H1B Visa Approved but online status shows Administrative Processing

[H1BApprovedButAP]

same situation, visa approved, no slips given, status is administrative processing

I am in same situation.
VO Interview at Chennai: 25th Jan 2018
Office told, VISA is approved and I should get my passport in 3 to 4 business days. No Slips given
Online status shows my case is under Administrative Processing with last update as 25th Jan 2018
I am with the same company in USA and in same role since 2011. I got VISA stamping from US Consulate in Chennai in 2011 and 2014 with the same company
Not sure, what is going on and the more frustrating part is, not sure what to do....
Our company attorney told, there is nothing we can do other than waiting

[h1visawait]

Hello,
I am in the same situation. Do not understand why this is going on. What is your company doing regarding this? Are there any escalation procedures?

My company is asking me to wait for more time as there is no way to expedite this processing. They did say that it is not usual to see the processing take more than 60 days.
How many days it has been since your interview? What is your company's response?

[venky001]

I'm facing similar issue. I have applied for an H1B and H4 extension for stamping and my application was selected for dropbox facility. And below is experience.

Case Created on: 29-Jan-2018
Update 1 : 30-Jan-2018 CEAC is "Administrative Processing" IVR says "Passport is still with Embassy"
Update 2 : 1-Feb-2018 CEAC is "Administrative Processing" IVR says "Passport is ready for pickup" for same i received email notification around 11:20 AM.

On 2-Feb-2018 I collected my passport at Bangalore VFS office and received Blue slip says "Appear for interview along with applicants passport (H1 & H4)".
Update 3: 2-Feb-2018 CEAC is "Administrative Processing" IVR says "Your passport is picked up".

on 5-Feb-2018 I went for VISA interview at Chennai Consulate. VO asked simple questions like 1. who is your petitioner? 2.who is your client? 3.what they do? 4.which city are you going to work? 5.what is your salary? Last they gave "US right to know" booklet and finally said your VISA is Approved!!!.

Update 4: 5-Feb-2018 CEAC is "Administrative Processing" IVR says "Your passport is picked up"

Since then there is no update from US consulate. My concern is already my travel date is postponed twice due to "Admin processing" not sure when I will get VISA.

Plz do share if anyone facing similar issue during Feb 2018 and your VISA status.

Thank you.

[h1visawait]

Hello,

Appeared on Dec 14 for interview at New Delhi, visa application approved and no slips given and no documents have been asked for. I had to cancel flights, train bookings and under a lot of pressure from work Any idea what's the longest it can take and if there is anything I should be doing at my end other than checking status? Pleas guide.

Is yours approved now?

[h1visawait]

Interview date 19 Dec
Last update 19 Dec
Visa approved but now Admin processing
No 221g yet

Seems like open season for Admin processing

is yours approved now?

[venky001]

221G tracker link

Hi,

Most of us are in same situation, few might already created the log in this forum and few not logged their comments. Whoever experienced or received 221G after interview or during drop box submission can submit the VISA status in below link to track the specfic consulate center progess status regarding their 221G status.

https://www.immihelp.com/tracker/221g-tracker-page-1.html

Thank you

[h1bnightmare]

162 days and counting...

Still in AP after 162 days since the visa interview at the US Embassy in Cairo, Egypt. The case created and case last updated dates have been same since the day of the interview. I lost hope and am certain they forgot the case folder in a drawer or something :/

[Harpreps]

Same situation.

VI date: Feb 12
Location: Mumbai
Officer said that the passport is approved and handed me back the I797 and a generic white paper that said the same thing in 4 languages. The paper says " Thank you for your application! Your passport and visa will be sent to the location you selected when you made your application. The delivery location is listed on your appointment letter......."
Is this 221g Form? I assume not. There is no case number or anything on this paper.

CEAC update date: Feb 12 to AP.
No further updates after that.

Emailed and called them but got the same generic reply to wait and I will be contacted if they need more documents.

Let me know when your status changes.

I am in same situation.
VO Interview at Chennai: 25th Jan 2018
Office told, VISA is approved and I should get my passport in 3 to 4 business days. No Slips given
Online status shows my case is under Administrative Processing with last update as 25th Jan 2018
I am with the same company in USA and in same role since 2011. I got VISA stamping from US Consulate in Chennai in 2011 and 2014 with the same company
Not sure, what is going on and the more frustrating part is, not sure what to do....
Our company attorney told, there is nothing we can do other than waiting

[h1visawait]

H1-B extension.
Working as FTE for same company (One of the top 10 in USA) for the last 10 years.
VFS appointment date for fingerprints: December 5th 2017
Visa appointment at consulate: December 8th 2017
Consulate location: Hyderabad, India
Visa officer asked 4 simple questions like title, how long working for the company, salary, qualification. Answered the same. Officer said "Safe travels", returned my I-797 and kept the passport with them. I assumed it meant visa approved. No slip was given.
Status on CEAC visa tracker showing "administrative processing/application received" since then.
Already 60 days now and still waiting.

December 7th: Case Created
December 23rd: Changed from "administrative processing" to "application received".
December 26th: Changed from "application received" to "administrative processing".
January 19th: Changed from "administrative processing" to "application received".
No updates after that.

Anyone else in similar situation with interview dates of November/December last year? Please share if you are still waiting or visa approved when details.

