Georgetown: A judge in New Jersey has ordered the US embassy in Guyana to act in a visa case involving a Guyanese woman and her husband.
The decision could affect other immigrants who have to endure prolonged waiting periods when they sponsor family members to be with them in the United States.
In 2008, the Guyana-born woman, who is a U.S. citizen, married a Guyanese man and thereafter sought an immigrant visa for him to move with her to the US, but the case has been pending at the U.S Embassy in Georgetown without a decision for years.
Obtaining an immigrant visa for a relative alien who lives outside the United States is a two-step process. The citizen must file an I-130 Petition on behalf of the person they are sponsoring, and the person being sponsored must apply for an immigrant visa from a consular official in the country in which he/she resides.
The husband first went for an interview at the U.S Embassy in June 2011. He received a letter from the U.S. Embassy stating that he was found temporarily ineligible to receive a visa pursuant to Section 221(g) of the Immigration and Naturalization Act.
The letter stated that the case required "Administrative Review" and that "new information, when available, will be communicated to you in writing."
The letter additionally stated, "You are welcome to contact our Visa Inquiries Unit, from time to time, to inquire about your application." A status check in August 2012 revealed that the case was still pending administrative review.
With the prolonged delay and no clear indication of whether or not her husband would be granted a visa, on January 7, 2013, the wife filed a Petition for Writ of Mandamus to compel the government to make a final decision on the visa application.
In the Petition, she alleged that the U.S. Embassy failed to execute its duty to grant or refuse the visa.
The Judge ruled that while the court may not have jurisdiction to review how a consular officer arrived at a decision, it was within the court’s mandate to instruct the U.S government officer to make a decision.
The court found that the Embassy did not comply with its own refusal procedures.
The refusal procedures include obtaining a signed form from the applicant, maintaining a "refusal file" that contains the documents used as the basis for refusal, informing the applicant of the basis for refusal and informing the applicant of statutes and regulations, which could provide administrative relief.
Moreover, any refusal carries with it the right to have the principal consular officer at a post “review the case without delay" and record that decision.
Where a final refusal occurs, the applicant has is entitled to one year in which to submit additional evidence to overturn the grounds under which the visa was refused.
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