Ab28

5 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

Um

I’m assuming this “negotiation “ will be done online anyway so that begs the question of why you haven’t started the “negotiation” yet?

Is that how it works in Pakistan btw? You just don’t pay and then try to renegotiate the terms of lending you agreed to later when you decide you want to pay? And why the focus on lump sum, credit card debt is designed  to be repaid in installments in the first place? Obviously your credit record is totally shot, though again I’m not sure if that’s an immigration issue.

I wouldn’t defend wrong on my part. I will clear my debt.

7 hours ago, WeGuyGal said:

 

AP is by design open-ended. Nothing we say here would shorten the length of AP. All the detailed questions you had to respond to are part of the ds5355. I've seen a number of posts by certain country nationals submitting the ds5355 followed by extensive background checks. 

 

While not necessarily immigration/visa related, credit card interest is compounded daily afaik. It's something that should've been addressed from the get-go, but it sounds like you intend to address the debt issue only if you get a US visa. 

Visa or no visa, I will pay back my debt. It’s my legal and moral obligation. 

8 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

So are you saying you were asked to complete a DS5355?  That’s an important bit of info, sorry to say but some people in the DS5355 thread have waited over a year on AP.

And yes you gave the info, but they still have to check up that everything you said is true. Unfortunately some of the countries involved do not really cooperate with the US, and just that fact by itself lengthens the process.

No, I didn't fill DS5355. Instead, CO wrote the above mentioned things by hand on blue slip. I then sent all the information in one pdf file.

9 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

I can see many reasons for lengthy AP here to be honest. There is very often lengthy AP for any Pakistan visa. Added to this you have someone doing high level research in an area that is at least peripherally related to TAL, from a country on the security concern list, working in a senior official capacity, having made more than one visit to another country on the list...and then you can add in the debt issue.  

 

I know you’re not at SUNY but this page is a good summary showing at least 3 reasons as mentioned above why you might be on AP.

https://www.esf.edu/international/TAL.htm

 

The consulate may also be trying to figure out exactly what you’ve been up to the last couple of years at home given that you now want to return to the US for more than a brief visit. You can see every rationale from your perspective, but surely you can see that from the consulate’s perspective it may seem like a pretty dubious set of circumstances. 

I provided detailed information to US Consulate after my visa interview. That information included my 15-year travel history,  purpose of all foreign visits, 15-year addresses, 5-year phone numbers, social-media handles, email addresses, 2-year bank records, CV, list of publications, information about my family, parents, and siblings. There is nothing that I hid or misrepresented to the best of my knowledge. God knows when this AP will conclude. 

15 minutes ago, WeGuyGal said:

Can't really compare other cases with yours. No two cases are alike, each situation is different. 

 

Quick question.. you paid for membership for advice about the debt issue. Have you made any payments to the credit cards whom you owe? 

Quick answer is NO. For online advice, it was only $5. I want to pay all of my debt in lump-sum as I have made enough money in my country over the last 2 and a half years. I however, want to negotiate with credit card companies about my interest accrued.

2 hours ago, WeGuyGal said:

Debt does seem enough of a concern to the poster for him to voluntarily mention it. 

 

But then again, no one here understands AP. We could speculate to the hilt..

I voluntarily mentioned it because I couldn’t think of any other reason for so much delay in my visa. Even the strained relations between US and Pakistan can’t be the reason as one of my colleagues got his visa in October 2018 after being in AP for about 4.5 months. He applied on official passport as he his MS studies were being funded by our govt.

11 hours ago, WeGuyGal said:

Was it you in another forum who mentioned $20,000 in US credit card debts that have not been paid?  Or am I confusing you with someone else with very similar circumstances? 

Yes, it was mine. Sorry for the delayed response as it was mid-night in my country.

5 hours ago, WeGuyGal said:

The post in another forum I was referring to had this quote: 

 

"I have a very good government job in Pakistan and none of my family members or immediate relatives lives in US. So, I have strong ties with my home country. Having said this, I have one blemish in my case which I am not sure will effect my case. I had accumulated about $20K loan from 5 different credit cards during my stay in the US. However, none of this involves a federal loan and, as of today, no criminal or bankruptcy proceeding has started against me. I don't know if paying my loan from abroad will improve my visa chances or it will be considered as desperate attempt on my side to enter into the US. Visa or no visa I will pay my debt. That's a moral and legal obligation on me.Currently, I plan to pay the loan in lump-sum once I reaches the US."

