Sent to AP for having a common name (CR1 Seoul). I'm devastated. Help!

[mrss13 2]

We couldn't even have them finish the processing and return his passport to us in Canada? He HAS to stay in Korea?

There isn't really any way I could see leaving my husband in this country alone. He is a foreigner here too and his situation isn't much better than mine, to be honest. It's so frustrating.

[jan22 3,018]

How would he be able to leave without his passport? Hope it works out quickly for you both.

[mrss13 2]

Thanks, I hope so too. I had just read that they will return your passport if the AP will take a long time.. but I guess that isn't what I want since we want the visa to be ready quickly! I'm not being very logical... I just heard my brother in law has less than a year to live (cancer) and it just seems like a lot of bad things happening at once.. but hopefully that means that we are overdue for some good news. Let's hope!

[pearls 0]

Common name AP might take less than 6 weeks. Happened to my father 6 years ago and we all got our visas in about 4 weeks.

[mrss13 2]

Thank you for replying, Pearls! I hope it's the same for us!

[Jawaree 717]

From all I've read and heard they make it seem teaching in S Korea is

a kool thing & U R given a decent apt, but like any place else one have

to be security conscious....They say the kids R well behaved lol

I hope this is sorted out soon good luck

[mrss13 2]

That's what they told us too. Maybe it used to be that way, but not anymore. I've taught in rough areas of the USA and Canada and I've never seen students act this way. They don't have any consequences for their actions. They don't even get a grade in my class. The apartment is decent but it isn't worth the stress. I just hope that we can leave this country very soon.

[mrss13 2]

I checked our status online and it changed from AP to this. I'm pretty confused because we already had our interview. On the top it says "READY" as opposed to "ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESSING". Does that mean the visa is ready? Or do they need another interview?

Immigrant Visa Case Number: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Case Creation Date: 03-Jul-2013 Status Updated Date: 28-Oct-2013

Your case is ready for your interview when scheduled at the U.S. Consular section. If you have already scheduled an appointment for an interview, please prepare your documents as directed in your appointment letter and appear at the consulate on the appointed date and time. Otherwise, please wait until you have been notified of your interview appointment. Additional information about how Immigrant Visa interview appointments are scheduled can be found at:http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_3731.html

[Shiobhan 235]

So they are ready to issue visa any day now

[zefaster 0]

Hello to all. I have a similar situation to some of you guys - upon a simple request for renewal of a non-immigrant B1/B2 visa. I am from Brazil. Have had a valid visa for more than 20 years, constantly renewed, and have traveled once a year for the last 10 years on business and tourism. Last August I was just placed in AP for "having a common name in the system". Almost three months have passed and, even though I submitted all information they requested by mail, the process has not even been updated upon checking at the CEAC website. I have asked politely the Consulate in Sao Paulo several times and have been given only automatic replies that my case is "undergoing necessary administrative processing". I was planning a trip to Florida in December, but will have to change my plans because of this. I still cannot understand why this, because I do not feel my name is common. I have an Italian last name and plain Portuguese-Brazilian composite first name, so this is not supposed to be common at all, nor should raise any flags in their system...

[mrss13 2]

So they are ready to issue visa any day now

OHH I so hope you're right! According to the searches I've done it does seem to be a good sign that things are working in our favor!

[Jawaree 717]

With any name common or uncommon they can get a hit, ...now depending on what for

determines how long ,if a criminal has same name, or just last name with same or almost same

DOB , then its gonna be FBI check, if its a suspected terrorist or one suspicious of, they

will have do re-do Mantis, Condors, Ncis etc that will take more time even though its a renewal.

Due to current world events where evil is seen globally, the US now goes thru everything

with a fine teeth comb to get rid of or catch the bad weeds, eventually its sorted out.

Miss lady I think hubby is about to have visa issued with that message.

Edited October 29, 2013 by Jawaree

[mrss13 2]

Your mouth to God's ears, Jawaree!

Edited October 29, 2013 by elee09

[Bankerbox69 5]

Hi everyone. I posted this over at DCF but I wanted to ask a more general audience if they have had this experience. My husband is Canadian and I am American. We are both English teachers in South Korea. In order to do this job, we had to pass multiple background checks. When we submitted our paperwork for the visa, we had fingerprint based background checks from Canada and South Korea. Even so, the officer said that he had to send our application away to be verified by "another agency" because his first, middle, and last names are extremely common in the US and Canada and apparently there's some criminal on their database with a very similar name. He has only been across the US border a few times and never issued any sort of visa (Day trips are common for Canadians). He's never been in any sort of legal or immigration trouble. He's been a teacher and worked with children for years and has passed numerous background checks in Korea and Canada.

To be honest, I'm devastated. My working conditions here are terrible. We had planned to stay until the beginning of March, but two days before our interview, my boss started attacking me, saying very rude, personal, and racist things against me. She also threatened to fire me unless I stop standing up for myself. My students have fights every day in class involving weapons such as box cutters, and a boy sexually harassed me without being punished at all. I'm a career teacher and I am at the end of my rope. We were planning to start packing and leaving when we got the visa for the sake of my mental health and well being, only to find out we might be stuck here indefinitely.

The officer said "it will probably be weeks as opposed to months" and he kept the passport, which I was told is a good sign, but I am still devastated. I worked for months to present a "perfect" application so that we would be approved easily. The stress from my workplace has given me stomach ulcers and I was recently put on anxiety medication. I tried to find an English speaking therapist here, but to no avail.

I feel like I am trapped in this country and in this terrible work environment for no fault of our own. I wish they had just needed another document or something, we could easily change that. We can't change the name he was born with! Why on earth do we even get all those expensive background checks and identification sources if they are just going to delay us due to some random database? It's completely absurd...

I feel like a person who spent thousands on a fancy home security system only to have an asteroid land on our house.

So.. there's my general rant. I guess these are my specific questions:

1. Has anyone else had to go to AP for having a common English name? What was your experience?

2. If I can't stay in Korea anymore, can we request his passport back, leave and continue the processing in the US? Or even Canada? How would that affect our case?

Thanks for reading...

[Bankerbox69 5]

Else yes my husband is a Ghanaian ,and he had his interview on Aug6, 2013,and were still on AP . It's because he is a Muslim,and he has a common name. I'm gng to travel to Ghana in January,and hoping he will be approve by the time I travel.