221g 221G -- Re-Interview?

[Vik1992 12]

Hi VJ Family, 

 

First off, I would like to thank each and everyone of you for sharing your stories, and giving the best advice -- if it was not for you guys, my process would have been more difficult. Thank you from the bottom of my heart! 

 

Secondly, I do apologize in advance, as my story might get long. Please bear with me.

 

I have been going back and forth for the past week, contemplating whether or not to share my story. Today, I woke up and finally decided to share my journey in hopes of receiving sound advice and possibly helping others who are going through / will go through this issue. 

 

Petitioner & Beneficiary Background

I am a US Citizen and my wife is from India. My wife's family and my family have been very good friends for the past 30 - 40 years. As a result of the good friendship, I met my wife through my grandfather and wife's father / now my father in law. 

 

My wife and I are a mere 4 years apart in age (I am older). We are from the same caste/ community. We have the same religious background. My father and my father in law even went to school together when they were young. Our families definitely approve and support our relationship. That being said, as close as both of our families are, we are not related and did not get married for immigration purposes. 

 

My wife and I have always known about each other, but never in a million years would have imagined getting married to one another. We started "talking" in September 2017 and we decided to meet in person and got married in December 2017. I knew she was the one -- we just hit it off from the moment we met. This registered wedding was small and intimate -- around 250 attendees. (Side note: This past December 2018, we had a reception and day of rituals, since all of my friends and family were in India. This event was just a celebration. This date was not mentioned anywhere, like on social media or during the interview.)

 

Yes, I did marry her upon my first visit, in India, to see her.  In my defense, that is how arranged marriages work (or I think?) Everything happened so fast, and I knew if I would have not married her then, I would have lost a great girl and someone else would have swept her off her feet. 

 

Employment & Education

Currently, I am employed and have a steady job. I make just a tad bit over the poverty limit for 2 people. I used my parents as household members for that extra little push in the Affidavit of Support portion. I had all the paperwork necessary and it passed the NVC stage. Financials were not brought up during the interview. So, I do not believe this was a cause for concern for the CO during the interview. 

 

My wife is currently studying Pharmacy at her local college. This got me thinking... since Pharmacy is on the TAL list, could this possibly be a red flag? or just overthinking on my part?

 

Travel

In the 15 months we have been married, I have visited my wife 2 times and have spent an average of 30 days with her each visit. I have boarding passes/ itineraries/ pictures from each trip. All of our travel is well documented. 

 

However, we have yet not had a chance to go on a honeymoon, since I have always had to attend family and friend's weddings and my wife cannot take much time away from school. Do you think us not going on a honey could be a red flag? 

 

Interview Process

March 4, 2019 : According to my wife, the interview process was smooth. Albeit, she was quite nervous. They had asked her a total of 15 questions, which covered the topics below: 

• Who is the petitioner?
• Where does the petitioner live?
• Who does the petitioner live with? 
• Did you have a love or arranged marriage? 
• What was the date of your wedding? (CO asked this question twice, and had her retake the oath for the second time)
• Asked if we had any pictures from our wedding? Wife had to explain who each person in the picture was and their relationship to her.
• Few questions about petitioner's siblings, nephew, and grand father
• Do you have any family in the US? Where do they live?
• When and if you go to the US, will you live with your husband? or your sister?
• What is your mother's maiden name?
• What are you plans if you reach the US?
   

We had plenty of other evidence on hand, such as chat logs, call logs, money transfers, gift receipts, affidavits from friends and family, hotel receipts, social media posts, other photos of our relationship, etc. but the CO did not ask for anything other that wedding photos. 

 

Interview Result

Upon finishing her interview, my wife was handed a white 221G letter stating that our file is incomplete and our visa application has been refused. The letter also went on to mention the case is currently under administrative processing and we would need to re-interview. I have attached the 221G letter for your review.

 

My wife was quite surprised to hear this. She thought the CO liked her answers and was happy when looking at the wedding photos. What caught my attention about the letter was, the CO asked for a re-interview when we are ready, but there was no verbal or written reason for denial. Usually with 221G's, I have seen them ask for additional documents or actually give a reason for denial. Has anyone ever dealt with this before? or seen a letter like this? 

