biggish data

Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)

Last week my fiancee had her interview and was given a 221g requesting additional photos of me with her family. We submitted them the following day. This morning, She called me, informing me that the embassy called her to inform that the CO has reviewed the additional evidence, and would like to see/talk to us both together.
Not possible, as we have both since returned home.

Any opinions or advice would be appreciated

Go back. Planes and trains go both ways

Edited by Gary and Alla, 02 May 2012 - 08:40 PM.

Gary and Alla

Male

Ukraine

2012-05-02 20:40:00

Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)

We were in Moscow all of last week for her physical exam, and interview. There is no way either of us can afford to travel back there, especially on such short notice. I live on the west coast, she in Siberia. We both work full time, and couldn't get the vacation time needed either. Just not possible. Moscow is a very expensive city to visit. We had been preparing for the interview all winter.

They have my contact information...all the CO has to do is call, or write.

If they want you back and you do not go, your visa will be denied and your petion will be returned to USCIS and you will have to file a new one.

They say. You do.

Gary and Alla

Male

Ukraine

2012-05-02 20:42:00

Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)

Not possible, both financially tapped after week stay in Moscow. No vacation time available for either of us, and I could never get an entry visa quick enough. The embassy only asked if it was possible for us to meet with the CO, they didn't demand it. They know a helluva lot of logisitcs are involved regarding travel to Moscow from the west coast, and siberia.

Thanks for your opinions and advice!

Good luck.

Gary and Alla

Male

Ukraine

2012-05-02 21:51:00

Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)

We can't think of anything, other than the fact that my fiancee has a daughter attending school over here on a student visa. All legit! I figured maybe they are just using the request for additional photos of me with her family to buy time going over my I-134. At the interview, they said all the information and documents were good...just want more photos (not of me and her...but of me and her family!) Well, they got what we could manage to print out at the hotel, the following day.
Approx 15 more.

And AFTER getting those they asked for you to come, right?

There is something else. Many people get through Moscow, most, showing a few photos and they flip through the I-134 evidence. They need about 3 minutes to study it, maybe 7 minutes if it is real complicated. Usually they do no teven study it. They usually do not care if the spouse/fiancee even has a family. Moscow is generally an easy consulate. They will rarely ask for additional evidence of relationship, but they have, that in itself is not so unusual. Specifically asking for photos of you with the family is extremely rare. Usually they make a decision right away when it is presented. You can go to the consulate reviews for Moscow and read them.

I cannot tell you what it is, you may not even be able to guess. We had one member whose visa was delayed for months, then denied and when they reapplied they later found out that the ex-wife of the Russian beneficiary was applying for a K-1 visa at the same time! Neither of them knew it. Weird stuff happens. The daughter attending school here is a potential problem. What is the timeline of that? When did her daughter come here for school? When did your fiancee meet you? When did you file the petition?

The advice to call the consulate yourself is very good.

As mentioned, consulates cannot order you to do anything. It is kind of like when your mother tells you..."It would be nice if you could clean your room today" It means "CLEAN YOUR ROOM TODAY" If they want you there, and you do not come, you do not get the visa. And, I assure you, it will look like it is your fault.

Gary and Alla

Male

Ukraine

2012-05-04 07:12:00

Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)

Regarding her daughter, she's a good kid...and believe me, if I ever suspected any shenanigans, I would personally bounce her home so fast, her feet wouldn't touch the ground!

