Fabercham

Why is London embassy STILL insisting K1s are included in the immigration ban when we aren’t? Let’s get noisy! I’m fed up of this rollercoaster !

I tried Burr.
 
I checked a few threads and a couple other EU embassies have said they are not processing routine visas until the travel ban is lifted 🤢. The only good news (for me, with an expired K1 visa due to travel ban) was Croatia who are accepting interview wavier requests for people renewing the same category of visa, so you could do it all by post if you’ve had one issued before... Croatia aren’t included in travel ban though, so perhaps that’s why they’re able to do this.
 
A few fellow Brit K1s have a petition we want to send to the US Ambassador to the U.K., I think I shared that link with you. 
 
We’ve just got to do all we can. This situation feels endless. Do we think Trump might lift the ban so students can get to the US ready for the fall semester? Who knows. 

Saw my name mentioned 😁. If you need married and a certificate in hand in under a hour, feel free to message me. Vegas is allowing marriages and it is a easy process. I have done many for people here on VJ, and I don't charge for the service.

Do not shame the OP. They are welcome to contact their congressional representatives and express concerns that K1s are not currently given appropriate consideration and should be exempt from travel bans.
 
I agree that they won’t be able to help with the individual case at this moment but they do have a Congressional State Department Liaison which can funnel these concerns from Congress to the State Department .

Template for UK citizens to send to MPs. Remember to include your address.
 
 Feel free to edit and add your own context. This is by no means perfect.

I hope you can advise me who may be able to help as this issue relates to British citizens.
 
In March the US issued Proclamation 9996 which suspended entry of anyone who had been resident in the UK or Ireland in the 14 days prior to arrival in the US. Spouses, parents of under 21 US citizens, siblings and children of US citizens were excluded from this but not fiancés, despite the paperwork we complete for the US Embassy classifying fiancés as immediate family members.
 
It seems the US embassy do not intend to deal with any K1 visas until the US/UK travel ban has lifted or until it is mandated that normal operations can resume, for which there is no date, despite the U.K. coming out of lockdown. This seems illogical to me as if I had a valid visa I could enter the US by first going to a country not included in the ban, for example Turkey or Croatia, for 14 days. 
 
I’m aware the UK and US are currently negotiating a travel deal. While Europe are not looking to permit arrivals from the US, as you know, the UK have never shut our borders to US citizens. Given this fact, that ‘America has no truer friend than Great Britain’ & the looming trade deals post-brexit, I am hopeful that the US would want to accommodate our citizens. At present, family members are being kept apart, for example those with adult children in the US & grandparents from grandkids. These type of travellers could certainly quarantine on arrival in the US if required as they are not tourists. Fauci has suggested this ban could extend into next year, so I am concerned that no exception will be made for those in my situation, unless we ‘make a noise’. 
 
Would Dominic Rabb be involved in any negotiations with the US to permit entry for UK citizens? Could you please contact him on my behalf to request he queries these issues with any relevant US counterparts? 
 
Is this issue something you could provide any steer on?
 
find your MP here: 
https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP

Template for UK citizens to send to MPs. Remember to include your address.
 
 Feel free to edit and add your own context. This is by no means perfect.

I hope you can advise me who may be able to help as this issue relates to British citizens.
 
In March the US issued Proclamation 9996 which suspended entry of anyone who had been resident in the UK or Ireland in the 14 days prior to arrival in the US. Spouses, parents of under 21 US citizens, siblings and children of US citizens were excluded from this but not fiancés, despite the paperwork we complete for the US Embassy classifying fiancés as immediate family members.
 
It seems the US embassy do not intend to deal with any K1 visas until the US/UK travel ban has lifted or until it is mandated that normal operations can resume, for which there is no date, despite the U.K. coming out of lockdown. This seems illogical to me as if I had a valid visa I could enter the US by first going to a country not included in the ban, for example Turkey or Croatia, for 14 days. 
 
I’m aware the UK and US are currently negotiating a travel deal. While Europe are not looking to permit arrivals from the US, as you know, the UK have never shut our borders to US citizens. Given this fact, that ‘America has no truer friend than Great Britain’ & the looming trade deals post-brexit, I am hopeful that the US would want to accommodate our citizens. At present, family members are being kept apart, for example those with adult children in the US & grandparents from grandkids. These type of travellers could certainly quarantine on arrival in the US if required as they are not tourists. Fauci has suggested this ban could extend into next year, so I am concerned that no exception will be made for those in my situation, unless we ‘make a noise’. 
 
Would Dominic Rabb be involved in any negotiations with the US to permit entry for UK citizens? Could you please contact him on my behalf to request he queries these issues with any relevant US counterparts? 
 
