Legal immigrants, wanting to help their relatives come to the US or to renew their own US visas, have found that the approval process is slower than ever, according to Aspey, Watkins & Diesel attorney, Kathryn Mahady. Mahady said that she does not personally deal with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program applicants, with the majority of her cases dealing with immigrants who wish to come to the US or renew their current US visas.
Mahady says that the processing time for immigration applications has been extended since the beginning of the Trump administration. The waiting time has grown from between eight and 12 months to more than two years in some instances. It is uncertain why this is the case unless there has been a reduction in the numbers of immigration staff.
Mahady says that more paperwork is also being requested by immigration authorities, with certain kinds of paperwork having always been requested by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Such paperwork is now expected to be certified or notarized in a particular way, which can slow the process, due to the lack of locals able to offer such certification.
Mahady said she also has a handful of clients who have seen their paperwork get lost in the system, with the paperwork submitted in the correct manner but confusion over what has happened to the files at USCIS. But, Mahady said that she has yet to experience the denial of an application for a client that would have been accepted before.