7 minutes ago, nykolos said:

I appears that it's you pushing the falsehoods here, not me. 

Lawsuit over fiancé(e) visa delays

Category: Fiancé(e) visa, Fiancé(e) visa lawsuit

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many foreign-born fiancé(e)s are facing substantial delays in processing their fiancé(e) visas. The US Embassies and Consulates were closed for months and are only slowly resuming the processing of K-1 visas depending on the situation in each country.

When the President issued the Proclamations (“PPs”) that suspended entry into the U.S. certain foreigners who have been physically present in China, Iran, Schengen Area, U.K., Ireland, or Brazil in the previous 14-days, the State Department suspended issuing visas to people residing in those countries.

Over 150 U.S. citizens filed a class action lawsuit to force the State Department to resume issuance of fiancé(e) visas. On November 19, 2020, the court prohibited the State Department from relying on the PPs to suspend visa issuance to the named plaintiffs affected by those PP.

K-1 visa applicants who are named plaintiffs and subject to a regional proclamation should contact their nearest Embassy or Consulate for
guidance on scheduling a visa interview. However, they do not have priority ahead of other K visa applicants and remain subject to the regional PPs.

 

 

It appears that you are referring to the group cases of Milligan v. Blinken and Kinsley v. Blinken. Milligan has not had the writ of mandamus part of the lawsuit ruled on, as it is difficult to make a ruling when each consulate is processing differently. Kinsley does not have one, and was only targeting the travel bans.

The Manila mandamus lawsuit is strictly a writ of mandamus for "unreasonable delay" against the US Embassy in Manila (USEM). Despite the messaging from DOS, plaintiffs have been getting priority and interviews around the world from these lawsuits. Does that mean that interviews of others who are pending will get cancelled for us? No, but I have faith in the government that they can walk and chew gum at the same time and process our cases too/next.

At the end of the day, the whole point of it is to get our cases processed, which has clearly not been happening outside of expedites and 221Gs. However, if there is a ruling and an outstanding order from a judge, the lawyers have stated that the consulates do not have a choice and will need to process our cases. See my previous post. 

1 hour ago, John & Rose said:

Latest update here...NVC now says up to 2,000,000 immigrant cases in the process somewhere right now.

 

 

https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=2903968566548920&ref=watch_permalink

 

It’s actually 2.6 million in the backlog. Here was the article Greg was talking about:

https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/12/politics/biden-challenge-immigration-visa-backlog-invs/index.html

At this point, if you don’t file a lawsuit, you won’t get approved for a very long time. They are so far behind and have such a skeleton crew that I just don’t see it happening.

8 minutes ago, Adventine said:

 

Do you have a link to the recording or a transcript? Or is that information strictly reserved for the plaintiffs?

 

In any case, I certainly hope it works out for those who joined the lawsuit. The delays have gone on far too long.

It’s all public on YouTube. I’ll send you a PM.

Case has not been filed yet. Last they spoke in their public update, it will be filed early this week. There are at least 148 couples.

As for the speculation about not getting interviews or getting prioritized, the attorneys spoke on this during their last update from 4/12. Here was a snippet of what they said, and I urge you to listen to their exact words, as this was just cliff notes of it:

Quote

 

-29:01-30:02- Question on government not giving priority, even on a mandamus. Chuck said that "if you are a named plaintiff in a case, then you have to be given priority because that’s how it works... that’s how mandamuses work."

 

Jeff then said "the messaging from the consulate has changed" and discussed how being a name plaintiff does not allow you to jump ahead of other in the line, and how he feels the consulate is correct on that. He said if they are really following first-in, first-out, it doesn’t mean that because you are a named plaintiff that you get priority, but what does give you priority is that because your name is in front of a judge, there will come a point where the judge will say "This is no longer okay. These people have paid, they have waited, issue their visa." — regardless of whether he issued an order or not. 

 

Chuck replied and said "but if the judge issues an order and sets a deadline..." and then Jeff agreed with Chuck that yes, the plaintiff will be given priority. Jeff added that eventually, the judge will stop granting extensions on these cases and will eventually want the government and the Immpact team to just settle it.

 

I feel confident it will work out. While there may be case issues from certain plaintiffs, I am expecting major relief for the majority of the plaintiffs. As an example of it working, Cairo plaintiffs have already been scheduled for interviews a couple days after their lawsuit had been filed.

The last update I saw, we were at 144 registered couples. It could be more now as that was when the deadline ended. The planned filing date is some time next week. They stated they are still accepting cases for onboarding if you were on the fence about joining!

11 hours ago, nykolos said:

The only two items missing in your post is an "Attorney at Law" business card and a set of pom poms. 

 

Like I stated before, even if the case is successful, applicants remain in the backlog, they don't skip to the front of the line.