I shall try to remain focused on the topic at hand

Gary and Alla

Male

Ukraine

2012-05-04 07:15:00

K1 Temporary refused due to missing documents

my fiancé was interviewed on may 12 at the us embassy in riyadh saudi arabia, and he was given a white sheet indicating that he was refused under section 221(g) due to missing documents, one of which is the egyptian police clearance for 2012 even though he left egypt back in 2010, but this is easy to obtain as he is originally egyptian and never had charges and the con officer gave him a sheet explaining exactly what they need,, now to the SECOND PART which is totally disappointing is that they refused my affidavit of support and required a co-sponsor even though my income was more than sufficient and when i required more details on why exactly was it refused and why they asked for a co-sponsor they replied that they need more evidence on how i earned my income as i only made some with w2s and the rest of income was cash, i contacted my employer as i work as a cashier and hostess in a restaurant in manhattan, and he said i will provide you with a proof of employment letter signed by me and stamped by the restaurant company name, is this enough for the embassy con to believe that i really been working and earning money? any one been through similar situation where they had to prove their income at the embassy? i can't believe that my 1040 form isn't good enough for them. any help will be appreciated.

Everyone has to prove their income at the consulate.

In addition to the 1040 form you need to provide your w-2s and/or 1099 and/or Schedule C to show the source of the income. PLUS all other attachements and schedules to your tax return. You cannot just "have income" without showing a source. Even if it is cash income from your own business, you need a schedule C for that. If you are going to claim the cash you make at your job, your employer needs to report it on the w-2 and you need to pay withholding tax on it or it does not exist. I have never heard of anyone filing a schedule C for "tips". You are not self employed. IF your employer has been keeping track of your cash income then it should be on your w-2s which you should have attached and then you would have no problem. On the other hand if your employer now writes you a letter saying you really do have $XX,XXX dollars in tips then he and you have both violated tax law. I am surprised he would put that in writing.

An alternative to this is the tax transcript, available free, which shows all your income as claimed to the IRS. If that exceeds the poverty guidelines you are good to go. If not, then you have fallen into a trap for which your reward is reduced taxes.

At any rate...you need to show the amount and source of your income, a 1040 itself does not do that, never did.

Gary and Alla

Male

Ukraine

2012-05-17 06:28:00

Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)

K1 Temporary refused due to missing documents

thank you for welcoming me, and thank for your reply.

simply my total income exceeds the poverty guideline and the embassy officer clearly stated that they are objecting because i was working at a restaurant and earning cash and that i was not getting paid by checks or anything, the only w2s i have is from another employer that i worked at for only one month and when i found this restaurant job where i can make more money i simply quit and accepted the off the book job. but at the end of the year i filed my taxes based on the restaurant job and i owed money to the IRS and i am paying them, the statement that i was talking about from my employer is a proof of employment letter from the owner of the restaurant that i am working at, and it will be signed by him and stamped by the restaurant company name, it will be official, and i wanted to know if it will work or not.

Good luck with that, this kind of answers some of my questions. Taking a job with unverifiable income is not a good idea in this process.

In writing such a letter your employer makes himself liable for, at minimum, 6.35% of every dollar you earned in payroll tax...along with you being liable for the same amount...plus penalties and taxes PLUS exposes himself to have his doors chained shut by the IRS until they figure out how many other people he has been cheating for. There is no law against employees receiving cash income, either as tips or as regular payment, but it MUST be reported to the IRS and they are supposed to withold payroll tax. While it is widely known that tips are often forgotten about...oops...it is also exceedingly rare for someone to confess to tax fraud in writing.

The decision to accept such evidence is entirely the consulates decision, they do not "have to". If your cannot show income exceeding the poverty guidelines with MORE THAN ONE source of evidence, I suggest you get a co-sponsor.

In other words, I would not be comfortable with the letter as the ONLY proof that you make that amount of money.

Gary and Alla

Male

Ukraine

2012-05-17 06:37:00

Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)

221(g) Received at interview

Well my fiancee had her interview and received a 221g. Apparently, they want evidence of my ex-wife's address with phone number if available. They also want me to submit a letter indicating all addresses I've lived since 2007. I already did this on my I-129f petition. Would that not be sufficient? They also want me to provide my current mortgage or lease.

So, I sent the embassy in Laos an email asking if the addresses I put on the I-129f petition would be sufficient. Does anyone know what kind of evidence I need to give them regarding my ex-wife's address? I was never told to submit something like this before her interview. She did answer all of the CO's questions. So, it looks like I need to submit these items and then she will be issued the visa.

