B1/B2 Visa 221(g) Administrative Processing

[zefaster 0]

Hello... I have just found this forum and would like first of all to thank the administrators and users for all the help provided.

I live in Brazil and run my own business in the Southern city of Curitiba. I am 36 years old, married for 10 years and father of two.

Since I travel quite often (usually at least once a year) to the US, both for business and tourism, I have had a B1/B2 visa for a long time (more than 20 years), constantly renewed.

The last time I had it renewed had been in 2008, when I got a five-year term.

My wife's family has been planning a Florida vacation for Christmas and New Year since February, and, noting that my visa was due in August, I contacted the US Consulate General in Sao Paulo for the renewal procedure.

They run a CSC Visa Information Service, so for simple procedure such as mine one does not need to visit the Consulate. It is a very straightforward process, in that you schedule an appointment online, pay the fees, deliver the passport and documents physically after a short trip (an hour flight from my city) and, usually after a week, have the passport sent by courier to your home. That is what was supposed to happen to me.

I visited the CSC on Aug 8th. The window guy received the passport, stamped my documents and said "Have a nice trip. In a few days the passport will be returned to you".

A week later I did receive my passport back in a package. But without the visa. Along with it, there was a plain letter saying "RECALL. Please schedule an interview at the Consulate for continuation of the visa issuing process.", and a phone number.

New schedule. Aug 30th at the consulate. Another plane ticket. There I went again to Sao Paulo.

This time, an American Consular Officer, not a Brazilian guy like in the CSC. Things are really supposed to be different and more "official" at the Consulate, I thought. She barely spoke any Portuguese, so I told her no problem for doing the interview in English.

She was relieved and, upon checking my case on the system, stated to me: "You have a small problem. Someone has a common name with you, and this raised a red flag in our system. This will need Administrative Processing. Sorry for that. I can see here it is not you, obviously, but there are rules and we must comply with them".

Then, she gave me a leaflet printed on a yellow form, saying 221(g), and requiring additional information for my case - specifically, travel history for the past 10 years, family history, work history and school transcripts.

She returned my passport and told me that this process is simple, but could take some time. In the folder, it also states that my visa is denied while the administrative process is on.

I rushed back home and sent all the documents to the Consulate, as requested. They sent me a confirmation email of this, and nothing more.

Checking my case on the CEAC status tracker, the last update is Aug 30th - the day I visited the Consulate.

In the mean time, I got my Italian citizenship process in place (I am a direct descendant of Italians, so I have double citizenship - Brazilian and Italian) and had an Italian passport issued a few days ago.

I am wondering if I should (and could) try to register at ESTA for travel with the Visa Waiver Program.

Would it work? Am I subject to any problems upon arriving at the US? Both my wife and two daughter still don't have the Italian passport, just the Brazilian, because their citizenship processes are still under way, but they all have valid B2 visas for the US.

If not, is there anything I could do to speed up my case?

I am really becoming very disappointed with this situation and would like to hear what are my possibilities after all...

Thanks again to all and best wishes!

Jose