Ask the Embassy. Your Top Questions will be answered by an actual Consulate Officer

[Ta Ta 1]

I could be mistaken, but it seems like on VJ we see many beneficiaries emerge from their Consular interviews unsuccessful, but without a clear understanding of exactly why the visa may not be granted, and no piece of paper giving a reason.

I would like to know what is the best way in these cases to respectfully insist that a reason be given in writing, to either the petitioner or the beneficiary or both, as to why the visa will/may not be granted.

Also, it might be helpful to learn what, if any, recourse is available to those who would like to challenge the finding(s) of the CO at the interview. What is the recommended process? How can one handle such a situation in such a way as to keep the petition/application package at the Consulate until things are resolved?

And are the answers to either or both of these questions specific to the Colombian Consulate, or might they apply anywhere?

Just a few ideas from my reading here. We're through all that, but I bet others would find the information useful.

Thanks... and thanks VERY MUCH to the Colombian Consulate in advance for providing this rare opportunity!

Maya

good one !

[Queen Jenn 0]

I would be interested in knowing what the Consulate feels are the most common mistakes/deficiencies in applications, and what advice they would give applicants to ensure that our interview runs smoothly and to improve our chances of a positive outcome. Basically, I would like to give the Consular Officer a chance to tell us what we can do to make his/her job easier.

Amen to that!!! I agree, and would like to know the answer to the same question. What can we do to make their job easier and improve our chances?

[Dylan'sWife 2]

Hi All-

We have gotten permission from the Columbian Embassy to submit up to ten member generated questions on any related immigration issue at the Consulate Stage of processing. These questions can be general in nature and may apply to all consulates and petitioners across the world -- or you may ask questions that may be specific to the Columbian consulate itself. This is a rare occation and hopefully we can come up with a list of roughly ten questions that they will answer for us .

Post your questions below and we will take the top 10 most moderated questions and submit them. They will be reviewed by the consulate and their answers will be posted back for everyone to read.

In regards to DNA testing.....Does the Consulate Officer have a legal right to demand DNA tests to be performed on an applicant after all USCIS and NVC processing has been approved? If an applicant refuses to submit to DNA testing, can their application be denied?

DNA tests on applicants? I have never heard of this and why would it be necessary? I have only heard of it being required for claim a US birth abroad.

[Nutty 2]

Hi All-

We have gotten permission from the Columbian Embassy to submit up to ten member generated questions on any related immigration issue at the Consulate Stage of processing. These questions can be general in nature and may apply to all consulates and petitioners across the world -- or you may ask questions that may be specific to the Columbian consulate itself. This is a rare occation and hopefully we can come up with a list of roughly ten questions that they will answer for us .

Post your questions below and we will take the top 10 most moderated questions and submit them. They will be reviewed by the consulate and their answers will be posted back for everyone to read.

In regards to DNA testing.....Does the Consulate Officer have a legal right to demand DNA tests to be performed on an applicant after all USCIS and NVC processing has been approved? If an applicant refuses to submit to DNA testing, can their application be denied?

DNA tests on applicants? I have never heard of this and why would it be necessary? I have only heard of it being required for claim a US birth abroad.

Yes, I have heard that some applicants (family based sponsorships) are requested at times to have DNA testing to prove the relationship is real. And that at times this is a demand by the Consular officer with the threat that the application will be denied without this additional evidence provided.

There was one guy sponsoring his wife on this board (from Vietnam) and the Consular Officer asked for her to undergo DNA testing. The petitioner was surprised and asked, "Do they think my wife is my sister?"

I read in a news article that the Department of State said DNA testing is "voluntary" by the applicant. But on the flip side I have read stories from applicants saying they were FORCED to do DNA testing or else have their application denied.

I think there needs to be clarification over whether it is REQUIRED or VOLUNTARY.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

No questions to add, but WAY COOL!!!!

[JVKn'CVO 11]

Why is JFK the only POE granting K1s a temporary EAD stamp? and is there a plan to change this in the future so that all POEs grant this benefit?

Saludos,

Caro

[~Laura and Nick~ 5]

I would be interested in knowing what the Consulate feels are the most common mistakes/deficiencies in applications, and what advice they would give applicants to ensure that our interview runs smoothly and to improve our chances of a positive outcome. Basically, I would like to give the Consular Officer a chance to tell us what we can do to make his/her job easier.

Fantastic question

[virgillionaire 0]

This is great! I have two very important questions. My wife's IR1 case just went from NVC to Islamabad consulate in Pakistan.

Question 1) We need to change my wife's Physical address and Phone Numbers in Pskitan, so she can recieve the Packet at the right address. What is the best way of doing it?? Email or by contacting the emabassy through mail??

Question 2) We have gone through the Standard NVC processing and will need to submit all the docs to the embassy. If we do not recieve the Packet from the Embassy, can we submit all the docs if we find out that the emabassy has mailed the Packet??

I am asking this because the mailing system in Pakistan is not that good and I am afraid that they may mail the Packet to the Old address.

Thank you so much for all your help!!! Regards, kim

I have the same exact question number one, I didn't list a mailing address for my wife, I only listed her home location, but I did put in her cellphone number.

please pass question number one to the embassy, it's a good one

thanks

ditto, fiancee moved and there is no form for it apparently.

also, my question - is it possible to submit forms especially I134 and supporting evidence by email or fax directly to embassy? Delivery is slow, expensive and unreliable in some countries.

[ktmracer 0]

My question is about Police Records.

