Terrible News

[H93 55]

Congressman replied saying USCIS said my husband's case is in 'legally-mandated administrative processing.'

Just when I thought he'll be here by the summer...

This is gonna be a while, isn't it?

[jaycali 415]

Congressman replied saying USCIS said my husband's case is in 'legally-mandated administrative processing.'Just when I thought he'll be here by the summer...This is gonna be a while, isn't it?

I'm sorry to hear that. Must be hard after so much waiting already

AP is generally mandatory for male citizens of multiple "high-risk" countries (tends to be Middle Eastern countries). Hopefully it will be fairly quick, but to be honest, it can potentially take several months..

[MCMLXXXII 29]

I thought that during the I-130 approval, USCIS usually vets out the petitioner and the checks on the beneficiary are done more at the later stages. Is that correct? If so then is the petitioner the reason for being placed in AP or the beneficiary?

[H93 55]

I'm confused as well.

I thought they only put someone in AP after the interview.

[Matt & Rocio 28]

I'm confused as well.

I thought they only put someone in AP after the interview.

Are you a naturalized us citizen, born in the us, or a legal permanent resident?

If you were born outside of the US what is your native country?

I was also under the impression that the I-130 petition and resulting processing done by USCIS was mainly to check on the petitioner. It is possible that USCIS runs the beneficiaries name through a basic check. Maybe he has a name similar to a known terrorist that can't be cleared by checking other information like date of birth or country of origin.

These are just guesses of course. I'm sure you must feel horrible about this. We had to wait just over 7 months to get through USCIS, but from your time line you are beyond 7 months with no end in site yet. Maybe this AP will mean he won't have to go through AP after the interview.

Good luck to you and your spouse. Hang in there and keep up your hopes that soon you will get through this time apart.

[Laure&Colin 558]

Has your husband been in the US before?

You know it's possible he just had a name hit when they checked the different databases.

I think it's a good idea to keep you congressman involved in your case, otherwise you might have a hard time getting information from USCIS!

Good luck to you both.

[together4evr 360]

• What is Administrative Processing? AP is also called Additional Administrative Processing and is when the applicant is being checked more closely. It can be for security checks which encompass fingerprints and/or name checks or for document verification.

• When does Administrative Processing Happen? AP can happen at any time during your processing. It can happen at a service center, at the NVC level, or at the embassy level. It mainly is discussed here in the forums at the embassy level.

• Who can get Administrative Processing and Why? AP usually affects men and women from certain countries but anyone can get AP. Persons coming from T countries (Terrorist Countries) seem to have more security checks and have to endure AP at the embassy level after their interview. Common names, your nationality, religion, education, relationship of applicant, travels and job can all be factors for AP. Having incomplete or missing documents will also cause a case to be put in AP. In some cases if the embassy does not believe in the validity of the relationship they can investigate it further with a field investigation.

• What are the T-Countries? Although it is classified, the list of countries reportedly affected by these restrictions includes, but is not limited to, Afghanistan,

Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Djibouti, Egypt,

Eritrea, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya,

Malaysia, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia,

Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates,

and Yemen. http://www.abil.com/....0Wolfsdorf.pdf This list is complied from an attorney and the list of T-countries can change at any time.

• Can I check the status of my case? The embassy will not in many cases respond to emails until a certain amount of time has elapsed. The best bet is to contact Department of State aka: DOS and ask them for an update bi-weekly. They will not be able to give you details but they can tell you if the case is still pending in AP or cleared.

• DOS information: DOS can be contacted Monday through Friday during business hours. You must have all information concerning your case with you so that they can assist you.

Department of State’s visa Information phone number: 202-663-1225

• Can I expedite this process? The simple answer is NO. No one can expedite the checks since they are considered a matter of National security. An elected official can only make a congressional inquiry on your behalf. They cannot get the checks finished any faster.

• Does AP have any time frame for completion? NO AP can last anywhere from days, weeks, months and in a few cases years.

Anyone that happens to be given a 221(g) or Administrative Processing letter must be patient and let them do their work. Do not call constantly and ask about your case. Remember each time your case is moved it can then end up at the bottom of the stack and your time can be extended. Each case is different so you cannot judge your case by any other and each consulate/embassy may have a different average time for completion of AP.

[H93 55]

I'm a U.S. citizen born in the U.S. and my husband has never been to the U.S.

And I guess that makes sense about his name.

But I didn't get anything from USCIS and if I hadn't contacted my congressman I would've never know our case is in AP.