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ResourcesVisa & Immigration LawUS Immigration LawIs Coronavirus Impacting the K3 Visa Process?

Is Coronavirus Impacting the K3 Visa Process?

Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing the Coronavirus and specifically we are discussing it in the context of the K-3 Visa

I have had a number of emails and correspondence come to me in the past few weeks since the Coronavirus has really become a major news item and frankly it is certainly concerning, the issue surrounding the Coronavirus. It is my understanding that effectively there are no visas being issued to the United States from mainland China or from many places in mainland China as of the time of this video. But this video is specifically going to look at things from the region of Southeast Asia. So specifically we are based here in Bangkok. I deal with a lot of cases in Laos and Cambodia, a few out of Myanmar and Vietnam and so we are kind of going to do this from a Southeast Asian perspective. 

One thing to remember with respect to the K-3 Visa, although it is colloquially referred to on the internet as basically the Marriage Visa to the US, the Immigrant Spouse Visas such as the CR-1 Visa and the IR-1 Visa are actually the classic methodologies for getting lawful permanent residence for a spouse in the United States. The K-3 is actually a supplemental expedited visa that was created under the auspices of the Life Act back in the 90s. 

The thing to take away from this video is the fact that as of now what we are dealing with with respect to the coronavirus I think it is best to go ahead and quote this Proclamation on suspension of Entry as Immigrants and Non-immigrants of Persons who Pose a Risk of Transmitting 2019 Novel Coronavirus. That is from whitehouse.gov. Quoting directly:  "I have determined that it is in the interest of the United States to take action to restrict and suspend the entry into the United States as immigrants or non-immigrants of all aliens who were physically present within the People's Republic of China excluding the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau during the 14-day period preceding their entry or attempted entry into the United States. I have also determined that the United States should take all necessary and appropriate measures to facilitate orderly medical screening and where appropriate, quarantine of persons allowed to enter the United States who may have been exposed to this virus." 

The thing to take away from this video is they seem to be creating a sort of a cooling-off period. So it doesn't specifically pertain to anyone in these jurisdictions in Southeast Asia Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam for example. It doesn't specifically pertain to Chinese Nationals by the way I have read the information on this so far. It has to do with those who have been physically present in China and the period of time between their physical presence in that country and attempting to enter or obtain a visa to the United States.  I think what they are trying to do is engineer a sort of for lack of a better term cooling off period for those who have been in China in order to better be apprised of their risk of transmission of this virus further because it is my understanding, at least at the time of this video, it is the conventional wisdom that there is a two-week incubation period for this virus so I think that they are basically putting folks in a cooling-off period. If you are applying from Thailand, and you came back from Beijing 10 days ago, you are going to want to wait a minute to make sure that you are not infected with this virus before issuing you a visa and allowing you to go to the United States.

How this is going to play out exactly remains to be seen. We will certainly make further updates on this channel as things progress.