HI Stamping in Islamabad, Pakistan

[enqueued]

VO did not ask me about my pending adjustment of status application or EAD. Although the approval notice that I submitted for visa stamping was seventh year extension.
My spouse would need H4 since my H1 is pending with the same consulate she might not be issued H4 untill my H1 is issued but based on VO's comments she can apply for H4 it's just that it won't be stamped untill mine is cleared.
Was anyone told by VO at the time of interview that the admin processing would take 3 weeks and it did come in 3 weeks or so? Please share your personal or friends cases.

Thanks

jefkorn, why dont you use your AP to come to the US, you dont need a visa.

 

[a101]

jefkorn, why dont you use your AP to come to the US, you dont need a visa.

enqueued,

jefkorn certainly would do that in case visa doesn't come in time. There are certain pros and cons of using AP to come back so may be jefkorn wants to return on his H1-B visa status. Nothing of surprise here.

 

[jefkorn]

Admin Processing cleared in 9 calendar days

I can certainly come back to US on AP but I am planning to get married so would like to maintain H1 status so the wife could get H4 and travel to US. The update on my pending Admin processing is as follows:
I received a call from US embassy on Jan 19, 2007 that I should send my passport for further processing. I confirmed with the lady on the phone if my Admin processing was over and complete. She confirmed that. I have sent my passport through AmEx and I am hoping that I will receive the printed visa before end of this week.

Will keep you guys posted and hopefully this would be another addition to list of cases that got visas within two week period.

Thanks to all of you who are contributing to this thread as information on US embassy in Islamabad is a rarity on the web!

Good luck to all of you waiting.

 

[a101]

Good to hear about that. Congratz!

The VO had mentioned to you that it was the lowest level of check and that is probably the reason for a quick processing. I wonder what is done at the lowest level, compared to a medium or highest level? How common is your name?

 

[kamrans]

Hi all
I have a strange situation with one of my friend and I am wiriting it here for suggestions for him.
My friend went to Pakistan for marriage and visa restamping as his old one is expired. He came to USA in 2001 and his old stamp expires in 2003. His present I-797 is valid until Jan 2008.
He applied in US embassy for restamping and the took his passport and asked him to wait for adminisrative processing to get done. He is waiting since last year august. Its been 6 months now.
Now just recently he got calls from consulate asking if he is still interested in going to USA. He told them yes he is interested. The third call asked him to produce the new I-797C from USCIS. How can he get the new 797 as the present one is still valid and why are they asking this. What can he do to pacify them. Anybody has any kind of experience.
Please share your experiences so that I can convey him.
Thanks and good luck to everyone.

 

[a101]

Tell them that the current I-797 is valid until 2008. They shouldn't be asking for a new one. May be what they want is a employment verification letter... or a confirmation from the employer that the job is still available for your friend - and that they have not revoked his H1-B? something like that...

 

[kamrans]

His employer in USA directly faxed the I-797C from USA but even then they are saying that need the new 797 approved from USCIS. He already submitted the other docs like employment letter etc. My experience is that whatever they are asking you have to produce it ... no matter what else you have submitted.

Tell them that the current I-797 is valid until 2008. They shouldn't be asking for a new one. May be what they want is a employment verification letter... or a confirmation from the employer that the job is still available for your friend - and that they have not revoked his H1-B? something like that...

 

[a101]

Sounds strange and stupid. I am sure his company would be in contact with a lawyer. It probably requires professional advise from here on.
Worst case, may be a new 797 can be filed on priority basis. That gets approved in 15 days.

 

[k_syed]

I just got informed by DOS that they've sent my clearence to US Embassy, Islamabad on Nov 13, 2006 and told me that it will take 3-4 months for Embassy to make their decision. No its being about 4 months now I didn't heard from Embassy.
Is there anyone who had the same experience that after getting clearence from DOS how long it will take for Embassy to finalize their verdict.
I am in a hurry b/c H-1B will expires June 02, 2007, so any help will be appriciated.

 

[mahrukh1]

hi kamrans

do you have the number for the DOS??

