Immigration inspectors have discovered more UK Border Agency (UKBA) backlogs totalling over 16,000 cases.
The chief inspector of immigration said the latest backlogs relating to requests to settle through marriage were "unacceptable".
The backlogs included people waiting a decade to hear if their partner had permission to live in the UK.
The Home Office said the UKBA was already taking action to deal with historic backlogs.
The marriage or civil partnership-related backlog is thought to be the 10th category of unresolved cases that has emerged in the past two years.
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End Quote John VineI don't think I should be discovering these backlogs. The agency should know about its workload"
Inspectors looked at how well the agency was handling applications from people from outside the European Economic Area who have a partner already in the country, such as a husband or wife who is British.
John Vine, the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, said the majority of decisions were reasonable and caseworkers checked whether applicants were known criminals.
But he said that his team had found a backlog of 14,000 cases where the UKBA failed to deal with requests to reconsider decisions after an initial rejection.
When inspectors visited a UKBA office in Sheffield they found a further backlog of 2,100 "complex" temporary migration cases. These included 180 marriage entry or settlement applications which had not received an initial decision. Some dated back to 2003.
One inspector said the unresolved applications had been effectively "dumped" on the Sheffield team after being transferred in a box from the UKBA's Croydon offices. Officials have since dealt with these cases.
At the time of the inspection last year, the marriage-related backlog was growing at a rate of 700 cases a month. Caseworkers told inspectors they could not deal with them until they had received new policy guidance.
However, a senior manager told inspectors that agency chiefs were unaware that these cases were not being dealt with and staff could make decisions without waiting for new policy.
Mr Vine said: "I don't think I should be discovering these backlogs. The agency should know about its workload. It should prioritise its resources and, at the very least, have a plan to deal with some of the things that we come across in inspection.
"For people to be in such a backlog of cases is not acceptable and I urge the agency to deal with the cases swiftly. To wait such a long time, even if your case is complex, is completely outside any service standards."
A spokesman for the Home Office said that the agency had already resolved the majority of the issues the report had identified.
"The agency is taking action to deal with historic backlogs and has a transformation plan that will put the agency on a surer footing. This group of people have already been refused but are trying to circumvent the appeals process by requesting an informal 'reconsideration'.
"We've changed the rules to make clear that those not happy with the original decision should re-apply or appeal and if they choose not to, they should leave the UK voluntarily. We are contacting them to make sure they do this, but If they refuse we will enforce their removal."
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