By ALFONSO CHARDY

Maria Isabel Trujillo, a Cuban immigrant, says she was excited ''beyond belief'' when she heard almost three years ago that her citizenship application had been granted.

''The lady who asked me questions about why I wanted to be a citizen told me I had been approved,'' Trujillo recalled. ``Then she told me to wait for the formal approval in writing by mail along with an invitation to the swearing-in ceremony.''

She's still waiting.

Trujillo, 46, is one of eight immigrants who recently sued immigration authorities for allegedly delaying their naturalization petitions. Immigration attorneys say it generally takes about 10 months to a year for a citizenship application to be processed. The immigrants in the lawsuit say they have been waiting for more than a year, in some cases more than two or three years, after their initial interview at the naturalization office.

A Miami federal judge has agreed to investigate the matter, ordering the immigration service to bring knowledgeable officials to a hearing Feb. 10 to explain.

Though eight people figured in the lawsuit, lawyers for the plaintiffs say delays in naturalization applications and for many other immigration documents are a chronic problem -- particularly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

About 50,000 citizenship applications are processed at any given time at the Miami naturalization unit, part of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Every year more than half a million citizenship applications are processed nationwide. How many are delayed in Miami and across the country is not widely known. But immigration-service statistics suggest that more than 20,000 may have been delayed nationwide in fiscal year 2004.

MORE CASES

Immigration attorneys across the country say lawsuits over delayed applications for citizenship and green cards are becoming increasingly common as frustrated immigrants see petitions languish for months or years in processing limbo. Immigration officials say they have no choice when background checks are not completed in time by law-enforcement agencies.

''Who is responsible?'' U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro-Benages asked an immigration-service official in her courtroom last week. When the representative hesitated, Ungaro-Benages firmly ordered: ``Let's find out.''

JUDGE'S ORDER

The judge ordered U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to send an official to a Feb. 10 hearing to explain the delays, including ``detailed information about the various types of background, name, and fingerprint checks necessary for approval of applications; the amount of time it takes to complete the required checks; and the possible sources of delay in the completion of the checks.''

The case was filed on behalf of Trujillo and seven other immigrants by the law office of Coral Gables immigration attorney Eduardo Soto.

Judge Ungaro-Benages picked Trujillo's case because it was the first of the eight submitted by Soto's office. The reason the judge gave for not reviewing all eight cases jointly is because she anticipated objections by the immigration service that each case is different.

Elaine Watson, section chief for the Miami naturalization office, said in a written statement submitted to Judge Ungaro-Benages that of the eight applications, six -- including Trujillo's -- were delayed because background checks were not complete.

As for the remaining two, Watson said, Marcelo Paragure of Argentina has now been approved and will be sworn in next month -- while Jorge de Armas of Cuba will be questioned further because background checks revealed a criminal history.

Ana Santiago, a spokeswoman in Miami for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said she could not comment on pending litigation and referred calls to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Alicia Valle, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami, also declined comment because the the case is pending in court.

9/11 EFFECT

Other South Florida lawyers also have sued the immigration service over delayed citizenship applications.

Stephen Bander, a Miami immigration attorney, said his office has sued U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services at least 15 times over the past two years over delayed citizenship applications.

Bander said that in his experience the applications that are typically delayed are those from male immigrants from the Middle East. Bander also said that generally immigration authorities approve the applications once a lawsuit is filed.

In the past, immigration-service officials have acknowledged that since the 9/11 attacks the naturalization process has lengthened because of more extensive background checks.

Before 9/11, immigration authorities generally approved applications if they did not find criminal or worrisome information when checking an applicant's fingerprints.

Since then, immigration authorities do not act on applications until they get a response in writing from the FBI -- regardless of how long it takes to complete the process.

Immigration law requires action on an application within 120 days after an applicant's examination.

Immigration lawyers say the 120 days begin counting after the applicant's interview. But federal officials have told courts across the country that an examination is not considered completed until background checks are in.

IMPACT

Trujillo's case illustrates the impact of the problem on immigrants wishing to become U.S. citizens.

After arriving with an immigrant visa 10 years ago, sponsored by her U.S. citizen father, Trujillo applied for citizenship on March 18, 2003.

She was summoned to a citizenship-examination interview at the naturalization office in downtown Miami on Jan. 29, 2004.

At the examination, Trujillo recalled, a female employee told her she had been approved.