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,