Immigration Corner | Can my file be reopened?

Dear Mrs Walker-Huntington,

My mother filed for me some ago. However, I found out that our case was approved from 2013 and because my sister held on to our papers, our case was closed in 2015. My question is, can I now apply for a visitor visa? Help!

Thank you. With great regards.

SL

Dear SL,

I am sorry that the opportunity your mother wanted to share with you was apparently thwarted by your sibling. Sadly, in my 26 years of practice, I have had several clients whose sibling interfered with their migration process for one reason or another. There have been instances where a sibling refuses to go forward with an application because their immigrant sibling was married and the US citizen sibling did not want the spouse to migrate, etc; and certainly situation such as yours, where the papers were purposely delayed preventing the immigrant sibling from migrating.

Intending immigrants can play a more involved role in the application process by assigning someone you trust to be the agent once the file is at the National Visa Center, or using the services of an immigration attorney to act on your behalf. Also, ensure that as the intending immigrant, your email address is on file with the National Visa Center, so that you are notified during the various stages of your case.

If your mother is alive, and willing, she can file a new petition for you to migrate.

You may certainly apply for a non-immigrant, but you will have to satisfy the consular officer that you have enough ties to Jamaica that you will return after a brief visit. Be truthful in all your answers in the visa application. Please remember that the issuance of a non-immigrant visa is a subjective process and that no one is entitled to a visa.

Dahlia A. Walker-Huntington, Esq, is a Jamaican-American attorney who practises immigration law in the United States; and family, criminal and international law in Florida. She is a diversity and inclusion consultant, mediator, and former special magistrate and hearing officer in Broward County, Florida. info@walkerhuntington.com