Layla01

Hello, I've been following this thread for a while. My fiancé and I have been in Administrative Processing since June 28, 2022, so 17 months in AP limbo. My fiancé is Afghani, living in Dubai. We had our interview in Abu Dhabi May of 2022. Immigration officer passed my fiancé but it's protocol that certain nationals automatically go into AP for further vetting. Every three months I email the US embassy in Abu Dhabi to check status and I always get the same old, same old answer...to be patient and wait...there is nothing to be done. AP statues can last days, weeks, months, even years. Best of luck to all of us stuck in AP!

Thank you for this this...I appreciate your input. It's been 3 weeks and still nothing from the email address I sent my inquiry to regarding how to update my beneficiary's passport. Thanks for the idea regarding sending both passports and cover letter; I'm definitely going to as you did should we ever get out of AP and granted the visa - crossing my fingers!!

My beneficiary already had his K1 interview almost a year back. Our paperwork is in Administrative Processing and will be in AP for a full year (come next month, June of 2023). I called the embassy in Abdu Dhabi last night and was told the only way to update my beneficiary's passport is by email, not by post (Mike E, I tried). I was advised to send another email to the email address given to me....so now I wait again and cross my fingers I'll hear from someone... If anyone has any knowledge on this, I'd really appreciate any help - thank you!!

Hello - My beneficiary was issued a visa and then two weeks later it was rescinded with no explanation, only that his paperwork needed to go into Administrative Processing; come next month (June of 2023), our application will be in AP for a full year. FYI: When the immigration officer notified my beneficiary to return back to the US embassy with his passport; my beneficiary told the officer we were about ready to purchase his flight to the US, the officer informed my beneficiary that had he arrived to the US and if any issues were found later with his visa, immigration would've contacted him and order that he return back to his home country. If he didn't return, he would become illegal with deportation stamped in his file preventing him in completing paperwork for legal status in the US.

I had not thought of postal communication?...thanks for the idea. We'll definitely try it! Thank you!

My fiancé is an Afghan and has been living and working in Dubai, UAE for the last 12 years. His Afghan passport was up for renewal during the Taliban take over in Afghanistan. Since the country was in uproar, the Afghan embassy in Dubai could not issue new passports, only a passport extension sticker was given for all Afghan passports that were due for renewal. The passport extension sticker didn't appear to pose any issues when we submitted his passport with our K1 Visa petition and for the US Visa. Since he's living in Dubai, his Dubai Residency Visa was up for renewal. The Dubai consulate announced that the Afghan passport extension sticker issued a year ago would not be valid to renew their Dubai Residency Visa; hence, all Afghans who had the extension sticker issued needed to renew their passport (with no extension sticker) in order to renew their Dubai residency visa. This was concerning to use as our application is in AP but my fiancé was left with no choice as his Dubai residency visa was set to expire. My fiancé explained our situation to the person at the Afghan embassy when he renewed his passport and was informed his passport number would change and that we should update this info with the US embassy. So here we are with no response from the US embassy and lost on what do... any help is greatly appreciated!

The embassy in Abdu Dhabi has a copy of my fiancé's passport, not the actual passport. Just hours after his K1 interview back in May of 2022, he was approved and was asked to submit his passport for the US Visa. Two weeks after receiving his passport with the US Visa, he was called back to the embassy and informed that his US Visa was revoked. The same immigration officer that interviewed my fiancé and approved him could not give a definite reason as to why his US Visa was revoked, only that our application was going to be placed in Administrative Processing. Come June of 2023, it will be 1 year of our application being in AP, with no updates. Two weeks ago, my fiancé (needed to) renew his passport and now we don't know how to inform the embassy of the new passport number issued to him. Any help is appreciated!

Hello fellow Visa-Journey friends, My Fiancé renewed his passport and was given a new passport number and we need to update it for our K1 Visa Petition that has been in Administrative Processing since June of 2022. Does anyone know who/how we can update the embassy with his new passport number? I called the US embassy in Abu Dhabi and wasn't give much help except to email (no contact number) the department that deals with non-immigrant visas. We sent an email to the address given to us over a week ago and no response and I'm a little worried about this. One of the criteria for a K1 Visa petition is to have current passports on file and I want to make sure this update does not hinder/delay our petition further. Any help is greatly appreciated! My fiancé and I have not seen each other in 2 years but we are remaining strong - *strength and encouragement to all of us on this journey and those who are in AP for months and months!* Thank you!

Good day Empty101, Thank you so much for following up... No update to share. At the end of this month, 10/28, we will be 6 months in Administrative Processing. Ironically, it took less than 6 months, from the day my beneficiary and I submitted our K1 application (Dec 3, 2021) to when my beneficiary was issued his US Visa sticker (May, 17, 2022); and now stuck in Administrative Processing for 6 months. The wait and not knowing what's going on has been emotionally challenging... I will definitely update - thank you!

Boiler, thank you for commenting - I appreciate your time in reading my time line/case - again, THANK YOU!

