islamabadembassy IR1 at ISL Waiting for IL 2022

[zaeemshoaib 9]

There must be a directive given to them to do this stuff because I have now seen how the Abu Dhabi embassy operates and went through the process there and it is leagues ahead in efficiency. I don't believe any other embassies around the world are this bad either. 

I'm just glad I avoided all this mess and am through it. I incurred a lot of costs for getting residence, shifting my case and living in the UAE for a month or so but now it all seems worth it. 

[podeena 190]

2 hours ago, zaeemshoaib said:

There must be a directive given to them to do this stuff because I have now seen how the Abu Dhabi embassy operates and went through the process there and it is leagues ahead in efficiency. I don't believe any other embassies around the world are this bad either. 

I'm just glad I avoided all this mess and am through it. I incurred a lot of costs for getting residence, shifting my case and living in the UAE for a month or so but now it all seems worth it. 

Congrats and pray for all of us too 🙏🏽 thx for sharing it might help someone in this horrible journey from ISL EMBASSY.

[Zach Sm 0]

On 7/12/2023 at 9:52 AM, Machinecorpse62 said:

Yeah I am and sure ill give you link in message

 

Can you also please DM me the link for the whatsapp group?

[James1234 3]

18 hours ago, zaeemshoaib said:

There must be a directive given to them to do this stuff because I have now seen how the Abu Dhabi embassy operates and went through the process there and it is leagues ahead in efficiency. I don't believe any other embassies around the world are this bad either. 

I'm just glad I avoided all this mess and am through it. I incurred a lot of costs for getting residence, shifting my case and living in the UAE for a month or so but now it all seems worth it. 

Hi how long the whole process took in terms of initiating the request to shift the case from ISL to Abu Dhabi and getting the interview?

[harimirch 5]

On 7/18/2023 at 4:03 PM, Sikander321 said:

US embassy in Islamabad needs to shutdown permanently. Such a waste of a US citizens tax payers money. 
All they doing is making US citizens life harder and harder because they made a huge mistake by marrying someone in Pakistan 🇵🇰.

We will pray to Lord to give them the worst depressing and anxiety disorders that we are going thru. 

As much as I want to lash out at the US embassy Pakistan, you have to look at the situation in Pakistan as well. Pakistan has probably the worst recording keeping in the world. 
 

On my last trip to Pakistan I asked a guy, he was poor but still, how old he was? His answer 30-35. Didn’t know what day, month or year his birthday was . 
 

next if you haven’t had your interview yet, the best piece of advice that no one will give you is

 

give the interview in your native tongues. Urdu, Punjabi, Pashtu, etc etc etc. 

no matter how confident your spouse is with English, even if they have phd in English from a Pakistan university they will never be on the same level as a native speaker aka the counselor.

 

true story: a girl decided to give the interview in English. Midway through the interview she started getting confused and she is can I have the translator now. And the officer just laughed loudly.

 

listen you can do whatever you want but immigration is a matter of national security and they are looking for any reason to deny you or delay the process. 
 

don’t give them doubts that don’t exist to delay your case bc of misunderstandings due to language. And make sure your documents have same info every where. So if one document have a middle name,

all documents need to have a middle name. 

[zaeemshoaib 9]

6 hours ago, James1234 said:

Hi how long the whole process took in terms of initiating the request to shift the case from ISL to Abu Dhabi and getting the interview?

 

Took 2 weeks to get the UAE residence permit, 3 days to change the embassy and got the interview letter in 25 days after that. The interview took place about 30 days after I received the interview letter.

 

1 hour ago, harimirch said:

As much as I want to lash out at the US embassy Pakistan, you have to look at the situation in Pakistan as well. Pakistan has probably the worst recording keeping in the world. 
 

On my last trip to Pakistan I asked a guy, he was poor but still, how old he was? His answer 30-35. Didn’t know what day, month or year his birthday was . 
 

next if you haven’t had your interview yet, the best piece of advice that no one will give you is

 

give the interview in your native tongues. Urdu, Punjabi, Pashtu, etc etc etc. 

no matter how confident your spouse is with English, even if they have phd in English from a Pakistan university they will never be on the same level as a native speaker aka the counselor.

 

true story: a girl decided to give the interview in English. Midway through the interview she started getting confused and she is can I have the translator now. And the officer just laughed loudly.

 

listen you can do whatever you want but immigration is a matter of national security and they are looking for any reason to deny you or delay the process. 
 

don’t give them doubts that don’t exist to delay your case bc of misunderstandings due to language. And make sure your documents have same info every where. So if one document have a middle name,

all documents need to have a middle name. 

