Richardc

I've just been back from the US Embassy this morning and my non-
immigrant visa application has been refused under s221(g) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act due to insufficient information.
The form states that my visa application requires additional
administrative processing before a visa can be issued and will be
advised by mail. They are also unable to provide any guidance on how
long the processing of my case will take.
The officer mentioned that special clearance cases could take up to 30
days or more. I'm flying to NZ in less than 30 days and may not receive
the visa on time before going to LA early March for business.
Has anyone experienced this refusal of visa before and how long did it
take before you hear back from the Embassy ?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance :)

Carpdiem

    > I've just been back from the US Embassy this morning and my non-
    > immigrant visa application has been refused under s221(g) of the
    > Immigration and Nationality Act due to insufficient information.
    > The form states that my visa application requires additional
    > administrative processing before a visa can be issued and will be
    > advised by mail. They are also unable to provide any guidance on how
    > long the processing of my case will take.
    > The officer mentioned that special clearance cases could take up to 30
    > days or more. I'm flying to NZ in less than 30 days and may not
    > receive the visa on time before going to LA early March for business.
    > Has anyone experienced this refusal of visa before and how long did it
    > take before you hear back from the Embassy ?
    > Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance :)

Its not really a refusal, just pending additional administrative
processing. Did u get finger printed ? finger printing and name check is
a part of admin processing usually....and Yes it does take 30 days or
more for the name check to get cleared from FBI, which is a part of
administrative processing. I am not sure what country are you from but
for certain countries administrative processign is required for all
males between ages 18 and 35. My fiance is going thru it at the moment
from embassy in pakistan...it has been more than 3 months and we are
still waiting for admin processing to get cleared.....

Good Luck!

Richardc

    > Its not really a refusal, just pending additional administrative
    > processing. Did u get finger printed ? finger printing and name check
    > is a part of admin processing usually....and Yes it does take 30 days
    > or more for the name check to get cleared from FBI, which is a part of
    > administrative processing. I am not sure what country are you from but
    > for certain countries administrative processign is required for all
    > males between ages 18 and 35. My fiance is going thru it at the moment
    > from embassy in pakistan...it has been more than 3 months and we are
    > still waiting for admin processing to get cleared.....
    > Good Luck!

Hi Carpdiem
Thanks for your response. Yes I did get finger printed but had no idea
it takes more than 30 days to get my name checked by the FBI. Do all
applicants get their name checked by the FBI ?
My flights from London to NZ via LA and accommodation have all been
booked and paid for by my company in LA as I have to attend our annual
meeting/conference with my direct reports and other team members. This
is also stated on a letter from my UK employers as the purpose of my
business trip in LA for a week.
I was really surprised that my application was refused and it takes so
long to process. I also have flights prior to the US trip around Europe
but if it takes more than 30 let alone 3 months in your case, I’ll never
hear from the Embassy on time prior to my flight to NZ/LA. Perhaps I can
apply again at the US Embassy in NZ prior to the US trip ? Are there
any other alternatives / suggestions ? If so, how and who can I apply or
write to ?

Carpdiem

    > Hi Carpdiem
    > Thanks for your response. Yes I did get finger printed but had no idea
    > it takes more than 30 days to get my name checked by the FBI. Do all
    > applicants get their name checked by the FBI ?
    > My flights from London to NZ via LA and accommodation have all been
    > booked and paid for by my company in LA as I have to attend our annual
    > meeting/conference with my direct reports and other team members. This
    > is also stated on a letter from my UK employers as the purpose of my
    > business trip in LA for a week.
    > I was really surprised that my application was refused and it takes so
    > long to process. I also have flights prior to the US trip around
    > Europe but if it takes more than 30 let alone 3 months in your case,
    > I’ll never hear from the Embassy on time prior to my flight to NZ/LA.
    > Perhaps I can apply again at the US Embassy in NZ prior to the US trip
    > ? Are there any other alternatives / suggestions ? If so, how and who
    > can I apply or write to ?

well, after september 11 attack, finger printing and name check have
been added as security measures which are being done especially for
certain all applicants from certain muslim countries and if the embassy
needs to know more information about the applicant.......how long it
takes, thats differs from person to person, the shortest i heard was
done in 3 weeks...and for some people it has been about a year....
I am not sure how u r going to apply from NZ, what is ur birth country?
thought u can only apply from the country u r resident of? but i might
be wrong...there is no harm in trying though.... fingerprint results
take a week to get cleared as well.
Regarding your business meetings, embassies are urging to make plans
well ahead before when applying for visa for US.... I dont knwo why you
wud leave it as a last thing after all the flight confirmations as well?

Good Luck for your trip!