Thank you for your comment Jorgedig - much appreciate it! Yes, we were amazed how quickly we were approved and received the visa! A day after the interview, my Beneficiary was asked to mail his passport for the visa sticker. About a week later, my Beneficiary received his passport with the US visa sticker and the paperwork to be given at port of entry. At the 2nd interview, the immigration officer didn't know why my Beneficiary's visa was revoked. However, she admitted to entering in the wrong passport number after my Beneficiary clarified his passport number started with an O (the letter) and not the number 0 (zero). Once the error was pointed out, the officer felt strongly the mistake may have been the reason why the visa was revoked. We emailed the same immigration officer this past Wednesday and received an automated email that she has since resigned. You may be right about males from certain countries needing additional vetting. Given the state of Afghanistan, the terrible earthquakes, bombings and floods, my Beneficiary has gone through so much emotionally (watching from afar as he's in Dubai) and now this (what feels like) an endless wait. I will do some searches on how to reach out to one's US senator and/or congressperson for help as I'm not too familiar with this approach. Again, thanks so much for your comment and YESSS I need and will take all the good luck dust!! THANK YOU!!

Chancy - thank you so much for commenting! I have read of people contacting their US congress person and/or Senator's Office for assistance...do you know anyone who has reached out for assistance in these two areas with success? My beneficiary and I were days away from purchasing his ticket to the US, however, due to several unfinished work orders and plans to travel back home to Afghanistan we stalled on the purchase. Good thing we did (sadly, of course) with the disappointment and confusion of being granted the visa and then having it suddenly taken away without any explanation. I have thought of hiring an immigration attorney, however, I'm not even sure how much an attorney can do since our application is in Administrative Processing. Thoughts anyone??

Crazy Cat - thank you for your response! Please allow me to correct: it was the DS-160 my beneficiary submitted and not the DS-260 (I went back and double checked our paperwork). Prior to submitting the 129F Petition, my beneficiary and I did a ton of endless research to make sure we completed everything correctly and thoroughly. We were under the impression the Immigration Officer is the one who approves the insurance of the visa; however, through our experience an approval from the officer is only a part of the final visa insurance. This is evident as at the end of our visa interview, the officer approved our petition but stated our file was tagged to go into 'Administrative Processing' and had no idea why or how long? After the visa was issued and an error was found, the same immigration officer had no idea what error was found and shared she was only directed to have my beneficiary complete the supplemental questions form. The officer was polite, even apologized and repeatedly told my beneficiary she had no issues with the interview and hopes my beneficiary and I will be together soon. Come August 28th, it will be three months since we submitted the supplemental questions and in Administrative Processing. This has been so confusing and there is no information on who to contact except to wait.

Dear Friends, If anyone out there is going through or has gone through a similar situation, I ask that you PLEASE respond and give me some hope. - Dec. 3, 2021, mailed K1 Petition to USCIS. My Beneficiary is from Afghanistan but resides/works in Dubai, UAE. - Dec. 10, 2021, received text from USCIS that application was received. - Dec. 16, 2021, received 1st I-797 letter stating application was received. - Jan. 15, 2022, received 2nd I-797 letter stating 129F Petition was approved and will be forwarded to National Visa Center (NVC). - March 4, 2022, called NVC to follow up on 129F Petition and was informed 129F Petition was received on Feb. 20, 2022. - March 15, 2022, received email from NVC that 129F Petition will be forwarded to US Embassy in Abu Dhabi. - April 6, 2022, checked visa status on Check Visa Status Website and status showed 'Ready' for interview on March 17, 2022. - April 13, 2022, Beneficiary completed DS260 and submitted to Embassy and also scheduled interview for April 27, 2022. - April 27, 2022, Immigration Interview with Consular in Abu Dhabi. Interview lasted 20mins and Immigration Officer APPROVED my beneficiary, however, our 129F was tagged to go into Administrative Processing regardless of officer's decision. - April 27, 2022, status on Visa Status check showed 'Administrative Processing' - April 28, 2022, status on Visa Status check was changed to 'Approved'. Beneficiary received email from Immigration Officer to mail his Passport to US Embassy for Visa Insurance. - May 2, 2022, Beneficiary mailed passport to Embassy. - May 12, 2022, status on Visa Status check showed 'Issued'. - May 17, 2022, Beneficiary received passport with US Visa sticker placed in his passport. My Beneficiary and I were in disbelief how quickly our visa was approved. We cried tears and celebrated feeling so blessed!! Sadly, our happiness was short lived. On May 25, 2022, my Beneficiary received a call from the Immigration Officer that there was a problem with the visa issuance and that my beneficiary needed to return back to Abu Dhabi for a 2nd interview. - May 25, 2022, Beneficiary received email from Immigration officer that his visa has been revoked and a 2nd interview was needed. - May 26, 2022, 2nd Immigration Interview. At the interview, the officer had no knowledge why the visa was revoked, only that supplemental questions for Visa approval was needed to remedy the situation. During the interview, my Beneficiary asked the officer to double check his Passport Number incase the letter O in his passport was mistaken for a 0 (Zero). Upon checking the system, the officer discovered the typo and admitted to mistakenly entering 0 (Zero) instead of the letter O into the computer system and felt strongly the reason the visa was revoked was because of this very reason. - May 29, 2022, supplemental questionnaire form was emailed to Embassy. - June 24, 2022, status in Check Visa Status showed 'Application Received'. - June 28, 2022 status in Check Visa Status shows 'Refused/Administrative Processing'. We have emailed the Immigration Officer once during this waiting period and received an email that she has no control or knowledge how long our visa would be in administrative processing and for us to wait. It has been trying and difficult to stay positive. Please, if anyone has gone through something similar to what my Beneficiary and I are experiencing I would greatly appreciate any knowledge/insight/support. Much Gratitude!