TAL pending

Updates from Mumbai:
We came to India to attending Gijo bro's wedding in Kerala. It went very well by Gods Grace.

Tomorrow, Wed. 3rd Aug was supposed to be the day of our travel back to Boston, but we had to cancel mine and Kripa's tickets as I'm still awaiting clearance for my work visa.

Typically getting the work visa approved takes less than a week's time. At the interview, the officer mentioned that since I'm in a technical field, the approval would require additional processing and clearance from the Dept. of State in Washington. It is pending on TAL (Technology Alert List) check which consulate says, take 8-10weeks. The biotech field is one of the threat technologies & internet forum says average verification time runs around 35-45 days. So much for a vacation...

I was shocked and felt so helpless to hear this. I'm hoping things will move faster.