Everyone going through Administrative Processing in ISLAMABAD

[Omark 3]

WARNING:

You are about to read a VERY VERY long post/review of ISL embassy for passport renewal. Please feel free to completely ignore this post if need be, I won't mind.

Okay, just came back from our very first trip to ISL embassy yesterday (had to get my passport renewed) and the very first thing I'm doing since I got back, fell asleep at 2:00pm and finally awoke today at 7:30am is typing out this here tiny review...yeah, I was EXHAUSTED! More than 10 hour lousy road trip! lol. Not to mention how difficult it is to sit stationary in a car for very long hours at a time when you're belly is protruding out enough to knock the dashboard every time you try to re-adjust your sitting position for comfort!

Right, so....here's how it went:

We arrived at the embassy at 7:20am and proceeded to the DSS section, which was to the right side of parking. The line was so long there that people had to make their own pretend line all the way down the sidewalk, and some on the road even. But thankfully it was moving along nicely enough that we didn't get the chance to feel too miserable. Finally after waiting in the heat and sun light for quite some time we got through the first of security. There were seperate cubicles for the men and women as always with ISL embassy. The line for the men was somewhat longer than the one for the women, so I went in...got all felt up by this strange women....lol, was asked if I had my cell phone, said no...showed her my folder and passport and was allowed to move along in the line. I assume the same happened with my husband as he got out about a minute after me. Then got in line for the U.S section....which b.t.w was mainly the ONLY line there was....every place else was near to empty...and the U.S line that we got into was protruding all the way outside of the actual building right down to where the security booth's were. So we waited what felt like absolutely forever...well more like an hour and a half....to get to the rep up front. Even though, since the line was so long they told us to split into two lines and we went with the people in the new line which was under the UK section....not that doing so made it so we could get through faster...the people that were behind us prior to this in the U.S line got through much before us still. lol, imagine my fury.

Anyways, once we finally got our turn the rep asked us for our Passports, husband only brought his ID card, which was sufficient. Then he asked us for what purpose we were at the embassy today and I told him for renewal of my U.S passport. He asked why Haseeb was with me and I simply said because he's my husband...the man looked at me for a second and then wrote us some receipts/tickets for the Shuttle service and took 400.00rs from us and told us to get in line to get security checked once more before they would let us into the waiting section for the Shuttle service. After we got in line, we noticed that there was practically no line for the females and that if I wanted I could have just walked right up to the security booth and entered the waiting section long before my husband had gotten through, but since the line for gents was so long I decided to wait it out for some time with him so I wouldn't get bored. So that took another 15-20 minutes and finally we sat down in the back row of seats (the only row left WITH empty seats) and proceeded to wait for the bus...in about 10 minutes a bus did arrive but since we were seated in the last row and the bus's are 73 seaters (I believe) we didn't even get a chance to get up close to see if we could get on there were so many people in line, and 15 minutes after that same thing happened. Then we decided to immediately run up to the very first row where there were a few seats available and waited another 15 minutes for another bus to arrive. Once it did we rushed to the line, gave the guy our tickets and sat in the bus relieved. Afterwards, the bus stopped at each embassy...first the Saudi Arabia embassy 2 people got off, secondly the Korean embassy 2-3 people got off, then the Dubai embassy no one got off, then the China embassy 8-9 people got off, then the Bulgarian embassy, no one got off (please don't mind if I got the order a bit mixed up, I'm doing this from simple recollection) then I believe finally we heard the conductor say American Embassy, so we got off there in front of the embassy and had to get in line immediately to get our passports checked and what not. At that moment we noticed there were loads of people sitting at the benches at the bus stop just waiting, I assumed those were the people who weren't allowed to go in with the USC...I believe I was correct.