Jonathan McNeil Wong

carpdiem wrote:
    >>Hi Carpdiem
    >>Thanks for your response. Yes I did get finger printed but had no idea
    >>it takes more than 30 days to get my name checked by the FBI. Do all
    >>applicants get their name checked by the FBI ?
    >>My flights from London to NZ via LA and accommodation have all been
    >>booked and paid for by my company in LA as I have to attend our annual
    >>meeting/conference with my direct reports and other team members. This
    >>is also stated on a letter from my UK employers as the purpose of my
    >>business trip in LA for a week.
    >>I was really surprised that my application was refused and it takes so
    >>long to process. I also have flights prior to the US trip around
    >>Europe but if it takes more than 30 let alone 3 months in your case,
    >>I’ll never hear from the Embassy on time prior to my flight to NZ/LA.
    >>Perhaps I can apply again at the US Embassy in NZ prior to the US trip
    >>? Are there any other alternatives / suggestions ? If so, how and who
    >>can I apply or write to ?
    >
    >
    > well, after september 11 attack, finger printing and name check have
    > been added as security measures which are being done especially for
    > certain all applicants from certain muslim countries and if the embassy
    > needs to know more information about the applicant.......how long it
    > takes, thats differs from person to person, the shortest i heard was
    > done in 3 weeks...and for some people it has been about a year....
    > I am not sure how u r going to apply from NZ, what is ur birth country?
    > thought u can only apply from the country u r resident of? but i might
    > be wrong...there is no harm in trying though.... fingerprint results
    > take a week to get cleared as well.
    > Regarding your business meetings, embassies are urging to make plans
    > well ahead before when applying for visa for US.... I dont knwo why you
    > wud leave it as a last thing after all the flight confirmations as well?
    >
    > Good Luck for your trip!
    >

I don't understand why the original poster didn't use a visa waiver.
I'm assuming he is a UK national. If he was a third country national
applying in the UK then I would understand the 221(g) refusal esp if he
previously applied somewhere else and was refused, or if his home
country post has a file that London didn't see.

If he was ineligible for a visa waiver because of previous refusals,
overstays, or removals then a longer wait time would also be expected.

Ingo Pakleppa

richardc wrote:
    >>Its not really a refusal, just pending additional administrative
    >>processing. Did u get finger printed ? finger printing and name check
    >>is a part of admin processing usually....and Yes it does take 30 days
    >>or more for the name check to get cleared from FBI, which is a part of
    >>administrative processing. I am not sure what country are you from but
    >>for certain countries administrative processign is required for all
    >>males between ages 18 and 35. My fiance is going thru it at the moment
    >>from embassy in pakistan...it has been more than 3 months and we are
    >>still waiting for admin processing to get cleared.....
    >>Good Luck!
    >
    >
    > Hi Carpdiem
    > Thanks for your response. Yes I did get finger printed but had no idea
    > it takes more than 30 days to get my name checked by the FBI. Do all
    > applicants get their name checked by the FBI ?

No, only some people are selected. The actual criteria used are
classified information, but some things are known: if you were born or
have ties to one of 27 countries, primarily in the Middle East and other
Muslim regions and are male between 18 and around 45 or so, then you are
almost guaranteed to be selected.

You are also likely to be selected if you have something in your
history, such as criminal convictions or immigration violations.

And finally, you are likely to be selected if your name is similar to a
name on a terrorism watch list.

    > My flights from London to NZ via LA and accommodation have all been
    > booked and paid for by my company in LA as I have to attend our annual
    > meeting/conference with my direct reports and other team members. This
    > is also stated on a letter from my UK employers as the purpose of my
    > business trip in LA for a week.

I am sorry to say it, but odds are that you won't be making it. While
the FBI sometimes does clear the security check this quickly, it can
also be much slower. At some point, the FBI said that they clear 97% of
cases in 4 months. Supposedly, things are a bit faster now. The slowest
case I heard of was a full 18 months.

    > I was really surprised that my application was refused and it takes so
    > long to process. I also have flights prior to the US trip around Europe
    > but if it takes more than 30 let alone 3 months in your case, I’ll never
    > hear from the Embassy on time prior to my flight to NZ/LA. Perhaps I can
    > apply again at the US Embassy in NZ prior to the US trip ?

DO NOT try to do that. The consulate would know that a security check is
pending, and still make you wait (or, more likely, they would tell you
just to apply in your country of nationality - presumably the UK). If
you are unlucky, the attempt would be interpreted as fraudulent or in
some other way negative. It would certainly not help.

