"ADDITIONAL PROCESSING"

[Katiedog 6]

My Fiance in Ukraine had her interview on November 16 at the US Embassy in Kiev. She passed it and the medical with all positive indications. She was encouraged and congratulated by the officer who said her packet was so big that it needed additional review. That it could not be done at the same time of the interview because it was too big. Marina said her package was twice as thick as others she saw.

They took her delivery information for the Visa packet. They gave her a pink card on which was written Additional Processing.

I have called the Embassy and spoken with some "clerk" who said that the packet is being reviewed and they could not or would not tell me what real situation is. They said that she is "Not approved yet" and that the "consular officer" is reviewing the package. They would give me no indication of time. Just basically "stonewalled" me. They said I could not speak with the officer either.

Of course the fact that their pledge is to treat everyone with dignity and respect is completely out the window and that I have PAID them to handle this in a timely manner, makes no difference.

I find this type of "processing" and behaviour, the stonewalling, etc. completely ridiculous and in-excusable. To be so High Handed and operate like "God" is unspeakable.

My attorney is going to try to find out what the situation is, but said it should not take longer than another two or three weeks! How absurd. For them to sit on this perfectly acceptable Visa application without any lacking documentation and that meets all minimum criteria. I am going to ask my Congressman's office to try to intervene in my behalf. I am livid with these bureaucratic fools.

Does anyone have any advice or input about this type of situation?

[baron555 934]

I've asked the Mods to move your posting to the RUB regional forum since it is Embassy-specific.

Kiev is considered an easy Embassy; so additional AP, while not all that uncommon, seems uncommon for this case.

WHY was her packet twice as thick as others? We all the have same documents to file?

Maybe there is something in her past (previous employment or visa history or something) that is causing the AP?

Regardless, you must wait and no attorney can quicken it; they can muck it up though.

AND, of course is you don't like being afforded the privledge to have her immigrate to the US, you can withdraw the petition and go move to there. Sri, had to be said.

Edited November 28, 2011 by baron555

[Operator 1,927]

As Baron555 says maybe this is regionally specific but did they keep her passport? and, have you called DOS? In my case I found there is a big difference between "Additional Processing" and "Administrative Processing".

Obviously I have no experience with Kiev but I always got good information from DOS rather than trying to communicate with Guangzhou.

It's easy to get spun up when you feel like you've been treated poorly but I'd wait to be sure of the situation.

[Dumb/Dumber 61]

As Baron555 says maybe this is regionally specific but did they keep her passport? and, have you called DOS? In my case I found there is a big difference between "Additional Processing" and "Administrative Processing".

Obviously I have no experience with Kiev but I always got good information from DOS rather than trying to communicate with Guangzhou.

It's easy to get spun up when you feel like you've been treated poorly but I'd wait to be sure of the situation.

This process is definitely torture on many levels, but I have had a congressman involved for months and we are still waiting longer than many for each step. Filed in November 2010. Waiting for interview date. Maybe your post will make people realize not to give the officers any more than they ask for. I wish you good luck. I keep sending my husband more and more phone bills, pictures, chat logs. This might not be good.

Edited November 28, 2011 by Dumb/Dumber

[SMR 368]

AND, of course is you don't like being afforded the privledge to have her immigrate to the US, you can withdraw the petition and go move to there. Sri, had to be said.

This comes up once in a while but it's completely BS. It's not as if they're helping your fiancee immigrate. You're just paying them to get out of the way. Sort of like paying the mafia to protect you from arson.

[daryl&lada 8]

Sorry to hear such news. I hope whatever they're reviewing gets taken care of quickly.

[baron555 934]

This comes up once in a while but it's completely BS. It's not as if they're helping your fiancee immigrate. You're just paying them to get out of the way. Sort of like paying the mafia to protect you from arson.

Not gonna get goaded into that.....like I said, Kiev is known as an easy Embassy; rarely do we hear (and we at VJ are NOT the majority) of such cases going into extended AP after the interview......

