Living in new 75 banned country but national of Australia

[JohnxLuci 0]

Hello!

 

My girlfriend and I were going to apply for the K1 visa but with the new ban list we have some concerns. 

 

Right now she lives in Kuwait with her mother and is finishing college but she is a citizen of Australia where her dad lives.

 

When they say they are not processing visas from those banned countries, do we know if that means only nationals from those countries or those who are applying from those countries as well? Does it help she is from Australia? I wasn't sure if me trying to sponsor her while she actively lived in Kuwait but not a national of Kuwait mattered or not.

 

How should we approach this?

Edited 22 hours ago by JohnxLuci

[Boiler 48,595]

Australians are not banned

[JeanneAdil 7,444]

page 1 of the USCIS statement

In the footnotes of the January 2026 white house statement , it says

This refers to aliens with a nationality, country of birth

 

Hold and Review of USCIS Benefit Applications Filed by Aliens from Additional High-Risk Countries

it is not a complete ban as  it also says 

 

A “hold” allows a case to proceed through processing, up to final adjudication. A “final adjudication” refers to the issuance of a final decision on a case, such as an approval, denial, or dismissal.

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/policy-alerts/PM-602-0194-PendingApplicationsAdditionalHighRiskCountries-20260101.pdf

 

so, i would proceed with the petition and the embassy will complete security checks 

front load all your evidence of the relationship and prepare for interview 

follow the guides for each country if time spent there, needs criminal report (for the interview)

 

best to you both 

 

[Vegas i-751 87]

I would say apply if not already on ban list but be mindful the president could change his mind ‘tomorrow’ as he frequently does depending on how he wakes up.
 

This is exactly why I demanded to get my citizenship during the prior admin as I knew this would happen. Thank goodness I’m done and over this but OP good luck navigating this mess!!

Edited 11 hours ago by Vegas i-751

[Boiler 48,595]

Australia?

[Dashinka 26,489]

Why not pursue a spousal visa?

[TBoneTX 49,034]

Welcome to the forum!

19 hours ago, JohnxLuci said:

My girlfriend and I were going to apply for the K1 visa

Gentle-but-important correction:  You were going to file the I-129F petition.  Applying for the K-1 visa occurs after petition approval.

6 hours ago, Dashinka said:

Why not pursue a spousal visa?

This is excellent advice.