AP in Cairo embassy

[relshamy 11]

Hello everyone

My fiance's interview was today at the Cairo embassy. At the end of the interview they told him your case looks good but it needs to undergo AP that might take 3-6 weeks. The CO said the time frame himself w/o my fiance asking for it. Does any body here have any experience with AP? Do they really stick to their time frames?? Thanks a lot

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

Hello everyone

My fiance's interview was today at the Cairo embassy. At the end of the interview they told him your case looks good but it needs to undergo AP that might take 3-6 weeks. The CO said the time frame himself w/o my fiance asking for it. Does any body here have any experience with AP? Do they really stick to their time frames?? Thanks a lot

Uh.... yes.... just about everyone here in the MENA forum has experience with AP.

Actual length of time to complete AP may be much different than what the CO predicts. It could be processed quicker, but don't be surprised if it takes a lot longer. Cairo has told a lot of our members "2 weeks," but many of those cases took 4 months or 6 months or even longer to finally be completed.

I'm not trying to discourage you - I hope your case is finished very quickly. Some cases are finished within a few weeks. But it's possible that it may take a lot longer, so be prepared for that scenario.

Edited May 15, 2013 by Falastin_Qalbi

[SurrenderNess 5]

Hello everyone

My fiance's interview was today at the Cairo embassy. At the end of the interview they told him your case looks good but it needs to undergo AP that might take 3-6 weeks. The CO said the time frame himself w/o my fiance asking for it. Does any body here have any experience with AP? Do they really stick to their time frames?? Thanks a lot

Ohhh lol..I do...Almost everyone here does..No worries..If they took his passport...expect his visa in couple of weeks .Congratz anyways

[together4evr 360]

I know some people they said 1-2 weeks and it took 7 months

I know some they said it will take 1-2 months and they got it in 1 month

Sometimes the CO doesn't know and just wants to pacify you

Pray for a quick AP

But right now MANY egyptians are in extended AP. Possbly due to the Boston terrorists or the condition of Egypt right now?

Fiances usually get the visas quicker then spouses because the background check is more extensive for CR1 because they need work clearance before they come to USA. Fiances cannot work until they submit more paperwork afetr marriage and AOS

Good Luck

[together4evr 360]

Here is a list of Egyptian spouse wait times for visas and those still in AP

Notice the ones that say the CO said 1-2 weeks and how long it actually took.

Also it matters is the Egyptian is a women-she will get the visa within 2 weeks usually but men will wait

