K1 visa. Coronavirus. Extension 90-day period?

[MarioBG 0]

Hello all,

 

I got my K-1 visa approved by December 2019 from the Embassy in London. Luckily, I managed to travel to the US just 1 day before Trump's travel ban to the UK due to the Coronavirus/Covid-19 outbreak. Right after (2 days later), the shelter in place order was launched in California (where I'm living with my fiancé). Given that all the Counties/City Halls are now shut down due to this order, the risk that our 90-day period expires will exist until further notice of reopening dates (at the moment, no one really knows when the city halls will be back to normal operation). 

 

Does anyone know if an extension of the 90-day period has been or will be granted for these cases? How would this be requested to the USCIS? We are afraid that, even if we mail or email the USCIS with this request or similar support, they may get back to us too late (USCIS responses usually take too long).

 

Thank you in advance.

 

Best regards,

Mario

[payxibka 10,044]

Shelter in place doesn't preclude interstate travel.  You could marry in another state if they are open

[AustinBound2020 1]

Also curious about a possible extension. Entered the US on a k1 visa a few weeks ago however we are unable to marry as everything is closed. Seeing that there doesn’t seem to be an end date for all of this, we’re getting nervous that we won’t be able to get married before k1 status expires at the end of May. If anyone hears about extensions please share the information. We will do the same. Thanks, all!

[Wuozopo 4,285]

5 hours ago, MarioBG said:

Does anyone know if an extension of the 90-day period has been or will be granted for these cases?

We are in unknown territory. They are figuring it out and making it up daily. I would start by emailing the county and asking if you can do anything by mail due to the circumstances and your 90 day deadline. I wouldn’t expect USCIS to be able to change any immigration laws. Would not be a national priority considering the country has bigger problems. 

[carmel34 3,531]

https://www.insider.com/friend-weds-nyc-couple-apartment-window-amid-coronavirus-lockdown-2020-3

 

couples who really want to get married during the lockdown have been able to find a way

 

you may have to get creative as this one example shows, but they had a license so that will be the big challenge depending on where you live

 

good luck!

Edited March 30, 2020 by carmel34

[Prizm123 1,084]

try contacting the county clerks around you and see if there is any way to apply either online or by mail due to the circumstances

 

https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CHSI/CDPH Document Library/CHSI-CaliforniaMarriageLicenseRegistrationandCeremonyInfo-2017.pdf

 

maybe this will help, it appears that you can still have someone officiate it but keeping social distancing in place, it sounds doable, but getting the license is the hard part

[payxibka 10,044]

22 minutes ago, Prizm123 said:

try contacting the county clerks around you and see if there is any way to apply either online or by mail due to the circumstances

 

https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CHSI/CDPH Document Library/CHSI-CaliforniaMarriageLicenseRegistrationandCeremonyInfo-2017.pdf

 

maybe this will help, it appears that you can still have someone officiate it but keeping social distancing in place, it sounds doable, but getting the license is the hard part

Agreed.  I can perform a marriage in under a minute,  so the only holdback is getting the license 

[AustinBound2020 1]

We can definitely get creative about finding someone to officiate the ceremony but getting the marriage license remains the key issue. We have applied for it online however the county still requires in-person pick up and hasn’t come up with alternatives given the current situation. If anyone manages to get their license please let me know how/where you were able to coordinate this. Thanks!

[Wuozopo 4,285]

45 minutes ago, AustinBound2020 said:

We can definitely get creative about finding someone to officiate the ceremony but getting the marriage license remains the key issue. We have applied for it online however the county still requires in-person pick up and hasn’t come up with alternatives given the current situation. If anyone manages to get their license please let me know how/where you were able to coordinate this. Thanks!

What town/state?

[AustinBound2020 1]

1 hour ago, Wuozopo said:

What town/state?

Travis County (Austin, TX)

[Wuozopo 4,285]

22 minutes ago, AustinBound2020 said:

Travis County (Austin, TX)

Have you tried calling another county like San Saba, Gillespie, Mason, Kimble? They have no cases yet and may not be locked down. Here’s a map of cases. Click one to identify the county name. 
https://txdshs.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/ed483ecd702b4298ab01e8b9cafc8b83
 

San Saba Phone: 325-372-3614

Mason 325-347-5253

Kimble Phone: 325-446-3353

 

You can marry in any county, but have to file the paperwork at the county where you got the license.

Edited March 31, 2020 by Wuozopo

[AustinBound2020 1]

1 hour ago, Wuozopo said:

Have you tried calling another county like San Saba, Gillespie, Mason, Kimble? They have no cases yet and may not be locked down. Here’s a map of cases. Click one to identify the county name. 
https://txdshs.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/ed483ecd702b4298ab01e8b9cafc8b83
 

San Saba Phone: 325-372-3614

Mason 325-347-5253

Kimble Phone: 325-446-3353

 

You can marry in any county, but have to file the paperwork at the county where you got the license.

Thanks for the suggestion. Have called around and most of the smaller counties aren’t accepting people from outside their county. I’ll keep calling and post if I find one that is able to accommodate. Hopefully others will as well. Fingers crossed 

[Wuozopo 4,285]

19 minutes ago, AustinBound2020 said:

Thanks for the suggestion. Have called around and most of the smaller counties aren’t accepting people from outside their county. I’ll keep calling and post if I find one that is able to accommodate. Hopefully others will as well. Fingers crossed 

Did you beg and tell them you are in a serious bind? Tell them your sad story of how long and how much money it cost to get to this point. What date is your deadline?

Edited March 31, 2020 by Wuozopo

[AustinBound2020 1]

45 minutes ago, Wuozopo said:

Did you beg and tell them you are in a serious bind? Tell them your sad story of how long and how much money it cost to get to this point. What date is your deadline?

Begged, pleaded, and gave them the whole story. Unfortunately no one was budging. Luckily we have until the end of May but as things might not be getting better anytime soon and it takes a few weeks to obtain marriage certificate after registering with the county, we figured the sooner the better. Luckily, Bexar county (San Antonio) was able to get us in tomorrow morning. We’re going to do that before anything else gets closed down. Will keep your all posted. 

[MiltonWaddams 0]

The lack of extensions in these cases are an absolute travesty. They expect you to risk your lives by going out in public to get married within your 90 days and then the local courthouse to file even as stay at home orders are in place? How hypocritical and pathetic.