Thread: Naturalization docs add security features

Naturalization docs add security features

By Alan Gomez, USA TODAY

Immigration officials, in an effort to deter fraud, will unveil today a new naturalization certificate for people who become U.S. citizens.

The new certificates, used to obtain passports and other legal documents, come after U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) unveiled a new green card — the ID card for immigrants with permanent residency status — this year that had improved security features to prevent forgery and tampering.

"They are going to be very significant" technical changes, says USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas, who is scheduled to present the new certificates at a naturalization ceremony in Baltimore.

Mayorkas said his office doesn't track incidents of fraud for immigration documents, but the officials felt the improvements were necessary because the green cards hadn't been updated since 1998 and the last update of the naturalization certificates, in 2003, didn't add any security features.

The old certificates were filled in manually and the person's photograph was just attached to it. The new computerized certificates will have all that information embedded in the document and also will have ink patterns that are harder to duplicate.

The new green cards have more security features, including a personalized holographic image, a laser-engraved fingerprint of the person and improved identification technology.

Steven Camarota, research director at the Center for Immigration Services, which advocates lower levels of immigration, says the new documents are a good step but fraud in the process for people applying for visas and citizenship is a larger concern.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has sent letters to CIS accusing the agency of fast-tracking visa applications and not properly investigating suspicious applications. Camarota says that lets more unqualified people into the U.S. and also leaves a huge opening that terrorists could exploit.

"There's a lot of rubber-stamping going on," Camarota says. "The card is no better than the verification process that went into issuing it."

Mayorkas says the accusation that his office is neglecting signs of fraud or rushing to approve applications is false. "There is no higher priority of this agency than the security of our nation and preventing fraud," Mayorkas says. "Our record as an agency on that score is incredibly strong.

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