Passport held after interview

[Maddy R. 5]

Hello,

 

After the K1 interview in Kabul the consular kept the passport and moved the case into Administrative Processing.  Has any requested to get their passport back?  Does it affect your case if you take it back?  We want to get it back since we don't know how long AP is going to take and would like to travel in the future.  We tried contacting the embassy twice by email to get it back but have not gotten a response.

[Shellimedz 33]

Yes, should be normal they have to put the visa in it. 

[Maddy R. 5]

15 minutes ago, Shellimedz said:

Yes, should be normal they have to put the visa in it. 

We want to get the passport now because we are still in AP and there is no timeframe of when that will end and the visa will be issued.  We want to take the passport back and then turn it back in when they are ready to issue the visa.  I am wondering if that will be an issue and how do we get it back.  We tried reaching out to the embassy several times and have not heard back.

[Shellimedz 33]

Idk, I'm not that far in the process but if they're planning to put the visa in there then they're going to give it back when they're done. Also, from what I understand they always put you in AP during the time they're putting the visa in the passport. Chances are they will be all done in a week or so. 

[Shellimedz 33]

I just saw your timeline, it's been there for a while now. I don't know what you can do at this point. Keep calling the embassy. Sorry that this is holding you up. 

[Jeanne Adil 1,651]

asking for passport back (especially for your country and other high fraud countries )  can result in additional security checks 

example would be to do the ds5535 for security checks on where you travel now and in the past (ds5535 wants to follow travel for last 15 years)

you can do this if you really wish to but at this stage,  you need patience

additional security checks can take a year or more

granted this is just my opinion but check out the ds5535 post here and on facebook

you are lucky to not have it yet

[Kowatti 189]

7 hours ago, Maddy R. said:

Hello,

 

After the K1 interview in Kabul the consular kept the passport and moved the case into Administrative Processing.  Has any requested to get their passport back?  Does it affect your case if you take it back?  We want to get it back since we don't know how long AP is going to take and would like to travel in the future.  We tried contacting the embassy twice by email to get it back but have not gotten a response.

Hi.  I know you must be getting impatient waiting so long, however I must agree with Adil-rafa.  It might not be such a good idea to continue asking for it back.  The fact that they kept your passport is good.  Maybe they are doing more background checks.  One never knows.  Best of luck to you.

[Maddy R. 5]

11 hours ago, adil-rafa said:

asking for passport back (especially for your country and other high fraud countries )  can result in additional security checks 

example would be to do the ds5535 for security checks on where you travel now and in the past (ds5535 wants to follow travel for last 15 years)

you can do this if you really wish to but at this stage,  you need patience

additional security checks can take a year or more

granted this is just my opinion but check out the ds5535 post here and on facebook

you are lucky to not have it yet

We did the ds5535. I know people that have been in AP for over 5 months and the embassy has their passport.  This is such a bummer because we have travel planned for April and July. 

[Jeanne Adil 1,651]

9 hours ago, Maddy R. said:

We did the ds5535. I know people that have been in AP for over 5 months and the embassy has their passport.  This is such a bummer because we have travel planned for April and July. 

So you interviewed in February and had to submit the ds5535

the answer is ,  yes asking for passport back to travel will further delay the case

even travel to Europe means they will check all as you can fly anywhere from there (it does not have to be your final destination)

they now check the last 15 years of travel

they would need to check any future travel on top of what is happening now

this form and the AP for the form are taking a year and in some cases 2/   immigration and the embassy really don't want the immigrant to travel and hold up the process for further security checking over and beyond what they already have to do

your choice

either you travel and vacation or

you go this long and heartbreaking process to come to the USA

and i do know the BS you think you are going thru

we applied K1 2009 and finally got our IR1 visa in 2015 / no ds 5535 at that time but i did have to submit to a 4 page RFE with a 25 pound package of evidence

[Maddy R. 5]

On ‎3‎/‎31‎/‎2019 at 7:28 PM, adil-rafa said:

asking for passport back (especially for your country and other high fraud countries )  can result in additional security checks 

example would be to do the ds5535 for security checks on where you travel now and in the past (ds5535 wants to follow travel for last 15 years)

you can do this if you really wish to but at this stage,  you need patience

additional security checks can take a year or more

granted this is just my opinion but check out the ds5535 post here and on facebook

you are lucky to not have it yet

Good news, the embassy said it won't affect our case if we ask for the passport back.   They also updated their automatic email response today and now it says:

 

5.  Do I have to leave my passport in order to receive a visa? What if I have other travel plans?

You must bring your passport with you on the day of your interview, but it is not necessary to leave your passport with the Consular Section while your application is processed.  If you have upcoming travel plans, please mention it to the Consular Officer at the end of your interview.

 

 

[Jeanne Adil 1,651]

26 minutes ago, Maddy R. said:

Good news, the embassy said it won't affect our case if we ask for the passport back.   They also updated their automatic email response today and now it says:

 

5.  Do I have to leave my passport in order to receive a visa? What if I have other travel plans?

You must bring your passport with you on the day of your interview, but it is not necessary to leave your passport with the Consular Section while your application is processed.  If you have upcoming travel plans, please mention it to the Consular Officer at the end of your interview.

 

 

and you believe this 

that they are checking 15 years back of past travel and new travel will not mean checking new places and prolonging the security checks

you are already in for a year or more for these process

you need to read the post here about people going thru the ds 5535 or the facebook page  for it