Hello, everybody. In this video, I'm going to talk about a few important things.
First of all, there's a new proclamation that was just issued this week, specifically suspending the
entry of certain non-immigrant visa holders. This proclamation is specifically focused on
India. Specifically, we're going to talk about who is exempt, and whether visas can still be
issued. And also, we're going to talk about some new national interest exceptions to all
the travel bans. This is something new that was just added a few days ago. So,
stay tuned, make sure you watch this video to the end, and I'll see you on the other side.
Hello, friends, and welcome back to our Immigration channel. This is the place
where you get the most up-to-date 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. If you're here for the first
time, make sure to subscribe to our channel, 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, in this video, I wanted to focus on a recent proclamation that was
issued just this week. And that proclamation is called A Proclamation On The Suspension of Entry
As Non-immigrant of certain individuals that could pose a risk to spread the COVID-19
virus. So, you can see the proclamation right here on the screen. And I'm going to link the
Proclamation from the White House website right in the description of this video. But the gist of
this proclamation is the following, because of the spread of COVID-19, in India specifically, it has
a very large amount of infected individuals, and also the variants that the CDC is worried about.
And as a result, they issued this specific travel ban. So, under this new proclamation,
India is being added to the countries that are currently under what is called a travel ban.
So, the idea behind the travel ban is that if you're currently physically present in India,
and you planning to come directly to the United States from India, you're not going to be able
to do so unless you spend 14 days in a different country, in a third country. So, if you fly from
India to go to Thailand, or to Europe, and spend two weeks, and then come to the United States,
then you should be able to be okay. So, that is the idea behind this travel ban. And also,
it's specifically limited to non-immigrant visas. This proclamation is not going to apply
to the following people. If you're a green card holder, this does not apply to you, you can still
enter the United States. If you're a US citizen, this does not apply to you. You can still
enter if you're spouse of a US citizen or green card holder. This proclamation does not apply to
you. If you're a parent of a US citizen, or a green card holder who is under the age of 21.
You are also exempt from this proclamation. And if you have a brother or sister who is a US citizen,
you are also exempt from this travel ban. Also, if you're traveling at the request of the US
government, you come here to help fight the COVID-19 issues, you are also exempt from this
travel ban. And there are a few other exceptions for military personnel. But essentially,
it's specifically focused on non-immigrant visas, people that are coming with H1B visas, tourist
visas, student visas, these, currently, are the ones that are the focus of this proclamation. Now,
remember, something really important. This proclamation, just like the previous ones,
does not bar the State Department from issuing visas. It's only a question of entering the United
States. So, if you're eligible for a visa, whether it's a non-immigrant visa or an immigrant visa,
this proclamation should not be used by the State Department to deny the issuance of a visa. That is
a really important point to understand. Remember in the past, certain embassies were using the
travel ban proclamations not to issue visas. There's currently litigation going on right now
to fight the State Department specifically for that reason, to say yes, there are travel
bans in place but that does not mean that you cannot issue visas. The same applies to India.
If you're eligible for a visa and you're able to go somewhere else before entering the United
States, the embassy in Mumbai should be able to issue a visa to you, just like in any of the other
countries that are subject to travel bans. Also remember, this ban applies only to non-immigrant
visas. It does not apply to immigrant visas, the CR1s the IR1s, and it does not apply to K1 visas
as well, fiance visas. Those are exempt based on a recent announcement from the State Department,
specifically exempting immigrant visas and K1 visas from any of the travel bans. The same
applies to India. This proclamation will take effect on May 4, at midnight, eastern time. So,
if you're on a flight that departs before midnight eastern time, May 4, you should still be OK
to enter the United States on that date. Now, let's talk about some recent exceptions to the
travel ban proclamations that were announced this week by the State Department. This is for all the
countries that are on the list. As I mentioned at the beginning of this video, India is now joining
the list of those countries, but we already have Brazil, we have the Schengen countries, we have
Iran, we have Ireland, and South Africa. So, what are the recent exceptions, so you can
apply for national interest exception if you are traveling to the United States from any of these
countries for critical infrastructure. If you're a journalist from any of the major media outlets,
you're also able to apply for national interest exceptions and enter the United States without
waiting 14 days in a third country. Certain students and academics are also exempt from these
proclamations and can apply for national interest exceptions only if the academic program starts
after August 1, 2021. Those students will be able to apply for national interest exceptions
and enter the United States without spending 14 days in a third country. So, as you can see,
these are breaking news from this week, we have a new country that was added to the travel ban.
This is India. This is because of the widespread of COVID-19 in their country.
So, certain non-immigrant visa holders are not going to be able to enter the United States
unless they spend two weeks in a third country before flying directly to the United States.
The proclamation does not bar the US Department from issuing visas. Remember,
if you have a visa appointment, they cannot use the proclamation not to issue a visa.
And also, I mentioned a few exceptions to the travel ban for the other countries that are
also on that list. If you enjoyed this video, make sure you leave me a comment below. And also, let
me know any questions you have about this video, or any other of the topics that we created videos
for you. And again, if you're here for the first time, don't forget to subscribe to our channel,
click the notification bell and give us a big like so YouTube will be able to share this video with
more people just like you. And finally, if you do have a question and you want to consult with me,
make sure you send me a text to 619-483-4549 and we'll be able to answer and help you with
your immigration case as well. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you in our next video.