Not going to be with fiance during interview......

[TBoneTX 45,304]

A decision might be made based upon the denial ratio and typical interview patterns/styles for that consulate.

And how and where are these reliably found? VJ information on Ecuador, for example, seems rather scanty.

Si, man?

[TBoneTX 45,304]

I'm going to go out on a limb here and conjecture that much of your opinion regarding 'fiefdoms' comes from lack of research and understanding of the consular process. And I'm going to go out on that limb because of your past case history which indicates a lack of same, including a call for a 'better organization' of consular accounts on this website when such a system already exists (not to mention the VJ search feature; not to mention the plethora of other immigration websites out there; not to mention Google; etc.)

Consular officers interviewing visa petitioners are doing their job which includes a charge from our government to prevent foreign born individuals from circumventing US immigration law via a family connection to a USC. They wouldn't be charged with this duty if there were no reason for it. Family based visas are the only category within US immigration with no numerical limit. At the present time we don't require our family-based immigrants to fall through any sort of 'filters' regarding ability to speak english; educational credentials; work skills; or any other criteria such as other nations do. The only 'proof' the US government seeks is that the familial relationship under which the visa petition was filed be a bonafide one. In short, if you wanna come to the US, just find a US citizen to file a visa petition for you.

It's quite easy for an immigrant to feign interest in an unsuspecting and gullible USC for the purpose of a future of living in the USA. It's quite easy for USC's and immigrants to conspire together by feigning a mutual interest in each other in exchange for mutual benefits (a cash payment to the USC and life in the US for the immigrant). And in some countries, both of these behaviors are escalated in comparison to other countries. The nation of birth of your fiance is one of the highest fraud consulates in the world.

You weren't 'ordered' to appear at the consulate. You don't have to go. You only have to go if your beneficiary wishes to have their request of the US government answered. Many a USC has journeyed to their beneficiaries side for the consular interview, including myself.

Anybody can sit stateside and dial a phone daily to force a visa petition through the benign paper process of USCIS for NOA2. But as you have personally witnessed, the grant of a visa is an entirely different bar to be crossed. If the visa beneficiary is less than convincing at the consular window the USC may have to be inconvenienced with a journey to that consulate. If I were you and I believed my fiance's intentions towards me were genuine and that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with that person, I'd be eating crow on interview day instead of getting my back up. You aren't the 'man with the gold' on interview day - the CO is.

Very good general points (see below), yet not all apply specifically. The first interview was strange for more than one reason -- perhaps as an aberration, but one that integrity demands that I bring to their attention. And, sadly, I was indeed "ordered" to appear -- part of the aberrant nature of this situation.

Consider taking some of the above points that you've made and having them "pinned" somewhere on VJ. Si, man?

Edited June 2, 2008 by TBoneTX

[rebeccajo 14]

A decision might be made based upon the denial ratio and typical interview patterns/styles for that consulate.

And how and where are these reliably found? VJ information on Ecuador, for example, seems rather scanty.

Si, man?

I don't know how many are here. Look under the Reviews/Embassy USCIS link under the third happy couple in the photo chain above. Also try the appropriate VJ regional forum.

Otherwise, use Google. Just try any number of phrases and I'm sure you'll find something.

Good luck to you - really. I don't know enough detail about the South American consulates to give you the specific guidance you may find helpful.

[LaL 418]

I'm currently STEAMED at Guayaquil. Directly on their website is stated "Only the applicant is allowed in the interview" (answer to their FAQ #8). My fiancee brought copious proof of relationship, which wasn't looked at AT ALL, and the consul gave her the bum's rush after 3 minutes, stating "You need to prove the validity of your relationship. Set a second interview, and bring your fiancee!"

Naturally, the 221g "suggests" that the USC could "consider" attending:

Montreal asked the same of me (the USC). The 221(g) also stated interview with the petitioner required (not should "consider"). However my experience will doubtfully be helpful as Montreal is not Ecuador. As an aside, I didnt wind up going. I had documentation sent up whey I couldnt attend and they accepted it. I have seen around where this isn't a rarity of South American consulates though.

Good luck.

[TBoneTX 45,304]

I don't know how many are here. Look under the Reviews/Embassy USCIS link under the third happy couple in the photo chain above. Also try the appropriate VJ regional forum.

I've burned those links up, and the amount of information is dissatisfying. Ecuador is not as hot a location on here as the Philippines is, for example. In fact, the regional forum probably has more Caribbean information.

Otherwise, use Google. Just try any number of phrases and I'm sure you'll find something.

Probably... often, much like firing one's gun into the air and hoping that a duck will be flying over right about then.

Good luck to you - really. I don't know enough detail about the South American consulates to give you the specific guidance you may find helpful.

Thanks, si man.

[TBoneTX 45,304]

Montreal asked the same of me (the USC). The 221(g) also stated interview with the petitioner required (not should "consider"). However my experience will doubtfully be helpful as Montreal is not Ecuador. As an aside, I didnt wind up going. I had documentation sent up whey I couldnt attend and they accepted it. I have seen around where this isn't a rarity of South American consulates though.

Good luck.

Thanks, si man. Montreal does sound tough. Guayaquil didn't offer me the chance to send "evidence" from afar, and they notably didn't deal with the question when I asked it -- an answer in itself from an otherwise communicative consulate. Given the anecdotal evidence and the hints floating around VJ, I return to my recommendation that every USC be "in the neighborhood" of any Latin American interview, even if it's hanging around outside the building.

The good news is that the fiancee wants to spend the pre-interview weekend at the beach at Salinas, just about at Ecuador's westernmost mainland point. Salinas seems to be the size of Galveston and probably a whole lot nicer, si man. Maybe that will relax me enough so that I'm not spoiling for a fight on the Monday at the consulate... and we'll certainly take fotos (Spanish spelling) as further evidence, si man.