How Long IS That “Line?”
One common theme you hear from immigration opponents is that people who want to come to the United States should “wait their turn in line,” or that people who came here without authorization should “go to the back of the line.” It’s as if there is one “line” somewhere that all immigrants have to use to wait their turn. But did you ever stop to wonder how long that “line” really is? Well, the Department of State just released its yearly report on the visa backlog – the mythical “line” – and the numbers are staggering. As of November 1, 2016, there were 4,259,573 people in the family-based visa “line.” Each one of those people is the spouse, son, daughter, brother, or sister of someone who is in the United States legally as a citizen or permanent resident. Each one of these people has filed the necessary paperwork to come […]