| Conditions are changing and will continue to change as the pandemic goes on. The good news for those who are itching to travel sooner than later: The list of where US citizens can go is slowly expanding. As of early September, here’s where Americans can visit right now with no quarantine required. |
| ✅ Where US citizens can visit with no testing or quarantine required |
Note that though a test isn’t required, you may be tested upon arrival (randomly, or if you’re showing symptoms) and asked to isolate until you get your results. If you’re sick and do need to quarantine, it may be at your own expense.
|
| Testing rules are all over the place.
Some countries require a negative test from the last 72 hours while some allow tests that are five days old; some require a test before you board, and others test on arrival. In some countries, a single test is all that’s needed and in others you may need to be tested again depending on the length of your stay. Bottom line: check each country’s requirements carefully.
Additionally, Belize, El Salvador, and Namibia have announced plans to reopen soon. Unfortunately at this time there’s no word on when other countries, including those in the EU, may begin welcoming Americans again. |
Category: Immigration News
How to get Social Security Number during Covid 19
You don’t realize how important it is to have a social security number until
you don’t have one. The SSN is required to open up bank accounts, get medical insurance, get a drivers license,
work, and even to be able to be charged lower income tax on a filing as married tax return.
It’s important, it’s necessary, but has been nearly impossible to get during the Pandemic.
Social Security requires an in-person meeting, to apply for the number. And as
Social Security closed offices to the public back in March, this puts your new
immigrant fiance or spouse in between a rock and a hard place.
Fortunately, I recently went through this process with a client of mine, and in this
video will teach you what I found out, so you can get an SSN for your fiance or spouse.
Now, lets talk about “How to get that elusive Social Security number while Social Security offices
are on Covid 19 lock down.”
Normally to obtain a Social Security number (SSN), after immigrating to the USA on a spouse,
relative, or fiancée visa, one goes in person to the nearest Social Security Administration
(SSA) office presents identification and receives the SSN a month later.
Unfortunately during the COVID-19 pandemic most Social Security offices are closed and not
allowing in-person visits. This has caused a lot of frustration and delays for new immigrants
who need a social security number in order to open up bank accounts, get insurance, and apply for work.
Fortunately, you can still get the SSN. Here’s how.
The procedure is not publicly described at their websites, so to find out exactly what to do and how,
you MUST make a few phone calls to SSA to find out how and what to do in your area.
That’s exactly what I did recently and now I will share my experience with you.
K1 Fiance Visa
A recently arrived K-1 fiancée visa traveler, is eligible to obtain a Social Security number
by applying between day 15 and day 60 after arrival. Even though publicly and officially SSA
is closed to the public and not conducting in-person interviews, in practice they are conducting
some interviews and currently WILL do so for your Fiance Visa partner.
The way to do this is as follows:
Step 1: Google search for the telephone number of your local Social Security office, Call them. Identify yourself
that you need a first time, Social Security number for a recently arrived K-1 fiancée visa holder.
The key words to emphasise are “FIRST TIME”. The first operator you call probably can’t help, but should redirect you to
another number, at another office. You may need to make a series of phone calls. Rinse and repeat until you
finally reach the single, there is always one, actual office in your area that is handling First Time cases.
Step 2: Over the phone, provide detailed information about your fiancé including his/her local contact information and telephone numbers.
Step 3: Eventually, few days, or weeks, you will be called back and your Fiance provided a date to come in for
an in-person interview. The caller ID will says “US Government”‘. But it is not a spam call. It is Social Security.
I almost blocked the call cause I get many spam calls claiming to be something they are not. But this is legit.
An appointment date will be set, usually for a few days later. Your fiancé should bring passport, a filled in SSN application
(https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ss-5.pdf) and I-94. The I-94 is available online. https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/,
It’s also a good idea to bring original and a photocopy or a certified copy and photocopy of your Fiance’s birth Certificate.
Eventually the Social Security number will be issued.
If you are already married, and if your new spouse has changed last name to yours, also bring the marriage certificate and a photocopy.
Social Security may or may not issue the SSN in the married name. Either way is OK, but is worthwhile to ask as it would save
you another trip later.. If they prefer to issue in the maiden name, and they regularly do insist on this because they
often only will issue the SSN to the name shown on the passport and I-94.
It is not a problem. Later once you get green card or work authorization return to Social Security, hopefully by then the pandemic is past,
and update to the new married name.
Regular Immigration (Spouse or Relative)
In the case of regular immigration, such as your spouse arriving on a CR1 or IR1 visa or a family member,
or diversity lottery winner, the process is similar.
Step 1: Google search for a local Social Security office’s telephone number Call and identify yourself that you
need a first time, Social Security number for a new immigrant. Emphasize “FIRST TIME”. The first person you call
probably can’t help, but should redirect you to another number, at another office. Rinse and repeat till you are
talking to the office in your area assigned to handle such cases.
Step 2: They will give you their mailing address and instruct your immigrant to mail them, passport and the filled in
social security number application form.
Step 3: Send to the Social Security Office,the immigrant’s passport, it show have his/her arrival visa,
and the social security number application form. https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ss-5.pdf
Use certified mail with tracking. You don’t want to take any chance that your passport gets lost.
Step 4: Eventually the Social Security office will call, and schedule a time to go to the
designated office, meet with the clerk and be approved for the SSN. There the clerk checks your passport id page
matches the applicant. Passport is returned at that time. And social security number is issued by mail a few weeks later.
This was Fred Wahl, The VisaCoach
USCIS Fee Rise on Hold
Planned October 2, 2020 USCIS Fee Schedule temporarily blocked by Injunction
“Procrastinators, YOU can rejoice” You still have time to avoid big
increases in the cost of Naturalization to become a US Citizen as well as Work and travel authorizations
for green card applicants.
For months, actually probably years, USCIS has had a price increase in the works.
Finally after much, much, deliberations, posting in the Federal Register, reviewing and replying to comments,
delays due to Covid 19, challenges from Congress, back and forth with Congress, FINALLY they got their wish.
A new price list was set to take effect on October 2.
Most fees went up. Some down. Some like Naturalization and Work + Travel Authorizations when up A LOT !.
The biggest bumps were a $445 increase from $725 to $1,170 for Naturalization,
$545 increase from 0 for Work Authorization
and
$585 increase from 0 for Advance Parole.
Other benefits that VisaCoach clients are concerned with changed little. Some a little up, some a little down.
Once the fee change was announced, we jumped on it, letting all our clients know what was happening
and helping those who would suffer the must from the fee increases to get their applications in on time.
We were very, very busy for a month during the run up to October 2.
Then, at the eleventh hour, just before October 2 came around, a group of opponents to the fee change were successful
to convince a court to place a temporary injunction, temporarily halting the fee change.
Well that’s Good news and bad.
Good news for procrastinators, who delayed but now can still submit under the old fee schedule.
BAD news for applicants in general, as total confusion is the rule of the day. The injunction is in effect,
but for HOW LONG? At any time it could be dropped.
Maybe the all new fees will be implemented, maybe only some parts, maybe none.
Who knows?
But is does cause problems. First of all, the fees could change without notice at any time. We are asking our clients
to reach out to us, when they are ON THE WAY to the post office to mail in their applications to confirm what
the correct fee is on the day they submit.
We can handle that with out clients, on a one by one personal case. Thats manageable. What I worry about are
how well the clerks at USCIS will handle the processing of cases and acceptance of payments once the fees actually change.
Officially, USCIS should check the postmark and mailing date shown on each package they receive. And then
apply to the contents of the package, the fees and procedures that were in force on the day of mailing. Unfortunately
that system does not work so well. The last time a major change occured, and this was on February 24 when the
public charge rules came into effect. Hundreds of applications that had been shipped, on time, were rejected, due
to clerical error. It took months for clients, who had legitimate proof of mailing to battle with USCIS to
get their cases back on course.
I am afraid in the week after the new fees take effect, that there will be even more such mistakes
made at USCIS causing great inconvenience and unnnecessary delays to applicants.
This was Fred Wahl, The VisaCoach
Effects of Biden Presidency on Fiancee, Spouse + Green card Immigration
President Trump promised a “Wall” to reduce immigration. While only partial progress on a concrete and steel wall was accomplished, great strides were made in limiting legal immigration via a paper wall of stringent policies that greatly increased the complexity and difficulty of passing through the immigration process.
President-Elect Biden has yet to take office, however I do expect that within the first hundred days of his taking office, deliberate executive action will be taken in an attempt to unravel the “Trump effect” on immigration.
This is GOOD news for Applicants.
Today I am going to forecast how I expect the Biden Administration’s occupancy of the White House to affect your application.
President Trump vowed to reduce immigration. And he was successful. Over 450 executive and administrative adjustments, both major and subtle, were made to toughen immigration rules and procedures. He instituted extreme vetting, where all applicants are more highly scrutinized than ever before, Banned entire countries from being allowed visas to the USA, added tighter Public Benefits eligibility requirements which created a virtual “wealth test”, and instituted a pervasive organization wide culture change in the way that USCIS views and treats immigrants.
United States Citizenship and Immigration service (USCIS), once viewed immigrants as its clients, to be served. It’s officers traditionally believed they were following a pro-immigrant, humanitarian mission. The mission was to help refugees escape persecution, American Companies bring in needed talent, and reunify families with their loved ones.
Many officers initially joined USCIS in order to pursue that noble mission. In the recent four years many of these same officers, disillusioned, have resigned, as under Trump, the priorities changed from helping eligible immigrants come to the USA, to finding ways to keep them out.
