Confusing Interview (Colombia): Refused/Administrative Processing?

[geraldineacevedo1 28]

Hello All!

I wanted to update on my situation for my Expedited CR-1 Visa and clear up some nerves that I have about our situation.

 

My husband went to his interview September 1st at the USA Embassy in Bogota, Colombia.  I was, unfortunately, unable to attend because travel from USA to Colombia is still on hold. 

 

The process took many hours of the day from around 12PM-5PM.  The official who interviewed him was a young man (we believe he was a new employee, unsure), north american, and there was a woman (who we believe was his supervisor)  telling him what to ask my husband in Spanish. They asked him a lot of questions regarding our relationship, and all seemingly went well.  He provided all financial proof, which is very solid, and many photographs of our relationship.

 

My husband was denied 2 tourist visas previously due to lack of knowledge regarding the visas. 1 he had applied to before he had met me and he was with his ex-girlfriend at the time, and the other he applied to 6 months into our relationship.

 

The part that is a bit confusing now is that they asked him about the 1st tourist visa denial, where and with WHOM he was living with when he met me in March of last year. I was aware that he was living with his ex-girlfriend and transitioning out of their apartment together, and apparently the official knew about this too! The official actually mentioned his ex-girlfriend's name and the family that he lived with!

This was a shock to me... I am really unsure if they did a background check on where he lived, because honestly it was quite random. Perhaps it raised some suspicions because they kept asking about that topic. 

 

Then, the Officer asked to take a look at his cell phone and he went through all the chats and pictures of every person.  He asked who EVERY SINGLE PERSON was in his chats!!! Everything seemed to be fine and clear, according to my husband, the official said to the supervisor "I see no signs of any woman. This relationship looks legitimate, everything is normal" to his supervisor.  Thank God my husband and I never delete our conversations or anything like that and we are in constant communication through chats, voice messages, photos, videos, etc.. The officer proceeded to take his cellphone to where the supervisor was and they kept looking through his cellphone, and investigated it for about 20 more minutes.

 

After the interview was over, the officer was smiling and laughing and said to my husband "Look, I would really like to approve your visa right now, but we have to do something with the US government, and now we have to wait for the next step. You will receive an email in a few days about the next step."

 

My husband was quite shocked because they said no documents were missing and they didn't say WHAT the problem was. They kept ALL of our documents and took his passport, which I'm hoping is a positive sign?? I'm very confused about all of this. I thought the visa interview would have gone smoothly, and I wish I could have been present to speak to the official in English about the doubts they had, because it seems some things were getting lost in translation. 😣 Our marriage is solid and we had all the evidence that they asked of us, so I'm torn up about what happened, but trying to stay optimistic.

 

So, I guess we are under AP according to our status:

 

Quote

"Refused. A U.S. consular officer has adjudicated and refused your visa application. Please follow any instructions provided by the consular officer. If you were informed by the consular officer that your case was refused for administrative processing, your case will remain refused while undergoing such processing. You will receive another adjudication once such processing is complete. Please be advised that the processing time varies and that you will be contacted if additional information is needed. "

 

I understand that there is still hope with Administrative Processing and it could take a few days, weeks, months or even years to get the visa issued... or am I wrong here? From what I have seen, others have had similar experiences with this.  Hearing your perspectives would be so helpful! VJ has been a huge help to me during this process.

 

Thank you so much!

[geraldineacevedo1 28]

Also,another note, the Embassy contacted me via e-mail and said we are in the 221G Administrative processing phase and that no additional documents are required.  Simply a waiting game...

[Natalia Malone 4]

Hi Geraldine! I found this information I hope is helpful, he was a lawyer that we used before the process to solve some doubts! I hope this may help you!

 

[geraldineacevedo1 28]

18 hours ago, Natalia Malone said:

Hi Geraldine! I found this information I hope is helpful, he was a lawyer that we used before the process to solve some doubts! I hope this may help you!

