Rayyan

Update: my husband received a call from U.S. Embassy to renew his medical & send his passport...he’s a national of one of the travel ban countries!!!

I think what really helped our case is that he has a clean record in Saudi, and also his Travel history...(he hasn’t traveled to any banned country in the last nine years!)

Update: my husband received a call from U.S. Embassy to renew his medical & send his passport...

Update: my husband received a call from U.S. Embassy to renew his medical & send his passport...he’s a national of one of the travel ban countries!!!

Update: my husband received a call from U.S. Embassy to renew his medical & send his passport...

CONGRAAATS. 
 
I see that your interview was exactly 6 months ago. That's great news. Wish you the best and may our turn come soon! ❤️ 

Wow, @bashar26, thank you so much for sharing this. These types of personal stories need to get told more often. I feel like so many here in the US have no idea just how far reaching and extreme the effects of this ban have become on US citizens and their far away fiancés and spouses. 

Thanks for sharing this. 
I am crying. I was able to relate with almost every word. 
 
I will be reading this thread soon, i just found it today. But in case you haven't mentioned them earlier could you tell us what are the names of the Facebook groups you mentioned in the essay? 
Thanks a lot ❤
 
I am Syrian, my husband met my family and my friends, they attended our very small less than 2 hours wedding in Lebanon (I live in Syria but we always had our meetings in Lebanon since it is less complicated). I didn't meet anyone from his side in real life for the same reason as your family's, they think it is not safe.
 
And also the part where you speak about future plans is very deep. Living this uncertainty of where we will be living when we live together and when will we make it? It is very hard, It is stopping me from seeking for better career it is affecting every choice.  Should I seek for higher education or will I have to drop the education before i finish because the Visa got approved?
 
I wish you the best with your future plans and may you unite again soon.

Right, he is not banned so does not get a waiver, however, as he has a connection to a banned country by being born in one, he requires extra vetting which is what the 221g is for.
 
Also, the last time he was here in the US was in 2014. Back then, he did not need a visa, just his Norwegian passport. Two years ago he was planning a trip to visit me here in the US and found out the rules had changed and he would need to apply for a visa since his Norwegian passport lists his birthplace as Iran. We never have heard anything from the embassy in the past two years and his visitors visa has been in AP since then as well.
 
I'm beginning to become a little suspicious of any "exceptions" like being a dual citizen, etc. It seems if you have any connection at all to a banned country, you are indefinitely on hold from entering the US.
 
Hopefully there is an end in sight and fiances and spouses will soon be allowed to be reunited with their loved ones in the US  
 
 
 
 

Let us be patient! I also go through this pain on a daily basis now completed 12 month. Not only separated from my wife, but also from my son! double pain.  

Hi guys, i am the applicant of IR5 visa (parent of a US citizen), i've had my interview in Frankfurt last week and was refused due to the proclamation.
I am Syrian, my daughter is AC.
The consular told me i am eligible for a waiver and still waiting further instructions.
I will update you if anything happens.
 
 

Hi Deab,
In general they are good with responding to my emails, of course with the same message: Your case is still undergoing the necessary administrative processing etc etc. I  also sent them emails in November and they never responded to me. However they always responded to the senator office. But the senator only send emails every two months. We are now about 12 month waiting. Boy, they are the most painful 12 month in my life. Whoever made/designed that extreme vetting stuff has no heart and doesn't understand basic human psychology. Separating and dividing families when they are legally supposed to be together is simply inhuman. 
As far as the language: no one use angry tone, no one benefit from angry messages, also, remember when you communicate with the consulate, you are talking to federal agency. The federal agencies have very stick laws regarding how you treat a federal employee.  However, it is acceptable to let the counselor/consulate know what you feel, and how this AP has resulted in great difficulties for you and your family. You should say all of that in a professional and respectful language. If you do not know how use proper professional language, then it better to hire an attorney. (This is not specifically for you, but for everyone read this thread). You sound very professional in your post. 

My bride is home! She landed in IAD a couple hours ago. Immigration/passport control took 'the packet' and she's home with me. Now we'll get legally* wed to get her citizenship on the way. Worth the wait, but would have been sweeter if it was sooner. I'm going to 'unsubscribe' from this thread, but if anyone has any questions, feel free to PM me as I'll be active on other threads.
 
*we only had a halal ceremony, because we didn't really know how long it would take and didn't want to start the process all over again from the begining.