1.Nababdurrahman -------------Nov 20, 2011- told within 7-10 days after more papers------------- HE GOT IT IN 39 DAYS
2.Mero Rob -------------------Nov 22, 2011 -needed to send more papers----------------------------- SHE GOT IT IN 44 DAYS
3.Tp1986 ---------------------Nov 22, 2011 needed more papers-MAN-------------------------------HE GOT IT 65 DAYS
4.Rami & Yosra----------------Nov 29, 2011 Told you will get it in 7---------------------------- SHE GOT IT IN 8 DAYS
5.pyramids -------------------Dec 4, 2011 -told within 1 week------------------------------------SHE GOT IT IN 10 DAYS
6.TamerA --------------------Dec 6, 2011 She was Told 1-2 weeks------------------------------------------ SHE GOT IT IN 10 DAYS
7.Marymina119 ----------------Dec. 8, 2011- told approx 1 week ----------------------------------------SHE GOT IT IN 10 DAYS
8.Yesterdaysrain23 -------------Dec 11, 2011-more papers-MALE-------------------------------HE GOT THE VISA IN 59 DAYS
9.Zawgyosama -------------------Dec 13, 2011-more evidence needed. MALE----------------------HE GOT THE VISA 57 DAYS
10.MagdaEssam(habibi83) ---------Dec 15, 2011-told 10days -2 weeks max---------------------------HE GOT IT IN 14 DAYS
11.Stu_Mathews interview---------Dec 14 told he will get it in 10 days----------------------------------HE GOT IT IN 8 DAYS
12 Sherif23 ---------------------Dec 21, 2011-He was told 2 weeks--------------------------------HE GOT IT IN 20 DAYS
13 Mohamed1980 ------------------Jan 5, 2012-She was told in 1 week-----------------------------SHE GOT IT IN 13 DAYS
14. MahaAhmed --------------------Jan 9, 2012 HE AP 1-2 MONTHS--------------------------------HE GOT IT IN 31 DAYS
15 Soza Joe----------------------Jan 11, 2012 told will get it within 7 days-------------------SHE GOT IT IN 7 DAYS
16 merorafo22 -------------------Jan 12, 2012---------------------------------------------------SHE GOT VISA IN 12 DAYS
17.AhmedAnna---------------------Jan 19, 2012--------------------------------------------------HE GOT THE VISA IN 7 DAYS
18.Emad Desouky -----------------Jan 19, 2012--SUBMIT MORE PAPERS--------------------------------------HE GOT IT 30 DAYS
19.mariekemo --------------------Jan 24, 2012-HE -more papers and wait 15 days----------------------HE GOT IT IN 13 DAYS
20.Ezra Hassan ------------------Jan 30, 2012-HE--TOLD 1-2 WEEKS---------------------------HE GOT IT IN 7 DAYS HE FILED DCF
21.Kokylolo----------------------Feb 13, 2012-TOLD 10 DAYS-----------------------------HE GOT IT IN 12 DAYS
22.J.G.I (DCF FILERS)----------Feb 21, 2012-WAS TOLD 2 WEEKS--------------------------HE GOT IT 7 DAYS LATER
23.Togetherforever13 ------------Jan 19, 2012-HE TOLD 14 WEEKS AP--------------------------He got it in 56 DAYS
24.Shayy17---------------------------interview Feb 7---------------------------------------------------HE 8 weeks of AP
25.Oabdelra-CC ---------------------April 17, 2012------------------------------------SHE GOT IT 6 DAYS
26. MoeMN (Mohamed & Nancy) --------------------------------------------------------------SHE GOT IT IN 7 DAYS!!! :
27.amrsoul (Amr and Kymberlie)--------------told 2 weeks--------------------------------------- GOT IT IN 10 DAYS!!!
28.ahmed_f (Ahmed & Fonda) ----------------told 2 weeks------------------------------------------HE GOT IT IN 6 DAYS
29.ahmedasha-May 16, HE APPROVED with AP-------------------------------------------------------HE GOT Visa in 5.5 weeks
30.Angie & Abdo--He interview DCF 6/21/12---------------------------------------------------HE GOT THE VISA IN 7 DAYS!!!
31.Messi10 (Tariq & Hiba)Expedited SHE interviewed June 10th, 2012-----------------------------------SHE GOT IT IN 8 DAYS
32.madanisgirl Jan 12, 2012-HE AP 1-6 weeks--------------------------------------------------------GOT IT IN 7 MONTHS AP
33.LOVE2OURBB---------------------------------------------------------------------------Dec 5, 2011- HE 8 MONTHS OF AP
34.jralsibai-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------less than 1 month!!!!
35.Moro77 (Mohsen & R) APPROVED --------------------------------------------------------------SHE GOT VISA IN 5 DAYS!!
36.A & Y (meno-is-mine)HE interviewed 6/4/12 APPROVED---------------------------------------------------got visa 2 months later.
37.Aly174 12/1/12 interview HE was told possibly 1-2 weeks-----------------------------------------Got visa about 8 months later
38.Cami & Eslam(luv4eslam)-----Nov 13, 2011 NO AP. He delayed his visa----------------------He came to USA in July 2012
39.Sherywhite-told 10-14 days------------------------------------------------------------------SHE got in within 2 weeks
40.LOLO & N (lolo5) SHE interview 10/24/12 Approved told 10-14 days--------------------------------------SHE GOT IT IN 10 DAYS
41.Wendy<3Ahmed INTERVIEW Oct 2, 2011----------------------------------------------------------HE GOT IT ALMOST 13 MONTHS OF AP
42.Christina_Joseph INTERVIEW 11/1/12-------------------------------------------------------------------- HE GOT IT IN 5 DAYS
43.UmBrighton (ashley and Peter) they told him 2 weeks---------------------------------------------------he got it in 8 days!!!!
44.CarolBasha (and Ahmed) --------HE-APPROVED with ap.--------------------------------------He got it over 11 months of AP
45.Candy Hassan HE interview 8/14/2012----------------------------------------------------------------AP of 6 months
46.sally&mohamed 12/30/11 SHE--------------------------------------------------------------------------SHE approved Nov?
47.Shehatad (Mahmoud & Deena)------interview 9/19/12- HE APPROVED------------------------------He came into USA 1/24/13
48.Heather_mahmoud-(heba&Mando M<3R)interview 11/18/12 ----------------------------------------------------- HE 3 months AP
49.Holly& Ihab (Ihab & Holly)He interview 2/19/13-approved------------------------------------HE GOT VISA IN 2 DAYS!!
50.Sarah19 (Khalil & Sarah)(Sarah & Bahry) HE Interview 2/12/13-----------------------------------HE GOT VISA IN 12 DAYS
51.Mohamed_Heather (Mohamed & Heather) ----------------------------------------------------------HE GOT VISA IN 3 MONTHS
52.ShannonSayed (Sayed & Shannon)INTERVIEW 2/12/13-told AP----------------------------------------He got the visa in 23 days
53.alex_dc4 (Amr & Hagar)SHE INTERVIEW 2/26/13- --------------------------------------------------------She got visa in 9 days
54.ÒæÌ & äæÑÇ (why not1) he interviewed 11/21/12-------------------------------------------------He got visa in 37 days!!
55.Bluetina (armia and christin)-She Interview 4/4/13-----------------------------------------------------She got the visa in 11 days
56.Amandaman (Amanda and Ahmed)HE Interview 3/27/13-------------------------------------------------HE got visa in 10 days

