Administrative Processing

[jun66 0]

Hi all,

My wife was selected in DV-2015 and her case number is around AS109XX. After reading a lot of posts here, I think we probably have a chance for interview in August or September, 2015.

Currently I am a F-1 student and my wife is H-1B worker. However, I renewed my F-1 visa recently, and I got administrative processing due to the fact that I am a PhD student in the Computer Engineering area. Some friends mentioned to me that once someone ever got administrative processing, he or she will always gets administrative processing in all of the US visa application in the future. I wonder if it is true or not. In my case, if I go for interview next year with my wife and if there is administrative processing again (usually needs additional 30~60 days), I or both of us may not be able to get the DV before the time or visa runs out. To make the thing worse, if I didn't get the DV successfully, I might not be able to continue my study since submitting DS-260 and doing CP for DV is an act of showing immigration intention.

The whole thing makes me very worried, and I would appreciate any advice very much. I wonder if I should submit DS-260 with my wife or just let her apply without me (not sure if it is possible). If I should, when to submit would be a better strategy?

Thank you so much.

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

I don't understand why your field of study puts you in AP? Can you be more specific?

I would say no, being in AP once does not mean you will always be. AP, especially if it's long, is often due to a stringent background check. Once it's checked they don't need to do it again the next time....

You can let your wife apply without you but she must still cite you on the form, even if she checks the box that you won't be applying. However, as you will be in the US already on an F1, I would be almost certain that the situation would be questioned. It would look very strange to them. And I doubt they would summarily withdraw a student visa halfway through a PhD if you failed to get to interview. And if they were going to do that they could equally do it because your wife is now a permanent resident and they have to question your immigrant intent that way. By the way there have been cases in the past where one spouse gets put on AP and the other not, and I have heard they offer the non-AP spouse if they want to get the visa immediately or wait for the spouse. So all in all I don't see the point in not applying with your wife.

[jun66 0]

Thank you so much, Susie.

I actually don't understand why they put me in AP. My area is wireless network, which should be a pretty safe area. During the interview, the officer just asked me to hand in my CV, and I even prepared a letter from my advisor that stated the details of my research. The officer didn't let me know the reason why he put me in AP.

Even though I am not really in a sensitive area, I am worried since I have one friend who gets AP every time and his area is not sensitive either. I searched online in the local forums, and some people mentioned that they tend to give AP to people who had gotten AP before since it is an evidence that the previous interviewer decided the interviewee's background needed to be checked. I am not sure if the case will be different between DV and other non-immigration visas.

Thank you so much for the advice.

Edited May 17, 2014 by jun66