Hello, everybody. In this video, we're going to talk about a very important topic.
How to resolve issues with cases that are currently pending,
with embassies and consulates worldwide, how to contact them, what to say or go through their
process in detail. So we're going to talk about cases that are stuck in administrative processing,
what it is, and what is the timeline for a case that goes through to administer processing
at this time. So very important topics. What are you waiting for? I'll see you on the other side.
Hello, everybody. And welcome back to our immigration channel. This is a place we
get the most up to date, immigration news, immigration updates, and everything else
that you need to make your immigration journey less stressful. My name is Jacob Sapochnick,
and I'm an immigration attorney located in San Diego, California. And we help clients
all over the world in all 50 states and deal with almost every single embassy all across the world.
In this video, I'm going to give you some tips, how to deal with these embassies. How to contact
them when you have a problem in your case. And also we'll talk about administrative processing,
what it is, and how to get out of that, and also the timetable that you're going to go through
if your case is selected for administrative processing. So make sure you watch this video
till the end. I've got really really good stuff for you guys. Before we dive into the video,
remember, if you're stuck, if your case is stuck, if you need help, if you're frustrated, you need
to set up a consultation. Don't hesitate, text me at 619-483-4549. And so we can set up a time,
one on one to discuss your case so I can see if I can help you as well. So let's talk about first,
how to deal with these embassies and consulates if you have a problem before we resort to any of
these expedited and before we try to sue the government. How do you contact them
initially to understand what is happening with your case? Remember, if you have a case sitting
at an embassy right now or is about to be shipped to an embassy from an NVC, most people don't
understand or realize that the first thing you should do is actually contact the post directly
still on the standard embassies and consulates do have dedicated staff that is in charge
to respond to those emails and to explain to the public what's going on, either with your case or
answer some general questions. So, here are some of the issues that will be appropriate to contact
the post directly via their email address that is available on every Embassy's website. Number one
request to review factual determinations, including a request to review a refusal
under Section 214 B. As you may know, section 214 B is one of the most common reasons why tourist
visas get denied. Why do people that apply for non Immigrant Visas also E2 visas, for example,
get refused because of lack of ties to the home country. Sometimes these determinations are not
right and are not justified. And you can, after refusal in a polite way, email the post directly
and request clarification as to why your case was refused. Many, many embassies and consulates will
reply to you at some point with the general idea as to why your case was refused and under Section
214 B. Again, if your case is refused under that section, you need to email that post directly
right after the interview to see if you can get some clarification. And if you do, make sure you
print it and save it for future reference. Number two, request for case status update. Imagine your
case is pending review at the US Embassy, whether it's an E2 visa or student visa, and you haven't
heard from them for a while. You can email them directly and request a case status. In
many cases right now where embassies are open and processing immigrant visa appointments, And those
cases are still under review for whatever reason, you can and you should email the embassy directly
to request a case status update. Number three, if you have an attorney, your attorney can email
the embassy legal questions to clarify whether it's an E visa or Vawa case pending or U visa,
or any other consular case that is sitting there legal questions specifically, your questions
could be answered by the consular officers to legal representatives. If you have an attorney
or somebody that's helping you, you can do that as well. Number four matters involving scheduling
your appointment. If you want to cancel, if you want to request an earlier date, sometimes it's
possible to email the post directly and see if they're willing to accommodate your request.
