For many years, having an immigration case pending came with a practical expectation. While the law never guaranteed protection, there was a widespread understanding that pending applications often operated as a pause point. People waited. Cases moved slowly. Enforcement and adjudication frequently took the existence of a pending filing into account. That practical reality has changed. Not because of new statutes, and not because the legal definition of “pending” has shifted, but because of...

Delays are one of the most common and most frustrating aspects of the immigration process. Petitions that appear straightforward can take far longer than expected. Interviews are postponed or rescheduled. Files sit with no visible movement. Requests for evidence arrive months after filing. In many cases, the explanation given is backlog, and that explanation is often accurate. At the same time, not all delays stem from the same source. Some are purely systemic. Others arise because a case...

One of the most persistent misconceptions in immigration law is the belief that immigration strategy should drive career decisions. In practice, that approach often produces weak cases, unnecessary risk, and long-term instability. The opposite approach is far more reliable. Strong, credible career decisions tend to produce strong immigration outcomes, often across multiple visa categories and over time. This article explains why building a career for immigration purposes frequently backfires,...