Once our turn came in like 2-3 minutes the security guy asked what my purpose was I told him I needed to renew my passport, then he looked at my passport and then said that my husband would have to wait outside at the bus stop unless I go inside to room 1 and request for him to be let in and then if he was given the green light he would let him in. So I walked across the road and got in another very short line for another security check. The one for ladies was inside a room/office so that's where I went. Got checked by a security wand, got my passport looked at once more and then was told to stay within the blue line. So I walked all the way down the blue line...which was COMPLETELY empty..not a sole but me. Although I will mention that at that time there was barely anyone in any of the other lines either. There were 3 colored lines which needed to be walked down to get to be allowed to go into the waiting areas. One yellow, I believe that was the non-immigrant line, one was red the Immigrant line and the last one blue, citizen services line. So once I got to the end of the blue line I waited until the security card told me to proceed to the security section inside the embassy which had a manual lock on the door which was opened by security personal from the inside who could see everyone on the outside. Once I entered that area I was told to give them my folder and passport to be scanned through the huge machine(like at an airport for luggage) and told to walk through the detector. After that they handed me my stuff and asked me why I was there, I told them to renew my passport...they told me to go inside and fill out the green slip and deposit that. So I opened the door, saw the waiting room and saw where they had all of the colored slips. At that time they only had two types of slips there, one being the green slips...and another, I really can't remember which color to be honest. But there were only two types. So I filled out my green slip...and afterwards not knowing what to do I asked a security guard where was I supposed to go to deposit this slip and he said enter through the door all the way down the waiting room...and then if room 1's door is open I would enter it and deposit my slip and then find a seat outside that room and wait till they called my name. So that is what I did. Then a few minutes after that they called my name and I went to room 1, closed the door behind me and saw a older pakistani man with a bald spot and a blonde american women (somewhat on the larger side...) behind him looking over his shoulder. Once I got there the man asked me what I was there for and I told him to renew my passport. He asked me if I had filled out a DS-11 or DS-82 form and I said yes, a DS-11...then he asked me to hand him that with my passport. So I did, after that he said that I would need to first go to desk 5 and pay the fee and then come back. So I took the receipt he gave me for the fee and went to desk 5 and gave that to him. The guy calculated the total on a computer and then handed me two receipts after I paid him. I went back to room 1....had to wait a few minutes because the door was closed and someone was in there with them. Then proceeded inside the room, this time the man was not sitting there but the blonde lady was...she was EXTREMELY nice...I liked her alot..lol. She I gave her the receipts and then she asked whether I was going back to new york(where I was born) I said actually yes I was, but this time I plan to leave with my husband. She smiled and said well that's great. Then she asked me to sign the form ds-11 so I did. Then she handed me back 1 receipt and told me that I should be able to come back and pickup my passport in two weeks (interview is in 2 weeks and 3 days anyways) and that when the passport will be ready they would call me and that I need not call them...even though she handed me a contact number either way just in case I needed to.

After that she boded me good luck with everything and I left through the exit door and back to my husband. We waited for the bus to arrive which took about 15-20 minutes and then got on and were taken back to the DSS area where all of the reps and separate sections were for U.S and India and the rest, then we exited and entered the parking lot and left the embassy.

My questions:

Anyone experienced with interview at ISL embassy....if you could PLEASE tell me the differences between what I had to do with the passport renewal and what we will be doing at the interview I would be very grateful. I just want to get as full of an impact of the interview to better prepare myself.

With the waiting rooms....where would I be waiting with my husband...would it be inside the same room all the way at the end of the first waiting room where the green slips were or would we be waiting at the outer waiting room where the green slips were right outside of the security office?

With the timing.....how early should we get at the DSS area if our interview appointment will be at 8:00am on Oct 16th? This time around we got there at 7:20 and it took us over 2 hours at the DSS just to get on the bus and reach the embassy. Plus Another 10-15 minutes to actually get inside the embassy into the waiting rooms.??

Where should we be going after the security office (w/ the big scan machine and detector). And will we need to fill out any slips...which ones?

Will the security guy let me go with my husband? The guy at the bus stop wouldn't even let my husband cross the road with me....so I'm just wondering whether they'll have an issue with me saying I'm there to attend the interview with my husband? Will they let me go? Once inside, where will husband and I get out interview....would that be room 1 with the door? Will I be allowed inside with him? How would we hand them all of our evidence like our photo albums....the windows only have so much room underneath them to hand things to the reps.....I really don't think a large wedding or family album will fit there...not nearly!!!

