Administrative processing Iranian applicants please

[amoooooor 26]

Hi!

 

My husband is Iranian but born and raised in Qatar. Hasn't been to Iran in over 10 years. 

Just curious if Iranians born and living outside of Iran are still having to go through AP?

Seems like all the ones that I have heard about in AP are living in Iran. 

I am planning to move back to the states (from Qatar) in the next few months but don't want my hubby to get stuck in AP and to be separated for even longer. We are currently in the NVC stage-- they informed us to give them 11 weeks to process (should be finished by beginning of August) and then 1-2 months out for the embassy interview. 

 

Good luck to everyone... it's so difficult to have to go through all of these uncertainties and waiting for our cases... 

[Joanna_Keyvan 5]

Tomorrow will be 7 months since the date of my husband's interview in Yerevan, and the only updates we have ever gotten were when my attorney or senator sent emails requesting status updates. Once I thought it updated on its own, but then my attorney emailed me to let me know she had just requested an update.

 

So when my husband had his interview, there was a group of other Iranians who interviewed the same day same time, etc. We talked to several of them, and two were a husband and wife couple who were applying for a diversity visa. I'm not sure (if someone can verify that would be great), but I think that diversity visa format is 2016ASXXXX, and spousal visas are YRV2016XXXXXX. The Yerevan website has been posting tons of diversity visas recently, probably since the deadline to receive those is approaching. The husband and wife couple I mentioned were cleared from administrative processing on 8/14, which is about 6 1/2 months. (They ultimately probably won't be able to come because they don't have a bonafide relationship with anyone or any company here in the US). I was thinking, okay, if they interviewed on the same day as my husband, and they got their clearance already, maybe my husband will get his soon too?

 

Does anyone know if they clear diversity visas first? I heard their priority was students, then spouses.

Edited August 23, 2017 by Joanna_Keyvan

[pardiiix 18]

Our case has been at the NVC for 2 months! After calling several times, they told us we're in AP! I didn't even know they had AP's at this stage. 

I just want to get over with my interview .

[K-1Applicant2017 110]

Hello all: 

 

I am relatively new to the forums but I have been reading up on everything as much has I can. I am a US citizen (male) filing a K-1 for my iranian fiancé (female).  My Fiancé studied industrial management, worked in a private advertising firm, and does not have a common first and last name.I am waiting on NOA2 from USCIS (day 108) but wanted to get an idea on how long the rest of the process will take. 

 

1. Do ALL iranian beneficiaries undergo AP now with this new administration? Are there any similarly situated Iranian couples that HAVE NOT experienced AP recently? 

 

2. Are the AP timelines consulate specific? 

 

3. Does any one have any experience with the Georgian consulate? although Tbilisi is not listed as a consulate for processing K-1 from Iran, I requested it anyway because they have historically accepted Iranian petitions when other embassies are backed up. 

 

  

[Joanna_Keyvan 5]

@Kamy010 Because your fiance is female she will *most likely* not have that long of an AP. Typically the AP for women is shorter since they do not have military service. However, I have seen cases where a woman's took just as long.

 

It's not a steadfast rule that all Iranians undergo AP. My friend had her interview in May in Dubai and she was given her visa immediately. It's really up to the discretion of the consular officer. However MOST Iranians undergo AP.

 

I don't know which consulate has the longest wait time. I think Turkey is the longest, followed by Armenia, and then Dubai (the quickest). The reason for this is, Turkey and Dubai both have been set up for Iranian applicants far longer than Armenia. But Turkey has many more Iranian applicants than any other consulate.

 

Finally, I think you are making a mistake going through the Georgian consulate. *Technically* any consulate can handle an Iranian applicant, but these consular officers have not been trained on how to process and screen Iranian applicants, and therefore your risk of rejection is greater - especially since the visa type is non-immigrant. I know that a fiance visa has the intent to become an immigrant visa, but it is categorized as non immigrant. Having read from a former consular officer, he said that processing non immigrant visas is an art, and immigrant visas is a science. If a consular officer rejects an immigrant visa, he/she has to have a legal reason to do so. However, they can reject a non immigrant visa if they don't like your perfume, or your jacket is too tight, or they don't like your hair, etc. It can be any reason. Since your fiance is coming on a non-immigrant visa (K-1) you should definitely not go through a consulate where they have not been trained to process Iranian visa applicants. She will probably be rejected.

Edited August 28, 2017 by Joanna_Keyvan

[pardiiix 18]

15 minutes ago, Joanna_Keyvan said:

Technically* any consulate can handle an Iranian applicant

I believe they can only handle you, if you're a citizen or resident. That's what Canada told us.

[K-1Applicant2017 110]

@Joanna_Keyvan Thank you for guidance. Have they subjected iranian to AP consistently for a while now? or is this a more recently phenomenon due to this administrations "extreme vetting" immigration policy?