 

 Thank you, Natalia!😃 Seems as though AP is quite common, so I guess no need to worry much.. now just a waiting game!😅😅

[SalishSea 18,117]

Sounds like they have doubts about the bonafides of your relationship.  All you can really do now is to wait and respond if they ask for anything else.

[Missing7abibi 1]

On 9/3/2020 at 9:52 AM, geraldineacevedo1 said:

Hello All!

I wanted to update on my situation for my Expedited CR-1 Visa and clear up some nerves that I have about our situation.

 

My husband went to his interview September 1st at the USA Embassy in Bogota, Colombia.  I was, unfortunately, unable to attend because travel from USA to Colombia is still on hold. 

 

The process took many hours of the day from around 12PM-5PM.  The official who interviewed him was a young man (we believe he was a new employee, unsure), north american, and there was a woman (who we believe was his supervisor)  telling him what to ask my husband in Spanish. They asked him a lot of questions regarding our relationship, and all seemingly went well.  He provided all financial proof, which is very solid, and many photographs of our relationship.

 

My husband was denied 2 tourist visas previously due to lack of knowledge regarding the visas. 1 he had applied to before he had met me and he was with his ex-girlfriend at the time, and the other he applied to 6 months into our relationship.

 

The part that is a bit confusing now is that they asked him about the 1st tourist visa denial, where and with WHOM he was living with when he met me in March of last year. I was aware that he was living with his ex-girlfriend and transitioning out of their apartment together, and apparently the official knew about this too! The official actually mentioned his ex-girlfriend's name and the family that he lived with!

This was a shock to me... I am really unsure if they did a background check on where he lived, because honestly it was quite random. Perhaps it raised some suspicions because they kept asking about that topic. 

 

Then, the Officer asked to take a look at his cell phone and he went through all the chats and pictures of every person.  He asked who EVERY SINGLE PERSON was in his chats!!! Everything seemed to be fine and clear, according to my husband, the official said to the supervisor "I see no signs of any woman. This relationship looks legitimate, everything is normal" to his supervisor.  Thank God my husband and I never delete our conversations or anything like that and we are in constant communication through chats, voice messages, photos, videos, etc.. The officer proceeded to take his cellphone to where the supervisor was and they kept looking through his cellphone, and investigated it for about 20 more minutes.

 

After the interview was over, the officer was smiling and laughing and said to my husband "Look, I would really like to approve your visa right now, but we have to do something with the US government, and now we have to wait for the next step. You will receive an email in a few days about the next step."

 

My husband was quite shocked because they said no documents were missing and they didn't say WHAT the problem was. They kept ALL of our documents and took his passport, which I'm hoping is a positive sign?? I'm very confused about all of this. I thought the visa interview would have gone smoothly, and I wish I could have been present to speak to the official in English about the doubts they had, because it seems some things were getting lost in translation. 😣 Our marriage is solid and we had all the evidence that they asked of us, so I'm torn up about what happened, but trying to stay optimistic.

 

So, I guess we are under AP according to our status:

 

 

I understand that there is still hope with Administrative Processing and it could take a few days, weeks, months or even years to get the visa issued... or am I wrong here? From what I have seen, others have had similar experiences with this.  Hearing your perspectives would be so helpful! VJ has been a huge help to me during this process.

 

Thank you so much!

I am on the same boat as you my husband had his cr1 visa on 8-12 and was put under AP as of 9-1 so it’s a waiting game of patience, i pray it doesnt drag as much as I’ve read others has 😭. My husband also filed for a tourist visa before our marriage and was denied then i flew to his country to marry a month later, in their eyes that seems suspicious too, for us it was a cultural thing that he had to come marry me not vice versa but unfortunately he was denied so we had no other way but for me to visit him. 

[geraldineacevedo1 28]

2 hours ago, Missing7abibi said:

I am on the same boat as you my husband had his cr1 visa on 8-12 and was put under AP as of 9-1 so it’s a waiting game of patience, i pray it doesnt drag as much as I’ve read others has 😭. My husband also filed for a tourist visa before our marriage and was denied then i flew to his country to marry a month later, in their eyes that seems suspicious too, for us it was a cultural thing that he had to come marry me not vice versa but unfortunately he was denied so we had no other way but for me to visit him. 

