Stuck in Administrative Processing

[Tracki07 20]

Hello all- my fiancé had his interview in El Salvador on August 31. He was told his visa could not be issued at that time because 1) The medical wasn’t done yet and 2)  We needed an original copy of my (petitioner) divorce decree. He had the medical done, had to have a sputum test. 2 months later, negative results are in, we sent in the passport and documents on November 19. After that, the info desk lady says it takes about 1 month to issue the visa. On December 10, someone finally opens the case (case updated, still says refused). December 13, the status changed from Immigrant to Non-Immigrant. In the morning it said “Application Received,” and by night time it says “Administrative Processing.” Now, it’s just been sitting there stuck with that status, the case has not been opened/updated since December 13. When I talk to the information desk they tell me that Administrative Processing can take 6 months. The embassy never told us we were in Administrative Processing or contacted us in any way. Just sent home the blue 221(g) requesting the two documents above, which we provided. Any words of wisdom/comfort??

[Mike E 11,739]

Sorry this happened to you.  Sometimes when the opportunity is not fully seized at the time (having your medical and divorce decree in hand into this case) the opportunity disappears as the deciders have their attention diverted to something else.  
 

All you can do is wait and continue to find ways to meet. This will serve you well in the I-485 stage once you are both together in the USA.  

[Chancy 6,241]

*** Moved from K1 Process & Procedures to K1 Progress Reports ***

 

[JeanneAdil 6,510]

 December 13, the status changed from Immigrant to Non-Immigrant.

 

USCIS stats on issued visas states the following on 

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Statistics/Non-Immigrant-Statistics/NIVWorkload/FY2020NIVWorkloadbyVisaCategory.pdf

 

*K1-K4 visas are preprocessed in the immigrant operating system then transmitted to the nonimmigrant operating system once a case has been deemed eligible for visa issuance.

 

To encourge u "if the CO kept his passport,  he is more than likely to be issued the visa"

 

but do not make any plans like buying airline tickets or hIm quitting a job till that passport with visa is received and the information is all correct 

BTW the visa will expire 6 months from date of the medical exam and if the AP process goes past that date a  new medical will be needed 

[Tracki07 20]

9 minutes ago, JeanneAdil said:

 December 13, the status changed from Immigrant to Non-Immigrant.

 

USCIS stats on issued visas states the following on 

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Statistics/Non-Immigrant-Statistics/NIVWorkload/FY2020NIVWorkloadbyVisaCategory.pdf

 

*K1-K4 visas are preprocessed in the immigrant operating system then transmitted to the nonimmigrant operating system once a case has been deemed eligible for visa issuance.

 

To encourge u "if the CO kept his passport,  he is more than likely to be issued the visa"

 

but do not make any plans like buying airline tickets or hIm quitting a job till that passport with visa is received and the information is all correct 

BTW the visa will expire 6 months from date of the medical exam and if the AP process goes past that date a  new medical will be needed 

Yes, unfortunately we already messed up on that and he quit his job before the medical, it was a stupid decision. Now that it’s been several months, he is agonizing over whether to get a new job even if he could leave at any time

[SalishSea 17,833]

2 hours ago, Tracki07 said:

The embassy never told us we were in Administrative Processing or contacted us in any way. Just sent home the blue 221(g) requesting the two documents above, which we provided. Any words of wisdom/comfort??

That IS AP.  Anytime there is not enough info to approve a visa (in this case a missing medical + divorce decree), the case stays in AP.

 

Did you expect to get the visa without the medical having been completed?  

[Tracki07 20]

1 hour ago, Jorgedig said:

That IS AP.  Anytime there is not enough info to approve a visa (in this case a missing medical + divorce decree), the case stays in AP.

 

Did you expect to get the visa without the medical having been completed?  

Of course not. It was just how the scheduling worked out, an interview was available before the medical appointment, and there weren’t any later interview slots on the website at that time. What I understood is that when you are under true AP, your status stays as “Immigrant Visa” and says “Refused.” It even mentions administrative processing in the description under “Refused.”

[Tracki07 20]

3 hours ago, Mike E said:

Sorry this happened to you.  Sometimes when the opportunity is not fully seized at the time (having your medical and divorce decree in hand into this case) the opportunity disappears as the deciders have their attention diverted to something else.  
 

All you can do is wait and continue to find ways to meet. This will serve you well in the I-485 stage once you are both together in the USA.  

Yeah, I kept all of my boarding passes and receipts in all of my trips to see him before the interview, but haven’t been as careful in the last time I saw him or this trip I’m in now, I didn’t save my paper passes. I wasn’t sure if those trips would be significant during AOS, or if they would care more about our wedding/marriage.

[SalishSea 17,833]

3 minutes ago, Tracki07 said:

Of course not. It was just how the scheduling worked out, an interview was available before the medical appointment, and there weren’t any later interview slots on the website at that time. What I understood is that when you are under true AP, your status stays as “Immigrant Visa” and says “Refused.” It even mentions administrative processing in the description under “Refused.”

AP is a catch-all term, and like I said it refers to the time when there is not enough information to make a decision on a case.

 

ALL cases go through AP, whether that is one day or three years.

Edited December 29, 2021 by Jorgedig