AIMA processes for family members / dependents stopped completely

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Hi all. Apologies if there is a specific channel for this topic, but I couldn’t find it anywhere.

My wife’s application and fee payment were submitted in July 2022. We’re now approaching 3 years without any progress. I checked the crowdsourced data here on timelines and it seems that AIMA/SEF simply stopped processing applications for family members somewhere in Spring 2022. The only exceptions seem to be those who have filed lawsuits.

My primary application was completed far more quickly, even though it was submitted during the pandemic, end-of-SEF period, etc. It’s getting very frustrating that no progress is being made on family reunification applications after 3 years.

Has anyone seen any communications from AIMA about their intentions on this issue? If not, is there any insight here to explain these delays?

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I’m surprised that there’s no news about this issue. It seems that there are many of us in the same situation.

We consulted with our attorney. He said that AIMA is clearing the backlog of primary applicants as a priority and will then turn to family reunification applicants. Not sure if this is official policy or just what he has observed or heard informally.

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Funny, a year ago my lawyer was saying AIMA was prioritizing family reunification.

Whatever the case, there are 900,000 immigrants waiting in line and only 600 AIMA agents so prioritization only helps so much.

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Last year it was 400.000. Somehow they managed to decrease to 250.000. And now under a portuguese miracle, it rocketed up to 900k. By end of 2025, it might reach 1.5 million :joy:

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