Looking for advice - Approved in CEAC, but reply to inquiry indicates Administrative Processing

[Ethan G 3]

My Ugandan fiance is in Kenya. She was approved for K1 on March 12, and her three K2s already got their visas (Issued and picked up). However, her CEAC status still shows Approved after 2 weeks (with created and last updated date both being March 12). I inquired about her case via the contact that the embassy provides (VisitorVisaNairobi@state.gov), and I got this response:

 

Quote

We have reviewed our records and learned that your nonimmigrant visa application is still undergoing administrative processing to verify your qualifications for this visa.  Administrative processing often lasts about 90 days, but in some instances, it can take significantly longer.

I emailed them a second time to ensure this wasn't just a templated response and to get clarification since her case still shows Approved in CEAC (not Administrative Processing). Then they responded:
 

Quote

The application is approved however, mandatory administrative processing was required in the case, and this is now being carried out. We have no control over this procedure and the length of time it requires. However, we have noted to contact you as soon as this procedure is concluded.

 

So I'm looking for advice from anyone with experience:

Should she keep waiting in Kenya, or request the passport back so she can return to Uganda to wait from there? I'm concerned that requesting the passport back before the case is officially in Administrative Processing in CEAC may slow them down from being able to process and issue the visa. My understanding is that if it's Approved in CEAC, the next step is Issued and they cannot go to that step if we take the passport, right? Will they release the passport if it's going to take a long time in AP?

 

(Side note for those who don't know: Kenya/Uganda are in an East African partnership where you can technically travel with just a National ID, not a passport. However, unfortunately, she came via her passport and, as far as I know from research, she cannot travel back using a different document than she came with.)

 

Maybe I can get a letter from the embassy explaining the situation and use a copy of her passport along with her National ID?

 

Any ideas?

 

Thanks!

Edited March 26 by Ethan G

[Edward and Jaycel 2,582]

From experience with Jaycel's process in the Philippines, her status stayed as "Approved" until the administrative processing was complete so it appears that it can be both "Approved" and in AP at the same time. The AP is not completed until the status changes to "Issued".

[Edward and Jaycel 2,582]

And no they cannot got to the issued stage unless they have the passport because they have to place the visa in the passport.

[Crazy Cat 46,422]

4 hours ago, Ethan G said:

I'm concerned that requesting the passport back before the case is officially in Administrative Processing in CEAC may slow them down from being able to process and issue the visa.

You are correct.  It will delay the process and/or add even more administrative processing time. 

[pushbrk 14,453]

The logistical problem is complicated by her desire to be in a different country.  She can request her passport back, and they can get it back from her when they are ready to issue, but she will need it to do any border crossings in the meantime.  It might be a tough choice to make, but she either requests her passport back or waits where she is.

[Ethan G 3]

Update: We are not officially in Administrative Processing in CEAC as of today 😬 They have not sent any email asking us to do or submit or fix anything, so hopefully that's a good sign. I found another case almost exactly like ours here and they got the visa a couple days later.

 

Edited March 31 by Ethan G

[Ethan G 3]

On April 7, the CEAC status changed from Administrative Processing to Application Received (see below). In response to an investigation that my congressman did, the embassy responded saying:

Quote

We are pleased to inform you that the administrative review for Ms. A.'s case has been completed. The final step in the K-1 visa process is an online presence check for Ms. A. and all derivative applicants. This requirement became mandatory on March 30, 2026. We have sent Ms. A. detailed instructions for completing the online presence check. Once we receive her response, we will expedite the review to move her case forward as quickly as possible.

We have not received any instructions yet. I did have my fiance send an email based on instructions another K1 applicant shared with me (emailing ImmigrationVisaNairobi@state.gov with subject "M39 [full name] [case number]"). The email stated that she and her K2 dependents have no social media handles to share (i.e. they are not on social media at all). We already indicated this in the DS-160 (for her and her K2 dependents) but I guess they need a specific email from her? They didn't believe or notice her DS-160 answer? Why didn't this stop the K2 applicants from getting their visas issued last month? Maybe because they're young? I don't know the answer to these questions. And I'm not even sure the instructions were right for us since they were from a different K1 applicant, but they seem to be generic and relevant to our situation.

I think "Application Received" is their way of saying they're waiting on documents from us. In this case, I think that document is the email that we sent. Hopefully, but I don't know since they didn't tell us directly.

Edited 5 hours ago by TBoneTX
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[Edward and Jaycel 2,582]

"Application Received" is the step when the Immigrant Visa Unit (who handles the K-1 processing, interview and approval) sends it to the NonImmigrant Visa Unit for Issuance (Because the K-1 is technically a nonimmigrant visa, it has to be issued by the NIV Unit). This status means the NIV Unit has received the application and will be processing the it for issuance.

[Ethan G 3]

We got the 221g today indicating my fiance needs to send her social media handles to the immigration email. We did that (she has none so we told them that). However, in the 221g they also told us we need to return the passports for her K2 dependents (they had already been issued last month and we have them). This is crazy to me. I'm not sure what to do. I emailed them hoping they would reconsider and realize they must have made a mistake as none of them have social media and they were already issued so why would they need the passports back!? But perhaps the 221g for the K1 invalidated the K2 visas automatically in the system and they need to reprint? The CEAC for the K2 that I checked is still in the "Issued" state. This is very concerning as it will cause further delays!

[TBoneTX 49,560]

A full name has been edited out of a quoted segment above.