Administrative Processing

[Life is Life 1]

8 minutes ago, USS_Voyager said:

You're correct. Technically speaking, all visas decision has to be issued or denied. So technically speaking, you were denied. That denial can be overcome when additional evidence is submitted and reviewed. This is all again, very technical. 

 

https://fam.state.gov/fam/09FAM/09FAM050411.html#M504_11

 

9 FAM 504.11-2  (U) REFUSAL POLICY

9 FAM 504.11-2(A)  (U) Visa Issued or Refused if Application Properly Completed and Executed

(CT:VISA-1;   11-18-2015)

a. (U) There are no exceptions to the rule that once a visa application has been properly completed and executed before a consular officer, a visa must be either issued or refused.  (See 9 FAM 504.9-2.)  For statistical and comparison purposes, all posts should follow the identical refusal procedures and report refusals the same way in their required reports of visas issued and refused.  (See 9 FAM 504.3-2.)  Accordingly, any alien to whom a visa is not issued by the end of the working day on which the application is made, or by the end of the next working day if it is normal post procedure to issue visas to some or all applicants the following day, must be found ineligible under one or more provisions of INA 212(a), 212(e), or 221(g). (INA 221(g) is not to be used when a provision of INA 212(a) is applicable.)  This requirement to find an applicant ineligible when a visa is not issued applies even when:

(1)  (U) A case is medically deferred;

(2)  (U) The post requests an advisory opinion from the Department;

(3)  (U) The post decides to make additional local inquiries or conduct a full investigation; or

(4)  (U) The only deficiency is a clearance from another post. 

b. (U) There is no such thing as an informal refusal or a pending case once a formal application has been made.

What I meant when I said that I thought some cases were denied or approved on the day of the interview, I thought some cases were actually denied on the day of the interview (meaning that you would need to start the Spouse Visa process all over again), or actually approved on the day of the interview (meaning that you would get your visa the same day of the interview, or within a few days). We got a 221g and got put in the “black hole” of administrative processing, and were told we needed to submit a couple additional documents. A few days ago, my wife finally submitted these additional documents AND her passport. Should this be a good sign that the administrative processing should be over soon, since she was asked to submit her passport with the documents? Thanks...

[Crazy Cat 39,760]

1 minute ago, Travel is life said:

What I meant when I said that I thought some cases were denied or approved on the day of the interview, I thought some cases were actually denied on the day of the interview (meaning that you would need to start the Spouse Visa process all over again), or actually approved on the day of the interview (meaning that you would get your visa the same day of the interview, or within a few days). We got a 221g and got put in the “black hole” of administrative processing, and were told we needed to submit a couple additional documents. A few days ago, my wife finally submitted these additional documents AND her passport. Should this be a good sign that the administrative processing should be over soon, since she was asked to submit her passport with the documents? Thanks...

I've not seen anyone get their passport with visa back on the same day.......

[Life is Life 1]

7 minutes ago, payxibka said:

Nobody gets a 221g for a background check as that is not something submitted by the applicant 

Then what do you get if they need to conduct a background check? We only got a 221g, stating that we needed to submit a couple additional documents, and the passport. We recently submitted these extra documents and the passport...

[Life is Life 1]

1 minute ago, missileman said:

I've not seen anyone get their passport with visa back on the same day.......

Then maybe it was within a few days after the day of the interview (if no documents were missing, if no additional background checks needed to be performed, etc.)...

[Crazy Cat 39,760]

1 minute ago, Travel is life said:

Then what do you get if they need to conduct a background check? We only got a 221g, stating that we needed to submit a couple additional documents, and the passport. We recently submitted these extra documents and the passport...

Sometime, the applicant receives nothing.......except a status online of "administrative processing"....

Just now, Travel is life said:

Then maybe it was within a few days after the day of the interview

That happens very frequently......

[payxibka 10,044]

3 minutes ago, Travel is life said:

Then what do you get if they need to conduct a background check?.

