A family that spent more than a decade in the U.S. waiting for a Green Card has chosen to leave the country on its own, according to a Reddit post that has struck a nerve among immigrants. The family’s story, shared on the USCIS subreddit, lays bare the emotional exhaustion that can come with years of uncertainty inside the American immigration system.
Calling the journey “stressful,” the Reddit user described how 11 years of paperwork, delays, and unanswered timelines ultimately pushed the family to make the painful decision to self-deport. The post reflects a broader sense of frustration many immigrants say they feel—living, working, and raising families in the U.S. while remaining stuck in limbo, with no clear end in sight.
The Reddit user explained that their asylum case was finally approved after eight and a half years, but the relief was short-lived. Even after clearing that hurdle, they said they were left waiting for months for their Green Card application (Form I-485), despite having already completed an interview.
After nearly 11 years in the U.S. with lawful status but no permanent residency, the family decided they could not endure the uncertainty any longer. Citing urgent personal reasons and the mental strain of remaining in limbo, they said the choice to “self-deport” was driven as much by psychological exhaustion as by circumstance.
In the post, the user wrote, “We can not wait any longer, we don’t want to die by waiting for a green card, we are not animals, we are human beings, please understand us… The immigration system is rigged and corrupt.”
The frustration didn’t stop there. In the same thread, the user went further, describing the daily strain of trying to build a life in the U.S. while stuck in permanent uncertainty. Reflecting on their disillusionment, they wrote, “Many people died to build a good country, but when we look at today, this country is all about wars, terrorism, taxation without representation and so on. It’s very sad to see …”
Their comments echo a much wider backlog problem in the U.S. immigration system. According to Visaverse, more than 4 million people were waiting for immigrant visas as of November 2023, a logjam driven by annual visa caps, per-country limits, and persistent administrative delays that keep families in legal and emotional limbo for years.
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The situation has only worsened more recently. Since May 2025, processing delays and family separations have intensified, particularly after visa interview freezes in countries like Mexico and Colombia, further slowing an already strained system and leaving many applicants with no clear timeline or relief in sight.
That backlog is not evenly spread. Mexico makes up the single largest share, with about 1.2 million people stuck in the queue, followed by India (around 291,000), the Philippines (288,000), the Dominican Republic (251,000), and China (231,000). For applicants from these countries, the wait can stretch not just into years, but decades.
USCIS says it has tried to speed things up. Since 2022, the agency has processed nearly 11 million filings and completed about 10 million cases, and it projected a 15% reduction in its internal backlog by early 2025. On paper, that sounds like progress.
In reality, many families aren’t feeling it. Green Card applications (Form I-485) and several other key forms continue to take far longer than the agency’s own six-month target, keeping thousands of present immigrants trapped in uncertainty, with no clear finish line in sight.