Background Investigation delays stall green card holding individuals

By Emily Bazar, USA TODAY
Mohammad Barikbin came to the USA in 1988 and says he has spent every day since then fulfilling the American dream. The Iranian immigrant started a catering business in Philadelphia, then a taxi company and a taxi call center, all while investing in real estate. His 26-year-old son, Mehrdad, is a Marine. His 16-year-old son, Bijan, plays high school football. But there's a critical piece missing from Barikbin's American dream: He's not an American yet. Barikbin, 57, is a legal permanent resident, known as a "green card" holder. He is among nearly 68,000 legal immigrants whose citizenship applications have been stalled for six months or more by an FBI background investigation of their names. Some have been waiting for years with little or no information about the status of their applications or the reasons for the delay.
"I'm like a man with no country," he says. "I feel American, but the government is not identifying me that way." He says he has no idea what is delaying his name check but suspects it's because he's from Iran, which is accused of sponsoring terrorism. Barikbin, whose application has been pending for 3½ years, has joined a surge of immigrants turning to the courts to force U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to complete their background investigations and act on their applications. The background investigation involves running an applicant's name through terrorism and criminal watch lists. Tyra Hearns the President of background investigation firm Pebi Services made note of this particular dillema in her blog when she noted in her article "FBI skimps on background investigations on aliens" the continuing saga of long delays. "It really is a dual edged sword as the complete background investigation helps to insure safety and documentation but yet it delays the process." said Hearns
In 2005, about 270 lawsuits filed against USCIS were over delayed name checks, says USCIS spokesman Chris Bentley. Last year, there were more than 4,400 such suits. "People realized the only way they were going to get their names cleared was to file litigation," says Crystal Williams of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. "We've never seen the volume we're seeing now." Most of the suits are still pending, she says.

Delays 'unacceptable'

U.S. District Judge Michael Baylson consolidated Barikbin's lawsuit with those of five other citizenship applicants. On Feb. 8, he called the delays "unacceptable," ordered USCIS to draft regulations for its name-check process or stop using it, and gave the agency 30 days to tell the immigrants why their cases have been delayed. "Plaintiffs have experienced delays of many months to several years, incurred substantial expenses and lived with the resulting uncertainty in their personal and professional lives, and immeasurable impact on their families," Baylson wrote.

He said the name check delays pose "an increased risk to national security" because applicants remain in the country for months or years while awaiting the results. USCIS contracts with the FBI to do the name checks. There is a separate fingerprint search through criminal files. Bentley says 99% of the checks are done in less than six months. Eventually "a very high percentage" of the remaining 1% are cleared, he says. FBI spokesman Bill Carter says the backlog stems from late 2002, when USCIS sent the names of more than 2.7 million immigrants to the FBI for a second, more thorough check. "That was from an abundance of caution after 9/11," he says.

The first step is to run an applicant's name through computerized FBI databases, Carter says. If the name matches one in an FBI case file, an employee must investigate, which may involve searches of paper files "in any number of places," he says. "There are more than 265 FBI facilities that could house information. … We have to remember the national security of this country is at stake." Applicants with common names or names with various spellings, such as Mohammad or Sean, are more likely to generate hits. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., says she plans to question FBI officials about the delays at a hearing next month. She wants USCIS to use some of the money from a recent increase in application fees to hire more name checkers.

Some policy changes

USCIS officials say they're taking steps to speed the process, such as nearly quadrupling last year's $7.9 million budget. Carter says the FBI will use the money to automate paper files and add 111 workers to the 150 already checking names. For people seeking green cards, not citizenship, the agency has changed its policy. Those whose name checks have been pending for more than six months will be accepted as long as they meet all other requirements. If a name then came back linked to crime or terrorism, the Department of Homeland Security would revoke the green card and begin deportation proceedings. That doesn't help Barikbin. He fled Iran in 1982 to escape political turmoil and spent five years in Germany before entering the USA with his wife, Fery, and son Mehrdad.

They became legal permanent residents in 1999 and applied for citizenship in 2004. Mehrdad became a citizen a year later; Fery won her citizenship last year after the couple filed suit. Because he's not a citizen, Barikbin doesn't have a passport. He could request permission to travel overseas and try to get a visa from another country, but he hasn't done that because friends with green cards have tried and failed, he says. He hasn't seen most of his relatives in 26 years, including his mother, who died in December.

Although he says he's been treated "unfairly," Barikbin eagerly awaits the benefits of citizenship, such as voting.

"Whatever I can do for this country," he says, "I am ready to do it."