Please help me with this and let me know what evidence I need to submit. I appreciate in advance all of your help.

Are you tyring to save paper in this process? Don't. Send what they ask for and nothing less. You need to give them what they ask for or they deny the visa. They can ask for anything they want on any particular case.

You need to submit these items and then they will DECIDE if they will issue the visa. Best evidence of your ex-wifes address would be a copy of an offiical document (drivers license) or some sort of mail sent to her (recently) Copy of a utility bill etc.

Gary and Alla

Male

Ukraine

2012-05-10 07:49:00

Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)

Awaiting Administration Processing

Hello JV members..I would like to know how would i know about my status because anytime i tried to check on my case status,It doesn't show up..I have been to the interview for K1 visa since 6th December,2011 and i was asked to get tax transcript.I got it from my fiancee and when i sent it to the Embassy,i was asked to go back with it as they(Embassy) will call me at anytime.They indicated to my Form 221g that,My case is Awaiting Result of Administrative Processing.And The CO told me that,Its Open Date and Will Call at Any of Tuesday,Wednesday or Thursday.Since my Interview,It has been over 4months now without hearing from the Embassy.My priority date aren't going to expire? I am really worried and don't know what to do anymore.Any advice will highly be appreciated.
Thanks.Makafui

Administrative processing can take a long time and there is nothing for you to do but wait to hear from them. If they need something they will let you know. They are probably waiting for something from some other government agency (not US government agency) and in some countries that can take a long time.

Gary and Alla

Male

Ukraine

2012-04-16 05:20:00

Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)

very confused please help....

Dear Consulate,

I am ****** (Beneficiary of a K1-fiance visa),date of birth *********),Case no : (**********).Name of the petitioner is *******,date of birth : (*******).Our case is under administrative process.
I submitted the requested documents along with my passport on February 23rd,2012.My Authorization to stay in the United Kingdom expiring on April 23rd,2012.I was wondering if I would be able to get my passport back so I can make a timely departure from the Country.I would really appreciate if you could look into my case and come to a final decision.

that's what i wrote them and they replied that my fiance will get his visa in 5-7 business days.

Did they say VISA or did they say PASSPORT? You have asked for the PASSPORT back due to the need to travel, that usually means they will send the passport minus the visa. When AP is completed they will contact him and ask him to return the passport to have the visa put in it. They will not waive or expedite AP because your fiance needs to leave the country.

You also have made the assumption that they ONLY need what they asked you for. Not likely. They are probably waiting on other information from other countries to complete the AP.

Gary and Alla

Male

Ukraine

2012-03-31 16:00:00

Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)

very confused please help....

sorry here is the email:
Embassy records show that your fiancé visa application is now in the final stages of processing. You should anticipate receiving your passport within the next 5 – 7 workdays.

I called NVC after i received this email they told that is still in process and its in a pretty good shape (whatever that means)
I am just confused.i need need to know what the chance of getting visa?

I can't say, they are being purposely vague. I am no better with vague answers than you. I do KNOW they will not expedite or waive the AP process because he needs to leave the country. If they have already received everything they need maybe it is just a review and approval that is needed. And the passport will arrive with the visa. If not, they will return the passport and contact him to bring it back when they are ready to put the visa in it.

Gary and Alla

Male

Ukraine

2012-03-31 22:28:00

Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)

Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)

You are in Administrative Processing, the details of which are classified.

This is more or less true. There is quite likely some issue neither you, your fiancee or attorney are aware of. This is not normal and does not "just happen" We saw a similar case here recently in Russia and again there was no explanation anyone could fathom. That petition was eventually denied and the couple re-applied got approved and got a visa. At that time they asked the consulate "What the hell happened" and it turns out that the ex wife of the foreign fiancee is this case was applying also for a K-1 at exactly the same time! Neither of them knew there ex's were doing this and it seemed overly suspicious to the consulate. Who could know? "there are more things in heaven and earth..."

