AMteam

Well done!!

May I ask why you were in processing to begin with?

They would never tell us why he was put in AP, however we assume it was due to his middle name being Mohammad. The name checks take months and my heart goes out to everyone who goes through this!!

Just wanted to share the wonderful news! Fiance got his visa today after being in AP for 7 months. They didn't call, no email, nothing. Just came home and it was there. Luckily a family member was home to accept it from the courier!!!!

I am so happy to finally have this nightmare finished and can't wait to go to airport and pick him up in a few weeks!!!!!!!!

It sure seems that way. Any updates on the AP?

No changes I call DOS every week and they same the old thing "Your case is still pending".

Wow we're doin' great with names!!!! Mohammad, Khan! I have a Hussain!

Oh boy!! We are all in the same boat!!

AP can possibly be based on names that come up as "hits" on the system? That is such a bummer, seeing as it seems like all our names are so common! I mean, a name like "khan" would pop up EVERYWHERE! thanks for your input...what a drag!

Let's hope that you'll be out of AP before the 8th month (: good luck to you as well.

Thank you so much! If he gets out of AP in the next month I will feel like I've won the lotto! Yes, it's a bummer that name hits can cause AP. My fiance's middle name is Mohammad so it's scary to think how long it will take them to process our case Khan is also quite common, like you said many names are common from Pakistan.

My step son went to High School at the American school in London. Much better education than he was getting. Perhaps something to discuss with your ex.

If only you knew my ex! LOL! Yes, I totally agree with you. London has better schools, healthcare, you name it! I've tried talking to him about having the kids for the summer and letting us live in London the rest of the year, but he can't wrap his head around it. I feel like banging my head against a brick wall at this point!

In regard to the poster above, my general understanding is that the London embassy is easy on natives but VERY thorough when it comes to out-of-country applicants (not just Middle Easterners). More information will be available in the UK regional subforum, si man.

My fiance was born and raised in London. His parents originally immigrated from other countries (India and Pakistan) so I guess that is probably part of the hold up? I will check out the UK forum as well, thanks!

Thank you for sharing your story with me. I am so sorry you are having to go through this. Have you considered moving to London to be with your fiance?

I wish you the best and hope your AP ends soon.

I would LOVE to go to London and wait it out with him, but I share custody of my children with my ex husband and could not take them to London so..... It's a very sad situation for us right now! My kids love him as much as I do and they don't understand why this is taking so long and miss him so much.

I think it's smart to prepare yourselves for AP but not obsess over it pre interview as it may just make the interview even more nerve wracking. The truth of the matter is AP is very likely. The US is has such a huge database of names that "hits" are very common and cause further delays in processing the visa. My fiance has been in AP for 7 months now. He is from London but family is originally from Pakistan and he has a common name. Everyone's different and some get through it in a week and some in a couple years!

Sorry if this is a "downer" answer(I've responded on both posts since I'm in the same situation), but since you are asking it's best to know the truth rather than get the rug pulled out from under you at your interview like we did.

Wishing you the best!

My fiance and I are currently going through this ourselves and I wish we had known about AP beforehand so we could have been prepared. I didn't join this site till a few months ago and have learned a lot since. Like you my fiance is of Pakistani heritage but born and raised somewhere else(London). He too has never spent much time in Pakistan and last time he visited family there was years ago. We are now on our 7th month of AP. I have been preparing myself for a longer wait and if he gets his visa before the year is over I'll be thrilled because I have seen people online that were in it for years.

There is absolutely no way to determine how long your fiance would be in AP. That is the worst part of it all. You can't do anything to make sense of it and can only wait. I hope you get lucky, but chances are with current events what they are we are going to wait even longer.

Hang in there and know that you are not alone...

My fiance had to leave his phone at home and took the Underground for about 45 mins to an hour to get there too on his interview day.

Good luck on Wednesday!

I contacted my local Congressman after our case had been in AP for 5 months. They did respond about a week later saying they were going to contact the embassy in London and see what the problem was. About 2 weeks later (roughly) they(Congressmen's office) sent me an email saying that our case was in AP and we just need to wait. Well, I had told them from the beginning that our case was in AP so they weren't telling me anything I didn't already know! So basically in my case it was not helpful. I think it is helpful for those who are in the pre interview phase but once you get put in AP you are stuck in a void that nobody can help you with. It takes them ages to run the name checks and if your fiance has a common name it can take months. We are almost at the 7 month mark and I hope you hear something soon and do not have to wait much longer.

I don't think it will affect your K1 because you became engaged after you filled out the original tourist application and were denied. I would concentrate on gathering evidence of your relationship to support your K1 application. Good luck and congratulations!

According to the Embassay's website:

Passports: A Passport must be valid for travel to the United States and must have at least eight months validity beyond the issuance date of the visa. Children may be included on a parent's passport, but if over the age of 16, they must have their photographs attached to the passport.

http://london.usembassy.gov/application_documents.html

Good luck and hope he gets his interview soon!

My fiance rec'd a letter today from the Embassay in London asking him to set up courier to pick up his passport. I am wondering if anyone else out there who was in AP received a letter like this and if so did you get your visa soon after? I am scared to get excited, but since this is the first thing to happen on our case since his interview way back in October I am a little excited!

It says:

"This is to advise you on the status of your case, it is currently pending "administrative processing". Unfortunately, there is no mechanism to speed up or determine how long this process will take. In the meantime, please forward your passport to this office if you have no immediate travel plans, as this will ensure your visa being issued without delay once administrative processing has been completed."

I dont get it. If there is a false hit can't they compare DOB check job histort etc to confirm it isnt same person pretty quick?

