K1 Help and Support So Much Needed

[Layla01 1]

Dear Friends, 

If anyone out there is going through or has gone through a similar situation, I ask that you PLEASE respond and give me some hope.

 

- Dec. 3, 2021, mailed K1 Petition to USCIS. My Beneficiary is from Afghanistan but resides/works in Dubai, UAE. 

- Dec. 10, 2021, received text from USCIS that application was received. 

- Dec. 16, 2021, received 1st I-797 letter stating application was received. 

- Jan. 15, 2022, received 2nd I-797 letter stating 129F Petition was approved and will be forwarded to National Visa Center (NVC).

- March 4, 2022, called NVC to follow up on 129F Petition and was informed 129F Petition was received on Feb. 20, 2022.

- March 15, 2022, received email from NVC that 129F Petition will be forwarded to US Embassy in Abu Dhabi.

 

- April 6, 2022, checked visa status on Check Visa Status Website and status showed 'Ready' for interview on March 17, 2022.

- April 13, 2022, Beneficiary completed DS260 and submitted to Embassy and also scheduled interview for April 27, 2022.

- April 27, 2022, Immigration Interview with Consular in Abu Dhabi. Interview lasted 20mins and Immigration Officer APPROVED my beneficiary, however, our 129F was tagged to go into Administrative Processing regardless of officer's decision. 

- April 27, 2022, status on Visa Status check showed 'Administrative Processing' 

- April 28, 2022, status on Visa Status check was changed to 'Approved'. Beneficiary received email from Immigration Officer to mail his Passport to US Embassy for Visa Insurance. 

- May 2, 2022, Beneficiary mailed passport to Embassy. 

- May 12, 2022, status on Visa Status check showed 'Issued'. 

- May 17, 2022, Beneficiary received passport with US Visa sticker placed in his passport. 

 

My Beneficiary and I were in disbelief how quickly our visa was approved. We cried tears and celebrated feeling so blessed!! Sadly, our happiness was short lived. On May 25, 2022, my Beneficiary received a call from the Immigration Officer that there was a problem with the visa issuance and that my beneficiary needed to return back to Abu Dhabi for a 2nd interview. 

 

- May 25, 2022, Beneficiary received email from Immigration officer that his visa has been revoked and a 2nd interview was needed. 

- May 26, 2022, 2nd Immigration Interview. At the interview, the officer had no knowledge why the visa was revoked, only that supplemental questions for Visa approval was needed to remedy the situation. During the interview, my Beneficiary asked the officer to double check his Passport Number incase the letter O in his passport was mistaken for a 0 (Zero). Upon checking the system, the officer discovered the typo and admitted to mistakenly entering 0 (Zero) instead of the letter O into the computer system and felt strongly the reason the visa was revoked was because of this very reason. 

 

- May 29, 2022, supplemental questionnaire form was emailed to Embassy. 

- June 24, 2022, status in Check Visa Status showed 'Application Received'.

- June 28, 2022 status in Check Visa Status shows 'Refused/Administrative Processing'.

 

We have emailed the Immigration Officer once during this waiting period and received an email that she has no control or knowledge how long our visa would be in administrative processing and for us to wait. It has been trying and difficult to stay positive. Please, if anyone has gone through something similar to what my Beneficiary and I are experiencing I would greatly appreciate any knowledge/insight/support. 

 

Much Gratitude!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Crazy Cat 41,886]

A DS-260 was inappropriate for a K-1.  Sounds like the consulate realized additional background checks were required.

[Layla01 1]

Crazy Cat - thank you for your response! 

 

Please allow me to correct: it was the DS-160 my beneficiary submitted and not the DS-260 (I went back and double checked our paperwork). 

 

Prior to submitting the 129F Petition, my beneficiary and I did a ton of endless research to make sure we completed everything correctly and thoroughly. We were under the impression the Immigration Officer is the one who approves the insurance of the visa; however, through our experience an approval from the officer is only a part of the final visa insurance. 

 

This is evident as at the end of our visa interview, the officer approved our petition but stated our file was tagged to go into 'Administrative Processing' and had no idea why or how long? After the visa was issued and an error was found, the same immigration officer had no idea what error was found and shared she was only directed to have my beneficiary complete the supplemental questions form. The officer was polite, even apologized and repeatedly told my beneficiary she had no issues with the interview and hopes my beneficiary and I will be together soon. 

 

Come August 28th, it will be three months since we submitted the supplemental questions and in Administrative Processing.

 

This has been so confusing and there is no information on who to contact except to wait. 

[Chancy 6,241]

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

 

11 hours ago, Layla01 said:

Come August 28th, it will be three months since we submitted the supplemental questions and in Administrative Processing.

 

Contact the consulate regularly to follow up.  If you do not get any response, request your US congressperson's or US senator's office to inquire on your behalf.

 

[Layla01 1]

Chancy - thank you so much for commenting!

 

I have read of people contacting their US congress person and/or Senator's Office for assistance...do you know anyone who has reached out for assistance in these two areas with success? 

 

My beneficiary and I were days away from purchasing his ticket to the US, however, due to several unfinished work orders and plans to travel back home to Afghanistan we stalled on the purchase. Good thing we did (sadly, of course) with the disappointment and confusion of being granted the visa and then having it suddenly taken away without any explanation. 

