Month: February 2022

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Updates

“Proxy Marriages” During the Pandemic

"Proxy Marriages" During the Pandemic
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Did you know that you can get married by proxy in some States?

It means you do not need to be present to get married. A single-proxy marriage means at least one of the husband and wife needs to present at the wedding ceremony; and a double-proxy marriage means no one needs to be present. Different states have different rules regarding the proxy marriage. Single proxy marriage (one person in the relationship is not present) is legal in several states (Montana, Colorado, Kansas, Texas, and California) across the U.S. Double proxy marriage is allowed in Montana

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a huge increase in proxy marriage requests, as people now have concerns of being at wedding ceremonies with many other persons and their traveling has severely been restricted due to the pandemic.

Immigration law-wise, a proxy marriage is considered as a legal marriage if the state(s) where the couple reside recognize(s) proxy marriages and the couple must be consummated. This means that to be a valid marriage for immigration purposes or filing the petition, the parties to the marriage must have met in person after marrying by proxy. As of the date of consummation, the validity of the marriage then relates back to the date the certificate of marriage was filed. Such a requirement has not been changed during the pandemic.

The same requirement applies in K-1 (Fiancé or Fiancée) visa context. To be eligible for this type of immigration benefit, the U.S. Citizen and his/her fiancée/fiancé must meet each other, in person, at least once within the 2-year period before filing the Form I-129F petition. After getting the K-1 visa, the U.S. Citizen and fiancée/fiancé intend to marry one another within 90 days of your fiancé(e)’s admission to the United States on a K-1 nonimmigrant visa. Since these requirements are in place, a K-1 visa applicant still needs to meet his/her U.S. Citizen fiancée/fiancé in person (within 2 years prior to filing the K1 visa petition) to get K-1 visa and must enter the U.S. with K-1 visa to apply for a marriage-based green card.

Prolonged COVID-19 pandemic has greatly increased the need for unconventional marriages or proxy marriages. However, immigration law regulations regarding marriage-based immigration benefits have not been up to the need. Consummation of marriage or physical meeting must take place before a visa petition may be filed on behalf of the non-citizen spouse.

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Updates

Updated Advisory: Traveling to the Philippines and the U.S.

Updated Advisory: Travel to the Philippines and the U.S.
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TRAVELING TO THE PHILIPPINES

No more facility based quarantine upon arrival.

As of February 10, 2022, the Philippines will grant entry to fully vaccinated visitors from countries that are permitted visa-free travel, including the United States. 

Fully vaccinated travelers will no longer be subject to facility-based quarantine upon arrival.  Travelers must present proof of vaccination and negative RT-PCR results from a test taken within 48 hours of departure from their country of origin and must self-monitor for symptoms for seven days after arrival, reporting to local government authorities if they begin to exhibit COVID-19 symptoms.  The same requirements apply to fully vaccinated travelers with valid, existing visas.

Travelers for whom visas are not required also must have a valid ticket to depart the Philippines within 30 days of arrival and a passport valid for at least six months from the date of arrival.  Finally, each traveler must present proof of travel insurance purchased before arrival in the Philippines.  The insurance must cover COVID-19 treatment and have a minimum coverage amount of U.S.$35,000 for the duration of the traveler’s stay in the Philippines.

Unvaccinated travelers: Allowed to enter, but subject to quarantine

Travelers who are unable to present acceptable proof of vaccination will be subject to quarantine in a government facility until the release of a negative RT-PCR test taken on the fifth day, followed by home quarantine until the 14th day.

Only the following documents will be accepted as proof of vaccination, and must be presented prior to departure and upon arrival in the Philippines:

  • World Health Organization International Certificate of Vaccination and Prophylaxis; or
  • VaxCertPH; or
  • National or State digital certificate of the country/foreign government which has accepted VaxCertPH under a reciprocal arrangement; or
  • Other proof of vaccination permitted by the IATF.
TRAVELING TO THE UNITED STATES

All airline passengers to the United States ages two years and older, regardless of vaccination status or citizenship, must provide a negative COVID-19 viral test taken within one calendar day of travel.  Alternatively, travelers to the United States may provide documentation from a licensed health care provider of having recovered from COVID-19 in the 90 days preceding travel.  Check the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website for additional information and our Health Alert. The CDC will consider exceptions to COVID-19-related vaccination and testing requirements on an extremely limited basis. 

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Updates

U.S. Embassy Updates: Resolving Backlogs

U.S. Embassy Updates: Resolving Backlogs
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If the National Visa Center (NVC) determines you have paid the necessary fees, submitted the required immigrant visa application, Affidavit of Support, and supporting documents to NVC, you will receive an email that your case is documentarily complete and NVC will work with the appropriate U.S. Embassy or Consulate to schedule an appointment for you. NVC cannot predict when your case will be scheduled for an interview.

The U.S. Embassy or Consulate General tells NVC what dates they are holding interviews, and NVC fills these appointments in a first-in, first-out manner. Please keep in mind, applicants in a numerically limited (preference) visa category can receive an appointment, their priority date must also be current.

Since March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically affected the Department of State’s (DOS) ability to process immigrant visa applications.  U.S. embassies and consulates are working to resume routine visa services on a location-by-location basis as expeditiously as possible in a safe manner. Visa applicants waiting to be interviewed on their applications have been waiting longer despite the fact that they have been documentarily qualified. The reason for the delay of 1 -2 years before an interview is scheduled is the number of visa applicants that have been pending.