Yes, lots of patience and just a waiting game. I hope for the best for you and your husband as well!!

[geraldineacevedo1 28]

On 9/6/2020 at 2:23 PM, Jorgedig said:

Sounds like they have doubts about the bonafides of your relationship.  All you can really do now is to wait and respond if they ask for anything else.

Yes, that's what I thought, maybe because of his past rejections. I emailed the Embassy asking if they needed anything more from us and they said no additional documents were necessary. 😓

I am praying for the best!

[stringpuller 74]

On 9/3/2020 at 10:52 AM, geraldineacevedo1 said:

Hello All!

I wanted to update on my situation for my Expedited CR-1 Visa and clear up some nerves that I have about our situation.

 

My husband went to his interview September 1st at the USA Embassy in Bogota, Colombia.  I was, unfortunately, unable to attend because travel from USA to Colombia is still on hold. 

 

The process took many hours of the day from around 12PM-5PM.  The official who interviewed him was a young man (we believe he was a new employee, unsure), north american, and there was a woman (who we believe was his supervisor)  telling him what to ask my husband in Spanish. They asked him a lot of questions regarding our relationship, and all seemingly went well.  He provided all financial proof, which is very solid, and many photographs of our relationship.

 

My husband was denied 2 tourist visas previously due to lack of knowledge regarding the visas. 1 he had applied to before he had met me and he was with his ex-girlfriend at the time, and the other he applied to 6 months into our relationship.

 

The part that is a bit confusing now is that they asked him about the 1st tourist visa denial, where and with WHOM he was living with when he met me in March of last year. I was aware that he was living with his ex-girlfriend and transitioning out of their apartment together, and apparently the official knew about this too! The official actually mentioned his ex-girlfriend's name and the family that he lived with!

This was a shock to me... I am really unsure if they did a background check on where he lived, because honestly it was quite random. Perhaps it raised some suspicions because they kept asking about that topic. 

 

Then, the Officer asked to take a look at his cell phone and he went through all the chats and pictures of every person.  He asked who EVERY SINGLE PERSON was in his chats!!! Everything seemed to be fine and clear, according to my husband, the official said to the supervisor "I see no signs of any woman. This relationship looks legitimate, everything is normal" to his supervisor.  Thank God my husband and I never delete our conversations or anything like that and we are in constant communication through chats, voice messages, photos, videos, etc.. The officer proceeded to take his cellphone to where the supervisor was and they kept looking through his cellphone, and investigated it for about 20 more minutes.

 

After the interview was over, the officer was smiling and laughing and said to my husband "Look, I would really like to approve your visa right now, but we have to do something with the US government, and now we have to wait for the next step. You will receive an email in a few days about the next step."

 

My husband was quite shocked because they said no documents were missing and they didn't say WHAT the problem was. They kept ALL of our documents and took his passport, which I'm hoping is a positive sign?? I'm very confused about all of this. I thought the visa interview would have gone smoothly, and I wish I could have been present to speak to the official in English about the doubts they had, because it seems some things were getting lost in translation. 😣 Our marriage is solid and we had all the evidence that they asked of us, so I'm torn up about what happened, but trying to stay optimistic.

 

So, I guess we are under AP according to our status:

 

 

I understand that there is still hope with Administrative Processing and it could take a few days, weeks, months or even years to get the visa issued... or am I wrong here? From what I have seen, others have had similar experiences with this.  Hearing your perspectives would be so helpful! VJ has been a huge help to me during this process.

 

Thank you so much!

I cant believe they got that intrusive of his cell phone. Some of these officers are ridiculous. 

Anyway I hope it works out for you. I would have to say they are just suspicious because of the living with GF and the past rejections. 

[geraldineacevedo1 28]

1 hour ago, stringpuller said:

I cant believe they got that intrusive of his cell phone. Some of these officers are ridiculous. 

Anyway I hope it works out for you. I would have to say they are just suspicious because of the living with GF and the past rejections. 

