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Asking for passport while stuck in Admin Processing for B1/B2 visa renewal (Toronto)

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  • Asking for passport while stuck in Admin Processing for B1/B2 visa renewal (Toronto)

    Hello,

    Context: My parents both applied for a US B1/B2 renewal. My mother's old B1/B2 had expired last July and my father has a valid B1/B2 visa until October 2022. The renewal was because of trip planned around September / October 2022. Since they were both going to travel together, it made sense to apply for a renewal for both. My parents are both Canadian permanent residents.

    They were both put in Administrative Processing (AP), but then my mother's visa got issued after a week in AP whereas my father's application is still in AP for over 2 weeks. My parents need to travel from Canada to their home country (Bangladesh) soon for business but now I have no idea how long AP will take (some sites say it can be from a few weeks to even over a year). We are considering asking for my father's passport back from the consulate so that he can at least travel while the visa application is still in processing.

    Since they had a previous b1/b2 within 48 months and no rejection, they were eligible for visa interview waiver, so we never received any form before being put in AP. So we don't even know why the application is in AP.

    My questions are:

    Firstly, has anyone had a similar experience with AP in Toronto? My father has an extensive travel history which I think could be a factor. I am also wondering if it's because he applied for a renewal with almost a year left on his current B1/B2.

    Secondly and more importantly, if we ask for the passport back from the consulate, does it automatically result in the cancellation of this visa application or it will keep on being processed even when they don't have the passport. If it's cancelled, then will this affect future visa applications? If it keeps on being processed, will they just ask for the passport back when they have reached a decision after AP?

  • #2
    They should be able to recover their passports without compromising their new applications. Have they spent an inordinate amount of time in the US?

    Comment


    • #3
      Hi Member,
      Please see my response below.
      Firstly, has anyone had a similar experience with AP in Toronto? My father has an extensive travel history which I think could be a factor. I am also wondering if it's because he applied for a renewal with almost a year left on his current B1/B2.
      Answer: Adjudication from visa office and getting delay is really normal. Sometimes it will take a month to get the response from them too. I suggest you to wait for some time to get the response from them. If you really need a passport for other purpose then you can contact consulate with your request. It will be really doable that you can get the passport back from them.

      Secondly and more importantly, if we ask for the passport back from the consulate, does it automatically result in the cancellation of this visa application or it will keep on being processed even when they don't have the passport. If it's cancelled, then will this affect future visa applications? If it keeps on being processed, will they just ask for the passport back when they have reached a decision after AP?
      Answer: For this, you will need to have a discussion with consulate. It is really not predictable, how they will react once you apply for passport back without taking any action by visa officer. But one thing I can say is, If you get back the passport from consulate, It will not really impact for future application. The current application can be or may be denied but you can apply anytime in the future.
      Thanks

      Comment


      • #4
        They should be able to recover their passports without compromising their new applications. Have they spent an inordinate amount of time in the US?
        No but they have had a number of short visits to the US. Also both parents had been to around 13 different countries (Europe, South America, Middle East) within the last 5 years. My mother had an almost identical travel history, but she got her visa quite fast. Also when we were filling in the DS 160 form online, they asked for travel history details only for my mother and not for my father. I wonder if they are just trying to verify the travel history. Because they didn't need to go for an interview, we have no way of knowing why it is taking so long.

        For this, you will need to have a discussion with consulate. It is really not predictable, how they will react once you apply for passport back without taking any action by visa officer. But one thing I can say is, If you get back the passport from consulate, It will not really impact for future application. The current application can be or may be denied but you can apply anytime in the future.
        Yes, I am worried that if it gets denied now, he will have problems for future applications as well. It has now been almost 4 weeks since AP. I think, we will take your advice and first ask the consulate 'if' this application will be auto-denied or not if we ask for the passport back. Other than that, it seems like there is nothing to do except wait.

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        • #5
          asking for the passport back should not trigger any adverse action by the consulate.

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