Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing the K-1 Fiancé(e) Visa process and recent rules that we have seen being imposed by the US Embassy here in Bangkok specifically. 

To be clear, we primarily process cases out of the US Embassy in Bangkok, here in Thailand. I don't take a lot of cases from a lot of other countries just due to the nature of the practice here. That said, I occasionally do process cases on Cambodian nationals. We do process a fair number of Lao national cases through the Embassy here in Bangkok, as well as occasionally Myanmar cases, and in very rare instances, we do see stuff out of Malaysia, Vietnam and even sometimes the Philippines, but that's pretty rare; Third Country Nationals Processing through Embassies is not really a done thing as it once was. So for that reason, we are also seeing our sort of client base really becoming almost exclusively Thai, so it's kind of important to point that out. 

But that being said, I'm talking only about what I'm seeing at the US Embassy in Bangkok and recently I processed through a few cases at that Embassy, they went to interview and they were 221g'd. For those who are unaware, the 221g is a US Visa refusal pursuant to Section 221g of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Basically they are refusing issuance pending further documentation, so they want to see something new, and if you get it to them, they go ahead and process out the case. In these cases that we saw, we sent them to interview, they had all their documentation in order and much like - and I had forgotten about this - but much like in the first Trump Administration, they are now requesting original Divorce Decrees from the petitioner. So this is the person who is sponsoring the K-1 Visa applicant, the K-1 Fiancé(e) so it's the American citizen, who if they are previously divorced, the Consulate is now wanting to see an actual original or certified copy effectively depending on the Court and the jurisdiction, but some sort of original documentation pertaining to the divorce; copies are not sufficient. This is a pretty big development. Again, we saw this during the original Trump Administration. I don't understand the exact reasoning for it. I mean if you are curious about the underlying divorce, it's possible to look up that information and the copy of the Decree is enough to do that. I don't see what is added by having the actual original but okay whatever, we're dealing with this as it comes. Just something to be aware that yeah, the original Divorce Decree is being requested, and it can hold up your case through a 221g if you don't have it. 

Whether or not this is going to continue and whether or not it continues outside the Trump Administration or thereafter remains to be seen. So we will certainly be keeping you updated on this channel as this situation evolves.