Mendoza Law research quantifies the financial and emotional toll of decades-long family visa waits, from remittances to missed milestones
A new study from The Mendoza Law Firm examining the U.S. family immigration backlog has calculated, for the first time, the substantial financial burden families carry while waiting years or decades to reunite, alongside a wide range of documented emotional and legal risks tied to prolonged separation.
According to the study, a family sending approximately $395 a month to support a relative abroad over a 24-year wait, roughly the current backlog length for some family preference categories, would send more than $113,000 before ever being reunited. That figure does not include travel costs, legal fees, lost income opportunities, or the expense of maintaining two households in two countries for years at a time.
Remittances as a lifeline
The study places that individual burden in a global context. In 2024, worldwide remittances totaled approximately $700 billion, with Mexico receiving a record $64.7 billion and the Philippines receiving more than $40 billion, both countries facing among the longest family visa backlogs in the U.S. system. The study notes these transfers take many forms: parents supporting children, adult children supporting aging parents, siblings helping one another, and spouses maintaining two households while physically apart.
“These money transfers aren’t just about economics. They’re about responsibility and keeping families afloat while they’re separated,” the study states, describing remittances as a long-running financial commitment that, for many households, lasts the entire duration of the visa wait.
Government fees are only the starting point
The study notes that every family petition begins with government filing fees, with a Form I-130 alone currently costing hundreds of dollars before visa application fees, immigrant fees, medical exams, document translation, and travel costs are factored in. For families facing waits measured in decades, these recurring costs compound significantly over time.
Risks that grow the longer a family waits
Beyond the financial toll, the study documents specific risks that intensify the longer a petition remains unresolved. Children listed on a petition can age out of eligibility for certain immigration benefits upon turning 21, meaning a child included on a petition filed when they were young may already be an adult by the time a visa number becomes available.
The study also addresses a risk families rarely discuss publicly: the possibility that a petitioner, whether a parent, sibling, or adult child, will not survive long enough to see reunification completed. “Many family petitions are filed by parents, siblings, or adult children who fully expect to still be around when reunification finally happens,” the study notes. “But when the wait stretches into 20 years or more, that expectation starts to change. Some people don’t make it to the end of the process.”
Documented mental health consequences
The study cites research linking prolonged family separation to elevated rates of depression, anxiety, and trauma-related symptoms, finding that individuals separated from close family members consistently report significantly higher levels of mental health strain compared to those able to reunite, with risks generally increasing the longer separation continues.
A cost measured in missed milestones
“A lot of immigration debates end up centered on border security, enforcement, or political arguments. The family visa backlog is a different story,” said a Mendoza Law spokesperson. “It’s about people who followed the rules, filed the paperwork, did everything they were supposed to do, and are still left waiting years to finally be reunited with their families.”
The study frames its findings around a simpler measurement than dollars or visa categories: time. Missed birthdays, funerals family members couldn’t attend, graduations experienced only secondhand, and childhoods spent largely apart from a parent or sibling.
“Legislative proposals exist, such as the Reuniting Families Act and the Dignity Act, bipartisan bills introduced across multiple Congresses,” the spokesperson added. “The data to justify action has existed for decades. What has been missing is the political will to treat family separation as the crisis it actually is.”
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