243(d) VISA refused because of 243(d)

[TVM 0]

Hello, 

My fiance passed her interview in Vientiane, Laos, but now she received a letter saying that she cannot be issued a a visa pursuant to the Secretary's order of March 17, 2020 under section 243(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.  the letter says The decision cannot be appealed.  Her VISA case status in CEAC says refused.  Does this mean we have to go through the whole process again or when the sanction is lifted, the consular office will review her case again?  Would she have to go through the whole VISA interview again?  Does anyone know when and if section 243(d) will be lifted in Laos. 

[JKLSemicolon 337]

Here is the statement from the Embassy around this:

 

Quote

Important Note: As of April 1, 2020, the United States has discontinued issuance of all nonimmigrant visas (NIVs) for Lao citizens and nationals applying in Laos, except for A1, A2, C2, G1, G2, G3, G4, NATO1, NATO2, NATO3, NATO4, NATO5, and NATO6 visas, and others whose travel is covered by Section 11 of the UN Headquarters Agreement, subject to limited exceptions. This action was taken pursuant to section 243(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).  For more information, please open this link (PDF 149 KB).

 

If you open the PDF linked above it says the following (emphasis mine):

 

Quote

Visa applications submitted before April 1, 2020, but not yet issued, will be subject to the discontinuation. Should an individual subject to the Secretary's order submit a visa application after April 1, 2020, the consular section will proceed with an interview. However, a consular officer will not be able to issue a visa to applicants subject to the Secretary’s order until visa issuance is resumed. Visa issuance covered by the Secretary’s order for Laos will resume once the Secretary of Homeland Security sends the Secretary of State the notice required by U.S. law, relating to the country’s acceptance of its nationals. Consular operations at the U.S. Embassy in Vientiane will continue. These visa restrictions do not affect other consular services provided, including adjudication of applications from individuals not covered by the suspension.Once these sanctions have been lifted, the Embassy may issue nonimmigrant visas to eligible visa applicants. The U.S. Department of State will provide information on how to continue with discontinued visa applications. Nonimmigrant visa applicants who were previously found ineligible for a visa and whose visa applications were refused on such basis, suchas under INA 212(a), will not be reconsidered.

Note that this appears to apply to immigrant visas as well.

 

My reading of the above is that if/when sanctions are lifted, they "may" issue the visa, and you should be prepared to follow additional instructions from the DOS if/when the time comes in order for that to happen. What those instructions might be and the timeline for sanctions to be lifted is anyone's guess -  it appears that sanctions on certain visas have been in place since 2018.

Edited March 29, 2021 by JKLSemicolon

[SalishSea 16,960]

Visa Sanctions

Pursuant to his authority under Section 243(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf notified Secretary of State Michael Pompeo that the governments of Burundi and Ethiopia have denied or unreasonably delayed accepting their nationals ordered removed from the United States. As a result, Secretary of State Pompeo has ordered consular officers in these countries to implement visa restrictions on certain categories of visa applicants, determined on a country-by-country basis. These sanctions will remain in place until the Secretary of Homeland Security notifies Secretary Pompeo that cooperation on removals has improved to an acceptable level.

Visa sanctions have been previously invoked against the following countries: Guyana in 2001, The Gambia in 2016, Cambodia, Eritrea, Guinea, and Sierra Leone in 2017, Burma and Laos in 2018, Cuba, Ghana and Pakistan in 2019. Visa sanctions have since been lifted against Guyana, Guinea, and The Gambia.

 

 

Are you prepared to move to Laos to be together?  My guess is they will return the petition to USCIS, where it will expire.

 

[payxibka 10,044]

20 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

Visa Sanctions

Pursuant to his authority under Section 243(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf notified Secretary of State Michael Pompeo that the governments of Burundi and Ethiopia have denied or unreasonably delayed accepting their nationals ordered removed from the United States. As a result, Secretary of State Pompeo has ordered consular officers in these countries to implement visa restrictions on certain categories of visa applicants, determined on a country-by-country basis. These sanctions will remain in place until the Secretary of Homeland Security notifies Secretary Pompeo that cooperation on removals has improved to an acceptable level.

Visa sanctions have been previously invoked against the following countries: Guyana in 2001, The Gambia in 2016, Cambodia, Eritrea, Guinea, and Sierra Leone in 2017, Burma and Laos in 2018, Cuba, Ghana and Pakistan in 2019. Visa sanctions have since been lifted against Guyana, Guinea, and The Gambia.

 

 

Are you prepared to move to Laos to be together?  My guess is they will return the petition to USCIS, where it will expire.

 

What's wrong with getting married and petition for a spouse?

[SalishSea 16,960]

1 minute ago, payxibka said:

What's wrong with getting married and petition for a spouse?

Well sure, if the OP wants to go that route, they can. 

[payxibka 10,044]

16 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

Well sure, if the OP wants to go that route, they can. 

But you didn't offer it up as a potential path.

[SalishSea 16,960]

6 minutes ago, payxibka said:

But you didn't offer it up as a potential path.

It probably is a more reasonable path than simply waiting to see if the petition will be reinstated.

[payxibka 10,044]

25 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

It probably is a more reasonable path than simply waiting to see if the petition will be reinstated.

Sure, and once again I must follow you as tbe voice of reason.   

[JKLSemicolon 337]

1 hour ago, payxibka said:

What's wrong with getting married and petition for a spouse?

As I linked in my post above, all immigrant visas from the Embassy in Laos are also discontinued according to this:

 

https://la.usembassy.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/85/IV-website-text-English-lao-VS3-1.pdf

 

But even so, getting married and petitioning for an IR-1/CR-1 visa might still be the preferred option versus waiting out the process for the K-1. That would result in being able to bypass Adjustment of Status, etc. if an approval were to happen, and the extra processing time from starting over is less of an issue since everything is on hold due to the sanctions anyway. This route could also be combined with the USC moving to Laos if wanting to wait out the process together, but that's going to depend on @TVM and their situation.

[hnubno92 0]

My husband is petitioning for his mom (my mil) from Laos too so I guess that means there won't be a visa issued anytime soon for us too.  We just got the I130 approved and moved on to NVC stage.   

Edited March 30, 2021 by hnubno92

[SalishSea 16,960]

28 minutes ago, hnubno92 said:

My husband is petitioning for his mom (my mil) from Laos too so I guess that means there won't be a visa issued anytime soon for us too.  We just got the I130 approved and moved on to NVC stage.   

There really isn’t any way to know until the consulate phase.

[Shadowly 0]

On 3/30/2021 at 3:48 AM, hnubno92 said:

My husband is petitioning for his mom (my mil) from Laos too so I guess that means there won't be a visa issued anytime soon for us too.  We just got the I130 approved and moved on to NVC stage.   

It's going to be a long wait!!

[hnubno92 0]

On 4/8/2021 at 11:21 PM, Shadowly said:

It's going to be a long wait!!

Don't worry we will wait it out cuz mil is still young.  She will join us here day for sure!!!!

[Hmongtain907 5]

My wife pass her interview in Feb and we are still waiting for the sanction to be left all we can do is wait there is no timeframe at the moment I have reached out to the embassy, join zoom call in a town hall meeting with the ambassador In Laos and he said until Laos make an effort to accept any deportee from the u.s.a which Laos says after they have left Laos for 7 year with no Laos visa they are no longer Laos citizen then will usa left the sanction. 

[TBoneTX 43,490]

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