Cable clearance sent from DOS to Consulate - What next?

renewal of F1 visa

I just read this threat and decided to post my case as well.

I arrived in Pakistan on May 14th and applied on May 16th for renewal of my F1 visa. I had my interview on May 26th at Islamabad. The officer did not ask any question. He started the conversation by saying that he is approving my application, pending "additional administrative processing."

I had a friend call the DOS on June 6th and according to them they had sent the clearence to Islamabad the same day. According to DOS, I should wait to hear from ISB asking for my passport or expect to receive my passport if I left it with them.

I called ISB on Thursday, June 9, and was told that the process is nearly complete and I should hear from them within a week. Well, it has been a week and no contact yet.

After reading this thread, it appears the process is not that simple. What could ISB possibly be doing with my passport for over 10 days, I have no clue. I suppose they have either sent for another clearance or just sitting on it. Calling ISB is useless as they give the same canned response.

I'll keep posting the progress of my case and hope others get their visas soon!

-Zubair
 
fugacity said:
I just read this threat and decided to post my case as well.

I arrived in Pakistan on May 14th and applied on May 16th for renewal of my F1 visa. I had my interview on May 26th at Islamabad. The officer did not ask any question. He started the conversation by saying that he is approving my application, pending "additional administrative processing."

I had a friend call the DOS on June 6th and according to them they had sent the clearence to Islamabad the same day. According to DOS, I should wait to hear from ISB asking for my passport or expect to receive my passport if I left it with them.

I called ISB on Thursday, June 9, and was told that the process is nearly complete and I should hear from them within a week. Well, it has been a week and no contact yet.

After reading this thread, it appears the process is not that simple. What could ISB possibly be doing with my passport for over 10 days, I have no clue. I suppose they have either sent for another clearance or just sitting on it. Calling ISB is useless as they give the same canned response.

I'll keep posting the progress of my case and hope others get their visas soon!

-Zubair
Click to expand...

We are hearing the same thing from last 2 weeks as well from embassy. That they have received the records and embassy would be calling my fiance soon. 2 days ago when i emailed embassy asking how long it is going to take the reply was "we are almost done and will call him soon"
DOS refuses to give any information on the case and just tells me to contact the embassy. I guess embassy' processing the requests time has gone longer then a week or two now...

Sanna
 
I called the embassy again today and they gave me the same old response, "We'll contact you next week."

By the way, I called DOS last night and a nice lady at the other end was surprised as to why haven't I received my visa yet. However, she warned me that embassies often sit on applications for a few weeks and resend for security clearances. According to her, there was no request in the system for my case. So Islamabad is either preparing to send me the visa or preparing to request another security clearance!!

The international student advisor at my school warned me of such behavior at Islamabad. So all we can do now is sit and wait!

-Zubair
 
In my case, after they got the first clearance they sat on my application for more than a month before sending for second clearance.

Ali
 
3 weeks

In my case they took 3 weeks to send 2nd clearance. Today DOS informed that clearances have been finished and sent.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
akahmed said:
In my case, after they got the first clearance they sat on my application for more than a month before sending for second clearance.

Ali
Click to expand...

Can you guys please explain what first, second, and third clearances mean?
we have been done from fingerprinting, name check, and this is the IBIS check that just came to embassy...
but no one ever talked to me about them as first second or third clearances...

Sanna
 
Bonapart said:
In my case they took 3 weeks to send 2nd clearance. Today DOS informed that clearances have been finished and sent.
Click to expand...
Today DOS informed that clearances have been finished and sent. <-- Does that mean you second clearance has been cleared too ?
 
Clearances

When I called DOS yesterday the lady said, you had interview on March 24 and the Embassy asked for SAO (security advisory opinion) which was processed and sent back as "no objection" on April 18. You can call SAO the first clearance. Then they requested for 2nd clearance which was sent back as "no objection" on May 11. She then said that your clearances are finished and the case is in internal administrative processing at th Embassy. They should be calling you very soon.

I think that after the Embassy receives the finished clearances, they keep the case pending atleast a month during which they do internal processiing or 3rd clearance in regards to the information given by applicant about himself.

