WASHINGTON, D.C. ? Federal officials say they are closing in on President Bush’s goal of processing immigration applications faster, but that is largely because they no longer count many stalled applications as part of the backlog.

As of July 31 there was a backlog of about 139,000 applications from immigrants seeking everything from legal residency to work permits, Emilio Gonzalez, director of Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Homeland Security Department, said Friday.

However, the latest figure excludes nearly 1 million applications not completed because of circumstances the agency says are outside its control.

If all applications were counted, the July 31 total would be 1.12 million, down from 3.8 million in January 2004, the agency said.

Bush pledged in his first presidential campaign that all immigration applications would be adjudicated in six months. After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the Bush administration said it would reach that goal by Oct. 1, 2006.