Contact Approach

b. Operating to an Airport Without Weather Reporting Service. ATC will
advise the pilot when weather is not available at the destination airport.
ATC may initiate a visual approach provided there is a reasonable
assurance
that weather at the airport is a ceiling at or above 1,000 feet and
visibility 3 miles or greater (e.g. area weather reports, PIREPs, etc.).


If it's low ATC will ask if we think we can get in visually, and if we say
yes, they issue the visual approach. There is no weather reporting there,
and they have never once asked if the field had 1000/3.

It sounds to me like the FAA heard about a solution and they tried to write
rules to define it.

In actual practice it's not that complicated. There is no radar at most of
these uncontrolled fields, and there are lots of commercial operations, and
the last thing that ATC wants is for us to fly a full approach if there is
any way to avoid it. That just stacks up the holding patterns, and it takes
forever to unwind. Then, the fuel emergencies start and everything turns
into one big mess. They want us to get in visually if at all possible, and
they wouldn't dream of preventing a visual approach if we can see the runway
enough to get in. Sometimes they even vector us around the back side of the
field at MVA to see if we can get the runway in sight.