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Immigration

FBI, Homeland Security lawsuits resolve unwarranted immigration delays

Part of the process of becoming a lawful permanent resident ("Green Card") or a naturalized U.S. citizen involves a computer-based search of the applicant’s name. This search, conducted by the FBI, is to ensure that no red flags are raised at any of 23 different federal agencies. Most of the time the results are clear -- either there is an issue that makes the applicant ineligible for permanent residence or citizenship, or the name check is completed without incident. Approximately 15% of the time, however, the FBI is unable to determine whether or not there is adverse information about the applicant. This occurs because the applicant shares a name with someone on the red-flag list or even has a similar name. In those cases, a manual check of the person’s name must be made. At this point, the process often goes from moving along at an acceptable pace to slowing down to a near halt.

To assist applicants caught in this quagmire, which has put family and professional lives on hold for as long as five years, immigration and litigation attorneys at Hodgson Russ have taken the drastic but effective step of suing in federal court the heads of the agencies charged with causing these untenable delays. The suits charged the directors of the FBI, Homeland Security, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS), and the appropriate local CIS district director with failing to obtain the required security checks in a reasonable time. To date, none of these suits has needed to proceed to trial, and within four months of instituting the suit, the FBI has completed the required name check. This has allowed clients to have their applications for permanent residence and U.S. citizenship granted.

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.