DALLAS The FBI is clearing a backlog stretching a year or more for identity checks on people seeking to work and live in the U.S., or become citizens, immigration officials said Monday.
Nearly all requests submitted for routine checks are now being answered within 30 days, with the remaining 2 percent within 90 days, U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services said.
"The FBI has made great strides … and shown its capable of sustaining that service level," Michael Aytes, acting deputy director of the agency, told The Associated Press.
Petitions that require more evaluation or interaction with other agencies don't fall under the backlog count. About 6,000 cases are pending with Citizenship and Immigration Services, including some in which the application was filed several years ago, Aytes said.
"They are being looked at, they don't just sit on a shelf," said Gregory Smith, an assistant director for the agency.
The volume of pending FBI name checks for criminal backgrounds and possible security issues hit its peak in November 2007, with about 350,000 pending cases. At the time, more than half had been waiting for more than three months and a large number had been pending for more than a year, Aytes said.
