Administrative Processing - Is there anything we can do

[JayFromTexas 69]

My Russian wife had her interview on July 19th in Bangkok Thailand. At first, they asked us to provide marriage certificates from all our previous marriages. We had never seen a request to send marriage certificates from previous marriages. We uploaded our certified divorce decrees as requested. They wanted to cancel her interview and have us reschedule the interview in the future, which would mean we would have to go back home to Russia and America and spend the $$ to come back to Bangkok at a future date.

 

We were devastated. We were thorough. We were careful. We worked with a very experienced advisor. We were very confident that we had done everything required and that we had uploaded all required docs. Our advisor helps 75 cases per year and she hadn't seen a situation where they wanted the marriage certs, in addition to divorce documents.

 

My wife pleaded with the COs and they eventually relented. They allow my wife and stepdaughter to sit for the interview. The usual questions were asked. There was only one missing piece which was my wife's old passport which had her active B1 visa in it. She had a new passport with her new name, but she kept her old passport because of the tourist visa. Unfortunately, she didn't bring it to the interview with her.

 

They told her they needed the passport with the tourist visa so it could be cancelled which would allow them to issue her a CR1 visa.

 

They wouldn't let us go to our Airbnb and get her passport and bring it back the same day. They would only let us mail it to them, which we did that day.

 

So, the result of the interview, as we understood it was she and her daughter would get their passports back in 7-10 days with their CR1/CR2 visas.

 

Now it's August 7th and we haven't heard anything. We contacted them to confirm they received the passport we mailed to them and their form letter kinda said they received it, but it is written with some ambiguity.

 

We asked about the status of their cases a week ago and got a form email back that our case is in Administrative Processing and they'll let us know when they either issue the visa or need anything else from us.

 

The problem is, we have no clue whether it will be 1 week, 1 month or 3 months. How do we deal with such uncertainty. We're in a timezone 12 hours away from my home in Texas which makes it very difficult to work remotely. Today is the first day of school in Texas so we've missed that. It's all very depressing.

 

We contacted our US Senator and they were zero help. They just told us what we already know.

 

Is there anything we can do? Does a consulate ever give an indication as to how long the wait is going to be? We don't know if the wait is due to an issue with our case or due to a backlog. As I mentioned the CO said they would send their passports in 7-10 days and that timeframe has come and past. 

 

What can we do?

 

Thanks.

 

[Boiler 45,449]

There are all sorts of variants of AP, Russia would suggest one of the longer types whilst they do background checks. There is no way of knowing.

 

The long term answer to what can we do would be to file a Writ of Mandamus, but you are a way off before that would make sense.

[belinda63 3,038]

Honestly it could be days, weeks, months, years. You can ask for the passports to be returned while she is in administrative processing.

[mam521 2,058]

Unfortunately, this is why people are told not to make any plans until their passport is returned and in hand.  There's no telling how long it will take for AP to be completed.  The only real course of action is to return to your respective homes and resume life until everything is finalized. 

 

Believe me, I understand the frustration and I find it absurd the kids go back to school so freaking early in TX!  Mine get their schedules tonight and start next week.  

[Moda25 48]

Unfortunately, no one can tell you how long it will take. Last November, my husband and I were in the same situation with the London embassy. They asked for the original divorce certificate from my previous marriage and I mailed it the same day. I even contacted my congressman after waiting for 3 months. It took 6 months before the visa was issued. I went through hell while waiting. He had to redo his medical exam. Good luck to you and your wife. 

[appleblossom 2,446]

13 hours ago, JayFromTexas said:

We worked with a very experienced advisor. We were very confident that we had done everything required and that we had uploaded all required docs. Our advisor helps 75 cases per year and she hadn't seen a situation where they wanted the marriage certs, in addition to divorce documents.

 

 

Personally I'd be taking this up with your advisor. "If you are or have been married, you must obtain original marriage certificate/s or certified copies of EVERY marriage".

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/step-5-collect-financial-evidence-and-other-supporting-documents/step-7-collect-civil-documents.html

Edited August 7 by appleblossom

[SalishSea 17,803]

3 hours ago, appleblossom said:

 

Personally I'd be taking this up with your advisor. "If you are or have been married, you must obtain original marriage certificate/s or certified copies of EVERY marriage".

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/step-5-collect-financial-evidence-and-other-supporting-documents/step-7-collect-civil-documents.html

And always, always “become an A student” of the process.   You cannot pay someone enough to care about it as much as you do.

