H1B renewal refusal under 221g with visa currently under administrative processing

[h1bvisaman]

I had come to India on Nov 21, 2019 to get my new H1B visa stamped on my passport. I'm at a reputed product based company in my industry, working directly with them and not through a IT service or sourcing firm.

What I believed was going to be a simple and straightforward process has eventually resulted in me getting a white 221g form telling me it's going to take longer for the consular officer to reach a decision on my visa.

Timeline:

1. Submitted the required documents in the dropbox on Nov 22, 2019. Documents were –
   • Interview confirmation page.
   • DS-160 confirmation page.
   • Copies of all i-797 A received so far (2 in number).
   • Passport
   • 2 recent passport size photographs as per US visa specifications
2. Got an email from the US embassy on Nov 27, 2019 asking me to collect the passport
3. I collected my passport on Nov 29, 2019 (Friday) as I was traveling outside the state within India the previous 2 days. Upon collection, I noticed the passport had no H1B visa issued as expected and instead had a piece of paper asking to come for an in-person interview
4. I went for the interview on Dec 2, 2019. After the interview, the officer issued a white slip notifying me that my H1B was refused under section 221(g) of the US Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) as it requires further processing before a final decision can be made.

Has anyone else experienced this on this forum? So far, the status has not changed and I'm still waiting.

[arj]

@h1bvisaman

I am in a similar situation, I think. I am also a direct full time employee of a product based company and I was told that my visa is approved after my interview and I was asked a lot of questions ranging from my employer, salary, if I was on OPT (6 years back - and I have been through one stamping after that), if I was on STEM extension and if I was out of status.
I was told I will get an SMS and given the working rights pamphlet. I was not given any 221g.

The same afternoon, I saw that my status on CEAC was "Refused" and has not changed since then, today is the 4th business day. I called the embassy twice and emailed them once and I was asked to wait and told that my visa application is under administrative processing.

Looks like even one month is not enough to get an already approved petition stamped. Very hard to have a vacation with being subjected to conditions like these.