24 Apr 2008

My wife and I have just encountered a situation that I have not yet heard nor have I read on visa journey. We had our final interview on the 23rd of April. The interview and questions went fine, but this is where it becomes extremely nerve racking. My wife is a Russian national and we are married and living in Bangkok for the past year and a half. Our I-130 was approved in Bangkok and were given all our paperwork for our final interview at the embassy in Bangkok. After the interview the officer stated to my wife that everything is fine with her paperwork and her proof of relationship. Everything is ok, but the fact that she is Russian and filing out of Thailand makes it an issue for him to issue the visa right away. He handed us a paper of refusal indicating other "Administrative Processing". He then assured me that we will get the visa though we will have to wait for a week so it is cleared through Washington. He said that they will be in contact with us in a week. If all the paperwork is perfect and there is no dobt that my wife and I have a legitimate longstanding relationship, can we possibly be denied? Doesn't that violate my civil rights as a US citizen? Doesn't the fact that homeland security approved our petition in Bangkok give us the right to file there? What if "Washington" says no? How is he going to contact us? Has anyone heard of such a thing happening before? After the interview I spoke with him and he assured me that everything will be ok, but my wife and I feel very insecure. This process is so expensive, time consuming, and unpleasant in itself. Hanging another week or more while they get a green light on a perfect application is very disheartening. He mentioned that it is simply because of her Russian nationality. I have read many accounts of DCF's without any such problems. I welcome any and all comments or advice to this topic. I will write the embassy tomorrow indicating the process and situation.

Administrative processing can mean a number of things. It could be that he really just has to validate a few facts and then the visa will be issued. Right now, I would try to remain confident that he is telling the truth and the visa will be issued this week. They would probably either call you or send by post a response.

If I were you, I would not send an inquiry at least until the week is up--since that was the indicated time frame. There are methods of getting answers, but those are all VERY premature at this point. Be calm and enjoy the fact that you are together. It is only a matter of time until everything will be reconciled. Just look at the last few days, there have been a few others in the same type of situation where their visa was just delayed a couple of days.

As for your "civil rights" as a USC; they don't feel they are doing anything wrong. Their line is "protecting the U.S." My husband was in AP for more than 7 months to validate a divorce certificate. Some people here have been waiting years while separated. This is not the case in your AP, yours sounds MUCH more simple.

Let us know what happens, good luck :-)

Thank you very much for your response. We are trying to keep everything in perspective but after reading all the horror stories about "administrative processing" we have our worries. I did write to the embassy last night as I was advised by an attorney to do so immediately so they have and we have a record of correspondents. My letter was factual and stated that we will happilly supply any form of additional paperwork if need be. I also quoted what the CO said to me personally. I voiced my concern as to how and when we will be contacted and updated my contact info just in case. I think that a letter of this sort should not at all be damaging. I said that the interview was fine and the CO was very polite, but I also quoted his guarantee to me. I hope you are right regarding our case and it will only take a weeks time. I really appreciate your response and I am sorry that you had to endure these problems for 7 months. If you have any further insight on the situtaion I would kindly appreciate it. Thank you

I remember that the CO told my husband that his additional security checks would take less than 2 weeks' (10 business days), and it took almost two months. It seems that the CO is often more optimistic with their time lines. I really hope that your processing takes only a week-that would be lovely! But, be mentally prepared for a bit longer. It sounds like they want to do some document verification, and if the CO told you that he thinks the visa will be issued then it usually is the case. If your wife is in a 'technology' field (i.e. natural sciences or engineering etc), then IM me and we can talk about additional papers you can offer to the CO.

BTW: Did the CO keep your wife's passport? If so, that is a good indication that your AP will be short!

Thank you for your response. No my wife actually works for my company which is in import and distribution. I just do not see the issue of her work because she can equally just be my wife and do nothing. Does her work really have anything to do with the application?He actually handed her passport back, is that bad? I am falling apart lol... I just dont believe that it will be resolved in a week either especially when I heard the word Washington... Could he be lying to me? Can Washington reject our perfect application? I truly appreciate your support..thank you

LadyJane was just letting you know that there are tons of reasons, big or small that can put you in AP for a short period of time.

A lot of people get it for name checks, her husband got it just for his profession.

Yours sounds like it was just because of Nationalities and varied consulates. It could be that they just want to confirm that a certain document that came from her home country is typical and the accepted document for that country.

My husband was on for a divorce certificate from his home country that they did not know how to recognize. It could be something as simple as that for your wife. . .like a birth cert or police certificate.

Please be calm, it has only been two days. You two are still living together right now, right?

We just received an email from the embassy today stating the following: "Thank you for your inquiry. There aren’t any problems with this case. We are awaiting a response from Washington (DHS). It is normal processing for a case that the applicant is a Russian national. We are only awaiting Washington’s response at this point which may take some weeks. We will be in touch with you once the visa is ready for pick up." One week has now become some weeks. I have read in prior posts that applications are returned to DOS or USCIS not DHS, but then again I am a novice. Is anyone familiar with the procedures in DHS Washington regarding applications? Time frames? Thank you

It still sounds like your case is still going to be one of the shorter ones for AP, but no one can really say for sure. It sounds like they are trying to reassure you. The place you can keep checking is the 202 number for the DOS, they will let you know that it is complete more quickly than the consulate because you get an actual operator on the phone.

