J1 administrative processing for over 4 months!!

[Mago 1]

Hi,

I applied for a J-1 visa (postdoctoral scholar) via US consulate general Montreal (Canada) in 14-October-2015 and am being stuck in "administrative processing" ever since (> 4 months) !! My DS-2019 start date was 02-Jan-2016, which I already missed.

Is this normal? How much longer do I need to wait for an update on my case? Is there a way to expedite the process?

I'm a Canadian citizen and have previously travelled to the US. I also have an Iranian citizenship (from birth), which I guess might have complicated the situation.

I'm under a lot of emotional and financial pressure, any assistance will be appreciated.

Best regards.

[Boiler 45,418]

Nothing you can do but wait.

Security checks.

[Mago 1]

So after 5 month of administrative processing, I finally received my visa today.

I have to add that I hired a law firm to follow up with my case two weeks ago, and that's about the time I started to have updates. Whether it was the lawyers or the natural course of the process, I don't know!

To sum up for those of you who are in similar conditions and read this post later, here is my application timeline:

10/14/2015 Case opened

10/16/2015 Consulate interview - documents/passport submitted

02/29/2016 Lawyers hired - G-28 Form signed

03/02/2016 Case updated 1

03/11/2016 Case updated 2

03/15/2016 Issued

[Hamid_G 0]

So after 5 month of administrative processing, I finally received my visa today.

I have to add that I hired a law firm to follow up with my case two weeks ago, and that's about the time I started to have updates. Whether it was the lawyers or the natural course of the process, I don't know!

To sum up for those of you who are in similar conditions and read this post later, here is my application timeline:

10/14/2015 Case opened

10/16/2015 Consulate interview - documents/passport submitted

02/29/2016 Lawyers hired - G-28 Form signed

03/02/2016 Case updated 1

03/11/2016 Case updated 2

03/15/2016 Issued

Hi Mago,

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Actually, I am in the same situation of yours when you were waiting for your US visa. I am in Australia and have applied for J1 visa (postdoc scholar) visa. It is almost 3 months after my interview and my application status is Administrative Processing yet. I really need some advice to handle this situation. So, would you please let me know if I can call you via Skype for a short talk about hiring a lawyer?