B1 visa application for conference refused under 221g. Withdraw or not?

[sibin.saseendran]

Hi all,

I am a PhD student funded by a research institution in Sweden. I am an Indian citizen living in Europe for the past 5 years and had applied for a B1 visa to attend a conference and present my paper at the same at the US Embassy in Stockholm on the 16th of April 2015. Here is a play-by-play of what happened at the Embassy [altogether of 1 min duration, barely] when I was called to the counter:

VO: Good morning!
Me: Good morning!

VO: What is your purpose of visit?
Me: I intend to attend a conference and present my paper.

VO: What are conference dates?
Me: June 8th to the 11th.

VO: Where is the conference?
Me: Costa Mesa, California.

VO: What do you do?
Me: I am a PhD student and a researcher.

VO: What is your field of study?
Me: YYYY ZZZ and YYYY X YYYY X

VO: YYYY ZZZ AND YYYY X YYYY X???
Me: Yes...

VO: Ok, we cannot process your application any further [hands me a white 221(g) letter]. Please submit your CV to this email address and after we receive it the process will take 2-3 weeks.
Me: Ok. Good day and bye bye!

VO: Bye!

Puzzled I came back home to investigate what the fuss was about. Did a little research of my own and found out that the two words that I used to describe my research was mentioned on the Technology Alert List (TAL) and also something about a Mantis SAO came up. I guess this maybe the reason.
It has been more than a month now. The conference is in 2 weeks and I have not even made travel and accommodation arrangements waiting for their response. The CEAC tracker shows "Administrative Processing" whenever I check. My dilemma is that I am not particularly concerned about missing the conference because my supervisor (a European citizen) can take my place at the conference and present the paper, but I am wondering, if in case I miss the conference and the peeps at the Embassy have not made up their minds, should I wait until they finish processing the application or should I withdraw/cancel my application and ask for my passport back?

PS: Why do they even bother to give me a visa if the intention has been missed? Just curious....

/Sibin

[ajn]

B1 visa on hold and issued 221 (g) red slip for additional documentation

My interview for B1 visa was held at Chennai Embassy on June 4th 2015. I was issued 221(g) pink slip in India due to additional documentation (CV) requested form consular officer . I think the reason is what you had stated below. TAL list includes marine technology which may have delayed my case. I am more worried about whether I can attend the training session which starts on June 15th because I had attended submarine short term course for five days in IIT Chennai back in 2012. The course details has been updated in my CV and sent on June 6th 2015 without the knowledge of TAL. So will it take so much time to process because of my reason ?

Thank you. Hope our insights might help someone in future. Gimme your opinion about how much time it takes so that my nerves will come down a bit.

Edit: Sorry it was pink slip.

Hi all,

I am a PhD student funded by a research institution in Sweden. I am an Indian citizen living in Europe for the past 5 years and had applied for a B1 visa to attend a conference and present my paper at the same at the US Embassy in Stockholm on the 16th of April 2015. Here is a play-by-play of what happened at the Embassy [altogether of 1 min duration, barely] when I was called to the counter:

VO: Good morning!
Me: Good morning!

VO: What is your purpose of visit?
Me: I intend to attend a conference and present my paper.

VO: What are conference dates?
Me: June 8th to the 11th.

VO: Where is the conference?
Me: Costa Mesa, California.

VO: What do you do?
Me: I am a PhD student and a researcher.

VO: What is your field of study?
Me: YYYY ZZZ and YYYY X YYYY X

VO: YYYY ZZZ AND YYYY X YYYY X???
Me: Yes...

VO: Ok, we cannot process your application any further [hands me a white 221(g) letter]. Please submit your CV to this email address and after we receive it the process will take 2-3 weeks.
Me: Ok. Good day and bye bye!

VO: Bye!

Puzzled I came back home to investigate what the fuss was about. Did a little research of my own and found out that the two words that I used to describe my research was mentioned on the Technology Alert List (TAL) and also something about a Mantis SAO came up. I guess this maybe the reason.
It has been more than a month now. The conference is in 2 weeks and I have not even made travel and accommodation arrangements waiting for their response. The CEAC tracker shows "Administrative Processing" whenever I check. My dilemma is that I am not particularly concerned about missing the conference because my supervisor (a European citizen) can take my place at the conference and present the paper, but I am wondering, if in case I miss the conference and the peeps at the Embassy have not made up their minds, should I wait until they finish processing the application or should I withdraw/cancel my application and ask for my passport back?

PS: Why do they even bother to give me a visa if the intention has been missed? Just curious....

/Sibin