When will the presidential proclamations on travel from Europe be lifted?

[TenderHearted 39]

Guys,

 

Does anyone know anything about this? My Fiance bought tickets to travel to the US (the ticket is for an August 5th 2020 arrival), and had no problem doing so. I didn't know that Europeans had to get an ETSA, so when I found out, I went to the link (https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta?fbclid=IwAR26uS6S_dH8eg-uBayMcyfWdul-PLnz2gVT210C1njXAcGbc66EU9uAn0k) and it warned that the presidential proclamations for incoming peoples were still in effect.

 

I can travel to Europe finally, so why can't Europeans travel here yet? Does anyone have information on this?

 

Thank you in advance,

 

TenderHearted

[geowrian 22,337]

Yes, there is currently a ban for anybody who has been in certain countries (most of the Schengen Area + UK, along with other areas worldwide) within the past 14 days.

A fiance/fiancee is not an exception to the ban.

It is unknown when the ban will actually be terminated.

 

They will need to either cancel the trip and do it another time, you can meet elsewhere, or if they really want to come to the US, they can travel to a non-banned country for 14+ days prior to entry into the US.

Edit: Or do nothing and hope the ban is lifted by then.

Edited June 21, 2020 by geowrian

[TenderHearted 39]

18 hours ago, geowrian said:

Yes, there is currently a ban for anybody who has been in certain countries (most of the Schengen Area + UK, along with other areas worldwide) within the past 14 days.

A fiance/fiancee is not an exception to the ban.

It is unknown when the ban will actually be terminated.

 

They will need to either cancel the trip and do it another time, you can meet elsewhere, or if they really want to come to the US, they can travel to a non-banned country for 14+ days prior to entry into the US.

Edit: Or do nothing and hope the ban is lifted by then.

I was afraid of this....

 

I know the language of the proclamation says one exception is for "alien spouse of US citizen or LPR", but the proclamation is not clear as to whether or not the spouse needs to be actively being petitioned for. I assume that is not necessary, due to the fact that many LPR's spouses come to visit for short amounts of time, and they have no interest in immigrating to the US.

 

By the time she is to travel to the US, we will be married. I am going over there at the end of July, and we are marrying in Gibraltar. It would be easy enough to prove that at that time, since we will have our marriage certificate in hand. I've already told her she MUST show she intends to leave the US within a certain amount of time (she wishes to visit for one month), and she is working things out with her employer and school right now (I have told her she must go to great lengths to show without doubt her intention to return to Spain after the month here in the US).

 

I can't apply for the CR-1 until she leaves the US, or it's automatically assumed you are trying to adjust status inside the US, which is not cool and NOT how we are going to do things.

 

Since we would be married at that time, what do you think? I'm hoping the proclamations are rescinded by that time, but who knows.

 

 

[geowrian 22,337]

1 minute ago, TenderHearted said:

I was afraid of this....

 

I know the language of the proclamation says one exception is for "alien spouse of US citizen or LPR", but the proclamation is not clear as to whether or not the spouse needs to be actively being petitioned for. I assume that is not necessary, due to the fact that many LPR's spouses come to visit for short amounts of time, and they have no interest in immigrating to the US.

 

By the time she is to travel to the US, we will be married. I am going over there at the end of July, and we are marrying in Gibraltar. It would be easy enough to prove that at that time, since we will have our marriage certificate in hand. I've already told her she MUST show she intends to leave the US within a certain amount of time (she wishes to visit for one month), and she is working things out with her employer and school right now (I have told her she must go to great lengths to show without doubt her intention to return to Spain after the month here in the US).

 

I can't apply for the CR-1 until she leaves the US, or it's automatically assumed you are trying to adjust status inside the US, which is not cool and NOT how we are going to do things.

 

Since we would be married at that time, what do you think? I'm hoping the proclamations are rescinded by that time, but who knows.

The requirement for the exemption is to be a legal spouse. Nothing about a petition is required.

The only thing is you will want to verify with the airline what their requirements are to board, since they may or may not have trouble identifying who is exempt (an MC itself doesn't prove the marriage still exists, although the date on yours would probably be sufficient IMO).

[TenderHearted 39]

1 minute ago, geowrian said:

The requirement for the exemption is to be a legal spouse. Nothing about a petition is required.

The only thing is you will want to verify with the airline what their requirements are to board, since they may or may not have trouble identifying who is exempt (an MC itself doesn't prove the marriage still exists, although the date on yours would probably be sufficient IMO).

I appreciate that bit of information, because that is something I would not have thought about *specifically the airline part)

 

What do you mean, by the Marriage Certificate doesn't prove the marriage exists? What about when I file for the CR-1 then? This is one of the requirements, as I know there are other things needed as well. I guess the US Gov't could look at it like, it "could" exist, but going through the petition process for the CR-1 visa validates it with them. Would you care to chime in just a bit further on this? I need to know if I've overlooked something.

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

20 minutes ago, TenderHearted said:

I appreciate that bit of information, because that is something I would not have thought about *specifically the airline part)

 

What do you mean, by the Marriage Certificate doesn't prove the marriage exists? What about when I file for the CR-1 then? This is one of the requirements, as I know there are other things needed as well. I guess the US Gov't could look at it like, it "could" exist, but going through the petition process for the CR-1 visa validates it with them. Would you care to chime in just a bit further on this? I need to know if I've overlooked something.

I presume he means the person could have divorced since but just use the marriage certificate to enter the US. 