My friend was being told that this process will be done in 4-6 weeks. Its been 6 months now and there is no news. Another friend got in 9 months. Another got in 10 months. To me 9-10 months is average time from Pakistan.
I have seen just one case two years back that they give passport back in a week. Dont know why.
With this statistics you cannot determine how long its going to take for you. You can call DOS and ask them whats going on and they will tell you how many agencies are done with your clearance and how many they are waiting for. Thats all the information you can get.
There are cases when the consulate does the repeated clearance. Once you get cleared they again put you in to the same queue for some unknown reason. This makes some people believe that there is another database available that consulates are working on.

Good Luck.

 

[a101]

my interview at the ISB consulate on Dec 5th

I am here in Pakistan and applied for revalidation of my visa. The VO approved the visa but put me in for additional processing. They hand out a standard white colored paper that says it would take a minimum of 1 month and advises the applicant to be patient

I had been through this add processing in 03 as well, when i applied for my first stamp. I argued a little with the VO that how many times will i have to go through this check as I do special registration everytime i pass through a US port and all that. She was nice and said she understood the problems but its pretty much the law that you will have to go through it everytime. Kinda seems that if u have been through it once u'll be through it always. Stupid it seems (as if u r cleared once, then u should be safe for re-entry later on), but true it is.

I saw two other students who got visa approvals and both received the white paper. One of them had a pretty unique name (Zohaib Ishaaq) in my opinion but was flagged for this. Another H-1B applicant Muhammad Akhtar ??? (forgot his uncommon last name) was also given the white sheet for additional processing. So, i really didn't see anyone getting a visa without this additional processing (3 out of 3 that i could find).

Two H-4 applicant ladies got their visas without any problem or additional processing.

I had submitted my papers on Nov 26th and got a call from embassy on Dec. 4 to setup my interview for Dec. 5. One of the H-4 applicant had applied on Nov 29 and she was there for interview as well. So, i guess it doesn't take that long to get the interview done in ISB now, which is good. Lets see what happens with my clearance now?

Best wishes and good luck to all going through this painful process...

 

[genrex]

Waiting for passport since 3 months now

Was interviewed For 1st time H1B on 19-Sep-08. Was asked for additional docs.
Docs were sent on 06-Oct-08 and received by embassy in ISlamabad on 10-Oct-08. Confirmed this from embassy.
Since then my passport is in processing at DC It is almost 3 months now.
Does anybody know the average time they take these days???

 

[Triple Citizen]

That depends on how common your first and last names are.

Does anybody know the average time they take these days???

 

[a101]

hi Genrex,

sorry to hear about the long wait you are going through. Is it your first visa application? Were you living in the US before (on another visa)? Or just got a new job and applying for the first time? The first ever visa application usually takes the longest as they see you for the first time.
Is your employer OK with this wait? If he is then you should not worry too much. It may take sometime but I have not heard of an example where it was rejected due to the extra checks. I applied for my visa re-stamping in Dec 07, and went through the additional background checks but got it in about 25 days. But it varies.... and nobody can tell for sure how long it could take for anyone?

 

[marry123]

H1 processing in Islamabad
I have two friends, pretty much the same case as you and i. One friend applied for Visa on July 6th, got called for interview on 25th. The consulate person said, we have tentatively approvede you for visa, but you will have to go through security/background check. They also returned the passport saying once the security check has been done, we will call you and bring your passport and we will stamp it. He has been waiting to date to get the visa.
Another friend applied for H1-B visa on 15th August, got clled for interview on 23rd august and is still waiting. He said that the letter he got said it will take indefinate time for the security clearance, but verbally the consulate person said it will take 30 days. So far no word on either friends.
I havent heard of any H1-B cases being rejected, just that it is taking a very long time to process. I would not risk going back at this time as the process is very unpredictible. however word is that, state department had ordered all consulates to put visa policies in place by Sept 11th 2002. So thats why there has been a lot of confusion. Hopefully in the comming few weeks, the policies and processes will become more clear and streamlined. Keep posting any information you get.

Best of luck.

 

[marry123]

So you did not mention about your EAD to the VO?

Does your spouse has an EAD also or would she need an H4? One can apply for H4 without the H1... but I guess once the H1 application is under process, they don't issue the H4 to the spouse then.