Avantgarde

Finally after a long wait of 4 months 11 days, the administrative processing on my case completed on Oct 11.

I got notification from the embassy to drop off my passport for visa issuance. I dropped it off on Oct 16 and collected it today.

As it was DCF in our case, the entire process was very fast. We had our first interview on March 22 & I received the visa on Oct 23 so exactly 7 months in total. The only thing that tested our patience was AP. Believe me guys if your case is in AP as well for a long time, all you need to show is patience, keep yourself busy in work, sports etc and some day your wait would be over.

A big thank you to all VJ members. Indeed, I got a lot of help from this wonderful forum.

Trying to find a similar thread for you...

i read something about someone filing thru UAE and was also from another country of origin but living in UAE having a long ap.. thinking due to the two countries... but now i can't find it.. if i do ill link it to you..

I found one for you...

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/308774-abu-dhabi-uae-dcf-it-been-6mnths/

EAbbas,

Thank you for your reply.

This guy has just recently received his visa

This question is NOT from folks who filed their cases at Islamabad embassy (Pakistan) coz the average processing time for them are extraordinarily higher. Although I'm myself a Pakistani but filed my case at Abu Dhabi embassy (UAE) through DCF. My wife is USC.

Is there anyone out their whose A.P took more than 5 months to get completed or who is still under A.P since more than 5 months.

P.S: My question is from only those people who do not have complications in their cases.

Thanks

my father was in AP from Abu Dhabi US embassy for 100 days. It took 100 days to get AP clearance.

good luck to all of you.

So it has been EXACTLY 100 days today for me

Anybody gone through Abu Dhabi (UAE) embassy recently & got his AP completed have an idea on how much time are they taking on average?

I posted this post in K-1 visa forum too.

We were in AP for 1.5 weeks, the consulate website said AP was over and to turn passport in to receive the visa. So this past Sunday my fiance did just that and he as given a white paper that said, "Your case will be reviewed by a consular officer who will make the final determination on your case. Your passport may be pickup at 1:00pm August 15."

Sounds like he's getting the visa. But the first line is throwing us off. Can anyone clear this up for us? Is this just standard form or could the visa not be issued? We're afraid to get too excited and just want to know if anyone has seen this before. Thank you so much!

1.5 weeks in A.P and its over? Lucky you

As far as 'consular officer making the final decision' thing is concerned, let me tell you something here. Recently, I was randomly entering some visa reference numbers on their website similar to mine & interestingly got one right. The message was as follows:

"We are pleased to inform you that processing of your application for immigrationto the United States has reached the point where we request that you submit your passport(s) to prepare for visa issuance. You or another trusted person may bring your passports to the Embassy in Abu Dhabi any Sunday at 1:30 p.m., excluding holidays. In most cases, the visa will be ready for pick-up in 4 to 7 days. Embassy staff will provide further details when you drop off your passport(s)"

After a few days, the following message started appearing just below the above paragraph:

"The administrative processing on your file has been completed. However, a visa number may not be available for your file within this month.Please check the Department of State’s current Visa Bulletin at 'http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/bulletin/bulletin_1360.html' for information about visa availability for your visa category."

Hope this helps

Date I was put in AP = May 30, 2011

Today = August 02, 2011

Days Passed = 64

Some ppl say AP takes 6 weeks, COMPLETED

DOS website says on average it takes 60 days, COMPLETED

Consular officer at the time of interview said in my case it would take a maximum of 2 months, COMPLETED

All timelines keep on completing & still waiting for AP to be over. I've even resigned from my company & cannot stay at this place more than next 1.5 months.

Its a real test of patience

Please clarify this for me.

Although we are out of *AP now but when we got the 221g in october last year and I called DOS they told me they were doing documents verification in Lagos.

So if they were doing document verification should they not have said we were in AR and not AP; it is just ringing a bell now that light has been shed on the difference. Because come to think of it besides our birth and divorce certificates all other documents were from the states. Or do they use both terms regardless.

Thanks

Please note that the difference in terminologies (AP & AR) is not generalized by DOS. It varies from embassy to embassy.

Okay, I have kind of a similar case as yours except that it was direct consular filing in our case. My wife (USC) & I both live together in U.A.E & we both have Pakistani origin. I've been in A.P since last 2 months.

