Coming to live and work in the United States is a dream that some may feel is falling further and further out of reach. Because of recent changes to U.S. immigration law, denials for all manners of immigrant applications have jumped significantly. Although this can seem disheartening for immigrants, there are still many options for coming to Louisiana.
Between the 2016 fiscal year and the first nine months of the 2018 FY, denials for a wide range of immigration benefits jumped an astounding 37 percent. This comes out to 155,000 more denials in 2018 than in 2016. These figures do not include applications for citizenship or for programs like the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
The rapid increase in denials affects areas of immigration in which people are seeking green cards, work permits, travel documents and more. However, even those who are already in the country legally and have pending green card applications are struggling. Advanced parole allows immigrants living in the U.S. on temporary status to travel internationally without losing that pending green card application. Denials for advanced parole applications jumped from 7.2 to 18.1 percent during this period of time.
These rising denial rates across multiple areas highlights the need for accuracy and timeliness when submitting applications and related documents. Current implementation of U.S. immigration law does not leave wiggle room for errors or uncertain answers. Immigrants who hope to one day make Louisiana their home should be certain that they understand the application process and comply with all necessary requirements before submitting their documents.