German in UK

On 24/07/2018 at 10:24 PM, DrEllaNJ said:

Haven't been on a while, but this is excellent news, congrats! But ridiculous they made you wait that long.

Thanks! Next is the adjustment of status to immigrant...

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Thanks, everyone. To all others with this ridiculous problem: if you've been in AP for more than six months, start to explore mandamus action with a suitably qualified attorney. Jay Gairson of Seattle helped me - he was excellent.

5 hours ago, Coco8 said:

 

Well, I really hope it goes your way.

Thanks - as it happens, my attorney has received a very promising message from LegalNet overnight. More soon.

15 hours ago, Coco8 said:

Hey, have you received any news? More people are stuck on AP with O1 in London and have been posting on VJ. 

Hey, nope, nothing. I have two applications going - O1 and H1B - at London, both stuck. Embassy says it’s out of its hands. Having waited a full year, my attorney filed a mandamus lawsuit last week - my university and I just can’t wait any longer. The whole thing has been nothing short of absurd. 

One more thing for everyone's benefit: Jay Gairson of Seattle is an awesome attorney. I strongly recommend him if your visa application has got stuck in AP. 

38 minutes ago, Joe Black said:

Is there any news on the visa front? It's ridiculous it's taking so long...

The corrected petition was re-filed and re-approved. Had another visa interview last week. Handed over police certificates to demonstrate I’m a good guy as well as a few additional letters of support. The officer was friendly and seemed sympathetic but the application still went straight into AP (was given a yellow note), apparently because of its pre-history. I asked if they had any detrimental information concerning my person on the system and the officer said ‘I can’t see any’. More info requested the following day (travel

history and addresses for last 15 years, info about siblings and spouses/partners, etc). Submitted that and, once again, just waiting now. The whole experience has been bizarre and quite damaging. 

4 hours ago, Coco8 said:

I'm glad your new lawyer found those issues. 

 

It is a shame the consulate does not provide information about the denial. They could have said that there were inconsistencies in the information provided in the petition, and that would have been enough to go back to it earlier. 

Thing is that the application hasn’t actually been denied - it’s still pending. We have to re-file a corrected version of the petition, then cancel the old application and start again. 

11 hours ago, Boiler said:

Neither sound minor, what does your new lawyer think?

He thinks that the errors caused the lengthy administrative processing.

Still no movement on either the O-1 or H-1B applications - 8 months are up now. Got myself my own attorney, who I trust knows what he's doing. University's lawyer (she who prepared the original O petition) has become somewhat antagonistic, probably because two errors she's made have been discovered: she declared the wrong country of birth for me and filed the petition in the wrong category (science rather than education - I'm an English Prof). Old attorney admits errors but calls them minor (self-protection?), new attorney thinks that, in the current visa climate, they have very likely triggered consular requests for both an SAO and LAO, hence the lengthy pressing. 

Corrected O petition will be re-filed in the next few days with a view to a fresh visa application which will be accompanied by police certificates that prove I'm no criminal, a letter from the dean explaining the appointment process (I.e. Internationally advertised, I got the job on merit), etc. I'm at my wit's end, of course, as this has been such a disruptive and destructive period of seemingly endless waiting. Wish me luck - if this doesn't work, I'll almost certainly end up unemployed. 

Did you file the writ? Any success with it?

On 24 September 2017 at 9:20 PM, Joanna_Keyvan said:

I'm not sure why those on this particular forum are so fearful of a writ. I was honestly trying to find out if anyone had any experience not what they *think* a consular officer would do. I'm very familiar with the process and the concept of consular nonreviewabiliy. I work in an immigration law firm so my attorney won't be getting paid. They are my friends. One thing we notice is that people who should be filing writs (more than 1.5 years of waiting) are afraid too. A consular officer can't get "pissed off" and deny an immigration visa arbitrarily. At our firm we file them all the time for status adjustment, but more rarely for admin process. We have filed about half a dozen over the years for admin processing and all of them were approved. But they had been waiting approximately 14 months average. There's no rule about how soon is too soon so I am trying to find people with experience filing sooner.

