Frustrating Interview at Seoul Embassy

[cinn-sugar 3]

I'm reaching out to see if anyone else has experienced something similar or has any advice regarding our situation. My husband and I recently had our visa interview at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul for his family-based green card, and we encountered several issues that have left us feeling frustrated and singled out. 

 

Our appointment was scheduled for 12:30 PM, but despite arriving on time, we were made to wait for an hour and a half before being interviewed. Other applicants, even those who arrived after us and had later queue numbers, were called in before us. We were waiting with our baby, which made the situation even more difficult.

 

During the interview, we were told that my husband’s application was found ineligible under Section 221(g) of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act. However, we overheard other applicants, all Korean nationals, being approved for visas despite having what seemed like weaker cases. It felt like our case was unfairly singled out because my husband is Pakistani.

 

The consular officer also asked for several documents related to my husband’s professional career (CV, list of publications, job description, and his Pakistani ID card). These documents are not listed on the National Visa Center (NVC) website as required for a family-based visa. It feels like these requests are unrelated to our case and possibly due to my husband’s nationality.

 

This isn’t our first issue with this Embassy. In 2022, we applied for a B2 visa for my husband so he could join me and our daughter on a trip to the U.S. for Christmas. Despite my repeated follow-ups, his visa was not issued until February 2023—well after our planned trip. We’re worried that this pattern of delays is happening again with our current application.

 

Has anyone else experienced this kind of treatment or unusual requests for documents in their visa process? Is it normal for certain nationalities to face additional scrutiny or delays, even when applying for a family-based green card? How did you handle similar situations, and what was the outcome? We’re feeling quite stressed about this situation, especially since we need to leave South Korea soon due to my husband’s expiring work contract.

[Deagle 508]

I am sure it is frustrating to go through this. Always keep in mind that each case is different. Overhearing other applicants being approved is not enough to assume anything. Their cases are different than yours.

 

I remember when I went to my interview, my appointment was around 08:45 AM. I kept waiting in the waiting room till around 2 PM. Not sure why they made me wait while others were in and out before me. My visa was approved though so I didn't really care at the end of the day about the wait.

 

Good luck

[appleblossom 2,503]

1 hour ago, cinn-sugar said:

Has anyone else experienced this kind of treatment or unusual requests for documents in their visa process? Is it normal for certain nationalities to face additional scrutiny or delays, even when applying for a family-based green card? 

 

Yes, absolutely - it's VERY common for Pakistani males, no matter which consulate they're applying through. 

 

I also had to wait a couple of hours beyond my appointment time when I had my IV interview. I assume that the people called ahead of me were applying via a different process, it didn't bother me at all. I'd expected long delays and had taken a book with me. 

[Crazy Cat 41,850]

1 hour ago, cinn-sugar said:

This isn’t our first issue with this Embassy. In 2022, we applied for a B2 visa for my husband so he could join me and our daughter on a trip to the U.S. for Christmas. Despite my repeated follow-ups, his visa was not issued until February 2023—well after our planned trip. We’re worried that this pattern of delays is happening again with our current application.

Honestly, I am really surprised that he obtained a B2 at all.  The vast majority of spouses from Pakistan would, likely, not be as fortunate.  Sadly, what you have described is not unusual for Pakistani cases.  I know you are disappointed at this stage, but you were not singled out.  Hopefully, this period of AP will not be too long.  Good luck on the rest of your journey. 

[Boiler 45,499]

It is always going to be more complicated if you are what is known a TCN, Third Country National at that Consulate, they simply do not have access to the usual information.

[SteveInBostonI130 3,447]

3 hours ago, cinn-sugar said:

During the interview, we were told that my husband’s application was found ineligible under Section 221(g) of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act. However, we overheard other applicants, all Korean nationals, being approved for visas despite having what seemed like weaker cases. It felt like our case was unfairly singled out because my husband is Pakistani.