In 2018, under the Director selected by Trump, USCIS’s official mission statement was drastically altered. Removed were references to a “nation of immigrants” and to immigrants as “customers” whom the agency serves. Now the mission statement basically reads “enforce immigration laws”. Immigrants are no longer customers, now they are suspects. USCIS’s Budget for fraud prevention and detection doubled between 2016 and 2020
Here’s my forecast of what’s going to happen after President-Elect Biden takes office..
#1 New USCIS Director
To reverse the current “anti-immigrant” culture at USCIS will require a top down management change. That will start when President-elect Biden chooses a new director of USCIS, and assigns him or her the mandate to return USCIS to it’s prior mission of treating immigrants as clients, not adversaries, and working towards assisting them navigate lawful, and proper immigration. With new top down guidance, USCIS should relax it’s restrictionist “extreme vetting” and move to return to its earlier, more Humanitarian mission.
#2 End of Immigrant Harassment
While detailed and proper screening of applicants is reasonable, unfortunately in recent years the application review process has deteriorated from normal and expected due diligence into in essence, in many cases, deliberate harassment. Requests for evidence ( RFE’s) were frequently issued for non-material reasons.
Cases were denied for similarly trivial issues such as leaving fields that were not applicable, blank. Or incorrectly writing not applicable as NA vs N/A.
Revised Forms with no real modifications, would be announced and instead of giving adequate time usually one or two months for applicants to change over to the new versions, only One, single, day notice was given. And the applications that were already in the mail which had used the earlier nearly identical version, and which was the correct one to use on the day of mailing, were rejected.
Cases that previously would not require an interview, would be held and delayed many months awaiting availability of already overworked and limited interviewing staff.
For a few months this summer, even cases which had successfully gone through the entire tedious process, including interview and official APPROVAL, were put on hold, waiting many months for the printing of their approved work, travel and green cards. A long term contract USCIS had with the printing company had expired. And even though the contract’s expiry date, and need for replacement was known, long, realistically years in advance, no action on USCIS’s part to replace the contract and obtain alternative printing was taken, at least not until a court order forced USCIS to take proper action.
This change of attitude will rely on the New top management at USCIS. Their leadership will be critical to return USCIS to a culture of helping immigrants versus holding them back.
#3 Faster Processing
Less energy wasted by USCIS staff seeking excuses to delay individual cases, will result in more efficient, smoother and overall faster processing of cases.
#4 Lower Denial Rate
With restriction of immigration no longer being the guiding rule of the day, expect the cases that were previously denied due to trivial and non-material issues, or which were not given opportunity to clarify and justify misunderstandings now should receive a fairer hearing, and the approval rate should rise accordingly..
#5 Fee increase to be adjusted downwards
USCIS does not receive taxpayer dollars to pay for its operations. Instead it is self funded by the fees it charges immigrants. Originally to be effective on October 2, USCIS had requested an overhaul of its fee structure. The fees for some applications such as green cards and US citizenship went through the roof, they increased tremendously.
At the moment, this fee increase is temporarily on hold, halted by a court injunction.
The new fees requested are calculated based on what USCIS feels is needed to pay for its operations. I expect that under the Biden Administration the future, “user friendlier” USCIS, will find that since less time and energy is wasted, deliberately trying to obstruct the immigration process, that their operations will be more efficient, and less costly. Once the cost accountants do the math again, the fee increases needed may be found unnecessary, or only a smaller increase is needed.
#6 End to “Trump” or “Muslim” Travel Ban
The so-called “Muslim ban” that bans the issuance of visas to the USA from citizens of 15 countries, Chad, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Myanmar, Nigeria, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Venezuela and Yemen will be lifted.
#7 Public Benefits “wealth test” Dropped
The most effective stumbling block to Legal immigration, to come out of the Trump administration was the broadening of the definition of what constitutes a public benefit. This new definition has been used to make it much more difficult for an immigrant to be deemed eligible to receive a green card and permanent residency in the USA. Not only are applicants required to prove that they never received public benefits, but must also convince the officer that in the future, no matter what happened, they would not possibly, conceivably, never, ever need public benefits forever into the future. This “wealth test”, and it’s extremely complicated resulting application paperwork will be removed or at very least greatly relaxed.
How Soon for these changes to happen ?
Immigration is not a hot-button issue for President-elect Biden as it was for President Trump. After the first few popular and headline grabbing executive orders are announced, namely dropping of the “muslim ban” and :”wealth test”, and appointment of a new USCIS Director, the rest of the job to reverse the “Trump effect” will most likely be left in the hands of the newly appointed USCIS management.
We all hope President-elect Biden chooses the new USCIS Director well. This choice will determine how fast and how well the intricate unraveling of so many changes, procedures, policies and overall mentality that the Trump administration injected into US immigration takes place.
It’s going to take time. It may take years, and perhaps more than one administration to get back to where we once were.
Ban on Nigerian Fiance and Spouse Visas Lifted
Good news for Nigerian Fiancees and Spouses
Two years ago President Trump added Nigeria to the list of countries who were banned from travel and immigration to the USA.
This executive order shocked and dismayed those applying for Fiancee and Spouse visas for partners from Nigeria.
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The good news was that a fiance or spouse is considered “immediate family” and the consular officers in Lagos were permitted to use their discretion to approve a fiance or spouse regardless of the ban. But the bad news was that actually added a whole extra year to an already long and tedious 1 or 2 year long application process.
Well, it’s really good news now, newly elected President Biden, issued his own executive order virtually immediately after taking office, reversing the ban. So now Nigerian applications for fiances and spouses will be conducted and processed as usual.
Slowdown at USCIS: NOA1 Receipts Delayed
USCIS Delays processing NOA1 receipts + payments
“My application was delivered to USCIS over two months ago. I have not gotten any receipt or notice from USCIS acknowledging my case. And the fee payment check I sent with the application has not even been cashed yet? Is my case lost? What is going on?”
The good news is, your case is not lost. It is simply a matter that USCIS is doing an extremely poor job running their mail room.
And this is not happening only with your case, it is happening to everyone’s cases. At the moment applications received as long as 3 months ago,
still have not been opened and entered into processing.
No notice sent, no payment deposited, and one unhappy applicant, needlessly worried about his/her application.
USCIS says the reason for the slowdown is “social distancing”.
That due to Covid restraints they can’t get enough people in the mail room to keep up with the incoming mail.
It’s true that during 2020, primarily April to September, USCIS got much fewer cases than normal. Perhaps they organized their mailroom structure around the expectation that they would only have 30% of the normal volume of application to process.
But now, beginning around September 2020, things have started to pick up. More couples are finally able to submit their applications.
Well I hope they figure this out, and soon, because I expect there to be a much larger surge in new applications coming soon.
And if USCIS has not been keeping up so far, it’s gonna be bad news for all applicants as their cases will be delayed, and based on the mailroom issue, delayed by easily avoidable issues.
Word to the wise, USCIS treats cases as “first come, first served” so submit your application as early as you can in 2021 cause USCIS will be extremely busy this year. The sooner you get in line, the sooner your case will be completed.
This was Fred Wahl, The VisaCoach
Public Benefits Wealth Test dropped
Public Benefits, Public Charge Rules restricting Immigration have have been relaxed.
Under President Trump, the eligibility requirements for a foreign applicant who wanted to immigrate to the USA or adjust status to permanent residency were made much stricter.
This affected all immigrants including Fiancee’s and Spouse’s of US citizens.
The purpose was to keep immigrants out.
The rules were tightened to examine an applicant’s age, health, family status, assets resources, and financial status, and education and skills.
Required were health insurance, credit reports, proof of assets, and debts, diplomas, vocational certificates and most daunting of all was the possibility of denial, IF in an officers felt that an applicant, might, possibly, need government support in the future, even if never asked for assistance before, the application could be denied.
Good news. President Biden has tossed out these stricter requirements.
The older, pre Trump eligibility standards are now back.
And now, once again, only those currently receiving Cash Income Assistance or maintenance, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and state General Relief Assistance are ineligible for immigration.
This was Fred Wahl, The VisaCoach
US Citizenship Civics Test reverts back to simpler pre-2020 version
Biden makes US Citizenship Test Easier
President Biden has discarded the 2020 US naturalization Civics test created under President Trump, and reverted the test used for US citizenship to the earlier, simpler version that has been used by USCIS since 2008.
Towards the end of President Trumps term of office, USCIS under direction from
the White House revamped the Civics Test that applicants
for naturalization to US Citizenship had to pass.
The old test originally created in 2008 relied on 100 simple multiple choice questions.
The new 2020 test required verbal descriptive answers, about American history,
political structure, and the applicant’s intent to be a “good American”.
Whether or not an applicant actually passed the test became became subject to interpretation by the USCIS testing officer.
It became the officers discretion on whether to pass or fail.
This was all in an effort by the Trump Administration to restrict immigration,
by enforcing stricter, more subjective standards
Good news, especially for nervous or shy applicants, the more straightforward test is back
Once again only 6 ot 10 multiple choice questions need to be correct
, and all questions and their correct answers are posted at USCIS’s website to be studied and memorized in advance of the Citizenship interview and testing.
This was Fred Wahl, The VisaCoach
Covid Vaccinations required for US Immigration
US requires Covid Vaccinations for Immigration
Starting October 1, 2021 Applicants for immigration visas to the USA such as CR1 spouse and CR2 Dependent visas and including those who arrive on a K1 fiance visas who after marriage apply for adjustment of status, to get Green Cards, must all have approved Covid vaccinations
Update: DOS has amended their policy. Now K1 visa applicants must show proof of covid vaccinations at their consular medical, not only after arrival when applying for adjustment of status.
And if multiple vaccinations are required,
all must be administered before the granting of Visa or Green Card.
Not only the Pfizer, Moderna Johnson & Johnson vaccinations approved for use in the USA will be acceptable but any covid vaccination that is approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization (WHO) will also be acceptable.
