Trump’s travel ban, public charge and vetting curtails Fiance visa couples
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President Trump made quite an impact on the Fiance K-1 visa process. His frenzy included
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● The Travel Ban
● Public charge revisions (currently approved by Court)
● Social media vetting
● various background checks
● Among other changes
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These not only resulted in stress, anxiety, and piles of paperwork, but also
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● Couples who got stuck in limbo
● Some lost in Administrative Processing for years without the slightest idea of when they’ll reunite with their partners
● And many who heard silence when they asked questions
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The most serious of these is the travel ban, which made headlines. One story in particular, Brian and Mehraneh, has got the attention of the media.
It turned out, Brian met his Iranian fiance, Mehraneh, in 2015 when she came to the US on the research scholar (J) visa.
In order for her to be eligible for a K-1 visa, Mehraneh had to return to Iran for the two-year residency requirement before undergoing her visa interview.
But even though her K-1 visa interview was approved two years ago, they didn’t hear back from the embassy until recently.
Just silence.
They’ve made several unsuccessful attempts and fought hard. Fortunately, in late 2018, they were approved. But it’s obvious that the Travel Ban dragged their love story through a mud puddle. Unfortunately, this couple is just one of many to get hit by former President Trump’s Travel Ban.
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How immigration got to this point after Trump took office
But let’s step back and look at how this all started.
The Terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the San Bernardino shooting in 2015 has a lot to do with it. The latter drew attention to the K-1 visa process because the beneficiary, deemed a terrorist, entered on a fiancé visa and was from a Muslim country.
From the offset of Trump’s presidency, the entire immigration system was scrutinized.
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● Travel Ban – Executive Order 13769 effectively banned citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries. On January 31, 2020, Trump added several more countries.
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● Rising delays – the average I-129F processing time went up because of intense vetting. (but still there was a steady number of I-129F applications coming in, as we’ll see below)
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● Criminal records – in the new I-129F edition, criminal history became a big target, was scrutinized, and explored a lot more than before.
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● Social media vetting – social media disclosure became mandatory for all K visa applicants.
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Which K-1 visa applicants are affected by the Travel Ban?
Brian and his fiance from Iran were one example, but who are the others affected?
Nationals of several countries are currently subject to travel restrictions according to the Presidential Proclamation 9645.
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Since the K-1 visa is technically considered “non-immigrant”, fiance visa applicants are affected if they’re citizens of:
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● Iran
● Libya
● North Korea
● Somalia
● Syria
● Yemen
● Venezuela
● Nigeria
● Myanmar
● Eritrea
● Kyrgyzstan
● Sudan
● Tanzania
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In addition, even if a traveler had an ESTA (VWP), they would need to get a visa if they were originally from a nation on the travel ban.
Out of the thirteen (13) countries, Venezuela seems to be the only one that is not affected in terms of K-1 visa issuance (as long as you’re not a higher government employee).
The justification that Trump gave as to why he chose these seven countries is that such countries’ governments…
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“[do not]…ensure the proper collection of all information necessary to rigorously evaluate all grounds of inadmissibility or deportability, or grounds for the denial of other immigration benefits.”
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Meaning, these seven countries don’t provide enough information on their citizens for the US to determine if they’re a threat or not.
So, who gets to make this life-changing decision? Well, a consular officer makes a final determination of eligibility. So, let’s talk about that.
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Applicants affected by the Travel Ban may be eligible for a K-1 Visa
A consular officer has to carefully review each I-129F petition to determine if the applicant is affected by the P.P. and qualifies for an exception or a waiver.
According to the US DOS, applicants must disclose any and all history or circumstances that would indicate to the Embassy that he/she is a threat.
Following which, the officer decides if issuing the K-1 visa is in the national interest, the applicant poses no threat to the US, or if a denial would cause “undue hardship”.
But, of course, no one gives a clear definition for “undue hardship”… and this provides enormous latitude to the DOS in whom he approve or deny, shielded by a cloak of non-transparency.
In fact, there are cases where people have waited almost 2 years in silence. And many who were never approved.
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For example, from Dec 2017 to Dec 2019, only 17% of affected NIV visa applicants had waivers approved from travel ban countries, according to the Department of State statistics.
But still, some applicants do get approved. What are two ways you can get a K-1 visa if you’re from one of the seven nations?
Well, the waiver is the first. That’s based upon the discretion of the consular officer. And if you’re under Administrative processing, you can request congresspersons or senators to intervene. Some couples are also finding legal routes to press the DOS for answers (and thereby getting approved).
