Green card woes - what to do?

[Anonymous]

This is pre-covid, so maybe different now, but when I used to apply for green cards for clients (part of my pro bono work for asylum seekers), when they were waiting for travel authorization, if they had imminent travel you could write to the processing facility asking for expedited processing, citing whatever reasons you have - urgent need to travel etc. Have you done this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you have green cards or are you on visas? What status did your son have before you applied for his green card?

this? As someone who was a green card holder now a dual citizen ( UK/US) I’m confused about this too.

We are all on G4 visas. DH and I are not eligible for green cards.

[Anonymous]

Honestly might consider going to visit family without your son?

[Anonymous]

We applied about a year before you and got it recently so take into consideration it might take another year or so. If it's not worth the wait then cancel so you can travel again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is pre-covid, so maybe different now, but when I used to apply for green cards for clients (part of my pro bono work for asylum seekers), when they were waiting for travel authorization, if they had imminent travel you could write to the processing facility asking for expedited processing, citing whatever reasons you have - urgent need to travel etc. Have you done this?

I was told by Raskin's office we would need to produce some sort of proof of an emergency (eg medical diagnosis for parents). In reality, despite my FIL having had cancer in the past and the fact both of my parents in law are in their eighties, there is no immediate medical issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We applied about a year before you and got it recently so take into consideration it might take another year or so. If it's not worth the wait then cancel so you can travel again.

You got the green card recently or the travel permit? Please say it was the green card!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly might consider going to visit family without your son?

It's something that crossed my mind but I think my son would be devastated.

[Anonymous]

You have to wait, like everyone else. I cannot believe the preciousness of your whiny post.

We got our green cards processed in Jan 2012 and had booked travel to the UK for the summer. But there was a blip on the form for my DD (the doctor checking the form had failed to mark an X by one of her current vaccinations) and her card was delayed while we had this corrected. So we canceled the whole trip - her card arriving just a day after we would have flown out.

This kind of thing happens all the time, even without a pandemic, but you have to understand that there are people desperate to be reunited with family members who are waiting under far more extreme circumstances. You are waiting for a trip back to the UK. Big flipping deal.

Just wait like everyone else. A lawyer cannot speed up a pile of forms, you're an idiot.

[Anonymous]

I get your frustration, OP, but you can visit virtually on Zoom. Is it the same? Of course not. Is it a reasonable thing to do in a pandemic when it is impossible to risk international travel without jeopardizing your DS' future status? Yes.

If neither your lawyer nor your representatives can help expedite the process, I don't know what you expect DCUM to do except offer reasonable alternatives. Another reasonable alternative is to leave your DS in the US with friends or family while you visit.

[Anonymous]

The last few years have been HELL on visa and green card applicants, OP.

There are hundreds of thousands of families all over the world who are currently separated because USCIS is taking way too long. Reasons for this are threefold:
1. Trump paved the way by defunding USCIS while in office.
2. Then the pandemic hit, and USCIS, operating on nothing bu fume, was forced into closing its offices. Some people worked from home, but visas and green card processing times started taking much longer.
3. Biden is not doing much to help USCIS, since it actually suits him fine to employ Americans first, and people like your son are not his administration's priority.

We are currently filing for a green card, after more than a decade on a series of visas, and our last visa filing this summer/fall was rough. We were told to expect a wait of THREE HUNDRED DAYS in our home country for the visa interview (which is merely a rubber-stamping of our already approved application, in our case). Luckily we managed to get an expedited appointment, but we had to leave our home in the US and pull our kids from school so we could stay in our home country for an indeterminate amount of time. Not knowing how long we would have to be away was incredibly stressful on our preparations for our departure. How do you plan for house and pets when you don't know when you'll return?
Anyway, it was a nightmare I wouldn't wish on anyone.

My oldest is applying to unis abroad, and if we're barred from leaving the US because our application is still in limbo, we will not be able to accompany him or go to him if he has any sort of problem. That's another scary thought.