    > Are there
    > any other alternatives / suggestions ? If so, how and who can I apply or
    > write to ?
    >

Richardc

    > well, after september 11 attack, finger printing and name check have
    > been added as security measures which are being done especially for
    > certain all applicants from certain muslim countries and if the
    > embassy needs to know more information about the applicant.......how
    > long it takes, thats differs from person to person, the shortest i
    > heard was done in 3 weeks...and for some people it has been about a
    > year....
    > I am not sure how u r going to apply from NZ, what is ur birth
    > country? thought u can only apply from the country u r resident of?
    > but i might be wrong...there is no harm in trying though....
    > fingerprint results take a week to get cleared as well.
    > Regarding your business meetings, embassies are urging to make plans
    > well ahead before when applying for visa for US.... I dont knwo why
    > you wud leave it as a last thing after all the flight confirmations
    > as well?
    > Good Luck for your trip!

Thanks for your reply. The business trip was approved around mid Dec
2004 and the earliest appointment at the US Embassy for an interview was
mid-Jan 2005 and it's been refused so I'm contacting my HR department
for assistance and perhaps write/e-mail the US Embassy this week for a
follow up. Thanks again for your assistance.

Richardc

    > carpdiem wrote:
    > >>Hi Carpdiem
    > >>Thanks for your response. Yes I did get finger printed but had no
    > >>idea
    > >>it takes more than 30 days to get my name checked by the FBI. Do all
    > >>applicants get their name checked by the FBI ?
    > >>My flights from London to NZ via LA and accommodation have all been
    > >>booked and paid for by my company in LA as I have to attend our
    > >>annual
    > >>meeting/conference with my direct reports and other team members.
    > >>This
    > >>is also stated on a letter from my UK employers as the purpose of my
    > >>business trip in LA for a week.
    > >>I was really surprised that my application was refused and it takes
    > >>so
    > >>long to process. I also have flights prior to the US trip around
    > >>Europe but if it takes more than 30 let alone 3 months in your case,
    > >>I’ll never hear from the Embassy on time prior to my flight to
    > >>NZ/LA.
    > >>Perhaps I can apply again at the US Embassy in NZ prior to the US
    > >>trip
    > >>? Are there any other alternatives / suggestions ? If so, how and
    > >>who
    > >>can I apply or write to ?
    > >
    > >
    > > well, after september 11 attack, finger printing and name check
    > > have
    > > been added as security measures which are being done especially
    > > for
    > > certain all applicants from certain muslim countries and if the
    > > embassy
    > > needs to know more information about the applicant.......how long
    > > it
    > > takes, thats differs from person to person, the shortest i heard
    > > was
    > > done in 3 weeks...and for some people it has been about a
    > > year....
    > > I am not sure how u r going to apply from NZ, what is ur birth
    > > country?
    > > thought u can only apply from the country u r resident of? but i
    > > might
    > > be wrong...there is no harm in trying though.... fingerprint
    > > results
    > > take a week to get cleared as well.
    > > Regarding your business meetings, embassies are urging to make
    > > plans
    > > well ahead before when applying for visa for US.... I dont knwo
    > > why you
    > > wud leave it as a last thing after all the flight confirmations
    > > as well?
    > >
    > > Good Luck for your trip!
    > >
    > I don't understand why the original poster didn't use a visa waiver.
    > I'm assuming he is a UK national. If he was a third country national
    > applying in the UK then I would understand the 221(g) refusal esp if
    > he
    > previously applied somewhere else and was refused, or if his home
    > country post has a file that London didn't see.
    > If he was ineligible for a visa waiver because of previous refusals,
    > overstays, or removals then a longer wait time would also be expected.
    > --
    > Above intended as general commentary, not specific legal
    > advice. Your mileage may vary.
    > ================================================== =============
    > Jonathan McNeil Wong Voice: 510-451-0544
    > Donahue, Gallagher Woods LLP Facsimile: 510-832-1486
    > P.O. Box 12979 http://www.donahue.com
    > Oakland, CA 94604-2979 E-mail:
    >
    > ================================================== =============

I do not hold a UK passport (not a British citizen) but have a UK
spousal visa, hence a resident in the UK with my spouse who is from the
EU. Therefore, I do not qualify for a visa waiver but not because of
previous refusals, overstays, removals, etc..
It's also my first time applying for the US non immigrant visa for a
business trip for 6 days and filled in the forms DS156 and 157
accordingly including a letter from my employers but received a refusal
letter after the interview with no indication on when I'll hear back
from them. I am about to write and e-mail a letter to the Embassy
enclosing my itenerary and the letter from my employers which was
returned.
The first person who checked my forms said it should take around 5
working days for the visa to be stamped and returned by courier (£10
paid on the day) but during the interview with the 2nd consular officer,
she refused my visa application.
I'm happy to provide further details via a private message if you do not
mind :) and perhaps can assist in my case. Thanks again for your input.