A status after interview of administrative processing 

Edited September 11, 2019 by payxibka

[USS_Voyager 1,971]

18 minutes ago, Travel is life said:

meaning that you would get your visa the same day of the interview,

That only happened in a very distant past. Ages ago, I got my very first US visa the same day, interviewed in the morning and picked up in the afternoon. It was J1 visa and it was 2001, pre-9/11. 

Today, no, you will never get a visa the same day. 

 

21 minutes ago, Travel is life said:

Should this be a good sign that the administrative processing should be over soon, since she was asked to submit her passport with the documents?

It is a good sign, yes. How soon, no body knows. Usually it's days or weeks. Some cases they keep the passport for months. 

[geowrian 22,336]

As noted, policy is that every visa application must result in the visa being issued or refused. A 221(g) is a refusal due to an incomplete visa application (does not confirm to INA requirements).

In practice, visas are not issued the same day. Every case nowadays goes through some form of AP.

[Karim2018 99]

2 hours ago, Travel is life said:

That’s good to know. We only needed to submit a couple additional documents, along with the passport (no background checks, at least not according to the 221g).

He asked you "Which Consulate?" and you answered "that's good to know..."!!! Interesting!

[Rob007 2]

3 hours ago, Travel is life said:

When a Spouse Visa Application is put under administrative processing on the day of the Spouse Visa interview (at the end of the interview), because the US Embassy requests additional documents, how long does it take for them to give you an answer about the visa after you submit your passport and the requested documents? My wife submitted her passport and the additional requested documents on Friday, August 30th. How much longer can we expect to be under administrative processing before they come to a decision? Thanks!

AP is a black hole... you never know when you get the decision.

i have the same case as yours. the case has been in AP since Dec 2018 and still on.

Best of luck for you.

 

[issea 43]

2 hours ago, geowrian said:

As noted, policy is that every visa application must result in the visa being issued or refused. A 221(g) is a refusal due to an incomplete visa application (does not confirm to INA requirements).

In practice, visas are not issued the same day. Every case nowadays goes through some form of AP.

I’m curious about how to answer the yes/no question on I-485 related to “have you even been denied a visa ...”, if one ever experienced AP before the issuance. I saw arguments on some other forum people said you should answer “Yes” to the question if you ever had an AP when applying for a US visa. 

 

Edit: “No” to “Yes”

Edited September 11, 2019 by issea

[Crazy Cat 39,760]

3 minutes ago, issea said:

I saw arguments on some other forum people said you should answer “Yes” to the question if you ever had an AP when applying for a US visa. 

I disagree...........Administrative Processing is not a denial.......

[geowrian 22,336]

7 minutes ago, issea said:

I’m curious about how to answer the yes/no question on I-485 related to “have you even been denied a visa ...”, if one ever experienced AP before the issuance. I saw arguments on some other forum people said you should answer “No” to the question if you ever had an AP when applying for a US visa. 

A 221(g) is a refusal. The actual 221(g) letter usually (if it's a recent one) explicitly states that it constitutes a refused visa for such purposes.

Sample:

 

Edit: Let me clarify...just being put into AP alone wouldn't be a refusal for that purpose. But a 221(g) is. Sorry if the original response added confusion instead of clarity.

Edited September 11, 2019 by geowrian

[issea 43]

1 minute ago, missileman said:

I disagree...........Administrative Processing is not a denial.......

As geowrian mentioned that 221 (g) is a refusal, and refusal is synonymous with denial ...

[issea 43]

2 minutes ago, geowrian said:

A 221(g) is a refusal. The actual 221(g) letter usually (if it's a recent one) explicitly states that it constitutes a refused visa for such purposes.

Sample:

 

Edit: Let me clarify...just being put into AP alone wouldn't be a refusal. But a 221(g) is. Sorry if the original response added confusion instead of clarity.

Okay. So "yes" to the question if one ever received a 221(g), no matter if there were approval at the end?