Travel Ban Support Group

[Cm3957 3]

32 minutes ago, Mona-Lisa said:

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!

 

 

 

You used your canadian passport for the I-129f paperwork and was still put on the travel ban and in ap for over a year? If so that is terrible. My fiance has a Iranian passport and we have been in ap for 6 months now for a k1 visa. 

Edited May 13, 2019 by Cm3957

[MO&RA 22]

5 hours ago, Cm3957 said:

You used your canadian passport for the I-129f paperwork and was still put on the travel ban and in ap for over a year? If so that is terrible. My fiance has a Iranian passport and we have been in ap for 6 months now for a k1 visa. 

They put us under AP regardless. My husband has Swedish passport and I am a USC. We have been waiting for 16 months now after his interview in Stockholm! 

[Issam1984 4]

Its where the waivers are getting processed according to the embassy .. but apparently there isnt a way to contact them

[JennaL 151]

9 hours ago, Cm3957 said:

You used your canadian passport for the I-129f paperwork and was still put on the travel ban and in ap for over a year? If so that is terrible. My fiance has a Iranian passport and we have been in ap for 6 months now for a k1 visa. 

Same situation as @MO&RA - my fiancé is a Norwegian citizen, but born in Iran - AP for 8 months now. Here's to hoping we all get through this soon.

[salhasl 113]

9 hours ago, Cm3957 said:

You used your canadian passport for the I-129f paperwork and was still put on the travel ban and in ap for over a year? If so that is terrible. My fiance has a Iranian passport and we have been in ap for 6 months now for a k1 visa. 

As far as I can tell, a vast amount of overall AP time is spent just waiting in the backlog to be picked up. Its not like they start doing your background check right the day you interview. I have read about the various SAOs (donkey, viper, mantis) and a few others. None of them take long. Most of them are just a computer lookup if you match someone in a database somewhere. This is precisely why once a case makes the news it magically gets approved within a week. 

 

Sure, there might be a select few cases where they do a lot more digging than normal, but vast majority of travel ban cases are just languishing on someone's desk. 

[Ammer 2]

I've read somewhere that when the "Case Last Updated" starts to update a few days in a row that it might mean it's getting close to having a decision made on the waiver (assuming nobody is calling or emailing you check on the status of the waiver). Is this true? Or not necessarily?

[pooch1986 19]

I filed lawsuit less than two weeks ago. Will keep you posted.

[Muhammad&Mansory 117]

4 minutes ago, pooch1986 said:

I filed lawsuit less than two weeks ago. Will keep you posted.

Did you file WOM? how long have you been on AP? what nationality and where did you interview? sry for asking too many questions; I am considering filing WOM and trying to do some research before. 

 

thanks 

[pooch1986 19]

31 minutes ago, Muhammad&Mansory said:

Did you file WOM? how long have you been on AP? what nationality and where did you interview? sry for asking too many questions; I am considering filing WOM and trying to do some research before. 

 

thanks 

9 months in ap. I'd rather not disclose nationality or embassy. But my country is included in the travel ban. Which is why I shared on this tread.

[NJ515 73]

12 hours ago, pooch1986 said:

9 months in ap. I'd rather not disclose nationality or embassy. But my country is included in the travel ban. Which is why I shared on this tread.

@pooch1986, we're definitely interested to follow this. Please share whatever insights you feel comfortable with, especially on the process and costs if you don't mind.

[JessM28 62]

Hi All,

 

   Seeking your thoughts on three questions:  (FYI- my husband is Iranian and I am an American Citizen). 

 

1. My husband had his interview in Madrid on April 3rd, 2019. We sent the DS-5535 the next day. His status changed to administrative processing on April 9th. We got one update on April 16th (but I believe that was from contact from Congressman). I have three updates however that I do not know what would spark them- April 25th, May 10th and May 13th. Is this usual? Is this a good sign? I figured maybe since our case is "new" that they are working on it- but wanted to see if this is what most people experienced when they were first put in AP. 

 

2. I will be going to visit my husband next month (after our 2nd month of being in AP)- would it be worthwhile to try to make an appointment to go to the embassy to check on our case? Would they even allow me to do that? 

 

3. Lastly- I was interviewed by CNN and the article should be coming out soon. I had thought about sending the article to the embassy when it comes out- but I asked the Congressman rep that has been helping in our case and he said: "As for going public, I’m glad that you are getting some press, but I wouldn’t send it to the Embassy. Without going into too much detail, I would just say that flying under the radar when it comes to the people making decisions is typically the best decision. Sometimes with other agencies, bad press serves as a catalyst for a negative outcome, which we want to avoid. I can’t say for sure what would happen, but I would hate to see the application denied due to some public pressure."   

 Do you all agree with this? I mean I guess one way or another it will be out there- but do you think it is best not to send it directly to the embassy? 

 

Thanks for your thoughts and experiences with answering these questions. I pray for all of us stuck in this horrible situation that we will be reunited with our loved ones soon!

 

-Jess 

[pooch1986 19]

2 hours ago, JessM28 said:

Hi All,

 

   Seeking your thoughts on three questions:  (FYI- my husband is Iranian and I am an American Citizen). 

 

1. My husband had his interview in Madrid on April 3rd, 2019. We sent the DS-5535 the next day. His status changed to administrative processing on April 9th. We got one update on April 16th (but I believe that was from contact from Congressman). I have three updates however that I do not know what would spark them- April 25th, May 10th and May 13th. Is this usual? Is this a good sign? I figured maybe since our case is "new" that they are working on it- but wanted to see if this is what most people experienced when they were first put in AP. 

 

2. I will be going to visit my husband next month (after our 2nd month of being in AP)- would it be worthwhile to try to make an appointment to go to the embassy to check on our case? Would they even allow me to do that? 

 

3. Lastly- I was interviewed by CNN and the article should be coming out soon. I had thought about sending the article to the embassy when it comes out- but I asked the Congressman rep that has been helping in our case and he said: "As for going public, I’m glad that you are getting some press, but I wouldn’t send it to the Embassy. Without going into too much detail, I would just say that flying under the radar when it comes to the people making decisions is typically the best decision. Sometimes with other agencies, bad press serves as a catalyst for a negative outcome, which we want to avoid. I can’t say for sure what would happen, but I would hate to see the application denied due to some public pressure."   

 Do you all agree with this? I mean I guess one way or another it will be out there- but do you think it is best not to send it directly to the embassy? 

 

Thanks for your thoughts and experiences with answering these questions. I pray for all of us stuck in this horrible situation that we will be reunited with our loved ones soon!

 

-Jess 

1. lots of updates in the beginning are common. It is good though, bc if you didn't get them that would mean they are not even working on it.

2. Try going there. It will not help, but why not exhaust all options? Be friendly and sweet, and let them know of your concerns...

3. I think this is a misconception that you can get rejected for this kind of reasons. They need to offer a legal reason for rejecting you, and "negative press coverage" is not one. Don't be threatening about it (common sense: that is not good in any situation) but I don't see why sending it to them could be a problem... Most likely it won't make a difference either. If I were you I would. but thats just who I am.

[pooch1986 19]

7 hours ago, NJ515 said:

@pooch1986, we're definitely interested to follow this. Please share whatever insights you feel comfortable with, especially on the process and costs if you don't mind.

Will sure do. One thing that is clear is that for travel ban countries even the mandamus takes a while... much longer than the two months it usually takes for other people.

[mado1983 79]

is it worth to file WOM ?

[pooch1986 19]

6 minutes ago, mado1983 said:

is it worth to file WOM ?

will let ya know how mine turns out. it is too soon.