So there must be something (and I don't think thickness of the petition package has anything to do with it) in either her or his background or something that was said during the interview that has raised a question or more that they need to vet out.

Being sarcastic or critical of the Embassy and believing it's a God given right to have your foreign spouse immigrate here will only do more harm than good.....your dance with USCIS is actually just beginning.

[visaveteran1 33]

Lawyering-up is a bad idea. You'll spend money for work his lowly clerks will handle and charge you high dollars while accomplishing nothing. You and your fiancee are getting "due process," so what can a lawyer do?

Contacting your Senator might gain a small margin of additional information, but that will take time too. Unless they've done something wrong (unlikely) , you'll be told to wait it out.

Rather than seeing yourself as special boy who's a victim, see yourself as a man who needs some patience, and understand there's reasons for these extra checks.

Edited November 28, 2011 by visaveteran1

[baron555 934]

and understand there's reasons for these extra checks.

Do you, the OP, know of any reasons for these extra checks? Something in her or your past?

[1HappyGuy 45]

Just send an email to the consular office in Kiev. Make sure you include the case number. They were probably overwhelmed by the size of the file if your file was double the size of all the others. So either you went overboard on providing documentation or there is something in all of this that is causing the delay. Also, remember that embassy employees have holidays from their own country and the host country, so all manner of things could cause the delay. In your email be courteous, brief and businesslike.

As said before, just be a little more patient. You said she was approved but they needed to look through the file. Give it a little more time.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

You can spend money and time all you want and you will just spend money and time. Congresspersons cannot do anything. YOU haven't paid them anything, SHE did. YOU did not apply for anything, SHE did. She is not a citizen and has no right to a visa. The consulate will simply say they are doing their duty and that is that. No one will, or CAN, interfere unless they do something in violation of the law. They won't. In this matter, yes, they ARE Gods.

BTW lawyers will TELL YOU they can do something (for $1000, $2000, $3500) but they cannot.

AP is not too common at Kiev but certainly not unheard of. It had nothing to do with how thick her file was, ours filled an entire paper box, the kind that holds 5000 sheets. We were approved without a single question. Not to say there may have been something in there that caused this, but the size itself means nothing. They actually looked at very little of our evidence.

They WILL NOT tell you why they are doing this. You can keep asking if you want, they do not care and they will not answer.

She was chosen for AP either RANDOMLY or for some reason probably neither of you knows about or ever will. She will most likely be approved. There is NO TIME restriction on how long they can take for AP. In Kiev it is usually a matter of weeks at most, in other countries it can be YEARS and in some other countries ALL applicants get AP.

Edited November 30, 2011 by Gary and Alla

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Keep in mind that this is the VISA, this is the beginning, not the end. You have to go through this with the AOS and the RoC and then the Naturalization and this can be done at any time. It is "the process"

[Katiedog 6]

As Baron555 says maybe this is regionally specific but did they keep her passport? and, have you called DOS? In my case I found there is a big difference between "Additional Processing" and "Administrative Processing".

Obviously I have no experience with Kiev but I always got good information from DOS rather than trying to communicate with Guangzhou.

It's easy to get spun up when you feel like you've been treated poorly but I'd wait to be sure of the situation.

The Kiev Embassy kept her Ukraine Passport. They took her to another department to get the address and delivery information from her (for the packet I suppose). She was given a Pink Sheet or Card that has handwritten, Additional Processing. Nothing negative at all, nothing firing off alarms. The lady from the interview said that all was well and in a more or less roundabout way that she was approved. They needed more time to go through her package since it was so large.

It was large because of all proof of a relationship documents we filed. The package was airtight so to speak with "overkill" documentation and proof of everything. The immigration lawyer and I made doubly sure that it was comprehensive and complete with nothing left to chance.

My fiance has no criminal history and nothing that she nor I know about that would cause a flag. All doors for her to leave Ukraine are open legally. She owes no one and has no legal problems.