 

I have contacted the embassy in regards to this matter. The consulate's reply was pretty generic and just stated, "be patient as it could take 60 days to resolve" 

 

In conclusion

Everything seems so great, but it has been a rough journey to say the least. 

 

In my eyes, our entire process is pretty normal and happens on a daily basis in India. But I have no idea why the CO would hand us a 221G with re-interview on it without mentioning why. Again, has anyone dealt with this before? Or can provide me with any information on what to do next? Should I start preparing anything? 

 

I understand waiting for the Embassy/ CO/ Consulate to give an answer is our only option right now. But, I am going crazy and overthinking the whole situation. Please HELP!!

[Rimha 10]

We’re going through the same situation. They asked for more wedding photos and handed me 221g although I showed him the wedding photo album but still he wasn’t convinced. Neither he didn’t ask for any other documents like my husband’s tax returns or affidavit of support etc. 

We are in shock we prepared everything before interview. May be I have some biomedical educational background which is threatening their securities. Why don’t they understand we are just wishing to meet and live with our loved one?? 

After two days we uploaded more pictures on Ceac and mail them through AEG as well but we’re still in Ap as today marks the 12th day and we got total 4 updates. 

Please pray everyone and give some advice that would help!!

[Vik1992 12]

4 hours ago, Rimha said:

We’re going through the same situation. They asked for more wedding photos and handed me 221g although I showed him the wedding photo album but still he wasn’t convinced. Neither he didn’t ask for any other documents like my husband’s tax returns or affidavit of support etc. 

We are in shock we prepared everything before interview. May be I have some biomedical educational background which is threatening their securities. Why don’t they understand we are just wishing to meet and live with our loved one?? 

After two days we uploaded more pictures on Ceac and mail them through AEG as well but we’re still in Ap as today marks the 12th day and we got total 4 updates. 

Please pray everyone and give some advice that would help!!

Hi Rimha,

 

Like you, I am also on Day 12 of AP, with no end in sight. I have yet to receive any updates.

 

I am sorry you are going through this. The CO only asked my wife a series of question, asked for wedding photos and none of the AOS items. I was quite shocked to hear we got a 221G and were asked to re-interview, because I thought we were over prepared. :/ 

 

I get it; It is their job, and they are protecting the individual and the citizens of the US, but it is difficult being so far away from our loved one. You are fortunate that they asked for more documentation. In my case, nothing was said/explained or nothing more was asked. Therefore, our situation is a bit scarier. 

 

Please do stay in contact and let me know how you case unfolds. Prayers  and positive thoughts for both of us. 

[SalishSea 16,764]

On 3/10/2019 at 10:17 PM, Vik1992 said:

Hi VJ Family, 

 

First off, I would like to thank each and everyone of you for sharing your stories, and giving the best advice -- if it was not for you guys, my process would have been more difficult. Thank you from the bottom of my heart! 

 

Secondly, I do apologize in advance, as my story might get long. Please bear with me.

 

I have been going back and forth for the past week, contemplating whether or not to share my story. Today, I woke up and finally decided to share my journey in hopes of receiving sound advice and possibly helping others who are going through / will go through this issue. 

 

Petitioner & Beneficiary Background

I am a US Citizen and my wife is from India. My wife's family and my family have been very good friends for the past 30 - 40 years. As a result of the good friendship, I met my wife through my grandfather and wife's father / now my father in law. 

 

My wife and I are a mere 4 years apart in age (I am older). We are from the same caste/ community. We have the same religious background. My father and my father in law even went to school together when they were young. Our families definitely approve and support our relationship. That being said, as close as both of our families are, we are not related and did not get married for immigration purposes. 

 

My wife and I have always known about each other, but never in a million years would have imagined getting married to one another. We started "talking" in September 2017 and we decided to meet in person and got married in December 2017. I knew she was the one -- we just hit it off from the moment we met. This registered wedding was small and intimate -- around 250 attendees. (Side note: This past December 2018, we had a reception and day of rituals, since all of my friends and family were in India. This event was just a celebration. This date was not mentioned anywhere, like on social media or during the interview.)

