The immigration process is not a single straight line that takes an applicant from beginning to end without any bumps and detours. In fact, it’s quite the opposite — it can get complex, complicated, and confusing.
A lot of things can go wrong in an immigration application, hence the importance of being nimble. This character trait allows one to go through the process seamlessly and get higher chances of success even if the immigration case gets off track.
What Does It Mean To Be Nimble When It Comes To Immigration Cases?
By dictionary definition, to be nimble means to be agile and adaptable. In an immigration case, nimbleness is the ability to shift one’s thinking and be able to admit when plan A is not working, and have the courage to know when to proceed to plan B.
Nimbleness in Play: A Case Study
One of the clients we had in Doyle Law filed form I-864 or an Affidavit of Support. Down the line, she received a request for evidence (RFE) from immigration, to which she needed to respond by sending in tax documents. The best evidence for these is tax transcripts, which could be downloaded from the IRS website.
However, the client had trouble downloading her tax transcripts, receiving files that were blank because they were not filled in by the IRS. After trying a couple of times, it was clear that she was not going to get the transcripts in time for the RFE response due date.
With nimbleness in mind, our law firm suggested scratching plan A, which was to get the tax transcripts, and move on to plan B. Plan B was not as great as plan A, with immigration usually favoring tax transcripts as evidence. The backup plan involved retrieving a full copy of the client’s tax return with everything from W-2s to 1099s.
The best thing to do was to explain to immigration why the transcript isn’t available and submit the actual tax return. Our firm also had to explain in the response why the tax return was acceptable as evidence.
Why Being Nimble is Important When an Immigration Case Gets Off Track
In an immigration case, there are a ton of surprises that can pop up. Similar to our client’s case, the best course of action is not always going to be available or possible. Because of this, it’s important to be nimble and come up with a new plan.
Nimbleness is a mindset that allows one to move forward instead of being stuck on a problem and getting overwhelmed with panic. In immigration cases, the best characteristics are to be accepting of change and have backup solutions that will allow one to move forward.