The Giumarelli-Metivier Letter
By: Krishni Metivier
Tags: Policy, Immigration, Covid 19, Advocacy, Travel

The Giumarelli-Metivier Letter

The Impact of International Travel Bans on K-1 Visa Applicants and Unmarried Bi-national Couples Krishni Metivier Feb 8·14 min read

Dear President Biden, Vice President Harris and the Biden-Harris Administration,

We are hopeful and excited to be writing to you as the newly elected leaders of our nation. We, representing both unmarried bi-national couples in committed relationships and K-1 visa applicants, have endured severe disruption and burdens to our essential and intimate familial relationships due to the international travel bans previously adopted through the Trump administration’s Proclamations 9984, 9992, 9993, 9996, and 10041 and your administration’s Proclamation 10143 (henceforth the “Geographical COVID-19 Proclamations”).[1] Understanding the gravity of the pandemic and giving all medical advisories the utmost regard, and assuming your administration chooses to maintain the Geographical COVID-19 Proclamations or implement additional future pandemic-related travel restrictions (in either case, each a “Proclamation”), we are writing to kindly request your administration’s assistance with:

(i) (a) creating a humanitarian travel exemption for unmarried bi-national couples in each and any current and future Proclamation, allowing foreign partners of United States (“U.S.”) citizens and foreign nationals legally residing in the U.S. to travel directly to the U.S. for the purposes of reuniting for a definite period of time, subject to COVID-19 safety measures, and (b) giving explicit permission for non-ESTA eligible foreign partners to use this exemption with a tourist (B-2) visa;[2] and (ii) (a) creating an explicit exemption for K-1 visa recipients (i.e. fiancé(e)s of U.S. citizens) in each and any current and future Proclamation, and (b) in accordance with current U.S. law,[3] providing explicit guidance to U.S. Embassies to immediately resume the adjudication and issuance of K-1 visas for fiancé(e)s of U.S. citizens that have been impacted[4] by the Geographical COVID-19 Proclamations.

We urgently request safe humanitarian travel exemptions to address the irreparable harms, familial life disruptions, financial burdens, and psychological stresses endured by separated bi-national couples. Through the adoption of action item (i), your administration would join the company of many European countries,[5] including but not limited to the Kingdom of Denmark,[6] Austria,[7] the Czech Republic,[8] Germany,[9] the Netherlands,[10] France,[11] Switzerland,[12] Belgium,[13] Norway,[14] and Iceland.[15] Through the adoption of action item (ii)(a), your administration would provide relief for thousands of engaged couples wishing to reunite and move forward with their marriages. Additionally, we advocate for action item (ii)(b), as it is our understanding of the law that U.S. Embassies cannot rely on the Geographical COVID-19 Proclamations as a defense for suspending the processing of K-1 visas.[16] In connection with this letter, we have created a research annex to further support our action items (the “Annex”).[17] Please see Section II and Section V (ii)(b) of the Annex for a full discussion on the U.S. District Court of Washington D.C.’s ruling in Milligan v. Pompeo.[18]

In Milligan v. Pompeo, the court enjoined the U.S. Department of State from relying on the Geographical COVID-19 Proclamations to suspend the processing of K-1 visas for a small group of plaintiffs.[19] The court elegantly summarized the irreparable harms faced by its plaintiffs, including “financial and emotional strains”, “uncertainty regarding [. . .] their futures”, “miss[ing] significant life events”, separation from their children, concerns with aging and fertility, and the inability to “plan their lives [. . .] [and] weddings” or “support one another through everything from pregnancies to cancer.”[20] As discussed below, these harms are shared among non-plaintiff K-1 visas applicants and bi-national unmarried couples generally, and it is our belief that these groups deserve equal protection under the law.

