Things You Wish You Knew During 221g?

[rikko 84]

Hi, I wanted to start a thread where people can share things they wish they knew about 221g. 

Some things I've heard/learned:
1. Writ of Mandamus is no longer advised as of now, because the judge is throwing out cases, even in cases of 16 months of 221g.

2. If I had known my case would be at risk of a 8+ month 221g, I would've done CR-1 so I could legally be married to my spouse, and his company/work could also get me a way to stay with him legally. K-1 was not the right choice for me. I don't even think it is faster than CR-1 anymore. I believe CR-1 cases are also more likely to be accepted for transfers, which are in high demand for Russians. (It's hard for them to get to Warsaw, their default embassy).

Some things I would like to know:
1. Is the Ombudsman an entity that I could contact regarding 221g? I haven't seen anything about it so far.
2. There was a thread here saying their 221g case expired. Should I be proactively emailing the embassy to prevent expiration? Is it possible my case just expires anyways?
3. Does the visa, when approved, need to be picked up in person, or can I mail it? 
4. When the visa is approved, can I have it sent to another embassy to be picked up?

[Rocio0010 5,579]

12 minutes ago, rikko said:

. Writ of Mandamus is no longer advised as of now, because the judge is throwing out cases, even in cases of 16 months of 221g.

Source?

 

13 minutes ago, rikko said:

and his company/work could also get me a way to stay with him legally.

Are you talking about staying in the US? If so, his company can't do anything to help you stay...

 

13 minutes ago, rikko said:

I don't even think it is faster than CR-1 anymore.

True

 

14 minutes ago, rikko said:

1. Is the Ombudsman an entity that I could contact regarding 221g? I haven't seen anything about it so far.

What makes you think that a mandamus lawsuit will not work, but the Ombudsman will?

[rikko 84]

 

[Crazy Cat 41,814]

1 hour ago, rikko said:

1. Is the Ombudsman an entity that I could contact regarding 221g? I haven't seen anything about it so far.

USCIS Ombudsman is not relevant to visa cases. Ombudsman Office handles USCIS issues.

Edited May 6 by Crazy Cat

[rikko 84]

Another thing I wish I knew is to bring research, work, and educational materials if you are at risk of 221g. 

The US Embassy in Jerusalem suggests this (Israelis, despite being an ally of the US, are also subject to extra 221g review.

https://il.usembassy.gov/visas/administrative-processing/

 

Quote

Visa applications for individuals who work or study in scientific and technical fields may be subject to additional processing.

Applicants who present detailed information at the time of their interview help U.S. government officials process their cases more expeditiously and efficiently.  We suggest applicants prepare the following detailed information (in English) for the interview:

1. Applicant: Name and passport number 
2. Work Experience: Detailed description of current and past work; Resume/Curriculum Vitae: A detailed resume/CV that includes:
   -Present and previous work, including dates.
   -Educational background, including institution, dates, fields of study, degree, research topic and funding  sources.
   -List of publications including titles, topics, and dates.
   – Research expertise, military service, computer training or other specialized training.
3. Educational/Research Background: Name of institution(s), dates of attendance, field(s) of study, degree(s) obtained, and research topics;
4. Publication List (as applicable): Titles, topics, dates of publication, and brief abstracts or summaries;
5. Travel: Countries visited in the past 5 years – list the year and country.
6. Trip itinerary: Date(s), location, and purpose of the visit and any relevant addresses, and contact information (as applicable) of companies, conferences, and/or institutions.

 

I also wish I was alerted to the fact that Russians are subject to extra 221g:
https://pennstatelaw.psu.edu/sites/default/files/documents/pdfs/Immigrants/Administrative-Processing-FAQ.pdf

Quote

Although TAL may be applied to applicants from any country, students and scholars from the DOS state sponsors of terrorism list (Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria) and the five nonproliferation export control countries (China, India, Israel, Pakistan and Russia) are the groups most impacted by TAL-related issues and delays.