Sometimes your cases could be selected for security advisory opinion. And those can take a
long time. You can also Email the embassy and find out the status of that inquiry as well, directly
to the post via email. Number six, you email them to request an explanation in case of a revocation,
cancellation, or refusal. Imagine you go to the US embassy to apply for an E visa. And at that
interview, they cancel your tourist visa. And they don't tell you why. We had a recent case
where a client was applying for an E visa. They had some issues with the case. While
they're investigating that certain visa, they've canceled the applicant's tourist visa, we emailed
the embassy and they gave us an explanation as to why they've done that. So a very effective way to
contact the embassy directly. How do you contact the post? Most of these posts have dedicated email
addresses for immigrant visas and non-immigrant visas. Make sure you use the correct email address
when making your inquiry. When sending an email address, very important tips: make sure you have
a clear subject line as to why you're emailing them the strong subject line with the purpose
of your email and whether the matter is urgent or non-urgent. That should be the subject line. Next,
you'd have the applicant’s full name in the body of the email, the applicant’s case number,
whether it's NVC case number, USCIS case number, anything important for the reference, so they'll
be able to know who you are, and what your case is about. Very important to include the applicant's
date of birth. This is one way they track you also in their system as well. And finally,
a brief description as to why you are emailing them. And a small summary of your request from
the embassy at that time. So you send your email. What happens next? Once you send an email expect a
response typically within 30 days. If there's no response in 30 days, you send a follow-up
email to the same address. If the post does not respond within 15 days after the second inquiry,
send another follow up eventually the post will respond to you. If you have an attorney who is
helping you with your case, your attorney can also make an inquiry with legal net, which is the State
Department's advisory opinion about your case to see if they can give you more clarification if
your case is stuck, but that's only available for attorneys. Now, remember, if your case is selected
for administrative processing, emailing the embassy is not going to help you that much
because your case is under review. So you can email the embassy and they're going to let you
know that your case is under review. We need to understand what is administrative processing
and why your case could be selected for such a process. It is that during an interview,
a consular officer may determine that further inquiry and further investigation is needed
to check on their case before giving an approval. It could be something that you said, it could be
something in the documents that they've seen, it could be your actions before coming to the US
Embassy from the United States, maybe in a past overstay, whatever that is, they will determine
that at the time of the interview and will select your case for further administrative processing.
Another reason why cases can go to administrative processing is what is called a database
hit. As you know, all visa applicants have their biometrics taken and verified versus
different databases that the State Department and immigration have available for. If these checks
indicate a possible match, also known as a hit person in whom the government holds a diverse
watch list information, Consular officers must clear this hit by seeking further information that
the person on the hit list is not that same person applying for the visa at the moment. And that's
why when we have a database hit, they'll pull you and take this case to administrative processing.
Another reason is what is called the technology alert list. Administrative processing can be the
outcome of certain visa applications where the applicants in any commercial or academic activity
can trigger some concerns about the possible illegal transfer of technology or information.
And this is defined in the technology alert list, also known as PAL. So,
when the consular officer encounters an applicant that is going to engage in any of the activities
that are defined in a PAL list, that case must be flagged for administrative processing. So,
what's the timetable for cases that go in to administer processing? Everybody's asking that?
Well, that will depend on each individual case. In the past, cases were going to administrative
processing, the State Department stated that they should be resolved within 60 days. But
this is no longer the case. They're taking much, much longer. Another question we get often is,
Can an applicant be subject to the administrative review process every time they apply for a visa?
And the answer is yes. Even if you've been subject to processing before, it doesn't mean that when
you apply for a new visa it’s not going to happen to you again, and this is specifically true
with security clearance cases. Recently the State Department announced that if your case is subject
to administrative processing, you should wait at least 180 days before submitting an inquiry
because those cases are taking that long to be resolved. So is it all bad? The administrative
processing? Well, the only good news is that cases are not going to be sent to administrative unless
they are otherwise provable, meaning, for example, if you apply for an HB1 visa, and the consular
process and the US Embassy believes that you should be getting the visa eventually,
except from the fact that you need to check a few things about your clearance, your background,
and few little things, then they'll send your case for a missile processing. But the point is that
if your case is not provable, meaning that they're gonna deny you anyway, they're not
going to send you to administer processing. So that's a good thing to know. In most cases,
administrative processing tells us that you have satisfied most of the requirements of the visa,
and they just need to check a few little things before they give you the final approval. So that's
a good sign. In case your case is dragged into administrative processing, remember,
you have to wait at least 180 days before you contact the embassy under the same guidelines
that I mentioned at the beginning of this video. Hopefully, this information was helpful. If you
have any questions, make sure you post in the comments below. If you're here for the first time,
don't forget to subscribe to our channel. Click the notification bell to be notified of any new
videos that we release. And as always, if you need my help, send me a text, 619-483-4549. I look
forward to being of service to you as well. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you in the next video.