Controversy

Thomas McArdle’s “Instant Democrats” [July 1] is based on the inaccurate and unfounded assertion that the Immigration and Naturalization Service’s Citizenship USA initiative was launched for political purposes.

The INS announced Citizenship USA in August 1995 in response to an unprecedented increase in citizenship applications from an annual average of 300,000 to more than 1 million in FY 1995, with at least that many expected this year. Waiting time had grown to nearly two years in several districts and would have increased considerably if we had continued business as usual. This was unacceptable to us, the applicants, and elected officials from both political parties.

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Thomas McArdle’s “Instant Democrats” [July 1] is based on the inaccurate and unfounded assertion that the Immigration and Naturalization Service’s Citizenship USA initiative was launched for political purposes.

The INS announced Citizenship USA in August 1995 in response to an unprecedented increase in citizenship applications from an annual average of 300,000 to more than 1 million in FY 1995, with at least that many expected this year. Waiting time had grown to nearly two years in several districts and would have increased considerably if we had continued business as usual. This was unacceptable to us, the applicants, and elected officials from both political parties.