 

Yes, I did marry her upon my first visit, in India, to see her.  In my defense, that is how arranged marriages work (or I think?) Everything happened so fast, and I knew if I would have not married her then, I would have lost a great girl and someone else would have swept her off her feet. 

 

Employment & Education

Currently, I am employed and have a steady job. I make just a tad bit over the poverty limit for 2 people. I used my parents as household members for that extra little push in the Affidavit of Support portion. I had all the paperwork necessary and it passed the NVC stage. Financials were not brought up during the interview. So, I do not believe this was a cause for concern for the CO during the interview. 

 

My wife is currently studying Pharmacy at her local college. This got me thinking... since Pharmacy is on the TAL list, could this possibly be a red flag? or just overthinking on my part?

 

Travel

In the 15 months we have been married, I have visited my wife 2 times and have spent an average of 30 days with her each visit. I have boarding passes/ itineraries/ pictures from each trip. All of our travel is well documented. 

 

However, we have yet not had a chance to go on a honeymoon, since I have always had to attend family and friend's weddings and my wife cannot take much time away from school. Do you think us not going on a honey could be a red flag? 

 

Interview Process

March 4, 2019 : According to my wife, the interview process was smooth. Albeit, she was quite nervous. They had asked her a total of 15 questions, which covered the topics below: 

• Who is the petitioner?
• Where does the petitioner live?
• Who does the petitioner live with? 
• Did you have a love or arranged marriage? 
• What was the date of your wedding? (CO asked this question twice, and had her retake the oath for the second time)
• Asked if we had any pictures from our wedding? Wife had to explain who each person in the picture was and their relationship to her.
• Few questions about petitioner's siblings, nephew, and grand father
• Do you have any family in the US? Where do they live?
• When and if you go to the US, will you live with your husband? or your sister?
• What is your mother's maiden name?
• What are you plans if you reach the US?
   

We had plenty of other evidence on hand, such as chat logs, call logs, money transfers, gift receipts, affidavits from friends and family, hotel receipts, social media posts, other photos of our relationship, etc. but the CO did not ask for anything other that wedding photos. 

 

Interview Result

Upon finishing her interview, my wife was handed a white 221G letter stating that our file is incomplete and our visa application has been refused. The letter also went on to mention the case is currently under administrative processing and we would need to re-interview. I have attached the 221G letter for your review.

 

My wife was quite surprised to hear this. She thought the CO liked her answers and was happy when looking at the wedding photos. What caught my attention about the letter was, the CO asked for a re-interview when we are ready, but there was no verbal or written reason for denial. Usually with 221G's, I have seen them ask for additional documents or actually give a reason for denial. Has anyone ever dealt with this before? or seen a letter like this? 

 

I have contacted the embassy in regards to this matter. The consulate's reply was pretty generic and just stated, "be patient as it could take 60 days to resolve" 

 

In conclusion

Everything seems so great, but it has been a rough journey to say the least. 

 

In my eyes, our entire process is pretty normal and happens on a daily basis in India. But I have no idea why the CO would hand us a 221G with re-interview on it without mentioning why. Again, has anyone dealt with this before? Or can provide me with any information on what to do next? Should I start preparing anything? 

 

I understand waiting for the Embassy/ CO/ Consulate to give an answer is our only option right now. But, I am going crazy and overthinking the whole situation. Please HELP!!

Rather than the pharmacy background, I would think your primary red flags would be your families knowing each other for many years, even if it is not really an arranged marriage.

 

In other words, I would think they are examining your case through the lens of fraud rather than security.

[Vik1992 12]

2 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

Rather than the pharmacy background, I would think your primary red flags would be your families knowing each other for many years, even if it is not really an arranged marriage.

 

In other words, I would think they are examining your case through the lens of fraud rather than security.

@Jorgedig Thank you for your input, sir. I agree with you, they could be looking into our family situation. I am hoping this process ends soon. 

[Rimha 10]

16 hours ago, Vik1992 said:

Hi Rimha,

 

Like you, I am also on Day 12 of AP, with no end in sight. I have yet to receive any updates.

