US immigration.
The COVID-19 pandemic has effectively shut down immigration to the U.S. from abroad. As per state departments announcement, Immigrant and non immigrant visa issuances dropped to extremely low levels.
For Immigrant Visa Backlog: NVC is holding on to 481,965 qualified visa applications that are pending the scheduling of an interview.
similarly for Non Immigrant Visa: Before the pandemic, an average of over 721,000 nonimmigrant visas were issued each month worldwide. but now, fewer than 126,000 nonimmigrant visas are issued, which is 83% reduction in visa issuance.
In order to truly reopen the United States to immigrants, the Biden Administration must expand, the interview waiver and visa waiver options, or provide another alternative solution to speed up visa issuances abroad. Only then will the U.S. effectively clear the visa backlog, allowing families to be reunited, businesses to grow, and our shared prosperity to increase, helping the U.S. and the world recover and build back strong from this pandemic related damages.
As the pandemic continues to severely affect worldwide U.S consulate operations and visa issuance, families of U.S. citizens and residents, as well as U.S. businesses that depend on foreign talent are hurting. Consular interview appointments are scarce or unavailable. And clients are understandably anxious about being stuck outside of the U.S. for the foreseeable future.
Visa backlog at the National Visa Center (NVC) has increased by 800%.
State department recently conducted a Q&A session to discuss regarding this visa backlog.
Neal vermillion from state department did answer those queries and provided some valuable insights. Lets hear what Neal has to say.
According to Immigration Lawyers, there are Various strategies available to get the Visa, but only few of them may be applicable to your situation. here is the options for you to consider.
Number 1. Request an interview waiver for nonimmigrant visa renewals.
Number 2. Request a visa waiver at the port-of-entry on Form I-193.
Number 3. Apply for an extension of stay in the US.
Number 4. Seek congressional liaison assistance.
Number 5. Find out which posts process visas for third country nationals and apply there.
Number 6. Challenge unreasonable processing delays in federal court.
State department also answered some additional popular questions related to reducing backlog. Here's the questions and their response.
Can Visa Interview Happen through Virtual platform like Zoom or Google Meet?.
Can increasing consular staff in US Consulates reduce backlog?.
Have state department ordered all the U.S. consulates abroad to open?.
00:00 Intro and State Department News
01:44 Visa Backlog increased 800%
01:56 Neal Vermillion from State Dept provides Insights
05:05 Resource allocation to process backlog
07:38 Visa Prioritization in to 4 Tiers
09:14 Strategies to Speed up your visa case during backlog
10:10 Can Visa interview happen through Zoom call?
11:09 Can increasing Consular Staff Reduce Backlog?
12:44 Did state dept order all Consulate to Open?
13:33 How can Biden Help?
Disclaimer: This channel is not owned by an any US Government Agency or an Immigration attorney. The contents in the channel is for informational purpose only collected from Various public domains. you may need to contact an expert immigration attorney for your specific immigration needs.
