Applying for a B2 visa from the Netherlands

[Ali Babba 3]

Hello everyone,

 

I'm planning to visit the the US in September or October with a friend. Unfortunately, both our ESTA applications were refused because he visited Iran and I visited Iraq to see our families. We are both Dutch citizens. I'm posting this thread to gather information as well as provide information for people that are in a similar situation.

 

• August 15: Made an appointment for a B2 visa for me and my friend
• August 22: Visa interview. My friend got his application approved immediately and received his passport and visa a few days after. Unfortunately I needed to provide more documents under Section 221(g). I didn't get questions about my trip to Iraq but they asked me about my current job in cybersecurity and the Dutch government. I was asked to mail my resume and so I did the same day. I also received the confirmation the same day. The consular officer told me it would take up to three weeks for them to finish my visa application. Now all I can do is wait.

 

I'm not worried about my Visa application but I do worry that "Administrative Processing (AP)" might take a long time. I'll update this thread whenever I have more information.

 

I'm aware that the length of AP depends on several factors, but are there people out here that can give me an indication?

 

Let's hope for the best 😁

 

 

Edited August 28, 2018 by Ali Babba

[Unlockable 7,315]

1 hour ago, Ali Babba said:

I'm aware that the length of AP depends on several factors, but are there people out here that can give me an indication?

What are you specifically asking for? You stated that you already know that AP length is indeterminate. Nobody can give you a proper answer to when you will get a visa. Even if someone had an identical case as yours it would still be a guessing game to determine when you will get a visa.

[az2014 381]

Could be days, weeks, months, years.

 

Nobody here has a crystal ball to tell the future.

 

Nothing you can do so forget about it and carry on with your life until a decision is made.

[Boiler 45,928]

Might depend why your family is in Iraq/Iran, I have seen a few cases where the people involved were on humanitarian missions did not see to delay very long.

[Ali Babba 3]

4 hours ago, NuestraUnion said:

What are you specifically asking for? You stated that you already know that AP length is indeterminate. Nobody can give you a proper answer to when you will get a visa. Even if someone had an identical case as yours it would still be a guessing game to determine when you will get a visa.

 

Thanks for your reply. I made this post mainly for future reference in case someone finds himself in a similar situation. I'm also interested in reading how others have experienced this. I'm not looking for an answer as to how long the application will take, the consular officer couldn't tell me so I'm guessing strangers on a forum definitely can't. 

 

1 hour ago, az2014 said:

Could be days, weeks, months, years.

 

Nobody here has a crystal ball to tell the future.

 

Nothing you can do so forget about it and carry on with your life until a decision is made.

 

Well aware, it wasn't my goal to get an exact date as you can read in my post. 

 

1 hour ago, Boiler said:

Might depend why your family is in Iraq/Iran, I have seen a few cases where the people involved were on humanitarian missions did not see to delay very long.

 

Yeah, the consular officer barely asked a thing about my trip to Iraq. She did ask me a lot of questions about my work and employer.

 

 

 

 

[Roel 7,193]

Well, see how this looks like for the embassy : there this guy, who travels to "dangerous" countries and who also works in cybersecurity..  Potential threat. That's why they put you in AP.

[WeGuyGal 1,052]

12 minutes ago, Roel said:

Well, see how this looks like for the embassy : there this guy, who travels to "dangerous" countries and who also works in cybersecurity..  Potential threat. That's why they put you in AP.

Not necessarily a threat.. the combo does attract deeper scrutiny though. 

[Ali Babba 3]

On 8/28/2018 at 6:59 PM, Roel said:

Well, see how this looks like for the embassy : there this guy, who travels to "dangerous" countries and who also works in cybersecurity..  Potential threat. That's why they put you in AP.

 

Yeah, in hindsight I should've anticipated them asking me questions about my job in cybersecurity (especially while working for the Dutch government). Totally understand it 👍.

[Ali Babba 3]

Update: My B2 visa application has been approved. Administrative processing took exactly three weeks. Just handed in my passport and will receive it back with a visa stamp within a few days.