Some Would-Be Citizens Languish For Years in Security-Check Limbo

But when they shipped out to Iraq in October 2004, their naturalization was still on hold because of the background checks. The men were puzzled, because they had passed an FBI security check to join the military.

They soon realized how frustrating it can be to lack citizenship. Janabi and Kanani said they could not join many Special Forces missions because they did not have security clearances. (A Special Forces spokesman, Maj. Rob Gowan, confirmed the men's service but declined further comment.) While citizenship is only one step in getting a clearance, the men were stung that they could not even begin the process.

"I will be helping more, and can do a better job, when I have this clearance. We're in the U.S. Army. We're fighting for this country," said Janabi, who said he faced gunfire and rocket attacks in Iraq.

"I don't understand what's a name check. How can it take two years?" he said.

Immigration authorities insist that they are not singling out any nationality for extra scrutiny. But they note that people with common names -- like many from the Middle East -- are more likely to get a match in the databases of records from dozens of federal agencies.

Authorities also check variations of applicants' names, especially those transliterated from non-Roman alphabets, which further raise the chances of a hit. Someone with a long Arab name could be entered in dozens of ways. Bill Yates, a top official at the citizenship service, said an investigation after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks showed why such checks were necessary: Officials found 255 versions of the hijackers' names and birth dates in identity and immigration records, he said.

"Since the 9/11 attacks, we started to go through the records and say: 'This was our experience with the 19 [hijackers]. We've got to do more,' " he said.

When there is a hit, the investigation can last months or years, with FBI agents at times having to manually dig through files across the country. Officials said intelligence information is sometimes so fragmentary that it is hard to determine whether it involves the same person. But they do not want to risk making the wrong judgment.

Only about 5 percent of name checks take longer than a few days, officials said. But they involve thousands of people. In the Arlington immigration office, which handles D.C. and Virginia residents, 420 would-be citizens are awaiting the results of security checks, said Bentley, the spokesman. In the Baltimore office, 780 are waiting, he said.

Some cases are slowed by yet another measure. In late 2002, immigration authorities decided to rerun about 2.6 million applications through the FBI security databases because the initial checks had not been thorough enough, Yates said. Thousands of immigrants seeking citizenship and other benefits await their second check.

Some immigrant advocates said U.S. authorities appear to be scrutinizing applicants so closely that they get meaningless hits.

"The system is a fiasco. It is antiquated. It involves hand searches that are like looking for a needle in a haystack," said Peter A. Schey, president of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law in Los Angeles.