II

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1717

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to strengthen the

naturalization process.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 5, 1998

Mr. KENNEDY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to strengthen

the naturalization process.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘New American Citizen5 ship Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. DECLARATION AND PURPOSES.

7 (a) DECLARATIONS.—(1) Congress declares that it is

8 the historic policy of the United States to welcome as new

9 American citizens those legal immigrants who qualify for

10 naturalization and who are committed to American demo-
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1 cratic principles, our form of Government, and the Con2 stitution of the United States.

3 (2) Congress reaffirms the existing statutory require4 ments for naturalization concerning good moral character,

5 lawful and continuous residence in the United States, and

6 an understanding of the English language and the history,

7 principles, and form of Government of the United States.

8 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are to en9 sure that—

10 (1) the naturalization process of the United

11 States properly welcomes those who are committed

12 to American citizenship to participate fully in Amer13 ican civic life;

14 (2) the act of naturalization is reserved for

15 those who meet the qualifications established by the

16 Constitution and the laws and policies of the United

17 States;

18 (3) individuals applying for naturalization are

19 provided a fair, efficient, and affordable process;

20 (4) the backlog of pending applications for nat21 uralization is reduced so that qualified applicants

22 may become new American citizens within six

23 months of applying for naturalization; and
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1 (5) the Immigration and Naturalization Service

2 provides adequate assistance and information to in3 dividuals applying for naturalization.

4 SEC. 3. BACKLOG REDUCTION.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall

6 present to Congress not later than 3 months after the date

7 of enactment of this Act a detailed plan for substantially

8 reducing the backlog at each district and regional office

9 of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The plan

10 shall include specific target dates for reducing or eliminat11 ing the backlog, and the percentage of reduction that will

12 be achieved by each target date.

13 (b) REPORT.—During each of the fiscal years 1998,

14 1999, 2000, and 2001, the Attorney General shall submit

15 a monthly report to the Committees on the Judiciary of

16 the Senate and the House of Representatives concerning

17 the progress that is being made in meeting the targets

18 to reduce the backlog of naturalization applications.

19 SEC. 4. EQUIPPING NEW AMERICANS FOR CITIZENSHIP.

20 (a) INTEGRITY OF TESTING PROCEDURES.—The At21 torney General shall ensure that procedures utilized by the

22 Immigration and Naturalization Service to carry out the

23 standardized naturalization examinations include the fol24 lowing:

25 (1) ADMINISTRATION OF EXAMINATIONS.—
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1 (A) PROCTORING.—All standardized natu2 ralization examinations shall be proctored by an

3 entity certified by the Immigration and Natu4 ralization Service to perform such function. The

5 Immigration and Naturalization Service may

6 certify more than 1 entity to proctor naturaliza7 tion examinations.

8 (B) SPECIAL RULE FOR ‘‘FOR-PROFIT’’ EN9 TITIES.—A for-profit organization shall not be

10 allowed to administer or proctor the standard11 ized naturalization examination if such organi12 zation also provides citizenship courses.

13 (2) PILOT PROGRAM.—During the 24-month

14 period beginning on the date of enactment of this

15 Act, the Attorney General, through a board or con16 tractor determined by the Attorney General to be

17 qualified to administer standardized examinations,

18 shall test the feasibility of administering naturaliza19 tion examinations to a representative sample of im20 migrants throughout the United States. The Attor21 ney General shall allow for special arrangements for

22 naturalization applicants who are homebound, in

23 nursing homes, need expedited handling of their ap24 plications, or have other extenuating circumstances

25 or incapacitations.
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1 (A) REPORT.—Not later than 12 months

2 after the institution of the pilot program under

3 this subsection, the Attorney General shall sub4 mit a report to Congress regarding the future

5 feasibility of the program.

