Changes to the Naturalization Interview Process of Questionable
Value
By Alan Lee, Esq.†‡
USCIS recently released a 4/25/08 memorandum from Acting Associate
Director of Domestic Operations, Don Neufeld, regarding changes
in the naturalization interview process to “improve the alignment
of essential naturalization activities with the skill sets of our
workforce”. These changes stem from USCIS’s hiring several
hundred new adjudicators in response to the surge of applications
it received last summer and introducing its new officers and staff
to the process.
For the most part, the memo recognized that not every office would
be able to immediately implement every change, but that offices
are encouraged to implement them where possible. The only change
effective immediately is a minor one that applicants should sign
their photos using their normal signatures and that signatures do
not have to be legible and names may be short and consistent with
the applicant's normal signature. The following presupposes implementation
of all of the changes.
The common thread of the changes is that - in an effort to utilize
the new personnel effectively - U.S.C.I.S. will be making applicants
face a battery of personnel dividing tasks traditionally done by
just one examiner. The perceived difficulty here is that many applicants
will feel much more intimidated and unsure of themselves as they
face more questions by persons with different accents. It is difficult
enough for many applicants to understand one accent much less three
or four.
Upon arrival at U.S.C.I.S., the U.S.C.I.S. worker (likely non-officer
level) will have the applicant review the N-400 interview preparation
notice which asks if any changes have occurred since the time of
filing. The notice to be given on the day of interview asks the
applicant to review a list of topics and to be ready to verbally
provide any updated information to the officer during the interim.
The topics are whether name, address, or phone number have changed;
information regarding the number of children and whether there are
additional children; whether the applicant is married, and if the
application is based on marriage to a U.S. citizen, whether the
applicant is currently living with the spouse; whether employment
status has changed, and if employed, the name and address of the
current employer; whether the applicant has been arrested or convicted
of any crime anywhere in the world; whether the applicant has ever
been ordered or deported/removed from the United States; and whether
that applicant has submitted a form N-648 for medical disability
exception with the application or whether the applicant plans to
submit one today. Field offices are also encouraged to verify naturalization
certificate preparation biographic information with the applicant
before the interview. That information includes country of nationality,
date of birth, eye color, hair color, and marital status.
The applicant will then be shuttled to an officer (most likely
immigration information officer although the memo provides for higher
grade personnel also) for administration of the civics test and
English language reading and writing proficiency test. (An information
officer is not an examiner, but a lower grade officer).
Following this, the applicant will meet with the immigration examiner
(adjudications officer or applications adjudicator) who will go
over the N-400 contents with the applicant and whose questions will
focus on eligibility such as crimes or other bars to citizenship.
Last, the “post-examination process” where duties which
have historically been performed by the interviewing officer, will
be handled by a non-officer. These duties include scheduling of
a follow-up appointment for English literacy and/or civics testing;
photo and/or certificate signing; and oath ceremony scheduling.
As new employees will be doing some of the interviews, supervisors
have been instructed to monitor and observe these new officers to
assure that they are asking essential and important questions. This
means that during the interview process, it will not be uncommon
to have additional employees present.
The naturalization interview for most applicants is nerve-racking
enough without the added pressure of facing three-four different
immigration personnel in an assembly line process. It must be remembered
that many naturalization applicants are not very familiar with the
English language, and study very hard to face the challenge of the
naturalization interview and test. These changes while undoubtedly
proposed with the best intentions will have a dampening effect on
their ability to naturalize. The question that U.S.C.I.S. should
be asking itself is whether it wishes to encourage or discourage
these permanent residents in their citizenship quest. While U.S.C.I.S.
may wish to make more efficient use of adjudications officer time,
the benefit would not appear to outweigh the cost of more failed
applicants along with confusion and dread on their part in being
passed from one person to another. Applicants deserve better for
the $675 they now pay to the agency as filing fee. (We remember
long ago which the filing fee was $15). Other negative aspects of
the changes include temptation by each of the way-station handlers
to amplify their roles and to ask more questions than would an examiner
presently, and the additional amount of time that applicants will
have to spend in the immigration office as the file passes through
the multiple way stations. And the memorandum fails to go over the
situation in which the testing officer may determine that the applicant
has passed the test, but the actual adjudicator does not believe
the applicant to be a good candidate for citizenship because he
or she stumbles over questions on the application or cannot answer
questions well because of lack of true English proficiency. In that
case, is there a conflict? If the only question is English proficiency
and the applicant has already passed the English test with the testing
officer, can the adjudicating officer reject the candidate on English
grounds alone? These factors and questions all make the Neufeld
scheme less than satisfactory. The present system of having the
interviewing officer go over the application and administer the
testing - while not perfect - should be preserved. The N-400 interview
preparation notice should simply be handed to the applicant with
explanation but no questions by the receptionist or (in a small
office) by the guard at the door. Verification of naturalization
certificate biographic information takes less than one minute and
should still be done with the adjudicator who already has the applicant
and file before him/her. The only change which this writer whole
heartedly endorses is the post examination process being handled
by a non-officer since that occurs after the interview.
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