Additional Processing / Administrative Processing (This may help)

[KamLondon 13]

Hi VJ

I thought it would be useful for other people to be aware of Additional Processing (also known as Administrative Processing or just AP). I had a smooth process for the K1 filing. There is a fantastic guide on here that tells you EVERYTHING you need to do in order for your K1 visa petition to go through first time (http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1flow). The key thing is follow every single step of it to the word. I did this and sailed through the first part of it.

Ok, so I sailed through the first part of the K1 visa process, so what happened you may be wondering? My petition came back in 3 and a half months, earlier than the 5 months we expected. In this time I had already obtained my police certificates from 2 countries and my military records, as well as filled out all of the necessary forms that I would need to send to the embassy, once they asked for them (found these online). I was prepared like you would not believe. Everything went smoothly, I attended my medical and when I arrived for my interview at the US Embassy in London on April 16th, the first person was appreciative for my well organised pack, which made her job a lot easier (i just put the paperwork in a logical order. Anything to help).

The next step of the interview was to answer some questions. This person wasn't as friendly as the first and asked me lots of questions about our relationship. These went fine and then it went down hill.

I was told they didn't need anything else from me and that my case just required some additional processing which would take 2-3 weeks. I thought "fair enough" and took the blue piece of paper they gave me and walked out. When I looked at the blue piece of paper when I walked out, it said that I had been refused a visa and that my case was under additional processing. This was a shock to me because the lady at the embassy said nothing to me about a refused visa, she indicated everything was fine. Now, for those of you in Additional Processing, this is where my experience may help you.

I got home and immediately googled what this all meant. The message boards were all negative, horror stories of things taking over 6 months to be sorted out etc. I didn't panic too much though because my application was all neatly assembled, with more evidence than they needed, not a single mistake on the forms, so I must have been different.

At the end of the 3 week period, I called the London Embassy to find out what was happening, as I had not heard back. The call was not helpful at all. The operator was unfriendly, unsympathetic and just told me that my case was in additional processing, they can't talk about my case, and it will take anywhere from 2-3 up to 16-22 weeks. This wasn't good. I wasn't given this impression at the embassy and this totally screwed up many plans we had made.

We tried many things. I called the embassy a couple more times, including Washington to see if they could tell me more. Nothing good came of it, I got the same message, time and time again. My fiancee contacted her Congressman who enquired on our behalf, with his office also contacting members of the Department of State they knew. Again, they got the same response as us. The case is in AP and we just have to wait.

Further research showed us that you are most likely to be put in to AP for the following:

- You didn't submit documents (don't panic too much, this is a quick AP process for you guys)

- They don't believe your story (so they'll inform you of this and tell you they are sending the pack back to USCIS to do further checks)

- You have a surname that originates from a country, predominately in the Middle East and North Africa (doesn't matter if you've never lived in those countries, it's just the name)

- You have a background in Science, IT or other special interest areas that the US feel could be a threat

- You have served in a foreign military other than the US

There are probably other reasons for finding yourself in AP but they are the most common. From my understanding, when your paperwork is shown at the first window at the embassy, they gather it all, go through it and one of the final steps is to run your name through several security systems. if there is a potential name match with a person of interest (muslim names are obviously common in the current climate) the system prevents the visa being approved and manual checks have to be carried out by people back in the US. How long this takes depends on the agency/departments dealing with it.

If I had known about this before this whole process had started, I would have factored more time in to my plans (so my hopes didn't get dashed) and prepared myself mentally for the fact that it could take up to 22 weeks. I'm writing this post so that others can pre-empt this and prepare emotionally. I didn't know and it made my life hell. PLEASE, if you feel you have any of the above things that could put you in AP, just prepare yourselves for the fact that it could happen to you.

So, why do I care about your emotions. Well, the first reason is because as you'll find out, the embassy doesn't give a damn. You can't blame them really because they need to take emotion out when they are dealing with serious matters. In saying that, there is a line between distancing emotions and treating people with respect and understanding when calling for updates on their case. I had a dealing with an embassy rep just 2 weeks ago and just being polite on the phone and explaining things to me, it made a huge difference. I was actually happy when ending the call, not angry and frustrated like previous times.

Anyway, I digress. The next reason I am typing this is to tell you what you will go through if you do not prepare for AP:

- A whole lot of not knowing. This was the worst thing for me because I had played the game, filled in their lengthy forms and done everything right, so why was it taking so long. My advice, don't take it personal. It's just a process that you unfortunately may have to go through

- Depression. I am one of the most confident and easy going people you will meet. I am able to cut off my feelings so I don't get hurt....until it came to this. I think because the love of my life was waiting for me and they were playing with my life now, it got to me more than anything has before. I lost all motivation to do things, found it hard to work out and had a constant negative attitude towards things. This was not me and this is the biggest reason i'm writing this post. Just accept you'll be waiting in this process and plan for the full 22 weeks. It's the only way to stay sane.

