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NATURALIZATION AND CITIZENSHIP UPDATE
In an effort to reduce the current citizenship backlog, the INS has hired 300 new employees. Two hundred of the employees will be assigned to review applications, conduct interviews, and make decisions, and another 100 are being stationed in the four service centers that process citizenship application - California, Nebraska, Texas and Vermont. The INS is also establishing a national telephone hotline for questions about eligibility, the application process, and individual case status. Also, all files will be moved to a central office, to be established in Missouri, in an effort to reduce the number one complaint about the Service, lost paperwork. 
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The INS office in Los Angeles has admitted that it wrongfully delayed processing some citizenship application in a mistaken belief that the applicants were required to pay an additional $ 130 after the citizenship fee rose from $ 95 to $ 225. As many as 2,500 people were effected. They should be receiving a letter in the mail explaining the mistake.
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An internal error at the INS caused the date and time of some 10,000 naturalization ceremonies on notices sent to successful citizenship applicants in the past few months. Anyone who received an ineligible notice can call (213) 894-0422 or (213) 894-2802 to find out when their oath taking is scheduled. These lines are English speaking only, so non-English speakers may wish to have someone present to translate.