Visa approved on counter later 221g and administrative processing
 

Hi all,

I applied for B-1 visa in us embassy, London. After the interview the VO said "i go ahead and approve your visa" and he kept my passport. After 2 days i receive an email stating

Your visa application has been refused under Section 221(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, pending additional administrative processing. Section 221(g) prohibits the issuance of a visa to anyone whose application does not comply with the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act or related regulations. Additional administrative processing cannot be waived and we cannot issue a visa until the processing is complete. This review may take approximately 60 days to complete. In some cases, however, processing time is six months or longer. For U.S. immigration law purposes, including ESTA (see https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov) , this decision constitutes a denial of a visa.

followed by another email requesting additional information, which was provided same day.

The next day i received an email with tracking number for my passport, when i collected there was no visa but passport with a paper inside which has same wording as email.

I am confused if my visa has been completely refused or what, Why they returned my passport blank after approval.

How this administrative processing with 221g is different than normal administrative processing. Since 10 March 2016 there has been no update, last update on ecase system was on 15 March 2016 "Administrative processing"

I have no idea what is going on and what to expect, Please help

Thank you

Re: Visa approved on counter later 221g and administrative processing
 

Do you have an Muslim sounding name? AP is a background check that may take a while, once complete you will be asked to resubmit your passport.

Re: Visa approved on counter later 221g and administrative processing
 

Looks like the Officer was presumptive in saying that he was issuing your visa and once it was looked at further, it was decided they needed further info. They then sent back your passport because you may need it between now and when the additional admin processing period has been completed. They told you it constitutes a denial for ESTA and immigration purposes but are continuing to review. It is possible that they may issue the visa if the info you sent is helpful.

So you sent back the info they required? Did that give you any hint at what they may be concerned about? Is there something in your past that is questionable? Google 221g and see what you can find out and apply to your lifestyle. You have to wait.

Re: Visa approved on counter later 221g and administrative processing
 

If Sir_Eccle's guess is correct about the OP's name, then almost any male name, and a good number of female names, are "close enough" to a name linked to terrorist activity to warrant a detailed review of the name and the applicant to ensure that they do not present an unacceptable risk. The recent bombs in Belgium will probably stall the review process for a few weeks while any additional names are added to the database of high risk names.

Re: Visa approved on counter later 221g and administrative processing
 

Yes i do have a muslim name, information they requested has been sent. they requested the following information

Your complete travel history for the last 10-15 years, in chronological order.
The full names of any siblings, children, and/or former spouses/partners *not* already provided in your initial application.
Your residence address history for the last 10-15 years, in chronological order.
All prior passport numbers and country/countries of issuance.
All prior occupation(s), plus a brief description if necessary, for the last 10-15 years.

At the time of interview everything went fine and smooth thats why he said he is approving the visa, apart from additional info they requested i was not provided any information. I was refused visa in 2012 on 214b, although i mentioned this on DS-160 but the VO did not question me about this at all.

So what happens next?? once the AP is finished they will request the passport to be stamped??

Re: Visa approved on counter later 221g and administrative processing
 

If the visa approval is confirmed, yes. Statistically that is likely, but not certain.

The AP status could last anything from weeks to indefinite - meaning years of waiting and you still don't hear back.

Re: Visa approved on counter later 221g and administrative processing
 

Basically you wait.

Re: Visa approved on counter later 221g and administrative processing
 

You have been asked to provide very specific information. All of this information will help them determine that you are who you say you are, and not someone who has a similar name. It may take a while, but once the background checks are clear, you'll likely get the visa.

Ian

Re: Visa approved on counter later 221g and administrative processing
 

Thank you Ian and everyone :)

Re: Visa approved on counter later 221g and administrative processing
 

Dear All,

Thank you for your time and advices, i received email today to submit my passport for visa. Administrative processing is completed, just took a month.

Thank you once again.

Re: Visa approved on counter later 221g and administrative processing
 

Nice!

Rene

Re: Visa approved on counter later 221g and administrative processing
 

Congratulations!

Re: Visa approved on counter later 221g and administrative processing
 

Thanks for the update!