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NATURALIZATION AND CITIZENSHIP UPDATE
A special citizenship ceremony for 500 immigrants scheduled in Dearborn, Michigan was cancelled because of disputes about one of the ceremony's sponsor's immigration status. Imad Hamad, a Lebanese national and the regional director of the American-Arab Antidiscrimination Committee, has been the subject of several deportation efforts. The INS alleges he was a member of the Palestinian Liberation Organization and has sought his deportation since 1990. The INS first denied this was the reason for the cancellation, initially blaming it on a procedural mix-up. The INS is currently appealing its failed attempt to deport Hamad.
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Immigrants who filed applications for citizenship in large numbers this month, trying to file their applications before the new rate change took effect on January 15th. The filing fee for Form N-400, the Application for Naturalization increased from  to 5, an increase of 137%. It is hoped that the increased revenue will allow the INS to process citizenship application more quickly and reduce the backlog, which currently stands at 1.8 million. However, critics maintain that the price increase may work to deter eligible immigrants from applying for citizenship. They also point out that it is unfair to pay more and yet get their applications processed no quicker. According to the INS, the average waiting period around the country is now 24 months, down from a high of 27 months in October 1997. The Service hopes to cut the waiting period down to 12 months by late 1999 and by the end of 2000, down to less than six months.
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The INS has released a new naturalization handbook for the public. We have linked the booklet in the Documents Collection on our web site. Go to http://www.visalaw.com/docs.