Processing time different for Middle East?

[LizzieBee 25]

Just curious if anybody knows about this. Does the beginning part of this process--at USCIS and NVC--usually take longer for applicants from the Middle East? If so, is it significantly longer? Applications are being processed crazy fast lately and I'm thinking I probably shouldn't get my hopes up along with everyone else. Anybody know?

[aamirpearl 47]

no it should be the same as every other country but be aware for AP when you finish interview.. good luck

[Sarah Elle-Même 660]

I recall your boyfriend/fiance was from North Africa, so at the USCIS/NVC stage you probably will have it processed within normal time frame. Undoubtedly your beneficiary will have AP - for which there is no time frame. My petition is on hold "indefinitely" at USCIS due to my beneficiary's country.

[Luluhilweh 3]

I recall your boyfriend/fiance was from North Africa, so at the USCIS/NVC stage you probably will have it processed within normal time frame. Undoubtedly your beneficiary will have AP - for which there is no time frame. My petition is on hold "indefinitely" at USCIS due to my beneficiary's country.

Hello Sarah and Adnan,

I was just wondering if there were any changes in Yemen's policy at Embassy when I was reading your post. So sorry youre still going through all this red tape-its so overwhelming. We are also still stuck here in Cotonou, with no word on my husband's AP being over yet. Just wanted to show some support and keep reminding us all that hopefully this will all be over soon and it will be behind us.

[Sarah Elle-Même 660]

Hello Sarah and Adnan,

I was just wondering if there were any changes in Yemen's policy at Embassy when I was reading your post. So sorry youre still going through all this red tape-its so overwhelming. We are also still stuck here in Cotonou, with no word on my husband's AP being over yet. Just wanted to show some support and keep reminding us all that hopefully this will all be over soon and it will be behind us.

Well, last I spoke to my Senator's Immigration Liaison my case file has turned up "missing" at VSC and they are "looking" for it. If I've been waiting over a year only for my petition to be lost, well, I can't say what state of mind I'll be in. It won't be rational or sound, that's for sure.

It's USCIS policy to process or not process petitions. It may have to do with the Embassy being woefully disorganized and closed half the time, it may not. The supervisors I've spoken to at USCIS made it a point to tell me I'll never know. My fiance is nearly ready to give up, or to make a new plan for us to live together in a 3rd country (not a good or permanent option at all). Honestly, I haven't told him about the most recent VSC trouble because I'm a little worried he'll break it off.

I really feel your pain. Thanks for the support

Edited November 20, 2013 by Sarah and Adnan

[Luluhilweh 3]

Well, last I spoke to my Senator's Immigration Liaison my case file has turned up "missing" at VSC and they are "looking" for it. If I've been waiting over a year only for my petition to be lost, well, I can't say what state of mind I'll be in. It won't be rational or sound, that's for sure.

It's USCIS policy to process or not process petitions. It may have to do with the Embassy being woefully disorganized and closed half the time, it may not. The supervisors I've spoken to at USCIS made it a point to tell me I'll never know. My fiance is nearly ready to give up, or to make a new plan for us to live together in a 3rd country (not a good or permanent option at all). Honestly, I haven't told him about the most recent VSC trouble because I'm a little worried he'll break it off.

I really feel your pain. Thanks for the support

Holy God I really feel you- why on earth do we have to be put through such #######? Theres only so much pressure one can bear-I usually try and think very positive because Ive gotten used to living in Benin also a third world country and theres other times like now where the slightest issue like when the power goes out for 6 hours, I wanna rip my hair out. So I understand completely why its such a hard decision to toggle with (leaving the US). We just try and decide what is the lesser of the two evils for our families. To get through the day at times, I just completely remove myself from the situation as if it didnt exist. I imagine continuing our lives together in the Us around the support of family and friends and new experiences we can look, forward to. If we think about the legal borders that USCIS and Embassies bound us by, its much harder to make it through our challenges. Youre already doing everything you can at this point and hopefully it will make all the difference at the end of this journey. Stay strong and hopefully some light will be shed for all of us soon!

[momof1 205]

They lost our file between I 130 approval and NVC for close to two years. In the end, it was on some idiot's desk all of that time and I realized it wasn't an accident

[Sarah Elle-Même 660]

They lost our file between I 130 approval and NVC for close to two years. In the end, it was on some idiot's desk all of that time and I realized it wasn't an accident

No, it wasn't an accident. I'm certain it isn't in my case either. My Senator's immigration liaison has been doggedly harassing VSC for a few months, going beyond the call of her duties, for which I am grateful, but perhaps it made those in charge resentful. I mean, how dare I, a measly citizen, request my case be expedited because of an emergent life threatening illness, even though they routinely grant such expedites.

[sandinista! 1,816]

Sarah, I'm so sorry. I hope you guys catch a break soon.

[Cathi 5,794]

my husband's petition was approved in 3 months. I don think they processing time is longer for middle east

I recall your boyfriend/fiance was from North Africa, so at the USCIS/NVC stage you probably will have it processed within normal time frame. Undoubtedly your beneficiary will have AP - for which there is no time frame. My petition is on hold "indefinitely" at USCIS due to my beneficiary's country.

