- For the past three years, the INS has received a skyrocketing numbers of new naturalization applications. In Fiscal Year 1997, the INS received 1.6 million new applications. That was an increase of more than 400% from the figure for 1992. And as the number of applications has increased, the backlog of cases at INS has surged as well. In some parts of the country, naturalization processing can take as long as three years.

Now the INS is reporting a dramatic and unexpected drop in new applicants. The INS originally anticipated receiving 1.6 million applicants again for Fiscal Year 1998, which ends on September 30th. Now the INS believes the total number of applications will be just 800,000. And the numbers for the next fiscal year are now expected to be just 700,000.

The INS is telling us that the drop in applications could actually make the backlog WORSE. The INS has been using a sizeable portion of the increased revenues over the past few years to overhaul the naturalization system rather than work the backlog. Some of that revenue went into implementing changes to make the system more efficient and some went to implementing security measures to prevent persons from being improperly approved for naturalization. Not enough was being spent on working the cases in order to keep up with the demand. Now the amount of fee revenue is dropping quickly and the INS does not have the money to continue overhauling the system and to work the massive backlog of cases.

The INS is hoping to make the money up from two areas - more money from Congress (see story earlier in this issue) and by raising filing fees (see story later in this issue). The Clinton Administration is considering asking Congress for an extra $100 million to help clear the backlog. And the INS will increase the filing fee for naturalization applications from $95 to $225 (see the article later in this issue for more details on the overall fee increase plan). The fee increase would at first glance appear to be a retreat from the position taken just a few months ago by INS Commissioner Meissner. Meissner had promised not to increase the filing fee until the INS made a dramatic dent in reducing the naturalization backlog and processing times. But the INS claims that the agency has seen a tremendous increase in productivity since January in most INS offices and that applicants will start to feel the change soon.

Some may wonder how the INS could be so wrong about the numbers of naturalization applicants. After all, the fiscal year is almost over. Apparently, the statistics have been making the rounds at INS for some time, but officials just did not believe they could be true. Many thought that applications must be sitting in unopened boxes in INS field offices and just had not been logged into the computer. But there were no unopened boxes and all the cases were in the system. And now the INS moves into a completely unexpected new crisis stage.

- The American Bar Association has gone on record opposing new legislative efforts to dramatically tighten the naturalization process. The ABA noted in its most recent Journal that it supports the current naturalization eligibility requirements and opposes proposed new measures in the legislation that would permanently bar the naturalization of individuals who may have committed minor crimes long ago or even technical violations of the immigration laws. The ABA also opposes legislative provisions that would change the naturalization rules to bar people from naturalizing on the basis of past conduct that would not have barred them when the conduct occurred. And the ABA does not agree with provisions that would require immigration officials to conduct investigations into the private lives of naturalization applicants and require evidence from foreign governments proving applicants' "good moral character" for several years before entering the US. The ABA opposes the Smith-Abraham Bill that contains a number of the provisions mentioned above. Instead, it endorses a proposal by Senator Kennedy (D-MA) and Congressman Richard Gephart (D-MO) that would not change existing naturalization requirements but would require the INS to cut naturalization processing times to six months with no backlogs.