Thanksgiving did not go the way that Frank Ray had anticipated. The country singer had invited his family up from Texas to Tennessee for the holiday, with plans to deep fry a turkey, explore Nashville, and take in a show at the Grand Ole Opry. But on Thanksgiving morning, Ray received an unsettling call: TSA had flagged his sister's husband, Juan Nevarez-Porras, at El Paso international airport due to insufficient documentation required to fly.
The agency, which handles employment authorization renewals, said its current processing time is four months in 80% of cases. But immigration experts said the agency will likely take longer than that in certain cases. And because visa holders can only apply for work permits a maximum of six months in advance, some H-4 holders may not get their permits re-approved before they expire. Foreign workers must immediately stop working if their employment authorizations lapse.
I wanted to keep working and studying in the US, but I tried to get a H-1B visa three times and was unsuccessful. When I read about the Trump administration's plans to introduce a $100,000 fee for employers sponsoring new H-1B petitions, it felt like my situation was getting worse and worse. My student work authorization, which allows me to be employed in the US, is expiring in January.
Based on his research and conversations with friends who'd gone through the process, Kumar said he expected the background check to take no more than 15 days - but day 20 passed, then day 25, with no update. The company doing the background check told him the delay was tied to his lack of prior work experience in the US, which complicated the process.