Alternative vaccines such as AstraZeneca, Covishield and Covaxin, Sputnik, Sinopharm and Sinovac, among others are currently acceptable to meet the vaccination requirement.
If the appropriate vaccines are not available, or not age-appropriate, such as for children under 12, or are medically inadvisable due to allergic reactions or other medical issues, an automatic waiver is granted.
This will be handled by the Clinic providing consular medicals, or the USCIS civil surgeon in USA while confirming vaccinations.
If the application has moral or religious objections she or he will need to apply for waiver, which would be granted or denied at US immigration’s discretion
This was Fred Wahl, The VisaCoach,
here to personally guide you on this journey.
End to consulate backlogs:K1 Fiance Visa + CR1 Spouse Visas
US Immigration to clear K1 Fiance Visa + CR1 Spouse Visa Pending Interview Backlogs
Good News, the US Government is taking action to clear Fiance + Spouse Visa applicants who have been waiting on Consular Interviews. After 15 months of curtailment
of consulate services, US immigration has about 500,000 cases on hold pending interviews. To address this issue, $5.6 billion dollars is budgeted by Department of State and $345 million is budgeted by USCIS for manpower and facilities to help clear the backlog.
It has been a rough ride for the past 15 months for Fiancee and Spouse visa applicants.
On March 18, 2020 in fear of the spread of Covid 19, US Embassies and Consulates around the world
locked their doors to the public, cancelling all scheduled visa interviews.
Some of my clients had even traveled long distances to attend their interviews, and without
receiving any warning from the Embassy arrived in time for their interviews only to find the gates to the consulate locked
and were turned away by the guards.
And very sadly some of these clients, who at that time were at their very end of their application process and had only the
interview remaining are still waiting even today.
Normally with a Fiancee or Spouse visa case once it leaves USCIS it goes to the State Departments
offices in New Hampshire called the National Visa Center or NVC. The cases usually don’t stay at NVC
for very long, before being forwarded overseas to the destination consulate for the interview.
Well due to Covid 19, instead of NVC being just a short layover for a case, NVC has become a warehouse.
Cases are being held, stockpiled at NVC awaiting good news from consulates advising that they have resumed normal operations
and are open to the public for interviews.
Some consulates reopened within a few months. some consulates still remain closed..
In February 2017 at the beginning of President Trumps presidency,
there were almost 3,000 cases in process, temporarily on hold at NVC.
this February 2021, due to Covid 19’s throttling down of consulate operations, there are now roughly100 times more, about 300,000 cases
on hold, warehoused at NVC.
So what can be done?
Well, good news. Plans are in the works to address the problem.
And this is the same problem and the same solution we have all experienced at our local grocery store.
You’ve done your shopping and you want to pay. Well the checkout line is long,
and it’s taking forever to finish your transaction and get out of there. So what
does the store management do. Do they let customers leave without paying? No.
What they do is put another cashier on the till and open another checkout line.
US immigration is going to do the same thing. They are not going to let applicants
skip the interview, but what they are going to do is open up more facilities, and
hire more officers to conduct interviews and issue visas.
President Biden’s current budget proposal is to grant the US state department
$5.4 Billion to hire 1,200 officer and expand facilities. Also added to the budget
is $345 million for USCIS to address their backlog as well.
So far already, the State Department has doubled up on interview availability in
Mexico, by now opening up the US embassy in Mexico City to also conduct visa
interviews in addition to the consulate in Juarez, which previously had be the
only location were immigrant visas were issued. I expect that this trend
will continue where additional secure locations are found to help add more
“check out lines” for visa interviews to take place.
This was Fred Wahl, The VisaCoach,
here to personally guide you on this journey.
Philippines Reopens for tourism : Fiance + Spouse In-person meetings are back ON
Fantastic news
Philippines Re-opens !!
allows tourists to visit.
This means if your romantic life has been on hold, and you have been unable to apply for your Filipino Fiancé or spouse, because you’ve been locked out of the Philippines since March 2020, and you have Been unable to satisfy the in-person meeting requirement, well, now you can.
Philippines has announced that they will be open for international tourists starting on February 10. Yes we know they have said this before, but this time, I think it’s for real.
Visitors from the USA, as well as from 150 other countries that don’t require visas for the Philippines Can now enter, and if fully vaccinated do not have to undergo any quarantine.
Unvaccinated or partially vaccinated travelers are welcome too, but have to quarantine for five days, followed by nine days at home.
All travelers are required to provide proof of a negative PT-PCR test taken within 48 hours before flying.
If you’ve been waiting to apply to bring your fiancé or spouse to the USA, and the stumbling block, has been that you have been waiting on the in-person meeting, now you can get it done.
The trip that you take, the trip that you have been waiting for for so long,
is critical to your immigration success. On your trip you’ve got to touch all
of the required bases, you’ve got to document what you are doing fully and
you need to bring back to the USA all of the various documents, proofs,
photographs, and evidence, necessary to complete your application.
The time to hire me to help you, it’s not after you return to the USA.
You want to hire me NOW BEFORE you go.
Getting started early, before your trip, allows us to get a jump start on
your front loaded application. I can counsel you on what needs to be done,
and teach you the best ways to document what happens, I send you with
detailed instructions and checklists, and I am standing by to answer your
questions via email or telephone while you are traveling and get answers to you promptly when you really need the answer right away.
That way we can work together to ensure that you bring back everything
needed so we can submit your winning application, immediately upon your return,
Bon voyage !!
This was Fred Wahl, The VisaCoach,
USCIS Processing Times
2022 USCIS Processing times: Bad news for All !!
If your case has been in process during 2022, you are probably pretty disappointed when learning how USCIS processing timelines have deteriorated from previous Years. Currently it is taking around a year for spouse and fiancee application and much longer for green card and removal of conditions applications.
Previously USCIS got their work done much faster. Their policy for processing was to complete review of cases within five months or less. For a short while during the Obama administration many of our cases passed USCIS in only three months.
During the Trump administration, the executive branch deliberately slowed immigration. The policy for what was expected processing time, stretched to 7 months.
Sadly the good old days are gone. Under President Biden, currently in 2022, most cases for fiancé and spouse visas are taking over a year, just to get through USCIS.
And for Fiance or Spouse Visas, after USCIS approval the State Department takes over and typically another 6 months are generally added before your partner gets the chance to visit a US consulate for the final interview before visa issuance.
NEW Definition for “normal processing time”
Previously when the policy was a standard target, such as five months, at month 6, an applicant could reach out to USCIS reporting that the case is late, past normal processing time, and initiate an internal review to hopefully speed things up.
USCIS officers worked against a clear policy deadline. During the Trump administration The policy turnaround time stretched to seven months. Then an applicant could complain at around month eight. And hopefully get some positive feedback.
No longer is USCIS applying this simple guideline, for how long they should take with a case. Instead, they review each service center, measure how long that service center is already taking for 80% of their cases to complete processing. Then the policy states that “the current performance” is also performance standard. This means that regardless of how slow a center is performing, there Is no pressure to speed things up, only to continue at their current pace.
The performance is measured on an ongoing basis, so if processing slows down, the target slows as well. So whatever is happening, is by definition NORMAL. USCIS does not aim for an efficiency target, instead whatever pace they have, is ok. There is no incentive to improve.
USCIS posts online current processing times
One would have hoped that this visibility is for the applicant’s benefit, so that the applicant knows what to expect. However the real purpose of the posted information is to create a guideline to control the applicant, by enforcing a “DO NOT CONTACT US (USCIS)” by
posting the lackluster performance that USCIS Is at, and stating
the application is not ALLOWED to inquire/complain about his or her case until a few months past the current experience.
To legitimize their new system, USCIS posted a widget at their website that you can visit to learn how slow your case is expected to take and how long after that expected timing, you are allowed to complain.
As of August 24, 2022 the following are the “expected” times for USCIS processing of Fiance and Spouse Visas. The first column is the time it takes for 80% of case review to be completed, the second is the earliest an applicant is ALLOWED to chase his or her case.
| Fiancee Visa | 80% of Cases Complete within | Earliest time after which Inquiry/Complaint can be filed |
| California | 13.5 months | 15 months |
| Nebraska | 4.5 months | 6 months |
| Potomac | 4.5 months | 7 months |
| Texas | 23 months | 15 months |
| Vermont | 5.5 months | 31 months |
| Spouse Visa | 80% of Cases Complete within | Earliest time after which Inquiry/Complaint can be filed |
| California | 10.5 months | 13 months |
| Nebraska | 10.5 months | 13.5 months |
| Potomac | 12 months | 15 months |
| Texas | 11.5 months | 15 months |
| Vermont | 16 months | 21 months |
As the above table shows there is a wide variety of performance results from the different processing centers.
Some centers seem to be unusually fast, some unusually slow.. The
stats are a bit misleading, as the majority of cases will go through California, and only a few ever actually are sent to one of the other
centers.
Can you choose which center for your case?
It would be awesome to be able to select the fastest center to process your case, sorry, but that option is not available. All cases are first submitted to designated lockboxes. Once at the lockbox, a clerk decides to which processing center to forward your case.This is ostensibly to balance the load, so that all centers should have about the same performance. As the tables above show, such load balancing is not working out too well.
US Embassy Manila Working to Clear Covid Backlogs
2022 US Embassy Manila Working Full Speed!!
During the height of the Covid pandemic, th US Embassy in Manila curtailed their operations, shuttering their doors, and ceased visa processing.
