Family in Immigration Ban Countries

[CEE53147 559]

I believe you are overestimating the effort involved caring for an infant.  You both should take the parenting classes offered by your chosen hospital or birthing center.  You will be tired, sleep deprived, eat easy to fix meals, and learn to live with a messier house than in the past.  This is just preparation for the future.  Just wait when you have a teenager, you will wish for the simple life with a newborn.  Unless the mother had had an extremely difficult delivery, you and she will be able to handle it especially now that many jobs offer paternity leave. 

 

I cared for a newborn and 3 older children (two of whom had to be driven by me to and from school at different times) when my husband had to work full time on a fixed schedule because of his job.  I don't listen to whining about how difficult it is to care for one infant. I know many women whose husbands are deployed in the military who do not even have the luxury of having their husbands' help at any time of day for months at a time.

 

If you have a positive attitude, you wife will too.  You can share the experience of a new child with family through pictures and videos.  A picture (or two) a day will keep grandparents, aunts and uncles, and friends involved with your child's growth.  Get your photo site setup now so you can post pictures from the hospital.

[salhasl 113]

On 11/4/2018 at 3:40 PM, FrankEPatrick said:

I am a US citizen, born in america.

My wife is on a 2 year conditional green card; I believe we apply for lifting conditions in about 1 year. 

Her family is in Iran with only Iranian citizenship.

 

However, my wife is pregnant; and it would be nice for her sister or her mother to come when the baby is born to help out for a few weeks; is there any Visa pathway to get her family temporarily in the US, and anything I can effectuate within the next six months or so?

 

any ideas would be appreciated.

You can apply. Her mom will qualify for a waiver her sister won't. This is if the consular officer determines she does not have immigrant intent. If she is over 65 she might get the visa on the spot. If not she will be put in ap. You will get a paper like the one below

 

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

1 hour ago, salhasl said:

You can apply. Her mom will qualify for a waiver her sister won't. This is if the consular officer determines she does not have immigrant intent. If she is over 65 she might get the visa on the spot. If not she will be put in ap. You will get a paper like the one below

 

 Curious as to what basis you think the mom will be granted a waiver on, I’m not sure this qualifies as extreme hardship but admittedly don’t know if anything specific to the situation. Do you know of similar cases where a waiver was granted? Was the case mentioned in the letter above similar and was the waiver actually granted?

Edited November 9, 2018 by SusieQQQ

[salhasl 113]

22 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

 Curious as to what basis you think the mom will be granted a waiver on, I’m not sure this qualifies as extreme hardship but admittedly don’t know if anything specific to the situation. Do you know of similar cases where a waiver was granted? Was the case mentioned in the letter above similar and was the waiver actually granted?

Official state department guidance lists parents spouse and children as close family. This automatically approves you for national interest and undue hardship. Third one is nat sec. Thats a blackhole. Some get past in 3 months some take years. 

 

I know of b1/2s granted to travel ban countries.

 

As long as they bypass immigrant intent and ap.

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

1 hour ago, salhasl said:

Official state department guidance lists parents spouse and children as close family. This automatically approves you for national interest and undue hardship. Third one is nat sec. Thats a blackhole. Some get past in 3 months some take years. 

 

I know of b1/2s granted to travel ban countries.

 

As long as they bypass immigrant intent and ap.

Please link the official document that states these family members get automatic approval for waiver, specifically for b visas. Mostly what we see here iro  waivers is intending immigrants, always happy to be educated but need to see the actual document not hearsay.

Edited November 10, 2018 by SusieQQQ

[Villanelle 4,122]

13 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

Please link the official document that states these family members get automatic approval for waiver, specifically for b visas. Mostly what we see here iro  waivers is intending immigrants, always happy to be educated but need to see the actual document not hearsay.

Its not automatic. They offer 10 examples but not guaranteed. Spouse, parent, child eligible. Sibling is not. (sry my font is wacky and I cant fix it/ :eyeroll: 

link to source for below https://www.nafsa.org/Professional_Resources/Browse_by_Interest/International_Students_and_Scholars/Indefinite_Entry_Bar_Under_Executive_Order/#waivers

WAIVERS

Section 3(c) of the Proclamation grants authority to consular and immigration officials to grant waivers on a case-by-case basis to an individual who would otherwise be subject to the Proclamation's entry ban, but who "demonstrates to the consular officer's or CBP official's satisfaction that:

(A) denying entry during the suspension period would cause the foreign national undue hardship;

(B) entry would not pose a threat to the national security or public safety of the United States;

(C) entry would be in the national interest."

There is no separate "travel ban waiver application." Instead, an individual who believes he or she is eligible for a waiver would apply for a visa as normal, but include information that supports his or her eligibility for a waiver. Because the standard for establishing eligibility for a waiver is so broad, section 3(c) also offers ten examples of circumstances where a case-by-case waiver could be appropriate. These examples in the Proclamation are not an exclusive list, nor are they a "guarantee." Other situations where an applicant can establish that his or her entry meets the standard for a waiver might also be considered by a consular or immigration official.