 

I have thought of hiring an immigration attorney, however, I'm not even sure how much an attorney can do since our application is in Administrative Processing. 

 

Thoughts anyone?? 

 

[SalishSea 17,836]

15 hours ago, Layla01 said:

Chancy - thank you so much for commenting!

 

I have read of people contacting their US congress person and/or Senator's Office for assistance...do you know anyone who has reached out for assistance in these two areas with success? 

 

My beneficiary and I were days away from purchasing his ticket to the US, however, due to several unfinished work orders and plans to travel back home to Afghanistan we stalled on the purchase. Good thing we did (sadly, of course) with the disappointment and confusion of being granted the visa and then having it suddenly taken away without any explanation. 

 

I have thought of hiring an immigration attorney, however, I'm not even sure how much an attorney can do since our application is in Administrative Processing. 

 

Thoughts anyone?? 

 

Immigration attorney cannot do anything at this point, as AP cannot be waived or expedited.   
 

Your petition was literally approved in one month?   Amazing, because average approval time is 11.5 months.   
 

My guess is that some error was made along the way,  and that they’ve now realized it.

 

It is very common for males from certain countries to get the DS-5535 for additional vetting.  
 

Like Lucky Cat said, you can request assistance from your US senator or congressperson.   They can make an inquiry on your behalf,  but if the delay is due to additional background checks, they will get the same info.   And just like attorneys, they can’t do anything to expedite that process.

 

good luck!

[Boiler 45,525]

Super quick time line and nothing that can be done at the moment, and yes the Congressperson can inquire but they will get back the same info that you have.

 

Writ of Mandamus is the only legal option but you are nowhere near that point.

[Layla01 1]

8 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

Immigration attorney cannot do anything at this point, as AP cannot be waived or expedited.   
 

Your petition was literally approved in one month?   Amazing, because average approval time is 11.5 months.   
 

My guess is that some error was made along the way,  and that they’ve now realized it.

 

It is very common for males from certain countries to get the DS-5535 for additional vetting.  
 

Like Lucky Cat said, you can request assistance from your US senator or congressperson.   They can make an inquiry on your behalf,  but if the delay is due to additional background checks, they will get the same info.   And just like attorneys, they can’t do anything to expedite that process.

 

good luck!

Thank you for your comment Jorgedig - much appreciate it!

 

Yes, we were amazed how quickly we were approved and received the visa! A day after the interview, my Beneficiary was asked to mail his passport for the visa sticker. About a week later, my Beneficiary received his passport with the US visa sticker and the paperwork to be given at port of entry. 

 

At the 2nd interview, the immigration officer didn't know why my Beneficiary's visa was revoked. However, she admitted to entering in the wrong passport number after my Beneficiary clarified his passport number started with an O (the letter) and not the number 0 (zero). Once the error was pointed out, the officer felt strongly the mistake may have been the reason why the visa was revoked. We emailed the same immigration officer this past Wednesday and received an automated email that she has since resigned. 

 

You may be right about males from certain countries needing additional vetting. Given the state of Afghanistan, the terrible earthquakes, bombings and floods, my Beneficiary has gone through so much emotionally (watching from afar as he's in Dubai) and now this (what feels like) an endless wait. 

 

I will do some searches on how to reach out to one's US senator and/or congressperson for help as I'm not too familiar with this approach. 

 

Again, thanks so much for your comment and YESSS I need and will take all the good luck dust!! THANK YOU!!

[Layla01 1]

8 hours ago, Boiler said:

Super quick time line and nothing that can be done at the moment, and yes the Congressperson can inquire but they will get back the same info that you have.

 

Writ of Mandamus is the only legal option but you are nowhere near that point.

Boiler, thank you for commenting - I appreciate your time in reading my time line/case - again, THANK YOU!

 

 

[empty101 0]

Can you please give us an update on what happened ? Did he get his visa ?

[Layla01 1]

Good day Empty101, 

 

Thank you so much for following up...

 

No update to share.  At the end of this month, 10/28, we will be 6 months in Administrative Processing. 

 

Ironically, it took less than 6 months, from the day my beneficiary and I submitted our K1 application (Dec 3, 2021) to when my beneficiary was issued his US Visa sticker (May, 17, 2022); and now stuck in Administrative Processing for 6 months. The wait and not knowing what's going on has been emotionally challenging... 

 

I will definitely update - thank you!

 

 

 

 

[empty101 0]

15 hours ago, Layla01 said:

Good day Empty101, 

 

Thank you so much for following up...

 

No update to share.  At the end of this month, 10/28, we will be 6 months in Administrative Processing. 

 

Ironically, it took less than 6 months, from the day my beneficiary and I submitted our K1 application (Dec 3, 2021) to when my beneficiary was issued his US Visa sticker (May, 17, 2022); and now stuck in Administrative Processing for 6 months. The wait and not knowing what's going on has been emotionally challenging... 

 

I will definitely update - thank you!

 

 

 

 

Hey, 

I feel you, it's hard to wait. But, hopefully he will get his visa soon. Keep us posted please.