FN - Bomb Suspect's Citizenship Raises Questions About Naturalization Process

From my archive of press clippings:

Fox News

Bomb Suspect's Citizenship Raises Questions About Naturalization Process


FOXNews.com

Updated May 04, 2010

In this photo from the social networking site Orkut.com, a man who was identified by neighbors in Connecticut as Faisal Shahzad, is shown. (AP/Orkut.com)

The suspect in the Times Square car bombing attempt is the latest in a series of U.S. citizens and green card holders to be implicated in a terror plot inside the United States, raising questions about the naturalization process that turns foreigners into Americans.

Read the whole article here.

Snippet(s):

"Several hurdles are in place for immigrants to attain U.S. citizenship and, in turn, its platinum-status passport. Pakistani-born suspect Faisal Shahzad, according to reports, passed clean through his security checks and became a U.S. citizen in April 2009. He first entered the United States on a student visa in the late 1990s.

An official with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said "it's too early" to say whether any signs were missed in Shahzad's naturalization process. But the official acknowledged that any screening is just "a snapshot in time" and can't catch everything."

&

"For those who come from outside the United States, the naturalization process is complicated and lengthy.

Applicants generally need a sponsor -- a relative, spouse or employer -- to get the green card. Then they have to wait between three and five years to qualify for citizenship.


The citizenship process includes not just background checks, but a citizenship test and final interview. The interview officer has the authority to reject the applicant at the end of the process or send him or her back for further review.


Click here to review the questions on the citizenship application form."