221(G) Why the status says REFUSED instead of administrative processing?

[Agha- 4]

Interview was on 26 July at Islamabad embassy, all went well but they needed latest IRS transcripts so translator handed me 221g and said that you have to follow instructions on this paper to submit/upload documents on ceac and you will also receive an additional questionnaire. 
1) I haven’t received any questionnaire till date(which people says is a good thing).

2) interviewer asked to submit documents on ceac while following the instructions on document and on document instructions were to submit documents via courier/pickup point.

3)we have two cspa in this case and I’ve read it’s mandatory to aquire visa within one year of visa being available and our visa was current in January 2019.

4) status on ceac shows REFUSED instead of administrative processing some says it’s good some says its not when i called nvc they said your status is administrative processing. 
5) submitted documents on 28 july and sent two inquiries that if they’ve received documents or not but no reply. 
6) on 221g its mentioned that contact after 2 months for your case status which i did and they didn’t replied.

 
 

anyone else in the same boat as of me? 
what is the direct email of Islamabad embassy for inquiry instead of that inquiry form? 
any suggestions from seniors? 

[M.Ali 11]

Dear Agha,

 

I am also in the same situation, my interview held on 6th august, till that day status is still REFUSED, same they ask for Joint Sponsor which i submitted on 1st September, if you want to make sure Embassy received your documents than i give you the number which belongs to embassy customer service which tell you that Embassy received the documents on the particular date,but you need to follow the instructions over the phone which is Quite simple  

 

Here is the number Call +92 21-111-234-111.

one more thing you need your full name, passport number & DOB

 

kindly just tell me visa officer marked on 2nd Option on 221g which is(additional A.p) required? just let me know 

Edited October 2, 2019 by M.Ali

[Agha- 4]

1 minute ago, M.Ali said:

Dear Agha,

 

I am also in the same situation, my interview held on 6th august, till that day status is still REFUSED, same they ask for Joint Sponsor which i submitted on 1st September, if you want to make sure Embassy received your documents than i give you the number which belongs to embassy customer service which tell you that Embassy received the documents on the particular date,but you need to follow the instructions over the phone which is Quite simple  

 

Here is the number Call +92 21-111-234-111.

 

kindly just tell me visa officer marked on 2nd Option on 221g which is(additional A.p) required? just let me know 

Thanks for the number i guess its karachi embassy’s number,

yes second option on 221g is marked only. 
how many times they’ve updated your case? 

[M.Ali 11]

4 times case updates, last one is 16th September, then now silent, if they update in your case it will be good, but one thing i would tell you that you are lucky you did not get the DS-5535 it could takeS from 6 months to 1 year. do you have updates in your case?

 

[Agha- 4]

9 minutes ago, M.Ali said:

4 times case updates, last one is 16th September, then now silent, if they update in your case it will be good, but one thing i would tell you that you are lucky you did not get the DS-5535 it could takeS from 6 months to 1 year. do you have updates in your case?

 

No updates as of now just one update on 20 august that too when I emailed them and they just updated the date without even replying.

[M.Ali 11]

yes me too, 2 times updated when i sent the e-mail inquiry. sometimes frequent updates coming when the A.P is going to be finished. don't worry inshallah me & you get visa very soon.  Amaeen

[Agha- 4]

11 minutes ago, M.Ali said:

yes me too, 2 times updated when i sent the e-mail inquiry. sometimes frequent updates coming when the A.P is going to be finished. don't worry inshallah me & you get visa very soon.  Amaeen

Thanks for this phone number tip I’ve called them and they’ve said that they will respond within 72 hours via email and let me know about my status.

[Ahmed&Freda 628]

7 hours ago, Agha- said:

Interview was on 26 July at Islamabad embassy, all went well but they needed latest IRS transcripts so translator handed me 221g and said that you have to follow instructions on this paper to submit/upload documents on ceac and you will also receive an additional questionnaire. 
1) I haven’t received any questionnaire till date(which people says is a good thing).

2) interviewer asked to submit documents on ceac while following the instructions on document and on document instructions were to submit documents via courier/pickup point.

3)we have two cspa in this case and I’ve read it’s mandatory to aquire visa within one year of visa being available and our visa was current in January 2019.

4) status on ceac shows REFUSED instead of administrative processing some says it’s good some says its not when i called nvc they said your status is administrative processing. 
5) submitted documents on 28 july and sent two inquiries that if they’ve received documents or not but no reply. 
6) on 221g its mentioned that contact after 2 months for your case status which i did and they didn’t replied.