Thanks for the help...and reading through all of the above mumbo jumbo...lol.

Your interview will be at the same room where you went i remember seeing citizenship services room within the same hall,so same room.You will have to sit on outside chairs to have ur fingerprints taken before you get to sit in the interview hall.I remember slots on the windows r not big enuf for ur wedding foto albums so u may have to take em outta ur album.I wonder y did u have to wait for that long at the bus station.My cousin dropped me at the parking lot at around 6:45am there were ppl but inside not too many outside.I had 4 ppl ahead of me in the ticket line for the bus.anyways u will have to go thru the same process all over again.......Good Luck and enjoy the trip.

[Omark 3]

Hey guys sorry I have been outta touch for a while.

So the story is we entered Chicago POE on Sept 20th. It was a really smooth breeze. Barely even two mins. They just took the documents given by the embassy and we were through and out. Its been a week now, and still no signs of the green card in the mail so of course the wait has not ended. But life is good.

Best of luck to all of us.

Welcome back L179 i thought you forgot about us.I am glade you are back home and enjoying winds in chitown.I have a question tho,POE do they assign it or you pick on ur own? like in my case i have to go to santa barbara,cali ....but i wanna stop by in NY for couple of days before going to cali...i m wondering if i can do that or not or i just have to arrive at certain POE.

[Mus24 0]

Good luck to both of you and InshaAllah we all will go through this eventually. This is best forum to connect people with each other who are in same situationl. thank you for encouraging words.

Hi guys,

Just a quick word on this AP thing.I remember I was interviewed at US embassy Islamabad on 17 Jan 2006.I had heard a lot from everybody that my visa would be delayed by atleast 6 weeks.Even a Pakistani worker at the consulate related to me said the same.

I prayed a lot and on the day of the interview,the consular officer after interviewing me said,I am convinced and congratulations you will get your visa today before 6pm and I did.

I was a Pakistani and I was a male,all the reasons to happen otherwise.

[Hopeful786 0]

Feisal I got a little worried there, at first I'm like they probably just assume everyone is on AP and don't even ask for the case number lol

Naz & Omi, I haven't called ever since, but insha'Allah once a few weeks pass by, that is when I will start calling them and as you suggest I will call them in the afternoons lol... the lady that I got at 10 am was NOT NICE, her tone of voice seemed she was unorganized and was shuffling through papers (probably the newspaper) lol ... it's amazing how ethics plays a big role in the improvement of a workforce a person with no ethics can't handle anything professionally ... she was just terribly rude and i'm confounded by the process in hiring these type of workers!

you come to a point and say who is to blame here? really lol the jobforce for hiring such a person or the person for carrying such an attitude

And MUS24, your words are motivating, thank you for sharing that... we needed something motivating since these 2 weeks passed by with no good news

[zee12 0]

Hey guys sorry I have been outta touch for a while.

So the story is we entered Chicago POE on Sept 20th. It was a really smooth breeze. Barely even two mins. They just took the documents given by the embassy and we were through and out. Its been a week now, and still no signs of the green card in the mail so of course the wait has not ended. But life is good.

Best of luck to all of us.

Welcome back L179 i thought you forgot about us.I am glade you are back home and enjoying winds in chitown.I have a question tho,POE do they assign it or you pick on ur own? like in my case i have to go to santa barbara,cali ....but i wanna stop by in NY for couple of days before going to cali...i m wondering if i can do that or not or i just have to arrive at certain POE.

POE can be anwhere. It doesnt matter where you will be going to. Some people who may take PIA but their final destination might be chicago, their entire immigration would be done in NY becuz PIA doesnt fly direclty to Chicago anymore. So, it your point of entry can be anywhere.

[zee12 0]

Does any 1 have any idea, especially people who have already picked up their passports after the whole AP process that how long it takes, after you get a call from the embassy to submit the passport, to get the visa in hand.

[Omark 3]

Hey guys sorry I have been outta touch for a while.

So the story is we entered Chicago POE on Sept 20th. It was a really smooth breeze. Barely even two mins. They just took the documents given by the embassy and we were through and out. Its been a week now, and still no signs of the green card in the mail so of course the wait has not ended. But life is good.