Edited August 7 by SalishSea

[powerpuff 6,685]

*** Thread moved from Process & Procedures to Progress Reports ***

[Cathi 5,746]

The simple answer is no. And no one can tell you how long AP will last.

[Lil bear 4,181]

You paid money for poor service. Show your “advisor” this  and  firmly request a refund of service fees paid to them.
 

 From the State website 

 

Edited August 8 by Lil bear

[TiffAndMike 54]

On 8/7/2024 at 2:02 AM, JayFromTexas said:

My Russian wife had her interview on July 19th in Bangkok Thailand. At first, they asked us to provide marriage certificates from all our previous marriages. We had never seen a request to send marriage certificates from previous marriages. We uploaded our certified divorce decrees as requested. They wanted to cancel her interview and have us reschedule the interview in the future, which would mean we would have to go back home to Russia and America and spend the $$ to come back to Bangkok at a future date.

 

We were devastated. We were thorough. We were careful. We worked with a very experienced advisor. We were very confident that we had done everything required and that we had uploaded all required docs. Our advisor helps 75 cases per year and she hadn't seen a situation where they wanted the marriage certs, in addition to divorce documents.

 

My wife pleaded with the COs and they eventually relented. They allow my wife and stepdaughter to sit for the interview. The usual questions were asked. There was only one missing piece which was my wife's old passport which had her active B1 visa in it. She had a new passport with her new name, but she kept her old passport because of the tourist visa. Unfortunately, she didn't bring it to the interview with her.

 

They told her they needed the passport with the tourist visa so it could be cancelled which would allow them to issue her a CR1 visa.

 

They wouldn't let us go to our Airbnb and get her passport and bring it back the same day. They would only let us mail it to them, which we did that day.

 

So, the result of the interview, as we understood it was she and her daughter would get their passports back in 7-10 days with their CR1/CR2 visas.

 

Now it's August 7th and we haven't heard anything. We contacted them to confirm they received the passport we mailed to them and their form letter kinda said they received it, but it is written with some ambiguity.

 

We asked about the status of their cases a week ago and got a form email back that our case is in Administrative Processing and they'll let us know when they either issue the visa or need anything else from us.

 

The problem is, we have no clue whether it will be 1 week, 1 month or 3 months. How do we deal with such uncertainty. We're in a timezone 12 hours away from my home in Texas which makes it very difficult to work remotely. Today is the first day of school in Texas so we've missed that. It's all very depressing.

 

We contacted our US Senator and they were zero help. They just told us what we already know.

 

Is there anything we can do? Does a consulate ever give an indication as to how long the wait is going to be? We don't know if the wait is due to an issue with our case or due to a backlog. As I mentioned the CO said they would send their passports in 7-10 days and that timeframe has come and past. 

 

What can we do?

 

Thanks.

 

Do they want the marriage certificates from you the petitioner or just your wife?

[JayFromTexas 69]

6 hours ago, TiffAndMike said:

Do they want the marriage certificates from you the petitioner or just your wife?

Both

[JayFromTexas 69]

I'm happy to report that our wait is over. Both cases were changed to "Issued" today.

[n.samuraibear 20]

1 hour ago, JayFromTexas said:

I'm happy to report that our wait is over. Both cases were changed to "Issued" today.

Congratulations. Did you have to submit the additional certificates?

[JayFromTexas 69]

No.

I contend that asking for marriage certificates from our previous marriages is was not a normal thing. Yes, you can go to State.gov and it clearly shows it NOW, but it wasn't listed in the items required when I filed the I-130 (without help from an advisor and yes, I WAS a student of the process) and it wasn't in the list required at NVC. Divorce certificates were and we provided those.

 

My advisor says in the hundreds of cases she's handled they haven't been on the list of required documents and that this is a recent change. I don't know if that is the case or not, but that is what we told the consulate when they told us to submit the marriage certs. They agreed to process our case without them.

 

The other part of this to understand is the marriage certificates were ONLY requested for the CR2 case and were not required for the CR1 case. They told my wife that they could go ahead and interview her and then interview her daughter at a later time, once they had the marriage certificates. She said no and that they should accept both cases as submitted because we submitted everything they asked for, prior to showing up for the interview. They relented.

 

My wife is very persuasive. 🥲

Edited August 9 by JayFromTexas