Passport Returned Empty / No official IV rejection

[FarahS 2]

Hi all,

 

My husband had his IV interview at the US Embassy in Cairo on April 3rd, the consular who did the interview told him she will process his visa and that he should get it within 2-3 weeks. They took his passport and gave him two documents that say "Congratulations, your visa is approved."  - The next day I checked his CEAC status and it was "rejected", we came to understand that it means he's going through Administrative Processing. Today, (exactly one week later) he received an email from the courier the embassy deals with telling him his passport is ready for pick up. He went to pick it up only to find it empty. There is no visa but there was no rejection letter either. Does this mean he's still under AP? Did this happen to anyone before?

[JeanneAdil 6,482]

ceac says rejected or refused?

rejected is not normal posting 

we see refused for AP ,   issued or denied

refused could just mean doing extra security checking

and they could ask for passport back when the AP is done

 

[FarahS 2]

1 minute ago, JeanneAdil said:

ceac says rejected or refused?

rejected is not normal posting 

we see refused for AP ,   issued or denied

refused could just mean doing extra security checking

and they could ask for passport back when the AP is done

 

Yes sorry, it was refused not rejected. So it is normal for them to return passport while going through AP? As at no point did we receive any official denial notices.

[JeanneAdil 6,482]

1 minute ago, FarahS said:

Yes sorry, it was refused not rejected. So it is normal for them to return passport while going through AP? As at no point did we receive any official denial notices.

if the bene stated the need to use the passport while waiting ,   that could be a reason

only he knows what was said in interview

Refused is normal 

[FarahS 2]

1 minute ago, JeanneAdil said:

if the bene stated the need to use the passport while waiting ,   that could be a reason

only he knows what was said in interview

Refused is normal 

No he did not indicate that he needs to use the passport at all. 

Edited April 11, 2022 by FarahS

[JeanneAdil 6,482]

Just now, FarahS said:

No he did not indicate that he needs to use the passport at all. 

was just an idea

u need to take a deep breath and relax

they said "approved " so let it go thru the AP 

i know the wait is hard but basically there is nothing u can do but wait

allah yekbel

[FarahS 2]

Just now, JeanneAdil said:

was just an idea

u need to take a deep breath and relax

they said "approved " so let it go thru the AP 

i know the wait is hard but basically there is nothing u can do but wait

allah yekbel

Thank you! I hope so. Fingers crossed!

[randy32 165]

What is the current status?

I was under the impression that the passport is held during the AP process.

 

I would still email the embassy because his passport was taken and not stamped after he was notified that it was ready.

 

Can someone who has gone through this chime in?

 

 

[etrangais 947]

Male applicants from MENA countries (Middle East and North Africa) are potentially subject to a long AP.

Returning the passport is an indication that the applicant in this case will go through a long AP (I could be wrong).

All you can do at this point is patiently wait and hope for the best. There is no timeframe for AP.

Edited April 12, 2022 by etrangais
correction

[Crazy Cat 41,756]

4 hours ago, randy32 said:

I was under the impression that the passport is held during the AP process.

When the consulate anticipates an extended time for AP, they sometimes return the passport, then instruct the applicant to submit it later.