rikko

Hello, we were also asked for our passports and put into AP but it's been 8 months. While others here say it's a good sign they ask for your passports after the interview, it didn't seem to be the case in our situation.

I don't think there's a functioning embassy/consulate in Russia right now, most cases are assigned to Warsaw and a few family visas to Kazakhstan. I think contacting Kazakhstan/Uzbekistan/your country of choice can't hurt, but there is no guarantee they will accept your case. Good luck!

Hi, I wanted to start a thread where people can share things they wish they knew about 221g. Some things I've heard/learned: 1. Writ of Mandamus is no longer advised as of now, because the judge is throwing out cases, even in cases of 16 months of 221g. 2. If I had known my case would be at risk of a 8+ month 221g, I would've done CR-1 so I could legally be married to my spouse, and his company/work could also get me a way to stay with him legally. K-1 was not the right choice for me. I don't even think it is faster than CR-1 anymore. I believe CR-1 cases are also more likely to be accepted for transfers, which are in high demand for Russians. (It's hard for them to get to Warsaw, their default embassy). Some things I would like to know: 1. Is the Ombudsman an entity that I could contact regarding 221g? I haven't seen anything about it so far. 2. There was a thread here saying their 221g case expired. Should I be proactively emailing the embassy to prevent expiration? Is it possible my case just expires anyways? 3. Does the visa, when approved, need to be picked up in person, or can I mail it? 4. When the visa is approved, can I have it sent to another embassy to be picked up?

Our case is in Jerusalem, we are in Armenia now. I heard if they didn't ask for your passports it's likely your AP may take awhile. Once AP is done, I believe you go back to the embassy to pick them up. If you intend to stay in Israel, it will be cheaper if you stay in East Jerusalem or Bethlehem. Both are West Bank, but it'll be $40/night instead of like $200/night in Israel.

i wish they'd just hire more people or relocate existing workers from other departments. 256 days and counting just for the last CEAC update... our lives have been so disrupted by this process...

Hi, wishing you the best, I'm also in AP, been in AP for 8 months with a Russian fiancé. You aren't alone! Check out the regional forums for MENA if you haven't.

i don't know my partner handled it (sorry), i think its the normal procedure as with other schengens.

In our situation we got 221g and it's been 9 months. They asked for a CV, we gave them the CV, then months later they asked for the CV to include his high school information. Our case has not been updated since August 20th, 2023 in the CEAC website.

I just wanna chime in that if you guys apply for a multi-entry Schengen they can give you single-entry instead, so plan accordingly. In our case we applied for a multi-entry Spanish Schengen, were given a single-entry (which messed up our timeline to get to Warsaw) and were able to transfer to Jerusalem saying we could not legally get to Warsaw.

sorry about the situation, 221g sucks and so does the k-1 visa, it doesn't process quickly enough to justify the wait time compared to the cr-1 anymore on the bright side, as a spouse you will have more rights to stay with your spouse while waiting for the US to take its sweet time to process our cases...

I don't know if I can post sources but here: https://pennstatelaw.psu.edu/sites/default/files/documents/pdfs/Immigrants/Administrative-Processing-FAQ.pdf https://sstech.us/blogs/221g-and-administrative-processing/ Lots of good stuff from universities. I guess a good amount of students get hit with 221g too...

@millefleur I was doing some reading on SAO processing of 221g and I found more things you may want to include in the pinned thread: Things you would be doing in the US that can get you flagged: Graduate level studies Teaching Conducting research Exchange programs Receiving training/employment (is this not most people once they settle???) "Engaging in commercial transactions" (again, is this not most people???) Technology alert list industries (suspected) i. Conventional Munitions; ii. Nuclear Technology, Physics, and Engineering; iii. Rocket Systems and Unmanned Air Vehicle; iv. Navigation, Avionics and Flight Control; v. Chemical, Biotechnology and Biomedical Engineering; vi. Remote Sensing, Imaging and Reconnaissance; vii. Advanced Computer/Microelectronic Technology; viii. Materials Technology; ix. Information Security; x. Laser and Directed Energy Systems Technology; xi. Sensors and Sensor Technology; xii. Marine Technology; and xiii. Robotics Urban Planning Nationalities most effected: DOS state sponsors of terrorism list (Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria) The five nonproliferation export control countries (China, India, Israel, Pakistan and Russia) I did not know Israel was in that list, given how close ties between the US and Israel are, and how many dual nationals and marriages exist. I'll leave it up to you but it may be worth making pinned threads for other regional portals, too. And for anyone else reading, I found this too! Pretty cool huh? Feels like we are the cast of Kung Fu Panda

After our interview, the CO told my fiancé to expect a 2 month wait or less, then in December/January they told us to expect 9 months, then in February/March they told us its usually 4 months but can be longer. (They being Jerusalem). It's possible expected wait times changed each time they gave us a number, but their variance is huge! Given that its been 8 months of 221g, the overall K-1 process being on its 3rd year, and apparently writ of mandamus currently useless because the judge thinks 16 months of administrative processing is reasonable, I'm just feeling kind of anxious/desperate. Here's to hoping for the best for all of our cases here on VJ!

@big_tex_69 Did you find any info on expected timelines during your research?