Integrity Legal - Law Firm in Bangkok | Bangkok Lawyer | Legal Services Thailand Back to
Integrity Legal

Legal Services & Resources 

Up to date legal information pertaining to Thai, American, & International Law.

Contact us: +66 2-266 3698

info@integrity-legal.com

ResourcesVisa & Immigration LawUS Immigration LawK3 Visas: USCIS Request for Evidence During COVID-19 Crisis

K3 Visas: USCIS Request for Evidence During COVID-19 Crisis

Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing the K-3 Visa and we are specifically discussing an RFE or Request for Evidence issued during the adjudication of a petition for a K-3 Visa. 

For those who are unaware, an RFE is exactly what its name would seem to denote. Specifically, it is a Request for Further Evidence. Basically the Adjudicating Officer of a petition for a K-3 Visa says "look, I need to see some more information. I need more documentation of some sort." I have to admit that during the Trump Administration, we have seen a larger number or a higher volume of RFEs issued compared to Administrations of times past and sometimes in cases which I thought were quite well documented, we still see Request for Evidence. That being said, it is something we just have to deal with and it is something we do deal with rather routinely here at the office. 

The reason I made this video is to discuss the consequences of COVID-19 and the delays possibly arising therefrom and how Immigration, specifically USCIS, has decided to deal with that. In a recent article from USCIS on uscis.gov, the announcement is titled: USCIS Announces Flexibility for Request for Evidence, Notices of Intent to Deny. Quoting directly: "In response to the Coronavirus, COVID-19 pandemic, US Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that it is adopting a measure to assist applicants and petitioners who are responding to Requests for Evidence and Notices of Intents to Deny; so that is RFEs and NOIDs dated between, and this is important, March 1 and May 2020 May 1, 2020."  Quoting further: "For applicants and petitioners who receive an RSVP or in NOID dated between March 1 and May 1, 2020, any responses submitted within 60 calendar days after the response deadline set forth in the RFE or NOID, will be considered by USCIS before any action is taken. USCIS is adopting several measures to protect our workforce and community and to minimize the Immigration consequences for those seeking Immigration benefits during this time.” 

So clearly USCIS is doing whatever they reasonably can to take into consideration the fact that COVID-19, also known as Coronavirus, may be having an adverse impact on those who are processing K-3 Visa petitions and for that reason those who are issued a Request for Evidence will have additional time so long as that request for evidence was issued within the timeframe of March 1, 2020 and May 1, 2020 those folks will have additional time to respond to that RFE moving forward. 

We will make further videos on this channel if that special dispensation is extended as we continue to see how this COVID-19 issue continues to progress.