The second method is that if you’re a dual national and you’re using the passport of a non-designated country, you can evade the restriction even if you hold dual nationality from one of the seven restricted countries.
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More complexity in the I-129F petition
The I-129F form got longer and more inquisitive as a result of Trump’s goal to improve security.
There used to be a time when only a few pages were enough to comply with the information needed for a petition.
Recently, we’ve seen not only the form get longer, but also more detailed, and the fees are increasing.
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● Form I-129F got longer because it consolidated what was originally in the G-325A (discontinued for Fiance visa petitions)
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● More questions asked about your background and history, including: past addresses, employment, parents history, beneficiary’s travel to the US, etc.
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● You disclose ALL criminal history (big or small) regardless of the conviction. In other words, if you got arrested or imprisoned, they want to know.
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To make things even more strict, the USCIS now has lower tolerance for RFEs.
In the past, the USCIS would issue Request for Evidence (RFE)s when your paperwork wasn’t complete to a certain standard… consider that them being “nice” because they gave you an opportunity to fix it.
However, now the USCIS new policy has lower tolerance for RFE for cases which are grossly insufficient. That’s because they realized some petitioners were deliberately sending weak petitions with a lot of missing documents as a tactic to save time while they gathered the remaining documents.
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Social Media Vetting for K-1 visa applicants
To be fair, social media vetting was in effect even before former President Trump took office.
In the Obama days, social media vetting was only a pilot program and used in certain situations to determine “eligibility for a visa”.
The USCIS, the Dept of State, and even Customs and Border protection could open up public information on you while doing an interview (i.e. social media, google, twitter, etc.)
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Trump made social media disclosure mandatory as part of the application for non-immigrants including fiance K-1 visas.
So, what exactly do they look for? What influences their decisions?
Well, in the DS-160, you select from a dropdown list of which social media handles you have or have had in the past. The Department of State then uses data-mining software to target Facebook, Google, Twitter, or dozens of other platforms… and presents Officers with information.
And although most experts agree that the data-mining software is unreliable and flawed, it’s still employed to help look for connections to criminals, terrorists, or security risks.
Secondly, for family-based and K Visas, they try to spot fraud or marriage scams.
So, the question on all our minds is: well, how effective or impactful has social media vetting been? are more people getting denied as a result? any statistics?
Well, quite frankly, it hasn’t made much of an impact. There are only a few stories of denial resulting from social media vetting on fiance visas.
For the most part, it seems that the Dept of State doesn’t currently rely too much on this system. But there are no statistics available to verify this.
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Trump’s “public charge” for the I-134
One of the biggest ripples former President Trump caused with fiance visas is the “public charge” requirement. Public charge is an existing law that says all intending immigrants must have financial support (either by themselves or sponsoring family members) so they won’t become a “burden” on the US.
Although “public charge” was already part of the US immigration system long ago, Trump’s made it a lot more visible. In fact, his plan was to enforce the “totality of circumstances” a lot more so Consular officers would be stricter with whom they grant a visa or whom the USCIS would grant Permanent Residency to.
The requirement suggests applicants should have higher income, be able to prove they have health insurance, and pay for their sustenance. This is known as the “wealth test”.
To people this meant that he was creating a barrier for poorer applicants or their petitioners during their fiance K-1 visa interview (form I-134).
In addition, his plan calls for the USCIS to adjudicate Permanent Residency (form I-485) with a higher level of scrutiny, thereby reducing the number of people who are eligible for a green card.
On October 15, 2019, this order was implemented but it was quickly blocked by Court. As a note from the Department of State explains:
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“Although the effective date of the interim final rule is October 15, 2019, the Department will not implement the rule until the use of a new form for information collection is approved by the Office of Management and Budget. On October 24, 2019, the Department published a 60-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection for its Public Charge Questionnaire, which is a necessary step to have the new information collection approved.”
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It turned out that both the Courts in the US, and the US Department of State blocked this order. Meaning…
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“visa applicants are not required to take any additional steps at this time and should attend their visa interviews as scheduled. We will inform applicants of any changes to current visa application procedures.”
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However, as of January 27th, 2020, the courts have approved the stricter form of “public charge” to be implemented in the US for Adjustment of Status.
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How did Trump affect K-1 Visa statistics?
According to the official statistics, Trump’s first three years has affected the K-1 visa dramatically.