I'm kind of pleased about this rare positive comment on WoM for AP. I find myself in a tricky situation (like most folks in prolonged AP): my O visa application has been in AP for 7 months and my new employer, a public university, is prepared to wait only until the end of May, so for a full year of AP. If the visa isn't issued by then, they'll let me go. I have no idea why this has happened: I'm a national of a 'leading' European nation, lived and worked in the UK for over 20 yrs, no criminal record, no connections whatsoever to the countries on the travel ban list (read: no Muslim family background), I'm a professor in the humanities who held a J-1 two years ago and has never been denied entry to the US. My guess is that the database search produced a security alert for something (could a name check take this long? I have a very common name), but comments on here seem to suggest that I'll likely receive a denial if the check(s) aren't completed when I file the WoM. I intend to do this in late February/early March if no visa by then. Thing is, if I don't get the visa by May, the job's gone anyway. Any thoughts? 

52 minutes ago, 610 said:

 

Thanks for responses @German in UK

 

I have been discussing this with my immigration lawyer and they have asked me to contact the embassy. 

 

I was wondering @German in UK has your petitioner ever mentioned pulling out of the petition? My petitioner isn't sure they can wait for 6-12months and are discussing the idea. Do you know if this is something we can do, pull out my application?    

   

Thanks!

You can withdraw your application for the O visa. My petitioner also petitioned for an H-1B a couple of months ago and the consular officer told me the application for it was approved (‘you can travel and work on the H-1B’) regardless of the O being in AP. I was delighted, but then received an email 6 days later telling me the H-1B is also in AP now. They’re obviously getting a hit in one of the searches but I can’t imagine with it is. At that point, my petitioner discussed ‘letting me go’ but then decided to wait at least a full year for the O to be processed. I’ve got until May now. I guess once the job offer is withdrawn, the petition becomes invalid.

8 minutes ago, Boiler said:

O1 implies there is an Immigration Lawyer involved.

Of course!

1 minute ago, 610 said:

I'm sorry to hear you might have to take legal action @German in UK !

 

I remember reading that a senator contacted the Consulate in London for you. Where you able to ring the consulate yourself?

 

I am needing to find out as much as possible as my petitioner is unsure they can wait to hear back from USCIS on what action they will take, following the embassy 'recommending for my petition to be revoked' and sending it back to them.

 

 

One of the CO senators has contacted the embassy and State Dept three times now and only received generic responses each time (‘still pending, can’t be expedited’). The attorney wrote to Legalnet - no response at all. They won’t talk to the applicant and the legal representatives are being ignored too now. There’s lots of stone-walling. I’d say you need an immigration lawyer to help

you. 

1 hour ago, 610 said:

Hi @German in UK

 

I was just wondering if you had any update on your visa situations? 

 

I am in a similar situation with my O-1 visa application being in the waiting process, although following the additional processing email, I was informed my petition was being sent back to USCIS with the recommendation to be revoked. 

 

Nope, no news at all, but I don’t believe my approved O petition has been sent back to USCIS. At least neither my attorney nor I have been notified that this is the case. I’m in month no. 7 now. Contemplating legal action: contrary to common belief, it is possible to file a lawsuit against the consulate to get a decision. 

On ‎03‎/‎11‎/‎2017 at 4:34 AM, Coco8 said:

No, it is not denied. You might get an email asking if you are still interested. 

 

I know that for spousal visas they sometimes can be one or two years in AP, maybe even more, and every year they have to reply to an email saying they are still interested. This is usually for countries like Iran. Your case is bonkers.

Thanks, useful to know. Just been freaking myself out by reading about other folks being in AP for a year and longer. I'll be unemployed if that happens to me and my academic career may well be over then. Geez...this smells of a bad mistake...  

On ‎01‎/‎11‎/‎2017 at 6:49 PM, DrEllaNJ said:

My guess would be that that's what's holding things up now... Did you or could you apply for a redress number? No idea if that would help... https://trip.dhs.gov/FAQ.aspx

No, I didn't, perhaps I should have done. I'd guess that it's too late now that my applications are in the administrative processing loop.

Do you (or anyone else) know what happens if I don't received a response within a year of the embassy interview? I vaguely remember reading somewhere that applicants should consider their application as denied if they haven't heard back from the consular officer within a year. Is that correct? (I can't believe that I'm not even talking weeks and months anymore...)

2 hours ago, DrEllaNJ said:

wow. I never knew Early Modern English Lit could be so controversial... It could be that person you share a name with, but a simple verification of date of birth could show that you aren't that person.