This lasted about a year and a half. Cases destined for interviews in Manila, piled up, higher, higher, and higher. The State Department’s National visa center (NVC) which normally would hold onto a case for a very short time, before shipping it to Manila, instead held onto the cases,
Stockpiling them in New Hampshire. By the end of 2021 almost 18 months of pending cases awaiting to be shipped and eventually processed in Manila were stockpiled at NVC.
While closed, the US Embassy in Manila, promised that once quarantines were lifted, and travel to and from the Philippines was no longer restricted, it would import extra staff, open more desks and work diligently to clear the backlog.
US Embassy Manila has KEPT it’s promise !!
In February 2022 the Philippines reopened and tourists from around the world could the country again. They came for tourism, and to rekindle their in-person relationships with partners who they had endured enforced separation from during the Covid Pandemic.
The US Embassy, as promised, recruited more staff, more contractors, more officers capable of interviewing visa applicants. They have been working long hours. First interviews are scheduled at 6:30 am. progress to clear the backlog have been made. Hopefully within 6 to 12 months they will have caught up.
Proposed USCIS Filing Fees: 2023
Proposed USCIS: Filing Fees, Coming Soon ??
In January 2023 USCIS published a proposed rule to increase fees on most immigration benefits. While most proposed fees have only gone up slightly, Adjustment of Status filing fees (if the fees are approved) will roughly double. The proposal is to charge for work and travel authorizations, previously free of charge when applying at same time as Adjustment of Status, and to eliminate the discounted fee for a child, now to charge the same as charged an adult.
After publication there began a Public Comment period, which just ended. At this time USCIS might modify it’s request or publish a final rule regardless of public comments. When it publishes a final rule, they will likely set a date soon after for the new fees to go into effect.
We expect that the new fees may take effect in May. At any rate if you are at the stage that you can submit in the near future, you should try to move your case forward and save some money.
We at VisaCoach have cleared our April and May calendars to be available to assist clients beat the deadline as needed.
| Proposed New Fees: | ||||
| Old Filing Fee | New Filing Fee | Change | ||
| Fiance Visa | $535 | $720 | +$185 | https://www.uscis.gov/i-129f |
| Spouse Visa + Immigrant Fee |
$535 $220 |
$820 $235 |
+$285 +$15 |
https://www.uscis.gov/i-130 |
| Adjustment of Status (Adult) with Work Authorization with Travel Permission with Both Adjustment of Status (Child) |
$1,225* $1,225* $1,225* $1,225* $ 750* |
$1,540 $2,190 $2,170 $2,820 $1,540 |
+$315 +$965 +$945 +$1,595 +790 |
https://www.uscis.gov/i-485 |
| Removal Conditions on Residence | $680* | $1,195 | +$515 | https://www.uscis.gov/i-751 |
| US Citizenship | $725* | $760 | +$35 | https://www.uscis.gov/n-400 |
| Relative Visa (Child, Parent, Sibling) + Immigrant Fee |
$535
$220 |
$820
$235 |
+$285
+$15 |
https://www.uscis.gov/i-130 |
| * includes $85 biometrics fee | ||||
Two Month USCIS K1 Approval
USCIS K1 Fiance Visa Approval in ONLY Two Months !
I-129F K1 Visa Goldrush !
VisaCoach’s recent Cases only took two months from receipt of petition to approval, that’s two months between NOA1 (Notice of Action One, the notice USCIS sends you that confirms they received your case) to NOA2 (Notice of Action Two, the notice confirming USCIS completed processing, and sent your case on to the State Department for their consular processing.
So far this year, over a half dozen of my k1 visa clients have experienced their cases zooming through the USCIS approval stage in only two months.
Why is this amazing?
Well because during recent years USCIS has normally been taking 12 to 15 months to do the same amount of work. So my clients whose cases got approved by USCIS in only two months, are going to get their fiancés home to the USA a whole year sooner than anyone else.
In this video, I will explain what is going on, how long it may continue, and finally what you can do to take advantage of the situation.
I am Fred Wahl the VisaCoach.
I personally work with you preparing for you the forms and documents needed to bring your loved ones home to the USA, Unlike those common second rate services that abandon you once your application has been submitted, I remain with you providing support throughout this complicated immigration journey.
Now, let’s talk about what’s happening at USCIS. How and why are applicants recently experiencing “USCIS K1 Fiance Visa Approval in ONLY Two Months !”
To bring your fiancé to the USA to marry, you must submit an application called a K-1 fiancé visa application. It is processed in step fashion by two sections of the US government, first at USCIS, which stands for United States Citizenship, and Immigration service, and then onto the US Department of State. USCIS first reviews your case stateside, then
forwards it to the State Department which in turn passes it on to a US Embassy in your fiancee’s country for consular interview and approval and printing of the fiancé visa.
During most of 2022 and 2023 the application process to bring your fiancé to the USA took total time of around a year and a half. The slowest part of the process has been at USCIS where during the initial USCIS process, cases took 12 to 15 months between NOA1 and NOA2. That’s the time it took for USCIS to review your case, approve it (at least for their USCIS’s part) before passing it over to the US State Department. Then on average the next stage, at State Department, took about 3 to 5 months more to your fiance’s interview and K-1 visa.
So the normal total time needed for most K-1 fiancé visa applications, from start to visa, USCIS + State Department stages combined, ended up being about a year and a half of waiting during the processing.
But recently, amazingly, many of the brand new, k-1 visa cases we at Visacoach prepared for our clients that were sent to USCIS early this year, during February, March and April have already zoomed through the USCIS processing stage and were approved by USCIS in an AMAZING TWO months. Let me repeat. USCIS has recently taken only 2 months to approve new cases, versus the expected 15. For those lucky applicants, their cases,
have jumped ahead a whole year compared to cases submitted earlier.
So the big question is “How did USCIS go from 15 months processing time to only two?
I think I have the answer.
Unlike other branches of our government, USCIS is not funded by our income taxes, instead it funds itself solely through the fees it charges its clients.
That’s you and me, anyone applying for an immigration benefit, like permission to live, or work in the USA, wanting to get a green card or become a US Citizen.
For many years, USCIS complained that the fees they charged were not enough.
They wanted to increase charges to pay their bills, keep the lights on and attract and keep qualified employees. But first Congress had to approve the price increase. And year after year, Congress refused to go along with the request. For over a decade, again and again Congress denied their requests.
Until recently.
FINALLY a 20% fee increase was approved and took effect April 1.
Once it was clear that USCIS could expect more money coming in, they started to spend their increased budget by hiring new staff, upgrading procedures, and investing in new equipment.
I believe that new staff are currently being assigned and trained on K-1 visa cases. With no other assignments, and a new boss to impress, they are knocking them out of the park.
Cases submitted earlier had already been assigned to more experienced seasoned reviewers, their in-boxes are full, and cases sitting on their desks and are in process are still waiting 12 to 15 months to finally be approved USCIS, get their NOA2 and finally passed on to the State Department, .
Sure, it would be more fair to the older cases to take those that have already
waited the longest in someones overflowing in-box and reassign it to the new employees, but that idea does not appear to be happening. At least not yet.
So, the lucky new cases submitted during the last few months are getting (at least temporarily) special speedy treatment while earlier cases still wait and wait.
Imagine being in a long, slow checkout line at a grocery store. You’ve been waiting patiently to get to the cashier. Another cashier opens a new line and the lucky shoppers passing nearby rush to jump into that empty line while you are still stuck in your original line. You watch them as they cash out and leave the store while your line has not moved an inch.,
Eventually things will balance out, new staff will be assigned more cases and their individual case backlogs will pile up. At the same time the older staff will reduce their backlogs before being given new cases.
Eventually a new steady-state, a new average backlog and processing time will be established. But, as a unicorn event, at this MOMENT, new cases get 2 months turnaround time while older cases are still waiting for 15 months.
I call this the k-1 fiancé visa Gold Rush.
It won’t last. And just like the California gold rush, the first to arrive who pan for gold before the rest, got the rewards.
If you are near ready to submit your application, don’t delay a moment. Because every day counts. Such fast processing won’t last long. Submitting right away, may get your partner home as much as a year sooner.
How much time do you have to take action?
Probably you only have a few months, maybe six or less to submit your application before things settle down to a new system wide processing time normal.
I forecast during the next few months newly submitted K-1 visa cases will gradually experience slower processing times. Now it’s 2 months, after a while it will slow to 3, then 4 and so on until overall processing times (between new and old cases) eventually settles out.
I feel that by the end of this year and going into 2025, the average processing time at USCIS for K-1 fiancé visas may settle at around nine months, NOA1 to NOA2. That’s not as fantastic as two months but is a vast improvement from yesterdays 15 months wait time..
Time will tell what actually happens. Ask me this time next year.
At the moment though, if you are ready to submit your K-1 visa application, now is truly the honeymoon period. The earlier you get your case to USCIS the better your chance to enjoy speedier processing.
And sad to say, those who already have been patiently waiting in line, sorry you will continue to wait. Your case is still assigned to, and stuck on a desk whose in-basket needs 15 months to clear..
Overall though, it’s good news. USCIS has gotten their price increase. Today k1 visa applicants benefit. Eventually there should be a “sea change” of faster processing times across the boards for all applications such as spouse visas, green cards, and citizenship processed at USCIS
This was Fred Wahl, The VisaCoach,
Trump Re-election: 2025 Effects on Fiance + Spouse Visa, Green Card Immigration
Effects of President Trump’s reelection on Marriage based immigratin, K1 Visas, CR1 Visas, and Green Cards
While President Trump’s specific immigration policies for his second term remain unclear, his past actions and statements give us a good idea on what to expect.
Our Country is Full
His 2019 tweet, “Our Country is Full,” and the numerous executive orders on immigration issued during his previous administration suggest there will be continued efforts to RESTRICT immigration.
