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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

Thanks guys for your comments. Much Appreciated!

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?

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

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

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

Rene

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.

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!)

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

Ian