Sanna, I assume each clearance is a bunch of requests that are sent to DOS for onward submissions to various departments and they reply one by one. I think for Pakistani citizens 2nd clearances are also requested and again that depends on different circumstances like common names, hits, etc. The lenghty delays could be because, for an example in first clearance they requested 6 departments, out of which 4 cleared and 2 had hits - now until those 2 having hits get cleared, the application will remain pending. Then comes the 2nd clearance and it may happen to that too.

The best thing I find out is to call DOS once a week and check the status. They are really helpful.
 
What the embassy does after 2nd or 1st clearance is totally their discretion. Some people got their passport after 2-3 days of receiving final clearance from DOS. If there is a delay then there could be two possible reasons. They are doing local checks, or they are just sitting on it. They send for clearance only once they decide to issue you visa. So there is no more processing required at this stage. If you're 2nd clearance has come through, you should be getting it soon.
 
For peoples who are waiting for the H1B clearance and are currently employed in the US, what kind of work arrangements have you made? I am not in a tech field, and my options to work remotely are limited since I work for a CPA firm and I spend about 90% of my time at the client offices. The firm I work for has put me on a "leave of absence" since June 1, which is ofcourse non-pay. My question is, how does the US govt expect us to pay our monthly bills (rent/car payements etc.) if we are not getting paid while we wait for this damn security clearance to come through. From the employer perspective, I understand that they will stop paying us since we are currently not doing any work for them, but what about the US govt? couldn't this be a potential lawsuit againt DOS? Not that I would do anything coz I dont want the DOS getting pissed off at me, but aren't they opening themselves a can of worms?

Also, is there a number for the FBI name check that I can call? I keep calling the number listed earlier in this thread and reach the office of Rene Morton, but she keeps saying that I need to email fbinncp at ic dot fbi dot gov. I called the FBI FP division and they have gotten no request from DOS, does this mean no FP check was initiated?
 
Touchdown

Hello all,
I just called the embassy and my visa has been approved!! Here are the details:
May 16th Interview at Consulate in Dubai
May 29th Dos recieved Name check request from Embassy
June 19th - Visa approved

I was from F1-OPT-H1b case, and the check was not TAL related. The embassy did not even take a full set of fingerprints at the interview...meaning it a straight VISA CONDOR check. I was told during the interview the processing will take about a week, but it took about a month. I even called DOS last wednesday and my case was still being processed..so i guess everything was cleared up by this past friday at DOS.

Anyways, flight availability is limited so I am gonna be in Dubai for another two weeks...lets hope the INS officers at Chicago don't give me any problems.

Word of advice: be patient, and pray to God (even if you aren't that religious). Also, we need to push our employers/universities/organizations to lobby fr faster processing and shorter wait times for those that have to go through special clearance/admin. processing...I for a fact will be talking to my HR people
 
congrats dubaiguy!! I'm on H1-b renewal and have been waiting for the last six months now. I wonder if getting it done from Dubai made any difference. What's your full name? As I keep hearing common names like mine take much longer, or maybe its just getting it done from Pakistan is the source of problem.

When I came here for renewal I brought an ip phone and that has been a life saver. Although internet access sucks here, and is damn expensive, but I've been able to work from here. At the time of interview the visa officer said to me it could take weeks or months, in the meantime if your work suffers that's unfortunate. I think that pretty much sums up their attitude. I doubt if getting into litigation against DOS will get you anywhere but more trouble down the line, even if you win.

Have a safe flight back.

Ali
 
Ali,
Full name is Mohammad Sarim Murtaza, I just go by Sarim though. Anyways, my name shouts "possible security threat to the US". I think the Pakistan consulate is the reason for the delay, coz it seems that in the Dubai the process is really effecient. When I went for the interview, I was given a case number and told to check the Dubai Us Consulate website to see if my case has been approved. They have listed all the case approvals in 2005 on the website, and the average wait time for each month keeps getting shorter and shorter...so I guess the people in Dubai have a heart.

however, I do know people in Dubai who have waited a year or so for their visas...I guess it really just depends on a case by case basis.