Actually you should be able to talk to an American there by calling the visa section direct. However if it is in AP they will not give you details of it and there is no one that can intercede. They will eventually come to a conclusion and then you can proceed.

Unfortunately, until then, there is nothing much to do but wait patiently

Gary and Alla

Male

Ukraine

2012-02-01 21:05:00

Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)

Thank you for the reply. Yes, I get the point about the situation you used for illustration. That does not change the fact that the truth and clear facts could have been cleared up in the time frame of the original petition had anyone involved at the Consulate level handled the matter with common sense and contacted or interviewed the two people affected instead of following some false "rabbit trail" that messed everything up needlessly. That possibility is the great fear in my situation at the present time. Unfounded fantasies that the Consulate Officer does not take the time or proper clear cut methods to resolve due to "protocol", apathy, or personal prejudice.

And to that we can only say "it is what it is"

In the other case, after a lengthy delay in AP the case was denied and sent back to USCIS. I advised the petitioner NOT to appeal but to withdraw that petition and start a new one. She did and it was approved and they had a new visa in less time than the AP!

They have no way of knowing a rabbit trail is false until they follow it. In this other case, they never did sort it out to their satisfaction and the petitions (I presume both petitions) were denied and sent back.

FWIW your greatest fear, even if it happens, will be overcome eventually.

Gary and Alla

Male

Ukraine

2012-02-01 22:31:00

Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)

Another possibility os to find out who the Inspector Genral is for the consulate and get him involved. IGs usually get results, far more than Congress people who really have no pull over Administrative Departments like DOS. The IG can only take action IF there is some incompetence or violation of law, but an IGs inquiry is usually enough to move your case to the head of the line, if nothing else.

Google "Inspectors General" and see if you can find the one that handles the Kiev consulate. I do not have a number or link for you, but with a little searching I think you will find it. FWIW people inside VSC tell me that when an IG calls they snap to and get them an answer ASAP. I would imagine the same applies to consulates.

Gary and Alla

Male

Ukraine

2012-02-01 22:36:00

Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)

Numerous emails have been sent by myself along with phone calls. Several emails from my attorney have been sent and phone calls made. My Congressional office made official inquiry through the special email system between The Department of State and individual Congressmen. The answers are all terse, blunt, uninformative and impersonal to me. The Congressman got a much better response with more courtesy, offering "any further assistance he needed". Of course what the Congressman wanted was information and answers, but they did not give those even though they offer to "be of assistance further".

The "High Horse" here is the system that implements this protocol all too easily and each Consul Officer is cautioned in the guidelines given to them on how to conduct the investigations and interviews. The Official Guidelines state "221g is to be invoked with great caution and to be used only sparingly". It's an abuse of power and not of any "vetting" benefit in many cases.

I don't think you understand the tone of my original posting. It is like knowing you made a 90 or 100 grade on an exam. Your professor will not tell you if you passed or failed, much less when they will share the information. It is subjective discrimination power in the hands of people who may not be mature enough or trained enough to handle it. I was a banker for 30 years in commercial lending. I saw it all the time with people who came into authority and power without the maturity or knowledge to use is properly or as was intended.

If they are not following DOS guidelines the person to get involved in this is the Inspector General for that office. They swing a big stick. You will not get any direct answer through him either, be assured THAT is not going to happen. But he can get them to sh*t or get off the pot.

Gary and Alla

Male

Ukraine

2012-02-01 22:39:00

Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)

Well the fact that they kept her international passport is at least a good sign. Typically when they keep the passport then the application will eventually result in a visa being issued.

That is not necessarily true. If they expect a long delay or run into a long delay they usually return the passport, if they have not, there is a reason for it.

Many timein AP case the passports get returned without the visa

Gary and Alla

Male

Ukraine

2012-02-02 06:49:00

Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)

Hello spectec,

I would not worry about your situation until something bad happens. Kyiv has a good reputation, but of course in my situation the good reputation counted for nothing. I felt we were a "shoo in" approval from what I read, the petition quality, content, organization, Marina's preparation and the input of our attorneys.

