Ramialbali

Salam All,

It is nice to discover the MENA forum. I was reading in some topics and notice the abbreviation " MENA" but I did not bother to know what does it mean. But, once I posted a topic and people were mentioning in their replies "MENA", Then I decided I need to know what does it mean, I am happy to have discovered such a forum. I found you guys . I have been reading most of your posts in the last couple of days, so I thought I'd introduce myself to you guys as I am new here. I am Palestinian married to a cute American wife, Rebecca, currently living in Palestine, hopefully moving to San Antonio in the early future. Here's a brief history/timeline:

August 30th, 2007 the first meeting of my beloved Becky " it was funny"

November 21, 2007 got engaged

February 7th, 2008 got married in Palestine

July 24,2008 I-130 Sent

August 26,2008 I-129F Sent

February 25, 2009 Petitions approved

May 14 interview passed but required additional documents

June 15 the additional documents were received at the consulate in Jerusalem.

Waiting for My visa , time unknown

I really enjoy reading your posts in this forum. I look forward to share thoughts and ideas.

Salaam

I will calm you down right now. Same thing happened with us. We got a 221g because they wanted additional documents proving his date of birth. Something totally not expected, considering we gave them his birth certificate. I too freaked out when I saw that we got something called a "denial" under 221g. Anyway, long story short, we returned the documents they requested and after about a month my husband got his visa. The paper which they gave you (221g), does it list on the form that they need the police certificate only? It doesn't say that your case needs further review does it? If it doesn't say anything except that they want the police certificate then I really think you'll recieve your visa soon. That's just my opinion.

Thank you. No, there is nothing in the paper saying that my case needs further review. Actually, it did not say the word "denied:. It just said "It cannot issue you a visa at this time under section 221(g)" also, " In order to complete processing of your visa application, please provide the following" and list of the additional documents, and in the last paragraph they said if your submission meet the requirements , they will ask me to submit my passport. Today I got an email from the consulate saying, "We have passed your file along with the submitted documents to an officer for review. Once the officer makes a final decision, we will let you know". Hopefully everything will be fine.

Thank you guys for your support. It helped a lot. Just talking about it in this forum and receive others support are helping a lot. Thank you again.

Practically all USCIS forms require documents.

Required Documents For K-3 Visa Application

The following documents should be provided by your spouse to the US consulate in his/her home country while applying for the K-3 Visa.

1. Two copies of Form DS-156, Nonimmigrant Visa Application
2. One DS-156K, Nonimmigrant Fiancé(e) Visa Application form
3. Police certificates from all places lived in since the age of 16
4. Birth certificates
5. Marriage certificate for spouse
6. Death and divorce certificates from any previous spouses
7. Medical examination (except vaccinations)
8. A passport valid for travel to the United States and with a validity date at least six months beyond the applicant's intended period of stay in the United States.
9. Two non-immigrant visa photos, two inches/50 X 50 mm square, showing full face, against a light background)
10. Proof of financial support (Form I-134 Affidavit of Support may be requested.)
11. Payment of fees, as explained below

Tips:

• The consular officer may ask for additional information. It is a good idea to bring marriage photographs and other proof that the marriage is genuine.
• Documents in foreign languages should be translated. Take clear, legible photocopies of civil documents, such as birth and marriage certificates, to the visa interview. Original documents can then be returned to you.

You didn't follow the instructions, so why are you getting uptight?

It's also been our experience that your IO may request evidence not even listed in the instructions, and apparently they have the right to do so, you just supply it. Helps to contact other people that already went through this to learn of their experiences. Any form of new evidence, specified or not, creates delays, and that is the last thing you want.

When I first started all this stuff, was totally ignorant about immigration, got in the internet with thousands of help sites, most not very helpful, so found the most reputable and experience immigration attorney in the USA, got a complete detailed list of what we needed, sent that to my wife to be, and she gathered it. The only thing I recall that had to be in a sealed envelop was the I-693's.

Sounds like you did have a very nice IO, others just had their applications denied with no reason given.