First of all, although the blue sheet mentions 'refusal', it doesn't actually mean a visa denial. It is just their standard practice that they give blue sheet to people they put under administrative review/processing.

Further on, I second Illnevergetthis. There are actually 2 kind of APs, usually called administrative review & administrative processing. Mostly (not always), the former refers to A.P at embassy level while the latter refers to security checks at D.C level. I contacted DOS several times & they always say that my case is in administrative processing at Abu Dhabi embassy & the embassy will take the final decision on my case. This means my case is not in security checks at Washington DC level, which I think is a good sign since it would only go through at embassy level & hence would be shorter InshAllah. You need to contact DOS after some time & ask for the status of your case. Their contact # is 0012026631225 (dial 1 after the operator speaks & then dial 0 for talking to a visa specialist).

On contacting the embassy via email, you will get this sort of response "Our records indicate that your case is in Administrative Processing. A.P takes around 3 months or longer but in some cases could take months or even years". I think this sort of response would make you scared.

Anyways, I hope most of the cases don't take much longer if their A.P is at embassy level.

Wish you best of luck.

No matter how many times you ask this question and rephrase it or post it in multiple threads the answer remains the same and is also quite evident in hundreds of previously posted threads including the lengthy AP thread on this forum.

1. No one knows how long AP takes it varies from case to case Embassy to Embassy.

2. No it doesn't make a difference if you are Fiance or Spouse for AP.

3. Middle Eastern Countries almost always go through AP and it can take from 2 weeks to multiple years depending on the security checks and name hits. Everyone has a different name and birth date so if you are the unlucky one to have a similar name to someone on a watch list it lengthens AP.

Calm down man!

I asked this question again because I got an impression from this guy's (Love Eth) post that AP depends upon the kind of petition and if its going on at embassy or NVC level.

I'm absoulately fine with how much time my A.P takes but I have to plan in advance for resignation from my company, flight booking etc..

Hi, quick question

you need to be a little brief to get answer. At what stage are you I mean where is the AP going on, at the embassy or NVC and what is the kind of petition K or CR? These things have a good influencing factor on the time that the AP could be concluded.

Hi, quick question

you need to be a little brief to get answer. At what stage are you I mean where is the AP going on, at the embassy or NVC and what is the kind of petition K or CR? These things have a good influencing factor on the time that the AP could be concluded.

Does it take less time if the AP is at embassy level?

Further on, does it take less if its a CR petition?

Although I know every case is different and the Administrative Processing time varies case by case but I'd like to know the average time (based on statistics) for AP to be completed?

Further on, I'm curious to know what would be the average time for Middle East countries in particular?

P.S: By average time, I mean taking the sum of processing times of all past visa applicants divided by the total no. of applicants. I know these figures would not be officially available but a wild guess based on your observations/experience would suffice.

Thank you for your attention.

Yes it will delay and possibly for a long time. If they have your passport at the Embassy how are you going to get into Syria anyway?

They don't have my passport. They don't keep passports for those in AP.

Guys,

I'm a U.A.E resident & currently in AP.

I'd like to travel to Syria and was wondering if would affect (delay) my AP?

What are your thoughts on this?

Nothing will change except it will become inconvenient to pick up your passport and VISA.

Great. Thanks!

I thought your spouse already went to the interview, at the time you applied to process at that Embassy your spouse was a legal resident there... quit overthinking everything... you are driving yourself nutso

OMG.. There is a serious miscommunication here..

I am the beneficiary.. My spouse is a USC..

We already had our second interview in May and now we are in AP. Now if I lose my residence visa while in AP, could there be any problem with our visa?

? , Do you mean your spouse no longer lives in the country where the US Embassy was processing her VISA?

In that case he/she might have to send the Embassy the Passport VIA some type of courier service in order to get the VISA stamp once AP is over.

I mean to ask if losing the residence could be an issue in getting the visa since residence visa of that particular country is a prerequisite in applying your case in that embassy?

What happense in case you are no more resident of the country where you applied for your spouse immigration visa while you are in AP?

Does anyone know what is the difference between a green sheet & blue sheet that is given after your visa interview?

