Condescending Effers

[mmarlo 1]

My fiancee, Jacinta, picked up the Packet 3/4 forms from the US Embassy a couple weeks ago. She got all the paperwork filled out, collected all the documents, got her passport photos, and paid her application fee. She went to the Embassy yesterday to return all the paperwork, set up her interview, and get the letter she needs from the Embassy to get her medical exam--the only requirement besides the interview she has left to complete. However, she was turned away by security for not having an appointment. #######: an appointment to hand over all the forms she filled out?! It would have been considerate if they had told her that when she picked up the forms in the first place. In any case, they condescended to give her an appointment this coming Monday at 8am, so my hope is that she'll at least be able to schedule the interview then and we'll get a better sense of the timeline. The medical exam shouldn't be a problem, but she can't even schedule it without the letter that she's supposed to get from the Embassy.

It's such a hassle for her to get to the Embassy in their 8-10am morning window, the only time they will serve immigrant visa applicants--though it's not as bad as the 20-hour bus ride I read about earlier in the MENA forum. She lives in the same city as the Embassy but has to walk about a mile from her apartment along a muddy path to pick up an overcrowded matatu (14-passenger public service van) to take her to the city center in the morning. From there she has to walk another half-mile or so to pick up another matatu toward the Embassy, which is thankfully only another five to ten minutes by foot from the main road where the matatu stops. It's easily a two-hour trip door-to-door, and then she gets to deal with security at the Embassy, where then she can demean herself further by begging to be allowed in, into the Embassy and into the US, by the racist and tribalist workers at the Embassy, who appear to think they're better than those they're serving. It's really a thankless and inhumane process.

In an age of "progress", we need to be breaking down these power inequalities and deconstructing the harmful and dangerous notion of the nation-state, with its artificial borders. No person is illegal.

[raymaga 25]

Sorry to hear of your situation. I too understand being treated like a second-class citizen at times through this process. Even though most of my dealings with the Vancouver consulate were good for the most part, there were others at USCIS, the border, and even the medical exam that seemed to think we are a lower class than they are. I had to deal with all the processes twice, at different times, as my daughter followed-to-join (with a K-2 Visa) a year after me, so all her processes were a year behind my own.

I hope everything works out and that your fiance gets her interview date when she returns her paperwork to the Embassy.

I always kept trying to remind myself that this whole process was just the "means to an end", which thankfully came and now I'm living happily with my husband in the U.S.

Good luck and best wishes to you both.

[GrenadianCrix 1]

My fiancee, Jacinta, picked up the Packet 3/4 forms from the US Embassy a couple weeks ago. She got all the paperwork filled out, collected all the documents, got her passport photos, and paid her application fee. She went to the Embassy yesterday to return all the paperwork, set up her interview, and get the letter she needs from the Embassy to get her medical exam--the only requirement besides the interview she has left to complete. However, she was turned away by security for not having an appointment. #######: an appointment to hand over all the forms she filled out?! It would have been considerate if they had told her that when she picked up the forms in the first place. In any case, they condescended to give her an appointment this coming Monday at 8am, so my hope is that she'll at least be able to schedule the interview then and we'll get a better sense of the timeline. The medical exam shouldn't be a problem, but she can't even schedule it without the letter that she's supposed to get from the Embassy.

It's such a hassle for her to get to the Embassy in their 8-10am morning window, the only time they will serve immigrant visa applicants--though it's not as bad as the 20-hour bus ride I read about earlier in the MENA forum. She lives in the same city as the Embassy but has to walk about a mile from her apartment along a muddy path to pick up an overcrowded matatu (14-passenger public service van) to take her to the city center in the morning. From there she has to walk another half-mile or so to pick up another matatu toward the Embassy, which is thankfully only another five to ten minutes by foot from the main road where the matatu stops. It's easily a two-hour trip door-to-door, and then she gets to deal with security at the Embassy, where then she can demean herself further by begging to be allowed in, into the Embassy and into the US, by the racist and tribalist workers at the Embassy, who appear to think they're better than those they're serving. It's really a thankless and inhumane process.

In an age of "progress", we need to be breaking down these power inequalities and deconstructing the harmful and dangerous notion of the nation-state, with its artificial borders. No person is illegal.

It makes me angry that these are the 'representatives' of our government. Here in Grenada there isn't a full consulate, but there is a Charge d'Affairs. This position serves as an on island liason with the US government (left over from the 1983 invasion). Anyway, I have had the 'pleasure' of speaking at length with this woman and I am embarrassed that she is the face we put on America to many Grenadians (an to the other posts she has served at). She is classist and only sees the negative in mankind. She thinks all non-Americans are only trying to sneak their way into the states in order to break the law and receive financial assistance to have babies.

