Admin Processing

Alternatives to Waiting

Jay Gairson

Gairson Law, LLC

jay@gairson.com

(206) 357-4218

Administrative Processing

• What is it

• How it can be avoided

• How to get out of it

What is Administrative Processing?

• A catch-all term for all post-interview processing before a final visa decision is made.

Why is Administrative Processing Slow?

• Advisory opinions:

– General

– Legal

– Security

• Fraud Review

• Supervisory Review

• Mistakes

Advisory Opinions (AO)

• Legal: Questions of law as applied to fact

• Security: National security programs, 10 known (SAO)

• General: Everything else, often procedural

Security Advisory Opinions (SAO)

The Department of State Visas Menagerie: Horse, Pegasus, Bear, Eagle, Hawk, Mantis, Merlin, Viper, Condor, and Donkey

SAO Visas

Visas Horse:Specific Nationalitiesfor A, C-3, and G visas

On Visa IssuanceNo Hold

(CC0)

SAO Visas

Visas Pegasus:Namecheck for Officials from theCommonwealth of Independent States

Waivable for DPT-00 to attend pre-ministerial, ministerial, pre-summit, summit, and White House meetings.

(cc by) Christine und Hagen Graf

SAO Visas

Visas Bear:Foreign Government Officials, representatives to international organizations, and their families

On Visa IssuanceNo Hold

(CC0)

SAO Visas

Visas Eagle:NamecheckK, IV, RefugeeCuba, China, Iran, Vietnam, Russia

10 days auto-clearPre-issuance

(CC0)

SAO Visas

Visas Hawk:NCIC III namecheck

All Immigrant Visasexcept unmarried <16

Pre-clearance

(CC0)

SAO Visas

Visas Mantis:Technology Alert ListAccess to Restricted Tech

Key Impacts: F, J from China, Iran, Russia, Cuba

Pre-clearance

(CC0)

SAO Visas

Visas Merlin:Refugees and Asylees

Pre-clearance

(CC BY) “Just a Prairie Boy”

SAO Visas

Visas Viper:Recommendation to Add

Known or Suspected Terrorists

to Watchlist

(CC0)

SAO VisasVisas Condor:Extra ScreeningPre-clearance, required

T-7: Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, Syria

List of 26: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE, Yemen(CC BY) USFWS Pacific Southwest

SAO Visas

Visas Donkey:Pre-clearance, requiredif Namecheck HIT/IDENT

Deconfliction

Proposed extension to all applicants from travel ban countries

(CC0)

SAO Problems

• Exponential Growth: Visas Condor, Donkey, Viper, and Mantis• Database size, difficult to remove names• Number of applicants

• Insufficient Resources• Only 26 HSI Visa Security Units: including Riyadh, Jeddah, Manila, Abu Dhabi,

Dubai, Islamabad, Caracas, Montreal, Hong Kong, Casablanca, Cairo, Nairobi• Proposed 25% expansion to Visas Donkey reviews (Travel Ban)• Proposed reduction in budget• Huge caseloads: consular officers now interview up to 120 people per day

• Pretextual Denials

Avoiding Administrative Processing

• You cannot avoid it

• You CAN reduce its time impact by preloading the case

• Preloading: Submit documents EARLY that preempt or reduce the variables that need investigated before visa issuance

– IV: Submit to USCIS, Update with NVC, update with Consulate

– NIV: Notify Consulate if complex; Prep client with strong elevator pitch (<45 seconds) including supplemental brief and documents.

Preloading

• When to preload?• Cases likely to receive additional scrutiny• At every opportunity, even when the information is not requested

• What to preload with?• Information and documents that preempt or reduce investigatory burden• “Extreme Vetting” answers

Extreme Vetting

• Proposed requests (Sec. Tillerson):

– 15 years: travel history, addresses, detailed prior occupations & employers

– 5 years: phone numbers,[controversy: email addresses and social media handles]

– All prior passport numbers

– For all siblings, children (step & bio), former spouses: name, nickname, address, job, phone, U.S. immigration status

(CC0)

Stuck! Now what?

1. Identify Reason, if possible

2. Inquire, wait 60 days inquire again

3. Escalate to supervisor

4. AILA Committee Liaison

5. NIV: Visa Office; IV: NVC/KCC

6. Congressional Inquiry

7. Mandamus / Litigation

(CC0)

Miscellaneous Tips

• DOS is not always where a case is delayed:

• Reach out to other agencies, FOIA other agencies

• Don’t get angry, do use humor (with caution)

• Be understanding & informative

• Be creative:

• Sue FBI/DHS/ICE due to their delays

• Investigate new theories

• Most consulates send emails at the start of their day and often respond quickly to immediate follow-up emails

Client Management

• Be Upfront: warn about potential delays before filing anything

• Be Understanding, listen carefully to the frustration

• Keep Informed: an informed client is a happier client

• Be Honest: “I don’t know” “I don’t understand it either” “I am really frustrated with this” “It takes patience”

• Work Together: let your client push directly on the agency, but warn not to get angry, not to threaten, and that some officers may lie, deflect, and ignore

(CC0)