FBI name check.

[Mus]

This is a new thread to discuss the current waiting times "after" the interview for family based immigrant visas.
Please share your experiences and quote your timelines and waiting times.
Thanks

[Mus]

This is a new thread to discuss the current waiting times "after" the interview for family based immigrant visas.
Please share your experiences and quote your timelines and waiting times.
Thanks

[shonjaved]

HI
I am also waiting for my husbands name and that to be cleared. his interview was 26Aug05. islamabad Pk.
I hope his AR is copleated very soon.

[tony897]

Don't feel too bad .I ve been waiting for the FBI check for 2.5 years and here in tampa florida they dont interview you until that check clears.
Is any advice out there ?

[Adam]

tony897: You must go to Tampa Office and check this out, It has been long over due for your background check from FBI 2.5 years.
Write back to FBI Headquarters in Washington,DC. to find out.
Take an InfoPass appointment with uscis and discus this matter.
Best of Luck.

[Mus]

Tony897 you need to check,it seems quite unusual for someone to be waiting that long 2½years.
After going through dozens of posts,I found that those already in US are facing longer periods of times than those waiting abroad.
Shonjaved,I can say for Islamabad it is not taking too long here.A lady got her clearance in 2 weeks and a friends family got their clearance in 4 days,both on visit visas.
Anyway shonjaved kindly let me know about your progress at roxio24@gmail.com,I am here in Islamabad.

[tony897]

Ohh thank you ADAM and MUS.I didn't now that until I found out about this web site ,you guys are doing a great job .
Now i got me an info pass opointment on the 19th and I already mailed FBI .I hope that i will hear somethink .Thank you guys again!

[Adam]

tony897: You have five days more for your appointment with the Immigration Officer, don't for get to take all your documents with you and let us know how did it go at uscis.

My relaitive had been finger printed in Orlando Office on Sept. 8, 2005. Once he get his citizenship Job at DOD will be offered to him I asked him to wait for few days and the write to the Officer-in-charge at Orlando to find out about his case.

[Query]

FBI name check takes too long i guess, my name check has been in pending for last 2 years and Immigration office they issued me I-551 stamp on my passport and they didnt realize that my name check process is not completed yet, so when i went there for extention of my I-551 stamp, they canceled it my stamp and put "issued in error and intend to rescind", as per my attorney i guess she is gonna take them to court...but long story short applying for EAD again...Whenever you call FBI they do not tell anything, i called them a month ago and they said we r replying Feb emails (i sent email to FBI in March) so i though mine will be next month, i called day b4 yesterday, lady said we r working on a special project so we r holding evreyone's case....so no result yet. If anyone knows any number, email or fax # please let me know.

Thanks
-Query

[Mus]

Query what is your visa type and whats your status?
Does the FBI name check for non-immigrant visas take as long as immigrant ones?
I know a few recent instances where non-immigrant cases were cleared in less than 4 weeks.

[Query]

Mus...i was here on K-3 visa, applied for green card and work permit, had green card interview call b4 finger prints and EAD.
Then recieved EAD, then letter from immigration that they will be sending a card by mail, or pick up the stamp, went there got I-551 stamp on my passport, when i havnot got anything with in six months and my stamp was getting expiring, i went to immigration office for another stamp or card, officer canceled my stamp and said it was issued in error and ur name is still in pending..talked to lawyer from office, she called immigration office and made them to put stamp on my passport for next six months, when this stamp was expiring, went to immigration office again with lawyer but they refused to put another stamp...so applying for EAD again actually i m applying for renewal cause i already had one but they took it when i got first stamp...

[tony897]

Hey Query please tell us what bcis office you are with ! and when did you hear about the new project think and in what phone # did you call !
By the way here is a very helpful info about all the contacts for FBI Back ground check cases I suggest that every one whow have a problem with the fbi check visit this link and dont forget to dowload the pdf files in the buttom :http://www.immigrationportal.com/sho...1&page=1&pp=15
good luck every one !

[Mus]

FBI Name Check Process

The FBI receives information on the applicants from the Department of State via computer disc, cable, or manual (facsimile) submissions. The requests are entered into the FBI's National Name Check Program (NNCP). The information is searched against the FBI Universal Indices (UNI). The searches seek all instances of the individual's name and approximate date of birth, whether a main file name or reference. By way of explanation, a main file name is that of an individual who is the subject of an FBI investigation, whereas a reference is someone whose name appears in an FBI investigation. References may be associates, witnesses, co-conspirators, or victims whose names have been indexed for later retrieval. The names are searched in a multitude of combinations, switching the order of first, last, middle names, as well as combinations with just the first and last, first and middle, et cetera. It also searches different phonetic spelling variations of the names, especially important considering that many names in our indices have been transliterated from a language other than English.

If there is a match with a name in a FBI record, it is designated as a "Hit," meaning that the system has stopped on a possible match with the name being checked, but now a human being must review the file or index entry to further refine the names "Hit" upon. If the search develops a name and birth date match, it is designated an "Ident." An "Ident" is usually easier to resolve.

Approximately 85% of name checks are electronically returned to the Department of State as having "No Record" within 72 hours. A "No Record" indicates that the FBI's Central Records System contains no identifiable information regarding this individual. By agreement with the Department of State, partially due to our concern about the time factors in approving visa requests, a "No Record" equates to a "No Objection" to the issuance of a visa. The investigative divisions in the FBI, (i.e., the Counterterrorism Division, the Counterintelligence Division, the Criminal Investigative Division, and the Cyber Division) do not review visa requests where there is no record of the individual. Duplicate submissions (i.e., identically spelled names with identical dates of birth submitted within the last 120 days) are not checked and the duplicate findings are returned to State.

