The problems have led to large backlogs in name checks and are affecting people wanting to naturalise, become legal residents or bringing in foreign workers for businesses, said the audit issued yesterday by the Justice Department's inspector general Glenn Fine.
"While the FBI is taking steps to address these deficiencies, the name check process can result in lengthy delays and the risk of inadequate information," Fine said.
His audit praised the FBI's work on fingerprint checks, saying it is mostly automated, uses an experienced, well-trained work force and can process millions of fingerprint requests accurately and on time.
The FBI's biggest customer for name and fingerprint checks is the Department of Homeland's Security's Citizenship and Immigration Services division, which processes citizenship, legal resident and other immigration applications.
The FBI received 4 million name check requests in fiscal year 2007, more than 2 million from Citizenship and Immigration Services. It also processes about 21 million fingerprint checks a year, more than 3.2 million from the agency, Fine's audit said.
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The FBI completes about 86 per cent of its name check requests within 60 days, but the remaining 14 per cent can take from several months to more than a year.
Some are pending more than three years, the auditor found. The FBI had 37,000 name checks pending as of this past March.