Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Hi ​​​Roachus Maximus and welcome to the forum. Great that you found your way here as it's not easy signposting it.

If you haven't yet found the tracker spreadsheet, here is the link: NIV VISA / I-192 / ARO Waiver of Inelligibility wait times - Google Sheets I'll add a row for you, so you can see where you are relative to others.

As you will have almost certainly seen in the media, the USA has substantially tightened its immigration enforcement and policies. For those in the unfortunate position of requiring a waiver of ineligibility, one of the changes has removed the issuance of a previous waiver as a positive factor in making a recommendation for a new waiver, so if they did give you a positive response re a recommendation on the 2nd October, at least you've cleared the first hurdle.

As several in this forum would report based on recent experience, the fact that one has had several previous waivers, owns property, has a family, good income - everything necessary to demonstrate non-immigrant intent - may still not be enough to overcome even what one might consider a minor decades-old conviction under current enforcement policies.

No one here knows what's going to happen over the next year to 18 months. The current shutdown is almost certainly going to have a negative impact on processing times if it increases the backlog. As it stands, we have people in the tracker who are rapidly approaching or well over 1 year now, and the trajectory is still heading up :-(

All I can say is that August 31st 2026 looks very unlikely based on current timelines, and wish you the best of luck. Do keep us posted and we're here to offer moral support :-)

jools

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

HI Jules thanks so much for your quick and detailed response and also for adding me to your tracker, that is a great idea. Think Ill be pushing back the date for sure regrettably. When im back home from work, Ill be looking at the tracker and reading some more recent posts on here 2024 onwards so get myself back up to speed on current situation similar to mine.

Thanks again for the update Jules really appreciate it :-)

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Thanks Jools

were just trying to decipher the absolute mess of instructions that are in my online account , it’s about as clear as mud :)

really can’t understand what they want me to do with the passport and whether we’re supposed to send more documents to this mail box place?

honestly I don’t think I’ve ever read something so confusing , there’s an entire office gathered round my pc right now and not one person can figure it out

Do they want a DS-160 filling in again and sending ? I thought they already had that from last year

thanks

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Sorry for the clear typo, I mean "Jools" :-)

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Copy and paste the instructions on here? And somebody can try and help you figure it out.

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

If you’ve had the email asking for your passport for adjudication all you need to do is print out the ‘courier in’ instructions that will be attached to your email. Then take that and your passport to your nearest ‘Mail Boxes Etc’ branch and they’ll do the rest for you. They’ll ask you to fill in a simple form while you’re there and they’ll charge you about £28 but the process is pretty simple. They will have handled lots of these and so know what to expect and what’s needed etc.

Good luck 👍

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Hi Jools, also with regards too some people you mention above being rejected, does it currently appear to be more of a positive outcome (being issued a visa despite the excessive long wait times)? I know its a potentially how long is a piece of string...

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

The duration of your application doesn't appear to have much if any bearing on the likelihood of success. Some here have waited a very long time only to get an email refusing their application on the grounds of not having sufficient ties to their home country. In my case, I've waited over a year and recently been asked to send my passport in for adjudication, which sounds encouraging but others in a similar situation have (quite cruelly) still been refused at this stage. Like it or not, it seems much harder to get a waiver under the current administration and so expecting a refusal with a slim chance of success is probably the best way to look at it.

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

thanks, that’s what I’m going to do - heading up into town today to try and get it sorted , boys off school so will hit a museum or something after too to at least make a bit of a day of it

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

I'll second gentian's response!

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

thanks both gentian joolsjools

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

fingers crossed for you gentian

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Dropped passport at Holborn mail box place this afternoon , so we’ll see what goes on I guess.

Thanks

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Holding thumbs for you. The return data from September shows a range of 8-13 days from drop off to return, so hopefully you'll get something back soon.

jools

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Sent in my passport on 22/10 and just checked and noticed my status was been changed from ‘Refused’ to ‘Approved’ today. Seems I’m at the final step now so fingers crossed for an ‘Issued’ status soon.

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

No long until you hold it in your hands :-)

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Status was changed to 'Issued' today. :thumbsup:

Just goes to show folks, although it's clearly more difficult to get a waiver now, it's still possible so don't give up hope.

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Congrats! Hope to see soon some movement on the other october November cases from Embassy’s.

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

well done, I’m pleased for you as I also know exactly how tricky / frustrating this process is so it’s nice to see at least someone’s efforts rewarded :)

its all very odd as it did seem they were blanket refusing everyone all of a sudden , so I’ve no clue what’s going on behind the scenes ?

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Thanks. Yeah I was fully expecting a refusal because as you say there seemed to be a period where everyone was getting refused including people who'd had multiple waivers before. Something seems to have changed, a slight softening of policy perhaps, but we'll probably never know. But would be nice to see more people getting approved and especially those who have been approved before.