My wife who is Chinese and will interview at the Guanghzou Consulate worked in Dubai U.A.E and got her police certificate before she left for good in 9/2006. I heard that this may be expired (1 year) by the time she gets interview sometime in 2008.

I saw this at this website:

http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/reciproc...ocity_3698.html

Police Records

Available, only if applicant is physically present in the UAE.

Police certificates may be obtained by any person, regardless of nationality, by personally appearing at the Central Police Headquarters located in the emirate of residence or former residence. When appearing to request a police certificate, the applicant should provide recent photographs, a letter from the requesting authority, the date of residence in the emirate, and their passport.

Not available by mail. Post recommends that consular officers waive the general requirement to obtain police certificates unless the applicant lives in the UAE.

So, my question what should she do if the V.O. wants a new police record or if they are aware of this statement from http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/reciproc...ocity_3698.html ?

[simple_male 1]

Question about AP/AR: What is the general timeline for AP/AR to be complete? Embassy also tells applicant that it would take 2-10 weeks or 2 weeks to 6 months, etc. These time ranges are very broad. Why can't the Embassy give a more specific deadline, like within 4 weeks, within 5 weeks, etc? Why does the AP/AR specifically target the male applicant?

[Ta Ta 1]

Hi All-

We have gotten permission from the Columbian Embassy to submit up to ten member generated questions on any related immigration issue at the Consulate Stage of processing. These questions can be general in nature and may apply to all consulates and petitioners across the world -- or you may ask questions that may be specific to the Columbian consulate itself. This is a rare occation and hopefully we can come up with a list of roughly ten questions that they will answer for us .

Post your questions below and we will take the top 10 most moderated questions and submit them. They will be reviewed by the consulate and their answers will be posted back for everyone to read.

In regards to DNA testing.....Does the Consulate Officer have a legal right to demand DNA tests to be performed on an applicant after all USCIS and NVC processing has been approved? If an applicant refuses to submit to DNA testing, can their application be denied?

DNA tests on applicants? I have never heard of this and why would it be necessary? I have only heard of it being required for claim a US birth abroad.

Yes, I have heard that some applicants (family based sponsorships) are requested at times to have DNA testing to prove the relationship is real. And that at times this is a demand by the Consular officer with the threat that the application will be denied without this additional evidence provided.

There was one guy sponsoring his wife on this board (from Vietnam) and the Consular Officer asked for her to undergo DNA testing. The petitioner was surprised and asked, "Do they think my wife is my sister?"

I read in a news article that the Department of State said DNA testing is "voluntary" by the applicant. But on the flip side I have read stories from applicants saying they were FORCED to do DNA testing or else have their application denied.

I think there needs to be clarification over whether it is REQUIRED or VOLUNTARY.

The guidelines for the CO's are to request and never require DNA tests. If they force it they are going against regulations.

Due to lack of staff and resources DNA tests have been implemented in 3. world countries, mainly sub-saharan Africa.

Fiances of the same ethnicity / race have to proof they are not related.

Parents have to proof paternity.

It all saves legwork for the embassies in the verification process and costs the petitioner/applicant an arm and a leg.

Other countries such as Germnay will screen their applicants for eligibility soon where needed.

I was told that if we don't do the DNA they won't proceed with the visa. Then they switched to yes you can submit documents instead of

DNA if you so chose but the verification process can take a year or longer.

So of course we complied. It was a three ring circus to say the least.

[Banfield 0]

I would ask: what is the best way to go about correcting (important) filing errors...(Mirla's case comes to mind - RFE for crimes never commited)

Saludos,

Caro

To echo what Caro asked, but a bit more specific. Errors prior to filing.

Our marriage certificate had a minor error. We looked into fixing it but called the state dept first. They said it MUST be fixed. I called the embassy and they said it was fine. The error was a confusion in the City and State on the U.S. license for a city that does not have a state in a foreign country. The people in the Embassy were familiar with this type of error or better stated the essense common usage. So we have driven on with our original certificate. Our lawyer (not an immigration lawyer) said that the error was minor and the immigration would accept it. So my question would be:

What constitutes a material (major) error that must be corrected on a marriage, birth, or other key certificate? and what is a minor or overlooked error?

[maya62 7]

Why is JFK the only POE granting K1s a temporary EAD stamp? and is there a plan to change this in the future so that all POEs grant this benefit?

Saludos,

Caro

It's a good question, but....

I believe the temporary EAD (and POE stuff in general) falls under the jurisdiction of the Dept. of Homeland Security, and not under the Dept. of State (which is the agency in charge of the Consulates)... so we'll have to wait for a brave DHS official who wants to make the same generous offer the Colombian Consulate official has...

Maya

[jrmach1 0]

here is my problem:

We are going under security check extension and nobody knows about a timeframe for this it could take a year two even more so.

Here are my questions :

If after going through all this they don't aprrove the k3 what should we do ?

what should we aply for then ?

Should We cancel the k3 and go through another path ?which one? color="#FF00FF"][/color]

Edited November 28, 2007 by jrmach1

[SandS 0]

Hi,

We are at the consulate stage in Paris. We have received the first packet and we have everything on the checklist but the carte de sejour or residence permit as it is called in Paris, France. Should we submit everything or should I call or email them first and tell them we do not have a residence card. My fiance is a citizen of Algeria but is living in Paris without official papers. He applied for them but was denied by the French govrnment (no specific reason).

We would like to interview there. We have been truthful about everything and want to do what is right. Any advice would be great.

Thanks,

Sue