BCIS Director Addresses Application Backlog

Upon creation, some of the immediate goals of BCIS were to improve immigration customer services, continue to eliminate backlogs of immigration adjudications, and promote national security. Today, the BCIS claims it continues to transform and improve immigration and citizenship services.

BCIS Director Eduardo Aguirre has now announced that he is taking steps to reduce the long-standing backlog of immigration applications. The use of new technology will increase the efficiency of the BCIS, as well as reduce wait times and application backlogs. Aguirre acknowledged that BCIS’ technology is behind and a lot of work is done manually. BCIS is now researching information technology systems in order to improve its efficiency.

Backward technology is not the only cause of backlog. Heightened security has also affected backlog so that an U.S. citizenship applicant must wait a year or more for a response. Applicants in certain parts of the U.S. must wait over two years. Adjudicators scrutinize applications more closely and the Department of Homeland Security has denied 11 percent more visa and green card applications than the INS did one year ago.

BCIS continues to rely on former INS managers, now stationed in ICE, for administrative support. This has led to concern among agency employees that BCIS may not receive first priority for congressionally appropriated funding, and therefore be unable to make technological investments that will reduce backlog.

Aguirre has already made improvements in BCIS’ efficiency. In May, Aguirre introduced E-filing for forms I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization) and I-90 (Application for Replacement of Green Card), which allow the BCIS to produce a high quality immigration document with special security features. These two forms make up about thirty percent of benefit applications filed at BCIS each year. He has also reduced lines at BCIS offices by allowing immigrants to schedule appointments with immigrations adjudicators online. Aguirre plans to meet President Bush’s goal to reduce wait times on immigrant applications to no more than six months by 2006.