Richardc

    > richardc wrote:
    > >>Its not really a refusal, just pending additional administrative
    > >>processing. Did u get finger printed ? finger printing and name
    > >>check
    > >>is a part of admin processing usually....and Yes it does take 30
    > >>days
    > >>or more for the name check to get cleared from FBI, which is a part
    > >>of
    > >>administrative processing. I am not sure what country are you from
    > >>but
    > >>for certain countries administrative processign is required for all
    > >>males between ages 18 and 35. My fiance is going thru it at the
    > >>moment
    > >>from embassy in pakistan...it has been more than 3 months and we are
    > >>still waiting for admin processing to get cleared.....
    > >>Good Luck!
    > >
    > >
    > > Hi Carpdiem
    > > Thanks for your response. Yes I did get finger printed but had no
    > > idea
    > > it takes more than 30 days to get my name checked by the FBI. Do all
    > > applicants get their name checked by the FBI ?
    > No, only some people are selected. The actual criteria used are
    > classified information, but some things are known: if you were born or
    > have ties to one of 27 countries, primarily in the Middle East and
    > other
    > Muslim regions and are male between 18 and around 45 or so, then you
    > are
    > almost guaranteed to be selected.
    > You are also likely to be selected if you have something in your
    > history, such as criminal convictions or immigration violations.
    > And finally, you are likely to be selected if your name is similar to
    > a
    > name on a terrorism watch list.
    > > My flights from London to NZ via LA and accommodation have all been
    > > booked and paid for by my company in LA as I have to attend our
    > > annual
    > > meeting/conference with my direct reports and other team members.
    > > This
    > > is also stated on a letter from my UK employers as the purpose of my
    > > business trip in LA for a week.
    > I am sorry to say it, but odds are that you won't be making it. While
    > the FBI sometimes does clear the security check this quickly, it can
    > also be much slower. At some point, the FBI said that they clear 97%
    > of
    > cases in 4 months. Supposedly, things are a bit faster now. The
    > slowest
    > case I heard of was a full 18 months.
    > > I was really surprised that my application was refused and it takes
    > > so
    > > long to process. I also have flights prior to the US trip around
    > > Europe
    > > but if it takes more than 30 let alone 3 months in your case, I’ll
    > > never
    > > hear from the Embassy on time prior to my flight to NZ/LA. Perhaps I
    > > can
    > > apply again at the US Embassy in NZ prior to the US trip ?
    > DO NOT try to do that. The consulate would know that a security check
    > is
    > pending, and still make you wait (or, more likely, they would tell you
    > just to apply in your country of nationality - presumably the UK). If
    > you are unlucky, the attempt would be interpreted as fraudulent or in
    > some other way negative. It would certainly not help.
    > > Are there
    > > any other alternatives / suggestions ? If so, how and who can I
    > > apply or
    > > write to ?
    > >

see replies above [RichardC] :)

Worst case scenario if I do not have my visa approved on time before I
fly out to NZ early Feb, I may have to cancel all my flights and book a
direct flight to NZ to attend the 2 weddings with my spouse with a
different airline.

My direct report, Senior VP of a major US company has already approved
everything and it's a real shame because I will miss my work conference
as the accommodation (6 nights in LA) /flights/meetings have already
been organised since last December :(

I will be contacting my HR department (UK and US) to see if they
can assist.

Thanks again for all your feedback and any help is greatly appreciated.

Richardc

    > see replies above [RichardC] :)
    > Worst case scenario if I do not have my visa approved on time before I
    > fly out to NZ early Feb, I may have to cancel all my flights and book
    > a direct flight to NZ to attend the 2 weddings with my spouse with a
    > different airline.
    > My direct report, Senior VP of a major US company has already approved
    > everything and it's a real shame because I will miss my work
    > conference as the accommodation (6 nights in LA) /flights/meetings
    > have already been organised since last December :(
    > I will be contacting my HR department (UK and US) to see if they
    > can assist.
    > Thanks again for all your feedback and any help is greatly
    > appreciated.

Taken from the US Embassy website :
Q : I have been refused a visa under Section 221(g) or 214(b) of the
Immigration & Nationality Act; can I TWOV?
R : Yes, you may TWOV. However, it is likely that you will be questioned
by an immigration inspector at the port of entry regarding your
refusal. If the immigration inspector is not satisfied that you meet
the qualifications for nonimmigrant status, you may be denied entry.

Does this mean I can still travel over the US on transit to NZ if I meet
the qualifications for non immigrant status ? What criteria is required
for this ? Return flight tickets, etc... any help/info is much
appreciated. Also what is the difference between s221(g) and s214(b) ???