Immigrants Suing to Force Action on Citizenship Apps
After waiting five years, a veteran federal government employee has decided to sue to force movement on his citizenship petition.
Rodrigo Alvear has worked as a federal employee, including three years in the Army, for 30 years. The Chicago Tribune (reg. req.) reports Alvear is among hundreds of thousands awaiting word on their citizenship applications because of a backlog of FBI background checks.
Alvear, a U.S. Postal Service employee, is among a growing number of individuals who are pursuing legal action to kick-start their cases.
Federal officials blame staffing and lack of resources coupled with a surge of citizenship applications. The Tribune reports that applications jumped between October 2006 and October 2007 to 1.4 million, which is double the normal amount.
