Travel Ban Support Group

[JessM28 62]

On 5/5/2019 at 3:21 AM, foreverconfused said:

Hello, I have a question. I’m looking to reach out to my state representatives about our case, but i’m not sure if I should contact my state senator or house of representative member. Does it make a difference? Thanks in advance.  

 

9 hours ago, foreverconfused said:

For those of you who have reached out to your state representatives, how long did it take them to contact you about your case? 

 

3 hours ago, NJ515 said:

I'm from the 24th District in Texas, represented by Republican Kenny Marchant. His staff was very receptive to my inquiry. I did not fill out the forms but instead called first and had a candid conversation about our situation. They wrote an in-depth letter to the embassy we interviewed at, and we received a response from the embassy explaining the legal conditions they are forced to operate under in acquiring a PP9645 waiver. It was not the generic "currently in administrative processing" response typically received. The CEAC date did update after the embassy response. That was five months ago and nothing happened apparently. The total time from my speaking with his staff to them generating a pretty compelling letter and submitting it to the embassy was three business days.

 

I also submitted an inquiry through my Senator in Texas who is Republican John Cornyn. I received good feedback from his staff after speaking with them on the phone. They sent the standard inquiry to the embassy and we received the standard response back. Our CEAC date did update. The total time from my speaking with his staff to them submitting a letter to the embassy was two business days. 

 

I also submitted an inquiry through my Senator in Texas who is Republican Ted Cruz. His staff was extremely arrogant and told me that I didn't understand "anything." I don't know why I received that response as I was just as polite with them as with the others. They did not submit an inquiry to the embassy.

 

I suggest you call their office and ask to speak with someone who can help you engage the State Department instead of just filling out their online forms for assistance. I don't think it really does anything at all to move your case along... or maybe it does? No one really knows anything about this stuff.  Cheers.

From what I have been told- you can only have either a Senator or a Congressman check on your case. I live in Maryland and am very lucky to have Senator Van Hollen as my senator- he is working hard at holding the government accountable for the travel ban. I have also received a lot of support from Representative Trone. My husband had only about 3 weeks or less to prepare for his interview and we contacted the Senator's office right away and they got him the letter in time for him to take it to his interview (although they would not accept it). We later emailed it (as did the Senator's office) after his interview with his ds-5535 form. My suggestion would be to do a little research on your members of congress from your state and see where they stand on the travel ban/immigration. Usually most of them have websites that outline their views. Also I have found that many of them have very friendly staff- and usually have someone on staff who is dedicated to immigration issues (and in the case of Senator Van Hollen he even has a middle east expert). So when you call you should ask to speak to someone who works with immigration cases. You will have to complete a privacy release form (usually available on their website) which gives them permission to investigate your case. I agree with what NJ515 said- I don't really think that it does much to help the case- but it is good to show the embassy that you mean business and it is good to create a paper trail- that if you were to decide to do a WOM you would have evidence. Best of luck!

[salhasl 113]

4 hours ago, JessM28 said:

 

 

From what I have been told- you can only have either a Senator or a Congressman check on your case. I live in Maryland and am very lucky to have Senator Van Hollen as my senator- he is working hard at holding the government accountable for the travel ban. I have also received a lot of support from Representative Trone. My husband had only about 3 weeks or less to prepare for his interview and we contacted the Senator's office right away and they got him the letter in time for him to take it to his interview (although they would not accept it). We later emailed it (as did the Senator's office) after his interview with his ds-5535 form. My suggestion would be to do a little research on your members of congress from your state and see where they stand on the travel ban/immigration. Usually most of them have websites that outline their views. Also I have found that many of them have very friendly staff- and usually have someone on staff who is dedicated to immigration issues (and in the case of Senator Van Hollen he even has a middle east expert). So when you call you should ask to speak to someone who works with immigration cases. You will have to complete a privacy release form (usually available on their website) which gives them permission to investigate your case. I agree with what NJ515 said- I don't really think that it does much to help the case- but it is good to show the embassy that you mean business and it is good to create a paper trail- that if you were to decide to do a WOM you would have evidence. Best of luck!

It does help when you file a WOM. You have to prove that you have tried every available recourse. This is one of them. But you are right - it has no impact on the embassy or the DOS outside of a lawsuit. 

Edited May 8, 2019 by salhasl

[mado1983 79]

On 5/4/2019 at 4:51 PM, MohammedMohammedk said:

Another thing I forgot to mention! Social media. 

