The process of renewing green cards and visas is becoming tedious and long. On paper, it should take less than a few months for non-U.S citizens to receive the certifications necessary for them to travel to and settle in America. But in reality, it can take years, and this is especially upsetting to me.

As a first-generation American citizen of two West African parents, green cards and visas have been no stranger to me. For my family to come to visit us in the States, a Visa is required. For my father to be able to live and work in the U.S., his green card must be up-to-date. The number of hoops one must jump through in order to receive and renew these certifications makes it almost impossible to be happy with the U.S. immigration process.

A green card is a lawful permanent resident status for a person who has an established intention to live and work in the United States, while a visa is a permit to travel, enter, and reside in America.

Monique Cherry, a Senior Immigration Paralegal at an immigration law firm in D.C. — and my sister — explains that “in theory, getting a green card or visa should be a very simple process.” 

“What makes it difficult right now is the processing time. Everything is just really long because everything is very delayed. If you’re somebody who’s filing an initial application, what used to take one to two months to get an interview, now becomes a year-long wait.”

“In some cases, you’ve got a few months to wait after your interview before you’ve even gotten a final decision on your card.” 

I’ve witnessed first-hand the consequences of the long wait. My grandmother, who tried desperately over the summer to come to America and be with her family, had her visa interview pushed back multiple times. The interview, initially set for June, got delayed until September, causing many flight and family complications.

In addition, Cherry explained, “Immigration is sloppy: sometimes you’ll get a card back and your name is misspelled, your birthday’s incorrect, country of birth is mistaken. Now that’s another possible one or two year wait for an I-90.” An I-90 is an application to renew or replace a green card.

Steps have been taken to help those who are suffering from the long process. “Immigration has attempted to make other provisions: giving you an 18-month extension because they know that the card is taking a while to be renewed or putting stamps in your passport. However, even getting those steps done is often complicated and slow.” These steps may be the Immigration agency’s attempt at making things easier for visa and green card holders, however are often more trouble than they’re worth and can introduce more problems.

When it comes to processing times, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services agency certainly needs to tighten up its act. Waiting months and years for certifications like green cards and visas can drastically affect people’s lives, something that I know firsthand. The agency should be making the process shorter and simpler, with fewer roadblocks and delays. Because as of now, the long and winding road that is the U.S. immigration process is simply too difficult to navigate.