57.Rasha (Rasha & Mohamed) INTERVIEWED 2/13/13 IN CANADA WITH AP-----------------------------He got visa in almost 3 months

WAITING FOR AP TO END
1.Samy + Janet Aly-Jan 2, 2012- -REAFFIRMED MARCH 16,2013
2.Rosepetal (Ibrahem & Alaa) HE interview Sept 6, 2012 told 4-6 weeks
3.Handspring92 He interviewed 10/9/12----------------------------------He approved with AP
4.Samadi-(adi & Sami) interview Nov 6, 2012
5.Heather Ahmed------- He INTERVIEW 11/21/12-----------------Approved with AP
6.Just4Bina1----interview Dec 4, 2012-------told AP 4-8 week
7.AnitAnMohamed-He interviewed 12/20/12
8.JennyLee (Mow & JennyLee)-HE dec 31, 2012
9.Ayman_Rina (ayman & rina) HE INTERVIEW 3/17/13 AP need cosponsor
10.RFQ (RFQ & Sima) HE Interview 4/3/13
11.Michaelamyan-------------------------------------------------SHE Interview 4/24/13
12.TamerandAnita--- ---------------------------------------------Interview 4/24/13

[RFQ 110]

6 weeks has come and gone... I think my husband finally believes me about the horror of AP. I say to him... I'm sorry I'm not so excited by your interview result but I have been in VJ for too long and am thoroughly jaded. AP victims are piling up for Cairo.

Wishing you a quick AP-- even if it means you get it before us and I have to sulk in the corner.

Edited May 18, 2013 by RFQ

[AnitAnMohamed 0]

5 months have come and gone for us too. They took my husbands passport, but did not give him an estimated AP time. Wishing you the best on a fast AP !!

[Medo123 0]

What about F1 visa ?

I was interviewed on May 5th, the CO has told me that my application is great! But it would take some time for AP. Till now, my case is still pending.

Wish you all the best.

[relshamy 11]

Thanks for your replies everyone. I really wish every single one of you and everyone in this journey all the best :)

[Heather&Ramy 22]

Woah... something I've never heard about til now, and I was just starting to get encouraged about our visa journey because it seems we may get our NOA2 soon...

This is a stupid question I guess, but what is AP and why do people in MENA region experience it more??

It's crazy how all over the board those other Egyptian couple's stats are... there is a pattern of it being shorter for women yes, but even within each sex its kind of all over the place with what they tell you and when it actually comes! Why is that?

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

Welcome to the Cairo Final Review Club.

Woah... something I've never heard about til now, and I was just starting to get encouraged about our visa journey because it seems we may get our NOA2 soon...

This is a stupid question I guess, but what is AP and why do people in MENA region experience it more??

It's crazy how all over the board those other Egyptian couple's stats are... there is a pattern of it being shorter for women yes, but even within each sex its kind of all over the place with what they tell you and when it actually comes! Why is that?