Im so sorry Sarah, I had no clue. Any idea when it will be processed or are you still in limbo?

[Sarah Elle-Même 660]

Sarah, I'm so sorry. I hope you guys catch a break soon.

my husband's petition was approved in 3 months. I don think they processing time is longer for middle east

Im so sorry Sarah, I had no clue. Any idea when it will be processed or are you still in limbo?

Thanks ladies. I just found out, like a week ago. They won't admit it's lost yet. I am waiting on the results of an inquiry. They said give them 30-60 business days. After our petition turned a year old Adnan said sometimes he thinks about throwing in the towel. This development would break his heart. I wish I could go to Yemen and wait with him there like the Yemeni-American petitioners do, but I'm an obvious foreigner and would have a target on my back. I can't even visit him there now because there are assassinations and EID explosions in the capital every day. I'm starting to worry about him commuting from work to his apartment every day.

Lizzie - sorry I kinda hijacked your thread. To my knowledge, the timeframe for I-129F (fiancé) petitions depends a lot on which service center yours gets sent to and how many petitions are pending in front of yours. My case is unique. You can disregard it.

[berber_wife 90]

Sarah--why don't you want to live in a third country? I thought you said somewhere that he could get a transfer to somewhere in Europe. That seems like a pretty good deal to me, as compared to what you are going through now.

[Sarah Elle-Même 660]

It's not a likely or viable option actually. Firstly, my family is Adnan's family, and we all want to be together again. Secondly, even if he managed to get a good paying job and I could immigrate as a spouse (haven't gotten a real answer as to if it's possible), I wouldn't be eligible to work and it is not really possible to live in Europe on one income. If Nola was still reading the MENA forums she could no doubt shed light on how difficult it is to be a resident in Europe. If you are a guest worker many government programs don't apply to you. Oh, and my chronic health conditions require specialists. So I'm boned, for lack of a better word.

[Luluhilweh 3]

It's not a likely or viable option actually. Firstly, my family is Adnan's family, and we all want to be together again. Secondly, even if he managed to get a good paying job and I could immigrate as a spouse (haven't gotten a real answer as to if it's possible), I wouldn't be eligible to work and it is not really possible to live in Europe on one income. If Nola was still reading the MENA forums she could no doubt shed light on how difficult it is to be a resident in Europe. If you are a guest worker many government programs don't apply to you. Oh, and my chronic health conditions require specialists. So I'm boned, for lack of a better word.

I cant agree through personal experience. However my hubby has many young Lebanese friends here in Cotonou who left for Europe looking for a better future and came back a year or two later with stories of difficulty being an immigrant there. One specifically was in Germany, not sure what city, and said he was harassed all the time by authorities and chances of getting a stable job to pay the rent was near to nill. But we always have to remember that every single person's experience and opinion will vary.

Yes, sorry OP I cant answer as to experience with applying in Middle East and just wanted to jump in and wish SarahandAdnan well. Cases vary so much with each case depending on the beneficiary's background, sex, age, also if anything new is going on with USCIS. Two of our friends made it through Lebanon embassy with approved petitions within 1 year and 2 months. Another applied through Egypt embassy and hers is a horror story with a yet to be approved petition at 4 years. Luckily thats not the norm-I just share to illustrate how different the experience can be for some. Good luck with the process and make sure you use VJ as a source for info and support.

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

Just curious if anybody knows about this. Does the beginning part of this process--at USCIS and NVC--usually take longer for applicants from the Middle East? If so, is it significantly longer? Applications are being processed crazy fast lately and I'm thinking I probably shouldn't get my hopes up along with everyone else. Anybody know?

The beginning part of the process from USCIS to NVC looks at the petitioner of the application to see if they're eligible to apply and not so much the beneficiary of the application. So that part of the application process typically takes the general routine processing time at that point in time.

When the application hits the NVC to the Embassy level is when they look at the beneficiary and "the relationship" to see if they're eligible for the visa. That's when it can get hung up and processing times may vary. Immigration officials will tell you it's a case by case situation which in part it is.

As for why things get hung up in MENA it generally has to do with the country they're petitioning from. Part of it is name checks and back ground checks which can take a long time. Original records have to be requested and looked at. Even if it's an insurance claim mentioning the person as a witness to an accident. In developing countries where records are still written, or not properly recorded in a timely manner, and not everything is electronic things can take longer. It can also take longer in countries going through political turmoil such as the Arab Spring that tends to disrupt administrative processing both in the offices of the home country and at the foreign embassies as they routinely have to shut down during the chaos. Common spellings of names or different variations of the spelling of a name can hang a case up for awhile too again because they have to comb through at all the original records. Sometimes due to unfortunate circumstances beyond the petitioner and/or the beneficiary control things in life also can delay the process.

That said our process from filing for the K3 visa in 2007 and going through the US Embassy in Cairo until we reached the visa in hand in 2010 took us 3 years.