SM2010

Thank you and I wish you and others still waiting best of luck! there were hardly ever any updates on our case except when we would email or the senator's office will send an inquiry. On May 1st, I check the status in the morning and it had not changed and I checked it again in the evening and it updated so I knew it was worked on in the US and my husband received the call the next day

Hi SM2010,

Many Many congratulations to you on your husband visa. You people waited long enough but good at the end its worthful

can you please tell us how many times your case updated before they call your husband for documents, fingerprints and oath? And how many time your husband submited documents before this ? Thank you

Hi cute Wife,

Many many congratulations to you too good people are getting visas

Congratulations! I wish you a safe journey to the US!!! My husband picked up his passport today but he only has a visa for 6 weeks because his passport is expiring soon. I'm so glad they didnt aske us to renew his passport

Congratulations . i was also in embassy last day on 21 may for oath and finger prints and also got call on 12th may ....

He received the call to submit ds260 and have his medical exam done etc on May 2nd. May 6th they received ds260 confirmation barcode. May 7th he had his medical exam. He picked up his reports on May 9th and we emailed the embassy to notify them that we have the reports ready. It was the weekend so he received the call on Monday May 12 to come in for finger prints and Oath on May 21st at 2 pm.

Almost 3 years of AP and my husband went in for finger prints and oath yesterday and was approved!!! Alhamdulliah our status changed to issued today and i'm finally starting to believe that this is real. This journey has been so long and painful. I have appreciated all the support from fellow VJ memebers from ISB and congratulate everyone who has been issued and pray hard for those who are waiting. I especially pray hard for Eabbas, it's her turn next inshaAllah. I appreciate the friendships I have gained through this long painful journey, that is the only good thing that came out of being in AP I appreciate the help and guidance from Mohsin786 and Sam&Waq for this last step of our process and being there for me day and night, literally lol.

our last few weeks leading up to the issuance of the visa were very similar to Sam&Waq and Mohsin786.

If I can be any help to my fellow VJ members, please feel free to contact me.

Today my husband has the visa in his hands. He will go and book his flight.

Congratulations Carolyn!!! I'm so happy for you You are very strong and an inspiration to all of us. You held it together and stayed calm and optimistic through this process. May you and your husband have an endless happiness together!!!

...still waiting :'(

still waiting in AP :'( My daughters are 5 months now and God knows when they'll get to meet their dad in person :'(

If you haven't heard we are in what they call a Government Shutdown right now for political reasons here in the States. I did a bit of research to see what effect it would have on the Visa process and this is the information that I found to be consistent. Hopefully it will be a short shutdown and we won't feel the effect of it.

As a fee-based agency, USCIS will continue to accept and process applications and petitions. However, we expect there to be delays in processing, as some support staff may be furloughed and USCIS depends on non-essential agencies for services.

E-Verify will be shut down. According to the Department of Homeland Security, citizens and U.S. businesses will not be able to access E-Verify, the Internet based system that allows employers to voluntarily determine the eligibility of prospective employees to work in the United States.

The Department of State confirmed that consular operations domestically and overseas will remain 100% operational as long as there are sufficient fees to support operations. However, this is only expected to last for a few days, after which consular posts will focus solely on diplomatic services and emergency services for American citizens. We expect delays in processing visas, and if there is a prolonged shut down, we expect a cessation of visa processing. During previous shutdowns, business reasons have not qualified for emergency visa processing.

I've been so upset by the government shut down. We've been in AP for over 26 months I think. I check our status daily in hope for an update or a good news and now with the government shut down I'm losing that hope too

any update on visa issuance yet? i am in the same situation since June2013..still waiting after new submission

No news yet we haven't had many updates on our case except when we or the senator make inquiries

Carolyn, what did the state department say in the letter? I hope you don't mind me asking. I mean were they helpful or was it a waste of time?

Carolyn, what did the state department say in the letter? I hope you don't mind me asking. I mean were they helpful or was it a waste of time?

I wish that was true in every case. We've been married for 3 years. I gave birth to our twin daughters here in states 3 weeks ago. My husband has been in AP for over 2 years and we've made endless pleas without any positive news

Not everyone. If you are married for more than 2 years and have a baby, you'll get the visa in hand within 5 days. I've seen this happen to a couple of ppl (male applicants) recently.

So just checked out the link and I believe the best thing to do would be to post the petition and then create a Facebook page where we can post our stories for people to read and request our friends etc to sign the petition. InshAllah we can do this.

We, including myself, have been waiting for one another to start a petition. I know someone suggested that Mushashi do it (as he brought up the idea) but it seems unfair to dump it all on one person. That being said, here is my attempt at writing something close to a petition. I took the second paragraph from something Virgo posted in the other thread (plagiarism, yes). I couldn't find a way to paraphrase it as it echoed my exact sentiments. Can someone else do it?

My second concern is providing signatures for the petition. I'm afraid of giving my and my loved ones information on the Internet. Mushashi suggested that we would need 2500 signatures to grab the attention of a congressman. Is there a site for that? I found the "We The People" section on the White House website (https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petitions) but it requires 100,000 signatures which seems....unrealistic? So any one have ideas of a legit site/way to do this?

........

