Not asked to submit the old Passport (having the previous visa)

[tictactoe999]

Hi,

I attended my H1B stamping interview at the New Delhi consulate on 5th February. The visa officer told me that my visa is approved and I should be getting my visa-stamped passport soon. However on the visa status page I see that my case is under "administrative processing" which leaves me a bit confused since the visa officer clearly told me about the visa approval, didn't ask for any other documents, and didn't issue any slips (like 221g).

I have a concern though -- my old visa (F1) was in my old (expired) passport which I carried with me at the time of the interview but the visa officer did not ask me to submit it (he only kept my new passport and the I797 form). Was I supposed to submit my old passport (I didn't submit because the visa officer didn't ask for it). Could this be the reason that my case is undergoing administrative processing? If so, what should I be doing in this regard? I asked the visa helpline (Stanley) about it and they said that the old passport isn't usually required if the interviewer doesn't ask for it but I still wanted to ask about it from the people in this forum.

Thanks.

[Attorney_25]

You are not required to submit the previous passport/visa unless requested to. The consulate certainly has a record of your prior visa and this is unlikely to be the issue delaying your visa issuance. Try to follow up and ask if there is anything you can give the consulate to assist them in issuing the visa. You may want to hire a qualified immigration attorney to assist you if issuance takes much longer.