IR5 - should I get a lawyer after long wait

[vclva 9]

Hi everyone,

I filed for my mother in May 2018. She had her interview in April 2019. Due to her past membership with communist party, she was given 221g, with questions about her past involvement with the party, and also details about her family, background, last 15 years of travel and whatnot. We provided those within a month, then the wait began.

I was planning to get a lawyer to file WoM after 12 months of waiting, then came covid and Trump's proclamation. 

 

So in early March this year, after Biden lifted the ban, we got request to update DS260, medical exams, police clearance report, and then request to update I-864.

It's not been moving much after. 

 

How long should I wait after this point before talking to the lawyer? It's been 3 year since filing and we still don't have a result yet.

Any advices what I should do next? Should I ask help from congressional office to make an inquiry?

 

Thank you for any input!

[aaron2020 11,651]

You've update the case less than 2 months ago.  Because of the ban and COVID, there is a huge backlog of IR5 cases.  There is a year's worth of IR5 cases waiting for interviews ahead of your mother's case.  You need to be patient.  A lawyer will not make things move faster.  

[vclva 9]

7 hours ago, aaron2020 said:

You've update the case less than 2 months ago.  Because of the ban and COVID, there is a huge backlog of IR5 cases.  There is a year's worth of IR5 cases waiting for interviews ahead of your mother's case.  You need to be patient.  A lawyer will not make things move faster.  

My mother already had an interview in April 2019, 2 years ago.

[aaron2020 11,651]

1 hour ago, vclva said:

My mother already had an interview in April 2019, 2 years ago.

She needs a new interview.  

[vclva 9]

10 hours ago, aaron2020 said:

She needs a new interview.  

The consulate didn't ask us to have another interview. They asked her to update the medical exams, police report, and also asked her to send in her passport and 1 passport photo (they didn't take her passport before). I am not sure if that means it is close to the end or it's just part of the process.

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

7 minutes ago, vclva said:

The consulate didn't ask us to have another interview. They asked her to update the medical exams, police report, and also asked her to send in her passport and 1 passport photo (they didn't take her passport before). I am not sure if that means it is close to the end or it's just part of the process.

That usually means they are ready to issue a visa. Before jumping on the lawyer bandwagon, have you or her tried to contact the embassy to find out a reason for the recent delay?

Also you need to understand that embassies do not immediately grab the latest stuff submitted and act on it, it goes into their system and they get round to it when they reach its place in the queue. When did you actually submit the documents they requested? Asking about the delay seems reasonable. But also assume their operations have been at least somewhat limited both by the pandemic and by the backlog of cases that has built up from the pandemic and the bans. Who knows how many backlogged IR5 and other previously banned cases submitted docs ahead of your mom.

[vclva 9]

6 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

That usually means they are ready to issue a visa. Before jumping on the lawyer bandwagon, have you or her tried to contact the embassy to find out a reason for the recent delay?

Also you need to understand that embassies do not immediately grab the latest stuff submitted and act on it, it goes into their system and they get round to it when they reach its place in the queue. When did you actually submit the documents they requested? Asking about the delay seems reasonable. But also assume their operations have been at least somewhat limited both by the pandemic and by the backlog of cases that has built up from the pandemic and the bans. Who knows how many backlogged IR5 and other previously banned cases submitted docs ahead of your mom.

Thanks for your advice.

I already follow up with them once, but didn't get a clear answer.

Maybe I'll do it every week for another month or two.

[vclva 9]

After I asked the consulate again, they informed us that they had everything for now and we don't need provide any additional documents. However, they also returned my mother's passport. It's so confusing. I think I might need to file the WoM soon, as it looks like they might not gonna work on our case for another while.