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

According to immigration law, would-be citizens are supposed to get an answer on their applications within 120 days of passing their exam, lawyers said. At least four lawsuits have been filed in the past year asking federal courts to intercede for people who have waited longer, many of them from Muslim and Arab countries.

"If there were some serious evidence against someone . . . let's put them in deportation proceedings," said Robert Gibbs, a Seattle lawyer involved in two of the cases, which are pending.

But in many cases, he said, "nothing happens. Which suggests [officials] don't have anything negative. They can't find enough to give them a comfort level that this guy's not going to do something wrong."

In one example of the system's arbitrariness, he said, he discovered that one of his clients, an Indian software specialist, had been flagged with a "Code T," for terrorist, in a security database. It turned out that a customs official had simply entered that designation because terrorist groups have operated in India, Gibbs said.

However, one of the other lawsuits filed by applicants illustrates the government's concerns. In that case, brought in Boston by a Libyan, federal prosecutors said the man was being investigated because of his ties to a group associated with Osama bin Laden.

Immigrant advocates say, however, that many people caught up in the delays clearly have no relation to terrorism. For them, the wait can be frustrating and costly.

"You know how many opportunities I lost to work as a translator?" asked Fatin Hannaney, 48, an Iraqi who lives in Fairfax County. She applied for citizenship in 2001 and has encountered the security-check delays. She said she wanted to work for the FBI but had to be a citizen.

Janabi and Kanani appear to be particularly unlucky. The U.S. military typically offers an expedited path to citizenship. But the Iraqis said they were told that the Army could not help them because their applications were in the system when they joined.

"I sacrifice myself and my family to fight for this country," Janabi said. "But now I feel really down."

Staff researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report.