Mr. Speaker. becoming a naturalized citizen In this Nation is no easy task. Under our present procedure. applicants must deal with two branches of government. Throughout the Nation there are differing. seemingly haphazard variations. within the Immigration and Naturalization Services decisionmaking process. The tests for English language and U.S. Government and history proficiency vary widely from region to region. Thus. applicants are left anxious and unaware of the requirements for naturalization. Often they are not given any direction on how to pass the examination nor on the subsequent steps in the administrative process. Once applicants have made their way through the mysterious Immigration and Naturalization Service procedure. their path to citizenship is delayed once again. The U.S. district courts have a huge backlog of immigration cases. Once all of the substantive process of naturalization is completed. applicants must wait up to a year to be sworn in. Mr. Speaker. H.R. 1630 streamlines this process by condensing the present twotiered system into one. It does so by vesting naturalization authority with the Attorney General instead of with the U.S. district courts. The district courts would. however. retain the authority to swear in any new citizen who chose to have the oath administered by the court rather than the Department of Justice. In addition. the bill calls upon the Attorney General to establish uniform guidelines and criteria for the examination. These changes will clarify and shorten the naturalization process. Mr. Speaker. I urge my fellow Members to join me in making naturalization an enriching rather than discouraging experience by supporting H.R.
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