We know with COVID, so many people are waiting and separated. That’s painful and we know that you’re looking for creative ways to be able to be together and also to get that immigration process moving so you can be together and start your life together.
We have had a lot of people ask, “What is an expedite request? Can I apply for an expedite request? What is a list of situations that qualify for an expedite request?” I want to break it down first by explaining what an expedite request is.
There’s many different kinds of applications. There’s different phases in the case, there’s different players involved in terms of whether it’s USCIS or the National Visa Center or the Department of State. With that being said, there’s also different types of expedite requests depending on the case type and where your case is located. Expedite request is an option to speed up your case. To get a decision faster and to get an interview faster.
It’s a tool that can be used but expedites or expedite requests are reserved for very limited extreme situations. It’s not something that anybody can apply for just because you’ve been waiting a long time. We wish that’s the way that it was.
We wish that things would move faster but an expedite request is not something you can do in every single case. It’s very fact-specific and case-specific. We do help individuals with expedite requests and we have to have a very detailed conversation with our clients about whether or not they’re eligible, whether or not it’s possible, and what evidence we would even have to support the expedite request.
A lot of members in our Facebook group, potential clients and from individuals on our YouTube channel are reading on the USCIS website about expedite requests and are asking questions regarding the content given by USCIS. According to USCIS, some of the bases for expedite requests are severe financial loss and urgent humanitarian reasons.
Yes, that’s true. Those are some possible reasons. There is no official list of every possible scenario because every case is different. The two bases mean a situation that’s really unique, very dire, and you have to prove to immigration not only is this a situation extreme and dire and goes well beyond the normal pain and suffering of just the long wait.
The financial strain has to go beyond that and we have to prove it. We have to have evidence and we have to tie that evidence to why that means that the immigrant should be granted this expedite request. Why this immigrant should be allowed to circumvent the line or jump the line and get a decision sooner. It’s very case-specific, very evidence-based and it’s just a matter of talking with an immigration attorney.
Examples are not applicable because every expedite we do is so unique and just because it works for one person doesn’t necessarily mean it will work for another. The best thing to do if you are experiencing an urgent situation is to talk to an immigration attorney and see depending on what type of case you have and where your case is at if an expedite request is viable.
If it’s possible for you to file and just because you have an extreme and dire situation doesn’t necessarily mean that immigration will approve it. It’s a tool but can only be used in very limited circumstances.