Also, through my research, Ive found out that you can call a specific number/email if your case has been pending for more than sixty days, and even the Dubai consulate told me that I should call them if my case has not been approved within 60 days. The embassies are required to call DOS if the case has been pending dor 60 days or more and send them a reminder about it., the number is listed on this website, under the "VIsa Condor" section:
http://www.wolfsdorf.com/articles/Consular_Processing_20050524.htm

I was suppose to go to the embassy today and submit my passport for the visa stamping, but my car broke down a mile or so away from the embassy and then the embassy closed...damnit. I guess I will have to wait till tomorrow now. I cant really be happy until I see the visa in my passport.

Goodluck to all, hope that website link helps
 
Latest

Congratulations DubaiGuy!

Called embassy today and a nice Pakistani guy told me that we have received some correspondence from DOS. There is one more query left and when it comes in, your application will be finalized. The maximum time it will take is around 2 to 3 weeks (remember that that lady at DOS already confirmed me last week that your 1st and 2nd clearances have been sent with no objection and secuirty checks are completed).

I believe now the delay is due to internal administrative processing in the embassy regarding local checks or clearances.
 
Bonapart said:
When I called DOS yesterday the lady said, you had interview on March 24 and the Embassy asked for SAO (security advisory opinion) which was processed and sent back as "no objection" on April 18. You can call SAO the first clearance. Then they requested for 2nd clearance which was sent back as "no objection" on May 11. She then said that your clearances are finished and the case is in internal administrative processing at th Embassy. They should be calling you very soon.

I think that after the Embassy receives the finished clearances, they keep the case pending atleast a month during which they do internal processiing or 3rd clearance in regards to the information given by applicant about himself.

Sanna, I assume each clearance is a bunch of requests that are sent to DOS for onward submissions to various departments and they reply one by one. I think for Pakistani citizens 2nd clearances are also requested and again that depends on different circumstances like common names, hits, etc. The lenghty delays could be because, for an example in first clearance they requested 6 departments, out of which 4 cleared and 2 had hits - now until those 2 having hits get cleared, the application will remain pending. Then comes the 2nd clearance and it may happen to that too.

The best thing I find out is to call DOS once a week and check the status. They are really helpful.
Click to expand...

I spoke to embassy today and they said they would be contacting my fiance soon, hopefully in 15 days... it has benn 2 weeks already so i guess they take about a month in processing...


Sanna
 
Dos

Called DOS today and the lady tells me that the embassy has sent them a follow-up request for visa recommednation today (20th June). So, in my count this will be the 3rd clearance. The nice Pakistani guy at embassy told me today that one more query has left and when it comes in, your application will be finalized.

Hope it comes soon.
 
Bonapart said:
Called DOS today and the lady tells me that the embassy has sent them a follow-up request for visa recommednation today (20th June). So, in my count this will be the 3rd clearance. The nice Pakistani guy at embassy told me today that one more query has left and when it comes in, your application will be finalized.

Hope it comes soon.
Click to expand...

Called embassy this morning and the guy i spoke to kept saying my fiance case is in admin processing, nothing more.. before embassy told us that his clerances are back and we will be hearing something with in 15 days..
so i just called DOS again and lady tells me "it is still pending for security clearances, and i said security clearances were complete three weeks ago when was this new request issued, and she said there is no new request these clearances have been pending since he was interviewed..."
what is all this suppose to mean.... :( :( :(

Sanna
 
If the status at DOS says pending that may mean the embassy has requested followup information from DOS, which could mean another clearance, or just some infomration request. I know how frustrating this can be, i've gone through these cycles a few times. To throw a spanner in the works, there have been cases where DOS was saying status pending just a day before people received their passport. The only positive thing is it shows progress on the case. I would worry if there is no status change or infomration flow between embassy and DOS for a long time.

Don't forget, we are all guilty untill proven innocent!! Welcome to the new world order!!

Ali
 
Visa finally issued!!

I just received my passport today with the visa. While the issue date is listed as June 21, the annotation section of the visa states "Clearance received 3 JUN 2005." By the way, I submitted my application on May 16 and was interviewed on May 26. For the past three weeks I kept on receiving a canned response from Islamabad to wait.

I hope everyone who's waiting gets their visa soon.

-Zubair
 
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