INS HQ Ambitious on Green Card and Naturalization Processing
Posted Jul 31, 2000

On May 1, 2000, William R. Yates, Deputy Executive Associate Commissioner, Immigration Services Division at INS, issued a memo (Yates Memo) outlining a plan to eliminate backlogs in naturalization (N-400) and adjustment of status (I-485) processing.

The Yates Memo mandates the completion of all pre-July 1998 naturalization applications by the end of FY 2000 (September 30, 2000). INS offices are also directed to process cases in the order of receipt as much as possible. As many MurthyBulletin readers may be aware, cases are currently processed on multiple tracks. Some recent I-485s and N-400s may be approved quite quickly, while older cases are still awaiting decisions.

The Yates Memo will require offices to focus on clearing out the old cases first. Of course, such a practice makes logical sense, but there is also a cost savings for INS. For example, fingerprints are considered to have expired in 15 months. If a case is not adjudicated within 15 months of fingerprinting, the applicant must be printed again, wasting the government's time and money, and causing inconvenience to the applicant.

When a case is not decided at the interview and more documentation is requested from the applicant, the Yates Memo also requires that the case be completed within 120 days after the interview. With respect to N-400s, this 120-day timeframe is a statutory requirement. For I-485s, Yates states, "good customer service requires that these cases be decided within 120 days of interview as well."

While there have been noticeable improvements in I-485 timeframes overall, for N-400s only some locations have been able to decrease processing times significantly. As some MurthyBulletin readers may be aware, prior to his transfer to INS headquarters, Bill Yates was the Director of the Vermont Service Center, where he was known for his outstanding leadership and for making that Center one of the most efficient government organizations. As Deputy Executive Associate Commissioner of the INS, his job is to streamline and organize all the Service Centers and District Offices. We certainly wish him success in these continuing endeavors, and hope that applicants at all the INS Service Centers and the local INS district offices will shortly be able to experience the improvements first-hand.