The impact of indefinitely separating bi-national couples during the pandemic has been monumental. As separated bi-national couples, we have joined together through large online communities, such as the “Love Is Not Tourism” and “Couples Separated by Travel Bans” Facebook groups,[21] that collectively make up a global grassroots movement that has garnered attention from independent news outlets and world leaders.[22] Through these communities, the Love Is Not Tourism Community Survey Report was conducted to assess the impact of international travel bans on unmarried bi-national couples (the “Survey”).[23] The Survey states that respondents reported spending, on average, 9.25 months (37 weeks) separated from their partners, with 50% having not met with their partners since the pandemic began.[24] The lost time with their partners has resulted in distinct irreparable losses.[25] Parents have missed the birth of their children while kept abroad.[26] Partners have passed away while being denied reunification.[27] Aging and ill partners fear their diminishing ability to implement critical life plans together, including marriage, moving in together and having children.[28] The Survey respondents frequently responded “devastated,” “depressed,” “hopeless” and “heartbroken” to describe their feelings on being separated from their partner or family.[29] This is in accordance with hundreds of online personal testimonies of partners suffering mental health declines.[30] Furthermore, a subset of Survey participants reported spending a combined total of $968,717 USD, so far, in efforts to reunite with their partners.[31] Based on the average expenses incurred per person ($3,447), the largest online community of separated bi-national couples (with over 43,000 members) may be estimated to have spent $148 million USD in efforts to reunite with loved ones last year.[32] This is money that could be redirected or invested into U.S. communities and businesses. Please see Annex Section IV for a full discussion on the Survey and Section V for examples of personal cases.[33]

We hope that your administration shares our view that fiancé(e)s and unmarried bi-national couples in durable relationships are indeed committed partners of U.S. citizens, and therefore should be exempt from the current Geographical COVID-19 Proclamations or any future international travel bans your administration chooses to enforce. It is our perspective that couples who are in partnerships that are currently not confirmed by a marriage certificate are not inherently less valuable, important, or meaningful than an institutionally recognized partnership.[34] Marriage is not an easy or simple solution to our current separation. Some marginalized communities, such as the LGBTQ community, struggle to have their relationships recognized and do not always have the option to marry abroad.[35] Therefore, they rely on the U.S. as a safe-haven to reunite with their partners.[36] Additionally, bi-national couples need reliable opportunities to reunite in person to reach critical relationship milestones, such as deciding whether they wish to pursue a fiancé(e) or spouse visa. Finally, many couples are currently unable to meet in order to marry because of pandemic-related international travel restrictions. Furthermore, currently engaged couples with stalled K-1 visas, for example, are forced to weigh whether it will take less time for the U.S. Embassies and Consulates to begin reprocessing their visas or for the U.S. government to process an entirely new spousal visa application. These factors have informed the humanitarian travel exemptions recommended in our action items.

We recognize that your administration has dedicated significant resources to studying and creating a safety plan for COVID-19. While we defer to the expertise of those medical professionals serving your administration, we do wish to demonstrate that creating humanitarian travel exemptions for K-1 visas recipients and for bi-national couples, together with required safety protocols, would present a minimal risk for disease transmission. Please see Section I of the Annex for a full discussion on this point.[37] We recognize that we cannot speak on behalf of all individuals impacted by the Geographical COVID-19 Proclamations. We wish to emphasize, however, that we sincerely appreciate and understand the severity of this unprecedented global pandemic. As the Survey report indicates, we are a group with an extremely high willingness to comply with COVID-19 safety protocols, more so than the general U.S. population.[38] We respect and welcome any safety protocols that your administration may require for K-1 visa recipients and unmarried bi-national couples to enter into the U.S., including COVID-19 testing upon departure and arrival, mandatory quarantining (subject to check-ins and fines), social distancing, mask mandates in public, submitting quarantine locater documents and vaccinations once they are widely available to the general public.

While European leaders have publicly supported travel exemptions to reunite bi-national couples,[39] we have been disappointed to find a lack of support from our U.S. government officials and the previous presidential administration. As the U.S. continues to welcome professional athletes and diplomats to travel to the U.S.,[40] we are left wondering when we will be allowed to meet our loved ones again. As your team works to create a comprehensive plan to address the COVID-19 pandemic, we kindly request that your administration implement the action items outlined above, subject to your recommended safety protocols, as humanitarian relief for our families. We understand and assume that there are a number of important issues on your administration’s agenda related to protecting our democracy and domestic security. We respect these issues and humbly ask that you include our requests among these priorities as you enter office. Thank you for your time and consideration. We welcome any questions and further dialogue as your constituents.

Sincerely,

Ariel Vita Giumarelli, Esq.*

J.D., Harvard Law School

Krishni Metivier*

PhD Candidate, Duke University