I am glad she currently has no say in immigrant visa's in her current position, but unfortunatly she is only one of the many bad eggs in the thousands of civil servants we have all over the world. Sadly bad eggs make a bad name for the countless others trying to do a good job.

I am so sorry as an American that people are treated like this at our embassies.

Please send Jacinta and apology from someone the embassy is supposed to be representing.

I hope her appointment on Monday goes smoothly. Maybe she should bring her packet of information in case they decide to do the interview on the spot?

Sue

Edited March 21, 2007 by GrenadianCrix

[mmarlo 1]

Right, when this is the face of America, she's got to wonder, "What am I going to find when I actually get there?!" Of course, as a US Citizen, I could have simply provided my passport to enter the Embassy to go to the bathroom--it would have been a bit of a wait to actually get there--but when I went to the Embassy back in November I didn't have to tell them at security what I even wanted after I showed them my passport. Then I got to walk around the long line of Kenyans and go directly in to have my items x-rayed.

I really wish I could be there with her to go through this together, but I have to do my work here for now. And then again I get even angrier than she does when I see this kind of behavior.

Great suggestion on taking everything--just in case she actually gets interviewed. I'll remind her of that. Then all she would have to do is provide the medical report next week and she'd be ready to go! I'll keep our fingers crossed for that.

[meauxna 15]

It makes me angry that these are the 'representatives' of our government. Here in Grenada there isn't a full consulate, but there is a Charge d'Affairs. This position serves as an on island liason with the US government (left over from the 1983 invasion). Anyway, I have had the 'pleasure' of speaking at length with this woman and I am embarrassed that she is the face we put on America to many Grenadians (an to the other posts she has served at). She is classist and only sees the negative in mankind. She thinks all non-Americans are only trying to sneak their way into the states in order to break the law and receive financial assistance to have babies.

Ever hear the saying "When you are a hammer, everything looks like a nail"?

Unfortunately, that is the reality of most of the non-Americans the Consular staff see.

Don't let them get to you, and don't let them get to your SO. You know Americans aren't all like that and you can reassure your SO of that fact as well.

[Bobbie 1]

I think you are giving them a bit too much credit for having evil on the mind. Try calling the USPS and asking them where your 4 boxes of bells that are in 20 lb boxes are. They say..well...missy when they are on your door step we can tell you exactly where they are...they really have this customer service is job 100 attitude. Unfortunately, I think that happens in beauracratic positions.

I once knew a man who went to the child support office, sat in a chair and looked up to find a poster that said, I have what it takes to get what you have.

We have become a bit mean in our society. A bit too much csi, or rocky or something. I am guilty of it also. It is like we are all kittens and there is only so much milk on the saucer. It isn't right but these officials have their milk, and they don't see any reason to get to worried, they become complacent.

Yes, I do plan on opening an analogy factory. Give me a situation and I will create an example for you with animals, food, or colors.

Bobbie

[mmarlo 1]

Does anyone know of a way to lodge an official complaint about the policy of a US Embassy/Consulate? Some of the policies of the US Embassy in Nairobi, and American doctors working for them at the Sarit Centre clinic, are completely ridiculous.

My fiancee made her fourth visit in about a week to the doctor's office, which takes about 90 minutes for her to get to. She had to go there initially to set up the first appointment (they don't allow appointments to be set up over email or the phone). She then went on Tuesday last week for the lab tests, and then Thursday for the blood work and doctor's exam (which itself seemed way too invasive, but that's another story and maybe that's just what all women go through when they see the doctor (if so, I'm really sorry)). Finally, today thought she had reached the end of the line, when she went back to pick up the results of the exam, but on her way home they called her to tell her that there was some kind of problem, and she has to go back tomorrow to get it fixed. Can you imagine being treated like this by a doctor in the US? Why does she have to pick up the results herself? Why can't they be forwarded to the Embassy? ####### does someone do if they don't live in Nairobi?!

As if that weren't bad enough, Jacinta had been told that she had to get the results of the medical exam before she could schedule an appointment with the Embassy. I thought this appointment was the interview itself, but apparently it's not. She had to schedule an appointment just to *drop off* the results of the medical exam, and only then will the Embassy schedule the actual interview. Well, they scheduled the appointment--for Thursday, the 12th. So she has to wait over a week just to drop off the results. ####### is that?! Our best guess is that the interview will take place about a week after that, so hopefully before the 20th, but it's up to the Embassy to decide. And there's a complicating factor that I'm not even prepared to deal with yet--our approved petition expires April 25.

