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For Maria Salamanca, overcoming = administrative=20 hurdles and a lengthy wait turned out to = be the=20 easy part of her naturalization process. =
The real anxiety came from taking the = test.
After a major fee increase was = announced last=20 year, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration = Services agency received more than 3 = million=20 applications and petitions for immigration = benefits, an unprecedented volume for the = agency.=20 That led to fears that legions of = prospective=20 citizens would be trapped in a backlogged = system.=20
In some areas of the nation, that's = just what=20 happened, but in New Jersey, things have = moved=20 fairly quickly for would-be citizens. = That's good=20 news, but it also means that hundreds of = local=20 residents are now at the nerve-wracking = stage of=20 interviews and exams, in hopes that = they'll pass=20 the test and be able to vote in = November.
Salamanca, who moved to Paterson six = years ago=20 from Colombia, filed her citizenship = application=20 before July 30 of last year to beat a fee=20 increase, from $400 to $675.
The increase, combined with people's = desire to=20 vote in this year's presidential election, = caused=20 a 350 percent spike in naturalization = applications=20 nationwide filed in June and July 2007, = compared=20 with the same period in 2006.
Processing times slowed significantly. = Many=20 didn't receive confirmation that their = application=20 was received until November or December. = Across=20 the region, immigrant advocates began to = worry=20 that the backlog could prevent people from = naturalizing in time to vote in this = November's=20 elections. In January, the citizenship and = immigration director testified before = Congress=20 that the average processing time for = applications=20 had increased to 18 months.
The outlook is brighter for New Jersey=20 applicants. By hiring additional staff, = budgeting=20 for more overtime hours and extending = hours for=20 citizenship interviews to Saturdays, the = Newark=20 office has been able to process thousands = of=20 applications submitted last summer within = eight or=20 nine months. And New Jersey's citizenship = office=20 offers another advantage -- applicants who = pass=20 the test are sworn in the same day.
Many of those who were part of that = application=20 rush in June or July of last year were = called for=20 their interviews and citizenship tests = starting in=20 March. Salamanca spent the spring = preparing for=20 the exam -- with disappointing = results.
"I'm still stressed. It was so much = stress;=20 they could have taken me out in an = ambulance,"=20 Salamanca said Wednesday night at a = meeting of the=20 community organization ACORN on Market = Street in=20 Paterson, where free citizenship classes = are=20 offered.
Salamanca had gone to Newark for her = interview=20 and test the previous day. She says she = knew all=20 the answers to the practice questions, but = when=20 the interview began, she was paralyzed = with fear.=20
"My mind went blank -- I didn't = remember=20 anything," she said.
She has a new test scheduled for Aug. = 29, so=20 she plans to keep studying and working on = her=20 English until then, which is not so easy = for a=20 69-year-old woman, she said.
Applicants who don't pass the first = time get a=20 second chance to take the test. After = that, they=20 have to reapply and pay the new $675 fee. =
For some, the incentive to hurry up and = apply=20 before the fee increase was the push they = needed=20 to start a process they had put off for = quite a=20 while.
The Paterson Community Technology = Center, run=20 by Passaic County Community College, saw = great=20 demand for citizenship classes. In April, = about 15=20 students completed the six-week class led = by Gaby=20 Rinkerman, the center's director.
In the final class, Rinkerman guided = students=20 through a series of Internet links to help = them=20 prepare for the test. An automated voice = quizzed=20 them on the name of the vice president and = how=20 many stars are on the American flag. In = another=20 room, a few students conducted mock = interviews,=20 videotaped for the class to review.
Josela Mota, a 49-year-old home health = aide=20 from Haledon, said she felt well-prepared = for her=20 upcoming exam, but she was still nervous. =
She was delighted that her application = was=20 processed in less than eight months.
"For me, the appointment came very = quickly,"=20 she said, "One thing that might have = helped is=20 that my name is uncommon."
The citizenship agency conducts name = checks,=20 which can often drag out the process.
For Mota, the process had a happy = ending. She=20 took the test on April 29 and passed. She = said,=20 like many people, the fee increase drove = her to=20 apply, but there was a bigger motive.
"Citizens here have more rights, and = the=20 biggest is the right to vote. As Latinos, = we want=20 to have a voice in the destiny of our = country,"=20 she said.
Reach Heather Appel at 973-569-7113 or=20 appelh@northjersey.com.
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