AHA119

Literally knowing this makes a lot of sense. 
 
thank you soo much for this. I hope i do not have a common name as i am barely connected to that side of my background. 
 
Lets hope i get the all clear and for it not to take a long time. 

No, they don’t say any of this at the interview. People are even told “approved” at the interview and still get tangled up in longer security checks. Ten years ago it used to take about 8 weeks to clear security cases. More recently it has been faster, maybe because more records are digitalized. But each case can have it’s quirks. If you have a very common Sudanese name, there is a greater chance of a hit on a bad guy or suspect person. So they have to compare middle name, age, parent names, locations where you were, and that kind of stuff to eliminate you as the suspect. Takes extra time, but you’ll get there. 

They probably aren’t going to answer your Monday question about progress. So if you want your passport back before visa issue, you will have to send another email asking only to send your passport because you have to travel to the US on [date] with no “how’s my visa coming along?” question tacked on.
 
They will send your passport by the courier. Processing will stop on your visa until you return from the US and send the passport back to the embassy by courier. It will not keep you from getting a visa, but it will delay issuance.
 
To be honest, it is going to be a huge hassle to jump through all the Covid hoops to even get to the US...testing you have to pay for, getting the airlines to book you as an exception to the presidential proclamations about travel to the US, quarantine, and more hoops and tests you pay for  returning. PLUS  you will delay your visa. A cousin is not even an immediate relative. Then you turn around and pay for it all again when your visa is issued. I seriously would stay home and wait for my visa instead of interrupting the process and starting back in the wait queue. You are so close. If your wait is for security purposes, they aren’t going to speed it up or tell you what’s going on or how long. If it was other than security, you would have been processed by now in my opinion.

Here, read this thread in the UK forum concerning a birth certificate upload and delay https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/762876-parents-applied-separately-but-combined-at-embassy/
 
Maybe you can message that member and compare notes. London specific info will be more useful to you. 
 
 
 

Cheers - such a nerve wracking time and just eugh ready to be done with this and find out how soon we can get them here!