 

I would like to disagree here. Yes, record keeping in Pakistan is bad but that does not mean all the people applying have faulty records. The vast majority of people applying for immigration are educated professionals and have their records in order. 

As for giving the interview in English, your command over the language really has no bearing on whether you're eligible to immigrate or not. If you're not confident in speaking English, then yes, it makes sense to get a translator. But I'm not a native speaker or have any degrees in English and gave the interview in English and had no issues. Multiple people, even those not on the same speaking level as me, gave the interview in English and were approved easily. It is not productive to hold native speakers on a pedestal either. I know "native speakers" who are far below and also far above my speaking level as well. Everyone's speaking abilities are different and they are not dependent on the education system.

 

Immigration being a matter of security does not mean that the embassy has to give aspiring immigrants a hard time or look for reasons to deny, that literally goes against the entire concept of immigration and US immigration law. Yes, the onus is on the applicant to provide all their documents but then it is the embassy's responsibility to do background checks etc. to ensure that security rather than trying to trip up people in interviews with trick questions. No other embassy except Islamabad operates this way.

 

Some more productive advice would be: Try to not get nervous, the counselors are people just like you. Be confident during the interview, have your answers prepared beforehand no matter what language you're giving the interview in. Look up what questions are asked in immigration interviews and practice your answers with someone. Keep your answers in line with your main mandatory documents and any additional documents you are providing.

Edited July 20, 2023 by zaeemshoaib

[podeena 190]

Hey guys whoever have their interview in this group please share your questions and outcome after interview it will help others who are waiting.thx

[podeena 190]

30 minutes ago, appleblossom said:

 

I've worked in immigration for years (Canadian, not US) and there are certain countries that will take much longer than others for various reasons - high fraud risk, lack of response to background checks, etc. Pakistan is one of those countries, any application I dealt with from there would often take twice as long as background checks were a nightmare. I doubt very much that it's laziness or corrupt staff, they're probably just as frustrated as you are with the whole process as they'll have sent out for checks and be chasing them constantly without getting any response (been there, done that!). Your sister was lucky, and perhaps she didn't have as much to check as you (i.e. has she always lived in the same place, not been to uni - whereas perhaps you have moved and been to uni - those kind of things will make a big difference). 

 

I know it's horrid when you're the one waiting for those checks to be done so that you can be cleared and given a visa. But I just thought I'd give another perspective as somebody that's been called all sorts of names because an applicant is waiting for a decision, when actually there's no delay on my part and I'm just waiting for a university/bank/police department (etc) to respond to me and they take months to do so. Please don't assume it's incompetent staff when they're probably doing the very best they can with limited resources.

 

I hope you hear positive news very soon. 

I understand all the facts you're saying yes that's my point Pakistan is a high fraud risk country and yes due to this checking records there is a big hassle and take time but I don't understand  they give visit visa here and there bc poeple are using agents in one to two days don't they chk their backgrounds and legitimate immigration spousal visa of US citizens waiting not 1or4 days but 4 months after approval for their background check-up. I myself work in us  government and can't figure out this why can't they response to inquiry and say what they're doing with your case or what else they need if anything,I tried so many times not to write names but waiting for 4years for your spouse now don't have any more patience and words than this. God will give me and others patience to deal with it only those people can feel my pain who are going through this painful journey. Thx for your explanation though maybe it can help someone in this post.

[Shabaz 67]

1 hour ago, zaeemshoaib said:

 

The reason I say that the issue exists at the Islamabad embassy and not others is because I have seen the same people who have had their visas denied or stuck here easily get approved in other embassies. If there are issues with the records, then why do the same people who get their visas denied in Islamabad get approved by other embassies?

Secondly, If they are doing racial profiling, it is illegal, and the problem still exists with the embassy. And if there even are issues with the documents or records, why ask trick questions? Why not just inform the applicant of the issue with their documents?

 

My tone is deiant because the examples you are giving of interview questions are entirely unprofessional for a spousal immigration application. What does the number of guests have anything to do with eligibility to immigrate for a spousal visa, and what purpose does it accomplish? What do the differences between British and American English spelling have anything to do with that?

 

The only thing an embassy needs from a spousal applicant is to have their marriage documents and financial documents in order to establish whether the marriage is legitimate. Do you know what questions I and many others who had transferred cases to the UAE embassy were asked?  A total of 6 questions that included asking my name, my spouse's name, my occupation, my spouses's occupation, where she lives and how we met. That was it and how it should be. I did not have one of my documents uploaded to the CEAC portal, and they just asked me to upload that, which I did as soon as I got out of the embassy, and my status changed to issued the next day.

