(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) New U.S. citizen Lee-Ann Fieldsted, right, poses for a photo with her husband, Darrin Fieldsted, after a naturalization ceremony at the new Salt Lake City office of the U.S. Citizenship and Services District on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012. USCIS held a grand opening celebration of its new Salt Lake office, and the naturalization ceremony where ten new citizens were naturalized.

New Utah immigration office stresses convenience, efficiency


By Christopher Smart

The Salt Lake Tribune
First published Feb 23 2012 04:24PM
Updated 5 hours ago

This is not your grandfather’s immigration service.

People seeking citizenship or green cards for legal resident status are called "customers" by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The agency’s mission is to provide convenient, efficient service for all immigrants who come through the door.

In 2002, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was split into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). While ICE is well known for rounding up undocumented immigrants, its sister organization gets much less notice because it deals mostly with documented residents.

Nationwide, USCIS issued some 1 million green cards last year and granted citizenship to about 700,000 immigrants, said district director Robert Mather, who oversees Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana and Colorado. The Salt Lake City office issued about 2,700 green cards last year and naturalized close to 3,500 new citizens.

"We’re customer oriented," he said Thursday at a ceremony officially opening the new USCIS facility at 660 S. 200 East in Salt Lake City. Mather concedes the old INS was not known as an immigrant-friendly agency. But times have changed, he said. "These are people who are paying us money to see if they receive a benefit [citizenship or green card]."

The new office is comfortable and boasts state-of-the-art data collection and storage. Among other things, the new efficiencies mean legal residents can attain U.S. citizenship in as little as five months. Immigrants seeking green cards or citizenship can make appointments online to suit their own schedules.

"We’re much more efficient than we used to be," Mather said.

Gone are the days when an applicant would wait for hours to get a status update on their application. "In 15 minutes, they can be in and out of here," Mather said.

Jeanne Kent, the Salt Lake City field office director, said the agency is committed to working with community groups to reach out to immigrants so they are aware of services offered at USCIS. "We work for the government, and we are here to help," she said.

Among 10 immigrants to receive citizenship in American citizen Thursday were Lee-Ann Fieldsted from Fiji and Cindy Baldassin, who came from Canada.

"I’m pretty excited," said Fieldsted, who married a Utah man last year. "I think America has so much opportunity for people. It’s a country built of immigrants."

Baldassin, who has had a green card for 30 years, said she wanted citizenship because she identifies with the United States.

"To become an American citizen is a real statement about how we feel about the nation where we live," she said.

csmart@sltrib.com

New Utah immigration office stresses convenience, efficiency | The Salt Lake Tribune