Life is Life

3 minutes ago, Unlockable said:

It means that there is no determination how much more time it will take so to be safe, they give back your passport so you can travel.

 

Nothing more than that.

Thanks. Does this mean they will ask her for her passport again if they come to a decision to approve it?

Hello! My wife got a call from the US Embassy in Ghana to pick up her passport. Our case has been under administrative processing for some time. She was told to pick up her passport on Monday, but our case has not been updated to “denied” or “approved.” When we check our case status on ceac, it still says that it is undergoing administrative processing. Does anyone know what this might mean??? Thank you.

2 hours ago, can2us_ said:

My case is in Canada. I think the issue is with the whole website.

Do you think calling NVC would do any good?

3 minutes ago, can2us_ said:

I'm having the same issue and I've seen it reported elsewhere on the forums.

 

I am curious if anyone has spoken with NVC about this, and if so, when they'll have it fixed.

4 minutes ago, can2us_ said:

I'm having the same issue and I've seen it reported elsewhere on the forums.

 

I am curious if anyone has spoken with NVC about this, and if so, when they'll have it fixed.

In what country is your case in? Mine is at the US Embassy in Ghana. I was wondering if this was an issue with the whole website itself, or just coming from certain countries.

Hello! This is the 3rd day that my wife and me have been trying to check the status of our case (on the Ceac Website). We type in the our correct case number and the correct captcha code, but we keep on getting the same error message and we can’t check our status. Is it a problem with the entire Ceac Website, or is it for certain countries? Does anyone know what is going on here? We are a bit worried. Our case is at the US Embassy in Ghana. Thanks!

Hello! For some reason, when my wife and me try to check our case status on the ceac website, we keep getting some kind of error message. We typed in the correct Immigrant Visa Case Number and the correct Captcha Code, but it keeps saying, “The code entered does not match the code displayed on the page.” Does anyone know what this might mean?!? Help! This was happening yesterday, and we were told that there were technical difficulties with the website (and that the problem would be fixed by 9pm yesterday), but we are still experiencing this issue today... Thanks.

2 hours ago, mayobia said:

Thanks for the information, that is what I assumed, but was not completely sure why...

Hello, my wife’s USA Spouse visa case is currently under administrative processing. At her interview in late March, 2019, we were told that we needed to submit a couple additional documents. We finally submitted those documents in August (last month). Ever since then, we have been going to the ceac Website almost everyday to check the status of our case. For some strange reason, when we tried doing that today, we kept getting some kind of an error message. We typed in the correct Immigrant Visa Case Number and the correct Captcha code, but it keeps saying “The code entered does not match the code displayed on the page.” Does anyone know what this might mean?!? Help!

On 9/11/2019 at 3:09 PM, issea said:

I’m curious about how to answer the yes/no question on I-485 related to “have you even been denied a visa ...”, if one ever experienced AP before the issuance. I saw arguments on some other forum people said you should answer “Yes” to the question if you ever had an AP when applying for a US visa. 

 

Edit: “No” to “Yes”

I’m sorry, I really don’t know the answer to that question. If you’re in AP, that’s like being in between denial and approval, because they’re giving you a chance to get approved (if you can do whatever the Embassy is requesting)...

On 9/11/2019 at 2:43 PM, Rob007 said:

AP is a black hole... you never know when you get the decision.

i have the same case as yours. the case has been in AP since Dec 2018 and still on.

Best of luck for you.

 

Yes, this is all so frustrating. Best of luck to you as well.

1 minute ago, missileman said:

I've not seen anyone get their passport with visa back on the same day.......

Then maybe it was within a few days after the day of the interview (if no documents were missing, if no additional background checks needed to be performed, etc.)...

7 minutes ago, payxibka said:

Nobody gets a 221g for a background check as that is not something submitted by the applicant 

Then what do you get if they need to conduct a background check? We only got a 221g, stating that we needed to submit a couple additional documents, and the passport. We recently submitted these extra documents and the passport...

8 minutes ago, USS_Voyager said:

You're correct. Technically speaking, all visas decision has to be issued or denied. So technically speaking, you were denied. That denial can be overcome when additional evidence is submitted and reviewed. This is all again, very technical. 

 

https://fam.state.gov/fam/09FAM/09FAM050411.html#M504_11

 

9 FAM 504.11-2  (U) REFUSAL POLICY

9 FAM 504.11-2(A)  (U) Visa Issued or Refused if Application Properly Completed and Executed

(CT:VISA-1;   11-18-2015)

a. (U) There are no exceptions to the rule that once a visa application has been properly completed and executed before a consular officer, a visa must be either issued or refused.  (See 9 FAM 504.9-2.)  For statistical and comparison purposes, all posts should follow the identical refusal procedures and report refusals the same way in their required reports of visas issued and refused.  (See 9 FAM 504.3-2.)  Accordingly, any alien to whom a visa is not issued by the end of the working day on which the application is made, or by the end of the next working day if it is normal post procedure to issue visas to some or all applicants the following day, must be found ineligible under one or more provisions of INA 212(a), 212(e), or 221(g). (INA 221(g) is not to be used when a provision of INA 212(a) is applicable.)  This requirement to find an applicant ineligible when a visa is not issued applies even when:

(1)  (U) A case is medically deferred;

(2)  (U) The post requests an advisory opinion from the Department;

(3)  (U) The post decides to make additional local inquiries or conduct a full investigation; or

(4)  (U) The only deficiency is a clearance from another post. 

b. (U) There is no such thing as an informal refusal or a pending case once a formal application has been made.

