Paranoia Time

[Jameson78 32]

Hi guys,

I was approved today for a CR-1 visa at the London embassy. It was a pleasant and efficient experience; very little hassle, friendly staff, and very nice guy doing the interview itself (he was from New Orleans, that must explain it!). No interrogation with respect to background, relationship etc, just a friendly conversation, really.

My question is: is it safe to hand in my notice, break my apartment lease, etc, or should I wait until the visa itself is delivered (I am acting under significant time constraints as I have a job offer). Is it still possible to be put into 'administrative processing' subsequent to being approved? I've read a couple of cases in which that has happened on here, but they seem to be >5 years old.

Background: I'm a white UK-born British citizen with no drugs background or criminal history and no skills in engineering WMDs, using firearms, etc.

[IleanaArpaio 10]

usually takes few days, from what i see at other ppl 2 days..usually once they mail out the visa is overnight... so if u were approved then it wont be long.

[Dave013012536 0]

When I got the green light from the embassy I went straight to work handed in my notice told them I wouldn't be working my notice as I wanted to spend a week or two with my family before I left. Work was totally cool with this. Then I started thinking "what if they retract the visa" I dunno stranger things have happened at sea I guess. I think we must all go through these thoughts of what if...as it's the unknown and most of us are a lil' nervous of that. Seems fine though as my visa was issued yesterday so 7 days (working) till it changed its status.. Now I can't wait for that first night/day when I land

[Jameson78 32]

When I got the green light from the embassy I went straight to work handed in my notice told them I wouldn't be working my notice as I wanted to spend a week or two with my family before I left. Work was totally cool with this. Then I started thinking "what if they retract the visa" I dunno stranger things have happened at sea I guess. I think we must all go through these thoughts of what if...as it's the unknown and most of us are a lil' nervous of that. Seems fine though as my visa was issued yesterday so 7 days (working) till it changed its status.. Now I can't wait for that first night/day when I land

Haha yep, I guess a lot of us must go through a similar thought process -- but I am particularly susceptible to it I think! That said, I'm just always inherently suspicious and fearful of anything to do with big government, bureaucracy, etc -- even though in this case, the individuals involved have been nothing but very pleasant all the way through the medical to the interview. I'm kind of a 'nothing is done until it is done' type of guy.

Edited August 28, 2015 by Jameson78

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

I'm kind of a 'nothing is done until it is done' type of guy.

Then I think you have your answer.

[Boiler 45,486]

There is a risk, it is small, I would not be worried, you may be.

[Jameson78 32]

Then I think you have your answer.

That's a fair comment. I was really just trying to appraise how likely something like that is; i.e. it would be highly advantageous to us if I could just quit right now and move asap, but if there is a significant risk of ending up in AP then the expense incurred in giving up a good job in London and breaking the lease on a $2,000 month apartment would probably more than counteract that. So I guess I was looking for some sort of anecdotal evidence as to how common a thing it is to end up in AP post-approval, in London, and without being a Muslim.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

That's a fair comment. I was really just trying to appraise how likely something like that is; i.e. it would be highly advantageous to us if I could just quit right now and move asap, but if there is a significant risk of ending up in AP then the expense incurred in giving up a good job in London and breaking the lease on a $2,000 month apartment would probably more than counteract that. So I guess I was looking for some sort of anecdotal evidence as to how common a thing it is to end up in AP post-approval, in London, and without being a Muslim.

In my seven years, I only remember treehugger who was white British born and in AP for 7-8 months. Never did come up with anything that ticked any of the boxes. And we never heard the end of the story or if the visa was issued.

Here. I found a post for you http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/231791-2010-united-kingdom-interview-thread/?p=4277199

[Jameson78 32]

In my seven years, I only remember treehugger who was white British born and in AP for 7-8 months. Never did come up with anything that ticked any of the boxes. And we never heard the end of the story or if the visa was issued.

Here. I found a post for you http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/231791-2010-united-kingdom-interview-thread/?p=4277199

Ahh, thanks very much. So it goes back to a senior CO, who has final jurisdiction? Interesting. Though to be honest, I can't think what nastiness I might have lurking in my profile other than that we probably tied the knot quicker than usual. I wonder if that might be cause for concern? Same age, same educational level, white European Christians (nominally anyway), and so forth.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Ahh, thanks very much. So it goes back to a senior CO, who has final jurisdiction? Interesting. Though to be honest, I can't think what nastiness I might have lurking in my profile other than that we probably tied the knot quicker than usual. I wonder if that might be cause for concern? Same age, same educational level, white European Christians (nominally anyway), and so forth.

No, extended AP isn't about evaluating your relationship. It is about national security and they are pretty secretive about it. If there was a database hit (after the interview) of your exact name, then they would have to search deeper to make sure you are not the terrorist Jameson they have on a watch list. Some of the searches get involved and require somebody at another location to pull a paper file, look up info and report back. Well, you know how fast the wheels turn when you are waiting for responses. That is why it could take longer, but that case was really long and no clue what it could be about.

The odds are extremely in your favor to have visa in hand in about 7-10 days. The CR1s seem to go faster to issue than K1

Edited August 28, 2015 by Nich-Nick