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year | I-129F applications submitted to USCIS | K1/K2 visa approvals (interviews at embassy) | K1/K2 visa entrants (entry into US) |
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2016 (before Trump took office) | 52,885 | 56,529 | 44,390 |
2017 (Trump’s first year) | 49,831 | 53,539 ⇩ | 40,878 ⇩ |
2018 (Trump’s second year) | 47,495 | 28,662 ⇩ | 29,077 ⇩ |
2019 (Trump’s third year) | 45,274 | 41,087 | currently unavailable from DHS |
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Sources: USCIS, US DOS, US DHS immigration statistics.
The key takeaways are:
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● A steady number of people are applying for a fiance visa (consistent I-129F submission numbers) over the years.
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● The number of K-1 and K-2 visa approvals decreased *BUT* the percent of approvals/denials is almost the same. Meaning: it’s not harder to get approved, it just takes longer. (explained in detail: statistics for fiance visas in 2018)
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● The number of K-1 and K-2 entries at the POE has correspondingly gone down as a result of fewer approvals.
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The following are K visas granted to citizens affected by the travel ban: Annual Reports 2016, 2017, 2018,
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Country | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 (Ban in effect) |
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Iran | 376 | 358 | 45 ⇩ |
Libya | 8 | 16 | 6 ⇩ |
North Korea | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Somalia | 57 | 39 | 17 ⇩ |
Syria | 236 | 167 | 39 ⇩ |
Venezuela | 197 | 278 | 238 ⇩ |
Yemen | 46 | 53 | 9 ⇩ |
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What’s going to happen with fiance visas in the future?
Aside from the Travel Ban, Public charge revisions, social media vetting, background checks and more… there’s more general agitation.
You’ve heard of the numerous ICE raids throughout the country, you’ve heard of the issues at the border, and you’ve heard of the backlog the USCIS faced.
The results are apparent: delayed petitions, Administrative Processing, and resentment.
The most serious impact to fiance visa applicants is the travel ban and the dramatic decrease in overall K visa approvals for 2018.
Although Trump never specifically targeted immigrant visas or fiance visas, the repercussions will be felt for years.
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60-day “immigration ban” aimed at reducing unemployment
Aside from the Travel Ban, on April 23, 2020 the executive order for an immigration ban went into effect.
Domestic employment- the key point behind this new order was to help Americans regain jobs which are otherwise given to foreign workers (i.e. H1-B, etc.).
The secondary benefit was to reduce the load on consular sections (i.e. visas processing) abroad because they’re already working on reduced staff.
Section 2: Limitations on ENTRY of certain individuals:
(i) those aliens who are outside the US right now
(ii) those who don’t ALREADY have an immigrant visa at this point
(iii) those who don’t ALREADY have another travel document or permit to enter the US
(b) this new suspension of ENTRY does not apply to the following
(i) any Legal Permanent Residents (LPR)
(ii) aliens entering on healthcare basis.
(iii) aliens on an EB-5 (investor) category
(iv) aliens who are spouses of US citizens (i.e. CR1/IR1 recipients)
(v) children of US citizens or adoptees
(vi) aliens allowed by US law enforcement
(vii) armed forces personnel and family
(viii) special immigrant categories
(ix) aliens allowed by the DHS (i.e. upon discretion of the government)
During a visa interview, Consular officers will determine the eligibility or exceptions of those listed under the category which “does not apply” (list from section “b” above).
Any visa applicant who uses fraud to circumvent the immigration process or those who misrepresent will be subject to removal.
Asylum, refugee, or other protected classes are still eligible for entry and visas.
This executive order expired in 60 days from the effective date unless it was continued after the 60-day limit. This proclamation start 11:59 PM April 23, 2020.
It was unclear whether Fiance K-1 visa categories fit into this situation. But since K visa are normally counted with family-based (i.e. spousal, siblings, etc), it’s fair to assume that fiance visa shouldn’t be affected or counted within this immigration ban.
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Foreign workers “immigration ban”
This executive order specifically bans H1-B, H-2B, J-1, J-2, L-1, and L-2 visas starting June 24, 2020. This was effective for 6 months until the end of 2020.
The Fiance K visa category is exempt.
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Hi, Prem;
What’s going on with recent legislation, and how does could it affect I-129f process?
Do you know how the new coronavirus travel restrictions for traveling from China, Europe, etc. would impact K1 visa holders?
