VisaOfficer:

Greetings! Well, I can understand why some applicants feel that way about us. The overwhelming majority of our applicants do obtain visas, though... and we only place applicants under administrative processing under two circumstances, 1. when it's required by law for a variety of reasons or 2. when we are giving them a chance to convince us, instead of just refusing them outright. So as much as everyone hates administrative processing, it's often a sign that the officer wants to give the applicant a chance.

I feel the same about frontloading an IR1/CR1 as I do about frontloading a K1 petition, but I would never, ever refuse to issue a visa just because someone frontloaded unnecessarily. It's just not helpful, that's all. The interview itself is so much more important.

I know I'm biased in favor of my employer, but: Perhaps the unfavorable opinions seem to outweigh the positive ones because people complain more when they don't get visas?

How can an applicant convince you when nothing is asked more of them and they are under Administrative Processing? Is that used to review the file more closely or are other steps done to "convince" the officer? How much time is needed to convince the officer?

Does the same apply to a IR1/CR1 visa? There are many unfavorable opinions about the Lagos Consulate and the Visa Officers that work there. Almost all of the users of many forums highly suggest that you front load your applications with as much information and proof of relationship as much as possible because of the high rate of denials, Nigeria being considered a high fraud country, and the fact that the VO seem to love to place individuals on AP for extremely long periods of time to just prolong the agony of waiting for a decision that tends to result in the application being sent back to the U.S. There are a few favorable opinions but the unfavorable ones substantially outweigh the positives.

VisaOfficer:

Ohhhhhhhhhh please don't frontload. When we get a great big fat frontloaded case, my first thought is, "This is either going to be really good or really bad." Some people frontload because they really do have tons of genuine evidence and want to share it, and others frontload because the relationship isn't bona fide and they want to smother us in paper so we won't notice. (Also, notarized letters from other people attesting to the veracity of the relationship are not useful at all. I can make you a really nice-looking one in about 15 minutes right now, including a "stamp" from a "notary." )

We are much more concerned with the beneficiary's ability to credibly discuss the relationship than we are in the documents.

That said, for people reading this who have already frontloaded, don't worry, we won't hold it against you. We will just make sad muttering sounds about trees being killed before we call you to the window.

My husband is currently under AP and his medical expires October 15, 2013. Will this cause the consulate to stop processing his visa? If not, when will they want him to do another medical? Or should I inquire directly with them about this?

VisaOfficer:

There is really very little that the petitioner or beneficiary can do to speed up the process. Administrative processing happens for a variety of reasons; I'm sure you can imagine why some of those reasons need to be investigated independently before we reach out to the petitioner and beneficiary for their input, and why we don't release additional information. To give a concrete example, some Nairaland members have mentioned that we sometimes do field investigations to see if a beneficiary is really married, or to see if a court actually issued a divorce decree. In those cases, you can understand why we don't say "Hey, we're going to drop by your house on Tuesday to see if you're really married." We say, "Your case is under administrative processing."

The supervisor actually reviews all the cases, with special attention to refusals.

We work as quickly as possible, but sometimes there are travel restrictions or other problems. When we get to a point where we need to talk to the beneficiary and/or the petitioner, we will contact them directly.

In a worst-case scenario, when we do not believe there are grounds for a visa to be issued, the petitioner always has the opportunity to rebut our findings. The petition goes back to USCIS with a memo outlining our findings, and USCIS asks the petitioner to respond before making a decision. So even in the worst-case scenario, the petition will not be revoked without the petitioner's involvement.

The overwhelming majority of cases that go through administrative processing are eventually issued.

I hope this helps!

Does it make any sense to notify the Consulate of when the petitioner will be back in the country in case there are questions?

What other options are available for a petitioner to check the status of a immigrant visa for their beneficiary?

If the petitioner wants a supervisor to review the file, can that request be granted?

Why wont the Consulate release additional information about where a case is in the Administrative Processing stage?

If the petitioner wants to talk to an investigator, how can that be done?

I would like to talk to someone about my husbands visa. When I arrive at the consulate, who do I need to talk to?

I have a question in regards to the medical. If the applicant was required to take a Sputum Test, does that change the validity period of the underlying medical? Or is the Sputum Test only valid for 3 months and the medicals for 6 months.

The results of the Sputum Test were negative.

Is there any reason why the petitioner is not allowed to attend the interview with the beneficiary?

What is the purpose of a "stokes" interview? Does it help the VO render a decision into the validity of a marriage?

If the beneficiary is on Administrative Processing and the petitioner will be in the country, is it possible to request a second interview so that both parties could attend assuming the only issue holding up a decision on the immigrant visa application is validity of the marriage?

When you are looking at evidence of a bona fide relationship, which types of evidence are considered the most credible?

Once an applicant/beneficiary has had an interview and all they were given was a letter stating that the application requires administrative processing, can the applicant request a second interview?

If the applicant/beneficiary wants to submit additional documents, how can that be done?

So if you are in Administrative Processing several months, at what point should you be concerned? Is there any way to check the status? How about verifying what has been done and what needs to be done?

Are any notes as to what has been done and what still needs to be done included in the files?

I have heard some people from Nigeria that have been in Administrative Processing for 6 months - 2 years. Some were in Administrative Processing even longer than that but cancelled their applications. What types of issues cause these long delays?

If there hasn't been any movement, what are our next steps?

What or which agencies need to get involved in this process and why?

Who do we contact if we can't get any resolution with the Embassy/Consulate?

Visa Officer,
I have quite a few questions.

1. What is involved in Administrative Processing(AP)?
2. Are applicants typically put under AP in Nigeria?
3. How long does the process take? Is there anything that can be done so that the issues are resolved expeditiously?
4. Have any applicants, after they have been put under AP, been approved for visas?
5. How long should an applicant wait to check the status of their AP?
6. Do congressional inquiries ever help the process? Is there something that the petitioner or applicant can do to help the process?