While there is a lot of talk about building a wall on the border, deportation of illegals, changes to DACA and De-naturalization of Naturalized Citizens, and so on, this video is about the potential changes that may effect those applying for their fiancé‘s, spouses, and immediate family members.
I am Fred Wahl, the VisaCoach, I personally work with you preparing for you the forms and documents needed to bring your loved ones home to the USA, and unlike those common second rate services that abandon you once your application has been submitted I remain with you providing support throughout this complicated immigration journey.
I specialize in Marriage Based immigration. This is helping you get your partner, either fiance or spouse to the USA, and then obtaining lawful residency so that she or he can remain with you permanently in the USA.
This video is for those with a case in process or who plan to apply for a K1 Fiance Visa, a CR1 or IR1 Spouse visa, or a Green Card for your foreign partner. And please watch till the end, when I suggest proactive steps you can take now, to better weather any storm ahead.
Now, lets talk about the Potential Effects of President Trump’s reelection on K1 Visa, CR1 Visa, and Green Card Immigration
During President Trump’s last term, he signed 220 executive orders. Many on immigration. President Biden revoked 71 of these orders, mostly right after he began his term of office.
I expect that most of immigration executive orders that President Trump had issued and which were revoked are now being dusted off, re-written in a way to make them less likely to be overturned (based on past experience) and readied to be reissued soon after his inauguration on January 20.
Travel Bans
Last time President Trump put a freeze on the issuance of visas for travelers from Eritrea, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Myanmar, Nigeria, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Venezuela and Yemen
If this happens again, and your partner is from one of these countries, you may suffer years of extra waiting before your partner can join you in the USA.
Vigorous Enforcement of Immigration Laws
President Trump mandated that USCIS vigorously enforce and administer immigration laws, take no short cuts.
“We have to get much tougher, much smarter, and less
politically correct,” President Trump said.
What this means is that immigration officers will very closely examine
and scrutinize all cases looking for reasons to deny. This will cause
delays in processing, and a greater percentage of denied cases.
Increased Requests for Evidence (RFEs)
When a case is being processed at USCIS, the USCIS reviewing officer examines the contents of each application determining an applicant’s eligibility. Sometimes a required document might be missing. If so, then the officer issues an RFE (request for evidence) asking for the missing item allowing the applicant 87 days to respond.
During the previous Trump Administration, USCIS issued two or three times more RFE’s than we had experienced at any prior time. Often these were for trivial reasons. The only apparent reason for such ‘nitpicking” was to cause
a systemic slowdown to all case processing.
Extreme Vetting
During the last Trump Administration, proposed Extreme Immigration Vetting, where during consulate interviews, applicants were asked to hand over their phones so that their contact list and photos could be examined by the embassy or consulate and to provide social media usernames and passwords for examination of an applicant’s private and public posts.
Proposed last time, but not put into effect then was to require applicants to provide 15 years’ worth of travel, employment and address history, up from the current 5 years, and to institute an “ideological test” on the applicant’s view of society, culture and the USA.
Stricter Public Benefits/Financial Eligibility Rules
To sponsor your Fiance, Spouse or other family member, you must demonstrate that you have adequate income so that your increased household size with the addition of your foreign partner will never need to receive government assistance, Welfare, so called Public Benefits.
In practice if you as a sponsor are currently receiving “cash” type welfare benefits, such as food stamps, or SSI, you are already ineligible to sponsor your family member.
Last time President Trump pushed to widen the definition of who was ineligible due to receiving Public Benefits. He proposed adding anyone receiving “non cash:” type welfare benefits, such as Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidy Program, and subsidized housing programs such as Section 8.
In addition to making more CURRENT recipients of public assistance ineligible, it was also proposed to exclude those who had EVER in their lives previously received such benefits. After all, the theory went “those who had needed assistance once, are more likely to need it again”.
This proposal did not pass Congressional approval last time. However, last time it was a Democratic majority Congress President Trump had to deal with.
This time is vastly different. This time President Trump is entering office with a popular mandate and Republican control of both houses of Congress. What he could not get enacted last time has a much better chance of approval this time around.
Focus on “Best and Brightest”
Similarly, proposed but failed last time were plans to change eligibility requirements to include whether a prospective immigrant has the “education, experience and health to be a successful member of US society”
Mandatory Interviews
After your fiancee has arrived on his/her K1 fiance visa, after the wedding, for your partner to remain in the USA, we apply to adjust your new spouse’s status from a visitor to a permanent resident.
Officially this process ends with an in-person interview for both you and your partner to meet with an officer who asks potentially intrusive
questions about your private lives, to assess in his opinion whether your marriage is “bona fide” or a “sham for immigration purposes”. A similar interview is held two years later for those who were issued temporary
“conditional” green cards.
The official process is, each K1 Fiance couple is interviewed twice, a CR1 Spouse couple once.
In current practice, if an application contains the evidence that the USCIS reviewer requires and convincingly demonstrates a “bona fide” relationship, often the USCIS reviewing officer, uses his discretion, reduces his/her workload, by approving the green card, outright, waiving the interview requirement.
Here at VisaCoach, it is our policy is to always “Front Load” our petitions with well chosen, good quality evidence. This has resulted in the majority of our cases having their interviews waived. At this is our client’s experience when President Trump is not in office.
President Trump’s previous executive order to USCIS instructed USCIS to never, never waive any interview. USCIS was ordeed to conduct interviews in each and every case, regardless of the officer’s opinion that an interview would be unnecessary. This executive order, when issued again, will further contribute to lengthening of USCIS processing times.
USCIS Delays and slower, processing times
The combined effect of these various executive orders of more rules, more restrictions, stricter requirements, will result in slower processing, delays and denials.
Higher Eligibility Standard for US Citizenship
During the last Trump Administration the Civics Test that a prospective citizen must pass was revised to a more rigorous exam, additional questions were added and a higher passing score required. This stricter requirement was revoked by the then Democratic Congress. Expect this order to returned, and the application process to become a US Citizen made more difficult.
Restrictions on Family-Based Immigration
A very troubling proposal is to reduce who US Citizen is allowed to sponsor to immigrate to USA. Today a US Citizen is allowed to sponsor his/her spouse and children, and also parents and siblings. The proposal being considered is to REMOVE parents and siblings from the eligibility list. If issued, no longer can a US citizen apply to bring his/her mother/father, brother or sister to immigate to the USA.
Stricter Financial Eligibility Requirements
To sponsor your family member to immigrate to USA, you are required to demonstrate your Financial Eligibility for marriage based immigration, to prove you have sufficient income, keep your family member and your household from needing any public benefits. Usually the proof required is only confirmation of employment income, by presenting Tax Returns, and Pay Stubs. Proposals have been made to also require the sponsor to demonstrate adequate financial assets as well as insurance coverage.
What can you do?
Submit Before Rules Change
If eligible for US citizenship, or residency, apply as soon as possible, preferably prior to January 20. This ensures that your case is processed under current rules and regulations.
Same applies If you are planning to apply for a fiance, spouse, son, daughter, mother, father, brother, and or sister. Get that application submitted and in process, ahead of any potential policy changes.
Strengthen your Financial Evidence
Maximize your income, while minimizing deductions on your 2024 tax return. USCIS focuses on the line on your tax return labeled “Adjusted Gross Income”. If this number is below the Financial Eligibility Requirement, you will be required to find a co-sponsor, or if unable to find one, denied your application. Find ways to maximize your “Adjusted Gross Income”. Do not “over deduct”. Save the deductions for future years after the immigration process is behind you.
Schedule Interview Before Rules Change
If you have a pending Consular or USCIS interview, try to schedule it as soon as possible, preferably to take place before January 20. This may help you avoid potential delays caused by policy changes.
Hire VisaCoach
Don’t go it alone. Seek professional guidance. There are “complicated” immigration times ahead. Allow me to personally guide you on this journey.
This was Fred Wahl, The VisaCoach,
Philippines Spouse Visa Cases Expedited
NVC Expedites Spouse Visa Cases to Manila
Spouse visa Applicants from the Philippines due to a backlog at the US Embassy in Manila caused by a higher than normal influx of cases, caused by faster processing times at USCIS, overwhelmed the consulate’s capacity to schedule interviews. This led to significant delays. In response to the backlog, the National Visa Center (NVC) decided to “expedite” cases
The normal process for a spouse visa is that one’s case is first submitted to USCIS (United States citizenship and immigration service).
USCIS reviewers process a spouse case and once satisfied, forward it to the State Department’s National Visa center (NVC).
The US sponsor then submits to NVC his or her financial documents, and the spouses civil documents and police clearances. NVC reviews these and when satisfied that the applicants documents are complete, they advise the applicants they are “documentarily qualified”.
Soon after NVC staff directly contacts the US consulate in the spouse’s country to schedule the interview.
Once the appointments confirmed, NVC transfers the cases to the foreign consulate while at the same time sending the couple an email advising them of the time and date for their consulate interview.
This is how the process should work.
But for spouse visas for Filipino beneficiaries, this system has broken down this year.
Earlier this year, I announced that USCIS had hired new staff, and due to the addition of new staff they had been processing fiancés Visa cases much more quickly than usual.
During 2023 USCIS had taken about 15 months to process a fiancé visa case, whereas with the influx of new staff many cases were approved by USCIS five times faster than previously, many in only three months!
That was good news for the applicants who had applied for fiancé visas.
But, that good news, had unintended consequences.
The speed at which USCIS pushed out cases that later ended up at consulates for their interviews virtually a year earlier than originally planned, created a log jam. Three times as many cases were now chasing the limited available interview appointment times.
A consulate that was staffed to conduct X number of cases a month, suddenly was faced with three times as many applicants asking for interviews.
