If you're a dependent of an H1B visa or an L1 visa, or H4 or L2 and you’re stuck overseas,
you may be eligible to get your visa now under a special exemption to the current Proclamation.
So, watch this video and I'll tell you more. Since the June 22nd Executive Order that banned
H1, L1, H2B, and J1 visas, we had no guidance as to what's happening with the dependents
of the people that are currently stuck overseas while this order was put into place. This
was actually one of the main issues that people are concerned about and were posting a lot
of questions. What happens to the dependents of these L1 and H1B visas that are currently
in the United States when this Order was signed but their family members were abroad without
visas? Are they exempt from this Proclamation? And how can these family members join their
spouses in the US? So, this was a major concern, major issue, and I'll talk about this in this
video. Before that, if you’re here for the first time, make sure you subscribe to our
channel, click this bell to be notified because videos come out every single week, and I want
to make sure you don't miss them. And also, give us that big like to make sure that YouTube
is going to show this video to as many people as possible. My name is Jacob Sapochnik. And
I am an immigration attorney located in San Diego, California. And we represent clients
in all 50 states. And of course, right now, during these crazy times, we try to provide
this information to you every single week through videos and live updates just for your
benefit. Of course, it's based on your question. This particular video is… I'm making this
because so many people are asking about this, and I want to make sure that we address this
particular issue. So, since the June 22nd Proclamation came out, all we knew, basically,
was that these classes of visas were banned, including their family members. So, it was
very unclear what happens if, let's say, like one of our clients who holds an H1B visa.
And he was currently in the United States on the date that the Proclamation of the Executive
Order came into effect but his family members, his wife, and kids that were waiting back
home to get their H4 visas. And they already were scheduled for interviews, and they're
just waiting, what's going to happen with them? Because you can imagine how many people
were worried that they were in the US, and then not only that this Executive Order kind
of banned these visas until December, the end of December, but also specifically, it
had a provision there that family members are also excluded. So, people essentially
were freaking out and literally, maybe 24 days into the Executive Order, we, now, finally
have some guidance and some regulations as to what's happening with his dependents. So,
according to the State Department, they specifically said that H4 and L2 dependents, if their spouses
were in the United States at the time of the Proclamation, they are exempt from this Proclamation
and they are allowed to obtain their visas at the US embassies. And now, it's a question
of when those embassies are going to reopen. Every country has a different schedule. We've
done quite a few videos on that. As those embassies are going to reopen, those dependents
can immediately schedule their appointments and get their dependent visas, H4 and L2.
This is really an important update that the State Department had put on their website,
and we can link it in this video, and specifically saying that dependents are exempt from this
Proclamation, which was a major relief for a lot of family members. And you can imagine
that professionals, software engineers, researchers, company executives that are moving back and
forth, that they are here trying to build their businesses, and now, their family members
are not going to be able to come. This was a major, major concern. And like I said, for
almost 24 days, it was an uncertainty. We didn't know what to tell our clients, other
attorneys were in the same limbo. We didn't have any guidance from the State Department.
But now, we finally do have those guidance. So, we'll be able to now help clients to be
able to get their dependent visas in their respective consulates. The State Department
also updated that if you are a principal applicant, so let's say you are an H1B visa holder or
an L1 visa holder, and you were in the United States on June 24th, which is the date of
the Proclamation, and then you left with an expired visa, now you're back home because
he had to go for a family emergency or whatever reason there is, they clearly stated in the
regulations, that you're the kind of person that is not subject to the Proclamation. So
once again, if you're in the United States on June 24th, which is the date that this
Proclamation came into effect on an H or an L visa or H1B visa, and then you left your
visa already expired. And then you were basically overseas, you can apply for a visa, you're
exempt from this Proclamation before December 30. So, you can go ahead and apply for a visa.
That is clearly stated there, you and your dependents. So, it's not just for the dependents,
but it's also for the principal that left the US after the date of the Proclamation
with an expired visa. Now, the person is overseas without a visa, that person can also come
back to the United States and apply for a visa under this exemption. Of course, this
doesn't help us if the consulates and embassies are still closed, but the good news is that
as of July 15, embassies are starting to reopen. So, we highly encourage you to check with
your individual consulate or embassy to make sure that they are open, and they're able
to process your visa. And of course, at that point, you're not going to be subject to a
Proclamation based on this update I just mentioned. And finally, if you're an H1B or an L visa
candidate, and you're stuck overseas, and you are not in the US on June 24th when this
Proclamation took place, you are obviously subject to the ban, but there are exemptions.
So, if you are a public health professional, healthcare professional, or any other professional
that is traveling the United States to alleviate and help with the COVID-19 crisis, you may
be able to get an exemption from the ban at the US Embassy of your country. So, we're
finding quite a few of these exemptions. So, it's good to see if you qualify for this kind
of exemption but they're taking them. The other kind of exemptions for H1B that is coming
based on requests by a US government agency, again, those are also exempted from the ban
and are able to go to the US Embassy, present the documents to prove the exemption and get
their visas outside of the ban. So, there's quite a few exceptions that people can still
apply. And I highly encourage you to try because you'll be surprised that the government is
quite flexible to issue those exemptions for those people that meet the requirements, of
course. So. the bottom line is, as I mentioned at the beginning of the video, if you are
a dependent of an H1B, or an L1 visa, H4, L2, you are now eligible to get a visa even
before December, which is the… you are outside of the ban. And again, it's really important
to do two things. The first thing is to stay in contact with the US Embassy, the consulate
in your country. Remember, they are now reopening. And it's your responsibility to email them
to let them know that… to inquire as to when they're going to start scheduling appointments.
And when they do, you have to try to schedule your appointment. And make sure that they
understand that you're not part of this Proclamation, you're exempt. Again, the website, we're going
to link the link so you'll be able to print it and even use it at the appointment, if
needed, to show them that you’re exempt. The second thing, it's really important to
prepare all your documents for your visa right now. Get ready and do whatever it takes because
embassies, consulates are reopening. And I know it feels slow and I know many, many countries
are still closed. The reality is that you're not subject to this Proclamation as dependents
and you should be able to do whatever it takes to be able to join your families. And if you
are an H1B holder or an L holder and you left the country, and now, you're trying to get
your visas, you are also exempt from this Proclamation. And that was also in the guidance.
So, you can go ahead. And if your consulates reopened, go ahead and immediately schedule
the appointment and get your visas. The only ones that are impacted by this are new H1B
and Ls, they were never in the US at that time, and they're stuck overseas and trying
to get their visas. Those should apply for exemptions. And we mentioned it before and
I think it's worth it to try because they're definitely approving more of those. So, we're
going to get some more guidance on other issues. People are asking about job transfers, what
happens if their case got denied, they're trying to file for new applications while
they’re in the US, we're still waiting for more and more guidance. But as of now, there's
two main points. Our dependents can do it, and also actual visa holders that were in
the US at the time of the Proclamation but then they left. They can also get visas, which
is really, really important. And we're really worried about those classes of people. So
once again, if you have any questions, make sure you drop them in the comments. I'm going
to try to answer them throughout the week as well. And also we have a private Facebook
group where I encourage you to join that group and we have a link in the description of this
video. In the group, we share ideas, we talk about different developments in a safe environment
so you don't have to worry about trolls if people are going to be harassing you because
you share information. So, I highly encourage you to join our group. I want to see you there
as well. So, thank you so much for watching this video. And I’ll see you on the other
side.