Hello everyone ,
just to keep everyone updated, a Yemeni lawyer commented on his fb page days ago that all administrative procedures started in june,2018
I mean, everyone who had his interview before June 2018, his case was not getting looked at by anyone (as the lawyer said)
so starting from June 2018, the procedure started and we have to wait 2-8 months (that's what he also said)
 
Good luck everyone

so your wife's interview was in Cairo but she is somali? This seems to be the common factor for us all I think. My husband has a green card in Spain where he lives and works but has a Pakistani passport. What once was a CR1 visa has now crossed over to a IR1 visa. We've been in AP hell for 9 months. We get update at least twice a month but when one of us emails the embassy we are told to wait....

I think most of can see by now that members of Congress are just barely worthless to help. I had both VA Senators, my district's House Rep and the Rep that has helped my Mosque's community before as well reach the embassy and inquire. Not a lick of help. They essentially tell you there is nothing they can do.
 
But i urge everyone to constantly communicate with them. They need to know, and be reminded regularly, their constituents are facing hardship because of the government at a federal level. They represent us. They are suppose to work for us. 

Wanted to share some good news to help other see it through. to sum up my last few posts, my fiancee was contacted ~2 weeks ago to update her medical and criminal records. Asked for my updated taxes as well. She had everything turned back in to the consulate in Casablanca last Thursday.  Since then noticed a few changes on CEAC (first time it was updated in over a year!). Checked her case today, and it says issued! So now it's just the logistics of getting it through the courier they use to deliver. A little bonus is I had saved up so many miles from traveling back and forth, I'm treating her to a business class ticket to her new home   Sadly because of work I can't fly there to escort her home.
 
Total time in AP: 411 days -or- 1 year, 1 months and 16 days. 

This whole process sucks. It is literally nothing but a waiting game by the administration to force people to abandon their applications. It only took 2 weeks to actually process her visa. The extra 13 months the case is just sitting in a file.

How are you all doing? I just came here to tell you all to calm down and everything will be fine soon. I had gone through this process and all I did was exercised patience. I was on AP for 9 months. I have been in the US for 4 months now with my family. Don’t get panic or discouraged. No matter how long it takes you will get your Visas. I’m sending this message from New York.
 
Thank you all

I am so sorry... 
☹
I wish something could be done... although you are closer to it. Send inquires every week to check in very politely 

They are on pacer. You need a paid login or be a lawyer. In any case, there have been instances where DOS has violated their own waiver rules and are currently being sued for it. 
 
OP - since this is a NIV (things are diff for IVs) there is no guarantee that your mom will get a visa. Your sister will most certainly be denied under the proclamation, unless she has an exception - of which there are many.
Parents, spouses and children are considered close family members and are supposed to qualify for waivers. There are 3 parts to the waiver
1) Undue hardship
2) National Interest
3) National security
 
#1 and #2 are determined on the spot by the consular. #3 is determined by DOS. When you get a paper like i posted above, you have already qualified for #1 and #2 only then can the consular request #3 from VO (via DS 5535). From what I am observing of late (last few months - may be because of the lawsuit) posts are adhering to the parent, spouse and child rule.
 
#3 is taking an insanely long time, and there are no set timelines. Unfortunately, since all three need to happen for waiver #1 and #2 area meaningless without #3. I know people who are waiting 12+ months after interview with no response.

Official state department guidance lists parents spouse and children as close family. This automatically approves you for national interest and undue hardship. Third one is nat sec. Thats a blackhole. Some get past in 3 months some take years. 
 
I know of b1/2s granted to travel ban countries.
 
As long as they bypass immigrant intent and ap.

Dont lose hope. AP is long but almost always results in approval. Here is a doc with some details on how long it used to take before ds 5535
 
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1W_NGZltpmwaCwFj5qlIzVUKlAYoPcbtfW1x2HWKu6nY/pub?single=true&gid=2&output=html
 
 
Unfortunately 5535 is very new so i dont have more recent data. If people here know of recent spouse visas for iranian nationals it would be great if you can pm me interview dates so we can update the spreadsheet.

I am sorry. But so far haven't seen anyone get out of this. You ll get your visa but the wait is 9 to 13 months.

In September, around 100 Immigrant visas were issued to Yemeni nationals - around 50 of them spouses. Do we know when these people interviewed? Are any of these 2018 interviews?

I just don't understand why USCIS approve the case from the beginning! This is so frustrating going through the whole process and waiting about a year to get an interview, then they say there is a slim chance for the waiver to be approved!!!
I wish you the best of luck. My husband's born in Iran and holding a swedish passport for 15 years. His IR1 visa case is on AP for 10 months now