6 (B) REQUIREMENTS OF BOARD OR CON7 TRACTOR.—The board or contractor selected by

8 the Attorney General to develop and administer

9 a standardized test under the pilot program

10 shall—

11 (i) be qualified to administer stand12 ardized examinations and able to ensure

13 the integrity of the examination process

14 through the use of proctors or other appro15 priate means;

16 (ii) be able to offer the examination at

17 multiple test sites located within immi18 grant communities;

19 (iii) prepare multiple versions of the

20 naturalization examination to be used at

21 each examination site, and must revise the

22 examinations on at least a quarterly basis;

23 and

24 (iv) have the ability to offer the exam25 ination with enough frequency to meet the
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1 needs of each community in which the ex2 amination is offered.

3 (C) APPEALS.—The Attorney General shall

4 provide an appeals process to permit immi5 grants who fail the standardized naturalization

6 examination under the pilot program to either

7 have the examination results reviewed by an

8 independent examiner or retake the examina9 tion at no cost.

10 (3) CONTENT OF TEST.—Any new or rede11 signed naturalization examination developed pursu12 ant to this Act shall not create barriers to citizen13 ship that did not exist under the examinations used

14 before the enactment of this Act.

15 (b) PROVISION OF NATURALIZATION MATERIALS.—

16 (1) MATERIALS FOR HOME-STUDY.—The Attor17 ney General through the Immigration and Natu18 ralization Service shall make sufficient material,

19 such as textbooks and sample questions, available at

20 no cost to naturalization applicants who choose to

21 study for the naturalization examination without the

22 assistance of a citizenship course.

23 (2) HANDBOOK.—Upon request, and at the

24 time of adjustment to or admission as a lawful per-
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1 manent resident, the Attorney General shall provide

2 each such individual with a handbook describing—

3 (A) the process for obtaining citizenship

4 through naturalization, as well as information

5 on the requirements for naturalization, includ6 ing the good moral character and continuous

7 residency requirements;

8 (B) information on the civics and English

9 language portions of the naturalization exam10 ination; and

11 (C) the privileges and responsibilities of

12 citizenship, including the right to vote only

13 after taking the oath of allegiance.

14 (3) DISSEMINATION OF MATERIALS.—

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General

16 shall widely disseminate, at no cost, to public

17 schools and organizations that provide instruc18 tion on citizenship responsibilities and prepare

19 applicants for the naturalization examination

20 materials, such as textbooks, sample questions,

21 and other information regarding the content of

22 the naturalization examination that the Immi23 gration and Naturalization Service determines

24 relevant to assist such organizations in prepar-
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1 ing applicants for the naturalization examina2 tion.

3 (B) DEVELOPMENT.—The materials de4 scribed in this subsection shall be developed in

5 consultation with adult educators and organiza6 tions that offer citizenship courses.

7 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Except as provided in sub8 section (a)(2), this section shall take effect on the date

9 that is 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act.

10 SEC. 5. PLAN FOR ENSURING EFFICIENCY AND INTEGRITY

11 OF THE NATURALIZATION PROCESS.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the

13 date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall

14 develop a plan for ensuring the efficiency and integrity

15 of the naturalization process.

16 (b) OBJECTIVES.—The plan described in subsection

17 (a) shall have the following objectives:

18 (1) To substantially increase the efficiency of

19 the naturalization process, including the develop20 ment of—

21 (A) a system that requires the Immigra22 tion and Naturalization Service to complete the

23 entire naturalization process in 6 months or

24 less; and
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1 (B) a contingency plan the Immigration

2 and Naturalization Service will use to accommo3 date sudden increases in applications, including

4 arrangements with Congress for the rapid re5 programming of funds and positions when nec6 essary.

