Immigration Law

NATURALIZATION CASES - HOW LONG IS TOO LONG?

By Greg Siskind

Dan Kowalski at Bender's Immigration Bulletin has posted an interesting case from the District Court in the Northern District of California. The court in the case of Reddy v. Mueller found that a two year wait in a naturalization case is presumed to be too long and the judge ordered the immigration service to adjudicate the case within 90 days whether the security clearance is finished or not. USCIS argued that it is overworked and simply can't turn cases around faster. The judge was polite, but dismissive:

Yet, although this court appreciates the administrative burden faced by defendants, it does not find that assertions of overwork alone are sufficient to justify substantial delays.See Yu v. Brown, 36 F. Supp.2d 922, 934 (D.N.M. 1999) ("[D]elays of [a significant] magnitude, particularly when they occur over uncomplicated matters of great importance to the individuals involved, may not be justified merely by assertions of overwork.") (citations omitted). There has been no particularized showing that Reddy's application is especially [*5] complex or presents any national security concerns.

Here's the document and you can also download it directly at Bender's.

Reddy 3-7-08 from Benders - www.bibdaily.com - Free Legal Forms

Full post as published by Greg Siskind's Blog on July 20, 2008 (boomark / email).