What DHS would normally do in this type of case is check the applicant's background, make sure that everything is in order. My husband was applying through his home consulate in Canada, but had documents from another consulate's area and thus was checked out more thoroughly. . .this is probably your situation as well.

Are the two of you currently living together?

If it takes more than four weeks or so, you could try getting your liaison involved. The situation here is that DHS does not have to tell you why or how long a check will take. They don't have to tell your liaison either. The good thing here is that you know it is not for something suspicious, but just for "nationality" reasons. The times vary greatly from consulate to consulate. . .you could try to check on the consulate specific section of this site and see how long AP's through the "home" consulate are taking.

Thank you for your response, I really appreciate the support. Yes my wife and I are living together. I hope you are right and we will be cleared shortly. I am not quite sure what you mean by getting a liason envolved because I certainly do not have one. If it will help I will surely get one. When do you think it will be appropriate to get my congressman envolved? What if work takes us to a different country while this process is pending? If you have any insight please let me know. I see that we are the only people on this sight that are filing from a third country. So it is hard to get accurate timelines. Non the less we are trying to stay optimistic contrary to the horror stories that I have read. Thanks Again

The liaison is just what they call the person from you Congressman/Senator's office who you actually speak to and deal with. I would say you should wait at least four weeks from the date of the interview to get your liaison involved. You can wait longer if you want. Remember that a lot of time they give the same information as the 202 number for DOS.

There are options if work takes you to another country--none of them particularly easy. You will need to keep the consulate informed of where you are and how to contact you. Hopefully they will be finished beforehand because they still have her passport, right? Otherwise, you will need to email them to get the passport back and they will have to tell you how you can get the visa. It may involve returning to the same consulate to submit the passport again or they might be sticklers for the rules and make you transfer the case to a new consulate (I wouldn't foresee this one.)

I am still confident based on the information you've given that this is just a formality and that within a few weeks the visa will be issued especially since they kept the passport.

Thank you for your response, actually they DID NOT keep her passport that is why I am worried. But I really hope you are right and the CO was not misleading us when he said everything will be fine and relatively quick....he said a week but obviously he was exagerating. Is it a bad sign that they did not keep her passport? It has been exactly two weeks since our interview. I suppose I will give it another two weeks before I contact my congressman. Perhaps I will call DOS in a week as you suggested. Should I attempt to speak with a higher official within the embassy? Thank you once again.

In my limited experience with the consulates you will not be allowed to "speak" with anyone "higher up." After a CONSIDERABLE passage of time, it is sometimes beneficial to address a letter to the Consul General or whoever is over the consulate or embassy you are working with, however, at this stage, it really would not help and in my opinion--take it with a grain of salt--could actually cause you to seem a "bother." The liaison is really the way to go. The consulate really doesn't have anything to do with the process once DHS is involved in doing clearances. The consulate quite literally cannot do anything until they are cleared to by DHS.

These things do take time. I am sorry for the worry it is causing you.

I think you are being a bit extreme. You have said that the Consulate Officer stated everything was fine with your petition. That in itself is a good sign. That only your paperwork is undergoing ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESSING in Washington. ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESSING is performed on all applications. Yours, mine and others. It is to prevent terrorists and criminals getting into the US. So if your wife is not a terrorist or criminal, you should be fine and not denied on AP.

The fact that you may have to wait a week is a mere pittance compared to others who waits months and months for ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESSING. So please don't complain. You should be jumping for joy if it turns out to be only 1 week waiting.

I believe the OP and all of us have as much right to complain and vent about our own processes. We are paying our fees, doing the legwork, and it is upsetting.

To the OP: I hope this gets resolved soon. We did DCF through Montreal and I am a Mexican national; and we didn't have any issues. Sending you good vibes.

Ya we all who opened up the door of our visa journies have the right to complain...its just we gett a bit to hot n bothered the first coupla weeks then about the 6th months get pretty numb and realize that one week...heck even 4 months is a pure blessing...I getch Nutty. To the OP. as Nutty has said, "Washington" will not deny unless ur wife is a full frontal terrosist and usally terrorists dont apply for this kinda visa knowing theyll be caught obviously shes not one so she will be fine. Don't worry. I know the wait is hard but you have people in middle east waiting 14 months.

Dear Len and Bren,

Well, of course it ok to vent frustrations....But if the original poster would do a little research on this board they would realize 1 week is not long waiting for AP to clear. What I think is extreme is to write a letter to complain about waiting for 1 week.

I think he's just worried Nutty. . .I think we're all like that in the first weeks. . .for me after six months I was ready to jump off a bridge. . .

Lucky for him, his case looks like a short one.

VISA RECEIVED!!!!!!! Thank you all for your support.

Congratulations! See!?