Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

Hi everyone, first time poster on here.

My wife is a US Citizen and we are currently residing here in the UK. We have completed all the relevant forms to emigrate to the US and had our Interview at the US embassy in London in April 2010. It has now been 6 months and my application is still in "administrative processing" (those dreaded words).

I have emailed and called the embassy both in DC and London, had a Congressman's Office follow up my inquiry but still I am in administrative processing.

Has anyone else experienced a similar situation and is there anything that can be done to find out where in the process my application is?

Any help / advice is appreciated
THanks

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

Yes, lots of people get stuck in Admin Processing, mainly if they are originally from a T-zone country or have a Muslim name.

There is no way to find out how far along you are in the Admin processing, no. It will be done whenever it's done.

Rene

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

If you are in AP normally there isn't anything anyone including Congressmen and Senators can do. It takes as long as it takes.

Why were you put in AP. Very unusual at the London Embassy for that to happen.

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

Hi there,


.. And you have NO idea why you're in AP? Surely by now you've heard of all the usual reasons.. name hit, country/family origin, (T-country connection), travel, past fraud/criminal history? I'm just throwing stuff at the wall, which is about all anyone can do.

If you've called DC, you know as much as you are going to know. They have told you 'where' you are in the process. In AP.
There's no predicting how long it can take, but 6 months out of London is longer than usual.

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

Hi guys,
Thanks for the quick responses. Unfortunately I do have a "Muhammad" in my name (middle) but dammit I am British!

I also don't have any connections to the T-zone countries as parents are originally from India but are UK Citizens.

I came across the the following page on the Department of Homeland Security website and was wondering if anyone has completed the CIS Ombudsman Case Problem form?
http://www.dhs.gov/files/programs/editorial_0497.shtm

I have gone down then Congressman route to no avail so I am hoping that contacting DHS might give me some answers or getting this process back on track.

One last thing, I have been in touch with a few attorneys in the US about this situation and they have mentioned to me that one option is to sue the FBI. A few of them have done this before and has worked worked for their clients. The problem is that this adds a possible 3-5 months to the process.

Has anyone gone down this route or completed the CIS Obudsman Case Problem Form?

THanks

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

There is nothing you can do. For the US, administrative processing is a matter of national security... and no one can speed it up, find out what's going on, or give you any reason for why! All you can do is wait... and wait.

While it's annoying and frustrating, you are fortunate to have your wife with you. Many couples are not so fortunate and have to endure many months and (sometimes) years apart due to AP. Consider yourself lucky.

Ian

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

Your process is not "off track". AP is part of the process for your particular case.

Of course you can try. If it adds a few more months to the process, it's not like you knew it would be finished any sooner than that anyway. But my guess is that they will just tell you it's in Admin Processing and they will notify you when it's complete.

It doesn't matter where you were born. If your name matches someone on a watch list, they have to do all sorts of background checks or whatever, manually, to determine that's NOT you.

Rene

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

Thanks guys for your comments. Much Appreciated!

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

what did they tell you when they approved your visa? did they gave you any time line? did they kept your passport or asked it to submit when the process is complete?

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

His visa hasn't yet been approved... so I'm not sure why you think it is. As a result, none of your other questions are relevant.

Ian

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

it goes into AP once it is through and accepted by CO, that is wat is the case with several people i know

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

It goes into AP after the visa interview. Nothing has actually been approved yet.

Rene

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

My assumption is that being British Asian is a factor, as is probably where you were born.

In this case the former being more significant than the later.

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

I had a chat with a friend who is now in the US and he mentioned to me that I could go to the US on a visiting visa (3months) and then wait for my green card there. Is this possible?

Secondly, has anyone (UK Citizen) been in AP for more than 6 months? (understanding that each applicant is different).

It is frustrating being in AP and not being able to do anything! (even those Congressman and Senators cant do anything!)

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

Please... don't confuse "accepted" and "approved". His visa is NOT yet approved.

Ian

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

You can visit.

For up to 90 days.

But you will need your visa to immigrate.

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

If you're eligible to use the VWP, you can visit the USA for up to 90 days. You aren't waiting for your green card, you're waiting for your Immigrant Visa. You'd still have to go back home and obtain your Immigrant Visa from there. Also, I have heard that if you leave your home country while AP is in progress, you will have to let them know, and it could trigger them to re-do the AP, because now you've changed your travel history. I personally wouldn't risk a visit to the USA while AP is in progress.

Rene

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

Hello...my husband who also is British with a Muslim name has been waiting for AP obmvr 6 months now. Did you get your immigrant visa finally? If so hoe long did it take? We have not seen him since Jan so he may visit us. DOS advise that AP will not be affected. Thanks.

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

I have a muslim name and had no problems at all.

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

The original thread is over 9 months old... and the guy hasn't posted since.


AP can take anywhere from a few weeks to 2 years or more. There is no way to speed it up, no way to find out where you are in the process, and no way to know how much longer it will take.


I suggest that DOS is wrong. Any trip he makes outside of the UK could trigger a new AP timeline... and he'll start all over again.

You, however, can visit him.

Ian

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

I know someone who was told they were approved at their interview Feb 2010 and as of Nov 2010 had still not heard anything. Don't know the outcome because they dropped off the message boards.
White, British male, born and raised in the UK, no travel to middle eastern countries, very English name. In those 8 months he never got a clue what the hold up was.

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

Ian, where do you get your information from?
'Could trigger AP all over again'?
Thx

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

@gnasher12 - that's good to hear but u r female so that might have helped.
We have been married 10 yrs, 2 kids, clear cut case. Hopefully it will come through soon.
The ppl who stop off the board hopefully got it within a year!