- Calling the embassy and contacting your congressman etc....it does not work. Save yourself the time, money and future dashed hopes when you hear nothing back and just wait for the visa to come through. If you have nothing to hide, you have a genuine relationship, all will be fine. This remember is a bureaucratic process that you unfortunately got caught up in. It's not personal, it's just that a system forced manual checks to take place.

- Don't think your individual circumstances can change things, they can't, I tried. My frustration came with the fact that the I not only served in the military during 9/11 and the Afghan and Iraq conflicts, but I was also security cleared with the NSA (National Security Agency of America). Yes, if they can trust me with sensitive information, surely that should speed up a visa security check, right? WRONG!!! It does not matter. Although you see yourself as special and unique, you're not in this process. You're just in line and you have to.....yes, you're getting it now I'm sure.....WAIT!!!!

- I was told not to travel to the US because I would get turned away due to the visa having been refused. Although the embassy do not class this as a visa refusal (so why give us a refusal form?), the Border and Customs people do. If you can't give a reason why you got refused, they just won't let you in, simple.

- Leading on from the above point, I was unable to travel to the US to see my fiancee. This was really hard, so what we did was we brought our honeymoon forward and had a pre-wedding honeymoon. Hey, we can't leave the country for 3 months after we're married until I get Advance Parole, so we figured we'd do this. It worked for us because it was a much needed time where we forgot about everything bad and focussed on us.

There are probably more things but this post is dragging on a little now. You'll be glad to hear (I don't mean to rub it in people's faces) that yesterday (15 weeks and 5 days after going in to AP) that I received an email from the embassy telling me to send in my passport so they can issue the visa. I am not exaggerating when I say it was one of the happiest days of my life. Having felt so low to finally knowing we can carry on with our lives, it was an amazing feeling.

So, to sum up, here are my steps to surviving AP if you find yourself in it:

- Just wait and do not call the embassy, it does not help and just costs you money

- Do not call your congressman, it does you no good

- If you have a muslim sounding surname, expect to be in AP for up to 16 weeks or so and add this to your plans (better to be safe than depressed, believe me)

- Try and carry on with your life (it's easier if you already know you may be put in AP)

- Have a strong support network around you who can keep you busy and not thinking about this

- Set yourself things to aim for. The worst thing of this for me is that I felt like my life was on hold and I was powerless in moving forward. Take the time to take up a new hobby, where you do something maybe 3-4 weeks down the line. Goal setting will help.

- Last of all, just accept that this process has many flaws, the embassy aren't there to be your friends and lastly, it's not personal. They system forces checks and if you end up in it, your'e just unlucky.

I hope this helps those in AP, prepares those who could get put in to AP and makes those that didn't go in to AP realise that you were so damn lucky haha.

This is just my view, from my experience and from the information I came across. All cases are different and we can only speculate as to what happens inside the embassy and their processes. This is my best effort at trying to make sense of it though.

Feel free to comment and especially if you are in AP and are finding it hard, please feel free to comment or message me. If I can help just 1 person feel slightly better, this post will have served its purpose.

Thanks

Kam

[Boiler 45,519]

I only remember seeing one AP through London that was not MENA related.

- I was told not to travel to the US because I would get turned away due to the visa having been refused. Although the embassy do not class this as a visa refusal (so why give us a refusal form?), the Border and Customs people do. If you can't give a reason why you got refused, they just won't let you in, simple.

The big issue travelling under AP is that it seems to reset the process.

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

I only remember seeing one AP through London that was not MENA related.

I can think of only two -- DairyFarmer (Australian) and treehugger (born in the UK to non-MENA parents) come to mind. There might have been one more, but these are the two I can recall.

[Justine+David 218]

Did treehugger ever get her visa? Poor thing had quit her job and moved in with her parents, I remember.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Almost everybody with India or Pakistan connections goes through AP in London.

Here's the APs I remember in London---

Knight and Magpie- born India, moved to England age 6 months, UK citizenship

BigDogi or BadDogi -middle east

DairyFarmer- Australia

TreeHugger - white British born

MARM- Pakistan, student visa

Linkin- Pakistan, student visa

Maya84- Bangladesh

Sergnavi- Pakistan

Adnan&Liane- born UK, spent a lot of time in Morocco, Muslim

basher- Lebanese Muslim

dishajubayer- Bangladesh

the OP

Edited August 4, 2012 by Nich-Nick

[Rachie07 4]

Out of interest, how often does this happen? Just curious as my interview is soon and I am worried about being sent away without my visa.

