K1-VISA Stuck in Administrative processing since December 2016

[E.Amr 8]

Hello everyone 

i'm an Egyptian Civil engineer , i had my K1 VISA interview at US embassy in Cairo in 15 Dec 2016, the interview was very nice , i attended alone as my fiance couldn't come to Egypt at this time, however at the end of the interview , the consular clerk said " you didn't do anything wrong , but your case needs more administrative processing " and gave me my passport back .

 

And here is some details about our story and the interview 

We have been dating online since April 2015

I'm 29 years old , Muslim, i have a Master degree in engineering , no criminal record , no military service

She is 28 years old , christian , websites developer

none of us have kids or was married before  

Due to our work circumstances ( both of us working , and i was working in Saudi Arabia in the last 3 years ) we met in person once for 10 days here in Egypt with my family , i tried to get tourism visa to go visit her from the US embassy in Saudi Arabia in Jan 2016 but it was denied and they didn't tell me any reasons or rejection 

 

at the K1 VISA  interview i was asked about How and When we first met , our professions , where did we stay in Egypt, why only 10 days in person , the proofs of relationship ( photos , chats between us and our families) , and why we didn't get married in Egypt ( i told him our lawyer said it will be much easier and save a lot of time to get married in US ), he disagreed and said " it takes the same time ", we laughed together for a while then he stabbed me in the heart with that AP decision , i didn't understand what does it mean?, and i asked him how long it takes ?, he answered " he can't give me an answer since that AP happens in the US ", then he gave me my passport back saying " we will contact you when the processing is over to send your passport through Aramex "

 

Our case was updated on the CEAC website 3 times since :

02 jan 2017 / date update

04 jan 2017 / date update 

20 feb 2017 / another date update but regarding the inquiry our lawyer sent to the embassy , after 2 months in AP 

 

the waiting for the unknown is so heart breaking , so if anyone recently suffered similar situation specially with the US embassy in Cairo Egypt, Please inform us how long does the  AP usually takes ? and why i was put on AP First place ? and is there is any possibility that our case might end up rejected ?

 

Thank you 

 

 

 

[Hypnos 6,576]

You're in AP because you're an Egypian male.

 

Unfortunately there is no upper limit on how long AP can last; it takes as long as it takes.

 

There is always a chance of rejection, even through AP.

[E.Amr 8]

7 minutes ago, Hypnos said:

You're in AP because you're an Egypian male.

 

Unfortunately there is no upper limit on how long AP can last; it takes as long as it takes.

 

There is always a chance of rejection, even through AP.

Thank you for your answer , i was wondering i there is a way to make them work on it faster , does e-mailing the embassy and reminding them of our case might help ? or it may drives them crazy and make them reject us right away , i was thinking of making an inquiry every month to stay on radar 

Edited March 6, 2017 by E.Amr

[Hypnos 6,576]

It won't have any positive effect other than perhaps driving you slightly insane.

[E.Amr 8]

4 minutes ago, Hypnos said:

It won't have any positive effect other than perhaps driving you slightly insane.

you are right , thank you so much 

[Neevs&day 5]

48 minutes ago, E.Amr said:

Hello everyone 

i'm an Egyptian Civil engineer , i had my K1 VISA interview at US embassy in Cairo in 15 Dec 2016, the interview was very nice , i attended alone as my fiance couldn't come to Egypt at this time, however at the end of the interview , the consular clerk said " you didn't do anything wrong , but your case needs more administrative processing " and gave me my passport back .

 

And here is some details about our story and the interview 

We have been dating online since April 2015

I'm 29 years old , Muslim, i have a Master degree in engineering , no criminal record , no military service

She is 28 years old , christian , websites developer

none of us have kids or was married before  

Due to our work circumstances ( both of us working , and i was working in Saudi Arabia in the last 3 years ) we met in person once for 10 days here in Egypt with my family , i tried to get tourism visa to go visit her from the US embassy in Saudi Arabia in Jan 2016 but it was denied and they didn't tell me any reasons or rejection 

 

at the K1 VISA  interview i was asked about How and When we first met , our professions , where did we stay in Egypt, why only 10 days in person , the proofs of relationship ( photos , chats between us and our families) , and why we didn't get married in Egypt ( i told him our lawyer said it will be much easier and save a lot of time to get married in US ), he disagreed and said " it takes the same time ", we laughed together for a while then he stabbed me in the heart with that AP decision , i didn't understand what does it mean?, and i asked him how long it takes ?, he answered " he can't give me an answer since that AP happens in the US ", then he gave me my passport back saying " we will contact you when the processing is over to send your passport through Aramex "

 

Our case was updated on the CEAC website 3 times since :

02 jan 2017 / date update

04 jan 2017 / date update 

20 feb 2017 / another date update but regarding the inquiry our lawyer sent to the embassy , after 2 months in AP 

 

the waiting for the unknown is so heart breaking , so if anyone recently suffered similar situation specially with the US embassy in Cairo Egypt, Please inform us how long does the  AP usually takes ? and why i was put on AP First place ? and is there is any possibility that our case might end up rejected ?

