Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of H.R. 1630. the Naturalization Amendments of 1989. This legislation will help streamline the naturalization process. U.S. citizenship is the dream of many of the 6.9 million permanent legal residents living here. U.S. citizenship is a twotier process. After applying. the permanent legal resident is interviewed by the Immigration and Naturalization Service [INS]. and then recommended for U.S. citizenship. Next. the resident is sworn in by a Federal court judge as a new U.S. citizen. Unfortunately. this process is wrought with unusually long delays. In many areas of the country. such as my district. applicants may be forced to wait up to 18 months from the time of their interview and approval unitl they receive a court date for their final swearing in ceremony. H.R. 1630 will remove the second tier of the process and provides the applicants with an option. They may wait for a Federal court date. or they may choose to be sworn in at the INS. through administrative naturalization. This could conceivably permit the applicants who have met all the requirements to take their oath the same day as their interview. This bill will not change the statutory criteria for citizenship. but allows qualified applicants to avoid the lengthy delays and have earlier access to the privileges of U.S. citizenship.
Keywords matched
Naturalization naturalization Immigration