7 (2) To increase the integrity and accuracy of

8 naturalization, by taking steps to ensure that—

9 (A) the fingerprint process for naturaliza10 tion applicants is as accurate and secure as

11 possible;

12 (B) there is clear recourse for applicants

13 with illegible or nonexistent fingerprints, includ14 ing communication in writing from the Immi15 gration and Naturalization Service indicating

16 the reasons for rejection of the fingerprints,

17 and instructions on what action, if any, the ap18 plicant must take;

19 (C) the integrity of the naturalization ex20 amination is maintained by ensuring that the

21 examination is applied consistently across the

22 United States, that it adequately tests knowl23 edge of English and civics, and that the exam24 ination is not subject to fraud; and
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1 (D) Immigration and Naturalization Serv2 ice offices are provided with clear guidelines to

3 ensure consistency among offices of the Service

4 in conducting naturalization interviews, includ5 ing the institution of a standard checklist for

6 the relevant components of the applicant’s file,

7 a uniform worksheet for offices to use in deter8 mining eligibility, and a list of examples of the

9 offenses which disqualify applicants for natu10 ralization.

11 (3) To maintain proper oversight of the natu12 ralization process, including—

13 (A) development of national quality assur14 ance procedures to facilitate effective oversight

15 of fingerprint procedures, naturalization exam16 ination centers, and final Immigration and Nat17 uralization Service naturalization interviews;

18 (B) accountability of field personnel in19 volved in the naturalization process to Immigra20 tion and Naturalization Service headquarters;

21 (C) outreach by national and local Immi22 gration and Naturalization Service naturaliza23 tion offices to community groups and State and

24 local officials for the purpose of encouraging
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1 qualified immigrants to seek United States citi2 zenship;

3 (D) ensuring that applicants are treated

4 fairly and hospitably, and that a priority is

5 given to customer service, including increased

6 customer service training for all naturalization

7 adjudication officers;

8 (E) providing naturalization applicants

9 with adequate information on the naturalization

10 process, procedure, and approximate timetable

11 for the entire naturalization process; and

12 (F) ensuring that Immigration and Natu13 ralization Service offices contain sufficient wait14 ing areas with notices of procedure and instruc15 tions in languages common to the community

16 served by the individual office.

17 (4) To ensure that the naturalization process

18 will be continually updated as new innovations

19 emerge, such as—

20 (A) improved data sharing and digital fin21 gerprint technologies; and

22 (B) establishment of a system for local Im23 migration and Naturalization Service offices to

24 share best practices regarding the naturaliza25 tion process, or ideas those offices have to im-
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1 prove the process, and for incorporation of

2 these lessons into ongoing naturalization plan3 ning by the Immigration and Naturalization

4 Service.

5 (c) ACCESS FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES.—

6 In redesigning the naturalization process, the Attorney

7 General shall provide written guidance to the Immigration

8 and Naturalization Service officers and to applicants so

9 that individuals with disabilities are afforded reasonable

10 accommodations throughout the naturalization process,

11 including, but not limited to, access to Immigration and

12 Naturalization Service facilities, testing sites, and to the

13 English language and civics portions of the naturalization

14 examination.

15 SEC. 6. DETERRING NATURALIZATION FRAUD.

16 The Attorney General shall ensure that the natu17 ralization fingerprint submission process deters natu18 ralization fraud and maintains the integrity of the pro19 gram by implementing the following requirements:

20 (1) Except in the case of law enforcement agen21 cies designated by the Immigration and Naturaliza22 tion Service to take fingerprints for naturalization

23 applicants, fingerprint cards shall be sent directly by

24 the Immigration and Naturalization Service, or its

25 designee, to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for
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1 processing, rather than returning the fingerprint

2 card to the applicant for submission.

3 (2) Procuring the technology to institute elec4 tronic fingerprint checks at all Immigration and

5 Naturalization Service offices by the fiscal year

6 2000.

