Digging Out
The Homeland Security Department's Citizenship and Immigration Services bureau is struggling to get a grip on a backlog of more than 3 million applications inherited from the Immigration and Naturalization Service. CIS has vowed to fully eliminate the pile of cases by the close of fiscal 2006.
| End of Quarter Backlog | Applications for permanent residency | Citizenship Applications |
|---|---|---|
| March 2003 | 593,295 | 400,474 |
| Dec. 2003 | 722,966 | 383,614 |
| March 2004 | 696,434 | 348,090 |
| Dec. 2004 | 548,892 | 372,076 |
| Feb 2005 | 519,410 | 376,972 |
Source: CIS
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