Seems like different people get different kinds of sheets. I was just wondering if it has anything to do with the processing of your case.

my father was in AP from Abu Dhabi US embassy for 100 days. It took 100 days to get AP clearance.

good luck to all of you.

baba11,

Would you mind sharing if you applied for his case recently? I'm wondering if they are still taking 100 days..

Secondly, do you think AP based on spouse visa could be shorter?

Dont be scared. Being that you can check your case on the website, you are in background checks. Keep Checking that site. It'll let you know when they've completed the checks. It is rare that it takes many months or years. Try to have patience...they will finish them. Hopefully, it's within the 2.5 months...try to stay positive.

Thanks. Your posts are giving me a lot of motivation

Based on what consular officer said, their email and the website, do you conclude if my case is in usual background checks? If it would have been in security checks at DC, do they specifically mention that your case is in security checks at DC?

I think when the website says 'routine administrative processing', it could mean my case is undergoing the routine background checks (verifying documents etc).

Further on, the only thing that I'm confused about is if all the MENA people (specially males) are put in security checks at DC? The guy above (brokenfamily) seems to be pretty sure about this while you deny..

Seems like there are a lot of people out there from Egypt, Morocco & Jordan..

I was just wondering if anyone filed his/her case at Abu Dhabi embassy (U.A.E)?

My wife is USC. I've been in AP since 3 weeks & curious to know how much time on average does it take for Abu Dhabi embassy to complete the administrative processing..

Any comments will be highly appreciated.

Thanks!

I would send the embassy an email and ask them if your case is in security checks....that way you will know for sure. If your embassy accepts phone calls (mine doesn't), you could call them and ask them.

I find with the embassy I'm dealing with, I always have to ask specific questions to get a clear answer.

Unfortunately my embassy doesn't accept phone calls too.

I sent them an email and got this reply,

"Our records indicate that your application is still undergoing administrative processing. Administrative processing often lasts about 90 days, but in some cases, it can take several months or even years longer. Applicants can check the status of their case on our website..."

This is such a scary response The counsular officer said max 2.5 months, but their email is saying something else.

Further when I check the status of my case on their website, it says:

"Your application for a U.S. immigrant visa is undergoing routine administrative processing. This processing can require from two weeks to several months. As soon as this processing is completed, the Embassy will post a message to this website with further instructions. Please continue to check this website on a regular basis for updates."

According to the lady that I spoke to last week at DOS, administrative processing is a blanket statement. It means that they are still working on the case. I was asking her the difference betweeen AP and AR. She said that when a case is in AR it is in AP.

AR is when they are checking on your case. It could be they are checking on your relationship (plenty of past people in MENA can tell you about this), they could be confirming documents, or reviewing your paperwork. With this said, AP can also be security checks.

Usually when they tell you it is mandatory administrative processing, this is when it is security checks and it is being done in DC.

When it is at the embassy level....then they are most probably verifying the authenticity of documents, reviewing paperwork, or checking on the relationship.

Yes, to Answer your question, they can do security checks in DC after they have finished verifying or doing what they do at the embassy level. I do hope that your AP is short.

There are many people us in the MENA forum that have endured AP, but not everyone.

Did they give you a 221g at the interview? Did they request additonal documents from you and you sent them in?

Yes the counsular officer gave me a blue sheet and said "all your documents are complete and everything looks fine, but we are not done yet. We are sending your case for processing which could take around 1 or 2 months". When I asked her exactly how much time will they take, she said "it could be a minimum of 1 month and a maximum of 2.5 months. If I would have to guess, then I would say 2 months".

This means that the embassy is verifying something about your case. It has nothing to do with Washington DC security checks. The embassy could be reviewing your paperwork, verifying documents, or checking on your relationship. Best of luck to you!!!

Thanks.

So will they send my case to Washington DC after this verification?

The Embassy will process the case, they may request a Security Advisory Opinion from DC since you are from a country on the list of 26.

It seems like I was not able to explain my question well.

Actually I wanted to ask if the visa specialist meant the embassy have started doing administrative processing on my case or does his response seem like a general statement that 'my case is undergoing administrative processing'?

Thanks a million!