Visa approved but no passport received yet. (merged)

[millefleur 5,046]

4 minutes ago, Arm99 said:

I used ESTA too much 2 years ago, and they told me that I had to apply for a tourist visa for the purpose of my trip, which is to visit my partner, in the interview the officer asked me the typical questions and told me very quickly that my visa It was approved, so I don't really understand this delay in sending the passport, but also with the covid issue, the embassies are busy

OK that makes sense, that's a common reason why ESTA might get denied.

 

You just need to wait it out. Unless you have some security flag in your personal history/background (such as I mentioned above), it'll probably just take some more days, maybe weeks, but should not be too much longer. Did you apply at Frankfurt? They've recently been designated as the embassy for Ukrainians so they might just be backed up and really busy right now.

[holi99 6]

1 minute ago, millefleur said:

OK that makes sense, that's a common reason why ESTA might get denied.

 

You just need to wait it out. Unless you have some security flag in your personal history/background (such as I mentioned above), it'll probably just take some more days, maybe weeks, but should not be too much longer. Did you apply at Frankfurt? They've recently been designated as the embassy for Ukrainians so they might just be backed up and really busy right now.

I don't have any background or anything, i just can´t travel under ESTA, the interview was so quick and comfortable that I was in for a big surprise and I thought I would already have my passport.I hope it's lateness of the embassy and nothing more

in the interview the officer knows what happens to me with ESTA so  then he would have told me something about the visa and the administrative processing

[millefleur 5,046]

5 minutes ago, Arm99 said:

I don't have any background or anything, i just can´t travel under ESTA, the interview was so quick and comfortable that I was in for a big surprise and I thought I would already have my passport.I hope it's lateness of the embassy and nothing more

You're not being singled out. Every single applicant gets AP to some degree, for the vast majority of people it's just a super basic background check/review, it's very routine. CO's do not usually explain to applicants what AP is unless the person is undergoing some serious AP, such as applicants from countries like Pakistan, where it can take months or years. Your visa is not "refused" - you're just waiting for them to finish up the routine processing/checks they do for everyone.

 

There is nothing you can do but wait, it'll probably be over in some days. Europe is kind of dealing with a lot of problems right now, I wouldn't be surprized if embassies and consulates are backed up and low on staff. Not to mention they were already backed up from Covid before.

[holi99 6]

7 minutes ago, millefleur said:

You're not being singled out. Every single applicant gets AP to some degree, for the vast majority of people it's just a super basic background check/review, it's very routine. CO's do not usually explain to applicants what AP is unless the person is undergoing some serious AP, such as applicants from countries like Pakistan, where it can take months or years. Your visa is not "refused" - you're just waiting for them to finish up the routine processing/checks they do for everyone.

 

There is nothing you can do but wait, it'll probably be over in some days. Europe is kind of dealing with a lot of problems right now, I wouldn't be surprized if embassies and consulates are backed up and low on staff. Not to mention they were already backed up from Covid before.

That is what I have also thought, that perhaps the whole issue of visas is going slower due to the covid issue, Also, if I had something serious during the interview, the officer would have told me i guess, but it was very clear and he told me that the visit was approved
Thanks for the help

[Mike E 11,739]

1 hour ago, Arm99 said:

I used ESTA too much 2 years ago, and they told me that I had to apply for a tourist visa for the purpose of my trip, which is to visit my partner, in the interview the officer asked me the typical questions and told me very quickly that my visa It was approved, so I don't really understand this delay in sending the passport, but also with the covid issue, the embassies are busy

I can understand your delay.  CBP thinks you’ve been spending too much tine in the USA. 
 

Sounds like it is time to consider getting married to your partner (if not already) and file for an immigration visa.  
 

I am skeptical you will get your visitor visa.  Even if you do, I expect CBP to limit your visits, give you secondary inspections, and even deny entry.  
 

If you do get your B visa, then spend less time in the USA than before, definitely less you spend in Germany.  And don’t work remotely while in the USA if that’s what you’ve been doing. 

Edited March 11, 2022 by Mike E

[holi99 6]

8 minutes ago, Mike E said:

I can understand your delay.  CBP thinks you’ve been spending too much tine in the USA. 
 

Sounds like it is time to consider getting married to your partner (if not already) and file for an immigration visa.  
 

I am skeptical you will get your visitor visa.  Even if you do, I expect CBP to limit your visits, give you secondary inspections, and even deny entry.  
 

If you do get your B visa, then spend less time in the USA than before, definitely less you spend in Germany.  And don’t work remotely while in the USA if that’s what you’ve been doing. 

I did make the mistake of using too much ESTA 2-3 years ago, but since that time I have not been to the United States and I have a job in my country which would only allow me to go to the United States on vacation time, I would not like to have to getting married for a visa issue, does not seem very romantic to me, at the time of the interview the official knew all my history and I told him the truth about the reason for the tourist visa, which is to visit my partner on vacation from my work , then I don't see why they won't give me the visa! the official approved my visa without any problem so i hope they can issue the visa very soon!

[Ontarkie 14,234]

~~Duplicate threads merged. Please do not start more than one thread for the same topic~~

[holi99 6]

12 days have passed and I still have not received the passport with the visa, in addition, the status is still administrative processing and the last update case date has not changed since the day of the interview, could it be that there is a delay in the embassies due to covid?

I don't understand anything because I was approved and he told me that in 5 to 10 days I would receive my passport

[Boiler 45,558]

5 to 10 days is probably the norm.

[holi99 6]

10 minutes ago, Boiler said:

5 to 10 days is probably the norm.

12 have already passed, you mean they say from 5 to 10 but could it be more in reality?

I imagine that it takes longer to process visas due to covid etc, but as the official consular told me it was approved and he didn't tell me anything else, I thought it would be fast!
 

[millefleur 5,046]

12 minutes ago, Arm99 said:

12 have already passed, you mean they say from 5 to 10 but could it be more in reality?

They could have been referring to business days?

[holi99 6]

3 minutes ago, millefleur said:

They could have been referring to business days?

12 business days have passed, and the last update of the case has not changed since the same day of the interview, it seems that they have not touched my visa? I'm confused! I guess it's normal for a few more days since the embassies are not 100% ready yet
im just nervious!

[millefleur 5,046]

3 minutes ago, Arm99 said:

12 business days have passed, and the last update of the case has not changed since the same day of the interview, it seems that they have not touched my visa? I'm confused! I guess it's normal for a few more days since the embassies are not 100% ready yet
im just nervious!

You can attempt to call them or email them in the meantime to get an update. I doubt it's anything out of the ordinary, B visas are the lowest priority and you might just be in a queue waiting to get the visa printed along with hundreds of others.

[Boiler 45,558]

7 minutes ago, millefleur said:

You can attempt to call them or email them in the meantime to get an update. I doubt it's anything out of the ordinary, B visas are the lowest priority and you might just be in a queue waiting to get the visa printed along with hundreds of others.

There is a contact form but they do not usually reply to anything covered by the FAQ

[holi99 6]

18 minutes ago, millefleur said:

You can attempt to call them or email them in the meantime to get an update. I doubt it's anything out of the ordinary, B visas are the lowest priority and you might just be in a queue waiting to get the visa printed along with hundreds of others.

I called and they told me what it says on my status, administrative processing, I guess it's a matter of delays because in the interview the official consular never spoke to me about 221 or administrative processing, he only told me that I was approved and 5 to 10 days for my passport to arrive.

i wish the process was faster