Visa applications exceed actual number of visas available

Michael Aytes, acting deputy director for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), says that because of USCIS regulations, USCIS is “unable to accept an application and begin the adjudication process in advance of visa availability.” As a result, they are unable to “limit the number of applications accepted in a given month to the actual number of visas available.” (0:41)
Listen

“Backlog of people waiting to immigrate legally to the United States grows larger”

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Ca.), chair of the Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugee, Border Security, and International Law, says that the “backlog of people waiting to immigrate legally to the United States grows larger” while the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) and the Department of State (DOS) “regularly fail to issue the legally authorized number of immigrant visas each year.” (0:33)

Listen