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Release Date: 06/30/06 00:00:00
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010
June 30, 2006
On June 29, 2006, Prakash Khatri, the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman, delivered his third Annual Report to Congress. In his report, Ombudsman Khatri lists and describes a number of problems faced by employers and individuals in dealing with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and his recommendations for improving the current immigration benefits system. In the report the Ombudsman identifies funding problems as one of the key obstacles to a secure, efficient, and customer friendly USCIS. The Ombudsman also offers solutions to most problems through improved application processes and better use of technology. He cites an “up-front” processing pilot program currently being run in Dallas, Texas in which applicants in are interviewed and run through certain security checks on the same day they file their applications. In most cases, green cards are issued to eligible applicants within three months. Ombudsman Khatri, an immigrant and naturalized citizen himself—states that, “New technologies and ideas, such as the up-front processing model, clearly shows that improvements in customer service and benefits processing do not come at the expense of existing backlog reduction initiatives or security, but rather go hand-in-hand with them.” Ombudsman Khatri offers hope in working together with USCIS for a secure, efficient, and customer friendly immigration system. Visit the Ombudsman’s at www.dhs.gov/cisombudsman for more information.
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This page was last reviewed/modified on 06/30/06 00:00:00.