Immigration lawyers have sought clarification from the US government, and indeed a group of lawyers filed suit against the Federal government on behalf of their clients stuck in never-ending visa and green card processes, to no avail.
We are just not on their radar right now.

Best of luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are thousands of people in the same boat as you, OP. This is not some unique situation. The entire green card/consular service situation is a clusterf*** right now.

I'm sure there are. I absolutely understand we may have to wait a very long time for his green card and am sure USCIS is being tested with the impact of an influx of refugee applications plus the effect of covid on staffing. The exasperating part is that the travel permit seems to be a pointless exercise. They could waive the need for travel permits and use those resources to process green cards, asylum applications, etc would make much more sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
The last few years have been HELL on visa and green card applicants, OP.

There are hundreds of thousands of families all over the world who are currently separated because USCIS is taking way too long. Reasons for this are threefold:
1. Trump paved the way by defunding USCIS while in office.
2. Then the pandemic hit, and USCIS, operating on nothing bu fume, was forced into closing its offices. Some people worked from home, but visas and green card processing times started taking much longer.
3. Biden is not doing much to help USCIS, since it actually suits him fine to employ Americans first, and people like your son are not his administration's priority.

We are currently filing for a green card, after more than a decade on a series of visas, and our last visa filing this summer/fall was rough. We were told to expect a wait of THREE HUNDRED DAYS in our home country for the visa interview (which is merely a rubber-stamping of our already approved application, in our case). Luckily we managed to get an expedited appointment, but we had to leave our home in the US and pull our kids from school so we could stay in our home country for an indeterminate amount of time. Not knowing how long we would have to be away was incredibly stressful on our preparations for our departure. How do you plan for house and pets when you don't know when you'll return?
Anyway, it was a nightmare I wouldn't wish on anyone.

My oldest is applying to unis abroad, and if we're barred from leaving the US because our application is still in limbo, we will not be able to accompany him or go to him if he has any sort of problem. That's another scary thought.

Immigration lawyers have sought clarification from the US government, and indeed a group of lawyers filed suit against the Federal government on behalf of their clients stuck in never-ending visa and green card processes, to no avail.
We are just not on their radar right now.

Best of luck.

Me again. Just want to note that my children are US citizens, so they can leave and come back whenever they want. My husband and myself are the visa-holders and green card applicants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You have to wait, like everyone else. I cannot believe the preciousness of your whiny post.

We got our green cards processed in Jan 2012 and had booked travel to the UK for the summer. But there was a blip on the form for my DD (the doctor checking the form had failed to mark an X by one of her current vaccinations) and her card was delayed while we had this corrected. So we canceled the whole trip - her card arriving just a day after we would have flown out.

This kind of thing happens all the time, even without a pandemic, but you have to understand that there are people desperate to be reunited with family members who are waiting under far more extreme circumstances. You are waiting for a trip back to the UK. Big flipping deal.

Just wait like everyone else. A lawyer cannot speed up a pile of forms, you're an idiot.

Your compassion is overwhelming.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You have to wait, like everyone else. I cannot believe the preciousness of your whiny post.

We got our green cards processed in Jan 2012 and had booked travel to the UK for the summer. But there was a blip on the form for my DD (the doctor checking the form had failed to mark an X by one of her current vaccinations) and her card was delayed while we had this corrected. So we canceled the whole trip - her card arriving just a day after we would have flown out.

This kind of thing happens all the time, even without a pandemic, but you have to understand that there are people desperate to be reunited with family members who are waiting under far more extreme circumstances. You are waiting for a trip back to the UK. Big flipping deal.

Just wait like everyone else. A lawyer cannot speed up a pile of forms, you're an idiot.

You of all people should have some compassion. Consider that OP's parents might not be alive for much longer, and that it's an additional stress on waiting to be able to see them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly might consider going to visit family without your son?

+1. He can go on his own once his green card comes through.