Tag: immigrant visa

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Immigrant Visa Interview: Sputum Exam means delay in Visa Application

Immigrant Visa Interview: Sputum Exam means delay in Visa Application
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Dear Atty. Lou,

My mom is 78 years old and was scheduled for her immigrant visa interview at the U.S. Embassy in Manila. We received a response on her medical examination at St. Luke’s that she will need a sputum test. It will take a few more weeks of additional screening before results are given on the sputum test. Her interview is in 10 days. The screening  and results will not be completed by date of her interview.

Should my Mom appear at her scheduled  interview or will the immigrant visa interview be canceled? We live in the province and we are wondering if my Mom has to travel to Manila for her interview. We have not received any letter or email canceling her interview. What should we do? What will happen to her visa application if my Mom is tested positive for tuberculosis?

Agnes

~

Dear Agnes,

The U.S. Embassy in Manila generally requires all immigrant visa applicants to complete their medical examination, including any additional testing, before attending their visa interview. Since the results of your mom’s sputum test will not be available by the date of her scheduled interview, it is likely that her interview will be postponed until the medical examination is fully completed. This includes receiving a clearance from St. Luke’s Medical Center, the authorized medical provider for U.S. visa applicants in the Philippines.

When visa applicants have irregular chest x-ray or signs of tuberculosis, the doctor at St. Luke’s Medical Center Extension Clinic (SLEC) will send applicants for sputum testing to confirm. Sputum test is to rule out TB or start treatment. The chest x-rays and subsequent request for sputum test is to protect the health of the applicants, the U.S. citizens.

There may be additional fees for sputum smears and other tests. The sputum culture reports can take 8 to 9 weeks to be available. If the result is negative and the SLEC issues a medical clearance, the visa interview will be scheduled and a visa will eventually be issued. If the sputum test is positive for TB, the visa applicant may need treatment under the DOT (directly observed therapy) program. Of those sent for sputum testing, about 93% of them are false alarms.

If visa applicants have to do 6 months treatment, commonly referred to as DOT (directly observed therapy) they will have to pay for a second medical at completion.  

Medical examination at the St. Luke’s Medical Center Extension Clinic (SLEC) increased this month to P28,650 for adults (15 years old and older) and P13,910 for children (14 years old and below). If a sputum culture and screening is to be taken, that will be an additional cost to the visa applicant.

The U.S. Embassy will move your mom’s appointment date upon notification from SLEC that additional tests/screening are required. 

Be aware of the expiration date of the medical exam which is valid only for 1 year.  Considering delays caused by the additional sputum tests (and treatment) your Mom will have to repeat the whole process if the medical exam expires.

Thank you for your question.

Atty. Lou

(Atty. Lourdes S. Tancinco is an immigration attorney and immigrant rights advocate based in the San Francisco Bay area and a partner at the Tancinco Law P.C. for 32 years. She may be reached at law@tancinco.com, www.tancinco.com, facebook/tancincolaw, or at 1-888-930-0808)

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Updates

Updates on Processing of Visas at the U.S. Embassy

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According to the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Embassies and consular offices are using a tiered approach to prioritizing immigrant visa applications based on the category of immigrant visa, as they resume and expand visa services. Where possible, consular officers are scheduling some appointments within all of these four priority tiers every month: 

  • Tier One: Immediate relative intercountry adoption visas, age-out cases (cases where the applicant will soon no longer qualify due to their age), and certain Special Immigrant Visas (SQ and SI for Afghan and Iraqi nationals working with the U.S. government) 
  • Tier Two: Immediate relative visas; fiancé(e) visas; and returning resident visas 
  • Tier Three: Family preference immigrant visas and SE Special Immigrant Visas for certain employees of the U.S. government abroad 
  • Tier Four: All other immigrant visas, including employment preference and diversity visas 

The U.S. Embassy in Manila published on their website that routine visa operational services remain suspended. Based on their announcement, it appears that the consular section is currently processing Tiers One and Tiers Two. In the U.S. Embassy website, it describes what visas are being prioritized.

Immigrant Visa (IV): The Embassy is currently processing limited numbers of the following:

  • Cases for applicants previously interviewed and refused under INA Section 221(g) for additional document submission or processing.
  • Interviews for any case with a derivative applicant who is turning 21 years old and/or risks losing eligibility as a child or derivative.
  • As capacity allows: Interviews for IR-1, CR-1, IW-1, IR-2, CR-2, IR-3, IH-3, IR-4, K-1/2, IH-4, IR-5, SB-1, and I-131A applicants whose cases are already at Post for processing.
  • Visa interviews for all other immigrant visa categories remain suspended until local conditions and capacity allows.

Nonimmigrant Visa (NIV): The Embassy continues to prioritize travelers with urgent travel needs, foreign diplomats, and certain mission-critical categories of travelers such as those coming to assist with the U.S. response to the pandemic, followed by students and exchange visitors (F-1, M-1, and J-1) and temporary employment visas (H-1B, H-2B, and L nonimmigrants). Routine visa appointments and processing for B1/B2 (Business/Tourist) remain suspended with the exception of interview waiver cases.

The U.S. Embassy in Manila is processing those visa applicants who were previously interviewed and  refused under INA Section 221g. Yet, it also mentions that only a limited number of visa interviews are being conducted. So for preference categories, visa interviews remain suspended. Also, those who are just awaiting for interviews and have no prior interviews will have to be patient and wait until the local COVID-19 situation in the Philippines improves.

Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens are being interviewed “as capacity allows”. This includes minor children, spouses and parents of U.S. citizens. The same rule applies to fiancé visa applicants and returning resident visas even if their visa applications are already in the U.S. Embassy.

