On May 18, 2000, U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) introduced bipartisan legislation to provide the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) with the resources it needs to help eliminate the current backlog in naturalization, adjustments of status, and visa applications.

The Immigration Services and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2000 (S. 2586) also provides more direction and greater accountability on how the INS uses funds appropriated by Congress.  The bill is cosponsored by Senators Spencer Abraham (R-MI), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee's Immigration panel, Patrick Leahy (D-VT), ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, Mike DeWine (R-OH), Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY), Harry Reid (D-NV), Jim Jeffords (R-VT), Barbara Mikulksi (D-MD), Bob Graham (D-FL), and Richard Durbin (D-IL).

"This legislation will enable the INS to cut through and reduce the unacceptably long backlogs in processing applications for naturalization, adjustment of status, and other immigration benefits" Senator Feinstein said.  "The measure would provide the INS with the resources the agency needs to reduce the backlog while at the same time hold the INS accountable to get the job done.

"It has now become all too clear to me that INS must re-engineer its adjudication process, which will require both additional resources and strong congressional direction and oversight. All of us have heard the horrors stories of long delays in processing naturalization and immigrant applications. What was once a 6-month process has now become a 3-to 4-year ordeal. There are simply too many victims today of an agency that is in dire need of a change in the way it does business."

The measure would enable millions of law-abiding citizens, residents, immigrants, and businesses who have played by the rules and paid fees to the INS to have their applications processed in a timely manner.

"As one who represents California -- the top immigrant receiving state -- I have seen firsthand how families and businesses can be disproportionately affected by the smallest fluctuations in INS resources and services," Senator Feinstein said. "One out of every four Californians — roughly 8.5 million people — is foreign born. The average number of new immigrants to the State is more than 300,000 annually.

The constant processing delays at the INS have had a tremendous impact on the ability of immigrants to naturalize. And these delays also affect their ability to seek out a range of services related to their application for green cards, work authorization, and family reunification. Applicants for services are never really sure if their application is still in the process or lost, especially when it's the expected time for an interview notice or fingerprint.

Both immigration advocates and the Administration have indicated their support for mechanisms such as those included in this measure. I have also worked closely with the business community and the immigration community in drafting the legislation. This bill would provide direction and accountability on how the INS uses appropriated funds.

The bottom line is that reducing backlogs will help businesses that need to retain foreign employees; U.S. citizen constituents trying to reunite with family members; and immigrants seeking to become U.S. citizens."

In the United States today, there are 1.3 million pending citizenship applications. While INS has made some progress in this area, the agency has a long way to go to reduce the wait to where we were 10 years ago. The average wait for naturalization is now 14 months, while it was 6 months just a decade ago. For adjustment of Permanent Resident Status, there are 957,350 pending applications, representing an 800% increase since 1994 and the wait is now up to 29 months.

Specifically, the Immigration Services and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2000 would:

• Create a separate account and authorize such sums as may be necessary to fund it in order to permit INS to fund across several fiscal years infrastructure improvements, including additional staff, computer records management, fingerprinting, and nationwide computer integration. Moreover, it would pay for these infrastructure improvements through direct appropriations rather than through increased application fees.
• Require INS to put together a plan on how it will eliminate existing backlogs and report on this plan before it could access any of the funds. In its report, the INS would be required to describe its current processing capabilities and detail its plans to eliminate existing backlogs in immigration benefit applications and petitions.
• Require the U.S. Department of Justice to submit an annual, detailed report to Congress, including data on the number of naturalization applications and immigration petitions processed and adjudicated in each of the fiscal years following enactment.