 

I am sorry you are going through this. The CO only asked my wife a series of question, asked for wedding photos and none of the AOS items. I was quite shocked to hear we got a 221G and were asked to re-interview, because I thought we were over prepared. :/ 

 

I get it; It is their job, and they are protecting the individual and the citizens of the US, but it is difficult being so far away from our loved one. You are fortunate that they asked for more documentation. In my case, nothing was said/explained or nothing more was asked. Therefore, our situation is a bit scarier. 

 

Please do stay in contact and let me know how you case unfolds. Prayers  and positive thoughts for both of us. 

I am sorry we can’t do anything besides praying. May Allah make things easier for all of us. Have faith and hope for the best!!

[WORRIEDSPOUSE 33]

On ‎3‎/‎11‎/‎2019 at 1:17 AM, Vik1992 said:

Hi VJ Family, 

 

First off, I would like to thank each and everyone of you for sharing your stories, and giving the best advice -- if it was not for you guys, my process would have been more difficult. Thank you from the bottom of my heart! 

 

Secondly, I do apologize in advance, as my story might get long. Please bear with me.

 

I have been going back and forth for the past week, contemplating whether or not to share my story. Today, I woke up and finally decided to share my journey in hopes of receiving sound advice and possibly helping others who are going through / will go through this issue. 

 

Petitioner & Beneficiary Background

I am a US Citizen and my wife is from India. My wife's family and my family have been very good friends for the past 30 - 40 years. As a result of the good friendship, I met my wife through my grandfather and wife's father / now my father in law. 

 

My wife and I are a mere 4 years apart in age (I am older). We are from the same caste/ community. We have the same religious background. My father and my father in law even went to school together when they were young. Our families definitely approve and support our relationship. That being said, as close as both of our families are, we are not related and did not get married for immigration purposes. 

 

My wife and I have always known about each other, but never in a million years would have imagined getting married to one another. We started "talking" in September 2017 and we decided to meet in person and got married in December 2017. I knew she was the one -- we just hit it off from the moment we met. This registered wedding was small and intimate -- around 250 attendees. (Side note: This past December 2018, we had a reception and day of rituals, since all of my friends and family were in India. This event was just a celebration. This date was not mentioned anywhere, like on social media or during the interview.)

 

Yes, I did marry her upon my first visit, in India, to see her.  In my defense, that is how arranged marriages work (or I think?) Everything happened so fast, and I knew if I would have not married her then, I would have lost a great girl and someone else would have swept her off her feet. 

 

Employment & Education

Currently, I am employed and have a steady job. I make just a tad bit over the poverty limit for 2 people. I used my parents as household members for that extra little push in the Affidavit of Support portion. I had all the paperwork necessary and it passed the NVC stage. Financials were not brought up during the interview. So, I do not believe this was a cause for concern for the CO during the interview. 

 

My wife is currently studying Pharmacy at her local college. This got me thinking... since Pharmacy is on the TAL list, could this possibly be a red flag? or just overthinking on my part?

 

Travel

In the 15 months we have been married, I have visited my wife 2 times and have spent an average of 30 days with her each visit. I have boarding passes/ itineraries/ pictures from each trip. All of our travel is well documented. 

 

However, we have yet not had a chance to go on a honeymoon, since I have always had to attend family and friend's weddings and my wife cannot take much time away from school. Do you think us not going on a honey could be a red flag? 

  

Interview Process

March 4, 2019 : According to my wife, the interview process was smooth. Albeit, she was quite nervous. They had asked her a total of 15 questions, which covered the topics below:  

• Who is the petitioner?
• Where does the petitioner live?
• Who does the petitioner live with? 
• Did you have a love or arranged marriage? 
• What was the date of your wedding? (CO asked this question twice, and had her retake the oath for the second time)
• Asked if we had any pictures from our wedding? Wife had to explain who each person in the picture was and their relationship to her.
• Few questions about petitioner's siblings, nephew, and grand father
• Do you have any family in the US? Where do they live?
• When and if you go to the US, will you live with your husband? or your sister?
• What is your mother's maiden name?
• What are you plans if you reach the US?
   

