‘Really heartbreaking for me’: Thousands of naturalization cases backlogged as November approaches – By Gabe Ortiz (Daily Kos) / Sept 7 2020
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the federal agency that processes paperwork like naturalization forms, may have been saved at the last minute from a near shutdown, but that’s little consolation to immigrants who have been stuck in a backlog and fear they won’t be able to become U.S. citizens in time for November’s election.
“USCIS has not disclosed the exact number of backlogged cases,” The Washington Post reports, “but it says hundreds of thousands of citizenship applications are pending—many of them caught in a bureaucratic limbo with the presidential election less than three months away.” What a fortunate coincidence for an impeached president who has literally sued to stop more Americans from voting.
Among those waiting is Laura Muñoz, who’s originally from Colombia and submitted her paperwork nearly a year ago. “But the 26-year-old hasn’t heard back about the next step in her naturalization process, even though she is in the final stages,” the report continued. “With the early October voter registration deadline in Florida quickly approaching, she is no longer confident about her prospect of voting for the first time this year.”
Many have been delayed due to a circumstances completely out of their hands: Boundless, a company that assists immigrants with their paperwork, said in April that it estimated that over 125,000 people were nearing the citizenship finish line when the novel coronavirus pandemic forced USCIS office closures. But when immigrants pleaded to be sworn in virtually so they could complete the process, USCIS adamantly refused. Some immigrants had to sue, and won.
Continue to article: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/9/7/1974131/–Really-heartbreaking-for-me-Thousands-of-naturalization-cases-backlogged-as-November-approaches
