Family Visa Application Tracking in Montgomery

There is a steady stream of family-based visa applications filed each year in the United States. For many people, these visas are an opportunity to reunite with family and make long-term plans come to fruition. That said, the process of achieving this visa can be long and difficult.

For most people, lengthy delays can be frustrating, especially when these delays prevent you from being with your loved ones. To ensure your case is addressed in a timely manner, you could benefit from learning more about family visa application tracking in Montgomery. A skilled family immigration attorney could help you track your application and navigate any delays.

What Is the Receipt of Notice?

Before an applicant can track the status of their family visa application, they must receive a Receipt of Notice. This legal document is essentially a notification from the federal government that they have received a family visa application. Commonly referred to as the Notice of Action or Form I-797, this document provides an applicant with the information they need to check their immigration status as it is being processed and reviewed.

First and foremost, the notice provides an applicant with their priority date. This priority date will give an applicant a picture of how long they should expect the process to take before government agencies reach a final decision. It is worth noting that the priority date is an estimate and not a guarantee.

These notices also include important background information, like the legal status of the applicant’s sponsor. Finally, this notice includes a case number, which is absolutely necessary for checking the status of a visa application in the future. Anyone who does not receive this notice will not be able to track their family visa application and should consult a Montgomery lawyer to investigate why there is such a delay.

How to Check the Status of a Family Visa Application

Checking the status of your visa application is often straightforward. The U.S. Department of State operates a website that, among other things, allows you to track your immigrant or non-immigrant visa.

Unfortunately, this status update will only provide you with limited details regarding your case. In some cases, it might not be obvious if you are facing a reasonable or unreasonable delay. An experienced attorney could review this information with an applicant to help them understand where their case truly stands.

Using Visa Bulletins to Track the Status of an Application

Visa bulletins provide another opportunity to track the status of a family-based visa application. This publication—which is released by the State Department—lists the amount of family-preference visas the government intends to grant from one month to the next.

The bulletin also includes information about the priority date for applicants who were recently granted a visa. This allows more recent applicants to compare their priority dates. If someone’s priority date is near another person’s, and that person received their visa, it could be a sign that the process is nearing completion.

The bulletin is published online and updated regularly. A seasoned legal professional could help an applicant in Montgomery evaluate the information in the bulletin to determine what it means for tracking their family visa application.

Talk To a Montgomery Attorney About Tracking a Family Visa Application

Tracking an application for a family-based visa takes time and effort, but it can also answer a lot of the questions you might have about what to expect from this process. Allowing a lawyer to help you track your progress in your case could be in your best interest. In addition, if any unreasonable delays arise, an attorney could help you determine what is necessary to overcome them. Call today to learn more about family visa application tracking in Montgomery.