Hello, everybody. In this video, I'm going to provide you the most
recent update that I have on the immigrant visa backlog,
K1 visas, how to reapply for visas for those that were refused previously under the proclamations,
maybe cover some DV lottery updates, and many more visas relating to what's happening at
the embassies and consulates right now. And this is based on the recent FAQ
that was released on the Facebook page of the Department of State. We're going to go through
this FAQ and interpret it further. So, what are you waiting for? I'll see you on the other side.
Hello, everybody. And welcome back to our immigration channel. This is a 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 southern 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 recommend this video to more people just like you.
As I mentioned before, in this video, we’ll give you the most up-to-date information about
immigrant visas, and specifically, the backlog situation with all embassies and consulates.
And this is based on FAQ, the question and answer that was released on their Facebook page. And I
wanted to go through it and give you some of my take on what's happening. So, let's jump
right into it. So, the first question is, why are there still immigrant visa interview backlogs.
And here's what the Department of State had to say. “Our number one priority
is the safety of our applicants and our staff. The immigrant visa interview backlog
has developed because of limitations in staffing and other COVID-related operational constraints,
preventing us from processing the same volume of applicants as pre-pandemic. In addition,
presidential proclamation 10014 and geographic COVID proclamations restricted visa processing
for many immigrants for nearly a year. It will take time to process the cases that were impacted
by these travel restrictions.” So, as you can see, and I mentioned that before in many videos,
everything that happened with the proclamations, with the COVID-19
restrictions, it was very difficult for these consulates and embassies to operate normally.
What are you doing, Department of State, to decrease the backlog?
“We are committed to decreasing this backlog by prioritizing certain visas,
creating efficiencies in the visa process, and utilizing all available resources until our
task is accomplished. Applicants should check the website of their nearest US Embassy or consulate
for updates on what visa services are currently available.” And as I mentioned to you before,
many of these consulates are training new staff to be able to handle the increase in volume.
They're also changing the internal structure of this consulate. So, while before, they were
limited to just the windows behind the glass, they may be opening other offices in the back of these
embassies to accommodate more people so they'll be able to interview more people and this way,
go through the backlog even faster. Remember, this is going to be individual for every embassy. And
it's your responsibility to contact your embassy to make sure they're open. And they're starting to
process interview visas right now. A very common question that a lot of applicants are asking.
Are virtual appointments, zoom appointments available for immigrant visa interviews? Why can’t
they just do zoom appointments instead of waiting for people to go in-person and waste so much time?
Here's what they had to say. “Current regulation requires all immigrant visa applicants to appear
in-person before a consular officer.” Zoom calls and are not possible right now, unfortunately.
Also, another important point about interviews is that in many countries, people have to travel to
two different cities far away from where they live to conduct those immigrant visa interviews.
The next question they asked is, what are the regional COVID-19 restrictions? Specifically,
what about the travel bans that are still in place?” And here's their answer. “The geographic
COVID-19 related presidential proclamations 99 84, 99 92, and 101 43, which suspend entry into the US
of nationals who have been physically present in China, Iran, Schengen Area, UK, Ireland,
Brazil, and South Africa, and the 14 days period before seeking entry to the United States remain
in effect. But as of April 8, 2021, all immigrant applicants and K1 visas, non-immigrant applicants
are accepted from the geographic COVID-19 proclamations and may be processed.” So, again,
the travel ban from Schengen and all these other countries that were mentioned are still in effect.
So, if you want to travel directly from those countries, as of the recording of this video,
you still have to quarantine for 14 days before entering the United States. However, if you
apply for an immigrant visa, if you apply for a K visa, you're exempt from these proclamations.
You can get your visa and fly directly into the United States without quarantining anywhere else.
And this is official on the DoS FAQ. So, I just want to make sure that it's clear because again,
I've been getting a lot of questions from you, guys, about this. This is the current state of
events right now. Let's talk about family-based petitions. What can you do if you've been
waiting for your immigrant visa interview, and nothing happened? What is going on with this right
now? “Immigrant visa applicants who are eligible for interview will be scheduled for appointments
according to the existing phased resumption of visa services guidance.” What that means is that,
right now, as soon as these embassies in different locations are going to be able to reopen,
there'll be seeking from the NVC to send the files to them so they can start interviewing people. So,
if you're waiting, you have to be, still, patient. But remember, if you waited too long,
there could be a way for you to expedite your case by requesting a special expedited case
request based on the national interest exemption. And again, we've been doing quite a lot of these.
It's on a case-by-case basis. So, it's important to figure out how long you've been waiting. If you
qualify for any exceptions, then try to expedite your case. Otherwise, you're going to be waiting
forever. So, what about Immigrant Visas? How are they being prioritized at the moment?
“Post the process, immigrant visa applications are prioritizing visa categories in accordance with
our phased resumption of visa services. And then, for more information, see the following website,
Travel.state.gov./visaservicesoperating” Based on previous videos, as I mentioned before,
they are prioritizing CR1s, IR1s, and K visas under the family categories.
So, again, it's important for you to check with your individual embassy to see if
they're open already. If they are, make sure you pressure them to get your interview scheduled.
What if you’re refuse the visa because you are subject to the Muslim ban, as they call that ban?
What can you do at this moment? Let's see what the DoS had to say. “On January 20, the President
ended the travel restrictions under PPPs 9645, 9983, the suspended entry into the United States
of certain nationals from Burma, Eritrea, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Nigeria, North Korea, Somalia,
Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Venezuela, and Yemen. Immigrant visa applicants who were refused
under these proclamations and were determined not to qualify for a waiver before January 20,
2020, may reapply for a visa by submitting a new visa application, DS-260 forms,
and all the fees, processing fees. Immigrant visa applicants who are refused due to either
PPP 9645, or 9983 and the eligibility for a waiver was still being evaluated as of January 20, 2021,
will continue to have their application process without needing to submit a new application fee.
