Administrative Processing at the U.S. Embassy in London

Some cases require additional administrative processing. If you attended a visa interview on or after October 1, 2009 and your application was refused under 221(g) and you received the "Administrative Processing" handout at the interview, you can check the status of your case on-line. The case status report will be updated periodically. The review of your application may take 90 days to complete. In some cases, processing can take six months or longer, so if your case is not yet listed, please check back periodically for the latest information.

How to read the case status report

Find your Batch No. in the case status report and note the case Status. There are only four case status remarks: Pending; Email Sent (Date); Send Passport (PPT) and Processed. Each remark is explained below and instructions are given where applicable.

Pending:  Your case is still pending administrative processing. The Embassy cannot issue you a visa before completion of this process. The Embassy cannot waive this processing or influence the amount of time this processing may take. Please do not contact the Embassy while your application is being processed as we will not be able to assist you.

Email Sent: The Embassy needs additional information from you in order to process your case to conclusion. The Embassy has emailed or telephoned you regarding this information. You must submit this information to the Embassy before your case can be completed. If your case status is EMAIL SENT, but that email was never received, please contact our Operator Assisted Information Service and let them know that you need to email the Embassy regarding this information.

Send Passport (PPT): You are required to submit your passport for issuance of the visa. Submit your passport through the Embassy's contract courier service, DX Secure. You may arrange a collection by visiting their website at http://www.thedx.co.uk/.  Please note:  You have four months from the date on which your passport is requested in which to submit it.  If you fail to do so, you will be required to reapply for the visa. 

Processed: The visa has been issued, or the case is closed and no action can be taken at this time. If the visa is issued, it will be returned within approximately 5 workdays by DX Secure, the Embassy's contact courier service.

You can track the progress of your passport, once it has been handed to DX Secure, on-line by visiting www.thedx.co.uk/tracking. You will need your invoice number and the postcode quoted on the invoice. Reminder: Your passport will not be handed to the courier company until the Nonimmigrant Visa Section has processed your application. If your passport has not been handed to the courier company, you will receive a message saying "Sorry, this combination of tracking number and postcode do not correspond with our records. Please check and try again".

Cases processed prior to October 1, 2009

We regret that there is no mechanism for checking the status of a nonimmigrant visa application submitted prior to October 1, 2009. If your application has been pending more than 90 days, you may call the Operator Assisted Information Service for further information.