PINNED THIS TOPIC PLEASE - ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESSING 221(G) EXPLAINED

[wantknow 11]

this topic was write by Fayyaz (Fez) Khan , i just want it to be PINNED , to help many member that keep asking for how long the 221g AP take ,

Hello Everyone,

I just finished my immigration process and I wanted to post this topic for people who have been placed in Administrative processing 221(g) and don't know what to expect. Back in 2012 when I was placed in Administrative Processing, I had no clue what to expect and found various posts with no clear guideline as to what should be done and what to expect. Whatever I post here is totally based on my experience and I am hoping it will help people that are going through the similar situation.

We got married in June 2011 and I had applied for CR1 visa in fall of 2011. It took about 8 month from the day we filed our case until the interview date which took place at the consulate in Montreal. I would say the procedure was really smooth and we got the interview date within the expected time frame.

My interview was very easy and lasted only 5 minutes. The officer barely asked any questions and did not ask for any proof what so ever. Once my interview concluded I was handed a welcome letter and the officer told me I should receive my visa within a few days.

I was so excited, booked my ticket, quit my job and started packing. I didn't hear anything from the consulate for a week and I started getting a bit worried. Then about 10 days later, I received a letter in mail that gave me the shock of my life. The letter stated that my visa is refused due to a clause called 221(g) because my case needed further administrative processing. Me and my wife started freaking out and didn't know what to do. We contacted our lawyer and he had no idea what AP was and started emailing the US consulate which did not help at all.

I started doing some research on it and didn't find any clear guideline. People had different opinion on this. Some people advised to involve congressman and others advised to wait. So here is my suggestion based on my experience. Even if one person benefits from this I'll be happy. I will use the abbreviation 'AP' for Administrative Processing which is also known as Administrative Review or 221(G).

1) If you're born in MENA country/Muslim country such as Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan or have a Muslim name such as Khan, Muhamad or have visit any of these countries previously or have parents who immigrated from there, chances are you will be placed in AP. The name does Not have to be a common muslim name. Also if you're from India and your last name is Singh, Patel or any other common name you may also be place in AP. Women usually don't go through AP as much as men do.

2) You may be approved at the interview initially and the officer might hand you a welcome letter stating that your visa is approved you'll be receiving it soon but you may still be placed in AP.

3) Once in AP, the consulate will NOT give any details or reasoning as to why you were placed in AP and how long it may take (Unless its document related). You can email them 10 million times and will receive the same response. "Your case is currently undergoing mandatory AP, we will let you know once the process is completed".

4) You can involve a congressman, Senator, President or a Prime minister. It will NOT speed up the process or help you in any way. Trust me on this one. We involved a Congressman because people posted online that it speeds up the process but it doesn't help much. The ONLY way it helps is that instead of waiting 2-3 weeks to get a response from the Consulate, you only have to wait one week because they're obligated to respond to congressman within that time frame. The response would still be the same.

5) Please DO NOT contact the consulate for inquiry for at least 2 months from the date you're placed in AP. It does frustrate them.

6) If you're a Canadian Citizen i.e, have a Canadian Passport, AP will take 12 months. Yes there are cases that are resolved sooner but 12 months is the maximum time consulate can take and usually it does take that long. So be prepared. My interview was on September 17, 2012 and my AP was completed on September 17, 2013. They cannot take longer than 1 year for Canadian citizens. If you have a Pakistani Passport, AP could take any where form 2 to 5 years, so be prepared to wait.

7) Now lets get to what really goes on in AP. Well, it could be anything we don't know. But from what my lawyer told me, they run security checks and various other checks on you. My lawyer told me they run checks from up to nine different agencies and it takes time to get the checks completed.

8) Calling DOS won't help much either. I used to call them once a week but they didn't help. They will tell you the same thing as consulate so don't waste your time calling them.

9) Once AP is completed, you will either receive an email or a letter in mail stating that your visa is ready for further processing. They might request some updated documents such as Medical and Police report. Depending on what got expired.

10) DOS will not update their system until the visa is issued so don't freak out if they still say you're case is still in AP.

12) Once you submit your paperwork, you can submit an online inquiry to the consulate to make sure they received it. Usually it takes about 20 days for an officer to have your documents in hand for processing. Then hopefully if everything goes well, you should receive your visa package within 45 days of submitting everything. You can check your visa status on CAEC website to see whether its issued or not.

Hope this post helps. People might have different experiences but whatever I posted is totally based on my experience.

Let me know if you have any questions with regards to this and I will try to answer to the best of my ability. Thank you and I hope and Pray that you can be with your spouse soon

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Fayyaz (Fez) Khan.

[Jawaree 717]

Its good info but those are the answers given by a combination of posters when a new poster ask.

MENA countries & certain name is known here at times to keep ppl in AP up to even 2 yrs..No

one can speed the process neither congressperson etc. Its in the threads that those questions are asked,

even with pinned info ppl still ask, since its a forum to help that's okay...however your info have again

shown that AP for some can be long

[Cathi 5,748]

this doesn't need to be pinned.Most everyone from Morocco gets AP, all they need to do is look is the MENA forum to see many threads about this. And the length of AP varies greatly for each case

Edited January 18, 2016 by mimolicious

[wantknow 11]

this doesn't need to be pinned.Most everyone from Morocco gets AP, all they need to do is look is the MENA forum to see many threads about this. And the length of AP varies greatly for each case

to let you know that someone from canada who post this topic , please read what he say, and HE NOT FROM MOROCCO , so what you say its wrong .. and also not everybody from morocco got AP ...

[Teekay 0]

ok this gave me a minor heart attack because i hold a pakistani passport and as you've stated it could take 2-5years so seems like Im screwed because I recently had my interview and now im in AP -fingers crossed !

[Love_Bug 95]

I know this thread has not been active for awhile but my fiance had his interview this morning and he was given 2 papers. 1 was 221g but there was nothing on it for us to provide. And the 2nd was returned to uscis....so are we denied or are we in ap?? Nothing was mentioned about denial in interview. Only needs some information. We front loaded our file like crazy. If they only used there eyes to see...

[Jawaree 717]

I know this thread has not been active for awhile but my fiance had his interview this morning and he was given 2 papers. 1 was 221g but there was nothing on it for us to provide. And the 2nd was returned to uscis....so are we denied or are we in ap?? Nothing was mentioned about denial in interview. Only needs some information. We front loaded our file like crazy. If they only used there eyes to see...

Maybe a good idea to start your own post....no 2 cases are identical

the 2nd what was returned ????

If nothing is ticked on 221G then is there a notation ? if not try emailing the

consulate to see if something was suppose to be ticked usually is. Yes it could be in AP