Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing spouses who are waiting abroad with their K-3, CR-1 or IR-1 spouse. They are basically waiting for the visa to process. The reason I am making this video is I often see these folks, they conflate themselves with their spouse. I totally understand this. Marriage, you are a single unit; you are married to each other. In many ways it is an institution and you are bound together. I totally get that. I understand the thinking and I certainly sympathize for folks who are waiting with their spouse. However, that doesn't matter. It doesn't matter with respect to how fast the case is going to go and I again I see people conflate themselves with the applicant. I will often hear folks that are in this situation, they will tell me, "Well I can't go back to the United States until he or she gets their visa." Well that is not technically speaking true. An American citizen can always go back the United States and the position of the Government is you can always go back the United States. Your spouse, a non-resident alien of the United States who is being adjudicated for immigrant status, that person doesn't have the right, they are in a qualitatively different position. 

I am not making this video to be dismissive or to be short with people. The reason for the video is to provide insight so you understand that you are not in the same position. I totally get it. People want this to move faster. This discussion often comes up in the context of people who are wanting to go ahead and request like expedited processing and they sort of say "Well, I am waiting over here; I can't get back to work," or whatever they will say. To the Government, that is not how they view it. And every case is different, there may be facts that may allow for expedited processing but as a practical matter, No. If it is a routine case, everybody is waiting in line and they are dealing with it as fast as they can. Now in some cases it just it gets to the point where it goes beyond reasonableness but in the vast majority of cases, people I see get very frustrated and I think there is also an element where it is like, "I am an American, why can't we get through this?" Well you are. The counterparty is not. The beneficiary is not an American. They don't have these same rights. 

So again this isn't being made to be vindictive or something towards the spouses that are waiting through this. It is more being made to just provide insight as to why the system does not view an American the same way as their spouse who is a non-resident alien.