Lovely picture. I noticed in your signature you're planning a wedding this year in the States. Go ahead and tentatively plan but don't make any firm plans until you guys have the visa in hand because the timing is not predictable and is based on a case by case situation. It can take anywhere from weeks to years to go through AP at the US Embassy in Cairo.

There are a lot of discussions about AP on VJ if you wish to do an independent search to read about it. The definition is even in the VJ Wiki because it's so common. It's called Administrative Processing and Administrative Review. There are a lot of reasons for it. In the Cairo Final Review Club thread that I link above we talked, researched and learned a lot about what AP and AR means after the Embassy interview.

Some of the reasons include the bureaucracy they're dealing with between Egypt and the US. The FBI background checks and name checks based can take some time because there are multiple spellings for a persons name. This is due to translation of the Arabic language to English and not having enough letter to match up so words can have several spellings in the transliteration. You may have seen that numbers are sometimes substituted for Arabic letters because of this. So that's one part of it.

Then when there is a common name hit it can hold things up for a long time because the US Embassy has to request from the appropriate Egyptian authority documents they require to review. That is up to the leisure of the department of the Egyptian authority that this falls under. A lot of things are recorded on paper in this region and not electronically, so it not only takes time to get the papers it also takes time to read through them all. They go through everything with a fine tooth comb. Even if someone's name is mentioned as a witness to a car accident they have to see the official report in person and read over it.

Other reasons mentioned for it is to test the resolve of the couple. Without getting into to much details about it because it would be a beast to explain I'll say to put it simply men from the region are known to target foreign women from developed countries for immigration purposes.

Then also consider the region is in a period of great unrest with the Arab Spring aka the Jasmine Revolution. Many Embassy's have been affected since 2011. In Egypt the country has just gone through it's first major political shift in 30 years with the election of a new president, the writing of a new constitution, the changing of their Parliament and new election for that as well. The police are unhappy and not cooperating and the military is distancing itself thus creating a security vacuum. Then there is the secret state as the political pundits call it that is not so secret and their private interests are well known and to be protected, deep seated, unwilling to change or move from power. The newly elected Administration is attempting to negotiate and deal with this by getting rid of the top generals but after 30 years the corruption is so ingrained in the various levels of the Ministries it's like going up against "The Fight Club". They're everyone and everywhere. People are familiar with the old ways and finding the new ways is difficult to manage.

We also have the majority of the population in poverty, under educated, still unhappy with the lack of change. The declining economic situation with the rising inflation is squeezing them and creating the worst economic crisis the country has seen since the 1930's. Then there are the educated youth and college student that have no jobs to go to so they take to the streets and continue to protest. Sometimes they climb the walls of the Embassies. Sometimes some more conservative interests in the masses take the opportunity to enter the grounds and tear down the US flag and replace it with the black flag of AQ. Every time there is a large protest in Tahrir Square things have the opportunity for getting out of hand. With the US Embassy so close to the main square for protests the State Department has the responsibility of taking care of the people working in the Embassy so they don't have another Iranian hostage crisis on their hands or assassination of an Ambassador like in Benghazi. Thus another reason for the delays in administrative processing and administrative review (AP/AR).

Before this it used to be that the USCIS processing was going through changes and an overhaul was being made to procedures in addition to fee increases and this was also part of the delays in the past. These changes also affected the Embassies and they too went through their overhaul.

Then in our own country we had a change in government Administration. The politics changed in 2008 with the election of a new President and him appointing his own people. Now we're seeing this again in 2012 because of the head of the State Department is the Secretary of State and Hilary Clinton resigned earlier this year. I believe her last day was the end of February around the same time as the Pope's resignation. Once all the changes were made in 2008 we started seeing unprecedented processing times for Cairo. What used to take an average of months to years went down to weeks and months. Hardly anyone was waiting years.

Since the State Department just got a new head known as the Secretary of State, John Kerry, I'm sure this also has something to do with what's going on as he gets to know the process and makes the rounds and appoints his own people to oversee the process and procedures at the Embassy level. Right now I'm sure he has bigger fish to fry because he's been making the rounds with his first tour. I have seen him as of late turn his attention to the Middle East again and the ongoing peace process so we'll see.

