Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests we are discussing the US Tourist Visa, the denial thereof and K-1 Fiancé Visas. Last week I discussed a video which was made by a colleague where he was discussing prior Tourist Visas, prior Tourist visa application and denial and the likelihood and it now appears as though as he called it a “new trick” by USCIS in sort of their quiver if you will or arsenal when they are adjudicating subsequent Immigrant type visas. So a K-1 Visa is technically a Non-Immigrant but it is a dual intent Visa so for all intents and purposes it is treated as an Immigrant Visa. 

The purpose of this video today is we are discussing, in the past prior to some of these revelations, we are finding that now it looks like a Tourist Visa application could have ramifications for a subsequent Visa application. So in the past if people would ask me "hey we are looking to apply for a Tourist Visa", and I pretty well knew they had a relationship, it might not have quite risen to the level of "hey we are looking to get married’ yet, but I tell people "hey it is kind of no harm no foul, tell the truth, go ahead and seek US Tourist Visa. You are probably going to get denied under what is called section 214 (b) of the Immigration Nationality Act under which they say you have got to survive a "strong ties - weak ties" analysis basically that in this case we will say it is a Thai National, has strong ties to their home country and weak ties the United States. A relationship with a US citizen oftentimes really destroys any hope of being able to overcome the “weak ties” analysis, as we have discussed in other videos. Long story short, I mostly tell people "don't worry about it, if you want to apply for it go ahead. As long as you are not worried about losing your application fee, no harm, no foul". Frankly, we don't really handle US Tourist Visas here. I have maybe done a handful of them in my entire career of 15 years, over 15 years dealing with US Immigration Law. But I would say "hey, don't worry about it." 

Well these days it is looking like it could have ramifications on a future case so for those who are interested, they are kind of trying to figure out what to go look at; “Do they want to do a Tourist Visa? Do they want to do a Fiancé Visa? Do they want to get married?” basically just trying to look at all one's options or a couple's options. In the current environment in which we are in which the way that USCIS is currently processing petitions for Immigration benefits, I think it's not a bad idea to contact a legal professional and gain some real insight and guidance before applying for even a Tourist Visa because it is looking more and more like any application for any type of Visa could have ramifications that in the past just were not there when you were dealing with something like a K-1 or an I-130 for Immigrant Spousal Visa benefits. 

So just something to bear in mind if you are thinking about, if you are looking into all your options with your significant other and you are not sure exactly which way to go, it is probably good idea to contact an attorney these days because frankly these matters are becoming really complex to the point of Byzantine, and I have got to be honest with you I am not really happy to see this at all. The Immigration system quite frankly shouldn't look like this but this is where we are at so something to bear in mind.