US B1/B2 Visa in Limbo for 20 Months

[carmel34 3,531]

4 hours ago, hasanemam said:

May 31, 2023: Refused under 221g, requesting to submit a standard CV, a list of all post-secondary institutions attended, degrees awarded, and years of attendance; (2) the exact title and abstract of your degree thesis/research; (3) names and positions of advisors/supervisors; (4) complete work history with dates/locations; (5) list of publications, and (6) source of funding. Provided the requested documents on the same day.

This seems to me like a very unusual request for a B2 tourist visa.  Do you have any family ties in the US?  Siblings?  They seem to be skeptical of something.  Also, "refused" does not mean denied, it only means that they are looking further into your case.  Since you requested your passport, and a final decision has not been made based on the information requested in May, 2023, have you tried contacting the consulate where your case is?

[hasanemam 1]

21 hours ago, carmel34 said:

This seems to me like a very unusual request for a B2 tourist visa.  Do you have any family ties in the US?  Siblings?  They seem to be skeptical of something.  Also, "refused" does not mean denied, it only means that they are looking further into your case.  Since you requested your passport, and a final decision has not been made based on the information requested in May, 2023, have you tried contacting the consulate where your case is?

I have contacted the consulate multiple times, but the responses have been consistently similar with no substantial information.

I don't have any family ties to the USA; all of my family members reside back home. The nearest US border is a 1.5-hour drive from where I live. Sometimes I feel like to escape the harsh Canadian winter and spend some time in the US.

 

[hasanemam 1]

22 hours ago, SalishSea said:

Clearly this is not about ties to Canada.  Vetting your CV/background is not standard to evaluate risk for overstay.  
 

If you are applying for a B-1 visa’s for the purpose of visiting, fabricating a “business” reason for a B-2 won’t do you any good.

When I applied for the visa and underwent the interview, I was living in Toronto, worked as a Merchandiser in a store.

Later that year, I transitioned to a professional role (I hold a mechanical engineering degree) and relocated to Montreal. The initial visa application was for personal reasons, with the intention of visiting the USA. However, it has evolved into a combination of personal and work purposes. As mentioned in my original post, throughout the year, we have several committee meetings held in Macon, where I typically represent Canada. My manager has expressed interest in having me physically present at these meetings, but currently, due to circumstances, I am participating virtually.

Also given that we typically have a mandatory two-week shutdown in every July, I could utilize this time to visit the USA.

[millefleur 5,037]

The screenshot you posted pretty much sums it up. It's out of the hands of the embassy/consulate, it's clearly a Dept of State thing relating to Administrative Processing. It's irrelevant what type of visa you apply for, could be tourist, business or other kind, AP would be triggered regardless and passed onto the DoS people who handle that. 

 

There is pretty much nothing you can do until AP is completed. If you want to read more about it, there's an informative wiki page:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security_Advisory_Opinion