Time: Are we nearly there yet?

10/09/20

One of the most often asked and most difficult to answer questions of my Consular career is, “How long will it take to get my visa?”, as the answer is, “It depends.”

 

It depends on the type of visa you are applying for, the demand for interviews at your nearest Embassy, and many other factors that are too complicated to explain to a client on the outside looking in on the process.

 

A good estimate, during non-pandemic times, for an immigration visa in one of the unlimited family categories (fiancée K-1, spouse, child, parent of an American Citizen) is six to 18 months. With the strain of COVID, those wait times can and will be significantly longer. This unknown timescale causes a lot of people to stop short of applying for immigration.

 

If you, or your loved one, is considering immigration to the United States in the time of COVID, what should you do? Do you apply for a visa now, that may take years to complete or wait and see what happens? My first piece of advice is not to wait to start the process. It will be better to be safely in line, than to try to come in after the services have opened again. Even if you are unable to submit your application, have it ready to go.

 

My second piece of advice is to read all the questions and make meaningful answers. Incomplete and/or incorrectly filled applications can add unnecessary time to your case! I was always surprised at how many cases were held back due to small errors that lead to big delays.

 

If you would like to ensure you have completed all the requirements correctly, the first time, consider working with our team. Not only can we help review your petition application, we can also use our expertise to ask you the kind of questions that will come up as your application progresses. We can help identify documents you may need but do not have at hand. We can also help you prepare a timeline of when you will be asked to do specific tasks, such as having a medical exam. We want to make you immigration journey as stress free as possible. So you can successfully complete the process and enjoy your time together!

 

Our team at Bespoke Immigration is here to help you understand the process and be ready when the time is right.