Hello, everybody, and Happy New Year. I wish you all the best. And I hope that 2021 is
going to be an amazing year. This is past midnight here in California. And I wanted
to do a quick live because just a few hours ago, we have the news that the proclamations
were extended. And this is something that we were expecting. And it actually happened.
So, the news is that both proclamations were extended [inaudible] here. The ones from…
if you remember, we had a proclamation in April that essentially prevented the entry
of mostly family members, the parents of US citizens, spouses of green card holders, and
now, we have the June proclamation that barred entry of certain people on visas. So, certain
people on Hs, J visas, and so forth. So, both of these proclamations were extended just
a few hours ago, all the way through March 31. So, again, this is something that we anticipated,
unfortunately, and I mentioned that in the previous videos as well, that I've done here
and on Instagram. So, welcome, everybody. First of all, those who are watching this
live, I appreciate all of you. So, what does it mean, actually, what does it mean to…
most of you here, it definitely means that we're going to see more delays at the consulates
and embassies right now, that we were hoping that it's going to be more of a kind of a
release in the backlog. So, that's not going to change. And, of course, we have a lot of…
a lot of our clients that were waiting, specifically, spouses of green card holders under the F2A
category, were seriously hoping that this ban is going to be over and they'll be able
to start getting their appointments. The good news is that President-Elect Biden is going
to take office on January 20. So, we're hoping that between January 20, and maybe the 10
days after that, or the few weeks after that, he's going to be able to reverse most of these
proclamations, and specifically those travel ones. And hopefully, we're not going to have
to wait until March 31 to be able to take action and for people to be able to come here.
The reason… people ask him why, what were the reasons that he sited. So, he said that
the entry of foreigners deemed to be detrimental to the interests of the US. The economy's
not doing well, according to him, and getting more foreigners entry here currently is going
to make things even worse. He also stated that this proclamation is necessary, the extension
is necessary because it's a matter of ongoing national concern because of the pandemic and
the rates of unemployment and the numbers are rising. So, yeah. So, that's kind of essentially
what he did. Remember that he waited pretty much until late in the evening. It was almost
I think, 8 or 7 pm when this was announced, and a lot of people were concerned. I was
getting a lot of text messages and emails from clients, which were very concerned about
this, but the impact of this is that the travel bans are enforced. So, the travel bans are
still enforced. Whatever proclamations we had in April are standing, and also, the one
that was released in June as well. So, specifically, we are dealing here with the ban on the entry
of family members. There's a list of family members on the April proclamation that…
and again, remember that there are exceptions. There are national interest exceptions. So,
even if you are subject to the proclamation, you can still apply for the exceptions. We
were doing those exceptions for the past six months. But it's just, it's not a clear message.
It's not a positive message to start the year. I know a lot of people have been disappointed
but it was expected. It was expected from Trump to do something drastic like that, in
the last weeks of his presidency. So, yeah, I mean, unfortunately, I have to deliver this
bad news, but it is what it is. But remember, I firmly believe that after January 20th,
when Biden is going to take over. The first steps are going to be reversing these proclamations
because like I said, this is definitely hurting our economy. We have a lot of people that
are trying to come here on work visas that are not being able to do so just because of
those proclamations. But specifically, it's hurting a lot of family members who are being
stuck overseas or not being able to join their families, specifically, the F2A categories,
spouses of green card holders, and I really feel bad for them. So, this is what it is.
I'm sure you're going to have more details in the next week or so as to exactly what
that means, what other things are going to happen, what other things he is going to do
before he leaves office. So, this is… but this was expected. So, my first video of the
year is literally 15 minutes past midnight, here in California, my first video of the
year, and that's announcing the extension of the proclamation, specifically the ones
that were issued in April, and June proclamation. Those two are being extended right now. And
again, like I said, it was expected, so it doesn't really change much for people that
were part of it. It's pretty much the same thing. But if you are subject to those proclamations,
I highly encourage you to see if you are qualified to any of the exceptions, and you're still
going to be able to come. So, let me take a couple of questions. We have a lot of good
things coming up for you, guys. In our YouTube channel, we're going to do more lives. I'm
going to have a… probably on Thursdays, I'm going to do a Q&A, where I'm going to
be able to bring you on a video as well. So, you can come on video and you're going to
be able to ask me questions. Right here, live. So, we're going to start this next week. So,
let me take a few questions. Let me see here. [inaudible] says, “Can I get a visa interview
in Pakistan, EB3? My case is NVC last year, is there any way?” So, you're still subject
to the ban. So, if you didn't have a visa before, you're not able to get an interview.
And unless Biden reverses it, you're going to have to wait until March. Wonder is asking,
“What about DV 2020, who already got visas, does that apply to them? So, remember, just
before the proclamation was issued, if you already have a visa issued, you should be
okay. And you should be able to enter. So, those people that already have visas issued,
if you were able to get an interview, the bar is not impacting you. So, Abika Ibrahimi,
“How about the effects of ‘21 winners? Also, how about the expectation of Biden about
this extension?” So, the 2021 winners, it’s not impacting them right now. This is just
an entry bar. It's basically a ban on who can enter the US, specifically referring to
the April and the June bans, and I've done videos on that. And you'll be able to see
that as well. With respect to what Biden is going to do, as I mentioned before, I firmly
believe that he's going to reverse it, specifically in the first 30 days. Good question from Nasir,
“How about interview wife and husband case?” So, if they're a spouse of a US citizen, they're
not impacted at all. But spouses of green card holders, F2A, they are impacted. New
City live, “Can Biden take care of this extension?” So, I do believe that Biden,
when he comes into power, he will reverse it. Stanley is asking, “How I can contact
you to help me in my process?” So, for any of you who are interested in contacting me,
I will post my phone number at the description of this video, you can send us a text at 619-483-4549,
619-483-4549, and I'm going to post the phone number in the description of
this video. There's also going to be a link if you want to schedule a consultation. And
I'm happy to help you, guys. Anish is asking, “What about F2A visas?” Unfortunately,
F2A visas are barred, spouses of green card holders who have not received their visas
have to wait overseas until either Biden reverses this or until March 31, when this is going
to be over. There is no update on the White House. [inaudible] I haven't seen the actual
update on the White House website yet. But this was announced in the media. And there
was a press release that the President did. So, that's how we know about it. The European
bans are still in place. As far as we know, the travel bans from Europe are still in place
until further notice. All right. “Does this affect K1 visas?” It does not affect K1
visas? So it's a great question. So, the travel bans, even in April and even in June, they
did not affect K1 visas. Even though there were embassies and consulates that did specify
they’re not issuing interviews for K1 visas because of the proclamations. It is a mistake.
Those travel bans are not impacting K1 visas. K1 visas or non-immigrant visas. So, if you
have a K1 visa and you're not able to get an interview, for whatever reason, you can
file an expedite request. We do many of those expedite requests at our office. So, in any
case, this was just a quick live to give you an update. Once again, those of you that are
joining us right now, I wanted to let you know that the travel bans have been extended
both April and June, which means that people that are subject to those proclamations are
not able to enter the US. It does not apply to K1 visas. So, yeah. So, once again, Happy
New Year, guys, I'm excited to create more videos for you. I'm very grateful for this
community. If you want to talk to me one on one, there's a link in the description of
this video on how to schedule a consultation with me. And we will start to do a live show
on Thursdays where we're going to be answering your questions on video, you'll be able to
come on video and be here with me and I can talk to you and I want to see you and I want
to thank you in person for being a supporter. So, once again, Happy New Year. You, guys,
are the best and I look forward to connecting with you in 2021. Thanks for watching, and
I'll see you soon.