We had plenty of other evidence on hand, such as chat logs, call logs, money transfers, gift receipts, affidavits from friends and family, hotel receipts, social media posts, other photos of our relationship, etc. but the CO did not ask for anything other that wedding photos. 

 

Interview Result

Upon finishing her interview, my wife was handed a white 221G letter stating that our file is incomplete and our visa application has been refused. The letter also went on to mention the case is currently under administrative processing and we would need to re-interview. I have attached the 221G letter for your review.

  

My wife was quite surprised to hear this. She thought the CO liked her answers and was happy when looking at the wedding photos. What caught my attention about the letter was, the CO asked for a re-interview when we are ready, but there was no verbal or written reason for denial. Usually with 221G's, I have seen them ask for additional documents or actually give a reason for denial. Has anyone ever dealt with this before? or seen a letter like this? 

  

I have contacted the embassy in regards to this matter. The consulate's reply was pretty generic and just stated, "be patient as it could take 60 days to resolve" 

 

In conclusion

Everything seems so great, but it has been a rough journey to say the least. 

 

In my eyes, our entire process is pretty normal and happens on a daily basis in India. But I have no idea why the CO would hand us a 221G with re-interview on it without mentioning why. Again, has anyone dealt with this before? Or can provide me with any information on what to do next? Should I start preparing anything? 

 

I understand waiting for the Embassy/ CO/ Consulate to give an answer is our only option right now. But, I am going crazy and overthinking the whole situation. Please HELP!!

This clearly sounds like my husband and I case. We were introduced by friends and we communicated built our friendship/relationship one year later we met and married.  I accompanied my husband for the interview everything went sooth and the CO said congratulations you've proven your legitimately married he took my husband passport and went to speak with his supervisor, upon his return he told us his supervisor is putting our case in Administrative Review.  We were speechless the white form that was given to us said so many times yet the officer said its just fact checking should be a simple process three months later and all I get are automated emails when I write to the US Consulate in my country. This is very stressful... The waiting and not knowing how can someone just play God with our life everything is on HOLD. I was pregnant ended suffering a miscarriage due to stress. From all the researched I've done I noticed that after 60 days you can contact your local senator office to escalate an inquiry on your behalf which is what I did.  I'm sharing this piece of information with you so you can try doing the same. BEST OF LUCK TO US ALL.

[WORRIEDSPOUSE 33]

On ‎3‎/‎16‎/‎2019 at 5:29 AM, Rimha said:

We’re going through the same situation. They asked for more wedding photos and handed me 221g although I showed him the wedding photo album but still he wasn’t convinced. Neither he didn’t ask for any other documents like my husband’s tax returns or affidavit of support etc. 

We are in shock we prepared everything before interview. May be I have some biomedical educational background which is threatening their securities. Why don’t they understand we are just wishing to meet and live with our loved one?? 

After two days we uploaded more pictures on Ceac and mail them through AEG as well but we’re still in Ap as today marks the 12th day and we got total 4 updates.  

Please pray everyone and give some advice that would help!!

BEST OF LUCK. Same here with my husband and I, we're so frustrated it's been 3 months now and I decided to escalate an inquiry through our local congress woman in New York, but you have to wait at least until 3 months.  I email the embassy in my country, but keep it at a limit don't want to piss anyone off etc. Pray my dear and hope for the best out for us all.. GOD'S WILLING.

[Vik1992 12]

On 3/16/2019 at 11:51 PM, Rimha said:

I am sorry we can’t do anything besides praying. May Allah make things easier for all of us. Have faith and hope for the best!!

Yes, hoping for the best is our only option. Have you had any updates, lately? on CEAC? 

[Vik1992 12]

14 hours ago, WORRIEDSPOUSE said:

This clearly sounds like my husband and I case. We were introduced by friends and we communicated built our friendship/relationship one year later we met and married.  I accompanied my husband for the interview everything went sooth and the CO said congratulations you've proven your legitimately married he took my husband passport and went to speak with his supervisor, upon his return he told us his supervisor is putting our case in Administrative Review.  We were speechless the white form that was given to us said so many times yet the officer said its just fact checking should be a simple process three months later and all I get are automated emails when I write to the US Consulate in my country. This is very stressful... The waiting and not knowing how can someone just play God with our life everything is on HOLD. I was pregnant ended suffering a miscarriage due to stress. From all the researched I've done I noticed that after 60 days you can contact your local senator office to escalate an inquiry on your behalf which is what I did.  I'm sharing this piece of information with you so you can try doing the same. BEST OF LUCK TO US ALL.