The Congressional office person who spoke with me said that this is common. She deals with many Embassies. She said that she can make an inquiry SIX WEEKS into the situation (from now) but that to contact them before then would maybe antagonize the personnel towards our petition. The lawyer said the same thing. So all are treading water softly. So apparently this ALL POWERFUL GOD LIKE BUREAURACY EVEN HAS CONGRESS BLUFFED. How ridiculous and absurd.

I just find this God like attitude unacceptable. We are people just like the ones reviewing the package and our lives and future depend on their decision. We hang on their whimsy. I do not like this at all.

When I was in banking for many years, I fully realized that my decisions and my ability to be responsible to other people was a big influence on their lives, that of their children and that of their future. Apparently NONE of the bureaucrats has any inkling, appreciation for this fact and little respect for the people whose lives they control.

The two things I fear are them following some misguided rabbit trail without addressing the issue with Marina and I OR them taking their own sweet time and arbitrarily judging or misjudging us and our case unfairly. We meet and exceed all qualifications required and our package was thorough and professionally prepared.

[baron555 934]

Them keeping her passport is the best sign......and them sending it back is also a good sign.

They ARE very learned and experienced in what they do and you have to trust that they know what they are doing and are doing it for a very good reason (which they may not be allowed to discuss with you) and they really do want to have two responsible and law-abiding folks come together.

I'd suggest to not dwell on it, focus on the what you will both do when she does get the visa and make those plans and start implementing them.

Personally I went the less front-end loaded route and my wife was given a 221g form requesting more evidence. I sent 10 emails the following Sunday (her interview was on a Friday) and also doubled up with a 10 lb box via FedEx overnight (took 5 days) and she was approved by Tuesday (before the FedEx box arrived). What I did include with my emails of evidence was a letter serving as a road-map describing our evidence and how it all tied together. I believe we were approved based on this one letter. Your mountains of evidence may have actually caused you a disservice since it might have raised a question in their mind as to why would they send all this, most normally don't do that. Any good immigration attorney, IMO, would have vetted out this of what is typically done with the Kiev Embassy and advised you accordingly. I bet they didn't do that; all Embassies are different and each has their own particular wants and desires.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

So apparently this ALL POWERFUL GOD LIKE BUREAURACY EVEN HAS CONGRESS BLUFFED. How ridiculous and absurd.

I just find this God like attitude unacceptable. We are people just like the ones reviewing the package and our lives and future depend on their decision. We hang on their whimsy. I do not like this at all.

When I was in banking for many years, I fully realized that my decisions and my ability to be responsible to other people was a big influence on their lives, that of their children and that of their future. Apparently NONE of the bureaucrats has any inkling, appreciation for this fact and little respect for the people whose lives they control.

The two things I fear are them following some misguided rabbit trail without addressing the issue with Marina and I OR them taking their own sweet time and arbitrarily judging or misjudging us and our case unfairly. We meet and exceed all qualifications required and our package was thorough and professionally prepared.

It may be a random AP or there could be things neither of you know about. They kept her passport, that means they do not expect this to go on for very long, not to say it couldn't. If it did they would simply send her passport back without the visa, but the initial indication is they do not expect a long wait. What they think is "long" may differ from what you think is long.

The God-like attitude has been there for some time, it will continue after you get your visa and forget about it. We are very fortunate that Kiev is generally not like this, whereas many consulates are like this all the time for every applicant.

As for the rest, it is called "separation of powers" It is not that they have congress bluffed, it is that it is none of Congress' business. Congress is legislative, DOS is Administrative. There is nothing that Congress CAN do and never was, UNLESS the consulate violates a law passed by congress. They have not. In fact they are in compliance with the law. Your congressman may have a better phone number to call but if they are within their authority (they are) they will tell the Congressman to "piss off", get lost! The response to you will be more diplomatic "they said to check again in 30 days"

The way to change this if you do not like it, is to work with your Senator or Congressman on changing legislation, change the LAW that they operate under. I have been working with Senator Leahy for two years to change the way vaccinations are handled for the AOS(Oh, you have yet to get to that part)

For now, for your case, you can only hope for a short AP