[Boiler 45,519]

If you are MENA then pretty much a given, otherwise similar to being hit by lightening.

Edited August 5, 2012 by Boiler

[KamLondon 13]

@Rachie07 I have to agree with Boiler I'm afraid. If you have a surname that sounds like it's from the MENA region, then the chances are very high. Again though, just plan for it so you aren't surprised by it. I was reading on another forum about several cases where the following has happened:

Person X goes through AP on a work or study visa. They move to the US with their family, set up life etc and have many commitments. For them to extend the specific visas they are on, they need to go back to their home country to get the visa extended. On doing so, they think it will be a formality but yet again, they are placed in AP for 3-6 months. They've been checked once already but they still need to be checked again. This indicates to me that it's a flaw in the system, whereby it doesn't look at personal circumstances (i.e. previously checked and approved); if the name creates a hit in the system, you're in AP and have to go through the process.

Despite being frustrated by this whole process myself, I felt lucky when hearing about these situations. While their family is in the US, with all sorts of payments (rent, car, insurance etc) to make, the main earner is in another country, not earning with their job in the US, as they aren't working. Do they get a job in the country they are stuck in? If so, what kind of job do they get? Will it be 2 weeks, will it be 6 months? It's so difficult for these people to plan for.

Good luck with your interview though. I hope you manage to skip AP. I wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy.

[Rachie07 4]

Thank you both, I havent got an MENA sounding sirname, nor have any connections with that area of the world in my family, I am just worried as I am 7 months pregnant what could possibly happen at the interview. I guess I am trying to be super efficient to avoid any unwanted headaches. The problems I can forsee with my case is that I had disclosed depression at my medical (which I passed) and I am still waiting on the royal mail to recieve my husbands taxes. I guess it depends on the interviewer you have on the day...it seems you could predict the outcome in London and no not so much!

[KamLondon 13]

Thank you both, I havent got an MENA sounding sirname, nor have any connections with that area of the world in my family, I am just worried as I am 7 months pregnant what could possibly happen at the interview. I guess I am trying to be super efficient to avoid any unwanted headaches. The problems I can forsee with my case is that I had disclosed depression at my medical (which I passed) and I am still waiting on the royal mail to recieve my husbands taxes. I guess it depends on the interviewer you have on the day...it seems you could predict the outcome in London and no not so much!

Well fingers crossed all goes well at the interview. I'm not sure what their stance is on depression but I wouldn't have thought it'd cause any issues, as it's a common thing that many people suffer from.

As for the interview day, just relax and go with the flow. I find it always helps if you know what to expect, so here's something to give you an idea of what you'll experience:

- You'll queue up for ages outside and they tell you not to go with any bags, phones, wallets, keys and anything sharp/electronic/liquid. Oh and make sure you have your appointment letter, they are pretty big on this.

- When you're in, you'll receive a case number and then you'll go in to a big room with lots of chairs and screens

- When your number is called (like buying something at Argos), you'll be asked to go to a window (i found windows 13-18 seemed to be reserved for K1 applicants)

- Don't worry if you see many people going ahead of you at other windows. Some visas don't take as long because they are just temporary and don't require too much work

- When at the window, just put your paperwork in a logical order to make it easier on the person. I found this person to be really friendly

- They'll take all of your paperwork, you'll have your fingerprints scanned and then you'll be asked to sit down

- You'll sit for around 45mins-1hr or so, then you'll be called up to another window where an American will ask you questions about your relationship and what you intend to do over there for work (varies i'm guessing for everyone but that's an idea). Some people have said this person was really friendly when they had their interview but mine was far from that. Very moody and emotionless in my opinion. It was 8.30am though, so maybe she wasn't a morning person. They'll either take your passport and tell you to pay the courier fee or they'll tell you some more processing is required. Fingers crossed it's the first scenario.

[en99 0]

Hi Kam, your post was really helpful to me. Unfortunately I made a mistake and I booked my flight before the interview and now my application required AP and I don't know when I get the visa

Regarding AP I have few questions and I would greatly appreciate your help

My application is DV1 visa and my interview was 3 weeks ago. Here are my questions

1- 4 month ago I went to us on B2 Visa. That I went through the administrative processing and it took about 3 weeks to get the clearance then I went to us and I stayed there for 3weeks.

To be honest I expected to get the clearance in less than 3 weeks this time because my name was in the system from the previous search but after 3 weeks I haven't received any response yet. This is my question, is there any difference between the AP for immigrant and non-immigrant visa?

2- For the non-immigrant visa it is possible to check the name on the website ( 4 to 5 pm ) but my DV interviewer told me they will call or email me. Will it be the same time or it may be in the morning

Many thanks