Administrative Processing

[YayaYiyi 0]

I just wanted to share this experience to possibly better guide future couples and also to get some feedback from people.

First, my wife and I married in Phils and that is the method Visa we are applying for. She had her interview on May 8. After the interview, she was forced to wait about 9 hours before they would give her a decision. She sat there and watched as people after people went through their process.

Finally, they come to my wife and they tell her that because her birth certificate had once been changed (they had mis-spelled her father's name), that her NBI clearance needed to state that mispelled name as an AKA....(Also Known As.) Also, for some reason, they also asked her to provide a new Cenomar that was updated to show that indeed we are married.

I feel like an idiot that we overlooked the AKA part of the form. I can agree with their decision that we should have had that NBI done that way. But, why make her wait 9 hours to do this?

What appears to be a good thing, is that they did take her passport and asked for her mailing and phone number. Many people she saw that day were turned down and given their passports back.

So, that is the sharing part of this story. If you have a birth certificate that was changed, then technically, you were also known as that other name that was wrong. Also, if you want above and beyond for them, show an updated Cenmar.

Now, here is where I am curious. My wife spent many years working in both UAE and KSA. According to NVC, they do not require a police clearance and this was never mentioned in the interview or with 221g which only stated the NBI (not the Cenomar). Could it be that my wife is being held longer to check into her work overseas? Are anyone else you know who worked in a middle eastern country also having a hard time? I'm just curious as to what may be going on behind the scenes that they can't tell.

My wife is so depressed it is not funny. I hope they will get this processed for us sooner, rather than later. But, it seems AP is hit or miss with time.

That's all...thanks....

[Hank_ 9,174]

Ya the AKA thing is big, gets mentioned a lot, especially with married couples for the Filipina to get the NBI with AKA for single name, your case is a bit more involved, still it can be worked through.

As for police certificates what NVC wants and what the embassy wants are two different things and two different processes.

http://photos.state.gov/libraries/manila/865058/instructionpackets/IV%20Applicants_%20Interview%20Preparation%20Instructions%20_as%20of%2017%20September%202013_%20without%20footer.pdf

I know you already did the interview but the embassy does ask for police certificates except from certain countries as those countries will only issue them in person - so those are waived. UAE is one of the waived countries, I don't know what KSA is it may be waived also.

http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/fees/reciprocity-by-country.html

Get what the embassy has requested and then be patient...

[YayaYiyi 0]

yea, Saudi was not asked for as it is stated by NVC the process to get that. If you are not in the country, then you can not get it. Plain and simple. We did send a letter explaining why we didn't have one and specifically quoted the NVC site. As far our case with the AKA, we did have an AKA with her maiden name, but what we didn't get was ALSO an AKA with the mispelled name. That was what they wanted as well.

[Al422 221]

Your best bet is to just get them what they want. You did nothing worse than make a simple mistake. So jjust fix the mistake and hopefully this will not delay you more than 3 to 4 weeks or so.

[lexussmith 1]

Ya the AKA thing is big, gets mentioned a lot, especially with married couples for the Filipina to get the NBI with AKA for single name, your case is a bit more involved, still it can be worked through.

As for police certificates what NVC wants and what the embassy wants are two different things and two different processes.

http://photos.state.gov/libraries/manila/865058/instructionpackets/IV%20Applicants_%20Interview%20Preparation%20Instructions%20_as%20of%2017%20September%202013_%20without%20footer.pdf

I know you already did the interview but the embassy does ask for police certificates except from certain countries as those countries will only issue them in person - so those are waived. UAE is one of the waived countries, I don't know what KSA is it may be waived also.

http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/fees/reciprocity-by-country.html

Get what the embassy has requested and then be patient...

that's also what I'm curious to is that why the a.k.a. in the NBI Clearance is being a big deal in the embassy? I'm worried because a.k.a. means also known as so I put my other nickname which I'm also known as to.and I don't think the embassy can say whether it's right or wrong coz that's not my real name..I put there my name and my husband's surname coz I'm married.and I don't think there will be any issue regarding that..

[rhead 8]

I just wanted to share this experience to possibly better guide future couples and also to get some feedback from people.

First, my wife and I married in Phils and that is the method Visa we are applying for. She had her interview on May 8. After the interview, she was forced to wait about 9 hours before they would give her a decision. She sat there and watched as people after people went through their process.

Finally, they come to my wife and they tell her that because her birth certificate had once been changed (they had mis-spelled her father's name), that her NBI clearance needed to state that mispelled name as an AKA....(Also Known As.) Also, for some reason, they also asked her to provide a new Cenomar that was updated to show that indeed we are married.

I feel like an idiot that we overlooked the AKA part of the form. I can agree with their decision that we should have had that NBI done that way. But, why make her wait 9 hours to do this?

What appears to be a good thing, is that they did take her passport and asked for her mailing and phone number. Many people she saw that day were turned down and given their passports back.

So, that is the sharing part of this story. If you have a birth certificate that was changed, then technically, you were also known as that other name that was wrong. Also, if you want above and beyond for them, show an updated Cenmar.

Now, here is where I am curious. My wife spent many years working in both UAE and KSA. According to NVC, they do not require a police clearance and this was never mentioned in the interview or with 221g which only stated the NBI (not the Cenomar). Could it be that my wife is being held longer to check into her work overseas? Are anyone else you know who worked in a middle eastern country also having a hard time? I'm just curious as to what may be going on behind the scenes that they can't tell.

