INDIANAPOLIS — Immigration remains a major topic heading into the November election. Jenny Bojang thinks about the immigration process every day.
She and her Husband Harun met while she was serving in the Peace Corp. Their love started as a friendship. He was a driver and at the time they met, married. His wife died due to complication during child birth, not long after he got in a car accident.
After knowing each other for a while they ended up having feelings for each other. Harun introduced Jenny to his mother and the rest is history.
"It was obvious that he had the same feelings for me that I had for him,” Jenny said.
Jenny stayed overseas for a few years to help her husband raise his kids along with his mother, while they were just dating. Then in 2018 they decided to marry in a cultural ceremony. Six days later she left for a government job in Indianapolis, where she has lived since.
Now she has two bedrooms that are move in ready for her husband’s kids who she considers her own. They started all the paperwork that was needed in 2020.
"Things were being approved things were moving to the right places,” Jenny said. “The all of the sudden COVID hit and everything all the immigration got shut down embassy’s got shut down.”
Due to the pandemic, her original petition for her husband and their children expired. She tried to expedite the process so her family could meet her dad before he passed. That request was denied.
"That didn’t get to happen and that is heart breaking,” Megan Pastrana an Attorney and CEO of Immigration for couples said. “That's irreparable harm that happened because of the immigration system.
Pastrana says navigating the immigration process can take years, which isn't fair to couples trying to do everything correctly.
"They say that they have a high volume of cases, and they don't have enough immigration officers to review the cases,” Pastrana said.
The process requires couples to prove their love to the government something Jenny detailed in stacks of papers and notes dedicated to the process. While she knows she isn't alone she hopes sharing her story can show people a different side of the immigration system.
"See us and not just look at these cases as a case number but look at each one of these cases as if you know this is their family member,” Jenny said.
Jenny and her husband are waiting for their interview with immigration officials. She says, they haven’t gotten a timeline yet for when that interview will take place. Once it does, that’s when the system will decide whether he can and his children get to come to the states on Visa’s. Then the process of applying for a green card begins.
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We reached out to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Office for comment. They didn't share information about Jenny's case specifically but they sent the information below on how they make decisions.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Office:
USCIS adjudicates each request for immigration benefits fairly, humanely, and efficiently on a case-by-case basis to determine if it meets established eligibility criteria required under applicable laws, regulations, and policies. The agency remains committed to breaking down barriers in the immigration system, reducing undue burdens on those eligible for benefits, and upholding America’s promise as a nation of welcome and possibility with fairness, integrity, and respect for all we serve.
The length of the application process may vary depending on biometrics submission requirements, reliance on the grant of an underlying benefit requested, and whether applicants have demonstrated they've met the established criteria for approval. If an applicant has not initially provided sufficient evidence to establish eligibility, then USCIS may issue a Request for Evidence, which can extend processing times in individual cases. Each case is reviewed based on the totality of the evidence and there may be variations on how long they take to adjudicate. USCIS posts national median processing times for certain forms on the Historical National Median Processing Timewebpage.
Applicants can check and track the status of their case by going to Case Status Online on our website. This feature allows applicants to keep up with the progress of their immigration application, petition or request. Applicants can access it by creating a free account online. Applicants have the ability to file an expedited processing request. USCIS will review each request for expedited processing to determine if the case meets established eligibility criteria to qualify. More details are available here: How to Make an Expedite Request.
Applicants with questions about the status of their case can reach out to our Contact Centereither by phone or onlineto request an appointment at a local field office for assistance.