Personally I think my fiance drew an officer that for whatever reasons just had their mind made up before the interview and has now dug in their heels so that they will not back off protocol and concluding the matter more quickly. Maybe the officer overreacted to Marina negatively (but Marina did not think so), misjudged, misunderstood, underanalyzed or over analyzed the Visa Petition. We will never know but we get the consequences of it all the same.

I considered going to Ukraine for the interview, but we have friends who have gone through the K1 before and they did not think it necessary. Additionally they all had less of a "track record" of a relationship in terms of time and visits. They were all issued Visas without any problems, so that is what we expected. It is expensive to travel there and we figured on saving the money for a return visit to bring her daughter back in 2012. Everything is up in the air now. So if the question is about the relationship being genuine, all I can say they must be blind or cannot read and understand very thorough documentation and proof. When the lady on the phone call to Marina tried to rattle her like a police interrogation, she never flinched, did not get excited and she was consistent with her answers. She had nothing to hide and nothing to speak but the complete truth. We had gone over details from interviews many many times before the actual interview in November. The phone call did end with the woman at the other end being courteous and more friendly than in the beginning and the interview, but no doubt she was only following orders given to her by the Consul Officer with the file.

Marina has a Ukraine International Passport newly issued. She had all the clearances from the Police. She was previously married and all documents relating to it and the divorce were certified, stamped and presented in the package. Most Ukraine documents were translated and certified as to the translation as well even if not required to do so. They kept her Ukraine International Passport and with the way the interview concluded, the language at the end from the officer and the notation of information taken from her at the department for issuing the Visa, we thought all was well and we expected to receive the Visa within days.

Goes to show "don't ever count your chickens before the eggs hatch" even though they are in an incubator with a high hatch rate.

One way or another, one year or the next, I will bring Marina and her daughter here to be my wife and stepdaughter. These people at the Consulate may make my life miserable and difficult for the time being, but they will not ruin my life when it is ready to begin.

Some few points. They DID decide before the interview, they always do. The interviews last 1-3 minutes usually so they can be nothing more than confirming their decision. In our interview they merely called us up and told us she was approved, no questions at all. You think they had made up their mind? Of course. I also do not think it has anything to do with your case but if you are going to make multiple visits, make one of them for the interview. It is good moral support if nothing else and that is no small thing

I give you 10 to 1 you have no idea what is causing this and neither does the CO she saw and you couldgo through everything you have 1000 times and you will not find because it is not there. Could be a name hit on a background check they have to clear up. I do not beleive this is random or without reason. It may turn out to be without a valid reason or a mistake or a mix up of names, but it is not random.

Your last parpagrapgh is the most important. When they get here, and they will, NEVER forget what you two went through to be together and don't let all the trivial challenges of life interfere with your life together.

Gary and Alla

Male

Ukraine

2012-02-02 06:59:00

Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)

Dude, one suggestion: Wait until she's INSIDE the U.S. before blowing up at or in regard to anybody. Plenty of time thereafter to do what you need to do, si man.

Good advice TBone, and Tbone is the expert on getting hosed! A dubious honor, si man!

Congratulations on getting the visa

The person to talk to eventually, is the Inspector General for that part of the government. They handle investigations of incompetence or law violations. It sounds as though there may have been at least some incompetence (it is a government agency) Not sure if it rises to some level to do something about. But that would be the way to go. If nothing else an IG inquiry gets them all riled up and they may make some internal changes for everyone's benefit.

I would gather all your thoughts, document everything, put it writing and put it away. Take care of your business with your soon to be wife, get her the things she needs here, get her green card and then go after this. They aren't going anywhere

Gary and Alla

Male

Ukraine

2012-03-20 18:45:00

Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)

And I think I have mentioned before the Kiev consulate has a high degree of satisfaction among people that used it, for the most part. Your case is extremely unusual for that consulate and my considerable dealings with them have been very pleasant

Not making excuses for them because I do not know why this happened, but it happened for a reason. In addition they may have made some errors which one could call imcompetence or simply human error, it happens.