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

I meant dropped...my Droid makes my spelling so bad! :)

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

A "visiting visa" allows a stay of up to 6 months (or 180 days, I'm not sure which) at the discretion of the CBP officer who grants entry. Perhaps your friend was referring to entry under the visa waiver program? Other posters have discussed that.

You're not toing to get a green card until you leave the USA and return using an immigrant visa.

Regards, JEff

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

He wud travel on VWP with approved ESTA application. He wud come for 3 weeks and go back as he has a job and needs to collect his immigrant visa once its approved. Hopefully CBP wud not turn him back. He also has a job offer with same company in U.S. but course he can't work without the visa.

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

I'm afraid there's no such thing as a "clear cut case" when it comes to US immigration. That your husband is in AP is evidence of that.

Ian

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

It is a clear cut case, problem is with all the red tape and beaurocracy and incompetence!!

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

I remember a guy a years ago who was in AP. He had to travel to the US for business and was really upset when he was told that his absence caused a "gap" in their records and they had to redo all the background checks again. I believe he'd already been waiting 6 or 8 months at that point, and it started over again. I think it finally cleared a few months later.

Will this happen to your husband? There's no way to know... but it could.

Ian

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

Surely there should be a way to know. Are the DOS 'visa specialists' who can check his case status told me his AP woud not be affected and he cud travel while waiting lying?
It tool me exactly a day to get my visa to the u.k. They are carrying things s bit to far just via his name is so generic. It should not take months to verify he is not a criminal.

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

There is NO way to know. I have been following AP cases since 9/11. I have never seen anyone get around AP or make it shorter.

His name might match someone who is not a good person.

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

I wonder if this bad person also married a Hindu American woman and worked at the same bank for 10 year and has all the same facts as him. Everytime he visited the u.s. after 9/11 he was detained for 2 hrs. Did not take much longer to verify whether they shud let him in the country.

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

Terrorist not Criminal.

Probably.

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

[QUOTE=suomar;9510868]I wonder if this bad person also married a Hindu American woman and worked at the same bank for 10 year and has all the same facts as him. /quote]
Probably not all the same details, no. That's what they have to manually verify. That your husband is NOT the same guy as the bad guy.

Shouldn't maybe. But it does.

Rene

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

We are happy to wait and understand why they r doing it and y it takes time but come on...I guess I just need to accept I am on my own here for a while longer.

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

Probably, yes. The US Supreme Court has verified that you can not count on, as accurate, anything said to you by a US government employee. The "DOS visa specialists" don't care whether or not their advice is useful or harmful... since they can't be held accountable, and they are not the ones affected by their comments.


For the US, it's a matter of national security. It'll take as long as it takes and there is nothing you can do to speed it up, find out where you are in the process, or find out how much longer it'll take.


The checks have to be done manually... it takes time - often, a very long time.

Ian

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

Perhaps, but more likely they believe that what they are telling you is correct and they may simply not know what the correct answer is.

Either way, as Ian has explained, you can't depend on what you're told. So whether they are lying or are simply misinformed, it make no difference.

Regards, JEff

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

Another immigration lawyer who sometimes participates in this forum is amused by the word "surely" when used by a Brit. [FWIW, his husband is a Brit.]

That said, the US Immigration & Nationality Act is premised on the thought that non-US citizens cannot enter the United States until it is shown that they are qualified. Although it is not criminal procedure, think of it as "guilty until proven innocent."

As an aside, it should be remembered that Administrative Processing counts as a visa "refusal" in Department-of-State-speak. Did the number "221(g)" appear anyplace?

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

You cud say I am a brit..spent enough time there..
Whereas no 221g and the officer at the interview said everything was fine and that xx secure wud deliver his passport with visa in a week. So we booked our tickets as my job had been waiting for 6 months already. But his passport never arrived. They say they r still processing his case.

Re: Administrative Processing - 6 months!
 

Hi there!

Apologies for the delay in getting back to you, I have been super busy!

To answer your question, YES I have finally receieved my Visa!! I receieved the package and all documents in June so we are planning the move as I type.

From my experience it has been a grulling ride and you have to be persistant.

To clear a few things up. Yes you can travel to the US under AP ( have done this 3 times) and NO it doesnt trigger AP all over again.

My visa interview was in London in April 2010 and I received my visa in June 2011.

I hired a lawyer in DC which I wouldnt recommend. As desperate as you might be they are pretty much useless (they dont have a secret number, a special contact etc) better save your money. Furthermore, I think I did more chasing up than he did!

Call the DOS in DC every 3 days and ask for updates. Try and build a relationship with the person on the phone, this helped for me. I talked to a guys called Jessy and and a girl called Fiona and they were nice, knew my case inside out and sent emails to find out why the delay.

Call the 090 number that is the US embassy number, it is based in Glasgow. Ask for an update (they probably wont have any news) they will give you a email address and code which is valid for a week and email them EVERY WEEK!

You have to be consistant and demand why they delay.

Furthemore, I emailed various high profile people in the US embassy in London asking for updates which I beleive worked. (spent a good few hours researching and finding email addresses.)

Lastly, The US Embassy in London wants to get your case of their desk (of they think you are safe and genuine). The reason for the delay is DC and their system.

The only way in my expereince that you can push this forward is putting pressure on the London Embassy and phoning DC.

I started this hardcore approach in April which I believe helped the process.

If you want any more info then let me know.