And until additional manpower could be recruited and transferred from the USA, the backlog of those waiting for interviews kept piling up.
This was especially felt at the US Embassy in Manila.
This embassy is the busiest of all the US Embassies in the world.
Suddenly, with a much larger than usual influx of cases needing interviews, the consulates appointment calendar was overwhelmed.
Applicants who normally had to wait only a few months to get an appointment date. Now we’re waiting half a year and longer.
Now let’s return to NVC. Clerks of NVC reached out to the consulate in Manila asking for dates for spouse visa interviews.
Instead of being given dates, they were put on hold.
Next month the clerks now with twice as many cases on hold reached out to Manilla again to schedule the interviews and again were put on hold, rinse and repeat.
Finally, after 6 to 9 months of cases that should have departed NVC, still just piling up at NVC, awaiting an appointment date.
NVC gave up trying to coordinate with the Embassy to book appointments directly.
NVC has given up, and has decided to kick the problem over to Manila. They have cleared their pile of hundreds of backlogged cases by transferring them to the Embassy in the Philippines without waiting any longer to schedule the interview for the applicants.
Once the cases have been shipped out, NVC have emailed each couple advising them of the good news “their cases have been expedited”.
I view this as good and bad news. The bad news is the State Department’s internal communications have failed.
Routine coordination between NVC and the consulate has broken down. This is a professional management issue I hope they find a way to resolve going forward.
The good news is that for each spouse visa applicant there now is activity on the their case.
Yes, now the client is going to be battling with a scrum of other applicants all struggling to score a limited appointment time.
But at least the different type of frustration of simply having to wait and being helpless is over.
For most hearing from NVC that one’s case has been shipped to, “expedited”, to Manila is good news,
Though hearing from NVC that one has a confirmed interview date would’ve been better news.
In the meantime, Visacoach is working with our Filipino spouse visa clients, to prepare for their interviews to bring their partners home to the USA
Extreme Vetting and Visa Ban Trump
Trump 2025: Extreme Vetting and new Visa Ban
On the day that President Trump was sworn in as 47th President, He signed 25
executive orders. While he addressed many agenda items including De-weaponizing the Justice Department and Reducing Government waste, he also signed executive order 14161,”Protecting the United States from foreign terrorists and other National security and public safety threats” which will affect marriage based immigration clients, those who are hoping to sponsor their fiancees and spouses to immigrate to the USA.
On President Trumps first day in office< January 20, 2025 he signed “Protecting the United States from foreign terrorists and other National
security and public safety threats” .
During his previous term, President Trump had issued executive orders, commanding US immigration to ban nationals of certain countries from being allowed visas to the USA, the so called “Muslim Ban”, and to conduct a thorough review of the eligibility and backgrounds, of any aliens appling to enter the USA,
so called “Extreme Vetting”
When President Biden was sworn in, his first day in office, he rescinded those orders. Now on DAY 1 of President Trumps new term “Extreme Vetting” is back, and a ban on some foreign nationals is under review by the State Department and may be implemented soon.
The first section of the executive order instructs US immigration to take action in
(i) identifying countries throughout the world for which vetting and screening information is so deficient as to warrant a partial or full suspension on the admission of nationals from those countries
Under the previous Trump administratin, the following countries were affected: Eritrea, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Myanmar, Nigeria, North Korea, Somalia,Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Venezuela (government officials only) and Yemen
The State Department has been asked to identify which countries should be fully or partially banned and report this back to President Trump.
The US State Department has not officially released it’s recommendations yet, however a draft of the memo that is being prepared has been leaked.
The memo lists a total of 41 countries divided into three separate groups.
Red List: Of countries recommended for full visa suspension.
Orange List: Of countries recommended for partial suspensions
Yellow List: Of countries recommended for partial suspension, if their governments
do not make efforts to address deficiencies within 60 days
The countries on the Red list facing Full visa suspension are:
Afghanistan, Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, Yemen
The countries on the Orange list facing Partial visa suspension are:
Eritrea, Haiti, Laos, Myanmar, South Sudan
The countries on the Yellow list, also facing partial suspension, IF their governments do not address deficiencies:
Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Belarus, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Pakistan, Republic of the Congo, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, East Timor, Turkmenistan, Vanuatu
It’s unclear yet exactly what “partial suspension” of visa issuance means. It might mean only non-immigrant visas such as visitor and studant visas, and may or may not affect fiance or spouse visas.
It’s also unclear whether aliens who have already been issued visas will be affected, whether or not those with valid visas will lose permission to enter the U.S. or if already here will be required to leave.
The State Department memo has yet to be approved by the administration, including the US secretary of State, Marco Rubio,
Changes, and amendments, and the fleshing out of details are underway.For what finally will be ordered, We shall have to wait and see.
In addition to assigning the State Department their homework to make banning recommendations there are two other sections of the executive order, that have already taken affect and have begun to affect visa applications that are in process.
This is the renewal of Extreme Vetting..
The US State Department has been ordered to:
(iii) re-establish a uniform baseline for screening and vetting standards and procedures, consistent with the uniform baseline that existed on January 19, 2021, that will be used for any alien seeking a visa or immigration benefit of any kind; and
(iv) vet and screen to the maximum degree possible all aliens who intend to be admitted, enter, or are already inside the United States, particularly those aliens coming from regions or nations with identified security risks.
January 19, 2021 is noteworthy as it was the last day of President Trump’s first office. That was the last day his previous order for Extreme Vetting was in effect, until the following day when President Biden took office and immediately rescinded the order.
How “extreme vetting” worked before, was that visa applicants and travelers were subjected to to a range of invasive measures , such as requiring Applicants to
1. Hand over their phones so that contact lists and photos could be examined by embassy or consulate staff
2. Share their social media handles and passwords so that both private and public posts can be viewed.
3. Disclose their previous 15 years’ worth of travel history, employment history and addresses
4. Pass an “ideological test” on their view of society, culture and USA.
From President Trumps speech in 2023 “If you empathize with Radical Islamic terrorists and extremists, you’re DISQUALIFIED. If you want to abolish the state of Israel, you’re DISQUALIFIED. If you support Hamas or the ideology behind Hamas, you’re DISQUALIFIED. And if you’re a Communist, Marxist, or Fascist, you are DISQUALIFIED.”
What is going to happen?
Visa Banning: if it affects the country and and visa you are applying for, will put your case immediately on hold. And that hold might last as long as President Trumps current term of office lasts.
Extreme vetting: expect the application process for ALL immigration to the USA to get more complicated.The reviewers at USCIS and the State Department already have started to add more issues to review and need to make more determinations about,
The overall process will slow and we can expect eligibility requirements to be tightened, that additional and new disclosures,documentation and evidences to be required.
During processing, expect each reviewing officer to “nit pick” your case, As happened during the last Trump Administratin, many more RFE’s,(Requests for Evidence) that normally USCIS would have considered “frivolous” and not issued, will now be regularly issued.
This will cause more work for all concerned, and more delays.
While “extreme vetting” effects everyone, adding months of delays. Having your partners country banned, may add years to your case,
AOS Application Delayed ICE detains VisaCoach K1 visa client
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has just detained one of VisaCoach’s K1 Fiancee Visa Clients. She is currently being held at a Texas Detention Center facing deportation.
She married her American fiancee on time, within 90 days of arrival. They had started to work with VisaCoach on her adjustment of status application.
Unfortunately, the couple had some domestic drama. She moved out. She was living at a women’s shelter. Someone, we suppose a member of staff at the shelter got a hold of her passport, noticed she had barely overstayed her visa then called and reported her to ICE. She had been in the USA for 110 days. She had overstayed her visa by only three weeks. We have helped other clients who had overstayed for years without any fuss.
Under normal circumstances, ICE would have ignored this as being too trivial an issue. They have much bigger fish to fry with millions of undocumented aliens who illegally entered the USA.
ICE takes Action to detain and deport
But this time, ICE took action, they came to the shelter in force and picked her up. Now she is in a cage in a detention center on the border with Mexico.
Her husband (they have reconciled) is desperately trying to keep her in the USA.
Now it’s a race between adjusting her status to a lawful resident, or deportation.
Late AOS Filing better than none
We rushed to complete and submit her Adjustment of Status application. The couple’s attorney, advised that when she comes before an immigration judge for her deportation hearing, that showing proof that she was married to a US citizen and that an AOS application had been filed, might sway the judge to deny the deportation order and release her from custody.
But it may be a close race, even though USCIS has by now received her AOS petition, it is usually a few weeks, sometimes months, before USCIS confirms that the application is in process by issuing a receipt. Once the case is “in process” her immigration status changes from “overstayed” to “pending”. Under normal circumstances when an alien’s immigration status is “pending” they can lawfully remain in the USA while the case is adjudicated.
We hope that ICE does not push the case and deport her before evidence of the USCIS receipt can be presented.
ICE responds to White House Pressure
ICE appears to be responding to pressure by the Trump administration, working to detain and deport as many as they can, as quickly as they can. This action probably taken in order to provide headcount statistics to show Trump’s campaign promises on immigration are being kept.
We don’t know what is going to happen in this case. We hope things will work out, that the gal and her spouse will be reunited on this side of the wire. Maybe in a month or two we will have an answer.
What should You do?
Normally, in the past, USCIS couldn’t care less if a K1 visa traveler overstayed, as long as eventually the Adjustment of Status application was submitted. Routinely clients could be comfortable to hold off submitting their applications as late as 5 months after the 90 day expiry date of the “allowed stay”. Normal practice was that to submit within 240 days of arrival would not cause any issues.
Submit AOS within 90 days of arrival
Based on this recent experience, best practice is that clients apply much earlier, as close to the 90 day allowed stay as possible. And of course, before submitting, the foreign k1 visitor should stay close to home. Don’t go “walk about”. Don’t create an opportunity for some evil person to report an overstay to ICE.