Good news for you and yours. I hope your life is happy together and please, never forget what you did to be together.

Gary and Alla

Male

Ukraine

2012-03-20 18:52:00

Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)

I know this as been the asked time and time again,but I would sure like to know why it's so hard to process a little paperwork.I know that the goverment wanted to check you out they can do it in a few moments.Why don't they apply this to this process there will be allot more happy folks.Now for the question do these people and any numbers to meet or deadline they have to keep?
What happen to high tech and trying to help your fellow man.

As has been explained to you before, it is not hard. They do it in 20 minutes or so. There are a LOT of petitions and other work ahead of yours. A LOT. They "check you out" in less than one minute, unless they run into possible matches on "bad guy" lists (for lack of better term)

They use hi-tech automated and computerized records systems and have everything they need in seconds.

As to your other question. Yes and no. Bear in mind that two adjudicators visit this house every week at least. I am not guessing, they are personal friends of Alla. They have expected production "quotas" BUT they are required to process each completely, they DO NOT approve them in order to get a cetain number done, no. 20-24 per 10 hour day is about normal, could be more, could be less. Unless it is consistently less than the goal there are no consequences.

they get holidays, vacations, sick days etc just like other humans.

Edited by Gary and Alla, 20 December 2011 - 09:53 PM.

Gary and Alla

Male

Ukraine

2011-12-20 21:53:00

Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)

No sick days allow until they are finish.You sure are on top of all topics here and very helpful and I sorry for the same question and thanks for keeping track.Happy Holidays.

Offically they get a day off for Christmas and New Years. That is it. They work 4 day weeks, 10 hours per day. Since Christmas and New Years are on Sunday, the holiday will be Monday. If Monday is usually your day off you get Tuesday instead. If Friday is your day off you work only three days next week. But if you can get 11 days off for the use of only THREE vacation days...would you? :yes:

Do not expect many petitions to be approved next week.

Gary and Alla

Male

Ukraine

2011-12-20 22:15:00

Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)

If the wait time isn't increasing that means they are finishing applications as fast as people submit them. So how did they get 5 months behind?

You answred your own question. People were submitting faster than they could be processed. Assuming that they are just holding their own now, it cannot be assumed to mean there were never more applications being submitted in the past. Now, if NO ONE sent in a petition of any kind for 4 months, then they could get back to where they were in November 2009.

Check my timeline. 58 days. In late 2009 they were processing petitions at VSC in under 30 days.

You also assume they only do K-1s, hardly. K-1s are barely a drop in the bucket, your case is barely a blip on the radar. One of the biggest impacts came with the earthquake in Haiti and the subsequent priority given to Haitians (but not for Haitian K-1s) for immigrant visa applications.

Edited by Gary and Alla, 21 December 2011 - 09:46 PM.

Gary and Alla

Male

Ukraine

2011-12-21 21:44:00

Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)

Interesting, so you're saying everyone applying for a visa (K-1, B-1, B-2 etc) is in the same queue? I didn't realize people applying for work visas had to wait so long.

The numbers of K petitions change. Is there something difficult about what I am saying? Work visas do not wait so long of course. Temporary work visas are processed very quickly. No FAIR, right? Wrong. Work visas are not for permanent residency like a K or CR visa and are for temporary employment, which employment may vanish before a visa is issued. Do you want your fiancee to apply for a work visa instead? She will get it faster. But she will not be able to marry you and adjust status.

B-1s and B-2 do not go through service centers, they are not petitioned. Visitor visas are done at the consulates.

Edited by Gary and Alla, 22 December 2011 - 11:35 PM.

Gary and Alla

Male

Ukraine

2011-12-22 23:33:00