This whole process is really embarassing and infuriating that my fiancee is being treated like this by an arm of our government, for no good reason, except to make it more difficult for her to come to our country. We can't wait for all of this to be over.

I'm going to send another message to my Congressman to see if they can do anything. I doubt it will help since everything now is overseas, but maybe they can make a call and get things moved up. I doubt it, but I need some way to vent.

[GrenadianCrix 1]

I don't know about lodging an official complaint, but you can always speak with your congress person. I believe you are right though to assume the can't do much. I am certainly not an expert on any of this. I wonder if it would make more sense to talk to the Congress person after you are done filing, or at least until you are filing AOS. The reason why I wonder is since they are unlikely to interfere with your visa process at this point (someone please correct this if I am wrong) maybe you should wait and then have a sit-down and tell the story of what you two went through to get this visa. That way the Congress person can use that information down the road when Congress is discussing any future immigration issues. Heck, maybe it would encourage them to sponsor some legislation to make the different embassies operate more uniformly or some other good idea that I don't have right now.

I hope you have a smooth process for the remainder, but if not then you aren't adding tidbits to the story you give the Congress person, you just tell them everything after it's over.

I don't know how good any of it will be, but it's just food for thought.

Sue

[mmarlo 1]

Thanks. I sent an email to the case worker for my congressman who helped me earlier, when there was a problem with the approved petition being stuck somewhere between USCIS and the NVC. I haven't heard back yet, but we'll see. They were very useful before. If nothing else, it felt good to get the story off my chest.

[Carl & Susan 0]

You're starting to scare me!

We're going to have to go through the Nairobi embassy and travel from Kampala to do so (with a newborn, no less). Hopefully we can do everything but the interview from the Kampala embassy, but I'm not hopeful.

I appreciate your posting this so at least we know to call for an appointment if we need to drop off paperwork. Any other experiences dealing with the embassy will be very helpful.

Best of luck!

[mmarlo 1]

Oh, I hope you don't have to travel often between Kampala and Nairobi. I've taken the Busia-Nairobi bus so many times, and it's always an adventure!

In my complaint to my congressman, I asked rhetorically what people are supposed to do if they don't live in Nairobi?! I actually under-described by 1 the number of trips my fiancee had to make to the doctor's office in Nairobi; she also had to go to get some missing immunizations.

I would think that there's a certain degree of security in hand-delivering documents to the doctor's office and to the Embassy, but the amount of time it takes, including making the appointments for the visits is mind-boggling!

If I were in Nairobi helping Jacinta, I would have ignored their messages to set up the appointments after getting the paperwork and tried setting up the appointments about a week ahead of when I knew I would have whatever paperwork I needed to deliver to them. That would at least have cut down on some of the waiting between setting up the appointment and the appointment itself--usually about a week.

[Private Skylark 0]

Can I ask, what exactly happened at the doctors that was really "invasive" ? I haven't heard of one medical where something more than a quick normal check-over happens (which includes a breast examination) / X-ray and blood test happens... Surely she wasn't submitted to an internal examination?! =/

[mmarlo 1]

Like I said, I don't know what the normal protocal for women's exams is, but this seemed more than necessary, IMO.

She was told to strip completely naked. Then to turn around while the doctor examined her all over. And then with rubber gloves and a flashlight inspected her female parts. I don't think it actually was "internal", but it seemed a bit over the top to her.

[Alex+R 0]

Like I said, I don't know what the normal protocal for women's exams is, but this seemed more than necessary, IMO.

She was told to strip completely naked. Then to turn around while the doctor examined her all over. And then with rubber gloves and a flashlight inspected her female parts. I don't think it actually was "internal", but it seemed a bit over the top to her.

Without even giving her a gown!?!? That's awful. The immigration process has no right to take people's dignity like that. (God knows it takes everything else.) Someone should find out about this.

[*JG* 2]

Can I ask, what exactly happened at the doctors that was really "invasive" ? I haven't heard of one medical where something more than a quick normal check-over happens (which includes a breast examination) / X-ray and blood test happens... Surely she wasn't submitted to an internal examination?! =/

I'm thinking a lot of your problems are due to the country you are speaking of and not just the embassy officials. Andre came from Jamaica. He had the same issues getting to the embassy....a 4-5 hour taxi ride to get there, the lines, the rudeness, the never being able to get them on the phone or answers via e-mail in a timely fashion,.....we've seen it all.

And, as far as his exam went, same thing. He had to strip naked, no covering of any kind, and they went over him with a fine tooth comb.