Thank you. I filled all the requirements that you wrote and in the packet 3 that I had received form the consulate. During the interview everything was fine,and I gave them all the documents and applications that they requested. According to the packet 3 "Police certificates are also required from all other countries where the applicant has reside for at least one year", and I lived in Switzerland less than one year. As a result, I did not have it with me in the interview. You have to put in consideration that each case is unique and each consulate has some times different requirements. Also, I mailed them the additional documents and they were received on Monday 15th. Now, can you explain more how I did not follow the instructions? and try to be specific because may you will help me. Thank you.

I don't think opening the police report will have any repercussions. How else would you translate them if they need to be?

AP can take months, depends on the location (and your in MENA), so probably will take some time for you.

There is always the possibility of getting denied, you will have to wait and see, but I wouldn't worry about that until you know something. If you gave them all the proof/evidence they needed, you should have no issues.

It doesnt look like typical AP, 'cept for the canned email response.....it looks like they wanted additional docs only. I hope thats the case.

THANK YOU GUYS. I really did well in the interview beside the consular officer was nice and helpful even after a while we spent over 10 mins talking about things not related to my case at all. I showed him a lot of evidents of relation included wedding pictures, trips to different places and countries, apartment leases prove that we have been living together for almost two years and others. Also, It was fine regarding me being in prison for years under administrative detention without charge or interrogation, and when I tried to explain more about it , he said do not worry, we have full background in your situation “most Palestinians were under administrative detention”. He said there is no problem with this.

The local workers were really rude and not helpful. May be just with me. The one who was preparing for the interview, taking the applications and documents, was really rude. She messed up my application even she asked me to pay 400$, and I have to pay just 131$. When I told her that it seems there is something wrong here, and I made it clear that I am applying for K-3, she insisted that I have to pay this amount. She made a mistake when she mailed me the interview appointment letter which said that I need to pay 400$ in cash. During the interview the consular officer recognized the mistake and talked to her and asked me to go and took my money back and pay 131$. Also, she used to tell me you do not need this or that, and it turned up I needed everything ,that she denied, during the interview. Luckily the consular officer was American and nice. Hopefully May be it was some of these lazy workers who replayed to my email and do not bother to check what is exactly the case. I hope everything will go fine and fast. How can people endure being apart for years! It is difficult. Thank you.

Thats exactly what I was thinking.

The fact that you guys are a young couple and who have lived together for years there is a HUGE positive in your favor.

Have your wife keep on the consulate and keep us posted.

You guys will be in our prayers.

Thank you guys for your support. I have attached the letter that the consular officer gave me. I freaked out and got confused because the letter is saying something and the email saying something else. You can look at them and see.

I sent them an email this morning to make sure that the additional documents were received. Thank you and I will keep you guys update.

Rami-Becky

It sounds like you did everything correctly. I'm guessing the consulate employee who read your email didn't even bother to read the question. They just looked up your case, saw the 221(g), and then sent you the standard canned response.

As catknit said, AP is pretty much expected in MENA cases. In most cases, it just means a little extra delay, but the visa usually comes eventually.

I hope you are right. The local workers were really rude and not helpful. May be just with me. The one who was preparing for the interview, taking the applications and documents, was really rude. She messed up my application even she asked to pay 400$, and I have to pay just 131$. When I told her that it seems there is something wrong here, and I made clear that I am applying for K-3, she insisted that I have to pay this amount. During the interview the consular recognized and talked to her and asked me to go and took my money back and pay 131$. Also, she used to tell me you do not need this or that, and it turned up I needed everything ,that she denied, during the interview. Luckily the consular officer was American and nice. Hopefully you are right. May be it was some of these lazy workers who replayed to my email and do not bother to check. Thank you.

Rami-Becky

That's also common in Vietnam. The workers are locals, and they are intensely jealous of any other local getting a visa to the US. That's the only reason I can think of for the abysmal way that they treat applicants. They yell at them, call them liars and frauds, tell them they will be denied, and give them false information. The translators have even been known to intentionally mistranslate a statement, apparently to make the statement sound bad to the consular officer. Fortunately, the CO's usually speak the local language, so they know what was actually said. The CO's are generally pretty nice.

Don't worry - I don't think it had anything to do with you personally. Assuming your background is clean, and your name doesn't come up on any watch list, I think you'll get through AP fairly quickly.

