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.