Mine changed to "Issued" On 15th Feb and received passport on 17th.

[nineth]

VI date: Feb 12
Location: Mumbai
Officer said that the passport is approved and handed me back the I797 and a generic white paper that said the same thing in 4 languages. The paper says " Thank you for your application! Your passport and visa will be sent to the location you selected when you made your application. The delivery location is listed on your appointment letter......."
Is this 221g Form? I assume not. There is no case number or anything on this paper.

CEAC update date: Feb 12 to AP.
No further updates after that.

Emailed and called them but got the same generic reply to wait and I will be contacted if they need more documents.

Let me know when your status changes.

This is not 221g. It goes into a brief administrative processing after the visa is approved. See:
https://jp.usembassy.govhttps://www....-status-check/
(although this is from a Japanese US consulate site, the explanation for status is the same everywhere)
However, if it has been in AP for this long, that's less common - sometimes it can be due to workload or perhaps due to issues they have with their system. There are some folks though for whom it went into real administrative processing (221g) even after the consular officer approved it!! (and they were asked for documents) -- these are very rare and such stories can be pretty scary! However, I think there have also been cases where it took about a few weeks even after approval at interview - these are again rare and could be either because of some real administrative processing that didn't require documents or just due to holidays/workload/their internal issues.

[Harpreps]

Still AP

My case last updated date changed from 2/12 to 2/23. Still AP.
No change so far after that. Still havent received any request for any documents.

Anyone else in the same boat for having to wait so long without any change in status?

This is not 221g. It goes into a brief administrative processing after the visa is approved. See:
https://jp.usembassy.govhttps://www....-status-check/
(although this is from a Japanese US consulate site, the explanation for status is the same everywhere)
However, if it has been in AP for this long, that's less common - sometimes it can be due to workload or perhaps due to issues they have with their system. There are some folks though for whom it went into real administrative processing (221g) even after the consular officer approved it!! (and they were asked for documents) -- these are very rare and such stories can be pretty scary! However, I think there have also been cases where it took about a few weeks even after approval at interview - these are again rare and could be either because of some real administrative processing that didn't require documents or just due to holidays/workload/their internal issues.

[Harpreps]

No updates for 2 weeks.

My case last updated date changed from 2/12 to 2/23. Still AP.
No change so far after that. Still havent received any request for any documents.

Anyone else in the same boat for having to wait so long without any change in status?

I still havent heard back from them or seen any change in the status. Has anyone else seen such long waits?

[H1b_hammer]

Another one on the boat

Location - New Delhi
Interview - Mar 5
CEAC status as of Mar 5 is AP

My interview was smooth and the officer did not see any documents at all. Just took the passport and said that my Visa is approved and that I will get my stamped passport within a week. Mine is also a case of F1 to H1b. I have to return to work to the US on March 12th.

Any recommendation on whether I should reschedule my flight or wait some more?

Thanks to all the posts in here!

Update - Status date updated to Mar 9; still AP

[stuck_in_loop]

approved after 2 green slips and 6 weeks

My Experience (mumbai consulate, H1b extension, FTE)

1) 29th Jan: I went to drop passport.
2) 5th feb: the status updated to passport ready to pickup.
3) 6th feb: I went for passport collection at 10:00am and it had 221g slip. (Finger print required). I gave my fingerprint on 6th itself.
4) 15th Feb: The status on passport tracker site updated to ?ready for pick up?.
5) 16th Feb: I went and took the passport which had another green slip indicating interview needed.
6) 20th feb: I went for interview and they took fingerprint again . After interview the counselor said verbally your visa is approved and it will arrive in 7 days.
7) 20th Feb: CEAC visa tracker site says ?administrative processing?
8) 9th March: CEAC website updated to ?administrative processing?
9) 9th March: 3:30 pm CEAC website changed to issued.
10) 11th march: collected passport.

I had to cancel 2 flights and lost total of 1000$ total.

Couple of tips:
a) Dropbox in my case added 2-3 weeks more to my timeline. (should have gone for interview appointment directly.)
b) If approved by VO, your visa might take time but you will surely get it (do not book flight based on VO recommended days require for approval. Mine said 7 days and it took 11 business days)
c) If you want to save a trip. try to pickup passport at 10:00 am from pickup location so if you have a green slip, you can directly go to consulate for interview/fingerprints etc at the 10:30am -11:00am time window since this is the only time they accept green slip candidates. (atleast for mumbai consulate)

Thank you and do not worry, just get through the frustration period and hang tight. Surely VISA will be approved for FTE.

[priyanka23]

Location - New Delhi
Interview - Mar 5
CEAC status as of Mar 5 is AP

My interview was smooth and the officer did not see any documents at all. Just took the passport and said that my Visa is approved and that I will get my stamped passport within a week. Mine is also a case of F1 to H1b. I have to return to work to the US on March 12th.

Any recommendation on whether I should reschedule my flight or wait some more?

Thanks to all the posts in here!

Update - Status date updated to Mar 9; still AP

Hi,

I am also in the same boat. I appeared for Interview on 6th March in New Delhi consulate & my status is AP since then. No slip or additional docs request till now.
My return flight is on 28th March. Did you receive your passport or any update ??

Thanks all for sharing your experience..!!