Best of luck!

Thank you. But, I think the case in the US Consulate in Jersualem is different. Most of the workers are Jews and I am Palestinian and you know the situation here in my country "war". May be I am wrong and she just did not know anything, but she was giving me false information.

Thank you again. It helped

I don't think opening the police report will have any repercussions. How else would you translate them if they need to be?

AP can take months, depends on the location (and your in MENA), so probably will take some time for you.

There is always the possibility of getting denied, you will have to wait and see, but I wouldn't worry about that until you know something. If you gave them all the proof/evidence they needed, you should have no issues.

It doesnt look like typical AP, 'cept for the canned email response.....it looks like they wanted additional docs only. I hope thats the case.

THANK YOU GUYS. I really did well in the interview beside the consular officer was nice and helpful even after a while we spent over 10 mins talking about things not related to my case at all. I showed him a lot of evidents of relation included wedding pictures, trips to different places and countries, apartment leases prove that we have been living together for almost two years and others. Also, It was fine regarding me being in prison for years under administrative detention without charge or interrogation, and when I tried to explain more about it , he said do not worry, we have full background in your situation “most Palestinians were under administrative detention”. He said there is no problem with this.

The local workers were really rude and not helpful. May be just with me. The one who was preparing for the interview, taking the applications and documents, was really rude. She messed up my application even she asked me to pay 400$, and I have to pay just 131$. When I told her that it seems there is something wrong here, and I made it clear that I am applying for K-3, she insisted that I have to pay this amount. She made a mistake when she mailed me the interview appointment letter which said that I need to pay 400$ in cash. During the interview the consular officer recognized the mistake and talked to her and asked me to go and took my money back and pay 131$. Also, she used to tell me you do not need this or that, and it turned up I needed everything ,that she denied, during the interview. Luckily the consular officer was American and nice. Hopefully May be it was some of these lazy workers who replayed to my email and do not bother to check what is exactly the case. I hope everything will go fine and fast. How can people endure being apart for years! It is difficult. Thank you.

It sounds like you did everything correctly. I'm guessing the consulate employee who read your email didn't even bother to read the question. They just looked up your case, saw the 221(g), and then sent you the standard canned response.

As catknit said, AP is pretty much expected in MENA cases. In most cases, it just means a little extra delay, but the visa usually comes eventually.

I hope you are right. The local workers were really rude and not helpful. May be just with me. The one who was preparing for the interview, taking the applications and documents, was really rude. She messed up my application even she asked to pay 400$, and I have to pay just 131$. When I told her that it seems there is something wrong here, and I made clear that I am applying for K-3, she insisted that I have to pay this amount. During the interview the consular recognized and talked to her and asked me to go and took my money back and pay 131$. Also, she used to tell me you do not need this or that, and it turned up I needed everything ,that she denied, during the interview. Luckily the consular officer was American and nice. Hopefully you are right. May be it was some of these lazy workers who replayed to my email and do not bother to check. Thank you.

Rami-Becky

AP or Adminstrative Processing is VERY typical for men out of MENA [Middle East/North Africa] countries as well as some Asians countries. Some applicants wait a few days, some months, some longer. There doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason to the system [typical names that can cause a hit on one of the security checks may slow AP down].

You did nothing wrong and from your post it sounds like you did an excellent job with your interview. All you need to do is wait at this point...

Depending on the consulate you interviewed with, the members in the MENA forum may be able to give you a bit of a timeline for how long your wait will be.

It is true. I really did well in the interview beside the consular was nice and helpful even after a while we spent over 10 mins talking about things not related to my case at all. I hope everything will go fine and fast. How can people endure being apart for years! It is difficult. Thank you.

Hi Guys,

I had my interview on May 14 for K-3 visa in Jerusalem. The consular officer was nice and everything went fine. He told me that "I have passed the interview" but he killed me when he said "but". He said that I need to provide them with Swiss Criminal Record and Originally certified English translation of my marriage contract, luckily I had a copy of it and I lost the original one. I don't know how. I asked him that according to their packet 3 that they sent me, I need to provide them with police certification from all countries I had resided for at least one year, and as a result I did not have it ready with me, but he said they need it. Then, He gave me a paper saying that I need to provide them with documents that I mentioned above, and my visa denied under section 221 (g). Also, he said," As soon as you mail the documents, they will contact me to send them my passport, don't worry".