For the month of February 2022, the NVC released the following figures to indicate the number of cases that are pending worldwide:

Number of IV applicants whose cases are documentarily complete at NVC and ready for interview as of January 31

464,120
Number of documentarily complete IV applicants scheduled for February 2022 interview appointments

27,454
Number of eligible IV applicants still pending the scheduling of an interview after February 2022 appointment scheduling was completed

436,666

Note: In Calendar Year 2019 on average, 60,866 applicants were pending the scheduling of an interview each month.

A documentarily complete visa applicant will receive an update from the NVC every 60 days to make sure that the visa applicant is on the queue for a visa interview.

In a recent meeting of the American Immigration Lawyers Association with the DOS, one of the measures being taken to resolve the backlog is for the government to hire more consular officers. According to the State Department, Consular Affairs is working with the State’s office of Global Talent Management to ramp up hiring in FY 2022, but many posts will not see these new officers until the second half of FY 2022 or FY 2023, particularly for officers assigned to positions requiring language training. Hopefully, increased in consular officers will eventually reduce the backlog and interview dates for documentarily qualified visa applicants will be scheduled sooner.

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Updates

Planning Ahead: Expediting Employment Authorization Documents

USCIS Expediting Employment Authorization Documents
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Five years ago, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) routinely took 3 months to issue employment authorization documents (EADs) and advance parole (AP) travel documents. Prior to the pandemic, USCIS was taking approximately 6 months to issue them. Now, USCIS can take 9 months or longer to issue these documents. These delays create huge hardships to organizations and individuals.

Requesting Expedited Processing

The best way to handle these delays is to plan ahead. You may file for an extension up to 180 days prior to the expiration of your EAD and AP. Plan to apply for an extension of the interim benefits the full six months before they expire. If applying for the initial EAD or AP, plan that it will be several months before it is issued and budget accordingly, taking into account current restrictions on international travel.

If the applicant must be fingerprinted, USCIS will not consider an expedited request until after the applicant has been fingerprinted. Consequently, it is extremely difficult to expedite first-time applications.

USCIS may expedite the issuance of an EAD or AP in limited, specific circumstances:

  • Severe financial loss to a company or person, provided that the need for urgent action is not the result of the applicant’s failure: (1) to timely file the benefit request; (2) to timely respond to any requests for additional evidence.
  • Emergencies and urgent humanitarian reasons.
  • Nonprofit organization (as designated by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)) whose request is in furtherance of the cultural and social interests of the United States.
  • U.S. government interests (including urgent cases for federal agencies such as the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Labor, DHS or other public safety or national security interests).
  • Clear USCIS error.
  • Healthcare worker with a pending EAD renewal.

As a practical matter, USCIS is more likely to honor requests for expedited treatment by school districts or federal government agencies than requests based on severe financial loss or urgent humanitarian reasons. Also, non-profit organizations that have a clear, easily understood, valuable public mission are more likely to have their requests honored.

Will USCIS Grant My Case Expedited Processing?

The reason for the expedited request must be explained in a clear and simple manner, backed up with any available documentation. Even in compelling circumstances with sympathetic parties, USCIS may not expedite a case. Critically, if USCIS perceives that there is a viable alternative for the applicant or that an organization is making too many requests, the agency is less likely to grant the expedited request. Vague requests or requests that show ordinary, predictable outcomes (loss of income), are less likely to be honored.

Even if USCIS approves the expedited processing, it will take several weeks for the documents to be issued. Consequently, it may take at least a month to get an interim document.

For more information on expediting EADs and/or APs, please contact Tancinco Law P.C. at 1 888 930 0808 or at www.tancinco.com.

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Updates

G.O.P. Files Their Immigration Reform Bill “Dignity Act”

G.O.P. FILES THEIR IMMIGRATION REFORM BILL ”DIGNITY ACT”
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On February 18, 2021, more than a month from the inauguration of President-elect Biden, the U.S. Citizenship Act was introduced before the 117th Congress that proposes to establish a path to citizenship for certain undocumented individuals. More than 11 million unauthorized immigrants were hopeful and felt that finally an opportunity to legalize was on the horizon. But this bill remained at the Sub-Committee on Citizenship and Immigration without any positive development. There were attempts by Democrats to include provisions in the budget reconciliation package last year, but all were rejected by the Senate parliamentarian, and the overall plan remains in flux.

Fast forward to February 8, 2022, a freshman Republican Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla) introduced before the House the Dignity Act – an immigration bill that would allow millions of undocumented immigrants to receive legal protections and eventually a possible path to citizenship. Under this Act, undocumented immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for at least five years would be allowed to work legally while paying $1,000 annually into a new fund supporting job training for American workers.

After 10 years, the immigrants would be eligible for a 5-year “redemption program” requiring civics education and community service, and could be considered eligible for citizenship through existing procedures for naturalization. The DREAMERs and those in Temporary Protected Status will be able to adjust status to lawful permanent residency under this proposed bill.

While this may benefit unauthorized immigrants, there are controversial provisions that are included in the Dignity Act – it has tough enforcement provisions in terms of increasing border security. It includes making E-verify mandatory, ramping up the use of border protection technologies, hiring more personnel and restarting the construction of physical border barriers.

Interesting to note is that no Democrat had signed into this proposed legislation. It could be a starting point to open dialogue on these immigration issues again but with the controversial provisions, it may be facing opposition from the other party. Let’s see where this Dignity Act is headed, and hopefully, it is not just a political maneuvering but a good faith attempt to reach the much awaited immigration reform.