I’m interrupting normal programming today with a request for help from readers in the US.
Is there any chance you might know someone who might know someone who works at the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)?
I ask because we’d really appreciate the opportunity to speak to a human at USCIS about the current timelines for a visa extension for an H4/dependent visa holder. Our hearts sank when we realized the timelines had gone from 3.5-4.5 months when we applied in March this year to 21 months (the extension is for 36 months).
For the uninitiated, this means my wife (and our family in many ways) –
– cannot re-enter the country if she were to travel to visit our parents abroad in case of an emergency
– needs to be at the DMV every 8 weeks to get the next 8 week extension of her driving license
– cannot hold a job (despite the best efforts of a kind boss who tried extending her employment with 3 months of unpaid leave, endless uncertainty on your work authorization makes employment impossible)
We’re hoping to understand if there is any foreseeable end to this limbo state.
We’ve received training from the immigration system in dealing with uncertainty over the years. But, this 8+ month bout of uncertainty with everything else going on in the world has been… challenging.
I know it is probably a long shot. But, any help here would be much appreciated.
Thank you for reading this far.
