WASHINGTON — The FBI uses old technology and workers without enough training to do security checks on people applying for citizenship and other immigration benefits, a government audit found.
The problems have led to large backlogs in name checks and are affecting people wanting to naturalize or become legal residents, and those bringing in foreign workers for businesses, said the audit issued Monday by Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine.
Fine’s audit praised the FBI’s work on fingerprint checks, saying it is mostly automated, uses an experienced, well-trained workforce and can process millions of fingerprint requests accurately and on time.
The FBI blamed much of the backlog on a decision by Citizenship and Immigration Services to recheck 2.7 million names after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The FBI said it agrees with recommendations by the inspector general and that work on 15 of them is already underway.