It seems that if a K1 visa holder spent 14+ days outside of the countries listed in the presidential proclamation, the visa holder could enter the US on the K1 visa.
Have you heard of this working or of any issues? Should you have any links with more information it would be greatly appreciated.
Stay safe and healthy!
Hey Bob,
According to executive orders and current restrictions, travel directly from certain countries is not allowed. You can, however, travel to a third country for a minimum 14 day quarantine, before traveling to the US from an allowed country. There are workarounds but quite frankly, the situation is complicated because you’re dealing with several different countries (each of whom have unique travel restrictions in place) and you’re dealing with different airlines with various restrictions. In addition, regulations and restrictions can change any minute and you don’t want to find yourself “stuck” anywhere if you attempt to travel abroad. The situation is difficult to untangle and it’s best that you do thorough research before trying to travel. I know this isn’t the best news or clarification, but at this point it’s all that the world understands.
-Prem
You guys are great,I appreciate how you take your time an answer people.My final question is right now that all places are on lockdown,how can one get married,get the lincense and file for the green card.thanks
Hi Abdul,
thanks for the support. Regarding your question about the lockdown: many US states are making special accommodations for marriages. For instance, NY is working on remote marriage license applications. We’ve been keeping up with the latest. So, please see about how the K visa process is affected by the lockdown here https://www.visatutor.com/fiance-visa-coronavirus-public-charge-health-insurance/
-Prem
Hello mr Prem,My brother has arrived safely with the k1 visa…what is next for them,because everything is close now as per what he told me,can he get a social security number or they must get married first.what are the steps.your advise are almost the best.thanks sir
Hello Abdul,
We appreciate your getting in touch.
The steps after entering the US are simple: the k visa couple gets married and once married, get the marriage certificate, then they file for the I-485 adjustment of status. We’ve written the complete guide here https://www.visatutor.com/k-visa-steps-green-card-after-marriage/ .
While or before submitting the I-485 application, the non US citizen is allowed to get a social security number.
Please take a look at our guide and let us know if you still have any questions.
We’ll be glad to help you anytime.
-Cris (Visa Tutor Team)
Hello Sir,
I am a US petitioner, having a K-1 visa, petition I-129F approved from USICS.
My fiancee (beneficiary) has paid all of the required fees and completed a medical exam and biometrics on 03/06/2020. She was scheduled for an interview at U.S. Consulate General, Mumbai, India on 04/17/2020 but she received a cancelation email on 03/14/2020 due to an outbreak virus.
Could you please tell me, if there any changes in the new policy which affect on K-1 visa petition I-129F.
And what should be my next step to bring my fiancee in the united states?
Thank you for your time in this matter.
Hello Bobby,
As you may have read in this article, the K visa is not directly addressed in the new Executive order. But, from our experience, and in our opinion, K visas are not directly affected by the travel ban because they would fall into the family-based category. However, right now due to COVID-19 closings, embassies are already closed for visa processing. So, most of this ban will be unfelt by those affected. I suggest you join our email list. We send updates about the bans, covid-19 closings, and other information on a weekly basis.
-Prem
Hello Prem,
We already sent our packet on April 24, 2020 and we are still waiting to receive an email or sms (G-1145).
How many days we should wait till we recieve the sms or email? And Do you think immigration ban will affect the process of the packet and they will postpone it?
Thanks
Hello Maria. Thanks for contacting us.
Petitioners usually get their receipt notice within one to two weeks after the packet is received in the lockbox.
The K1 Visa applicants are not affected by the immigration ban.
That being sad, your I-129F processing will not be directly affected.
We’d like to invite you to read and learn more about the process with our article:
https://www.visatutor.com/how-has-trump-affected-the-fiance-k-1-visa-process/
-Cris (Visa Tutor Team)
Hello prem, Im just getting started with this k1 visa process. By the time i get this filled out and sent in i know im looking at at least 5-6 months or more before its approved and hopefully ( keeping fingers crossed) the governments health care system will have a handle on covid-19. I appreciate your insight and guides for those of us who treading water in this process.
Glad to help, Logan. Thanks for your input. Hopefully COVID-19 will take it’s course and will be over soon. Fingers crossed the world will start turning again and we can start/continue the immigration K process as normal. Stay home / healthy.
-Prem
Hi Prem,
Hoping all is well especially during this pandemic. I have a question; I am so confused. We already had our interview, the officer asked for more information to be submitted. He verbally approved our application pending we supply the few pieces of information.
