221g White slip

USA H1B
1

Hello,
My brief background-
H4 EAD. Spouse H1B with 485 Current since April 2022(We have not submitted our application yet since I am stuck with 221G, by this time we could have gotten our 485 approved).
March 15th- Pune Drop Box appointment, I received 221G in an envelope on March 28th. Asked for documents.
March 31st- in person interview at Mumbai Consulate, got another 221G white slip. The VO collected the documents they requested for. The VO asked two specific questions, and I answered them truthfully. I had a court case in 2016 which was eventually dismissed. (I am in the US since 2001). There was no plea agreement, no convictions. The case was completely dismissed.

Today is the 77th day with no information on it. Wife (Indian Citizen), Kids (US citizens) are already back in the US. Our 485 got current while we were in India, and we are unable to file our 485 until I am back in the US as well. Spouse’s immigration law firm reached out to the Embassy first week of June, to which they received a generic email response that it is still under review.
From researching various websites and resources, I gather that my application would be in a pile somewhere with more 221Gs stacked on it. The DOS itself says that most background checks/Security clearances are done within 60 days. I have reached out to the consulate phoneline few times, but again its the same generic answers they are trained to give.
My question is NOT about how long it would take (Probably no one knows an answer to that one)
But if there any similar cases that might shed some light on the timeline that would be of great help.
I wonder why should it take this long for them to cross check all the information provided. This information came directly from their own court systems. I wonder what would keep them from holding it for so long. I can understand if some one takes time to retrieve documents from various sources, and then submit, and then they do their due diligence in verifying. But how much time is too much for them?
Thank you.

2

Did they ask you to fill DS5535 form?

Nobody can tell you if its a similar case or not as you have just shared generic information and not the specific court case type.

Each court case type may be treated differently and it depends on whether you declared it on DS160 or not.

1 Like
3

Thanks Anil for replying.
No they did not ask me to fill in DS5535 form.
It was a case of online chatting, which was eventually dismissed from all levels of court system.
The VO did not ask me about DS160. But I did not mention about the arrest in DS 160.
The VO did ask me two specific questions about the case- to which both the answers were given truthfully.
Did you ever meet the girl- No
Were any pictures exchanged- Yes
He then handed the 221G White slip.

4

I think the problem here is that you did not declare it on DS160 and hence they want to verify if any other similar case is pending against you in any other state/court.

If i have guessed the type of case correctly, it is treated quite seriously.

But, there is nothing to panic. You should get clearance if there was no other offence after the court dismissed the case.

Its just about the time that you have to wait.

If you want, you can file a mandamus case (many federal attorneys file it) to force embassy to finish processing within a specific time.

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5

Thanks again for your inputs Anil. If I can ask one last thing-
Our immigration attorney already reached out to them to which they replied back generically, but they did mention that the VO has been alerted. Does this help the case? Or, Mandamus is the only way to go should I need to expedite in some form? I do realize all this is a blackbox. From your experience however, would be able to gauge any timeline for this?
Once again, thank you for this platform and I genuinely appreciate your efforts in reaching out to people here to the best you can!

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6

Hi Anil,
While I still await on my 221g application, coming closer towards the 180th day mark, I wanted to seek your opinion on the following-
Would it help if my lawyer reaches out to the consulate and explain the points surrounding why the DS160 arrest question was checked 'No"?
I feel I made a blunder in answering that question, but there is no way now I can rectify it anywhere.
I also am inclined to own that up officially in some ways before I head the Mandamus route.
Thank you!

7

If your attorney can, then they can try the email route.

8

Hi Anil,
After waiting for 180 days, we went ahead and filed for Mandamus. Next week, the stipulated 60-day period for a response from their side will be exhausted. I have still not received any feedback/decision from their end. Is this normal? Have you come across a situation like this in your experience? Now I do know that they either have to file some response (It can be either a motion to dismiss, motion to extend, or just give some decision soon). Our lawyer feels they might file an extension. given the nature of my case. From your experience, do you have any inputs on how long this should take to resolve?
Thank you in Advance!

9

@anil_am22 Hi Anil, you mentioned that this case is treated quite seriously. You said that because in DS160 answered “No” or because of the specifics of the case?
Please Respond.