 

The individual in that post is a pakistan govt employee on a Fulbright scholarship, and other similarities to the OP. 

Yes, it was mine on ***removed***, but no one responded me on that forum. Visajoureny.com seems to me a better place to get some advice/insight.

4 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

And almost identical wording to OP’s other post.

regatdless, I don’t think that’s why he’s on AP. I don’t know how precisely they look at the specifics on the TAL list, but while OP’s thesis topic is obviously in one specific area, the broader field is of TAL interest and I still wonder about that angle. Relations between the 2 countries are, in my limited understanding, significantly more strained than when OP began his/her PhD.

Yes, you are right that relations between US and Pakistan are more constrained. But, then one of my colleagues got US visa in October last year. He too was interviewed at US Consulate Karachi one month before my interview ( in May 2018).

He however, has one difference with me. He is much junior to me, was going to US for the first time, and never visited any other country as well.

On the other hand, I made two visits to China ( first in 2009, second in 2010) on official assignments. But, then again, I had already made those visits when I first got US visa in 2011.

4 hours ago, WeGuyGal said:

Assuming OP left the US in 2016, and racked up those credit card bills without paying, his US credit would have been shot. I wonder if a significant accumulation of debt comes up during background checks, since OP's would be extensive owing to TAL. But the other forum post shows OPs concern about this debt potentially affecting his visa, assuming the other poster is in fact OP. He has so far opted not to address whether or not it is he who posted elsewhere. 

 

Of course the deteriorated relations between the US and OP's country could also be playing a part behind the AP. From what I've seen online, the US has restricted travel by pakistan diplomats in the US to a certain radius of the embassy. 

I talked  online to two different attorneys ( thru paid membership of Justanswer.com) and asked them about the debt issue. They both told me that if the debt didn’t include federal loan, then it wouldn’t come into background checks. I told him that my debt didn’t include any federal loan.

Another thing that comes to my mind is the fact that I am no more subject to 2-year home country residency requirement ( it’s been more than 2.5 years since I am in Pakistan), so the State Department or the Consulate might have been thinking that I might have immigrant intent. But, I don’t have that intent as I have already served 15 years in my govt department. Another 10 years of service and I can get full retirement benefits.

19 minutes ago, databit said:

Do you owe any money to the US for any healthcare you may have received while here?

Nop.

25 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Could you defend a dissertation on a B?

Yes, I can. But the reason I applied for F-1 was that TA or RA position can only be secured if you are on F-1 visa. It is to be noted that one needs to be enrolled for , at least, 3-credit hours for the semester in which one plans to do dissertation defense. I secured TA position for Autumn 2018. So, applied for F-1 visa. 

Now, after waiting for so long for F-1 visa, I was thinking to apply for B2 visa. But, then I stopped because this again will go into administrative processing. On top of that, this will be considered a desperate attempt from my side to get into US as it will be my third visa application. So, I am reluctant to apply on B2 before my F-1 case is adjudicated.

28 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

Not an expert but many Pakistanis these days face long AP, and the fact that you’re applying on a private passport doesn’t change your job. I’m assuming you are being subjected to extensive background checks, especially if your degree is TAL related. 

I never hid my job. I always maintained that I had been working in the same federal govt department since March 2004. I was granted visa twice ( first in 2011 and then in 2014) with the same job. I don’t work on weapons. My work is related to satellite communication. I have checked TAL and my degree ( PhD electrical engineering, thesis topic: Antennas) doesn’t fall into any secret technology.

43 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

Perhaps it feels random to you, no idea why you are on AP so long & hopefully it gets sorted out soon, but the person nenanena was asking had gone out of status before which explains the denials.

I have described my case in detail here.

Do you see any wrong-doing in my case? I am so depressed that I have once again started taking anti-depressants. I can’t study in any other country too as I have already invested 7 long years into my PhD( Electrical Engineering) studies. It has sapped my energies.