 

Next

 

 

 

The lawyers and actual people in the Milligan case who have won would disagree with you. If there’s an order from the judge, those plaintiffs get priority. Do they go in front of a case that’s actually being processed? Probably not, but they do get prioritized over others. Generally the embassies would like to get lawsuits out of their hair as quickly as possible, and just adjudicate the cases to get it over with.

2 hours ago, nykolos said:

My Fiance found a FB link for a class action lawsuit, I think the fee was $2500 and they need 100 clients, with NO assurance their visa's will be processed ahead of the backlog.. 

 

$250,000 to file a case? LOL.. Just another repulsive ambulance chaser trying to capitalize on the pandemic, and dragging their clients through another round of emotional heartache in the process.

 

 

That’s fine you feel that way. I’d urge you to actually look at the details of what the case is about and what it’s trying to accomplish. It has a legal team that has a successful track record, and while no litigation is 100%, we feel cautiously optimistic. But if you only want to spread negativity, then I’m sorry that this upsets you so much. However, don’t go whining when we are with our fiancé’s for Christmas while you are still waiting as you look at her on your phone. God bless. 🙏 

For those following this, please go here instead:

Ugh, denied again even with the letter from the Doctor. I really hate this Manila Embassy...

I just read this, which makes me somewhat hopeful?

Quote

FAQ

Q.  Which additional visa services are embassies/consulates beginning to provide?

• All of our missions are continuing to provide emergency and mission-critical visa services.  As post-specific conditions permit, and after meeting demand for services to U.S. citizens, our missions will phase in processing some routine immigrant and nonimmigrant visa cases.  Posts that process immigrant visa applications will prioritize Immediate Relative family members of U.S. citizens including intercountry adoptions, fiancé(e)s of U.S. citizens, and certain Special Immigrant Visa applications.  Posts processing non-immigrant visa applications will continue to prioritize travelers with urgent travel needs, foreign diplomats, and certain mission critical categories of travelers such as those coming to assist with the U.S. response to the pandemic, followed by students (F-1, M-1, and certain J-1) and temporary employment visas (consistent with Presidential Proclamation 10052).  We expect the volume and type of visa cases each post will process to depend on local circumstances.  An embassy or consulate will resume adjudicating all routine nonimmigrant and immigrant visa cases only when adequate resources are available, and it is safe to do so.

Q.  What criteria are missions using to determine when to resume routine services?

• We are closely monitoring local conditions in each country where we have a U.S. presence.  Local conditions that may affect when we can begin providing various public services include medical infrastructure, COVID-19 cases, emergency response capabilities, and restrictions on leaving home.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/phased-resumption-routine-visa-services.html

9 minutes ago, Boiler said:

I would anticipate with more people waiting for an interview it would delay those not affected.

Hmmm, I just read this makes me hopefully?

Quote

FAQ

Q.  Which additional visa services are embassies/consulates beginning to provide?

• All of our missions are continuing to provide emergency and mission-critical visa services.  As post-specific conditions permit, and after meeting demand for services to U.S. citizens, our missions will phase in processing some routine immigrant and nonimmigrant visa cases.  Posts that process immigrant visa applications will prioritize Immediate Relative family members of U.S. citizens including intercountry adoptions, fiancé(e)s of U.S. citizens, and certain Special Immigrant Visa applications.  Posts processing non-immigrant visa applications will continue to prioritize travelers with urgent travel needs, foreign diplomats, and certain mission critical categories of travelers such as those coming to assist with the U.S. response to the pandemic, followed by students (F-1, M-1, and certain J-1) and temporary employment visas (consistent with Presidential Proclamation 10052).  We expect the volume and type of visa cases each post will process to depend on local circumstances.  An embassy or consulate will resume adjudicating all routine nonimmigrant and immigrant visa cases only when adequate resources are available, and it is safe to do so.

Q.  What criteria are missions using to determine when to resume routine services?

• We are closely monitoring local conditions in each country where we have a U.S. presence.  Local conditions that may affect when we can begin providing various public services include medical infrastructure, COVID-19 cases, emergency response capabilities, and restrictions on leaving home.

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/phased-resumption-routine-visa-services.html

39 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

This has got nothing to do with either Ks or the Schengen/UK travel ban

 

A K visa does not count as an immigrant visa (it does not directly lead to a green card, only to the steps/conditions to be met to apply for one) so nothing about this changes anything for either K visa applicants or anyone affected by the Covid geographical bans* .... sorry 

 

(* there is actually an exception to the geographic bans related to the recission order but that only applies to existing DV2020 visa holders, not anyone else.)

 

 

It sounds like if anything, it will delay K visas even more because now the interview dates will be harder to get. I hope that he addresses the problematic Embassy situations in countries like the Philippines.

Does this help out K1 visas at all?

By chance, what country is the beneficiary from? Also, what kind of visa is it? Like Nykolos, I am also jealous, but congratulations!

