So, how long is it going to take for you to get your visa? If you started today, whether
it's a K1 or CR1 based on marriage... if you file your K1 visa today, how long is going
to take before you actually get the visa? Do you want to know? Well, I'll tell you.
Before the pandemic, it took about maybe eight to nine months to get a K1 visa from start
to finish. Right now, the State Department report that you need to add about one year
to every process that you're starting right now, whether it's a K1 or CR1. So, what took
nine months before the pandemic, guess what, add another 12 months. That's going to be
roughly what you're going to be expecting right now. How about a C1? Before the pandemic,
maybe 11 to 14 months. Guess what, add another year. In this video, we'll talk about how
long it's going to take to process your visa application, what is happening right now with
backlogs of embassies and consulates that you need to know, and most importantly, what
you can do to prepare for the future backlogs and the changes that are going to happen in
the State Department and in the government as they process visas. We're going to talk
about the current situation right now, why the backlogs are happening, where are they
happening? And we're going to break down the key things that you need to know so make sure
you stick to the end. So, let's jump right in. Welcome to our Immigration channel. This
is a place where we get the most up-to-date immigration updates, immigration news, and
everything else that you need to make your immigration journey less stressful. My name
is Jacob Sapochnick, and I am an immigration attorney located in San Diego, California,
and I have clients in all 50 states. If you’re here for the first time, make sure to click
the notification bell so you don't miss any of our videos. And also, give us a big like
so YouTube will be able to show this video to more people just like you. So, let's talk
about wait times, visa delays, and all the good stuff. As a matter of fact, US embassies
and consulates typically issue over half a million visas every year before the pandemic.
Of course, the pandemic has changed everything. But it's not just the pandemic. If you remember
in previous videos, I talked about the Proclamations 114 from April, 152 from June, that stopped
the entry of certain work visas, family members, and DV lottery. Those proclamations contributed
significantly to the current backlog that we have with visa processing in addition to
the problems that we have with COVID-19. President Biden, on his first day, made big announcements,
he signed multiple executive orders but the reality is that we need more action from this
president. We need more direction. And what is most important, we need him to remove those
two bans because that's a bottleneck on visa issuance right now, in addition to a staffing
shortage, and in addition to the budget crisis that the State Department is currently facing
as well. So, what is the Biden administration specifically doing to address these visa delays?
One of the executive orders that were signed by the president specifically calls for a
complete review of USCIS, the State Department, and all the different agencies, and memos,
and their policies. They're currently working with that. But what does that mean in practice?
The reality is that even if this administration continues to review the procedures, and even
if they remove the bans today, we're looking at a backlog that could last for years to
come. The State Department admitted recently, that they're ill-equipped to process visas
in a moment. Not only that they are ill-equipped to process visas, but to handle the backlog
that they currently have is virtually impossible with the staffing that they have, with the
budget shortfall that they have, and the resources that they need to catch up on that backlog.
In fact, recent statistic released by the State Department specifically states that
there are more than 380,000 applicants waiting for immigrant visa interviews at the moment.
Guys, 300,000. That's not a small number. And that's going to be a very difficult number
to overcome for them to be able to catch up to issue those visas. Not only those consulates
are short-staffed, but they're also struggling right now to schedule interviews. A lot of
our clients are trying to contact the NVC to figure out what's going on with their cases
that are qualified for interviews, but the NVC is not sending those cases to the embassies.
The reason is the embassies are not able to accept those cases right now. And it's kind
of a push back and forth because they know that the backlog is too big for them to handle
at the moment. And we all know that the Trump administration has specifically done that
to slow down visa processing. These proclamations, these orders that were issued by Trump over
the last four years specifically had only one goal, and that goal was to slow down the
visa process. When we contacted embassies and consulates to inquire as to when they're
going to resume operations, remember that over the years, consulates were conducting
interviews behind glass windows. Their waiting rooms are very small. I remember that when
I attended an interview in Brussels, a few years ago, we barely had 15 people waiting
there in a waiting area. They only have two consular officers typically per post. It's
very difficult for them to catch up. And right now, because of the COVID-19 restrictions,
they’re trying to limit how many people can enter the embassy, how many people can
wait in the waiting room. And that's going to obviously prolong how many appointments,
how many interviews are going to be scheduled on any given day. And based on a recent update
that I provided, a recent video, where there was a meeting between AILA and the State Department,
they specifically stated that each embassy and consulates are going to open in their
own terms based on their own country conditions. And depending on their staffing and their
resources. And as I mentioned in this video, the resources are very, very limited right
now. Hence, it's going to continue to create a delay as to when interviews are going to
be scheduled. And when visa appointments are going to be set. The bottom line is that these
backlogs could take years to eliminate. We have a staffing shortage, we have a budget
crisis, and we have the covid-19 pandemic that continues to create issues in certain
countries, preventing the embassies and consulates, not only to reopen to schedule these interviews,
but also to process these cases efficiently. As I mentioned at the beginning of this video,
K1 visas would usually take nine months to process. The State Department reports that
you need to add at least a year or more for every new application that's going to start
now whether it's a CR1 or K1 or any other family petition. So, if you used to wait for
maybe 11 to 13 months for your CR1 marriage petition, now it's going to take another year,
even if they add more budget, even if they have more people, it's going to take some
time to catch up. So, what can be done? What can the Biden administration do to speed up
this process? Some immigration advocates claim that they should be interview waivers. They
should waive the interviews, they should classify which applicants should get an interview waiver,
which applicants shouldn't, they should conduct remote interviews via video or zoom. All these
things are good suggestions. But it's yet early to determine whether the State Department
is actually going to implement that because their biggest concern is security. They want
to make sure that anybody who gets interviews and gets a visa is not going to be a security
threat before they enter the United States. So, once again, Biden's administration, in
the third executive order, they'd say that they're reviewing all the protocols and the
systems of the State Department and USICS to try to speed up the process. They also
appointed key people to the administration to make sure that the implementation of their
ideas is going to work smoothly. For example, people like Cass Sunstein, appointed to the
DHS, show that the binary situation is serious to reverse all the mess that happened under
the Trump administration. And their idea is to have a very focused and streamlined immigration
system that we'll be able to actually overcome all these challenges. Their focus is, restoring
the rule of law. “Building back better” is their motto. So, the bottom line is that
you, guys, have to be patient. Expect severe backlogs coming up in next year or beyond.
Expect visa interview delays, and expect every new case that is going to start right now
is going to take at least a year or so, and be longer to be processed. At the same time.
What we hope is, of course, the Biden administration will remove the proclamations. That's going
to help a little bit speed up. Put some more budget into the system, train more officers
and open the door for more creative and post COVID education that will allow the State
Department to interview more people and still keep the security measures intact that are
not going to impact their ability to adjudicate visas under clear security measures. So, once
again, patience, patience, patience is important right now. And hopefully, I'll be able to
give you better news but a lot of you are asking me about the wait times and this is
the situation, this is the reason why these embassies are not able to open, this is the
reason why the interviews are being scheduled, and this is the reason why they don't answer
the emails. And it's so frustrating for all of us. So, once again, hopefully, this video
is helpful. If you have questions, drop them in the comments below. I want to hear from
you and hear what you have to say about this. And also, if you’re here for the first time,
don't forget to subscribe to our channel. Click the bell to be notified of any new videos
that come out. And also give us the big like so that YouTube will be able to recommend
this video to more people just like you. And if you want to have a consultation with me,
text me right here. I want to hear from you. I want to talk to you. So, thanks for watching.
I'll see you in our next video.