Oh, no! I bet you guys were so happy to hear "Congratulations..." only to have your hearts ripped and torn into a thousand pieces a few minutes later.  

I am super sorry to hear about your miscarriage. I hope your next pregnancy goes by smoother and with your significant other by your side the WHOLE time. 

 

Thank you for your sound advice and sharing the information. I will surely contact my senator/ congressman if my case reaches 60 days. Let's hope it does not reach that many days.

 

I would not even mind being in admin processing, if I had somewhat of clue why I am going through this.  The thing that bothers me the most is being away from my wife and not even knowing what to expect. The anticipation is slowly killing me. 

 

We will get through this. Please, let's update each other when and if we hear anything back. 

[Rimha 10]

2 hours ago, Vik1992 said:

Yes, hoping for the best is our only option. Have you had any updates, lately? on CEAC? 

Yes we have got 5 updates till now. 

After mailing the wedding photographs, they asked for ds-5535 for additional info after which we got 2 updates. 

You should send in the inquiry to know what’s going on with your case.

[WORRIEDSPOUSE 33]

6 hours ago, Vik1992 said:

Oh, no! I bet you guys were so happy to hear "Congratulations..." only to have your hearts ripped and torn into a thousand pieces a few minutes later.  

I am super sorry to hear about your miscarriage. I hope your next pregnancy goes by smoother and with your significant other by your side the WHOLE time. 

  

Thank you for your sound advice and sharing the information. I will surely contact my senator/ congressman if my case reaches 60 days. Let's hope it does not reach that many days. 

 

I would not even mind being in admin processing, if I had somewhat of clue why I am going through this.  The thing that bothers me the most is being away from my wife and not even knowing what to expect. The anticipation is slowly killing me. 

 

We will get through this. Please, let's update each other when and if we hear anything back. 

For sure buddy and thanks for your kind words.  What infuriates me to the core is that when I asked the immigration officer, "what's Administrative Processing" he merely said under his breath fact checking/verification of some sort yet the letter he handed me had all of immigration verbiage I don't understand but he continues to say to me that the letter seems more serious than it really is so we bid him goodbye pleasantries and we left hoping to hear from the consulate in Guyana with the allotted time he told us we will hear from them.. MAY GOD BE WITH US ALL..

[geowrian 22,335]

Administrative Processing covers all activities necessary to complete processing after the interview. This can include simple paperwork and internal processes, the printing of the visa, etc. It can also be waiting for additional documentation in some cases, waiting for background checks to complete, verification of documents, etc.

[Vik1992 12]

On 3/19/2019 at 5:19 AM, WORRIEDSPOUSE said:

For sure buddy and thanks for your kind words.  What infuriates me to the core is that when I asked the immigration officer, "what's Administrative Processing" he merely said under his breath fact checking/verification of some sort yet the letter he handed me had all of immigration verbiage I don't understand but he continues to say to me that the letter seems more serious than it really is so we bid him goodbye pleasantries and we left hoping to hear from the consulate in Guyana with the allotted time he told us we will hear from them.. MAY GOD BE WITH US ALL..

Hi! God is ALWAYS with us and WILL ALWAYS be with us.

 

Any updates?? 

[Vik1992 12]

On 3/19/2019 at 2:05 AM, Rimha said:

Yes we have got 5 updates till now. 

After mailing the wedding photographs, they asked for ds-5535 for additional info after which we got 2 updates. 

You should send in the inquiry to know what’s going on with your case.

Wow! Lucky you!! 5 updates... I have not received any updates since the date of interview. 

 

It is unfortunate that you have received the DS-5535 form... I heard that it adds MORE time to the already excruciating process.  

 

I have already sent an inquiry, however, I have not heard any updates. 

 

Any updates, lately?