Hi All
I was interviewed for O1 visa stamping at Islamabad Consulate last week. But visa officer was unable to locate the approved O1 visa petition in their system, they told me that I do not have to do anything and they will check on their end.
He gave me a 221 G receipt and told me that the consulate would contact me.
They have kept my passport and original O1 approval notice.
Is related to the PIMS issue?
Appreciate your inputs
Regards
Ahah…it sounds 100% like me in September 2019. And i read about it so much before going in for the interview!!!
Like you, i got approved for an O1 (b) visa. My starting date was at the end of August 2019 so i kinda rushed after my lawyer told me i got approved to book the appointment. And i actually asked to accelerate the process _ get an interview a few days prior to what was proposed to me in the system_ which i should not have!!!
Because like you I GOT “DENIED” at the embassy because they could not find me in their system. At the first window, the man said “Oh, there seems to be a little issue, i can’t see your approval”, i said right away " is that PIMS?", he said yes. I asked if that was happening often and he also replied yes.
Then i did the formal interview with a woman. Everything was good YET she said she could not approved me that day because of pims and she denied me under 221g. She however kept my passport and said that i should get it back in 7 days with the stamp!
I emailed PIMS and even asked my lawyers if they send in a copy to KCC which they did.
Pims won’t reply as it has be internal.
For a week i was under ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESSING on the website of the government which by the way was down for a day or 2 adding even more panic.
I started to read tons of stuff online about people being in ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESSING for years.
BUT , exactly 1 week after my interview like the officer said I GOT MY VISA WITH THE STAMP!!!
Sadly now though, I and you WILL TO have to say YES, WE HAVE BEEN DENIED A VISA IN THE PAST on future application while it is clearly not our fault.
Ps- so far, i only used my visa for less than 6 months while i have it for already a year and half. Thanks to the travel ban European and this freaking pandemic
Thank you [lily18] for your response. Sounds like you had a similar issue. The thing is that it been a month now for me. Due to COVID it’s quite difficult to predict the time frame I should expect a response from the embassy.
A month? You said last week.
You can check the status of your passport/stamp on the government website, can t remember the name but you should be able to find it online
Hi Lily 18
Its been a month since my interview which was conducted on Dec 15 2020.
. I have checked online there is no update on website it still says Passport with Embassy . DO not know whats going on might be due to COVID 
they are taking soooo long.
Did you check on this website?
https://ceac.state.gov/ceac/
And yes, covid sadly. And i m not sure where you are located but sometimes, if your name is pretty common which happens for many Spanish names, arabic names, it may take them a while to do background check.
Finally, there was christmas and new year… So not a really good time
Yeah, i did check online but unfortunately, it still shows Refused with the date of interview.
So I think nothing can be done as far as I am concerned but just wait & see.
Just change of status on CEAC from Refused to Administrative Processing. Hope the issue (PIMS) be resolved soon.
Any idea how long would it take?
@Kumar any inputs from you are highly appreciated as well