Green card holders applying for U.S. citizenship are facing much longer wait-times than just a couple of years ago. Immigration attorneys throughout Las Vegas are reporting that the process is now taking well over a year–four times longer than it did in early 2016.
A major reason for the delay is the large influx of applications since the 2016 Presidential Election. Legal permanent residents were suddenly frightened about what President Trump’s harsh immigration stance would mean for them. So they rushed to try to obtain citizenship to preclude any risk of deportation. Plus, they want to be able to vote in the next election.
Citizenship applications are not the only immigration process suffering from longer wait-times. For example, obtaining an employment-based green card takes longer as well. Face-to-face interviews are now required, whereas before they were not.
Nevada, and especially Las Vegas, greatly benefit from the immigrant population. Non-citizens comprise a significant number of the city’s employment sector, from medical and technology professionals to hotel staff and construction workers. Las Vegas will likely suffer if immigration policies cause non-citizens to leave the U.S. and dissuade foreigners from immigrating here to begin with.
Learn more in the Las Vegas Sun article.