 

The point I am making is the way the Islamabad embassy is operating is entirely unprofessional. It can be clearly seen by the way people who have been approved having their passports held hostage for months without a response. They simply should not be asking ridiculous questions to trip up applicants and doing everything they can to deny the application. 

 

Hi, What type of financial documents they asked and you uploaded?

[appleblossom 2,503]

1 hour ago, podeena said:

I myself work in us  government and can't figure out this why can't they response to inquiry and say what they're doing with your case or what else they need if anything

 

Because if immigration officers responded to every inquiry, that would add a lot of time to everybody else's cases, there just isn't the resources for that usually. If they did answer you, I bet they'd just say they're waiting for something from a third party, because that's what 95% of the time is for background checks, whoever is dealing with your case will be sitting around waiting for a response from other agencies/companies/people that are incredibly slow.

 

I know it's utterly frustrating, but you can't compare somebody that got a visitor visa in a few days to somebody applying for an immigrant visa, the background checks for an immigrant visa will be much more detailed unfortunately. 

 

You have my sympathy, I can't imagine how tough it is for you to have waited 4 years and still not have an answer, it is appalling. But it's equally frustrating for those working at the consulate I'm sure, please don't blame them for others ineptitude. Hopefully as time goes on and electronic records become easier to access, and less paper records, it will get easier for anybody from a similar country.

 

I really hope you get some good news very soon. Best of luck to you. 

[Zs10102 36]

On 7/20/2023 at 6:53 AM, harimirch said:

As much as I want to lash out at the US embassy Pakistan, you have to look at the situation in Pakistan as well. Pakistan has probably the worst recording keeping in the world. 
 

On my last trip to Pakistan I asked a guy, he was poor but still, how old he was? His answer 30-35. Didn’t know what day, month or year his birthday was . 
 

next if you haven’t had your interview yet, the best piece of advice that no one will give you is

 

give the interview in your native tongues. Urdu, Punjabi, Pashtu, etc etc etc. 

no matter how confident your spouse is with English, even if they have phd in English from a Pakistan university they will never be on the same level as a native speaker aka the counselor.

 

true story: a girl decided to give the interview in English. Midway through the interview she started getting confused and she is can I have the translator now. And the officer just laughed loudly.

 

listen you can do whatever you want but immigration is a matter of national security and they are looking for any reason to deny you or delay the process. 
 

don’t give them doubts that don’t exist to delay your case bc of misunderstandings due to language. And make sure your documents have same info every where. So if one document have a middle name,

all documents need to have a middle name. 

PREACH BROTHER sometimes people dont want to hear the truth because they dont like it and because it hurts them everything you said i have told this to people too but they claim im bad but no we are just telling you the truth.

[podeena 190]

Please everyone here on this post this immigration journey is already so painful for everyone and I'm sure everyone have some experience and opinions to share but please be careful with your words and just share positive vibes and info to help each others just like other post for this purpose, I start this thread for help and support so we Pakistani stuck at ISL EMBASSY can share info and feel each other's pain not to get angry and frustrate each other this is already so painful journey be calm and respect each other not everyone is agreed on everything different poeple have different experience and opinions. I hope we use this post for positive info and feel each other's pain. Thx again 

[podeena 190]

40 minutes ago, harimirch said:

Hello poodena, 

 

i was praying that you get the visa right away and I am sorry you didn’t get it. Now the last question I asked you was who did your spouse give the interview w. Someone, I am not gonna say who, but someone who works in the embassy says that some of the officers are hardcore and very strict and give out less visa than others 

Some middle aged man that's I only know.🙏🏽

[Capital Z 51]

I think the purpose of this platform is to help each other out instead of fighting and arguing. Every one has a point of view and they are free to express it but without rubbing it onto others. Yes US embassy islamabad has lot to deal with. Firstly they deal with all immigrant and non immigrant visas then Afghan special immigrant visas. And then expedite cases. I applied for expedite 7 times and I had a genuine reason but got denied every time I wonder how other people were getting approved. Now one solution in my opinion is by spreading out the workload to other consulates like Lahore Karachi and peshawar that way the man power and resources could be utilized in a more efficient way. It will be 3 years in August since I applied for my wife case which is still going on. Immigration is a painful journey and we all are in it together and yes it is very frustrating and painful but one day it will be over and hopefully sooner. Keep praying that Islamabad embassy start increasing its pace and catch up with the backlog till then it happen we all can just pray and hope for the best.

[TBoneTX 45,288]

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