What I meant when I said that I thought some cases were denied or approved on the day of the interview, I thought some cases were actually denied on the day of the interview (meaning that you would need to start the Spouse Visa process all over again), or actually approved on the day of the interview (meaning that you would get your visa the same day of the interview, or within a few days). We got a 221g and got put in the “black hole” of administrative processing, and were told we needed to submit a couple additional documents. A few days ago, my wife finally submitted these additional documents AND her passport. Should this be a good sign that the administrative processing should be over soon, since she was asked to submit her passport with the documents? Thanks...

11 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Which Consulate?

That’s good to know. We only needed to submit a couple additional documents, along with the passport (no background checks, at least not according to the 221g).

17 minutes ago, geowrian said:

What country? Some consulates process documents faster than others.

 

No, not "only". AP covers many, many, many reasons other than needing more documents. In fact, every case goes through some form of AP.

They can recommend for approval....nothing is final until AP completes (which may include additional background checks and review or verification of documents) and the visa is issued.

I understand now that Administrative Processing can cover many different reasons, but I thought that some visa cases were approved or denied on the same day. I didn’t know that everyone got stuck in the black hole of administrative processing (not everyone does). Anyway, in my case, we needed additional documents. My wife recently submitted her additional documents WITH her passport. Should that be a good sign that it shouldn’t take too long? Thanks...

10 minutes ago, missileman said:

All cases go through some type of administrative processing......sometimes, it takes only a matter of hours.....but extended administrative processing could even take a year or more......but final approval is not official until the status changes to "issued".

I thought some cases were approved or denied on the day of the interview. I didn’t know that everyone got stuck in the black hole of administrative processing. Anyway, in my case, we needed additional documents. If my wife was asked to submit the additional documents AND her passport, should that be a good sign that it won’t take too long?

6 minutes ago, missileman said:

There is no answer to that question......administrative processing is required for all cases......could be days, weeks, or months.......

Administrative processing is only required for cases when they need to request additional documents. They can also approve or deny a case on the day of the interview...

6 minutes ago, payxibka said:

Depends on how busy they are.   Could be 2 to 4 weeks 

Yes, hopefully 2

When a Spouse Visa Application is put under administrative processing on the day of the Spouse Visa interview (at the end of the interview), because the US Embassy requests additional documents, how long does it take for them to give you an answer about the visa after you submit your passport and the requested documents? My wife submitted her passport and the additional requested documents on Friday, August 30th. How much longer can we expect to be under administrative processing before they come to a decision? Thanks!

For anyone who has ever lived in China for over 6 months, but no longer lives in China, still needs to get a China Police Clearance (if getting an immigrant visa to certain countries). My wife used to live in China, but is now living back in her home country (Ghana), and wants to come join me in my country. For 3 good months, my wife and me struggled with how we were going to get this China Police Certificate, but we were blessed to stumble across a consultant who was not only caring about our situation, but he was also able to get the job done. His name is Pete Zhang and his email address is pete@chinatraveldocs.com. Hope that helps anyone who is struggling with the same issue! His fees are less expensive than some of the other consultants that we came across (still not cheap, but less expensive), and he is legitimate! There were also some scams out there, but Pete is not one of them. We are happy customers.

On 6/16/2019 at 6:28 PM, US/EU_in_Czech said:

These guys can do it:

 

http://www.visainchina.com/nocriminal.htm

Hello, I have not been on here for a long time... anyway, thank you for your input. Thankfully we found a valid agency to get the job done (Pete Zhang, China Travel Docs, Consultancy... based in Shenyang).

On 6/16/2019 at 3:10 AM, hmharoon1 said:

Hello

i had to go through this back in 2015. Luckily i had a friend in Beijing present there. But due to language barrier I still had to go through a private agency . I had to write an authorization letter stating that my friend is authorized to apply and obtain the certificate on my behalf.He payed the agent some fee ( $70-80 i think) and got the document in a very short period of time. Police certificate was translated and notarized by the same agent.

 If your wife was in Beijing i can try to find agents phone and address  that i hired to do the job. 

 

 

 

Hello, I have not been on here for a long time... anyway, thank you very much for your advice. My wife has not been to China in years, and she lost her contacts there, but thankfully we found a valid agency to get the job done (Pete Zhang, China Travel Docs, Consultancy... based in Shenyang).

6 hours ago, givionte said:

You were given advice in the other thread on how to obtain it.  You don't have a choice but to go there and work with the local Chinese officials to obtain this certificate, or pay a lawyer or one of those services to obtain it on your behalf.  The fees are quite high because it involves a lot of work hours, and likely making trips to the town you were registered in order to get you the certificate you need.

They love making it difficult.

1 minute ago, Alabama23 said:

Let her reach out to Chinese embassy in Ghana, maybe she can get from there. 

Oh yes, I should have mentioned that the Chinese Embassy cannot do anything either...

I am a US citizen trying to bring my wife to the States. She lived in China for 2 years, but has been living back home in Ghana for the last 5 years. The US Embassy in Ghana requested a Police Certificate or Certificate of No Criminal Convictions from her, from China, before they can grant her the Visa. She had her Spouse Visa Interview 3 months ago. How do we go on about getting this document??? We looked everywhere and cannot find any useful information. From what I understand, you need to either be in China or appoint someone you know in China to obtain these Police Certificates. They also have online agencies that claim they can obtain these Police Certificates for a huge fee, and some of them look like they could be scams. When my wife was in China, she lived in “Weifang” and “Shenyang.” Any advice, links, or directions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!