 

Thank you 

 

 

 

If they have returned your case to NVC then don't expect any reply from them. NVC return case to USCIS to revoke the petition but usually they don't attend such returned cases as they do new applications on priority basis. In their ignorance these petition expired after 4 months since the day your local embassy has returned your case as it is the normal time limit.

 

My suggestion is to involve local congressman or senator from where your fiancée is based. They have certain rights which nobody can deny. They can't influence decision in your favor but they will actually extract the actual information as USCIS do not update the petitioner about actual reasons of denial. 

 

Every congressman or senator has their representative in their local office where they help citizen under their constituency in such matters.

[E.Amr 8]

5 minutes ago, Neevs&daylen said:

If they have returned your case to NVC then don't expect any reply from them. NVC return case to USCIS to revoke the petition but usually they don't attend such returned cases as they do new applications on priority basis. In their ignorance these petition expired after 4 months since the day your local embassy has returned your case as it is the normal time limit.

 

My suggestion is to involve local congressman or senator from where your fiancée is based. They have certain rights which nobody can deny. They can't influence decision in your favor but they will actually extract the actual information as USCIS do not update the petitioner about actual reasons of denial. 

 

Every congressman or senator has their representative in their local office where they help citizen under their constituency in such matters.

wooow , that is scary for me , the CO didn't say anything about sending our case back to NVC , all what he said was that he can't give me a specific time about when the AP will end , i thought may be he meant by AP in US , a kind of security checks by the security agencies there , even the paper i got didn't include the 211 g term , it just said our case need further AP ,idk man , you got me so worried now , like if they wanted to reject it , why they didn't do it in the interview ?? , and what are the meanings of these 2 date updates on CEAC site before our inquiry 

[E.Amr 8]

That is the paper the CO gave me 

[Neevs&day 5]

9 minutes ago, E.Amr said:

That is the paper the CO gave me 

Yes, your letter does not state that it is returned to USCIS for AP. But in your first post you have mentioned that AP is in USA. 

 

As it is 60 days past, better you involve local congressman or senator office on there matter and extract information through them. You said your lawyer is involved in the process, I wonder what he has advised you in this situation.

 

Usually AP are resolved within 60 days but in certain cases it may took up to year or more. In the process of AP, petition got expired after 4 months. If your case is still at embassy, consular has power to extend the time limit and usually they extend aswell untill AP is resolved. 

 

Here, first thing you should know where you case is exactly, in local embassy or returned to USCIS. 

 

I have no intention to misguide you but I'm sharing my own experience with you. Get the local congressman or senator involved and they will love to help you guys. 

[E.Amr 8]

thank you so much for your advice  , i will speak to my fiancee and our lawyer to see what we can do 

[Jeanne Adil 1,651]

they did not keep your passorft or ask for more documents, AP in your case with very little face time and short relationship, be sure your case is returned to USCIS and it will be allowed to die / no appeal

What can a Senator actually do / very little 

[Kastrs 723]

You are in AP likely pending security checks, which would be done by agencies inside the US. Your file remains at the embassy during this time. Your case has not been returned to the NVC.

There is no way for anyone here to tell you when your AP will end and there is no way to speed AP up. Just contact the embassy once every 90 days for an update. AP can last from months to years.

Elected representatives cannot speed up AP.

Edited March 6, 2017 by Kastrs

[E.Amr 8]

ADIL RAFA - thanks for you answer sir , i would like to know how can i  be sure if my case was sent back to USCIS or not , specially that the Consular never mentioned " returned to USCIS or NVC " , even the paper they gave me and i attached above only mentioned AP , but nothing about USCIS

i just searched our case number on USCIS website , and it says approved since June 2016 , and i had 3 update on the CEAC web site since the beginning of AP in DEC 2016

 

thanks again  

Edited March 6, 2017 by E.Amr

[E.Amr 8]

i hope you are right Kastrs , we sent our first inquiry on Feb 2017 , after 2 months in AP , and we got a new date update on the CEAC website , i emailed our lawyer to find out about what we can do to make it go faster , and he said he is planning to send another inquiry when our case complete 6 months in AP , however i lean more to your opinion about sending inquiries every 60 or 90 days to keep our case on their radar , but i'm also worried they get angry and make it worse for us 

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

5 hours ago, Kastrs said:

You are in AP likely pending security checks, which would be done by agencies inside the US. Your file remains at the embassy during this time. Your case has not been returned to the NVC.

There is no way for anyone here to tell you when your AP will end and there is no way to speed AP up. Just contact the embassy once every 90 days for an update. AP can last from months to years.

Elected representatives cannot speed up AP.

This is correct. Follow this advice. Ignore the other posts telling you that your case has been returned, there is no evidence

of a returned case and it is very common for AP (security checks) to last a few months for an Egyptian male.