Males from the List of 26 countries (most Moslem and/or Arab countries) and males and females from the T-5 countries (Iran, Sudan, Syria, North Korea and Cuba) should expect to experience increased delays in the nonimmigrant (E.G., H-1B, J-1, F-1, O-1) visa issuance process at consular posts abroad and are cautioned to be aware that consular officers will infrequently expedite such clearances and that waits can be up to 250 days. Moreover, the fact that an applicant in these categories may have waited only a few days in the past does not mean there will not be a lengthy delay for future visas. Our experienced attorneys have noted that delays for Lebanese applicants applying in Lebanon and Pakistani applicants applying in Islamabad are experiencing increased delays in many cases. It is suggested that applicants in these categories either delay travel until an advance parole document is obtained and/or consult an expert attorney for advice on alternative consular posts at which application can be made. Prior to the recent upsurge, most of these clearances (Visas Condor or Visas Donkey) were taking only 2-4 weeks.

Other clearance delays involve Visas Mantis clearances for persons whose study or work involves many scientific fields, including many computer occupations. It is difficult to know which applications will be impacted and how long the clearances will take. Until recently, most Mantis clearances were completed in two to four weeks. However, the wait times are on the increase in this category as well. Applicants whose fields of study or occupations may require a Visas Mantis should go to the visa interview with detailed resumes, copies of articles published, a detailed job description for all jobs in the field, transcripts for all studies, Department of Commerce export licenses and many other documents, depending on the case. Our attorneys have found it most useful to provide consular officers with an application package for the company where multiple applicants from the same company will apply for visas and we are willing to travel to consular posts to resolve issues in advance where possible.