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Received it today and surprised to find they've granted me one for 5 years. Good luck to everyone still waiting.

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Congratulations.

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

In 2013 I applied for a B1/B2 visa in South Africa. admitted to previous drug use. No convictions etc. just being too honest on the application form.
Recommended for waiver and one was issued with a 1 year b1/b2 visa on my South African passport.

B1/B2 visa applied with British passport refencing my previous visa on my South African passport
Applied : 22nd August 2024.
Appointment - 9th September 2024 - London
Required further documents - ACRO Certificate sent 12th of September 2024
Recommended for waiver 7th of October 2024
No further Comms :-(
No additional documents or medical requested.
Heading for 14 months since interview.
feel free to add my stats to the spreadsheet

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Hi ​​​Stillstanding and welcome to the forum. Going from the 7th October 2024 date for the recommendation, one should hope that you'll hear something soon. There are others in the tracker from that period who are also still waiting.

I've added a row for you. Do keep us posted.

All the best,

jools

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Thanks Jools,

Been a lurker for a while here watching from the edges. I've used similar tracking methodology for UK Leave to remain and ILR so I am happy to add my timeline in the hope it helps others along the way.
The first time i did this it took about 6 months and the Visa officer in London initially said he didn't think I would need a waiver so I was rather disappointed when that came through. ( although it was what I was expecting from the beginning.)

I am wondering if there will be a way to update my information when it eventually does happen as I have changed addresses due to having bought a house and the company contact no longer works for us in the USA.

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Great to have you hear. As you can see, timescales went through the roof. As long as your email hasn't changed, you'll get the email notifications from the consulate when they finally decide to respond. If your email has changed, you need to get in touch with the consulate - hopefully others here can give you the current contact details.

jools

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Well im a bit shocked , but i got my email to go back to mail box Holborn Wednesday and today I went over there and picked up a passport with 5 year waiver.

Had completely given up on getting this a little while back so a very pleasant surprise .

thanks for all the advice and best of luck to everyone else trying to get these - maybe they’ve softened a bit again the past month ?

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Really delighted for you. All the best and enjoy your trip to the US.

jools

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Wow this is starting to take the p&ss now 13 months and still no reply and all we can do is sit and wait.

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

I really feel for you and Vicky197628 who is in a similar situation :-(

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Really hope you get soon a positive email. Frustrating to see that not much moves.

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...d27e5e7370.png
I’m not sure when this changed because I haven’t bothered looking for a couple of weeks but it’s saying last updated 11 September 25 ,but still haven’t heard anything from them so wondering what they’ve updated 😡so frustrating

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Doesn't necessarily mean there's any update (despite the wording). Just means somebody did something with your file that day, which is a good thing - means they are looking at it.

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

hopefully something else will change soon then 🫠ðŸ«

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Hi. Does anyone know if ARO was open during government shutdown and if the I 192 forms are in the same chain as the the requests from the embassy send waiver. or is it a seperate department working on it.

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

No idea if ARO was operating during the shutdown, but it is possible to say that results have been coming in over the past couple of months, both for I-192 and consular applications which would suggest their has been some staffing.

With regards to similarities between the processes, applications from I-192 claimants have been processed by the ARO for some time now, alongside consular visa applications. Whether they are in the same "queue" within the ARO is difficult to say. Based on data from the I-194 website, we can see that 2nd and subsequent applications are now being processed in under 4 months, while 1st-time I-192 applications are still taking around 11 months. This suggests that at least for I-192 Canadian claimants, there is a separate queue within the ARO.

All consular visa applications for which we have data in the spreadsheet are still averaging around 1 year for those submitted in London. We have no idea how long these are sitting in London before being sent to the ARO, but the ongoing correlation between consular and I-192 applications does suggest they may sit in the same queue within the ARO.

jools

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Thank you for the explanation jools. Let's hope we see soon more movement on embassy waivers as well.

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...34ff7cc6f.jpeg
Finally got the email ,I’m gutted 😢why make us wait so long just to say no 😩 thanks for everyone’s help on here x not sure il bother going through all this again even though I absolutely love America !

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Hi Vicky197628 so sorry that you got this result after such a long wait. It is deeply disappointing. All I can suggest is give it a few years for things to settle down in the US and try again. Lots of other places to visit in the meantime :-)

jools

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

I’m actually so disappointed 😞 I was desperate to get to New York this year as all my friends are going in December,and wanted to go back to Florida before I get too old for the rides 🤣 just don’t get this reason they are giving us for the refusal ! I’ve lived in the same home for over 20 years had the same job for 8 years and all my family are here ,nothing had changed from my last visa issued in 2018 ! And having 3 previous visas I thought I’d fly through the whole process again ,but like you say there’s a whole world out there to visit and probably cheaper too 🤣thanks again for your help and positive energy you give to everyone on here ,if I ever do try again il keep u updated 🤣