Called by US embassy after 1yr of issuance of visa

[rj5969 0]

My mother recently got her B2 tourist visa last year at 2013. She got a 10 yr tourist visa. The purpose of her trip was only tourism and she had travelled in a group as part of her tour (she herself is a doctor). The group was about 30 Indian doctors + a friend or family of each doctor allowed to accompany them to celebrate IMA's (Indian Medical Association) 50 th yr anniversary.

The tour was a program of 15 days , and after the tour she arrived back to India and hasn't visited us after that trip.

So my question is , it's been almost a year since her trip and she just recently received a call from the embassy asking her to come again with the documents she had submitted and passport for a ' Technical Clarification '

So is there anything to be worried about ? (Another doctor too from her group was called but she hasn't overstayed her visit in us)

I'm a little worried about this and would be really glad if someone could share their ideas about this issue.

Edited April 17, 2014 by rj5969

[Boiler 45,967]

Let us know what they want.

[JayJayH 546]

Could be anything.

Something as mundane as a spelling error or a clerical error. Or something more serious such as an inconsistency in the visa application. There is no way of knowing.

[JayJayH 546]

Could be anything.

Something as mundane as a spelling error or a clerical error. Or something more serious such as an inconsistency in the visa application. There is no way of knowing.

Just to clarify - By "serious" and "inconsistency" I mean it's serious if the inconsistency is something to the point where they suspect her of having lied in the application.

[rj5969 0]

Could be anything.

Something as mundane as a spelling error or a clerical error. Or something more serious such as an inconsistency in the visa application. There is no way of knowing.

I guess you are right... So the officer from the us embassy called again to confirm the interview time and date , my mother in return asked the officer to send her an email from the embassy giving the date and time .

So here's the thing , i just got the email and its titled " FPU *The location of the embassy* " and the contents of the email so on and so forth.

Based on a quick google search, FPU is apparently (Fraud Prevention Unit) and this got me really worried. Apparently the 'Technical Clarification' is a FPU case based from the email they sent.

As I had earlier mentioned my mom's friend (who is also a doctor) who had accompanied her on the tour has also got the call from the embassy and FPU email.

Okay now this is really troubling me as their intentions were purely tourism + medical tour to a hospital and as I had earlier said none of them overstayed their visit nor traveled back to the US after their tour immediately.

Has the FPU case been registered because my mother previously applied for a B1/B2 visa back at 2007 and got rejected ??

or perhaps

She brought her doctor friend while the rest on her tour brought a family member along ??

or

Because her case has been selected because the visa officer suspects the relationship between my mom and her friend ?? (Which I think is completely absurd as they have been friends since 11th grade and have known each other for almost 30yrs!! )

As shocking as it is to me and my mom , what kind of questions can she expect in her interview which is in a weeks time ? and what is the next step in such a situation ??

I'd like to thank everybody in advance for their help and input about this...

[RhettVoe 282]

Likely this is a random check on a visa applicant, something called a 'validation study', in which the FPU randomly picks visa holders from 6 months to 1 year from issuance, to see if they did what they said on their application (and more importantly, did they return?)...many FPUs do this, given time, just to see if their issuance decisions are reasonably accurate, to check on certain demographic groups which might help the COs make quicker decisions (and accurate ones) in the future.

[JayJayH 546]

1. Has the FPU case been registered because my mother previously applied for a B1/B2 visa back at 2007 and got rejected ??

2. She brought her doctor friend while the rest on her tour brought a family member along ??

3. Because her case has been selected because the visa officer suspects the relationship between my mom and her friend ?? (Which I think is completely absurd as they have been friends since 11th grade and have known each other for almost 30yrs!! )

4. what kind of questions can she expect in her interview which is in a weeks time ? and what is the next step in such a situation ??

1. Unless she lied in the 2007 application, that denial had nothing to do with fraud, and is irrelevant.

2. You can go on vacation in the US with whoever you want. They don't care.

3. You're allowed to go on vacation in the US with a mistress. They don't care who she has a relationship with.

4. This is impossible to answer. It depends what the problem is.

RhettVoe's suggestion is very plausible.

Edited April 22, 2014 by Yang-Ja

[RhettVoe 282]

If she was part of some tour group, the FPU may be checking on the entire group, to see who came back and who didn't, so they could focus on certain tour group operators/arrangers if necessary (some organizers just put people together knowing that some are going to overstay and work, so the COs would like to see which organizers seem to run a clean ship)..

[aussie_jason 195]

"their intentions were purely tourism + medical tour to a hospital"

What exactly was involved in that medical tour? Anything at all that could be construed as work?

[rj5969 0]

If she was part of some tour group, the FPU may be checking on the entire group, to see who came back and who didn't, so they could focus on certain tour group operators/arrangers if necessary (some organizers just put people together knowing that some are going to overstay and work, so the COs would like to see which organizers seem to run a clean ship)..

Yes I think RhettVoe's explaination is the most likely. I did some searching in google and based from what i found, generally the FPU follows up with the applicant as Rhett pointed out to conduct a 'validation study' to build statistics and collect information from their applicants of different demographic backgrounds.

Regarding aussie_jason's question , their "medical tour" was just a 2hr visit to a hospital in Washington. The IMA (Indian Medical Association) included the hospital tour in the group's itinerary, it was just a tour around the hospital to see the type of ICU's ,medical equipment etc being used. Nothing whatsoever which could be construed as seeking work there. As I said earlier their purpose of travel was tourism (i.e to celebrate IMA's 50th yr) and this is what was said to the consulate officers in the embassy.

So the interview is scheduled on the coming Tuesday , i'll let you guys know how the interview went .

Thank you all for your help and support

[RhettVoe 282]

I'm betting that the actions of the group and/or the group/tour operator are being examined...since she returned when she said and has not gone back since, she is not likely under scrutiny herself, but is one of several who went to the US...the FPU wants to know who came back, and by seeing the person face to face, they will know with a certainty who did and who did not.