April 2025: Latest from the Citizenship Clinic

An update on what’s happening today with the Citizenship Clinic, what we’ve learned so far, and what we continue to watch for in the future.

157 Requests for Service | Active Cases | FOIA Requests | Completed Cases | Countries Represented

• 1 request to renew an expired green card (I-90)
• 1 request to renew Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
• 2 requests that are awaiting a response from the person after we responded to their initial inquiries
• 2 requests to adjust status and secure a green card (I-485)
• 9 inquiries that we closed after receiving no responses to our follow-ups
• 10 requests that are still being investigated to determine next steps, if any
• 11 requests for legal representation to apply for naturalization (N-400)
• 14 requests to apply for a replacement certificate (N-565)
• 16 requests solely for representation to obtain USCIS records through a FOIA request (though some of these cases later become requests for additional services, such as an application for a certificate of citizenship)
• 26 requests for brief advice, generally to confirm immigration/citizenship status or to advise on recommended citizenship or immigration documents
• 65 requests for legal representation to apply for a Certificate of Citizenship (N-600);

• 1 application to renew a legal permanent resident card (I-90)
• 1 renewal of Temporary Protected Status;
• 2 current inquiries that have not been resolved
• 2 applications for adjustment of status (I-485)
• 3 cases involving brief advice only;
• 4 cases that only involve a request for USCIS records (FOIA);
• 13 applications for a replacement certificate (N-565)
• 8 cases involving applications for naturalization (N-400), though one case is being withdrawn and one case may be put on hold, given the current immigration environment
• 10 cases that are still being investigated or are on hold to determine next steps
• 59 cases involving applications for a Certificate of Citizenship (N-600), with

These include active cases as of April 9, 2025. It omits any cases that do not involve direct legal representation. Many applications are still in the process of being drafted and reviewed; i.e., not all cases included here have been filed.

• the average number of days from the date of filing the FOIA request to the release of records is 42, which has not changed since we began keeping statistics on this in July 2024;
• 22 FOIA requests are currently pending;
• 59 FOIA requests resulted in records being released;
• 7 FOIA requests were initially rejected (6) or were canceled (1) when the client did not respond to the request. We have been able to resolve two of the requests with success, but 4 requests remain unresolved with no records yet found.
  
  As we stated in the last report, we have not seen a slowdown in the processing of FOIA requests, which was a concern with the new administration. We have, however, noticed that rejections of FOIA requests are happening more frequently based upon how thorough officials search for alternative names (e.g., birth/initial name is different from adopted name). These requests are typically reset when we call that to the clerks’ attention.

• 1 Replacement Certificate of Citizenship approved and issued
• 3 Certificates of Naturalization approved and issued
• 6 Certificates of Citizenship approved and issued (7 more have been approved but have not yet received their certificates)
• 9 files closed after no response from the adopted person
• 12 cases that only involved a request for USCIS records (i.e., a FOIA request)
• 18 cases involving brief advice only

Countries with more than one client include Colombia (2); El Salvador (2); Ethiopia (3); Guatemala (5); Haiti (3); Honduras (2); India (5); Kazakhstan (2); Mexico (7); Romania (3); Russia (13); Ukraine (7); and Vietnam (6).

World Map of Clients

Client Residence