CHARLOTTE, N.C. — More than three million cases are pending in immigration courts across the United States, causing families to wait in limbo for years.

Here in North Carolina, there are over 119,000 pending cases between five judges, leaving an impact on attorneys.

What You Need To Know

  • There are more than three million cases pending in immigration courts across the United States 

  • In North Carolina, there are over 119,000 pending cases between five judges
  • Attorney Andres Lopez spends 80-90 hours on individual asylum cases in his practice 

“People need help, there is a need, a humanitarian need to resolve their situations with complicated law,” said Andres Lopez, and immigration attorney at the Lopez Law Firm.

When Lopez went into immigration law, he never imagined it would be a grueling process.

“I’ve seen the evolution of immigration law over the years. I've seen it become much more difficult to obtain a green card or a visa or non-immigrant visa. I've seen the topic become more polarizing needlessly so,” Lopez said.

According to research by Syracuse University, judges now average 4,500 pending immigration cases each. A backlog Lopez believes is caused by a surge in immigrants, COVID-19 and the lack of political consistency.

“Administration to administration, the rules change. Asylum regulations change, and the way that asylum is interpreted changes. It's almost impossible for me to tell a client right now whether they qualify for asylum or not,” Lopez said.

In Lopez’s 17 years of practice, the backlog is now causing him to work 80 to 90 hours on a single asylum case.

“I think any immigration practitioner can tell you that they wouldn't be surprised if in some cases can take up to six, eight years to come to a final resolution for an attorney,” Lopez said.

The problem not only affects law offices across the Carolinas, it’s affecting their clients as well.

“It leads to a situation where there's no resolution for many, many years,” Lopez said.

Even with the backlog and changing policies, Lopez continues to advocate for his clients, despite the challenges.

“They want to live here, but they also want their case to end, right? For me, it's difficult because it's hard for me to plan what resources I should devote to clients long term. I would prefer the Congress to finally get together and start a comprehensive immigration plan,” Lopez said.

Data from Syracuse University also shows that North Carolina is the eighth-most backlogged state with the national backlog growing over a million cases in just one year.