Travel Ban Support Group

[mado1983 79]

will i dont know but i have the strongest feelings that something big will happen in the next 8 weeks  ????

 

 

[JennaL 151]

3 hours ago, JessM28 said:

Lastly- I was interviewed by CNN and the article should be coming out soon

That is awesome, @JessM28, please share when it is available if you are comfortable doing so!

[JessM28 62]

3 hours ago, JennaL said:

That is awesome, @JessM28, please share when it is available if you are comfortable doing so!

Yes I will be happy to share as soon as it is published  

[JessM28 62]

4 hours ago, pooch1986 said:

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.

 

4 hours ago, pooch1986 said:

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.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts! I agree with your answers- especially with #3- it just really surprised me to hear that from a government official. He said he was going to call me this week- so I will see if he has any further thoughts/reasons when we talk. 

 

Thanks so much for being willing to share that you have started the writ of mandamus process- I am really interested in learning more about this process. I know my husband and I would need to wait a little longer to try our luck- but I think if we wait longer than 6 months that we might try it too. I hope you will keep us updated with whatever you are willing/able to share. 

 

[salhasl 113]

8 minutes ago, JessM28 said:

 

Thank you for sharing your thoughts! I agree with your answers- especially with #3- it just really surprised me to hear that from a government official. He said he was going to call me this week- so I will see if he has any further thoughts/reasons when we talk. 

 

Thanks so much for being willing to share that you have started the writ of mandamus process- I am really interested in learning more about this process. I know my husband and I would need to wait a little longer to try our luck- but I think if we wait longer than 6 months that we might try it too. I hope you will keep us updated with whatever you are willing/able to share. 

 

Congressional officials are clueless. Being in the news is almost certain to get your visa expedited. We have seen this dozens of times before. Sad but true. If only all of us could get cnn to print a personalized story.

 

 

 

[mado1983 79]

1 minute ago, salhasl said:

Congressional officials are clueless. Being in the news is almost certain to get your visa expedited. We have seen this dozens of times before. Sad but true. If only all of us could get cnn to print a personalized story.

 

 

 

Sad me i know no one in cnn..

[pooch1986 19]

18 hours ago, JessM28 said:

 

Thank you for sharing your thoughts! I agree with your answers- especially with #3- it just really surprised me to hear that from a government official. He said he was going to call me this week- so I will see if he has any further thoughts/reasons when we talk. 

 

Thanks so much for being willing to share that you have started the writ of mandamus process- I am really interested in learning more about this process. I know my husband and I would need to wait a little longer to try our luck- but I think if we wait longer than 6 months that we might try it too. I hope you will keep us updated with whatever you are willing/able to share. 

 

I promise I will. It is too early for me to have any updates, but based on data I got from multiple attorneys when you file the government ignores it until literally day 59, and then contacts your lawyer and asks for additional time (which they advise you accept), and then issues the visa in like 2 weeks! Let me rephrase: they try to delay it AGAIN as much as they can, until they cannot anymore. But 2 weeks is the amount of time they need to process a visa...

 

17 hours ago, salhasl said:

Congressional officials are clueless. Being in the news is almost certain to get your visa expedited. We have seen this dozens of times before. Sad but true. If only all of us could get cnn to print a personalized story.

 

 

 

So true. They are clueless. They don even know the extent of their power. Apparently if one waits 1 yr in ap the congressman can contact state dept hq directly. But they almost never do it: their staff just don know. Thats jus one example.

[NJ515 73]

20 hours ago, pooch1986 said:

the government ignores it until literally day 59

@pooch1986, can you share around when day 59 is for you?  I'm very anxious to watch how it goes in your case. In around 2 months time we'll also be at 9 months in AP.

[JessM28 62]

On 5/14/2019 at 2:46 PM, mado1983 said:

Sad me i know no one in cnn..

I didn't either- I just have been trying to reach out and participate in different groups who are fighting against the travel ban and that is how I got connected. It was actually through making an in-it video that got me the interview. I know it can be scary and intimidating to share your story- but things are not going to change until we make our voices heard. I hope that the CNN story will help all of us- in helping to keep the travel ban and what it is doing to families in the public's attention. 

[Muhammad&Mansory 117]

5 hours ago, JessM28 said:

I didn't either- I just have been trying to reach out and participate in different groups who are fighting against the travel ban and that is how I got connected. It was actually through making an in-it video that got me the interview. I know it can be scary and intimidating to share your story- but things are not going to change until we make our voices heard. I hope that the CNN story will help all of us- in helping to keep the travel ban and what it is doing to families in the public's attention. 

definitely agree with you. I did the same exact thing and contacted multiple news channels as well. We need to keep pushing until something happens because our situation seems to be forgotten and a lot of people have no idea that this ban is impacting UC citizens in such a harmful way!  

