Families Seeking Reunification Face Years-Long Delays in French Prefecture

"Will my wife ever be able to come from Morocco, should I go back there?" wonders Zouheir, 45. "I filed my application in 2022. Everything went well with the Ofii (French Office for Immigration and Integration, ed.), my housing is top-notch, I earn 2,500 euros a month, I’m in a regular situation. But since my application landed at the prefecture of Évry-Courcouronnes, it’s been silent." He laments: "We’re facing a wall, with no response, that’s the worst part, because we have no contact person. In Seine-Saint-Denis or the Bouches-du-Rhône, which must be saturated with requests, it’s working. Why is it stuck in Essonne?"

Like Zouheir, there are many of these foreigners living in Essonne whose applications for family reunification are in distress. "I’ve been in France since 2014," says Adélia, 36, who has been fighting to bring her husband, who lives in Algeria, since early 2022. "I pursued my studies there, then worked. I’m on a permanent contract, a manager in a company, I’ve built my life here, I’m in a regular situation, integrated, I pay my taxes. In December 2021, I got marrie