Hello, everybody. In this video, I'm going to provide an update from the Department of State
about immigrant visa processing following the cancellation of two proclamations, 9645 and 9983,
also known as the Muslim ban. There's a long list of countries affected by this ban. What
is important in this video, we'll talk about the new procedures that the Department of State is
going to take towards these applicants, what are the procedures moving forward,
and also, what we can learn for other applicants who are not from these countries
as to how embassies and consulates are going to continue to process immigrant visas in the next
three months. It is really important, and I'm going to try to break it down in this video,
so make sure you stay to the end. Also, I'm going to touch a little bit about
the interview waivers for immigrant visas that are now taking place in all consulates
and embassies worldwide. What do you need to know if you had a non-immigrant visa already
approved in your passport and it hasn't expired? How you can renew it without an interview? So,
make sure, again, you'll stick to the end. I'll give you all the details. So, let's jump right in.
Hello, everybody. And welcome back to our Immigration channel. This is the place where we
get the most up-to-date information about immigration news, immigration updates,
and everything else that you need to make your immigration journey less stressful. My name is
Jacob Sapochnik, and I'm an immigration attorney located in San Diego, California. And if you’re
here for the first time, make sure to click the notification bell, subscribe to our channel so you
don't miss any of our videos. And also, give us a big like so YouTube will be able to share this
video with more people just like you. So, let's talk about the new guidance from the Department of
State with respect to applicants that were denied visas, denied waivers because of the proclamation
also known as the Muslim ban, Proclamations 9645 and 9983. On January 20, 2021, President Biden
signed an executive order ending discriminatory bans on entry to the United States, essentially
lifting the Muslim ban. Under this proclamation, people from the following countries were banned
from entering the United States and getting visa interviews. People from countries like Burma,
Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Venezuela,
and Yemen, were banned from entering the United States and getting their visa interviews.
At the same time, there are quite a few people that were eligible to get their waivers. And many,
many people did apply for waivers. We have quite a few clients who obtain these waivers. But many of
the waivers were stuck under this new policy. The government said that they're going to be reviewing
all the cases that were denied because of these proclamations, and also, for people that were not
able to get their waivers. All these cases are currently being reviewed,
and the government will consider whether they're going to be reopening these cases that were denied
during that Proclamation. According to the new guidance. applicants who were previously
refused under the Muslim ban proclamation are now eligible to reapply, to file a new DS-260
with a new application fee, and they're going to be reconsidered over applicants whose eligibility
for a waiver is still being determined. These people who apply for the waivers before January
20, 2021, such applicants could request the embassy to continue processing their applications,
get priority without filing a new DS-260 without paying a new application fee. The reason this is
important is that even applicants who are not subject to the Muslim ban and your applications
were denied, or [inaudible] refused at the US embassies and consulates worldwide. For example,
if you were a K1 or CR1 that were denied a visa appointment because of the travel Proclamation 114
and any other proclamations, you should be able to contact the US Embassy in your country
and request resuming processing of your application. If the only reason why you're
not able to get your visa appointment was because of a proclamation that is no longer in effect,
I think it's important to learn that these embassies and consulates have the power
to look at your case and determine whether they can resume processing your application
or if you have to reapply and pay an application fee if there's a specific reason. But again,
what we can learn from this new policy is that it is important to communicate with your specific
consulate or embassy. Let them know that the only reason why you were not able to get an appointment
was because of a proclamation and then see if they can resume processing your application
and get you a priority for your immigrant visa interview. Let's talk about Visa Interview
Waivers. So Visa Interview Waivers are currently happening. The Department of State announced that
it's expanding its program for non-immigrant visa interview waivers. Visa Interview Waiver Program
is expanded through December 31, 2021. If you're planning to renew a non-immigrant visa in the same
category, in the same classification, and your visa is going to expire within the next 48 months.
You don't have to go through an interview. It's going to be that long, automatically
without you appearing for an interview. This was expanded from the previous program
that allowed people that their non-immigrant visas were going to be expiring within
24 months to waive their interview, and do everything by mail or electronically. So,
these are great news. There's no way for the Department of State
to reduce the backlogs at the US embassy, to see less people. The less people they see,
the more visas they can process and focus more on immigrant visas to enable more people
to get their immigrant visas because the backlog is huge. As I mentioned in the previous video,
we almost have half a million people that are stuck overseas without the possibility
to get their immigrant visa appointments scheduled. And we're hoping that with these
non-immigrant visa interview waivers, with increasing the staffing, with expanding the
facilities, they're going to be able to see more and more people and that backlog will slowly
be able to go down. Also, as I mentioned at the beginning of this video, because the Department
of State is reviewing its policies with respect to people that were previously denied, for example,
we started with the Muslim ban countries, many of them that were going through a waiver process,
and were not able to get their appointments are not going to be able to contact their embassy
and get a priority to get their immigrant visas process, and those people were clearly denied
because they're not eligible for a waiver, will just have to reapply, to resubmit the
DS-260s as soon as possible so that they can be scheduled for an interview as soon as the
embassies will take them. These are good news that the Biden administration is reviewing policies,
making things go smoother. They're trying to push the embassies and consulates to
give priority to immigrant visas that were previously denied and maybe even reopen cases
that were previously refused because of these proclamations that are no longer in effect.
Every time we have a new update from the Department of State, I'll be sure to make a video
and keep you posted as I always do. Once again, if you have any questions, make sure you post them in
the comments below. And if you’re here for the first time, subscribe to our channel, click the
notification bell, and also give us a big like so YouTube will be able to share this video
with more people just like you. And once again, if you're stuck, if you need help with your case,
if you're confused, make sure you text me right here, 619-483-4549, and set up a consultation
so I can talk to you one on one. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you in our next video.