Overstays stated on AOS application
Under the current Trump Administration a revised version of the I-485 Form was issued. A NEW question has been added. “Have you (ever) been unlawfully present in the United States”? This means that even if an overstay was a single day, the applicant must now officially report it and bring it to USCIS’s attention. The form is new, and I don’t have too many clients that overstayed, however I worry that one day USCIS may start making trouble for those who have overstayed before submitting their application for lawful residency. The latest I-485 now has their signed confession they overstayed. What USCIS may do with this is unknown but is certainly a concern.
Marry early, work on AOS early too !
My advice going forward is: You should marry as soon after arrival on the K1 fiancee visa as you can, then complete and submit your application for Adjustment of Status within the 90 days of allowed stay.
If you MUST overstay, minimize time “out of status”.
VisaCoach is available to help you prepare a strong and well documented AOS application. But REMEMBER it takes time to do things correctly. It takes time to generate valid evidence and document it.
VisaCoach ready for Fast Start on AOS
When a K1 client returns and hires us for Adjustment of Status, we already know them pretty well, so we immediately start the process off by posting at their online portal, a detailed evidence checklist on what is needed for AOS. On the same day you hire VisaCoach, you get detailed guidance and can get a running start working on the evidence that is needed. You fill out our questionnaires with updated background details and send them to us later. The sooner we start, the earlier we can submit the application while having enough time to do it “right”.
If I have news on developments of my client who is in detention, or learn of other issues with overstays and/or new issues with Adjustment of Status I will be sure to pass it on.
2025 Naturalization Civics Test Questions
Below are the test questions themselves. They have changed from the earlier set of questions. Note: that the answers about your local and National elected official is subject to change and should be verified at the time you prepare for your test.
2025 U.S. Citizenship Civics Test
AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
A: Principles of American Government
1. What is the form of government of the United States?
• Republic
• Constitution-based federal republic
• Representative democracy
2. What is the supreme law of the land? *
• (U.S.) Constitution
3. Name one thing the U.S. Constitution does.
• Forms the government
• Defines powers of government
• Defines the parts of government
• Protects the rights of the people
4. The U.S. Constitution starts with the words “We the People.” What does “We the People” mean?
• Self-government
• Popular sovereignty
• Consent of the governed
• People should govern themselves
• (Example of) social contract
5. How are changes made to the U.S. Constitution?
• Amendments
• The amendment process
6. What does the Bill of Rights protect?
• (The basic) rights of Americans
• (The basic) rights of people living in the United States
7. How many amendments does the U.S. Constitution have? *
• Twenty-seven (27)
8. Why is the Declaration of Independence important?
• It says America is free from British control.
• It says all people are created equal.
• It identifies inherent rights.
• It identifies individual freedoms.
9. What founding document said the American colonies were free from Britain?
• Declaration of Independence
10. Name two important ideas from the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.
• Equality
• Liberty
• Social contract
• Natural rights
• Limited government
• Self-government
11. The words “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” are in what founding document?
• Declaration of Independence
12. What is the economic system of the United States? *
• Capitalism
• Free market economy
13. What is the rule of law?
• Everyone must follow the law.
• Leaders must obey the law.
• Government must obey the law.
• No one is above the law.
14. Many documents influenced the U.S. Constitution. Name one.
• Declaration of Independence
• Articles of Confederation
• Federalist Papers
• Anti-Federalist Papers
• Virginia Declaration of Rights
• Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
• Mayflower Compact
• Iroquois Great Law of Peace
15. There are three branches of government. Why?
• So one part does not become too powerful
• Checks and balances
• Separation of powers
B: System of Government
16. Name the three branches of government.
• Legislative, executive, and judicial
• Congress, president, and the courts
17. The President of the United States is in charge of which branch of government?
• Executive branch
18. What part of the federal government writes laws?
• (U.S.) Congress
• (U.S. or national) legislature
• Legislative branch
19. What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?
• Senate and House (of Representatives)
20. Name one power of the U.S. Congress. *
• Writes laws
• Declares war
• Makes the federal budget
21. How many U.S. senators are there?
• One hundred (100)
22. How long is a term for a U.S. senator?
• Six (6) years
23. Who is one of your state’s U.S. senators now?
• Answers will vary. [District of Columbia residents and residents of U.S. territories should answer that D.C. (or
the territory where the applicant lives) has no U.S. senators.]
24. How many voting members are in the House of Representatives?
• Four hundred thirty-five (435)
25. How long is a term for a member of the House of Representatives?
• Two (2) years
26. Why do U.S. representatives serve shorter terms than U.S. senators?
• To more closely follow public opinion
27. How many senators does each state have?
• Two (2)
28. Why does each state have two senators?
• Equal representation (for small states)
• The Great Compromise (Connecticut Compromise)
29. Name your U.S. representative.
• Answers will vary. [Residents of territories with nonvoting Delegates or Resident Commissioners may provide
the name of that Delegate or Commissioner. Also acceptable is any statement that the territory has no (voting)
representatives in Congress.]
30. What is the name of the Speaker of the House of Representatives now? *
• Visit uscis.gov/citizenship/testupdates for the name of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
31. Who does a U.S. senator represent?
• Citizens of their state
• People of their state
32. Who elects U.S. senators?
• Citizens from their state
33. Who does a member of the House of Representatives represent?
• Citizens in their (congressional) district
• Citizens in their district
• People from their (congressional) district
• People in their district
34. Who elects members of the House of Representatives?
• Citizens from their (congressional) district
35. Some states have more representatives than other states. Why?
• (Because of) the state’s population
• (Because) they have more people
• (Because) some states have more people
36. The President of the United States is elected for how many years? *
• Four (4) years
37. The President of the United States can serve only two terms. Why?
• (Because of) the 22nd Amendment
• To keep the president from becoming too powerful
38. What is the name of the President of the United States now? *
• Visit uscis.gov/citizenship/testupdates for the name of the President of the United States.
39. What is the name of the Vice President of the United States now? *
• Visit uscis.gov/citizenship/testupdates for the name of the Vice President of the United States.
40. If the president can no longer serve, who becomes president?
• The Vice President (of the United States)
41. Name one power of the president.
• Signs bills into law
• Vetoes bills
• Enforces laws
• Commander in Chief (of the military)
• Chief diplomat
• Appoints federal judges
42. Who is Commander in Chief of the U.S. military?
• The President (of the United States)
43. Who signs bills to become laws?
• The President (of the United States)
44. Who vetoes bills? *
• The President (of the United States)
45. Who appoints federal judges?
• The President (of the United States)
46. The executive branch has many parts. Name one.
• President (of the United States)
• Cabinet
• Federal departments and agencies
47. What does the President’s Cabinet do?
• Advises the President (of the United States)
48. What are two Cabinet-level positions?
• Attorney General
• Secretary of Agriculture
• Secretary of Commerce
• Secretary of Education
• Secretary of Energy
• Secretary of Health and Human Services
• Secretary of Homeland Security
• Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
• Secretary of the Interior
• Secretary of Labor
• Secretary of State
• Secretary of Transportation
• Secretary of the Treasury
• Secretary of Veterans Affairs
• Secretary of War
• Vice-President
• Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
• Administrator of the Small Business Administration
• Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
• Director of the Office of Management and Budget
• Director of National Intelligence
• United States Trade Representative
49. Why is the Electoral College important?
• It decides who is elected president.
• It provides a compromise between the popular election of the president and congressional selection.
50. What is one part of the judicial branch?
• Supreme Court
• Federal Courts
51. What does the judicial branch do?
• Reviews laws
• Explains laws
• Resolves disputes (disagreements) about the law
• Decides if a law goes against the (U.S.) Constitution
52. What is the highest court in the United States? *
• Supreme Court
53. How many seats are on the Supreme Court?
• Nine (9)
54. How many Supreme Court justices are usually needed to decide a case?
• Five (5)
55. How long do Supreme Court justices serve?
• (For) life
• Lifetime appointment
• (Until) retirement
56. Supreme Court justices serve for life. Why?
• To be independent (of politics)
• To limit outside (political) influence
57. Who is the Chief Justice of the United States now?
• Visit uscis.gov/citizenship/testupdates for the name of the Chief Justice of the United States.
58. Name one power that is only for the federal government.
• Print paper money
• Mint coins
• Declare war
• Create an army
• Make treaties
• Set foreign policy
59. Name one power that is only for the states.
• Provide schooling and education
• Provide protection (police)
• Provide safety (fire departments)
• Give a driver’s license
• Approve zoning and land use
60. What is the purpose of the 10th Amendment?
• (It states that the) powers not given to the federal government belong to the states or to the people.
61. Who is the governor of your state now? *
• Answers will vary. [District of Columbia residents should answer that D.C. does not have a governor.]
62. What is the capital of your state?
• Answers will vary. [District of Columbia residents should answer that D.C. is not a state and does not have a
capital. Residents of U.S. territories should name the capital of the territory.]
C: Rights and Responsibilities
63. There are four amendments to the U.S. Constitution about who can vote. Describe one of them.
• Citizens eighteen (18) and older (can vote).
• You don’t have to pay (a poll tax) to vote.
• Any citizen can vote. (Women and men can vote.)
• A male citizen of any race (can vote).
