Complaint Process

[Casprd 167]

Is there any type of complaint process for the VO's at the various consulates? Too often I see threads of people who have gotten all the way through the process only to have the VO deny them because of some ridiculous question. Just today I read one where the husband was denied because he didn't know how far her state was from California. How in the world does this prove a bona fide relationship. These types of situations go above and beyond just doing their job. These people are destroying lives by not even following their own guidelines.

[Samoray 165]

These are silly questions

[Elostuart 0]

oI fully agree to you, this is very unfair situation, we passed a stupid process of several months or even years and when it thinks you receive at the end which was denied. Ate everything where it goes?! bureaucracy of a dog that passed, I think all this nonsense, these people who think they are to ruin the lives of thousands of people. This has to end, do not know how you have to have a solution. I read a case that was denied because no links included in the phone bill .. in the XXI century we are .. tecenologia advanced where we can communicate by skype will lemabrar where someone calls a phone?! I am simply outraged.

[amykathleen2005 441]

I totally agree that there should be something done about frivolous denials. However, I have a feeling that many (not all) of the people on Visa Journey who complain about such situations have much more of a story then they are letting on. There is usually more of a reason for a denial then they mention or sometimes even know about. I would not worry about it until you yourself are in the situation you are talking about.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

I totally agree that there should be something done about frivolous denials. However, I have a feeling that many (not all) of the people on Visa Journey who complain about such situations have much more of a story then they are letting on. There is usually more of a reason for a denial then they mention or sometimes even know about. I would not worry about it until you yourself are in the situation you are talking about.

Super double

[Bob g 11]

Is there any type of complaint process for the VO's at the various consulates? Too often I see threads of people who have gotten all the way through the process only to have the VO deny them because of some ridiculous question. Just today I read one where the husband was denied because he didn't know how far her state was from California. How in the world does this prove a bona fide relationship. These types of situations go above and beyond just doing their job. These people are destroying lives by not even following their own guidelines.

Complaint process,,,no...The only rules for the Interview officers are that there are no rules. The Officers "decretion" is what determines the Visa. Congress set the rules, even the courts have no say so..........

[Casprd 167]

My concern is more for our loved ones being treated like human beings during the process. I understand that there will be denials, but some of the ridiculous and offensive questions are beyond what a reasonable person should be subjected to.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

My concern is more for our loved ones being treated like human beings during the process. I understand that there will be denials, but some of the ridiculous and offensive questions are beyond what a reasonable person should be subjected to.

Make no mistake - they don't deny visas because they don't like the answers to seemingly silly questions like the distance between the petitioner's home state and California. They deny visas because, based on the evidence they see, the case smells like moldy cheese and they strongly suspect visa fraud. There are tell tale signs they look for that trigger their suspicion. Maybe the relationship is relatively short. Maybe the petitioner and beneficiary haven't spent much actual time together. Maybe the introduction seems a little shady. Maybe there are recent divorces and the timing is suspicious. Maybe the petitioner can barely afford to support themselves, and now they want sponsor an immigrant (or two or three). The list goes on. None of these are valid reasons to deny a visa, but they do raise the CO's suspicion.

This is how it works.

When a petition is approved by USCIS then there is a presumption that the beneficiary is eligible to get a visa. A consular officer cannot revoke that approved petition. They don't have that authority. They can only send the petition back to USCIS with a recommendation that USCIS revoke the approval. They need a valid reason to do this. They rarely cite something which was known to USCIS when the petition was approved because doing so essentially says that USCIS screwed up when they approved the petition. When the CO's gut feel is that the relationship is a sham, they will dig for a reason - something USCIS didn't know about - that they can cite as a valid reason to deny the visa. When they can't find an obvious inadmissibility, then they focus on the areas where they have discretion, such as the bona fides of the relationship. If they ask a lot of questions about the petitioner (where does he live, what's his mother's name, who does he work with, etc.) and they get enough "I don't know" answers, then they've got a reason to deny - beneficiary isn't aware of basic facts about the petitioner.

You're less likely to get hit with some of these seemingly silly questions if the CO isn't highly suspicious of your case in the first place. This means your case should look good on paper before the interview begins. This is a good reason for frontloading your petition. It gives you a chance to make your case, address your red flags, and make sure there isn't a valid reason for denial that hasn't been sufficiently covered. They can't claim USCIS didn't know about it if it was submitted with the petition. In some respects, the interview begins when you start assembling your petition package.

[Casprd 167]

Again, my original intent wasn't to find a place to complain about being denied, but rather asking if there is a way to complain about innapropriate questions and comments. The ridiculousness of the california question is probably a bad example, but any of us who have perused the boards for very long have read the stories of VO's who abuse the interviewee. Not by just asking ridiculous questions, but by making degrading comments to the person being interviewed.