Administrative processing

[hardikchinoy]

I had my visa interview yesterday. The interview was smooth but at the end the vo asked me about the subjects that I will take up. I said  machine learning and neural networks. She then issued me 221g white form and asked me to mail some documents. My current visa status is administrative processing. 

 

Is it a thing to worry about?

How long will the proceeding take ?My semester is starting from next month

[fuzzylogician]

You've most likely fallen in the Technology Alert List (TAL) trap. Nothing you can do about it now, though you can read about it online. Unfortunately it can take several months for the process to finish, and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it but wait. You may have to miss the beginning of the semester, unless you're very lucky. 

[PhD_hopeful_]

Hi. I applied for F1 to do my PhD in Chemistry. At the end of the interview she told me I will have to go through Administrative Processing and I should get my Visa the following week. She did not issue me a 221g slip nor request additional info. She just kept my passport and I20. Should I be concerned?

[fuzzylogician]

1 hour ago, PhD_hopeful_ said:

Hi. I applied for F1 to do my PhD in Chemistry. At the end of the interview she told me I will have to go through Administrative Processing and I should get my Visa the following week. She did not issue me a 221g slip nor request additional info. She just kept my passport and I20. Should I be concerned?

Sounds like you're in the clear. 

[PhD_hopeful_]

2 hours ago, fuzzylogician said:

Sounds like you're in the clear. 

Ever since the interview yesterday my Visa Status says Administrative Processing though. That is what has me worried?. 

[fuzzylogician]

3 minutes ago, PhD_hopeful_ said:

Ever since the interview yesterday my Visa Status says Administrative Processing though. That is what has me worried?. 

They said your visa was approved, they didn't give you the 221g, they took your passport and told you'll get it back with the visa stamp in it in a week. That sounds precisely like how an approved visa application goes. 

[PhD_hopeful_]

I checked my visa status and it changed to 'Issued'. Im all clear! Thanks for your correct advice too?

[AstroMason]

Hmm, in my case I wasn't told explicitly that I'd have to go into "administrative processing". For me, I was told that my visa was approved and that I'd get it back any time between 3-5 working days. When I checked the passport status a few hours later though, I was under "administrative processing". I got worried for a few seconds, but if the consular officer has found something wrong with your application, they'd (to my knowledge) tell you on the spot that the application required a bit more scrutiny. Sometimes they might have only found something after the interview - it's quite the black box.

In my case, my status changed to "issued" after a day, so it's probably also a generic "final processing" status where they're just checking last details and stamping your visa...

[ExponentialDecay]

On 7/6/2017 at 9:58 PM, fuzzylogician said:

You've most likely fallen in the Technology Alert List (TAL) trap. Nothing you can do about it now, though you can read about it online. Unfortunately it can take several months for the process to finish, and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it but wait. You may have to miss the beginning of the semester, unless you're very lucky. 

oh wow. basically everything in biology is in that list, and then they have a section for URBAN PLANNING ahahaha. Studying geography is a threat to national security ffs.

[Outlandishness]

@hardikchinoyhey! Can I ask what happened to your case?

[Sigaba]

On 6/23/2018 at 7:59 AM, ExponentialDecay said:

oh wow. basically everything in biology is in that list, and then they have a section for URBAN PLANNING ahahaha. Studying geography is a threat to national security ffs.

Based upon the work the company I work for has done abroad, impeding foreign nationals from developing expertise in urban planning is an insidious counterpunch. American firms can make money but without enough in house skills, some countries will continue to experience inefficiencies, hardship, fatalities, and catastrophes.