 

Is the AP consulate specific? in other words, does the consulate in question do the AP processing? or does it always go back to the NVC, USCIS or some other gov body?

 

 

 

 

[K-1Applicant2017 110]

16 hours ago, pardiiix said:

I believe they can only handle you, if you're a citizen or resident. That's what Canada told us.

@pardiiix I have read so many different things in this regard. Interestingly, there are iranian K-1 visa approvals in the visa journey database with tbilisi listed as their consulate. 

[Joanna_Keyvan 5]

3 minutes ago, Kamy010 said:

@Joanna_Keyvan Thank you for guidance. Have they subjected iranian to AP consistently for a while now? or is this a more recently phenomenon due to this administrations "extreme vetting" immigration policy?

 

Is the AP consulate specific? in other words, does the consulate in question do the AP processing? or does it always go back to the NVC, USCIS or some other gov body?

 

 

 

 

Iranians have been subjected to AP since Obama. Obama is actually the one who vamped up the AP process. AP is actually not processed through the consulate nor NVC nor USCIS. It is primarily done through the FBI and other agencies such as the Department of Treasury, etc. They run name checks, and if there is a similarity, an agent has to search the record themselves. Also, ever since the two Iraqi men were arrested in Bowling Green for assisting in terrorism related activities back in Iraq, they realized that if the AP process had included cross referencing army records, they would have found that the army had these guys' prints in their database from being picked up off of roadside bombs. Therefore, another layer was added to the process and now everything is cross referenced with the army as well. 

 

However, my attorney stated that sometimes the file can accidentally sit in the embassy or get sent to the wrong agency which can cause a delay. But once the embassy sends it off for AP, they have no control of when it will be completed. 

 

The extreme vetting seems to include more things pre-interview, and not so much AP. The long wait times now are also due to backlog. 

[K-1Applicant2017 110]

1 hour ago, Joanna_Keyvan said:

Iranians have been subjected to AP since Obama. Obama is actually the one who vamped up the AP process. AP is actually not processed through the consulate nor NVC nor USCIS. It is primarily done through the FBI and other agencies such as the Department of Treasury, etc. They run name checks, and if there is a similarity, an agent has to search the record themselves. Also, ever since the two Iraqi men were arrested in Bowling Green for assisting in terrorism related activities back in Iraq, they realized that if the AP process had included cross referencing army records, they would have found that the army had these guys' prints in their database from being picked up off of roadside bombs. Therefore, another layer was added to the process and now everything is cross referenced with the army as well. 

 

However, my attorney stated that sometimes the file can accidentally sit in the embassy or get sent to the wrong agency which can cause a delay. But once the embassy sends it off for AP, they have no control of when it will be completed. 

 

The extreme vetting seems to include more things pre-interview, and not so much AP. The long wait times now are also due to backlog. 

@Joanna_Keyvan very informative! Thank you. At this point I can only pray for a speedy process for everyone, and to be prepared to mitigate against any thing that may prolong an AP. 

 

I am wondering if its a good idea to take all of the general information request made at the AP stage to the interview (sibling information, job record for the last 15 years, CV, screen shot of social media accounts, email accounts, etc). There's no way to predict exactly what they will request for us, but I could compile a list of everything from these forums and prepare them all. It may look suspicious but just a thought. 

 

Also, @Joanna_Keyvan has your attorney filed a  writ of mandamus on your behalf yet? 

 

 

 

[Joanna_Keyvan 5]

To let everyone know, my attorney filed a writ of mandamus on 10/13/17 and my husband's visa was issued today (11/3/17). We had been in AP 8.5 months when we filed. We were at the embassy in Armenia.

[Rayan2 0]

On 11/3/2017 at 1:19 PM, Joanna_Keyvan said:

To let everyone know, my attorney filed a writ of mandamus on 10/13/17 and my husband's visa was issued today (11/3/17). We had been in AP 8.5 months when we filed. We were at the embassy in Armenia.

May I ask what category was you application and how much you paid for filing mandamus?

Thanks

[salhasl 113]

Is there anyone on this thread who had an interview after December 7th 2017 and got a waiver approved under either the K1, CR1 or IR1 categories?

[K-1Applicant2017 110]

On 4/29/2018 at 8:59 PM, salhasl said:

Is there anyone on this thread who had an interview after December 7th 2017 and got a waiver approved under either the K1, CR1 or IR1 categories?

Hi,

 

We interviews on March 22nd. We have been in AP since. 

 

 

[Joanna_Keyvan 5]

On 12/18/2017 at 6:30 PM, Rayan2 said:

May I ask what category was you application and how much you paid for filing mandamus?

Thanks

Yes, it was CR-1, and my attorney charged me $3,000.00