US visa policy is random. In my case, I have been a graduate student at Ohio State University  for the past 7 years.Out of these 7 years, I was Fulbright Fellow ( J-1 visa holder) for 5 years. Since I couldn’t complete my PhD degree in those 5 years, thanks to health issues, so I was told by my sponsor, Fulbright, to go back to my home country, complete the remaining research from there, and come back to US once my dissertation defense was ready. I was ready for my thesis defense in Autumn 2018, so I applied for US visa ( F-1) in June 2018. It’s been 8 months since I have been waiting for the approval of my US visa. It is still in administrative processing. I never overstayed in US, and was never out of status.

My F-1 visa is going through administrative processing since June 26, 2018. My case updated once on September 27, 2018.  I took my interview at US Consulate Karachi. Every month I inquire from US Consulate about my visa status. Every single time they reply that my case is going through administrative processing. It is very very depressing for me. I have already been in US for 5 years as part of my PhD studies. Now I am stuck in Pakistan due to Visa. My PhD studies are incomplete due to this issue.

@HonoraryCitizenWhenever I find posts in which people ask questions on behalf of someone else, the very first thing that comes to my mind is that the person who is asking is the one who needs help, but he/she wants to ask on behalf of someone else.

Hi,

My F-1 visa has been undergoing through administrative processing for the last 7 months. Now, I have an academic conference related to my PhD research is coming up in the USA. I have two questions in this regard.

1. Can I apply for visitor visa to attend that academic conference while my F-1 visa is already under administrative processing?

2. Should I apply for visitor visa to attend that conference while my F-1 visa is already under administrative processing?

Purpose of my second question is that if my application for visitor visa raises flag about my F-1 visa case, then I will not apply for visitor visa. I am already a PhD Candidate at Ohio Sate University, but currently stuck in Pakistan due to visa issue. I don't want to jeopardize my PhD for a conference no matter how important that conference may be.

Another thing that I want to add to my story is that I interviewed alone in December 2017, but included my family too in my second visa application of June 2018. Reason is that my wife was expecting a baby in December 2017, so she couldn’t travel at that time. 

I took my F-1 Visa interview on June 26, 2018 at the US Consulate, Karachi, Pakistan. I am still waiting for my AP to conclude. Note that I have already been in the US from 2011 to 2016 on a J-1 program (a Fulbright fellow). 

Are there other people on this forum who got their F-1 visa after more than 6 months of visa interview? Has anyone converted from J-1 to F-1 after fulfilling the 2-year home-country residency requirement?

Thanks @HonoraryCitizen

Hi, 

I was in USA from 2011 to 2016 as Fulbright PhD Scholar on J-1 Visa. However, due to my health issues I couldn’t complete my PhD in that time. I was asked by my sponsor, Fulbright, to go back to my home country for the remaining of my PhD research and come back to the US once my dissertation defense was ready. So, I came back to Pakistan in mid-2016. 

In December 2017, I was interviewed for F-1 visa at US Consulate Karachi on my official passport of Govt of Pakistan as I was ( and still am) an employee of federal govt of Pakistan. The Counciler officer told me that there was no issue with my visa application. He, however, said that since I was an official of government of Pakistan, so he couldn’t issue me visa on the spot because he had to reciprocate the delay that the US govt officials were facing in getting Pakistani visa from Pakistani Embassy in Washington DC. So, he placed me in administrative processing. 

In May 2018, my govt department announced a new policy for its employees going for higher studies abroad. According to that, only those employees were entitled to travel on official passport who were funded by our govt. Since, my trip to USA was sponsored by my US University ( in the form of TA-ship), so I was asked by my department to apply afresh for US visa on regular ( private ) Passport. 

Consequently, in May 2018, I withdrew my visa application ( that I had submitted in December 2017) from US consulate Karachi ( Consulate had made no decision on my case till that time ), and applied ( interviewed) afresh for F-1 visa in June 2018 but this time using my regular ( private) Passport.

However, the Counciler Officer again placed me in administrative processing which is still ongoing despite passing 7 months. I am very depressed as my whole future depends on my successful defense of my PhD dissertation for which I must appear in-person in my University.

 I have an excellent job in Pakistan and none of my  family member or immediate relative lives in US. So, I have strong ties with my home country.

Will I be issued F-1 visa? What should I do now?  US Consulate gives only one answer that my case is undergoing through administrative processing.