Getting legal entry into the United States has never been an easy or quick process, and it seems to be getting harder, according to the latest data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (via a great article from The Economist).
The data shows there are almost 1.5 million immigration cases currently pending in the U.S. — exactly 5x the number that were pending a decade ago — with the average wait time to get through the system now up to 930 days (roughly 2 ½ years).
Some of the more recent backlog can safely be blamed on the pandemic, but policy over the last 10-15 years across multiple administrations and governments has undoubtedly been the longer-term driver. Stricter enforcement, a surge in encounters at the borders and only limited increases in resourcing for the courts, have all added up.