64. Who can vote in federal elections, run for federal office, and serve on a jury in the United States?
• Citizens
• Citizens of the United States
• U.S. citizens
65. What are three rights of everyone living in the United States?
• Freedom of expression
• Freedom of speech
• Freedom of assembly
• Freedom to petition the government
• Freedom of religion
• The right to bear arms
66. What do we show loyalty to when we say the Pledge of Allegiance? *
• The United States
• The flag
67. Name two promises that new citizens make in the Oath of Allegiance.
• Give up loyalty to other countries
• Defend the (U.S.) Constitution
• Obey the laws of the United States
• Serve in the military (if needed)
• Serve (help, do important work for) the nation (if needed)
• Be loyal to the United States
68. How can people become United States citizens?
• Be born in the United States, under the conditions set by the 14th Amendment
• Naturalize
• Derive citizenship (under conditions set by Congress)
69. What are two examples of civic participation in the United States?
• Vote
• Run for office
• Join a political party
• Help with a campaign
• Join a civic group
• Join a community group
• Give an elected official your opinion (on an issue)
• Contact elected officials
• Support or oppose an issue or policy
• Write to a newspaper
70. What is one way Americans can serve their country?
• Vote
• Pay taxes
• Obey the law
• Serve in the military
• Run for office
• Work for local, state, or federal government
71. Why is it important to pay federal taxes?
• Required by law
• All people pay to fund the federal government
• Required by the (U.S.) Constitution (16th Amendment)
• Civic duty
72. It is important for all men age 18 through 25 to register for the Selective Service. Name one reason why.
• Required by law
• Civic duty
• Makes the draft fair, if needed
AMERICAN HISTORY
A: Colonial Period and Independence
73. The colonists came to America for many reasons. Name one.
• Freedom
• Political liberty
• Religious freedom
• Economic opportunity
• Escape persecution
74. Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived? *
• American Indians
• Native Americans
75. What group of people was taken and sold as slaves?
• Africans
• People from Africa
76. What war did the Americans fight to win independence from Britain?
• American Revolution
• The (American) Revolutionary War
• War for (American) Independence
77. Name one reason why the Americans declared independence from Britain.
• High taxes
• Taxation without representation
• British soldiers stayed in Americans’ houses (boarding, quartering)
• They did not have self-government
• Boston Massacre
• Boston Tea Party (Tea Act)
• Stamp Act
• Sugar Act
• Townshend Acts
• Intolerable (Coercive) Acts
78. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence? *
• (Thomas) Jefferson
79. When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?
• July 4, 1776
80. The American Revolution had many important events. Name one.
• (Battle of) Bunker Hill
• Declaration of Independence
• Washington Crossing the Delaware (Battle of Trenton)
• (Battle of) Saratoga
• Valley Forge (Encampment)
• (Battle of) Yorktown (British surrender at Yorktown)
81. There were 13 original states. Name five.
• New Hampshire
• Massachusetts
• Rhode Island
• Connecticut
• New York
• New Jersey
• Pennsylvania
• Delaware
• Maryland
• Virginia
• North Carolina
• South Carolina
• Georgia
82. What founding document was written in 1787?
• (U.S.) Constitution
83. The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name one of the writers.
• (James) Madison
• (Alexander) Hamilton
• (John) Jay
• Publius
84. Why were the Federalist Papers important?
• They helped people understand the (U.S.) Constitution.
• They supported passing the (U.S.) Constitution.
85. Benjamin Franklin is famous for many things. Name one.
• Founded the first free public libraries
• First Postmaster General of the United States
• Helped write the Declaration of Independence
• Inventor
• U.S. diplomat
86. George Washington is famous for many things. Name one. *
• “Father of Our Country”
• First president of the United States
• General of the Continental Army
• President of the Constitutional Convention
87. Thomas Jefferson is famous for many things. Name one.
• Writer of the Declaration of Independence
• Third president of the United States
• Doubled the size of the United States (Louisiana Purchase)
• First Secretary of State
• Founded the University of Virginia
• Writer of the Virginia Statute on Religious Freedom
88. James Madison is famous for many things. Name one.
• “Father of the Constitution”
• Fourth president of the United States
• President during the War of 1812
• One of the writers of the Federalist Papers
89. Alexander Hamilton is famous for many things. Name one.
• First Secretary of the Treasury
• One of the writers of the Federalist Papers
• Helped establish the First Bank of the United States
• Aide to General George Washington
• Member of the Continental Congress
B: 1800s
90. What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?
• Louisiana Territory
• Louisiana
91. Name one war fought by the United States in the 1800s.
• War of 1812
• Mexican-American War
• Civil War
• Spanish-American War
92. Name the U.S. war between the North and the South.
• The Civil War
93. The Civil War had many important events. Name one.
• (Battle of) Fort Sumter
• Emancipation Proclamation
• (Battle of) Vicksburg
• (Battle of) Gettysburg
• Sherman’s March
• (Surrender at) Appomattox
• (Battle of) Antietam/Sharpsburg
• Lincoln was assassinated.
94. Abraham Lincoln is famous for many things. Name one. *
• Freed the slaves (Emancipation Proclamation)
• Saved (or preserved) the Union
• Led the United States during the Civil War
• 16th president of the United States
• Delivered the Gettysburg Address
95. What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?
• Freed the slaves
• Freed slaves in the Confederacy
• Freed slaves in the Confederate states
• Freed slaves in most Southern states
96. What U.S. war ended slavery?
• The Civil War
97. What amendment says all persons born or naturalized in the United States,
and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are U.S. citizens?
• 14th Amendment
98. When did all men get the right to vote?
• After the Civil War
• During Reconstruction
• (With the) 15th Amendment
• 1870
99. Name one leader of the women’s rights movement in the 1800s.
• Susan B. Anthony
• Elizabeth Cady Stanton
• Sojourner Truth
• Harriet Tubman
• Lucretia Mott
• Lucy Stone
C: Recent American History and Other Important Historical Information
100. Name one war fought by the United States in the 1900s.
• World War I
• World War II
• Korean War
• Vietnam War
• (Persian) Gulf War
101. Why did the United States enter World War I?
• Because Germany attacked U.S. (civilian) ships
• To support the Allied Powers (England, France, Italy, and Russia)
• To oppose the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria)
102. When did all women get the right to vote?
• 1920
• After World War I
• (With the) 19th Amendment
103. What was the Great Depression?
• Longest economic recession in modern history
104. When did the Great Depression start?
• The Great Crash (1929)
• Stock market crash of 1929
105. Who was president during the Great Depression and World War II?
• (Franklin) Roosevelt
106. Why did the United States enter World War II?
• (Bombing of) Pearl Harbor
• Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor
• To support the Allied Powers (England, France, and Russia)
• To oppose the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan)
107. Dwight Eisenhower is famous for many things. Name one.
• General during World War II
• President at the end of (during) the Korean War
• 34th president of the United States
• Signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 (Created the Interstate System)
108. Who was the United States’ main rival during the Cold War?
• Soviet Union
• USSR
• Russia
109. During the Cold War, what was one main concern of the United States?
• Communism
• Nuclear war
110. Why did the United States enter the Korean War?
• To stop the spread of communism
111. Why did the United States enter the Vietnam War?
• To stop the spread of communism
112. What did the civil rights movement do?
• Fought to end racial discrimination
113. Martin Luther King, Jr. is famous for many things. Name one. *
• Fought for civil rights
• Worked for equality for all Americans
• Worked to ensure that people would “not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character”
114. Why did the United States enter the Persian Gulf War?
• To force the Iraqi military from Kuwait
115. What major event happened on September 11, 2001 in the United States? *
• Terrorists attacked the United States
• Terrorists took over two planes and crashed them into the World Trade Center in New York City
• Terrorists took over a plane and crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia
• Terrorists took over a plane originally aimed at Washington, D.C., and crashed in a field in Pennsylvania
116. Name one U.S. military conflict after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
• (Global) War on Terror
• War in Afghanistan
• War in Iraq
117. Name one American Indian tribe in the United States.
• Apache
• Blackfeet
• Cayuga
• Cherokee
• Cheyenne
• Chippewa
• Choctaw
• Creek
• Crow
• Hopi
• Huron
• Inupiat
• Lakota
• Mohawk
• Mohegan
• Navajo
• Oneida
• Onondaga
• Pueblo
• Seminole
• Seneca
• Shawnee
• Sioux
• Teton
• Tuscarora
For a complete list of tribes, please visit bia.gov.
118. Name one example of an American innovation.
• Light bulb
• Automobile (cars, internal combustion engine)
• Skyscrapers
• Airplane
• Assembly line
• Landing on the moon
• Integrated circuit (IC)
SYMBOLS AND HOLIDAYS
A: Symbols
119. What is the capital of the United States?
• Washington, D.C.
120. Where is the Statue of Liberty?
• New York (Harbor)
• Liberty Island [Also acceptable are New Jersey, near New York City, and on the Hudson (River).]
121. Why does the flag have 13 stripes? *
• (Because there were) 13 original colonies
• (Because the stripes) represent the original colonies
122. Why does the flag have 50 stars?
• (Because there is) one star for each state
• (Because) each star represents a state
• (Because there are) 50 states
123. What is the name of the national anthem?
• The Star-Spangled Banner
124. The Nation’s first motto was “E Pluribus Unum.” What does that mean?
• Out of many, one
• We all become one
B: Holidays
125. What is Independence Day?
• A holiday to celebrate U.S. independence (from Britain)
• The country’s birthday
126. Name three national U.S. holidays. *
• New Year’s Day
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
• Presidents Day (Washington’s Birthday)
• Memorial Day
• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Columbus Day
• Veterans Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Christmas Day
127. What is Memorial Day?
• A holiday to honor soldiers who died in military service
128. What is Veterans Day?
• A holiday to honor people in the (U.S.) military
• A holiday to honor people who have served (in the U.S. military)
🧾 Quick Links
✅ 2025 Naturalization Civics Test (what you need to know)
✅ 2025 US Civics Test Study Guide
