Queeniam1963

I'll jump in with my story.  My fiancé has been a Norwegian citizen for most of his adult life, however, he was born in Iran, which is what has been holding our case up.
 
In December 2016, he applied for a visitors visa to come and see me in the US and it has been in AP since then - no updates on the website since that day almost two years ago.  I contacted my senators who have made inquiries for me many times, but have never found out anymore information that I have on my own.
 
We decided to go ahead with the fiancé visa in the meantime and everything went smoothly until the interview.  My fiancé was placed in AP immediately and given a 221g with the supplemental questions to fill out.  This was barely one month ago and we've had no status updates. Hoping this doesn't continue on for another two years like the visitor's visa.
 
So very frustrating and hard to see other people from other countries being approved on the spot and being allowed to begin their lives with their spouse/fiancé right away.
 
I'm thinking of you all and hoping and praying we all are granted the opportunity to be with our loved ones soon.

My status is AP not Issued. I was called to send the passport and a new medical after 4 months, because I was approved (they said when I asked).
Legally, Orfi marriage in Egypt = being married on (sometimes sound) Islamic terms without lawful/legal registration. (The importance here is it MUST be Islamically acceptable, that way the relationship becomes halal (permissible)).
I've seen a couple on this website who stated this in their I-129f petition, during filing with the USCIS. (This is a huge proof for a bona fide relationship).
This is allowed by U.S laws, because Muslims are required to be married in order for them to be in proximity of one another in a halal manner.
 
I'm in Egypt and my fiance is in the U.S., We speak every night and we text. But I actually haven't been with her since last year.
She cannot come because she has to keep her job for her medical needs. And soon, this delay will cause us to lose something extremely important to us but I cannot say because it's too personal.
Devastating is an understatement, whatever is happening right now is surely negatively impacting our lives in many ways and the worst is yet to come if this situation is not quickly resolved.
In shaa Allah  khair.

What bugs me the most is the fact that some of us were either in this mess by bad luck or actually selected for some stupid reason. 
I've seen people start the process with me n I even had my interview months before them but then they got their visa right after the interview. I'm not trying to envy them or so but it's so frustrating! !

I totally agree with you, for some reasons, or randomly selected to be places in AP, but have faith that everything has time, we just follow up on our cases and don’t feel frustrated for something out of your control  

Case last update is most important whenever date change itself, its means they are working on your case. 

something happen to me
interview sept28
no passport was taking  and fill out ds-5535 
still waiting?

The "DO NOT OPEN" package will be with her passport when it is returned.  The passport will be in a plastic bag.  It is OK to open that bag to get the passport.  DO NOT open the manila envelope.

Just to clarify: The medical packet is for use of the consulate only.  It is NOT something that is carried to the US by the immigrant.  The consulate MUST open the medical packet.

Thank you! It was a long road and we are so excited for the new chapter in our lives 🎉🎉🎉

Welcome,,,,keep faith in each other.. it's hard enough the time away,time processing everything'   but hold on because victory is ours especially when love is immeasurable in our relationships-- true love won't fold or be broken!! Blessings to you

I swear I hate USCIS more and more especially when I read about the mind ** they are putting you two through. Im so sorry.

Sara, I'm very very sorry you have to go through this. You are on of the nicest people on VJ and you deserve all the best. You are in my thoughts and I do pray this wait ends very soon. *HUGS* (F) (F) (F)

My husband and I have known each other almost 8 years. We tried to get married in Serbia twice (he moved there so we would be closer distance-wise and he still could do his businesses). The first time they said we had to post a letter of our intent to get married for more weeks than I was going to be there. The second time, the "judge" refused to marry us when she saw that I was an American. She thought he was going to marry a Serbian woman until he whipped out my USA passport. Then she would not marry us. They don't like Americans because of US and NATO/war. My husband's visa was not renewed because we wouldn't/couldn't put $15000 in our bank account, so he had to move back to Pakistan. This was 3 years ago. We will have been married 3 years next week, and we are not sure he will ever get a visa after his writing a coerced false confession that was dictated to him. So we tried to get married for 3 years before we actually could do it (in Pakistan). Plus we are both older (me-60's, him-50's) so I feel time is physically running out for us. BUT we really love each other and refuse to give up. Now he works in Dubai and is not allowed to be on his phone while working his 12 hour days 6 days a week. And they restrict videoing, so we haven't yet been able to video-chat. So our contact consists of a few sentences a day now. The entire situation is just sad. Heck yeah, it's stressful. But we're in this til the end, no matter what. We just have to live one day at a time with no expectations. You can't make this stuff up!!