Thank you!  Yes, I felt the same way about it, but I suppose it's a part of this whole process..whew 😅

[Gina Mendez 3]

I went to the Embassy in Bogota, Colombia on 08/20 and it looked they were doing trainings for new consular officers. The person who interviewed me was super nice and my interview went really smooth. However my Visa was not approved because I had a J1 visa in the past and I had a 2 years home residency requirement, which according to the consul I hadn't met because I traveled for a couple of weeks to the US during these two years. In addition they requested a certificate from Migracion Colombia to prove that I didnt left the country in addition to the two times I went to the States. It's been 2 weeks since I submitted the requested document and have not been contacted again by the Embassy and my Visa still appears as refused. I keep looking at the CEAC tracker and it says the last time they looked at my case was yesterday, but still shows "Refused". I understand the uncertainty and anxiety that this causes. Hopefully you will hear from them soon with a positive response soon. 

[Louis61404 133]

17 hours ago, Gina Mendez said:

I went to the Embassy in Bogota, Colombia on 08/20 and it looked they were doing trainings for new consular officers. The person who interviewed me was super nice and my interview went really smooth. However my Visa was not approved because I had a J1 visa in the past and I had a 2 years home residency requirement, which according to the consul I hadn't met because I traveled for a couple of weeks to the US during these two years. In addition they requested a certificate from Migracion Colombia to prove that I didnt left the country in addition to the two times I went to the States. It's been 2 weeks since I submitted the requested document and have not been contacted again by the Embassy and my Visa still appears as refused. I keep looking at the CEAC tracker and it says the last time they looked at my case was yesterday, but still shows "Refused". I understand the uncertainty and anxiety that this causes. Hopefully you will hear from them soon with a positive response soon. 

Did you receive an expedited or emergency interview to get an 8/20 appointment?

[Gina Mendez 3]

27 minutes ago, Louis61404 said:

Did you receive an expedited or emergency interview to get an 8/20 appointment?

I got expedited at NVC and a month later got the interview. 

[geraldineacevedo1 28]

20 hours ago, Gina Mendez said:

I went to the Embassy in Bogota, Colombia on 08/20 and it looked they were doing trainings for new consular officers. The person who interviewed me was super nice and my interview went really smooth. However my Visa was not approved because I had a J1 visa in the past and I had a 2 years home residency requirement, which according to the consul I hadn't met because I traveled for a couple of weeks to the US during these two years. In addition they requested a certificate from Migracion Colombia to prove that I didnt left the country in addition to the two times I went to the States. It's been 2 weeks since I submitted the requested document and have not been contacted again by the Embassy and my Visa still appears as refused. I keep looking at the CEAC tracker and it says the last time they looked at my case was yesterday, but still shows "Refused". I understand the uncertainty and anxiety that this causes. Hopefully you will hear from them soon with a positive response soon. 

Yes, it seems that the officer was new, he was kind of confused about how to ask the questions in Spanish.

 

I understand your anxiety! I look at the CEAC status daily and it has only updated once and says they're still doing administrative processing. They didn't require additional documents from us, which is the most frustrating part   I have a friend from Bolivia who went through a similar process with the "refused" status and that, eventually, it changes to issued, etc... it's just a matter of waiting, which is frustrating for all.

 

If they kept your passport, etc. I'm sure you will be approved in no time as well. =D 

[geraldineacevedo1 28]

Just wanted to give an update 09/21.

I received an email from the Embassy about my administrative processing.

 

They simply asked (translated): 

"Thank you for contacting us. We have visualized that your appointment was on September 1, 2020. Could you please tell us if you have the petition for this case, if so, please upload it to your NVC account and then send it to us by this means scanned in PDF and thus be able to pass it on to the officer in your case."

 

The message was quite unclear to me about which petition in particular..I feel as though there are many. 😂 I asked my friend, who is an immigration paralegal, about this message and she said to upload my I-130 Approval Notice of Action and send it to them. Seems like that's all they are asking for now?? 😵