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Visa Processing Issues Post I-601 Waiver Approval

Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing I-601 Waivers. For those who are unaware, this process, the I-601 process is utilized for those who have been found inadmissible to the United States, that is their visa application has been denied even in an Immigrant Spouse Visa case or something like a K-1 Fiancé Visa case. A question that sometimes arises is what happens after the Waiver is approved?

I have made other videos on this but currently I have to say I-601 Waiver approval, the aftermath is running way slower than it used to. Now by used to let's go way back so like 8-10 years ago back when USCIS actually processed I-601 waivers out of their local office here in Bangkok. Back then, if you got denied, you got your denial, you put together your I-601 package and requested a Waiver. It took a little time, probably a month or two and then USCIS would adjudicate that. If it was approved, they would basically send the Waiver back across the street, to the Embassy and most of the time it all happened in one smooth motion; you just got the Visa issued. That somewhat changed when I-601 stopped being processed here abroad and went to I believe a Nebraska Service Center is where they are all done currently. At that time, once it moved back over there, obviously there are logistical issues associated with that; you have to go ahead and process it etc.; send it to the States; move it through that corridor and then it comes back. If you get approved then what do you do? Well you have got to go back to the Embassy and at that time it was up until really about 2 years ago or I should say right before COVID maybe, no 2-3 years ago it did change, there was another nuance to that. It would come back over here and again it was a pretty smooth process. You would let the Embassy know, "hey, we are approved on the 601 waiver. Let’s go ahead and finish this off." 

Then where we are at now, not super optimal, and I blame that mostly on COVID or the response to COVID and the fact that things are just moving slowly in any event but I will say that even before that it became a clunky process of dealing with okay we have been approved and then going back and forth with the Embassy. I am not going to go out on a limb and say they don't want to issue the Visa but I just think it got deprioritized and it is not part of their normal routine function so they are just not as smooth in getting that out. Now ultimately every case we have been dealing with where we have gotten an approved 601 Waiver, it ultimately comes out but it is not like it once was where it was just one smooth flowing process, one fell swoop and everything just came out at the end. 

So we will keep you updated on this. My personal opinion is it will probably get better as the situation settles down elsewhere here in Thailand but hopefully it will change sooner rather than later.