Why is your immigration case languishing for months and months at an embassy, or somewhere else in the immigration system? The government is stopping and slowing immigration by every bureaucratic means available – and they’ve thought of lots of new ways. This New York Times article “Who Needs a Border Wall When You Have DS-5535?” is written by a U.S. citizen who applied for a fiancee visa for his Moroccan fiancee. He explains how their case has been put on hold by one of the newer ways – Form DS-5535.* Note that administrative processing, which he describes, isn’t new -but it’s far worse, like everything related to immigration, under this administration. He ends by saying “As a United States citizen, I never thought I’d have to ask permission from the government to marry the woman I love. As of today, I’m still waiting to do just that.” Unfortunately, he has lots of company.
*I wrote about this form when it was first introduced in 2017: “Take a look at the form – it asks for employment and address history for the past 15 years, all social media handles for the past 5 years, and much more. Consular officers are using this information to vet applicants for potential visa ineligibilities under existing U.S. law. According to the State Department: “There are no visa ineligibilities under U.S. law on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, political views, gender, or sexual orientation.” Unfortunately, it’s hard to believe this, given the focus on those from Muslim-majority countries. Applicants can complete this information and take it to their interview abroad to save time.”