Let's just say that it's my own hypothesis or speculation for now.
It only makes sense. Think about it. They call you after 4+ months only to tell you you're approved (they could have done that right after the interview), send your passport, but 2+ more months later you're still in AP? It all adds up.
Passport is checked during AP for travel history and "places of interest", so unless they wanted to print the visa in it (which they didn't), they're checking the travel history to finish the AP, which has just started upon the alleged approval.

Update here:
There is no real update on the case .. but I did get my passport back.
 
I tried to understand what's going on and I discovered the ugly truth..
The 4 months (120+ days), prior to the approval on March, the case was just shelved in (could be to test the solidarity of the relationship, some couples split during this period for real).
And only then, after they got our new medical and passports, they started the actual AP process: background checks, travel history checks (entry stamps found in passport for places you've visited/traveled to, etc.).
 
It's also the same procedure they follow when they approve someone during the interview: keep the passport, say you're in AP, and 4-6 months later .. bang ... stamp!
 
It is absolutely ridiculous ... because this means a total of 8+months in AP with an extra 4 months overhead for nothing.

It's my passport, the correct question is why should they have it for this long in the first place? It's completely unprofessional. I'd like to be able to use it the moment I need to, and not wait some 2 weeks (like some similar experiences mentioned here on VJ) before I get it.
It is insane, and they cannot, legally, hold on to my passport If I don't want to. So if they intend to issue a visa .. they should do that already or return it.

Did they call you or email you? what did they say over the phone? Did they say you're approved or did you ask? When was this (please give a date)? And how's it possible they're asking you to go to Egypt if you're not in an Egyptian? If I had to guess, you applied for your petition and/or you had your interview in Egypt.
 
FYI guys, AP is a low priority at embassy level .. which means all we can really do is wait for them to stop being lazy and deal with the case.

Not at all, everyone that I know is already in the U.S.
If I can get a hold of the consular section's phone number, they'll hear it from me!

What such rules bring is not stopping new poor immigrants out, it just helps them save more money to build the walls they cant find money for! Dont even think the money saved is going to be pumped into our pockets! Do you think the tax cuts was to help people or the rich? 

You really need me answering that?  Even though this rule has nothing to do with me but my heart goes with all those who might be unfairly affected with these new cruel rules!
 
 

Thank you for you post, it made me feel lighter for some reasones.

Believe me I understand. I wish I could go live with him in Morocco until he gets his visa. The distance is difficult. I'm thankful for apps such as WhatsApp so that we can video chat every day but its just not the same as touching, kissing, holding that person, smelling their scent, looking in their eyes, going out places together etc. If I were to leave, I would be abandoning my job which I have put 10 years into and need in order to show I can support him when he comes here. Also if we're planning on purchasing a house together here my income is important and necessary. It sucks that we all have to be punished with a long wait because we happened to find love in another country.

I'm going to say this:

If the marriage cannot make it through the immigration process, that's a huge warning sign. There are things you will face in your life and marriage that go beyond waiting for the right to work, or the right to leave the US. It has made MY relationship stronger. You learn to compromise and work together. It is a challenge, but one that should make you stronger. 

I personally could not imagine wanting to divorce or separate from my husband after this long strenuous process. I would think going through something like this together would only strengthen the relationship. So much money, time, effort has been put into being able to be together, only to break up at the end of it all?? I'll be damned!

hi,
mine is stressed out like hell, my husband has been in Ap for almost a year,  i do feel  sometimes that this Immigration process will distroy my marriage.