Over the past few decades, the backlog of family-based green cards has continued to pile up. With the waiting list as it currently stands, anyone who applies for family-based immigration in California now does so with the knowledge that any hope of real action and an eventual reunion in the U.S. won’t take place for quite some time.
Families split apart, never able to reunite
In many cases, this has made it impossible for families to be brought back together. And the lucky ones face insurmountable challenges during their lengthy delays.
It takes years of tedious effort and anxious waiting for people to successfully navigate the legal immigration system and make it into the United States with the rest of their family. The harsh reality is that countless families are split apart and unable to get back together for many years.
For those who are applying to sponsor a member of their family for
immigration, the growing backlog situation has created unreasonable waiting periods. The expectation is that you’ll have to wait for at least ten years, but this delay is only growing longer if the recent backlog is any indication.
How many people abroad are separated from their families?
The number has grown to an estimated four million individuals who are unable to legally immigrate to the United States but are still on the waiting list. And in some cases, sadly, families are never reunited.
It’s especially difficult with the children of immigrants who are unmarried adults. Some of these individuals have been waiting to be let into the United States since 2001. This means parents and children are separated during some of life’s most pivotal moments and events.
To stay updated on this immigration backlog situation, you can follow the Visa Bulletin that the State Department puts out each month. In this newsletter, the department lays out the priority dates due for processing. It provides immigration families with a convenient and reliable way to track of how long they and others have been waiting.