Best of luck to all of us.

Welcome back L179 i thought you forgot about us.I am glade you are back home and enjoying winds in chitown.I have a question tho,POE do they assign it or you pick on ur own? like in my case i have to go to santa barbara,cali ....but i wanna stop by in NY for couple of days before going to cali...i m wondering if i can do that or not or i just have to arrive at certain POE.

POE can be anwhere. It doesnt matter where you will be going to. Some people who may take PIA but their final destination might be chicago, their entire immigration would be done in NY becuz PIA doesnt fly direclty to Chicago anymore. So, it your point of entry can be anywhere.

Thank you so much zee12 for the info....i am still waiting for AP to be over soon but i was wondering abt this POE thing...thanx again.

[waiting4approval 2]

Hey guys sorry I have been outta touch for a while.

So the story is we entered Chicago POE on Sept 20th. It was a really smooth breeze. Barely even two mins. They just took the documents given by the embassy and we were through and out. Its been a week now, and still no signs of the green card in the mail so of course the wait has not ended. But life is good.

Best of luck to all of us.

Welcome back L179 i thought you forgot about us.I am glade you are back home and enjoying winds in chitown.I have a question tho,POE do they assign it or you pick on ur own? like in my case i have to go to santa barbara,cali ....but i wanna stop by in NY for couple of days before going to cali...i m wondering if i can do that or not or i just have to arrive at certain POE.

POE can be anwhere. It doesnt matter where you will be going to. Some people who may take PIA but their final destination might be chicago, their entire immigration would be done in NY becuz PIA doesnt fly direclty to Chicago anymore. So, it your point of entry can be anywhere.

DItto that!

Mumtaz.. wowwww you remember it so well :-)

I dun recall bus stopping at any other embassy though.. it went directly to the US embassy!

We were there at 6:30 and were third in line.. first one in line was L179 and still it took us 30 mins before introducing ourselves to each other..fun times

Good luck for the interview :-)

[MARM 7]

So my fiance got a call from the US Embassy today

They still didn't receive his sent in DS-157 (he sent by email on the 18th and via mail on the 26th)

So the CO who called my fiance asked for him to fax over a DS-157 today, so my fiance has done so.

We are HOPING and PRAYING that it won't be longer than a week now!!!

[Omark 3]

So my fiance got a call from the US Embassy today

They still didn't receive his sent in DS-157 (he sent by email on the 18th and via mail on the 26th)

So the CO who called my fiance asked for him to fax over a DS-157 today, so my fiance has done so.

We are HOPING and PRAYING that it won't be longer than a week now!!!

I cant believe they did not get your e-mail or snail mail in this day and age? Pakistan probably more advance in technology i guess and what fax whats that who uses it???thats ridicules....anyways marm good luck...keep us posted with the progress.I am still in twilight zone waiting to hear something from them.

[FEISAL 3]

Omark - Any updates - i believe ur next dude

Zee12 - It ususally takes 10 to 14 days after submisson of passport - good luck and do update

When did u get the call?

Edited October 1, 2009 by FEISAL

[FEISAL 3]

Zee12 - Please update me your date of interview as well and if the beneficiary is male or female . Thanks

[FEISAL 3]

L179 & Waiting4Approval - Please update on how are things with the paper work green card, ssn and stuff. Thanks

[Naz&Omi 0]

Omark - Any updates - i believe ur next dude

And US! haha.. **sigh** I wonder if the new "fiscal" year (starts Oct. 1st) has anything to do with AP? I know that in the lottery immigration system, they can only allow a certain number of people from each country immigrate each fiscal year because of government costs.... ? If it DOES, then we should all start seeing approvals like crazy! :-P Gotta keep my hopes up SOMEhow!

[Omark 3]

Omark - Any updates - i believe ur next dude

Zee12 - It ususally takes 10 to 14 days after submisson of passport - good luck and do update

When did u get the call?

I am gonna call DOS tomorrow to get the update.You know bro ur predictions are usually accurate so i think i am next but hey u never know