to the report.  Dougherty did not name the judge, except to say that the situation arose in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago or Detroit, the four US cities where courts retain exclusive jurisdiction over naturalization cases.  “Courts that choose to assert exclusive authority to naturalize new citizens should also embrace a customer service ethic that recognizes the singular importance of oath ceremonies,” Dougherty said via a DHS press release.

The report noted that courts receive approximately $14.09 per oath administered, and that USCIS allocated $8.7 million last year for this purpose.  But the report added that USCIS officials “are very reliant on the cooperation of court officials’ to meet naturalization goals, citing their ‘substantial power’ and a ‘lack of parity’” with immigration officials.  Prakash Khatri, who was Dougherty’s predecessor until 2008, said fee revenue is an incentive for judges to perform oath ceremonies themselves instead of allowing the agency to handle them.  “In many areas of the country, the judiciary has held USCIS hostage for a court fee that these jurisdictions are not giving up,” Khatri said.  “People wait for months after their naturalization applications are approved, only to find that the delay is a direct result of judges not scheduling naturalization ceremonies.”

Dougherty recommended that the agency and the courts work together to set rules for how each side handles oath ceremonies “to ensure a consistent customer service ethic that safeguards the significance of the event for new citizens.”