My wife is so depressed it is not funny. I hope they will get this processed for us sooner, rather than later. But, it seems AP is hit or miss with time.

That's all...thanks....

Sorry to hear about what happened but im pretty sure once you provided them with your requirements your wife will have her visa. I read on what you wrote some applicants have there passport returned? What does that mean? Is that denied? Is there a chance for spousal visa to be denied at embassy?

[Al422 221]

A proper NBI is mandatory. They cannot approve the visa without it, and they have no discretion to waive it. Just get them what they want and you will have your visa in short order.

The applicants who had their passports returned to them have serious problems, maybe denial, maybe long term AP. Just be glad you are not one of them. Your delay should only cost you about 3 to 4 weeks.

[YayaYiyi 0]

I think the biggest thing that I am hoping to share is if your birth certificate was ever corrected which is the case of my wife's. There was a typo on her birth certificate that has her middle name as Motis instead of Motes. My wife, over 10 years ago, went and had her certificate corrected, which instead of issuing a new certificate with the corrected name, there is a caption at the top of the certificate that states her real name.

So, her birth certificate still has that typo with a typed explanation of the correction.

Now, my wife, who has never used the name Motis in her life for anything, technically, was also known as Motis in the eyes of the NBI clearance. So, what my wife should have done was have an NBI clearance with her correct maiden name, her married name and that incorrect spelled maiden name. That is what has held us up.

[YayaYiyi 0]

Sorry to hear about what happened but im pretty sure once you provided them with your requirements your wife will have her visa. I read on what you wrote some applicants have there passport returned? What does that mean? Is that denied? Is there a chance for spousal visa to be denied at embassy?

Yea, since my wife was there for about 9 hours waiting for their answer, she was able to watch a lot of people going through the process. She said a large majority of people were told they didn't have the proper paperwork or incomplete paperwork and these people were given back their passport. I guess since we had everything else they had asked for and that we had done an NBI with her maiden name and married name (just not that typo name) that they felt confident enough to go ahead and have her leave her passport and provide them with mailing address and phone number for when they issue her visa. I would assume that the other people will need to go back to Manila personally with the papers and that is why they returned their passports.

As far as a spousal visa being denied, from what we know, it is very rare for a spousal visa to be denied, but like anything, there is always a chance they deny.

[Al422 221]

When Candy was there on May 20 for her interview, she reported that a startling number got the dreaded 221(g) because of improper or missing papers. She spoke with a number of them who reported that they just did not know what to bring.

Candy's successful interview was not a product of random chance. Both she and I spent hundreds of hours respearching on the net, mostly here but also elsewhere, to find out what to do and what to bring. And our collective experiences in the business world and interacting with various governments certainly did not hurt.

Right now we are at Day 5 post interview, just waiting for issuance. Hopefully in 2 weeks or so she will on the plane to New York.

[Greenbaum 12,259]

lexussmith, on 24 May 2014 - 03:57 AM, said:

that's also what I'm curious to is that why the a.k.a. in the NBI Clearance is being a big deal in the embassy? I'm worried because a.k.a. means also known as so I put my other nickname which I'm also known as to.and I don't think the embassy can say whether it's right or wrong coz that's not my real name..I put there my name and my husband's surname coz I'm married.and I don't think there will be any issue regarding that..

I can answer your curiosity to why a AKA is such a big deal to the Embassy. Because they want to know who is coming into this country (USA). We want good people to immigrate to the US and assimilate and contribute to this country. We DO NOT want anyone who wants to do harm to anyone as terrorist did on 9/11. I am glad you are trying to understand the process. I hope this helps and puts your mind at ease. I'm sure after you are in the USA you want to be safe. Right?

[Journey31 1]

My dad interview was may 12 and consul said that it was approve when he went to the last window the guy said he need to get a cenomar and nbi letter of explanation so after the interview he went straight to nso and get the cenomar the lady said theyre the one that will send the cenomar to usem but the nbi letter of explanation the guy said he doesnt have to do anything coz theyre the one that will request to nbi and nbi will send the letter to usem directly then he said to just go home and wait for the visa within 2-4 days its been 2 week and we havent got the visa and when i check it online it just keep updating to administrative processing saying to send the document thru 2go..i dont know what to do now

[Al422 221]

Normally when you are missing a document they want you to send the document to them through 2Go. You can call or email them to confirm it, but that is the normal procedure.

[Journey31 1]

So that means we have to get the letter of explanation and send it to them coz they said theyll take care of the nbi

So that means we have to get the letter of explanation and send it to them coz they said theyll take care of the nbi

[xxxmichy 4]

hello. Me and my son had our interview last May 8 too. We were told that we're approved but will be in AP because my son's Medical Report's not yet submitted to them. The consul officer told me, there's nothing to worry about and just wait for our visa to be delivered. We didn't get any 221g letter. May 12, i decided to call St Lukes to ask about my son's medical report. I found out that his medical report was still there, and mine was submitted on May 5. I was so pissed that time cos why my medical report was submitted before the interview and my son's wasnt? He had no problem with his medical exam, in fact he only had few exams because he is just a toddler. I told them to submit the medical report as soon as possible and im glad they did submit it later that day. March 14, the consular officer who interviewed us received the Report already. And until now, my case status is still Ready for Interview and my sons' still AP. Hopefully we'll have our visa issued this week. Waiting sucks.