Edited May 25, 2013 by Dr. A ♥ O

[Heather&Ramy 22]

Thank you SO much for the thorough answer of the multiple factors involved... I had a vague idea that AP involved background or other checks, but I didn't quite understand why that would make everybody's stats so varying. So the less someone's name has been recorded in any official events, the better I guess?

Some VJers had warned me early on that planning a wedding date (even as ridiculously conservative as 10+ months away, or so I thought) wasn't a good idea for that very reason, but I didn't understand it until now. We've booked some things but I may just have to hold everything else off until he actually gets his visa in hand for sure. That is so hard to do in our American wedding culture. But I guess I would be happy to have an extremely small and simple wedding to my love than none at all.

[Heather&Ramy 22]

Just one other thing---I will check out the other threads concerning it (not sure if I should be encouraged or depressed that there is a large thread for AP in Cairo alone, lol) --but, is there anything that the petitioner can do during that stage to affect the speed? I'm guessing that no amount of calling or going to the embassy or getting senators involved, etc., can help, we just have to wait..

[Heather&Ramy 22]

Oh sorry, I can't seem to edit my posts, but I just thought of yet another thing..

You mentioned above how common name hits and the difficulty of transliterating Arabic into English letters can cause holdups... well, I will ask my fiancé for his opinion too, but would anyone think that perhaps since he is a Christian and comes from a family of Christians that perhaps there would be less chance of name similarity?

Like in the U.S., my first and last names are not terribly common compared to something like John Smith.. since he's not a Mohammed or Ahmed or something, but has Christian names, could that help? I just mean since they are the significant minority over there.

The list of names above were broken up by gender, but I wonder what would happen if you broke them up by the Muslim, secular, or Christian names...

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

So the less someone's name has been recorded in any official events, the better I guess?

Some VJers had warned me early on that planning a wedding date (even as ridiculously conservative as 10+ months away, or so I thought) wasn't a good idea for that very reason, but I didn't understand it until now. We've booked some things but I may just have to hold everything else off until he actually gets his visa in hand for sure. That is so hard to do in our American wedding culture. But I guess I would be happy to have an extremely small and simple wedding to my love than none at all.

Yes, the less there is a name hit the quicker it goes. There are also the intelligence reports to go through too for name hits. That's the kind of stuff we don't generally get to see or understand why someone was denied without cause. They have cause they just can't reveal what it is, how they got the information, ect... for reasons of national security.

I understand wanting to plan your wedding because of our culture. I totally get that. It was so difficult for us to decide on and plan as well. Though many before us and after us have done spectacular, elegant, meaningful weddings in 90 days so you'll have time. If you already know what you want and made your decisions ahead of time with some alternatives just in case then it should be a snap to line it all up once the visa is in hand and the plane tickets are purchased.

Just one other thing---I will check out the other threads concerning it (not sure if I should be encouraged or depressed that there is a large thread for AP in Cairo alone, lol) --but, is there anything that the petitioner can do during that stage to affect the speed? I'm guessing that no amount of calling or going to the embassy or getting senators involved, etc., can help, we just have to wait..

Well there isn't much one can do really other than get Congressman and Senators involved after a certain amount of time. I've only seen a handful of cases where extenuating circumstances moved the case along. Such as a pregnant wife having severe medical complications and the spouse needing to be there asap. Most just have to wait.

Oh sorry, I can't seem to edit my posts, but I just thought of yet another thing..

You mentioned above how common name hits and the difficulty of transliterating Arabic into English letters can cause holdups... well, I will ask my fiancé for his opinion too, but would anyone think that perhaps since he is a Christian and comes from a family of Christians that perhaps there would be less chance of name similarity?

Like in the U.S., my first and last names are not terribly common compared to something like John Smith.. since he's not a Mohammed or Ahmed or something, but has Christian names, could that help? I just mean since they are the significant minority over there.

The list of names above were broken up by gender, but I wonder what would happen if you broke them up by the Muslim, secular, or Christian names...

If the name isn't as common for whatever reason then possibly the process won't be as complicated as someone with a more common name.

About the Cairo Final Review Club thread. It goes back several years. Since then the process for getting the visa has become much more efficient, until just recently it seems to have slowed down again. Also the administration has changed and there's going to be some backlog with everything that's going on. Immigration reform is the big issue this last term and it's hot on the move on all different kinds of levels.

Edited May 27, 2013 by Dr. A ♥ O