Backlog risks livelihoods

A visa processing backlog at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency is making it difficult for spouses of foreign-national work-visa holders to work and provide for their families. The backlog also threatens the $7.5 billion these residents, many of whom are spouses of tech workers, contribute to the U.S. economy.

U.S. Rep. Deborah Ross, a North Carolina Democrat, blamed two separate issues for creating the backlog: COVID-19 restrictions and requirements created under the Trump administration for L-2 and H-4 visa applicants. Both types of applications allow a spouse of a foreign-national work-visa holder to enter the United States. Ross said the vast majority of H-4 and L-2 applicants are highly educated women often working in STEM, or science, technology, engineering and math, fields around the United States.

The Trump administration required spouses submitting H-4 and L-2 forms to submit to biometric screenings that require them to appear in person. At the appointment the spouse must fill out forms listing their age, date of birth, gender, eye and hair color and weight. They must also be fingerprinted and have photographs taken.

Ross said the administrative changes to visa processing turned something that once took less than 30 minutes into an 11-month to two-year wait. She added that the spouses are not allowed to submit the forms more than six months in advance of needing their renewal.

Those new requirements have been suspended through 2023 due to a court settlement. The agency also agreed to extend an applicant’s employment authorization by 180 days if they filed for an extension on time.