[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 25]
[House]
[Pages 34002-34003]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   NATURALIZATION APPLICATION BACKLOG

  (Ms. SOLIS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. SOLIS. Madam Speaker, today I rise to discuss the naturalization 
application backlog at the United States Citizenship and Immigration 
Services Agency, known as USCIS.
  In July 2007, the Bush administration raised the naturalization fee 
application by 66 percent, from $400 to $675. The fee increase was 
meant to improve the process of these applications. Yet, recent reports 
state that the USCIS is months behind in scheduling, so they aren't 
even beginning to process these applications.
  The Department of Homeland Security estimates it will take 16 to 18 
months to process these applications that have been filed by June 1, 
2007. These delays are going to hinder hundreds of thousands of people 
from exercising their vote to be a part of history, the Presidential 
elections that are coming up in November. How abysmal this is for us to 
give that information to so many people who are playing by the rules, 
who are waiting in line to become U.S. citizens. These are people from 
across the world waiting in line. We have to do something. I urge my 
colleagues to step up to the plate.

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