7 SEC. 7. ENSURING INELIGIBLE IMMIGRANTS ARE NOT NAT8 URALIZED.

9 (a) CRIMINAL HISTORY BACKGROUND CHECK.—The

10 Immigration and Naturalization Service shall ensure that

11 a criminal history background check with the Federal Bu12 reau of Investigation is completed for each naturalization

13 applicant prior to the naturalization interview, including

14 requirements that—

15 (1) all fingerprints shall be sent directly to the

16 Federal Bureau of Investigation as described in sec17 tion 6;

18 (2) prior to each naturalization interview, every

19 naturalization file shall contain documented evidence

20 that a criminal background check has been com21 pleted and the results of any background check that

22 indicates an applicant has a Federal Bureau of In23 vestigation record have been received;

24 (3) the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall

25 expeditiously conduct a criminal history background
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1 check on each applicant for naturalization, and shall

2 provide a response describing the applicant’s crimi3 nal history as reflected in the Bureau’s records; and

4 (4) where the applicant cannot provide legible

5 fingerprints, the Federal Bureau of Investigation

6 shall conduct a criminal history background check

7 based on the person’s name and any other method

8 of positive identification used by the Federal Bureau

9 of Investigation for criminal history background

10 checks.

11 (b) NATURALIZATION INTERVIEWS.—All naturaliza12 tion applicants, at the time of a standardized naturaliza13 tion examination or interview by an adjudications officer,

14 shall be required to demonstrate basic ability to speak and

15 understand words in ordinary usage in the English lan16 guage, in accordance with section 312(a)(1) of the Immi17 gration and Nationality Act, unless the applicant is ex18 empt from the requirements of that section pursuant to

19 section 312(b) of such Act, and at the time of interview,

20 each adjudications officer shall—

21 (1) question each applicant about any arrest,

22 charge, conviction, or imprisonment which was re23 vealed as a result of the criminal history check;
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1 (2) determine whether any crime which the ap2 plicant reveals he or she committed is one which

3 would disqualify the applicant from naturalization;

4 (3) verify that the applicant was asked all man5 datory questions during the naturalization interview;

6 (4) refer complex cases involving potentially dis7 qualifying crimes to a supervisory officer for review;

8 (5) ensure that applicants are informed that

9 they are not United States citizens until they take

10 the oath of allegiance; and

11 (6) provide each applicant with information on

12 the legal requirements which need to be fulfilled be13 fore such applicant can register to vote.

14 (c) OATH OF ALLEGIANCE REQUIREMENTS.—The

15 Immigration and Naturalization Service shall ensure that

16 certificates of citizenship are not to be distributed to natu17 ralization applicants prior to taking the oath of allegiance.

18 SEC. 8. FUNDING AND FEES.

19 (a) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Of the funds appro20 priated to the Immigration and Naturalization Service for

21 each of fiscal years 1999, 2000, and 2001, $100,000,000

22 shall be made available for backlog reduction, and techno23 logical and infrastructure changes needed to ensure the

24 appropriate conduct of naturalization activities, including

25 the purchase of equipment for enhanced recordkeeping
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1 and fingerprint checks, the development of testing centers,

2 the conduct of the pilot program described in section

3 4(a)(2), and other purposes.

4 (b) LIMITATION ON FEES.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The naturalization applica6 tion fee charged by the Immigration and Naturaliza7 tion Service shall not exceed $150 per applicant

8 until the backlog of pending naturalization applica9 tions has been substantially reduced in each Immi10 gration and Naturalization Service district.

11 (2) BACKLOG; SUBSTANTIALLY REDUCED.—For

12 purposes of this section:

13 (A) BACKLOG.—The term ‘‘backlog’’

14 means naturalization applications which have

15 been pending for longer than 6 months from

16 the time the application was submitted to the

17 Immigration and Naturalization Service.

18 (B) SUBSTANTIALLY REDUCED.—The

19 backlog of pending naturalization applications

20 for a fiscal year shall be considered to be ‘‘sub21 stantially reduced’’ if the number of naturaliza22 tion applications in the backlog in each Immi23 gration and Naturalization Service district at

24 the end of the fiscal year is at least 30 percent

25 less than the number of applications in the
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1 backlog in each district at the end of the pre2 vious fiscal year.

3 SEC. 9. DEFINITION.

4 In this Act, the term ‘‘Attorney General’’ means the

5 Attorney General, acting through the Commissioner of Im6 migration and Naturalization.

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