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Updates

Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act Reintroduced in May 2021

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On May 19, 2021, Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), and Representatives Ed Case (D-Hawaii) and Don Young (R-Alaska) reintroduced the Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act (S.1708), legislation that would speed up the visa process for children of Filipino World War II veterans.

Immigrant visa backlogs had resulted in separation of aging Filipino World War II veterans with their sons and daughters for several years. Many veterans passed away waiting for the visas of their children to become available. 

The Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act, if passed into law, would provide a permanent solution by amending the Immigration and Nationality Act to exempt from the  numerical limits the sons and daughters of Filipino World War II veterans who were naturalized under the 1990 law or other specified laws. Essentially, green cards or immigrant visas will be made available to them after approval and processing of their visa petitions. This proposed legislation will not only assist our veterans during their twilight years but also it is considered a recognition of their critical services during World War II. 

This bill is scheduled for mark up on committee level in July 2021 and more Republican co-sponsors are needed to support this bill.  We urge community members to contact their legislators to support the passage of this bill.

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Updates

Trump’s Covid-related Immigration Ban has Expired: Will All Visa Processing Begin Again?

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Presidential Proclamation 10052, which temporarily suspended the entry of certain H-1B, H-2B, J (for certain categories within the Exchange Visitor Program), and L nonimmigrants, expired on March 31, 2021.

According to the U.S. Department of State, visa applicants who have not yet been interviewed or scheduled for an interview will have their applications prioritized and processed in accordance with existing phased resumption of visa services guidance.  

The U.S. Embassy in Manila maintains limited routinary services given the current local condition in the Philippines and given the limited staffing resources. There is no specific date when the U.S. Embassy in Manila will resume full routinary visa services but the consular officer will continue to  provide emergency and mission-critical visa services.

As of March 15, 2021, the U.S. Embassy in Manila is processing the following limited number of cases: 

Immigrant Visa:  

  • Cases for applicants previously interviewed and refused under INA Section 221(g) for additional document submission or processing.
  • Interviews for any case with a derivative applicant who is turning 21 years old and risks losing eligibility as a child.
  • Interviews for Immediate Relative family members of U.S. citizens, including intercountry adoptions: IR-1, CR-1, IR-2, CR-2, IR-3, IH-3, IR-4, IH-4, and IR-5.
  • Expedite-approved mission critical cases, such as fiancé(e)s of U.S. citizens and their children (K-1, K-2) if there is a terminal eligibility deadline (age out or one year issuance deadline for K-1 of an issued K-1 approaching) or active U.S. military petitioners as well as employment-based (EB-3) immigrants with healthcare positions on a case-to-case basis.
  • Visa interviews for all other immigrant visa categories remain suspended until local conditions and capacity allows.

Nonimmigrant Visa:  

The Embassy continues to prioritize travelers with urgent travel needs, foreign diplomats, and certain mission-critical categories of travelers such as those coming to assist with the U.S. response to the pandemic, followed by students and exchange visitors (F-1, M-1, and J-1) and temporary employment visas). 

Visa appointments and processing for B1/B2 (Business/Tourist) remain suspended. 

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Global Pinoy

When petitioner’s relatives won’t support the US visa applicant

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Most petitioners for immigrant visas are familiar with Affidavits of Support that are required to be submitted before the future immigrant is issued a visa. What are the responsibilities of a person who signs an affidavit of support for an intending immigrant? What will happen if the petitioner does not have enough income to support another person?

Pablo petitioned for Nathan, his single adult child, more than 10 years ago. The National Visa Center initiated the visa processing recently and an affidavit of support is required to be submitted. Pablo is reliant only on his monthly welfare check or Supplemental Security Income (SSI). He lives in a rented room owned by his brother. He wants Nathan to immigrate to the United States so that Pablo will have his son to hopefully support him during his remaining years.

Pablo’s brother who lives with him refuses to sign an Affidavit of Support because he claims that he has his own financial issues. What can Pablo do to enable his son to complete his visa processing and travel to the United States?

In order that future immigrants do not become a public charge, US immigration law requires the applicant for visa to submit an affidavit of support from the petitioner on Form I-864. The petitioner or sponsor must show evidence of “the means to maintain an annual income equal to at least 125 percent of the Federal poverty line”.

Clearly, the U.S. government expects the sponsor to provide support to the intending immigrant and to make sure that s/he does not rely on any federal or state agency for means tested benefits. Finding a co-sponsor may be a challenge for some petitioners, and sometimes there is malicious refusal to sign affidavits of support by relatives in a few dysfunctional families. Whatever it is, there are alternate ways to meet the Affidavit of Support requirement.

In case the petitioner does not meet the income level as set by the federal poverty guidelines, the law permits him to consider the income or assets belonging to other household members. The latter may be the spouse, children, parent, sibling or another relative who lives in the same principal residence as the petitioner. If there is no sufficient income or asset of the petitioner or household member, the next step is to secure a co-sponsor who can satisfy the financial requirements of the affidavit of support.

In the case of Pablo, while he has a household member who is a relative, the latter is unwilling to sign the affidavit. Pablo’s option is to seek an Affidavit of Support from his non-household relatives or friends who will be willing to be co-sponsors and who have sufficient income to meet the federal poverty guideline. Absent a co-sponsor’s affidavit of support and given the inability of Pablo to meet the income requirement, Nathan will not be able to get a U.S. immigrant visa. The law provides very few exceptions law on certain classes of immigrant visa petitions. The case of a Filipino seeking an immigrant visa based on a family petition is not one of the exceptions.

(Atty. Lourdes Santos Tancinco is a San Francisco CA based immigration attorney and a partner at Tancinco Law Offices. She may be reached at 1 888 930 0808, law@tancinco.com, tancinco.weareph.com/old or at www.facebook.com/tancincolaw)