Immigration Corner | Why is my application taking so long?

Dear Mrs Walker-Huntington,

In 2012, I filed a petition for my adult child and grandchild. However, for some unexplained reason, after all paperwork and fees were accepted by the NVC, three years ago, I got a notification letter that my application is terminated because they did not get a response from me to a prior notification. One would have thought that they would have sent me another notification before such a drastic action is taken.

In the letter they sent, it stated that if I responded within a year of receiving it, my petition can be restored with updated documents and with filing fees. They recommended that to proceed, I should log on to the CEAC portal to pay the necessary fees and upload the required documents. I did all that, and saw where the fees were paid and documents accepted. Also, on the portal it showed that my application is in a foreign state of chargeability along with the F11 category and priority date December 21, 2012. It was stuck on that date for months, and in November they asked for my 2022 W-2, which I had given them before. I resent it and saw where it had been accepted. I don’t know what is going on with these people, and they’re not telling me why it’s taking so long.

I would greatly appreciate it if you could explain to me why the wait is taking longer than expected, given the F11 category.

– L.D.S.

Dear L.D.S.,

A visa petition for a relative (adult son or daughter of a US citizen; green card spouse; child of a green card holder; unmarried adult son or daughter of a green card holder; married son or daughter of a US citizen and sibling of a US citizen) are all limited by the number of visas available in the specified category each year. Based on the number of people waiting on a green card in each of those categories, it determines how long a visa takes to be processed. Likewise, based on the processing capabilities of the US Department of State (DOS), that also determines how quickly a visa petition for a non-immediate relative takes to be processed.

An applicant for a visa does not have a visa available to them until their priority date is current. DOS publishes the Visa Bulletin each month to advise the public what priority dates they deem to be current and consequently, have a visa available. DOS’s determination can sometimes lead to the priority date in any given category being on the same date for months. Sometimes the date is even ‘rolled back’. No one has any control over this determination but the DOS, and this sometimes leads to visas going unused in any given year in the various categories.

Your relative’s category is F1 – unmarried son/daughter of an American citizen. In March 2025, the priority date that is current in the F1 preference category is November 22, 2015, and it has been at that date since January 2025. By this, it is taking almost 10 years for a visa to become available for an F1 beneficiary. This can change at any time – the DOS can jump ahead by weeks, months or years; and likewise, they can also roll back the priority date by the same time periods. You should monitor the available dates monthly at the DOS website, and the beneficiary should make no plans to migrate until they are approved for the green card.

The DOS sends termination notices if they request documents that were not responded to in more than a year. That is the notice you received. Sometimes they send a termination notice if there has been no activity in a file in their possession for more than a year, even when the parties are waiting for notification from DOS. Monitor your DOS portal regularly and send emails to DOS (National Visa Center) for yearly updates.

You may get requests either via DOS or in the interview notice for updated financials, so be prepared to do that until the visa becomes available.

Dahlia A. Walker-Huntington, Esq, is a Jamaican-American attorney who practises immigration law in the United States; and family, criminal and international law in Florida. She is a mediator and former special magistrate and hearing officer in Broward County, Florida. info@walkerhuntington.com