I contacted ARO, and they are referring me back to the embassy. However, the embassy stated that they don't have any updates or control over how long ARO takes to process requests. I even had a local congressman's office reach out to them, but they received the same response.

I’m hoping for some updates soon. The last executive order, "One Voice," signed on Feb 12, 2025 aimed to ensure strict adherence by officers and diplomats to the Trump Administration’s foreign policy vision. After taking office, Trump signed numerous executive orders, and this particular order sought to enforce compliance across the Department of State and other relevant agencies.

Additionally, the order called for revisions or a possible replacement of the Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM), which governs all aspects of U.S. foreign affairs, including visa policies and ineligibility waivers. According to the FAM website, a revision was made on February 26, 2025, under 9 FAM 305.4, regarding waiver processing. The updated clause states that all waiver applications will now follow the same evaluation procedures, and prior approvals will not influence future waiver recommendations or decisions.

"9 FAM 305.4-3(D): Each recommendation for a waiver must be made anew and independently, after considering all of the facts. You should not give undue deference or rely solely on a previous officer's decision to request a waiver. All requests must be accompanied by a supporting justification from you as the requesting official. Prior approval of a waiver does not guarantee that ARO will approve any subsequent waivers."

The summary of this revision explicitly mentions that the change aligns with executive orders issued by President Trump. This could imply two key changes:

1. Similar processing times for both first-time and repeat waiver applicants. All waiver cases will now be treated as entirely new applications.
2. Potential delays. The last known waiver approval in the dataset was recorded on February 6, 2025. Given that the revision took effect on February 26, there is a possibility of a 2-3 week delay beyond the typical 280-300 day processing timeline as we have seen from the spreadsheet.

If this pattern holds, we may expect @E2LondonMarch24 to receive the email sometimes this or next week. That would also give me hope for a decision on my own case sometime this month.

Well who really knows right?!

Same file suggest ARO have 180 - 240 days to respond to request… etc etc… no one truly knows the process unless you do it…

9 FAM 305.4-3(D) (U) Prior Waivers and Weighing the Decision to Request a Waiver

(CT:VISA-2129; 02-26-2025)

(U) Each recommendation for a waiver must be made anew and independently, after considering all of the facts. You should not give undue deference or rely solely on a previous officer's decision to request a waiver. All requests must be accompanied by a supporting justification from you as the requesting official. Prior approval of a waiver does not guarantee that ARO will approve any subsequent waivers.

This is for the officers at the embassy. So those who had their interview BEFORE Feb 26 and have already been approved for a waiver should not be affected. Those after, then yes I see a further delay. Am I reading this wrong?

The change only impacts the consular official who decides whether or not to submit a waiver request on your behalf to the ARO, and it's really just a change in emphasis. It doesn't change what the ARO does, which is to treat every request as new. Here is the same section from the previous week:


9 FAM 305.4-3(D) (U) Consistency in Requesting a Waiver

(CT:VISA-1982; 05-06-2024)

(U) You should be consistent in waiver recommendations. If another consular officer requested a waiver for an applicant in the past, you should do so for future applications, unless there is new derogatory information, a material change in the purpose of their trip, or some other change in circumstances to be considered under INA 212(a). All requests must be accompanied by a supporting justification from you as the requesting official. Consistency in recommendations does not guarantee that the ARO will approve subsequent waivers.

In that case, the most plausible explanation for the delay could be the revision of the Foreign Affairs Manual, which may have disrupted regular ARO activities the last 3 weeks. This is the most favourable case, meaning E2LondonMarch24 could receive their waiver email sometime this week. Unfortunately, with all the commotion going on at federal offices, I won’t be surprised if this delay increases further.

Sorry, that is what I meant. I paid for the express courier service.

The tracking sheet is quieter than I have ever seen before 😩

Not as quiet as it was June to September last year, when we had just one recorded email in 3 months :-(

To my absolute surprise I have received the email this morning. Hope this means all those still waiting before me get an update soon!

Congrats Steve. Happy for you.

From which email address did you receive the email this morning?

Congratulations.

Congratulations! Seems like you received the email right on cue. Good thing is that we know the ARO is active. Bad thing is that my wait is heading towards unexplored territories…

Congrats!

When I got mine, I received the following 3 emails:


Emails from [email protected]

The "follow up" and "additional documents" are basically the same message - please send your passport, following the instructions in the 3rd "courier-in instructions" email. It was not a request for any other documents other than the passport.