[simplykay 12]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2019/05/16/trump-immigration-plan-may-throw-4-million-people-off-immigrant-waiting-lists/amp/?fbclid=IwAR3Iw0kNSe_iNvqKOXX-1El8_KG6WInoBf4ropeiY8BN3l22JwQD5cl-kEk

will we even get the visa >????

 

[OneRoad 2]

My fiance & I started in March 2018. I'm a USC she's from Iran, but lived in SEA for over 9 years now.

 

We finally had movement on our Application in Nov & Dec 2018. So 9 months until out ap was sent to the Embassy. We had our interview in April, and it went well. Now we're waiting on the Travel Ban Waiver. But I'm lost, with no idea of who actually makes this decision. Is it USCIS? The State Department? Jared? Ivanka? 

 

Meanwhile, my father (a US Navy veteran) is slipping away due to Alzheimer's and I'm missing out on good job opportunities at home.

 

Anyone know where I should focus my energies? I'm in touch with my Congressman and Senator. But it feels like a total crapshoot.

[salhasl 113]

10 minutes ago, OneRoad said:

My fiance & I started in March 2018. I'm a USC she's from Iran, but lived in SEA for over 9 years now.

 

We finally had movement on our Application in Nov & Dec 2018. So 9 months until out ap was sent to the Embassy. We had our interview in April, and it went well. Now we're waiting on the Travel Ban Waiver. But I'm lost, with no idea of who actually makes this decision. Is it USCIS? The State Department? Jared? Ivanka? 

 

Meanwhile, my father (a US Navy veteran) is slipping away due to Alzheimer's and I'm missing out on good job opportunities at home.

 

Anyone know where I should focus my energies? I'm in touch with my Congressman and Senator. But it feels like a total crapshoot.

You had your interview in april 2018 or 2019?

[bosman 7]

Hello all! 

 

I cannot believe I recently stumbled upon this wonderful community of people. It brings me solace to know there's a community unfortunately subject to the ban who are supporting each other. For the longest time my wife and I felt hopeless, but your warm wishes and positivity make this daunting process a bit more tolerable. From here on out I'll be joining you guys here and pray that we all be reunited with our loved ones very soon! 

 

A little about us, I am a USC and my wife is Syrian (born and raised in Saudi). We started this whole process with an I-130 filed early June 2017. After USCIS and NVC processing, US embassy in Riyadh gave my wife an interview mid July 2018. The interviewing officer authenticated all her documents (including a hardship waiver document we drafted) and was convinced we had a legitimate relationship, also going as far as stating my wife was as pure as a candidate could be. BUT, he told her she was subject to the ban. The Consul then told her she was eligible for PP waiver to which we completed and filed DS-5535 within 3 days of her interview. The consul told us expect a response after 2-5 months of AP 😂😂😂. 

As of now, we have been in AP for 10 months. We cannot help but feel we have reached an impasse. We tried everything including contacting the embassy once a month and inquiring through our congressman and senator, all to no avail 😕 

 

Also my wife has NEVER been to Syria and actually NEVER stepped foot outside of KSA. Throughout the course of AP we have submitted examples of undue hardship including my wife being on a limited income and is subject to unbearable taxes as a non-saudi resident. I also recently had a serious surgery and had my surgeon send a letter addressed to the US consulate in riyadh documenting my condition, risks of surgery and strong need for wife presence for post op recovery and nursing. Interestingly enough, it was during this time period we got our FIRST ceac status update (first one since filing ds-5535, @ 8 months AP) where they did at least 7 updates day after day and stopped once the embassy responded to me apologizing for the circumstance I was facing, but that my wife's case is in AP at Washington, there's nothing they can do and that everything must follow its due course (how many times have you guys heard that -_-). 

 

My wife and I never imagined we'd have to live apart indefinitely as a married couple. Like what users have mentioned here before, it's the uncertainty and lack of a concrete timeline which kills us the most. I pray that our hearts be put at ease and wish the best for all of you.

For those of you pursuing WOM, please kindly keep us updated here on your experience. I am curious to know how it'll go as I am kind of considering it. 

 

Thank you for reading! 

[SalishSea 17,829]

4 hours ago, OneRoad said:

Meanwhile, my father (a US Navy veteran) is slipping away due to Alzheimer's and I'm missing out on good job opportunities at home.

So what is preventing you from going home for this?