Administrative Processing but no 221G

[AlisonGC 5]

My Fiancé was approved for our K1 Visa and given an approval letter at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo on 1/31/19. On 2/5/19 he was phoned by the embassy and told they needed some additional information. They overnighted a questionnaire to Aramex and he filled it out and emailed it back as directed. Now the site says we’re in AP. It was updated 2/20 and 2/21 and that’s it. We weren’t given a 221g and they still have his passport from when they took it at the interview. Is this normal? Is it still approved? We’re so stressed out because we were excited we thought we were approved, and now this. Any help is very much appreciated!

[C90 376]

8 minutes ago, AlisonGC said:

My Fiancé was approved for our K1 Visa and given an approval letter at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo on 1/31/19. On 2/5/19 he was phoned by the embassy and told they needed some additional information. They overnighted a questionnaire to Aramex and he filled it out and emailed it back as directed. Now the site says we’re in AP. It was updated 2/20 and 2/21 and that’s it. We weren’t given a 221g and they still have his passport from when they took it at the interview. Is this normal? Is it still approved? We’re so stressed out because we were excited we thought we were approved, and now this. Any help is very much appreciated!

It sounds like she got a DS5535. 

 

The officer approved her based on the info they had at that time. It happens that they find things when she's in AP. She won't be officially approved until she has her visa in hand.

 

From what I've read on here, DS5535 AP can take a long time. AP in general can be a black hole that can take days, weeks, months or in some cases even 1+ year. The only thing you can do right now is wait until you hear back. The fact that they kept her passport is a good sign tho.

 

Keep an eye on if CEAC changes from immigrant to non immigrant (or the other way around, I always confuse them). Once that happens it's a good sign that they're making progress on her case

 

Someone correct me when I'm wrong bout the DS5535 part

Edited March 6, 2019 by C90

[AlisonGC 5]

They didn’t give my fiancé a form or call it DS5535 ... they gave him an approval letter and kept his visa. So confusing.

[Ahmed&Freda 628]

7 minutes ago, AlisonGC said:

They didn’t give my fiancé a form or call it DS5535 ... they gave him an approval letter and kept his visa. So confusing.

The questionnaire is what they call it now.   Pakistan also does not use the term ds-5535.  What were the questions?  If it was history of travel, jobs and residents then it is the ds5535 and the Administrative Processing is an extended period of time.

[AlisonGC 5]

I just looked up that form and those are the exact questions they sent him. The AP is longer on these? So even though they kept his passport and gave him an approval letter, it wasn’t really approved? I feel sick...

[C90 376]

3 minutes ago, AlisonGC said:

I just looked up that form and those are the exact questions they sent him. The AP is longer on these? So even though they kept his passport and gave him an approval letter, it wasn’t really approved? I feel sick...

No one is really approved until they have their passport with the visa in it in their hands. Like I said before, the IO approved her based on the information they had at that moment.

 

The reason for AP is because they do certain extra checks, it gets looked at a few times more by supervisors etc. They might have found something while doing the checks, the supervisor might not be ok with the approval, they might wanna take extra precaution. It could be anything.

 

DS-5535 is known for extended AP, so prepare for a longer wait (it sucks, but unfortunately that's usually how it goes. If it does go fast you'll be extra happy)

 

The only thing you can do now is wait and keep checking CEAC. 

[Ahmed&Freda 628]

12 minutes ago, AlisonGC said:

I just looked up that form and those are the exact questions they sent him. The AP is longer on these? So even though they kept his passport and gave him an approval letter, it wasn’t really approved? I feel sick...

AP is longer.  For some reason something came up after the interview and they decided to collect the information.  Otherwise he would have received a 221g or at least an explanation of the questionnaire not an approval on the day of the interview.  

 

That really sucks that he got an approval only to get the questionnaire later...hopefully the AP isn't too terribly long.  

 

Here is a thread of others who have received the form.