2 hours ago, nykolos said:

Having been recently been rejected for a expedite request for a serious medical issue, I learned one thing, the reason needs to be life threatening, there is nothing more serious than that, and if they refuse your request, it's likely because you didn't back it up with convincing evidence. In my case, my Doctor did not going into details about me condition due to privacy issues, On my next attempt, I'm going to insist that he does, and if I need a letter from a specialist, it's onto to the specialist. 

 

Let's face it, it could be another year for many of us..  My NO2 was in October and the USEM has been closed since March, that means theirs a 7 month backlog at NVC in FRONT OF ME, So if by some miracle the USEM opens in April,  add another 5-7 months to clear the backlog, + 2 months minimum to schedule the interview,  I'd be damn lucky to see her at Christmas.

 

So yeah, If you have a valid reason to request an expedite, I suggest you do it!. 

Yeah, this whole process has been an ordeal and I’m just ready for it to be over with. I heard that the government in the Philippines are debating whether or not to continue strict lockdowns with a determination sometime this March. They will either wait until massive vaccinations, or just quarantine the elderly and the sick (which is the much better choice from what I see in other regions around the world).

Hopefully we don’t have to wait over a year for things to process. I received my NOA2 in May 2020, so I’m not as backlogged, but If I get rejected on this expedite attempt, I think I will probably look to submit a lawsuit with a lawyer via a writ of mandamus. I just submitted it and I will let you guys know how my attempt goes, as I think this one might have the most proof for my cause.

One shining light is that I recently discovered some Facebook Live videos from the lawyers behind the Milligan Vs Pompeo Class Action Lawsuit (Siskind Susser and Charles Kuck Immigration), and they said that even their plaintiffs in that case are having difficulty with the Manila Embassy being uncooperative (along with Montreal and Rio). They said it is because the Embassy trains their agents to be very suspicious of fraud, which is just awful outlook and perspective. They said that they will be putting more of a spotlight on those failures in follow-up meetings with the judge that presided over the case, so hopefully there is light at the end of the tunnel?

I’ll report back my results. No one should have to wait this long, nor should they have to pay to be in a class action or mandamus lawsuit to be reunited with a fiancé.

1 minute ago, Adventine said:

 

You may have luck framing the argument as the financial difficulty of supporting two households simultaneously. 

 

However, you are making the appeal to the US government, which is (ostensibly) mandated to serve the interests of US citizens. The focus needs to be on the financial hardship experienced by you, the US citizen, and not the hardship experienced by the foreign beneficiary. 

 

Again, there's no guarantee of this being successful. It's not a pleasant thing to hear, but it is the reality.

Upon more digging, I think I’m going to follow this template for Emotional Hardship (for me) with a doctor’s note, as well as the Financial Hardship as mentioned above:

https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/609065-nvc-expedite-request-it-really-works/

4 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

Just keep in mind that then you have to reconcile 'financial hardship' with bringing someone over who will not be able to work/contribute to the household income for 8-9 months.  Slippery slope trying to do it that way.

What if I say that although the financial hardship does not make me fall under the threshold for supporting my fiancé, but I have had to send money over to help her, which takes away movie for our wedding expenses, as she is currently unemployed and Philippines is in strict lockdown.

19 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

Sounds like you're just grasping for a reason to expedite.  I agree with the others, that the financial hardship one is precarious for K-1, given that EADs are taking upwards of 9 months to get.

They are both legitimate issues to expedite. I was just trying to ask to see if others had any luck or not.

They should either do away with K1 interviews during this time, or allow online video visits to those who are able. This is just government incompetence IMO. The most egregious part about it is that you still see B and J visas being processed over reuniting couples.

Yeah I spoke to an attorney who does writ of mandamus lawsuits, but he charges about $4500, and there are no guarantees/timeline estimations. I’m hoping that the new administration would start to do address this, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. I’m pretty disappointed with this whole process to be honest.

I took the Financial Hardship reason into consideration for sure, but heard that people had success with, and thought I’d try it out. However, the most recent response for the medical issue (surgery) was shut down with that response I posted, and I won’t really be able to use it again because the surgery is complete now.

Perhaps adding them both to the email chain may work, but because of their delays, I’m not feeling confident in that approach. I also submitted a congressional inquiry with one of my state senators (for the surgery reason) and that was shut down. See attached.

I have, and they say this:

Quote

Dear Applicant,

Thank you for writing to the US Visa Service Desk.

We understand that you would like to inquire regarding your immigrant visa application.

In regards to your concern, please contact the National Visa Center (NVC) for more information. You may reach them at 603 334-0700. Case inquiries can also be made by email at NVCInquiry@state.gov.

The NVC's mailing address is 31 Rochester Avenue, Suite200, Portsmouth, New Hampshire 03801-2909.

Yours Sincerely, 
U.S. Visa Service Desk