(A) the foreign national has previously been admitted to the United States for a continuous period of work, study, or other long-term activity, is outside the United States on the applicable effective date under section 7 of this proclamation, seeks to reenter the United States to resume that activity, and the denial of reentry would impair that activity;

(B) the foreign national has previously established significant contacts with the United States but is outside the United States on the applicable effective date under section 7 of this proclamation for work, study, or other lawful activity;

(C) the foreign national seeks to enter the United States for significant business or professional obligations and the denial of entry would impair those obligations;

(D) the foreign national seeks to enter the United States to visit or reside with a close family member (e.g., a spouse, child, or parent) who is a United States citizen, lawful permanent resident, or alien lawfully admitted on a valid nonimmigrant visa, and the denial of entry would cause the foreign national undue hardship;

(E) the foreign national is an infant, a young child or adoptee, an individual needing urgent medical care, or someone whose entry is otherwise justified by the special circumstances of the case;

the foreign national has been employed by, or on behalf of, the United States Government (or is an eligible dependent of such an employee) and the foreign national can document that he or she has provided faithful and valuable service to the United States Government;

(G) the foreign national is traveling for purposes related to an international organization designated under the International Organizations Immunities Act (IOIA), 22 U.S.C. 288 et seq., traveling for purposes of conducting meetings or business with the United States Government, or traveling to conduct business on behalf of an international organization not designated under the IOIA;

(H) the foreign national is a Canadian permanent resident who applies for a visa at a location within Canada;

(I) the foreign national is traveling as a United States Government-sponsored exchange visitor;

(J) the foreign national is traveling to the United States, at the request of a United States Government department or agency, for legitimate law enforcement, foreign policy, or national security purposes.

[Villanelle 4,122]

Also worth noting D- undue hardship to foreign national rather then showing hardship to USC

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

Yup, some lawyer websites mentioned also case by case basis (implication: not automatic) and one said the waiver process is stringent and not transparent. Apparently 800 (across all travel ban countries) were granted from Dec last year to Jun this year, but doesn’t say how many waiver applications were received so it’s hard to know if that number is low or high. Some possible context: in FY2017 around 15k B visas were issued just for Iran alone, so while we don’t know the waiver application number (or rather, I don’t - it may be available) certainly 800 waivers granted across all ban countries for all visa types in a 6 month period is a drop in the ocean vs normal visa issuance.

[salhasl 113]

12 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

Please link the official document that states these family members get automatic approval for waiver, specifically for b visas. Mostly what we see here iro  waivers is intending immigrants, always happy to be educated but need to see the actual document not hearsay.

They are on pacer. You need a paid login or be a lawyer. In any case, there have been instances where DOS has violated their own waiver rules and are currently being sued for it. 

 

OP - since this is a NIV (things are diff for IVs) there is no guarantee that your mom will get a visa. Your sister will most certainly be denied under the proclamation, unless she has an exception - of which there are many.

Parents, spouses and children are considered close family members and are supposed to qualify for waivers. There are 3 parts to the waiver

1) Undue hardship

2) National Interest

3) National security

 

#1 and #2 are determined on the spot by the consular. #3 is determined by DOS. When you get a paper like i posted above, you have already qualified for #1 and #2 only then can the consular request #3 from VO (via DS 5535). From what I am observing of late (last few months - may be because of the lawsuit) posts are adhering to the parent, spouse and child rule.

 

#3 is taking an insanely long time, and there are no set timelines. Unfortunately, since all three need to happen for waiver #1 and #2 area meaningless without #3. I know people who are waiting 12+ months after interview with no response.

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

Since when are official Department of State guidelines only available to lawyers or paid subscription? If it’s official, and not redacted for security purposes (which obviously it’s not if it’s on a lawyer/paid website), it has to be somewhere in the public domain too. 

i think the figure of just 800 waivers in a 6-month period over all travel ban countries and all visa types, when in a typical period like that there would have been literally tens of thousands of visas issued, speaks for itself.  No point giving false hope to the OP.

Edited November 10, 2018 by SusieQQQ

[FrankEPatrick 1]

Basically the sum total is to have grandmom apply for a waiver for a tourist visa and she may be granted a waiver and she may not.

 

Maybe a 20 percent shot at success?

 

 

[Boiler 45,924]

3 minutes ago, FrankEPatrick said:

Basically the sum total is to have grandmom apply for a waiver for a tourist visa and she may be granted a waiver and she may not.

 

Maybe a 20 percent shot at success?

 

Not how it works.

 

She applies for a B2 Visitor Visa. That is all she can apply for.

 

It is not a random chance based process.

[salhasl 113]

18 minutes ago, FrankEPatrick said:

Basically the sum total is to have grandmom apply for a waiver for a tourist visa and she may be granted a waiver and she may not.

 

Maybe a 20 percent shot at success?

 

 

Shot at success is no different than prior to the ban. The only thing thats different is that if she is under 65 she will be stuck in AP for an unpredictable period of time currently in the years not months. Most people give up non essential travel plans such as this after a few months. So this may be an excercise in futility, unless she wants to visit the kid when its 2 yrs old.

[FrankEPatrick 1]

Thanks Got it!

Visitor B2

 

Trying to avoid an exercise in futility while keeping my wife happy

[salhasl 113]

53 minutes ago, FrankEPatrick said:

Thanks Got it!

Visitor B2

 

Trying to avoid an exercise in futility while keeping my wife happy

Pregnant Iranian women are treated like the queen goddess with the entire neighborhood and extended family at their beck and call. This on top of the general hormonal changes you have your work cut out for you.

 

Good luck.

 

Edited November 11, 2018 by salhasl