With the remaining 15% that were not immediately eliminated as a "No Record," because a name and birth date are not sufficient to positively correlate the file with an individual, additional review is required. A secondary manual name search usually identifies an additional 10% of the requests as also not being identical to an individual in our files, for a 95% overall "No Record" response rate. This is usually accomplished within a week of the request. The remaining 5% are identified as possibly being the subject of an FBI record. The FBI record must now be retrieved and reviewed. If the records were electronically uploaded into the FBI Automated Case Support (ACS) electronic record-keeping system, it can be viewed quickly. If not, the relevant information must be retrieved from the existing paper record. Review of this information will determine whether the information is identified with the subject of the request. If not, the request is closed as a "No Record."

The information in the file is reviewed for possible derogatory information. Less than 1% of the requests are identified with an individual with information that is derogatory or poses concern to the FBI about having access to sensitive or special U. S. technologies. These requests are forwarded to the appropriate FBI investigative division for further analysis. If the investigative division determines there is no objection to the visa request, the request is returned to the name check dissemination desk for forwarding to the Department of State. Results of the name check process are returned to the Department of State twice weekly by computer disc or telephonically in expedited requests.

If there is an objection to the visa request, the investigative division will prepare a written Security Advisory Opinion and forward it separately to the Department of State. In instances where the investigative division determines it appropriate, that individual will be placed on a watch list. In reviewing these visa requests, the FBI has, in the past, identified individuals attempting to enter the United States who are of serious concern to the FBI.

I want to emphasize to you that the FBI is sensitive to the impact that delays in visa processing of students and scholars may have on business, education, foreign relations, and worldwide perceptions of the United States. With these considerations in mind, the FBI is working diligently with the Department of State toward the common goal of improving the expediency and efficiency of the visa clearance process. At the same time, the consequences of the FBI's mission on homeland security requires that our name check process be primarily focused on accurate and thorough results. This means that there are instances when the FBI's review of a visa request must require as much time as needed to obtain an unequivocally correct result.

Processing Times

The FBI's goal is to have all visa requests completed within 120 days. Attachment A illustrates the current status of how long it takes to complete Visas Mantis name checks. This status is current as of February 23, 2004. For Visas Mantis, the FBI received 1,522 requests in the month of January 2004 and by February 23 had resolved 1,334, or 88% of them. In the month of December 2003, the FBI received 1,446 Visas Mantis requests and by February 23 had resolved all but 130 of these requests for a 91% resolution rate. The percentages continue to rise over time, with 95% of Visas Mantis requests resolved within 90 days. Visas Mantis are particularly difficult to resolve due to the predominance of requests from China and the commonality of Asian names.

A common question we receive is, "How long does it take to complete a visa request name check?" As shown on the graph, 88% are completed in 30 days and 98% of the requests are resolved in 120 days. Most name check requests that are over 60 days old are the result of the time required to retrieve and review field office record information. Some delay occurs at substantive analysts' desks, but this is to be expected. These analysts are assigned to an investigative division and are primarily assigned to the analysis of intelligence reports from around the world in order to support on-going investigations, or to support the flow of intelligence to policy makers. Despite these significant and voluminous responsibilities, these are the best professionals to review information in our records and to then make an informed decision on whether a requester of a visa represents a threat to our homeland, or is interested in illegally acquiring targeted U. S. special technology. You will understand, however, that with the press of other business, the reviews of visa requests do not always achieve the analysts' highest priority in their assigned work. I would add, in response to one of the questions posed in the invitation to testify before this Committee, that the investigative divisions believe the information found in the Visas Mantis requests they review is of use in their other responsibilities.

FBI Visa Tracking System

The FBI's name check application accurately tracks each visa request within the our name check process. At any moment, we are able to electronically retrieve the status of an individual request, including where it is within the name check process, determine which requests have been pending for a certain period of time, identify the FBI files associated with an individual, ascertain the result of a name search, identify the type of visa request, and generate the data found in Attachment A. This tracking capability serves not only the 200,000 visa requests submitted each year, but also the other 6.1 million requests submitted by over 70 other federal, state, and local agencies.

Process Improvement

We are working together with the Department of State to ensure that all old visa requests are accounted for and processed. This is being accomplished through a systematic comparison between the FBI name checks and the Department of State's visa databases. We closely monitored student visa submissions for this school year and believe that we were able to meet this seasonal demand. We are using the National Academy of Sciences' data to assist us in monitoring our response time for both students and visiting scholars. We have a public inquiry system where we check the status of individual cases. This system has been helpful in identifying and resolving individual problems. We have not detected any systematic problems associated with our review process.

[Query]

hey tony,
the link you gave to me, actually i was looking for this thread, Thanks !!
I called the same fBI # i mean main line, its also mentioned on this link. My immg office is in New Jersey.

[houston_1216]

All,
We filed for I-485 in July 2003, had our interview (went real good) in August 2004. Officer mentioned that he couldn't stamp my passport because of FBI name check wnd should receive a letter within 30 days to get my passport stamped.
Now it's been more than a year, several trips to INS office and get the same answer pending on FBI name check. Overall I have taken 3 Finger prints. Can anyone help me out and explain what's going on.
We have contacted our Congressman who gets the same answer from FBI, we are still checking. How much can they check. It's been more than 2 years.
Any response will be helpful.
Thanks