Hi everyone 
I am from Turkey, I will start studying PhD starting August 22. My visa appointment went very well, the officer asked me only three questions, didn’t ask for any additional documents and instantly gave me an approval. He even wished me good luck 
. However, I got my passport back 10 days later, with a yellow-colored paper attached (and without a visa). It was explained that my application required further administrative processing, but it wasn’t explained why. Is there anyone here who had a similar experience? Why could this have happened to me? How long did it take you to get your visa issued? Is there anything at all that can be done to expedite the process (although I know the answer is simply no, but one can always hope). If I can’t get my visa in time, I will lose my TAship and will have to defer my PhD 
You were “rewarded” with administrative processing because an automated check against some database resulted in a hit that needs to be reviewed. That could be a database of visa overstays, or a terror watch list, or any number of other things. You are probably just unlucky and have the same name as someone who is ineligible for a US visa.
The bad news is that administrative processing often takes several months to resolve. The consulate won’t talk to you about your case at all in the first 60 days after your interview and they’ll be reluctant to expedite your case until you cross the 150 day mark. A good US immigration lawyer knows how to get your case expedited once you pass the 60 day threshold, but I have the feeling that you don’t really care about the difference between 3 months and 9 months.
For now the only thing you can do is wait. Good luck!!!
So, are you saying it will take at least 60 days before issuance?
Everytime I hear/read the same facts, it hurts like the first time
USCIS says that many cases of administrative processing are resolved within 60 days. However, they won’t talk to you about your case until at least 60 days have passed, so for now the only thing you can do is wait and comply with any requests for more information.
There’s a gazillion different reasons why your visa application might require administrative processing. Some of them are resolved quickly; many are a mere formality but take time to clear the bureaucratic gauntlet.
It would not be unreasonable to start thinking about alternate plans in case you don’t get your visa in time to start your PhD this fall.
My visa appointment was actually on June 30, which is also the date that this process was initiated. So, I might say I still have a little hope. My status was updated on the 13th of July, so maybe nobody did any investigation since then. I couldn’t have applied earlier, because I got my I20 in the beginning of June.
I just want to say that while I understand how important it is for them to carry out whatever investigation is required, I would prefer if it weren’t done in a way that will hinder the academic progress and ruin the mental well-being of the students. Why won’t they be more sensitive about students and education? Many people had to wait for months from what I’ve been reading online. I even came across a case (from Turkey), where a boy was accepted to a top ranked university and had to wait for ONE YEAR to get his visa. His passport was later stolen and he had to go through the procedure all over again. What is the point in applying for a visa to get the education you deserve, if you are going to have to wait for it until you are 30? They could just say “Don’t bother applying if you have a common name or surname that might match a criminal”, “Don’t apply if you are from this country”, “Don’t apply if you are xxx”, etc.
Sorry for my emotional outburst, it is really hard to suck it up and let go when you spent money/time/effort on this and everything you planned is about to slide away. It’s like you are an athlete about to win a marathon and you break your neck by tripping on something and falling
I understand that it sucks to have something outside of your control interfere with your plans. You may have to postpone your studies. Someone else will have to postpone their marriage. Someone else will have to postpone that career-changing job abroad.
Being forced to take a break from school might turn out to be a blessing in disguise. What do you really stand to lose? Getting your PhD one year sooner or later does not matter one bit. Quite to the contrary, that feeling of impending doom you’re having right now might indicate that you are taking school a bit too serious.
PhD programs can be lethal in a “succeed or bust” mindset. Literally. I have seen PhD candidates become suicidal because they were struggling to get a paper accepted to a “top” journal or struggling to find an adviser or any number of other things that didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. I think many of my classmates, myself included, would have benefit from a lesson in “life usually turns out alright even when things don’t go according to plan” before we started our PhD.
For what it’s worth, about 15% of non-immigrant visas that have to go through administrative processing end up getting denied, so it’s more than an exercise in bureaucracy. They could just deny everyone’s visa when there is doubt that the person qualifies for a visa. Instead, they go through the trouble of examining a million individual cases by hand. Yes, there’s a wait involved and that’s frustrating. But it’s arguably better than the alternative of not getting a visa at all based on an automated screening.