My senator's aide has been very unhelpful and rude to me throughout this process. She will not even answer my emails anymore. I think she is mad I was bugging her about my case for so long.

What a nightmare. I have heard this can take years...seriously? I would go back to mexico to live before I would just stay in limbo that long even tho I dont want to. How can they expect couples to deal w this for yrs? If we get thru this initial stage will we have same problem after interview?

Yes, it is most likely due to your fiance having a common name. Each time a hit comes up in the name check it requires a "human being" (I use the term loosely!) to manually remove it. This is why some cases take years. I guess on the bright side they are putting you through this before his interview so that perhaps he will get his visa at the interview rather than getting put into AP. Our interview came quite quickly and we thought we were doing alright but were nabbed with AP at that point. It has now been over 6 months in AP with no end in sight. If I could move to London I would have done that at this point becuase this process is beyond ridiculous! I completely relate to your frustration and hope you hear something very soon!

Your right for sure, I am a Big Baby. I am a big baby because this immigration process was master minded by idiot monkeys, chimpanzees in polyester suites so stupid they are not fit to lead a "Johny Detail" so idiotic they couldn't pour piss from a boot with the instructions written on the bottom! These same jackass chimps have screwed up the immigration process so badly we have millions of illegal immigrants all over this country and they can't figure it out! These same imbeciles who have all but destroyed this country by running our national debt into the TRILLIONS!

Do you really think that George Washington and Thomas Jefferson had any idea that at some point the Federal Government would decide who a free loving American can marry, love and build a family with??? Seriously, they would have fought for the Red Coats!!! Good GRIEF!!!

You took the words right out of my mouth

I am also trying to find ways to cope with this nightmare that is called Adminstrative Processing. My fiance had his interview in October 2010 and now we are going on 6 months of AP. If I knew that it would end in a couple of months I would be so happy, but I have seen other stories of AP lasting 2 or more YEARS. This makes me very depressed and I really don't know how to get through this for another year or more. We started the K1 process in April 2010 and I got through last year by going to school. I am running out of ideas to pass the time....

Is there a reason why he would need the B2 rather than using the VWP? The answer to this may answer your question

He travelled here to visit me a little over a year ago on VWP and was told that this would be only time he could get through on VWP and next time if he comes without a visa they will put him jail over night and then send him back to London. He is born and raised in London, but his family is Pakistani. We can only assume that is why he would be told such a thing as he has no criminal record and has never done anything to warrant being put in jail.

He had also come to visit me on VWP one time prior to that visit and each time stayed for just under 3 months. I have been to visit him in London 2 times as well for shorter visits and never have any trouble.

I have been reading many posts about travelling to US on a B2 Visa while going through the K-1 process. I have not seen anything about doing so while the K-1 is Adminstrative Processing though. My fiance had his interview on Oct 6 2010 and was put in AP. It has been 6 months and I want him to come visit for summer. Is there any hope to get a B2 or will they just put the B2 in AP? Has anyone had any experience with this?

Hello every1

I attended my interview in London back in November and I was placed into Administrative Processing until I could provide The Affidavit of Support, Form I-864 (even though the embassy website said this was not needed for a k-1 visa). This form along with my passport was sent to the embassy a week later.

Since then I have remained in Administrative Processing and was just wondering how long other people have had to wait.

btw for others in this situation once u have been in Administrative Processing for 90 days you get the same email response from the embassy telling you there is nothing you can do but wait till they are finished.

My fiance had his interview at the London Embassy in October and wasn't missing any paperwork but put in Admin Processing. It will be 6 months next week and still getting all the same responses when we inquire "Still pending administrative processing". My fiance was born in London but family is from Pakistan originally and he has a common muslim name. I am concerned they will never take us out of administrative processing.

Lets be honest folks, how many others are throwing thier hands up almost in disgust at the situation? I mean raelly? Im heading towarrd 7 months now from the date of my NOA1. There were calls of patience way back when, but now its pretty much all a joke to me. I feel almost as if ive given up, or as if this process has taken the pleasure out of the whole point of all this. This is really bad on a relationship to say the least, and extremly cruel.

Yes, I feel extremely fed up too. It has been a year since we started this process. Everything seemed to be on track and following the time-line of 6 to 8 months for his Visa to get approved and here it is March 2011 and still nothing. I don't know how they expect people to cope being apart for such long periods of time. I felt so excited last year about getting married and now just feel annoyed at not having any control over the situation at all. Cannot plan anything decent and basically will have a shotgun wedding if he ever gets the visa!!

Hi,

Does Visa Journey have timelines for administrative processing? If not, can the administrators set one up? And does anyone have experience with the U.S. consulate in Nairobi in this regard?

My husband's visa was approved pending admin processing. I'm optimistic over the long term, but I won't rest easy until he has his visa in hand -- and I'm not holding my breath.

My sense is that this is the new black hole for visa applications -- DOS won't estimate time needed for processing or give any info. The uncertainty is very difficult for people. According to news reports, Obama has leaned on DOS to do more security reviews, and as usual with anything related to immigration, they're doing it badly. See this Washington Post article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/31/AR2010033103613.html

I would also like more info about admin processing times. My fiance had his interview in October 2010 and was put in Admin Processing and we still have heard nothing. I contacted my Congressman last month and they sent an inquiry to the Embassy only to come back with "it's in Administrative Processing and there is no time-line". I'm so tired of hearing that. I wouldn't even mind the long waiting period if they could just say how long it will be. Could they keep us in limbo for a year or more??? It has already been a year since we started our "Visa Journey".