AP Approaching 7 months

[Pig&Monkey]

Hi all,

I'd like to share and ask if anyone is going through a similar situation as my fiance and me.

1) My fiance had his interview in Guangzhou on 2019-01-24. The interview was ~10 min, and the CO did ask about his PhD in Materials Science & Eng and also kept the resume my fiance brought. None of the instructions asked to bring a resume, but we wanted to be very prepared as my fiance is in a TAL field. After the interview, the CO gave my fiance the blue slip with only "Administrative Processing" marked and informed him there were no problems and the processing would take ~3 wks.

2) On 2019-01-28, we received a follow-up instructions email from the consulate with a Word doc attached named "SAO-M" (we presume SAO indicates Security Advisory Opinion-Mantis"??). When we opened the doc, the header was "Administrative Processing". The doc asked for my fiance's detailed resume in both English and Chinese (format resembled the DS-5535). And on 2019-01-29, we emailed the resume as instructed by the consulate, and we have been waiting every since..

3) We have emailed the consulate multiple times. I have called and emailed both my senators and my congressman. My congressman has been very helpful in contacting the consulate and then the DOS (Bureau of Consular Affairs). But each time, we still receive the same AP comment. I did call NVC last Fri, and received conflicting responses: 1st response said a note had been placed into the system stating the case has been returned to the USCIS on 2019-05-31. When I called again to confirm, the 2nd response said there was no such note. One of my senator's office did say the consulate will often return cases for further background checks.

Right now, we are just very confused and frustrated. Any tips would be much appreciated; thanks!

[Randy W]

Administrative Processing after the interview simply means that they are doing something they don't want to tell you anything about. It sounds like you're in one of the blackest of black holes in that regard.

 

Making inquiries can possibly serve to rattle the cage and shake out some activity, but, by and large, it's pretty much a "wait until we quit telling you to wait" situation.

 

from Wikipedia

 

Security Advisory Opinion (SAO) or Washington Special Clearance, commonly called security clearance, administrative clearance, or administrative processing, is a process the United States Department of State and the diplomatic missions of the United States use in deciding to grant or deny a United States visa to certain visa applicants. The process involves sending a request from the visa issuing post to the Department of State's headquarters in Washington, D.C., to investigate an individual's case for possible espionage, terrorism, and illegal export of technology out of the United States.

 

 

 

Apart from the Department of State, the process involves other agencies of the federal government of the United States, especially those under Department of Homeland Security. Some of the agencies involved are: FBI, CIA, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, and the Department of State's Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation. The process may also include checking with Interpol.

 

There are various types of SAOs, usually named after various animals, with two named after legendary characters.

 

As of August 2006, these included:

 

Visas Mantis: potential illegal transfer of sensitive or dual-use technology, which was introduced in 1998