Is this issue something you could provide any steer on?
 
find your MP here: 
https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP

https://1997-2001.state.gov/feedback1.html
Also along with contacting Representatives I was able to find this link with numbers, emails, and fax directly to department of state. You can try contacting them an expressing your concerns about K1s not being included as mission critical. The more voices they hear on the matter the better chance of action. It’s worth a shot. This way the department of state will directly see how many people this is affecting. You can get friends and family to email too. Calling or faxing might be even more effective because they will hear your thoughts immediately. Every embassy I have spoke to is waiting on direction from Department of state. The sooner we get through to Department of state the better. 

Attention Non-US Citizen Fiances 
 
You can email your elected officials too!  Encourage them to contact the diplomatic leadership in your home country who negotiates with the State Department. 
 
For example, several UK Citizens have recently contacted their MPs and asked them to write to Dominic Raab (Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs) about their concerns regarding K1 visas and the US-UK travel restrictions.  They have received prompt and personalized responses from their MPs. If Mr. Raab is aware of the issue, he is more likely to bring it up during his negotiations with the US State Department when negotiating future travel between our countries. 
 
 

From a schengen or other banned country, yes.  From elsewhere, it’s fine. 

The department of state, who, as I understand it, call the shots have said K1s are not included in the immigration/worker proclamation, so it is maddening when embassies say they will not issue K1s until after Dec 31st. I really hope  a universal statement is issued soon!

Just to add to that - when people are positive about the K1 experience, it's important to take note as to whether they're the petitioner or the beneficiary (ie, the American or the immigrant)...only reason I say that is that the comment above from someone who's filed 2 times, is presumably from an American petitioner...and as a petitioner, you don't really get to experience the highs or lows of a K1 at all. It's not you that's trapped at home - it's not you that feels like you have no independence or that you're a financial drain - it's the beneficiary that gets impacted primarily.
 
It's also definitely worth thinking about what type of person the beneficiary is and what their plans or experiences are...if they plan to be a stay at home wife/husband and don't already have experience of being independent (working, driving, etc), the K1 might be right for them...but if that's not their plans/experiences, they may find the K1 more of a negative experience.

Why is London embassy STILL insisting K1s are included in the immigration ban when we aren’t? Let’s get noisy! I’m fed up of this rollercoaster !

Why is London embassy STILL insisting K1s are included in the immigration ban when we aren’t? Let’s get noisy! I’m fed up of this rollercoaster !

That would make sense to me (as much as I hate it) as Spain, Italy & France have said the same. Spain were VERY explicit and clear about it on their website. No issuing until the travel ban is lifted. London, not so much. You more have to read between the lines.
 
You might not have seen the second email in that chain as the font was small but they did say ‘including K1s’ but I would think that was maybe someone untrained who wrote that. I really feel the embassy need to clarify now as they have confused so many people. 

So let’s ensure they don’t forget us K1s in any exceptions to the travel ban!

Why is London embassy STILL insisting K1s are included in the immigration ban when we aren’t? Let’s get noisy! I’m fed up of this rollercoaster !

Best of luck to you, Fabercham.
 
If London changes its tune, maybe other embassies will too.

That is great. There are a lot of mixed messages coming out of London embassy at the moment, regarding why they won’t process K1s. I would just like my visa reissued but can’t get a straight answer. 

EXCELLENT work. Hopefully they reply!

Why is London embassy STILL insisting K1s are included in the immigration ban when we aren’t? Let’s get noisy! I’m fed up of this rollercoaster !

Why is London embassy STILL insisting K1s are included in the immigration ban when we aren’t? Let’s get noisy! I’m fed up of this rollercoaster !

I tried Burr.
 
I checked a few threads and a couple other EU embassies have said they are not processing routine visas until the travel ban is lifted 🤢. The only good news (for me, with an expired K1 visa due to travel ban) was Croatia who are accepting interview wavier requests for people renewing the same category of visa, so you could do it all by post if you’ve had one issued before... Croatia aren’t included in travel ban though, so perhaps that’s why they’re able to do this.
 
A few fellow Brit K1s have a petition we want to send to the US Ambassador to the U.K., I think I shared that link with you. 
 
We’ve just got to do all we can. This situation feels endless. Do we think Trump might lift the ban so students can get to the US ready for the fall semester? Who knows. 

Just sent letters to my 2 Senators tonight (Richard Burr and Thom Tillis).  Focused on asking them to contact State Department leadership about making K1 fiancé visas mission critical and also treating a valid K1 holder as an immediate family member for the purposes of travel restrictions. 
 
Who’s next!?

Hi, I’m flying from the U.K. tomorrow to stay in Croatia for 14 days then onwards to the US, how did people from the U.K. get travel insurance? every company i’ve called i’m being told it’s invalid because of the current government advice that travel isn’t recommended. 
thanks in advance 

Not how I interpreted it at all. Routine visa processing isn't suspended due to an EO, it's due to the embassy being closed. 
 
From the US Embassy Website:
 
Is the U.S. Embassy in London closed/Has my visa interview appointment be cancelled?
In response to significant worldwide challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of State has temporarily suspended routine visa services at all U.S. Embassies and Consulates.