His instructions were to submit the requested docs along with my fiance’ passport. This happened right before the travel ban. Recently the Embassy opened to accepted documents from applicants needed to submit requested documents. We did have the chance to send in the requested documents and passport now waiting.
When I checked his status it states “Ready”. Then it mentions scheduling an interview but the officers instruction was to just submit the documents with the passport and the visa will be provided. The message about scheduling the interview I think is a generic statement. I don’t know what to look for. Even though they are not taking appointments right now. Do I try to schedule when its open? Who should I contact to get clarity on his case status?
I thank you so much for any advice
Hi Sharon,
I believe you’re right, that was just a generic status from the CEAC. You should contact the consulate by email and ask for when you’ll get your documents back. The CEAC does update routinely after the interview. But there is typically never another interview if you’ve had a successful interview before. So, I suggest you get in touch with the IV unit.
-Prem
Hi Prem I hope you are doing great. With this travel ban affecting Work Visas, do you think I-129F will expedite a little bit?? Just wondering cause they will have more availability to take care of us.
Take care
Thank you.
Hi Christian,
That’s a good question, but I don’t think it will help alleviate the workload all that much. Realize that before this ban, the US consulates were already shutdown and not issuing visas to most people. Until the covid-19 lockdowns are lifted, no one is getting a visa and things will still be in limbo. However, after the covid-19 lockdowns are lifted and embassies open up again, there may be a slight period where their workload is reduced and they’re able to pay attention to other applicants. However, notice that the USCIS is still not affected by the executive order. So, any employment-based application will still go through the USCIS. So, most I-129F will not go any faster as a result.
-Prem
My fiance is on a work visa in DOHA, QATAR. She is a citizen of UK. We received a letter from NVC saying they have sent our packet to DOHA for the interview. How can the new travel ban affect us?
hello Lee,
As you may have read in this article, we don’t expect K visa applicants to be directly affected because they weren’t specifically called out in the new executive order. However, you may be subject to other travel restrictions imposed either by Qatar or even by the UK.
-Prem
Hi I would like to know whether the K1 Visa is affected by the travel ban. My fiancé is from Nigeria. I know the K1 is a Non-immigrant visa and the ban seems to apply to that category.
I am a us citizen and my fiancé lives in Nigeria. We are getting ready to start the K1 process. Any info and assistance in getting this approved would be greatly appreciated.
Hello Jackie.
Thanks for reaching out.
The more you get familiar with the process and the more you understand what officers want to see in your packet, the bigger chances of approval you have.
So, as getting educated is the key we have to succeed, I’ll leave you with two great articles full of valuable instructions that will grant you a lot of information on how to prepare a great K1 Visa packet:
https://www.visatutor.com/i-129f-petition-checklist/
https://www.visatutor.com/proof-of-relationship-guide/
Come back and let us know how it went.
-Cris (Visa Tutor Team)
Hi Prem,
Kindly advise on the DS-160 application form, specifically when it comes to employment section. They is a question asking about one’s salary, assuming the basic salary every month is the same but they is additional allowances you get like commission. So every month you receive a different amount depending on the allowance you receive every month. What amount do you indicate on that particular column?
Maryam, thanks for writing to us.
You should take an average of what your likely income is (consider average commissions per month).
However, your focus should be on the I-134 for your income supported by tax returns.
This article will give you more education on the topic:
https://www.visatutor.com/fiance-visa-totality-of-circumstances-not-only-your-i-134-affidavit-of-support/
-Cris (Visa Tutor Team)
Hi prem,
This is to update everyone that I got my K1 visa issued today 27-02-2020. My interview was on the 11th of Febuary and got approved but with the travel ban looming i was expecting to get my Visa issued before the 21st but it never happened so me and my fiancee stated panicking not knowing what would happen next, as days pass without any change in my ceac status we became more worried, but just the day before yesterday my status changed to AP and today 27th Febuary I got issued.. I’m well aware of the unknown at the point of entry eventually but I remain ever optimistic so I want anyone going through the same situation just to be patient..
Leroy,
Congratulations on your approval. Thanks for keeping us up to date with your case. I assume that since you were interviewed before the 21st, that’s the reason the travel ban didn’t affect your visa. Good luck
-Prem
Hi- My husband interview was held in Nigeria on September 20, 2019. We were placed in Administrative Processing. We needed to submit 1 document, That document was submitted the very next day. We are still in AP. Are we subjected to this travel ban or is it up to the CO to offer a waiver? Thanks, Diana H.
