Immigrants seeking to become American citizens are going to court in larger numbers after being forced to wait years to hear whether their application has been approved.

Citizenship and Immigration Services received nearly 1.4 million applications last year. Immigration services is required by law to decide on citizenship within 120 days of interviewing an applicant, but they must also undergo an FBI name check to determine whether they are on a terrorism watch list or if their name appears in a federal law enforcement investigation.

The FBI has completed checks on about 345,000 of nearly 800,000 names submitted to it since October. Some requests have been pending more than six months. A rise in immigration fees last year caused a surge in applications not just for citizenship but for all immigration-related benefits. Immigration Services has rehired several hundred retired workers to help with the backlog.

But some prospective citizens are tired of waiting. They are taking their case to court.

More than 5,200 impatient applicants are expected to file lawsuits hoping to force the agency to make a decision on their application. The number of lawsuits is up from 370 in the 2005 federal fiscal year and 3,900 last year.

Many of them are hoping to cast their first presidential ballots later this year. A successful lawsuit cannot force the immigration agency to grant citizenship. But it can speed up the review, which should be done in a timely manner in fairness to those who choose to remain here and follow the rules hoping to become full participants in American life.