John Valdez’s Legal Blog

President Obama campaigned on the promise of hope.  One area where he promises hope is in the reform of our immigration laws. 

I will not try to address all of the many areas where our immigration laws need effective change, since that would take dozens of blogs to accomplish, but one specific need arises on an urgent basis:  reducing the backlog of legal immigration cases.  Hard working immigrants are back to waiting several years for an available employment-based visa, and adjudication times for naturalization are also much too long. 

 U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Janet Napolitano is already looking into the incredible problem of immigration backlogs.  In a new Directive, she has specifically ordered the Department to provide a progress report on “reducing the significant backlogs that had developed in the adjudication of naturalization petitions and adjustment of status applications.” 

 The Directive also addresses the need to fully use the immigration quota for immigrant visas.  In past years, slow service by the USCIS has resulted in unused visas, that have been permanently lost because they were not alloted.  I am very hopeful that the new administration will finally pay attention to the trials and tribulations of the many legal immigrants who have been struggling to get through the legal immigration process.