 

I don't know what else to speculate on... This is so terribly frustrating.

 

How are you keeping busy in the meantime, do you still have a job or is the US university paying you already? It could be an excellent time to get research done, but I know from experience that immigration stress is so all-consuming that it can prevent any research from being done... (I used to be in academia, PhD in French lit)

About 3-4 years ago I was admitted 'through the back' a few times and eventually they told me that not only does someone with criminal tendencies share my name but also the DOB. But for the last couple years I've been able to enter as normal again. 

I'm working for the dept remotely as best as I can. Far from ideal, but Skype helps a lot. I wonder if I'll ever actually get one of the visas...

11 hours ago, Coco8 said:

At this rate they could start your green card. Because the O1 was approved you do not need labor certification, so your green card should be ready for Fall 2019. 

 

Did the senator get back at the university's president? Maybe you should contact one of the senators or both. Your case is beyond absurd.

 

Yep, one of the senators has been in touch with the London consulate and the Dept of State twice and just received a generic 'AP can't be waived and takes as long as it takes' messages back. No further info. The attorney has written to LegalNet - last I heard, no response yet. I'm not sure my new university can wait until Fall 19 (I'm the new dept chair!) - I'm guessing that I've got until May 18 ( a full year since the embassy interview for the O-1) and then they may just have to let me go into unemployment...

11 hours ago, DrEllaNJ said:

wow, so sorry to hear about your ordeals. trying to help you - please don't feel obligated to reply, but if one of these is the case you may have an answer:

1) are you working on a sensitive topic, like nuclear physics? edit: wait, now I remember you're in the humanities. Hm... critical of Trump or the US? Or a different sensitive topic?

2) are you a German citizen but of xxx descent (like Iranian, Jordanian, Syrian etc, like the countries on the travel ban list)?

3) have you traveled (recently) to countries the US is in war with, or countries affected by the travel ban?

4) is your name on the watch list (not you personally, but perhaps someone who has your name)? or is there a convicted felon/spy/who knows with your name (google?)?

5) have you had trouble in the past obtaining a visa for the US?

Hi! The answer is 'no' to all of your questions, except for #4 - I know that there is a wanted guy (possibly dead by now) who has the same first and last name as me (my name is a very common German name) who is also a German national. I'd guess that we don't share any other biographical details. And surely a name check doesn't take half a year to complete, does it? My research area is early modern English literature. I've never been denied entry to the US - in fact, I visited the US twice earlier this year (campus visit & conference) and have visited the country at least once a year for the last ten years. Was granted a J-1 two years ago - it took altogether three weeks to get the visa. I have absolutely no connections to any of the countries on the travel ban list or any other countries about which the US/the current administration has expressed concern (they are still good with the UK, right?). I don't have a criminal record. What the heck could it be?

Well, I'm still waiting...it'll be six months in late November. Absolutely nothing.

My new university recently applied for an H-1B petition, which was also approved without any problems. Had my interview at the London embassy on 2 October - the CO told me there and then it was approved and that the O-1 would simply continue to be processed. I was reassured I could travel and work on the approved H-1B and would have my passport back the following week. A week later I get my passport back WITHOUT the H-1B stamp in it - administrative processing. I have no idea what they are finding on their various databases they use, but this is beyond ridiculous.

Friends: still no news on the O visa. It all sucks very badly.

22 hours ago, Coco8 said:

 

That is crazy! I already have my H1B and started working yesterday. 

 

By the way, my H1B petition took less than 15 days. They mailed it on a Wednesday and the following week, on Friday, it was approved, and by Monday we had the physical notice paper (the assistant had sent an envelope with a stamp for faster mail or fedex, cannot remember)  

Great! Had the same for my O-1 - with premium processing I had the official approval document within three weeks. But still no visa...

On ‎10‎/‎08‎/‎2017 at 7:07 AM, goblin said:

Damn it! When I saw the email notification I was hoping for an APPROVED update!

 

Hang in there (Halte durch!)

Danke! But still no news. My new employer is now going to petition for an H-1B alongside the O-1, since premium processing is open again for the H-1B. Apparently, the one will not affect the other. I was surprised to hear that (two simultaneous visa applications?), but I guess I have to trust the attorney on this.