 

 

Typically 221(g) is a refusal of the visa due to the applicant not establishing eligibility.  Its the official way to place him on Administrative Processing, for the embassy to perform background checks.  For Pakistan, this means hiring a 3rd party investigation company to perform manual background checks.

[powerpuff 6,697]

Echoing everyone else, this is typical for Pakistani nationals. Even Pakistani police certificates are not accepted and aren’t required because the consulate has to perform their own thorough background checks due to the country’s unreliable record keeping. This is also why everyone is saying to prepare for an extended administrative processing. 

[Marieke H 2,498]

8 hours ago, cinn-sugar said:

However, we overheard other applicants, all Korean nationals, being approved for visas despite having what seemed like weaker cases. It felt like our case was unfairly singled out because my husband is Pakistani.

You don't know the details of the other cases, and you have no way of telling if those cases were weak or strong. What makes them stronger than your case, is that they were all nationals of the country they were interviewing in, so background checks on them are a lot easier. Your case was not singled out because your husband is Pakistani, but your case is more complicated because the required background checks are a LOT more difficult to complete for him. This may also explain why you had to wait longer; the interviewing officer may have needed more time to review the information.

 

8 hours ago, cinn-sugar said:

The consular officer also asked for several documents related to my husband’s professional career (CV, list of publications, job description, and his Pakistani ID card). These documents are not listed on the National Visa Center (NVC) website as required for a family-based visa. It feels like these requests are unrelated to our case and possibly due to my husband’s nationality.

The officer can request any documents that help them make a decision. These requests don't seem to have much to do with his nationality, but more with his field of work.

 

8 hours ago, cinn-sugar said:

This isn’t our first issue with this Embassy. In 2022, we applied for a B2 visa for my husband so he could join me and our daughter on a trip to the U.S. for Christmas. Despite my repeated follow-ups, his visa was not issued until February 2023—well after our planned trip. We’re worried that this pattern of delays is happening again with our current application.

He was VERY lucky to even get a B2 approved, considering his nationality and the fact that he is married to a US citizen.

 

You are not singled out or discriminated against, but the fact that your husband is a Pakistani national makes the process more complicated, just like it would be if he were from any other country with unreliable government systems.

[MrsAb2021 29]

Just wanted to say good luck and hope everything goes smoothly with your case. Please keep us updated if you can.

[SalishSea 17,829]

16 hours ago, cinn-sugar said:

My husband and I recently had our visa interview at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul for his family-based green card, and we encountered several issues that have left us feeling frustrated and singled out. 

You're not being singled out.  This is an issue for Pakistani males, for a variety of reasons, such as bad behavior and crimes committed by fellow Pakistanis, and lack of record-keeping in Pakistan.  

 

Had he been interviewed in Islamabad, the outcome would be the same.

[saied 17]

I don't want to alarm you but you will most likely have to wait at least 2 years. My wife who is from Iran interviewed in Turkey in May of 2023. She was put in AP since than and basically they have not finished the AP process for us.

We have started to file for Mandumas but honestly that does not work all the time and I am not so hopefuly that our case will get anywhere in the next year. I hope to be proven wrong tho.

 

I wish you luck but just try to continue with your life and stop checking the website daily.

[Deagle 508]

7 hours ago, saied said:

I wish you luck but just try to continue with your life and stop checking the website daily.

Best advice.

[cinn-sugar 3]

Thanks everyone for the responses. It was enlightening to hear. He sent the information today. Hopefully we will hear back quickly.

[cinn-sugar 3]

We are still in administrative processing at the 90 day mark. It's pretty disheartening at this point. We were really hoping to be home for the holidays, especially since my parents were ready for us to come. I've tried calling and getting NVC to escalate the case and writing my congressman, but the responses have been the same: it's under administrative processing. Everything I read online about this stage is it's a black hole and we just have to wait. It just sucks waiting without any idea of a timeline because we can't make any plans. Our landlady will want to know when we're leaving (we're not month-to-month since our lease is up). We can get new jobs because we don't know when we will be in the US or how long we will be in SK. It's a pretty awful time and not having anything to do is the worst part.