I have done both documents, and I emailed the consulate to ask them whether if I can open the enclose envelop of the Swiss Criminal Record to translated it, and their replay was:

Dear Sir;

Thank you for your interest in this case. At present we have no additional questions or concerns that need clarification. This case is pending mandatory administrative processing. If any additional information is needed we will let you know. Unfortunately we are unable to give a precise timetable for when this administrative processing will be completed. Each case is unique. We assure you we will process this case as expeditiously as possible and look forward to being able to provide you with a final determination in the near future.

I freaked out, even they did not answer my question about translation. Anyway, I opened it according to the paper that they gave me in the day of the interview which said that I need to translate all foreign documents, but It was written in 4 languages. I cloesed it and mailed the documents to the consulate. What do you think guys? Calm me down please.

We have been apart more than a month after living together happily for two years rather than stressing about this process. My wife left to the USA to prepare for my arrival. It is so difficult to wake up every day and your love laying next you for two years, and then waking up, and she is not there instead checking my email to read her emails. We were working here together, take trips and laugh and cry together, but now I do not know how long will take this until we will be together again. I don't know if I can endure this stress and my wife too.

Do you think it will take months?!!!! Is there any possibility that they can deny my visa?!!! Please help. Sorry for inconvenience.

Regards

Rami-Becky

Hi Guys,

I had my interview on May 14 for K-3 visa in Jerusalem. The consular officer was nice and everything went fine. He told me that "I have passed the interview" but he killed me when he said "but". He said that I need to provide them with Swiss Criminal Record and Originally certified English translation of my marriage contract, luckily I had a copy of it and I lost the original one. I don't know how. I asked him that according to their packet 3 that they sent me, I need to provide them with police certification from all countries I had resided for at least one year, and as a result I did not have it ready with me, but he said they need it. Then, He gave me a paper saying that I need to provide them with documents that I mentioned above, and my visa denied under section 221 (g). Also, he said," As soon as you mail the documents, they will contact me to send them my passport, don't worry".

I have done both documents, and I emailed the consulate to ask them whether if I can open the enclose envelop of the Swiss Criminal Record to translated it, and their replay was:

Dear Sir;

Thank you for your interest in this case. At present we have no additional questions or concerns that need clarification. This case is pending mandatory administrative processing. If any additional information is needed we will let you know. Unfortunately we are unable to give a precise timetable for when this administrative processing will be completed. Each case is unique. We assure you we will process this case as expeditiously as possible and look forward to being able to provide you with a final determination in the near future.

I freaked out, even they did not answer my question about translation. Anyway, I opened it according to the paper that they gave me in the day of the interview which said that I need to translate all foreign documents, but It was written in 4 languages. I cloesed it and mailed the documents to the consulate. What do you think guys? Calm me down please.

We have been apart more than a month after living together happily for two years rather than stressing about this process. My wife left to the USA to prepare for my arrival. It is so difficult to wake up every day and your love laying next you for two years, and then waking up, and she is not there instead checking my email to read her emails. We were working here together, take trips and laugh and cry together, but now I do not know how long will take this until we will be together again. I don't know if I can endure this stress and my wife too.

Do you think it will take months?!!!! Is there any possibility that they can deny my visa?!!! Please help. Sorry for inconvenience.

Regards

Rami-Becky

If you are still living there, get one, if not then follow the P3 instructions and don't bother getting one.

Thank you

Hi all,

I am new in this forum. I am preparing for my interview in the consulate in Jerusalem. Some of you were talking about that they need to have police certificates from all countries that they have resided at least six months, but the consulate sent me the Packet 3 a week ago, and I read in the required documents under the Police Certificates section that they said " A police certificates are also required from all other countries where the applicant has resided for at least one year." I am confused here after reading your comments on some topics and the instructions of the consulate . I have lived in Switzerland for almost 8 months. Do I need a police clearance for that period? Or shall I follow the consulate instructions? Thank you.

Rami-Becky