Hello Dianna and thanks for writing to us.
Have you or your fiancé tried to contact the consulate where he had the interview?
Theoretically your AP is not affected by this current ban because the interview was before it got into effect.
What you both must do is contact the consulate directly and ask for an update.
Keep us posted about your case.
-Cris (Visa Tutor Team)
Thank you for the input Prem, I will leave an update here as soon as I get any information..
Hi.
I had my interview on February 11 for a K1 visa and got approved at the US consulate in Lagos Nigeria which happens to be one of the countries affected by the new travel ban, the CO said my my passport and possible visa will be ready to pick at a location in 2days- to 2weeks time, to be honest I had seen other people receive their visa in a shorter time so I was hoping mine would be ready in a week or just under so that I could beat the February 21 date of the ban taking effect. unfortunately that hasn’t been the case as it’s been showing application received since on the tracker, at this point I don’t know if the visa will still be issued now that the ban is officially in place I’ve been hoping and praying but I really do not know my chances. Any input or word will be appreciated, Thanks.
Hello Leroy,
As from the US DOS, all visas that are issued before the ban will be honored and allowed to travel to the US. Visa interviews after the 21st are theoretically affected. So, you can try to email/contact the US consulate and ask for an update. Please let us know the details so others may also know if they’re affected by this issue.
-Prem
Thanks for your adequate advise, I will be at the embassy this week and i’ll keep you apprised on the development.
Hi Prem,
Top of the day to you.
I got approved on the 27th of January, 2020 at the Lagos Consulate, Nigeria and i have since picked up my passport with the visa in it. But i got a call today from the embassy, requesting that I bring my passport over to the consulate stating they needed to correct some kind of system error on it. I don’t know how true this is, but I have a feeling they want to nullify my visa. Do you have any idea what the outcome might be? Please advise…
Michael, thanks for writing us.
The best advice we can grant you is that you follow their instructions as they may be trying to fix any problem that may have occurred with your visa.
-Cris (Visa Tutor Team)
I just paid for my fiance k I visa fee at Senegal Dakar before reading what came up from Mr Donald Trump the great president. to have ban Nigerians and other countries included .well I think Mr Trump is doing the right thing to protect his country and the way terrorist are entering United States of America is not good such as Nigeria and other Muslims countries . I’m looking for a to know if it really affected my case and my fiancee
Hello Maduabuchi,
Thanks for reaching out for us.
What we can say is that any petition whose interview has not been scheduled and done yet, will likely be subjected to the new travel ban.
Even though each case is unique, beneficiaries from the travel ban list will be more scrutinized. It’s hard to state if they’ll be rejected, be put in administrative processing or approved right away.
It is all in the consular officer’s discretion to decide.
-Cris (Visa Tutor Team)
Hi,
My case is similar to that of Bola. My fiance is American and I’m Nigerian. We got our NOA 1 from USCIS 2 weeks ago, and then the announcement on Travel ban came up last week. I’ll definitely need a waiver at the interview stage. How can one apply for a waiver?
Hello Enny,
You cannot apply for a waiver. Upon your request and at the discretion of the consular officer, a waiver may be offered to you. Whether or not a waiver is granted is actually up to them and the time it takes to process such a waiver is also up to them. As of now, we have no clue what will transpire because the visa ban hasn’t taken affect yet. You should continue to monitor the situation. Please share any news you may find.
-Prem
Our Form 129-F was approved by USCIS two weeks ago. President Trump placed a ban on immigrant visa from certain countries last week & my country Nigeria is part of the countries banned.
We are proceeding to the next stage.
Pls what is our fate?
Hello Bola,
Thanks for writing to us.
As mentioned in this article you had the chance to read, more countries were added up to the new immigrant travel ban list.
As you have the K1 Visa interview conducted, and whether everything goes right, you have the possibility of requesting a waiver that will be analyzed and, according to the consular officer’s discretion, your case may be exempted from the ban.
It’s known that the new ban will go in effect by the end of this month (February 2020).
That being said, it’s impossible to predict how the specifics of the ban will be played out during the interview.
We will have to wait and see.
We recommend you continue to monitor, read, focus and get educated on the topic for your upcoming interview.
-Cris (Visa Tutor Team)
Thank you Prem for this very informative information. My K1 visa was approved greatly with your assistance through the whole process.
You have such a wide and great knowledge about the K visas.
You have made this process a breeze for me.
Thank you and all the best