So, as I mentioned on that the DoS FAQ, if you didn't qualify for a waiver before January 20,
you have to reapply from the beginning, pay all the fees, and submit the DS-260. That's the only
way to do so. If you're not going to do so, your case will be, basically, not move anywhere. So,
it's important to be aware of that. And if you're one of those applicants from those countries,
and you were not able to process your applications before January 20 because you didn't qualify for a
waiver, you need to start from zero and reapply. So, let's talk about K visas.
When can you schedule a K visa interview? “K visa applicants will continue to have their
applications prioritized in accordance with the prioritization guides found
in Travel.state.gov./visaservicesoperating. Please check the website of the embassy or consulate to
see whether routine visa services are being provided. If you have already submitted all
the required documents, monitor email for an appointment, and further instructions.” So,
as you can see, the State Department says that they are prioritizing K1 visas. But in practice,
we don't really see that. Quite a few of these embassies are not processing K1 visas on a normal
basis. And therefore, it is important to try to push them by trying to expedite your cases.
Or in many cases, sometimes we have no choice but to sue the individual post.
And there's, of course, there's a lot of general litigation going on. But as an individual case,
you have to be in touch with your individual embassy. And in many cases,
it's important to actually try to expedite your case because otherwise,
nothing is moving. Once again, if you do need help with your individual case, make sure you
text me at 619-483-45449, 619-483-4549. The number is also here on the screen,
to set up your consultation to help you expedite your individual case. A lot of questions come from
the Milligan versus Pompeo litigation. If you're part of that litigation, can you schedule your
K1 visa interview? The State Department had to say the following. “K1 visa applicants who are
named plaintiffs in Milligan versus Pompeo should contact the nearest embassy or consulate
for guidance on scheduling a visa interview. The court order doesn't require that the plaintiffs
be given a special priority ahead of other K1 applicants.” So, it's interesting that they say
that even if you're plaintive in this litigation, you don't necessarily have a priority. Definitely
should be able to get your interview schedule, but they're kind of a little bit vague about
whether they have priority, it seems like they don't. If you are a member of this litigation, it
is important for you to let the embassy know, and see if you can get some sort of a way to get your
interview scheduled right now. But again, even if you're not part of this litigation, you have
to be in contact with the individual embassy. And if they're not responding or it's taking too long.
My suggestion is still to try to expedite your K1 visa right now. Right. So, let's talk about some
Diversity Visa issues. DV 2020. Here is one of the questions that they are answering. So, if you were
issued a visa DV lottery 2020, and your visa expired, what can you do now if you want to travel
to the United States? Individuals whose DV 2020 visas have expired may not be issued replacement
visas. However, by virtue of the court's order in Gomez versus Trump, individuals who received DV
in 2020 as a result of the orders on that case, may travel to the United States
on that expired diversity immigrant visa. However, these visa holders are encouraged to travel on
these expired visas as soon as possible.” So, remember, the issue is that right now,
they're not able to issue these visas because of their backlog. But they do say that you can
travel if you're issued a visa. You should be able to contact the USCIS liaison at the airport
and show them this FAQ or their previous orders before, let them know that you are allowed to
travel even with an expired visa. Remember, it is important to do so as soon as possible. What about
the other people who were selected in the DV 2020 lottery, but you were not able to schedule your
interview? What can you do now? “Unfortunately, no. DV 2020 selectees who are not issued visas
before the end of 2020 cannot be interviewed, scheduled, or reconsidered for visas. Now,
as by law, those selectees were only eligible for issuance of visa through the end of 2020 fiscal
year, which ended on September 30, 2020, you may enter to be selected for a future DV program.”
So this is pretty devastating for a lot of people that were not able to get visas
under the DV 2020 because the embassies were closed. Many of these people lost their visas,
and there's no way for them to get scheduled for visa interviews. As you know, that door is closing
on September 30, 2020. There's probably going to be some litigation on this. But that's what it
is at the moment. What we're going to do is we're going to schedule... what we're going
to do is we're going to put a link to the full FAQ at the description of this video,
so you'll be able to read it in more detail. And if you have questions, you can post them
in the comments below as well. Finally, let's talk about employment-based visa interviews.
When can you finally schedule your employee base immigrant visa interview? While posts
that process immigrant visa application still prioritize immediate relatives, family members
of US citizens including adoptions, finances, and certain special immigrant visa applications,
we recognize the importance of employment-based immigrants. All immigrant visa applicants who
have not yet been interviewed or scheduled for an interview will have their applications processed
according to our existing phase resumption of visa services framework. So, once again, it's pretty
vague. And for what we know, immigrant visas based on employment are not yet being prioritized
and are not yet being interviewed on a consistent regular basis. Some people get it if they fall
under an exception. And so, at this moment, once again, stay in touch with the embassy. If you have
an immigrant visa interview based on employment, stay patient. We know that those embassies are
going to reopen very soon, and it's coming. So, hopefully, this update was helpful. I mean,
as I always do, as soon as I have an update from the State Department, I will make a video
and bring this information back to you. If you're here for the first time, make sure you 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 share this video with more people
just like you. If you need help with your case, make sure to text me at 619-483-4549.
I want to be able to have a consultation with you and help you with your individual case.
Thanks for watching, and I'll see you in our next video.