Administrative processing is a term used to describe a visa application that has been set aside for further review by the embassy. Most administrative processing cases are resolved within 60 days after interview. However, the majority of the applicants in the Islamabad embassy of Pakistan have been waiting for months and years to get a response. During this long waiting period, the petitioner and beneficiary go through pain and suffer as there is no time frame, access to any information, or deadlines.

While the reasons of establishing such procedure is understandable, it seems inhumane to put people in the prison of time just because they want to travel to the United States-- mostly to add to economic or/and intellectual growth of the nation. It is thus evident that the US government, especially in the context of this problem, is yet to realize the delicate balance between securing borders and opening doors.

Please bring some transparency in this process to expedite it. Provide a clear explanation to the candidates that are put under admin processing. Give deadline as to when the visa will be issued along with access to more information.

.....

Any suggestions?

This sounds really good. I like it how you keep it simple and to the point. I also think now is the best chance to grab congress's attention as they just passed the immigration reform for illegal immigrants. They make take interest in this matter as well. I'm currently pregnant with twins due in 5 days but I'm willing to help in anyway I can. I also believe we can get signatures by posting the link on Facebook. Does it have to be 100,000?

I received a letter from my Senator's office today. They emailed the embassy to ask why the embassy would ask for fresh documents and not issue the visa. The embassy replied that they asked for fresh documents so they could update the case file. The embassy wanted fresh documents so they could update their records.

I am very angry after reading this. They got my hopes up that we were finally going to get our visa in a short time. The embassy received our documents on April 25th and after that no work has been done on our case. So maybe that is why so many of us have sent fresh documents and haven't gotten out of AP. The embassy is updating their records.

Good to know that they were just playing with our feelings by getting our hopes up. This is the most BS system I've ever seen

I called DOS and a polite lady answered, I asked if it was mandatory AP and she said yes. Does anyone know what exactly "mandatory" AP is?

When I check our case online it says it's in necessary AP. I believe mandatory and necessary are probably same. My understanding is that it involves name checks/back ground checks and probably checks to make sure the relationship is legit. None of us really know 100% of what it all means we can only assume. Wish you all the best!!!

I'm so happy for you EAbbas. I'm so glad you'll get to spend you're very first Eid with him. You'll cherish every moment spent with him and will be able to hold on to those memories for when you return to help you deal with all the heartache here. We have T minus 13 days until the arrival of our babies. We haven't had any positive news yet I agree with someone pointing out that they were issuing some visas from Jan-March and none since. I dont know when the next "visa issuing" months are going to be. I feel like things will get delayed even further during Ramadan as the work hours are reduced. *Sigh*

Oh God, please help us all going through this painful process. It is only you who can get us out of this.

I don't trust anything unless it's written. I trust the site more. Remember, recently we had VJ memeber whose status updated to visa issued jus 2 days before he received a call to pick up his passport? This makes me think if they work on it, touch your file etc it gets updated right away. It also appears to get updated every time we send in an inquiry or if someone else on our behalf sends one. It appears that anytime our case is opened it gets updated.

How does one know if he is in AP?

I had my interview this week and submitted my passports.

I was told I will get the visa etc in 2 weeks.

After reading some of the comments, its a bit scary.

It doesn't sound like your in AP. They would've given you a paper stating that they need to do administrative processing and they would've verbally said something on the same line.

Thank you Carolyn! This gives me some hope. Is speed-ex also called american express in Pakistan? And we both should send same things...birth certificate and a letter to the ambassador?

Does anyone know the longest amount of time anyone has ever been in AP?

Carolyn, what if we don't hear anything for another year or 2? What do we do then? What options do we have? I'm so terrified of having to raise my daughters alone. I can't possibly take them to Pakistan until they're at least 2 years old. I can't travel with 2 newborns for that long. I hate long flights. I usually take sedatives but you can't do that when you have kids with you. I've had so many nervous breakdowns in last few months. I don't know what to do or who to go to for help. The congressmen and senators are useless.

My husband has been in AP for over 22 months and the CO told him the same thing about 2-4 months There is nothing any one can do. We have a lawyer, have sent endless inquiries from a senator, congressman etc with no help. They only tell you that the case is in AP and nothing more. Writ of Mandamus is not a good option as well as they will simply deny the case if AP is not complete.

SM2010,

please keep your faith strong as we majority from pakistan are in this black hole(AP) process.iam also in this process nearlt 8 months completed,been told at the end of interview that the max waiting time in my case is 3 to 6 months....by the way how do you come up to know that your husband is still in security checks process,coz i wrote ,called and emailed everywhere got no information only work AP....please keep ur faith strong GOD is with us,very soon tomorrow will come for us...pray for ur husband and all of us who are in ap....

I have a lawyer who hasn't been very helpful at all. The only reason I hired her was to fill out the forms. I didn't want to make any mistakes and cause any delays. Anyways, I ask her to check on the case about every 3 months and she asks a Congressman or a senator to send an inquiry. Usually they always say in AP and nothing more but this time the congressman's office said he's in security checks and there is no way to get him out. I'm not sure how long he's been in checks. I'm assuming they just recently put him in checks as they never told us he was in checks before.

Hello,

I tried to research but did not find much information. Is it true to assume all male cases are currently going to Ap?

Just thought I would ask so I am prepared for the news!

Not all cases are placed in AP but most are (I would say about 90%). Wish you all the best!!!