[geowrian 22,337]

42 minutes ago, TenderHearted said:

I appreciate that bit of information, because that is something I would not have thought about *specifically the airline part)

 

What do you mean, by the Marriage Certificate doesn't prove the marriage exists? What about when I file for the CR-1 then? This is one of the requirements, as I know there are other things needed as well. I guess the US Gov't could look at it like, it "could" exist, but going through the petition process for the CR-1 visa validates it with them. Would you care to chime in just a bit further on this? I need to know if I've overlooked something.

 

21 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

I presume he means the person could have divorced since but just use the marriage certificate to enter the US. 

^this (or the US spouse could have passed away or something). The airline has no way to really verify that the marriage still exists..only that it existed at that date (presumably...they also aren't trained to detect forged marriage certificates from anywhere in the globe).

Edited June 22, 2020 by geowrian

[TenderHearted 39]

2 hours ago, geowrian said:

 

^this (or the US spouse could have passed away or something). The airline has no way to really verify that the marriage still exists..only that it existed at that date (presumably...they also aren't trained to detect forged marriage certificates from anywhere in the globe).

OK, that makes perfect sense now. Thank you for sharing that thought. And also, I'll be there with her (we managed to get the same transatlantic flight together; that was hard since we didn't buy the tickets at the same time, but we managed it), so the date on the Marriage Certificates makes perfect sense.

 

[carmel34 3,626]

3 hours ago, TenderHearted said:

 

I can't apply for the CR-1 until she leaves the US, or it's automatically assumed you are trying to adjust status inside the US, which is not cool and NOT how we are going to do things.

 

Not sure where you read this, but I don't think it is true.  Once you have a marriage certificate, assuming that you have all other required documents to file an I-130 petition on her behalf, you can file it regardless of where you are or where she is at the time.  You could have everything ready when you go to Gibraltar to get married and mail in the package from there with a photocopy of the official marriage certificate if you want to.  Or you can wait to send it in while she is visiting you, or after she leaves, it's your choice.  The sooner you file, the sooner the long wait for it to be adjudicated can start.  Good luck!

[TenderHearted 39]

3 hours ago, carmel34 said:

Not sure where you read this, but I don't think it is true.  Once you have a marriage certificate, assuming that you have all other required documents to file an I-130 petition on her behalf, you can file it regardless of where you are or where she is at the time.  You could have everything ready when you go to Gibraltar to get married and mail in the package from there with a photocopy of the official marriage certificate if you want to.  Or you can wait to send it in while she is visiting you, or after she leaves, it's your choice.  The sooner you file, the sooner the long wait for it to be adjudicated can start.  Good luck!

You can indeed file anytime you wish, but there is a caveat...

 

I will file for her shortly after the wedding, but there is something to remember, which I did not know until a few weeks ago. I spoke very briefly with an immigration attorney (he contributes to these forums, and I'm grateful for his input), and he told me that when you file, the form asks if the spouse is physically in the US or not. If they are, they the US gov't assumes you are trying to adjust status from within the US. This can cause MULTIPLE problems if you are petitioning an alien spouse. It is simply NOT worth it. You must answer all questions truthfully, and to the best of your ability. Because of that, I will wait until she is back in Spain for a least a few days before filing the paperwork. I do not want any more problems in this process than in inherent, so better safe than sorry.

 

In short, your alien spouse must be outside the US when you file (do not EVER lie on US Immigration forms, EVER!). Filing with her in the US will cause problems you neither want or need. Careful is the word.

 

If she can indeed fly and stay in the US for a while (we are working under the assumption it will work out fine, given the wording of the proclamations),  it will be sometime early in the month of September before I can file, as she will leave here the on the 5th, but if I can have her here with me for a month before that, that extra month is a wait that can be easily endured. We will have been together 3 years (having known each other and waiting on each other) this July 28th, so she's worth the wait and the effort.

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

16 minutes ago, TenderHearted said:

the form asks if the spouse is physically in the US or not. If they are, they the US gov't assumes you are trying to adjust status from within the US. This can cause MULTIPLE problems if you are petitioning an alien spouse

Even if they “assume” this (which I’m not convinced about at all, as you would file a concurrent i485 if that was really the case), what kind of “MULTIPLE problems” can this cause?

 

 

[geowrian 22,337]

30 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

Even if they “assume” this (which I’m not convinced about at all, as you would file a concurrent i485 if that was really the case), what kind of “MULTIPLE problems” can this cause?

It's uncommon, but I have seen a few cases where they did incorrectly flag the petition for AOS instead of consular processing (even though the I-130 was filled out correctly to do consular processing). I'm not sure I would let that stop me if I was in a hurry, though.

Usually they were able to get USCIS to transfer the case to NVC via request. At least once it required an I-824 (including fee + months of waiting).

[TenderHearted 39]

16 hours ago, geowrian said:

It's uncommon, but I have seen a few cases where they did incorrectly flag the petition for AOS instead of consular processing (even though the I-130 was filled out correctly to do consular processing). I'm not sure I would let that stop me if I was in a hurry, though.

Usually they were able to get USCIS to transfer the case to NVC via request. At least once it required an I-824 (including fee + months of waiting).

Those extra months of waiting are what I wish to avoid. I know that the mistake about flagging a petition to AOS happens every so often, but I don't wish to contribute to the chance of that happening. I feel it's best to be cautious, so that doesn't happen. The CR-1 visa process is already long enough at 12 to 14 months, so I really don't want anything to impede the speed of processing thru USCIS than is normally expected, although anything can happen at any time, and you just have to roll with the punches at that points.

 

To me, the extra month (plus an few days after she goes back to Spain), if she can indeed be with me during that time, isn't too much more time to wait. It's just a little bit of extra precaution is all. I'm just trying to be as careful as possible, so there are as few delays as possible.