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Lawsuit over fiancé(e) visa delays

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.

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Fiancé visa during COVID-19 pandemic

We started this process when a US citizen came to my office a year ago to petition for her fiancé in the Middle East.  They met online and have been communicating remotely for several years.  Last year, her fiancé traveled to the US and they met in person, which allowed us to file the petition for her fiancé.  It took only 3 months to have the petition approved by the USCIS.  Then, the case was sent to the National Visa Center and in four weeks the National Visa Center sent the case to the US Embassy in Jerusalem.  The interview was scheduled in 10 weeks and the visa was approved.  Then, the US Embassy put the case in administrative processing. At the end, the fiancé visa was issued, the fiancé entered the US and just married his fiancée and we are getting ready to file the adjustment application. 

Please note that this article does not constitute a legal advice.  We simplified the law to outline the marriage green card process and discuss the processing time of the marriage green card. If you would like to discuss if you may qualify for a marriage green card, call our experienced marriage green card attorney at 480-425-2009 or schedule your consultation online

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How long does it take to get a fiancé(e) visa?

I’ve done a lot of fiancé(e) visas over the years, helping reunite happy couples. A fiancé(e) visa is for a fiancé(e) of a U.S. citizen who is planning to get married within 90 days of entering the U.S. With some exceptions, the couple needs to meet in person within 2 years prior to filing the petition.

So, how long does the process take? The first step is for a U.S. citizen to file a petition with the USCIS. The average processing time is now between 5 and 7 months. I had petitions approved as fast as in 6 weeks. Then, once the USCIS approves the petition, it sends the case to the National Visa Center and from the National Visa Center it is sent to the Embassy or Consulate for an interview. The time to schedule an interview depends on the Embassy or Consulate, usually within a few months. Of course, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some US Embassies and Consulates are still closed and many are facing a backlog of cases from the time the US Embassies and Consulates were closed due to COVID-19.

Please note that this article does not constitute a legal advice.  We simplified the law in order to outline the fiancé(e) (K-1) visa process.  If you would like to discuss if you may qualify for fiancé(e) (K-1) visa, call our experienced
fiancé(e) (K-1) visa attorney at 480-425-2009 or schedule your consultation online. We look forward to discussing how we can help you obtain K-1 visa for your fiancé(e).