San Diego Immigration Lawyer – N400 Name Check Delays Update

The Name Check that are holding thousands of Citizenship and regular adjustment cases, are of major concern to many of our Blog readers and clients. Clients call me almost every day asking why there is no N400 interview scheduled, why after passing the interview they are still pending for months and months. I often tell them that the security clearance issue must be looked at on a case by case basis.

Earlier this year USCIS announced that by December, 2008, the FBI will process all name checks that have been pending more than one year. This is true in many cases, yet there are still numerous files that are pending.

By February, 2009, the FBI will process all name checks that have been pending more than 180 days. Finally, by June, 2009, the FBI plans on processing 98% of all name checks within 30 days and the remaining 2% in 90 days. This could be great news, but I doubt they will reach this goal.

N-400 name check applications must be completed before the N-400 can be approved. Therefore, any viable plan to reduce the current name check times is welcome news, the problem is that applicants rely on such news and when in practice USCIS can’t deliver, the quickly will loose the public’s trust.

We will keep monitoring the situation and assist our clients as best we can, either with follow up, or litigation if necessary.