Social media it’s very important the more you have the better !like fb Instagram Twitter....! You have to put them all on your DS-5535  because it makes it easier for them to understand the person they are trying to get information about. They have so little to work with  because of our government so that’s their only way. Change the settings on your social media and  to public so they can search easily and freely. No one acts like a smart pants and delete their social media then replace it with a beautiful new one full of roses and mushy stuff ! That will just make them very suspicious! the older the better!

 

Maaan we done evrey thing ➕ ➕ ➕ we got nothing...

https://www.conservativereview.com/news/remember-travel-ban-lower-courts-seeking-overturn-supreme-court-decision/

[MohammedMohammedk 5]

3 hours ago, mado1983 said:

Maaan we done evrey thing ➕ ➕ ➕ we got nothing...

https://www.conservativereview.com/news/remember-travel-ban-lower-courts-seeking-overturn-supreme-court-decision/

Déjà vu🤔

[mado1983 79]

Just now, MohammedMohammedk said:

Déjà vu🤔

Yeah ... Its for you but still nightmare for me 🤣🤣😂

[NJ515 73]

So...  our "Case Last Updated" field updated to today's date on CEAC... Do you think that's a good sign?  We have no pending inquiries with the embassy that would make them update it based on communication with us.  This is the first time that field in CEAC has updated since we've been in AP except when they are replying to us.

[Issam1984 4]

i have a question please, what happens after the case is not in AP? the embassy calls the applicant? email? they change the status in CEAC before the call? after? .. do the applicant have to file new paper work and do the medical exams again? since AP might be long in most cases .. please let me know from your experiences .. also another question, have any one tried to reach out the visa office in Washington DC. where the Waivers are processed according to the embassy? please advise 

Edited May 10, 2019 by Issam1984

[mado1983 79]

tell us about your case and when and where you interviewed ?

[Issam1984 4]

interviewed in March (fiance' visa K-1) .. in AP status now .. i know its only been 2 months but just trying to be optimistic here  

[mado1983 79]

7 minutes ago, Issam1984 said:

interviewed in March (fiance' visa K-1) .. in AP status now .. i know its only been 2 months but just trying to be optimistic here  

Well the good news you will get your visa one day... And the answer they email and call and they will sent a driver to your door to pick up your pasport ..jk. You will know when the time come dont worry

[NJ515 73]

22 hours ago, Issam1984 said:

interviewed in March (fiance' visa K-1) .. in AP status now .. i know its only been 2 months but just trying to be optimistic here  

Hey @Issam1984, the procedures work a bit differently depending on what embassy you interviewed at. Can you share which? I suggest making a timeline here on visajourney.. it's handy and you can find similar timelines and see some interesting data that the site produces. After we made it we found someone also here in Germany going through travel ban AP that isn't very active on the site, but we are in touch with in case she gets an update.

 

Generally, I have read where the medical will need to be updated if it has expired (6 months?), and possibly another interview to show proof of assets for yourself (updated I-134), at the discretion of the consular officer. Also, the embassy in Germany has required me to mail in another letter of intent to marry every 120 days. I tried to call the Visa office, but the only number I could find actually connected me to the standard NVC system after I called it.  Do you have a more valid phone number?

 

We've been in AP for six months now.

[Issam1984 4]

Interviewed in Amman, Jordan. been in AP now for 2 months. do you guys know of any Syrians that did go thru AP and gotten a visa? i am not sure what is the Washington DC. visa office number to call ..if anyone knows please provide .. Thanks

[mado1983 79]

1 minute ago, Issam1984 said:

Interviewed in Amman, Jordan. been in AP now for 2 months. do you guys know of any Syrians that did go thru AP and gotten a visa? i am not sure what is the Washington DC. visa office number to call ..if anyone knows please provide .. Thanks

Yes there is a few wr knew here or personally

[Mona-Lisa 0]

Hello all!

I hope message finds you well.

 

This is my timeline of application and background:

Born in Iran.

Canadian citizen

Fiance: American citizen

Interviewed for K1 visa in Montreal: March 2018.

Ds5535 form submitted: April 2018

Last update on my file: June 2018

 

Any thoughts? Recommendations?

 

thank you for your support!

 

 

 

[SalishSea 17,829]

5 hours ago, Issam1984 said:

Interviewed in Amman, Jordan. been in AP now for 2 months. do you guys know of any Syrians that did go thru AP and gotten a visa? i am not sure what is the Washington DC. visa office number to call ..if anyone knows please provide .. Thanks

What do you mean Washington DC visa office?