 
 

anyone else in the same boat as of me? 
what is the direct email of Islamabad embassy for inquiry instead of that inquiry form? 
any suggestions from seniors? 

The fact that you have not received the questionnaire would only be a good sign if you were not supposed to get it but you were told they would be sending you one.   Sometimes they take months to send it.

 

The status refused will most likely remain until they have verified they received the transcript and the questionnaire.  Our case also said refused after interview until the questionnaire was received.  

 

You can only email through the inquiry form.  There is an email you will be given to send back your questionnaire but they will not read anything else sent to this email and will not respond.  It is strictly invite only.

 

When you send an inquiry be very specific on what you need and just that.  (I.e. Please verify you have received the documents sent on____.)  I was successful with getting an actual answer from them instead of the generic cut and paste by simply asking one question.

 

Hope that helps!

[geowrian 22,335]

A 221g is a refusal. Once they get and process the necessary documentation, it should transition over to AP. Sometimes it takes a while for them to update the status, and sometimes they don’t. Either way, you got the right response is that your case is in AP while they process it.

 

As for CSPA, the requirement is to seek to acquire within 1 year - how long AP takes isn’t a factor. You don’t need to receive the visa within the 1 year.

[Vaqar Malik 13]

13 hours ago, Agha- said:

Interview was on 26 July at Islamabad embassy, all went well but they needed latest IRS transcripts so translator handed me 221g and said that you have to follow instructions on this paper to submit/upload documents on ceac and you will also receive an additional questionnaire. 
1) I haven’t received any questionnaire till date(which people says is a good thing).

2) interviewer asked to submit documents on ceac while following the instructions on document and on document instructions were to submit documents via courier/pickup point.

3)we have two cspa in this case and I’ve read it’s mandatory to aquire visa within one year of visa being available and our visa was current in January 2019.

4) status on ceac shows REFUSED instead of administrative processing some says it’s good some says its not when i called nvc they said your status is administrative processing. 
5) submitted documents on 28 july and sent two inquiries that if they’ve received documents or not but no reply. 
6) on 221g its mentioned that contact after 2 months for your case status which i did and they didn’t replied.

 
 

anyone else in the same boat as of me? 
what is the direct email of Islamabad embassy for inquiry instead of that inquiry form? 
any suggestions from seniors? 

is it 130 spouse visa ?

[Agha- 4]

5 hours ago, Vaqar Malik said:

is it 130 spouse visa ?

No

[Chaudary 3]

i had the similar experience, for F4 category me and my wife appeared for an interview on 6 August, after the interview office gave us 221 (g) stating that upload recent tax return and questionnaire on ceac websit and send to us thourgh either courier fax or email. on 20 august we received questionnaire. we sent both questionnaire and tax return on august 25 through email. One week latter we received an email from that instead of tax return send us tax transcript. Two days ago we sent tax transcript, we case is AP right from the first day, but good thing our case is updated regularly. Yes the quickest way and easiest way to send docuemnt is by email. 

[Agha- 4]

4 hours ago, Chaudary said:

i had the similar experience, for F4 category me and my wife appeared for an interview on 6 August, after the interview office gave us 221 (g) stating that upload recent tax return and questionnaire on ceac websit and send to us thourgh either courier fax or email. on 20 august we received questionnaire. we sent both questionnaire and tax return on august 25 through email. One week latter we received an email from that instead of tax return send us tax transcript. Two days ago we sent tax transcript, we case is AP right from the first day, but good thing our case is updated regularly. Yes the quickest way and easiest way to send docuemnt is by email. 

Did you sent your documents on 

support-pakistan@ustraveldocs.com?

[Chaudary 3]

13 hours ago, Agha- said:

Did you sent your documents on 

support-pakistan@ustraveldocs.com?

No, their official email for document delivery is    IslamabadIVinquiry@state.gov

 

 

[BH1570 0]

Anyone of you received an email from Embassy about the questionnaire like, listing all the family members, their Date of Births, listing all your social media accounts , travel history and passport numbers (current and expired). I am also in AP since May 2019. I recently received such email.

My interview was on May 28, 2019.

My medical is expiring on Oct 26, 2019.

My immigrant visa type is EB2 (NIW): Employment based visa.

Is the questionnaire a good thing or bad?

Edited October 9, 2019 by BH1570