 

 

Edited March 6, 2019 by Ahmed&Freda

[Khallaf 650]

9 hours ago, AlisonGC said:

I just looked up that form and those are the exact questions they sent him. The AP is longer on these? So even though they kept his passport and gave him an approval letter, it wasn’t really approved? I feel sick...

I am very sorry that you are going through this DS-5535 forms can put people in AP for up to 1 year.

 

since AP is a black hole it could be there for a while, I would recommend checking every 60-90 days if still in AP to get the status of that.

 

I know this will be a strange question to ask but at in time in your relationship did you ever go have a religious ceremony in Egypt?

[AlisonGC 5]

12 hours ago, Khallaf said:

I am very sorry that you are going through this DS-5535 forms can put people in AP for up to 1 year.

 

since AP is a black hole it could be there for a while, I would recommend checking every 60-90 days if still in AP to get the status of that.

 

I know this will be a strange question to ask but at in time in your relationship did you ever go have a religious ceremony in Egypt?

No sir, neither one of us have attended a religious ceremony in Egypt. My fiancée even brought his family and civil registries to his interview, and the lady there became angry that he brought them. She didn’t take them, then called him a few days later...after they took his passport and gave him an approval letter... and sent him that supplemental questionnaire. 

 

There were no new questions on that questionnaire that we hadn’t already answered at the Petition, NVC, and Embassy Interview levels. I’ve contacted my state senators and have requested intervention. 

 

I’m thankful for all your responses, as the embassy doesn’t even have a title or name on this form.

[SalishSea 17,833]

1 hour ago, AlisonGC said:

No sir, neither one of us have attended a religious ceremony in Egypt. My fiancée even brought his family and civil registries to his interview, and the lady there became angry that he brought them. She didn’t take them, then called him a few days later...after they took his passport and gave him an approval letter... and sent him that supplemental questionnaire. 

 

There were no new questions on that questionnaire that we hadn’t already answered at the Petition, NVC, and Embassy Interview levels. I’ve contacted my state senators and have requested intervention. 

 

I’m thankful for all your responses, as the embassy doesn’t even have a title or name on this form.

Your state senators/congresspersons cannot "intervene" into AP at all.

[AlisonGC 5]

17 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

Your state senators/congresspersons cannot "intervene" into AP at all.

They can help a lot actually. I know two other cases where a simple phone call from a senator’s office resulted in the respective embassies reviewing the cases and completing the processing. It’s not an intervention, it simply redirects attention to your case. Best of luck!

[SalishSea 17,833]

6 minutes ago, AlisonGC said:

They can help a lot actually. I know two other cases where a simple phone call from a senator’s office resulted in the respective embassies reviewing the cases and completing the processing. It’s not an intervention, it simply redirects attention to your case. Best of luck!

Anecdotal, but sure.  What I mean was that they cannot affect the outcome of a decision.  Most prolonged AP situations are related to security checks, and no congressional intervention will speed that up.

[AlisonGC 5]

18 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

Anecdotal, but sure.  What I mean was that they cannot affect the outcome of a decision.  Most prolonged AP situations are related to security checks, and no congressional intervention will speed that up.

Absolutely! Can certainly stop it from being ignored and sitting in a black hole somewhere though

[Ontarkie 14,225]

~~Hijacked post removed. Please do not post questions for your own case in other members threads.~~

[Khallaf 650]

11 hours ago, AlisonGC said:

No sir, neither one of us have attended a religious ceremony in Egypt. My fiancée even brought his family and civil registries to his interview, and the lady there became angry that he brought them. She didn’t take them, then called him a few days later...after they took his passport and gave him an approval letter... and sent him that supplemental questionnaire. 

 

There were no new questions on that questionnaire that we hadn’t already answered at the Petition, NVC, and Embassy Interview levels. I’ve contacted my state senators and have requested intervention. 

 

I’m thankful for all your responses, as the embassy doesn’t even have a title or name on this form.

I am sorry the state senator can do nothing now, all you can do is turn in the paper that was asked for and wait, it takes about 60-90 days after new forms are asked for after that time you can send an email to the embassy an inquire about the status.