Why will visa be rejected after asking few questions

[HFM181818 748]

It was the best time I've ever had in a job...the challenges, the responsibilities, the importance of what I was doing....all of it was thoroughly enjoyable, even on the 'bad days.' The average American citizen has no idea of the challenges COs face around the world, trying to juggle policy concerns with the law, border security with profitable tourism.....

[soulstriker 274]

It was the best time I've ever had in a job...the challenges, the responsibilities, the importance of what I was doing....all of it was thoroughly enjoyable, even on the 'bad days.' The average American citizen has no idea of the challenges COs face around the world, trying to juggle policy concerns with the law, border security with profitable tourism.....

what would be considered a bad day? when you were a CO ? thats interesting , we all have bad days were humans anyway

[Pitaya 2,576]

~one non-constructive post removed~

[afrocraft 313]

"Third world"? Is that how you viewed the countries you worked in? And you, Guardian of the Gate to the First World, dispensing cherished passes as you will? Have you considered that such subtle bias may contribute to hasty rejections (as OP suggests) of some otherwise qualified visa applications?

Most people have no idea of the amount of work a lot of COs go through to make their day easier....bona fide cases need to be approved and readied to issue....bogus cases need some time..... COs (many, with experience), can easily recognize questionable cases and give those applications some additional scrutiny...(and engage their own fraud folks to make some phone calls or access the internet, etc)...a good, solid, experienced CO does not arrive or sit in his/her window unprepared to deal with so-so cases...we have already done some homework... I often scanned pending cases to look for weaknesses...and could identify them quickly....and make some arrangements for input from other sources....those applicants who thought they could fool me were sorry they ever tried.....with some focus and support from one's supervisor (the CG), a good CO can figure out a lot long before they begin an interview.....most of the time, I was so far ahead of most scam artists, they had no idea of what hit them....like a good attorney (hmmmm), I knew the answer to most questions that I might pose of the applicants....they, however, thought I was an idiot....most of them are still living in their own third world country, wondering why no one believed their baloney.

Edited April 24, 2016 by afrocraft

[Boiler 43,561]

"Third world"? Is that how you viewed the countries you worked in? And you, Guardian of the Gate to the First World, dispensing cherished passes as you will? Have you considered that such subtle bias may contribute to hasty rejections (as OP suggests) of some otherwise qualified visa applications?

Cherished? Sounds odd, they are visitor visas.

I have seen nothing hast mentioned.

[HFM181818 748]

first, I am no longer working as a CO, and thus not required to write in carefully couched terms....yes, third world describes a considerable percentage of countries on the planet, whether you agree or not. Third world countries are not part of the VWP....I wonder why not??

If you would like to debate the fact that Nigeria is or is not a third world country, well, let's hear it....

Per capita income: less than 1/12 of the US

Infrastructure: non-existent

Fraud: rampant

Disease: you name it

Water quality: a veritable petri dish (from Wikepedia: "According to the World Bank, in 2010 water production facilities in Nigeria were “rarely operated to capacity due to broken down equipment, or lack of power or fuel for pumping.” The operating cost of water agencies is increased by the need to rely on diesel generators or even having to build their own power plants, since power supply is erratic. Equipment and pipes are poorly maintained"

Highway system: huh?

manufacturing: of what?

Corruption: constant

Garden Spot of the planet Earth: far from it

Main source of revenue: oil exports, whose profits are not spread anywhere evenly around the country, but firmly held by the favored few

Now, armed with this information, as a CO, how many 'cherished passes' would you be doling out every day? What would be the motivation for the vast majority of the population to return to Nigeria?

Life isn't fair and neither is immigration law....but when a culture has shown that it will not abide by the terms of the visa privilege with any degree of certainty, why then should that same culture be given that privilege so readily? Who caused the problems? Not the COs...no, only those who snubbed their noses at our rules and laws....

[KierenHby 897]

While I very much agree with an overwhelming majority of your posts here, HFM, and respect your work in the Foreign Service at what you've described as some challenging Consular Posts, I wonder if you come across as somewhat disgruntled.. perhaps you see\saw all that went with adjudicating visas, lies and all, and everything that's "wrong" with our immigration system.

[HFM181818 748]

disgruntled how? While at times I found myself at odds with bosses, as long as I adhered to the law, I was fine. Sure, many bosses tried to sell me on the concept that policy somehow trumps the law, but it doesn't.

As for our current immigration system, well, it is largely a joke...there is really no effective border security, overstayers are rewarded more often than punished, jobs lost to unqualified foreign workers for pennies on the dollar....and phony marriages by the carload....and all because our Congress is just too wimpy to draft and legislate meaningful immigration laws....so, the country fills up with illegals and many companies 'insource' through various work visas.....there are some simple, cost effective fixes that could be put in place, but Congress lacks the courage to implement them.

[afrocraft 313]

...

Now, armed with this information, as a CO, how many 'cherished passes' would you be doling out every day? What would be the motivation for the vast majority of the population to return to Nigeria?

Life isn't fair and neither is immigration law....but when a culture has shown that it will not abide by the terms of the visa privilege with any degree of certainty, why then should that same culture be given that privilege so readily? Who caused the problems? Not the COs...no, only those who snubbed their noses at our rules and laws....

You make my point well with those comments. Many COs, much like you did, already hold negative stereotypes about the countries they serve in (we all have them), and that bias seeps into their adjudication of individual applications, regardless of whether those cases actually qualify for visas.

That's why the OP may have reason to be concerned about quick, almost dismissive, interviews at consulates. And, I might add, about the immense power COs have to make those significant decisions without administrative or judicial review. I, too, wouldn't want a prejudiced, narrow-minded CO who can't look beyond aggregate country statistics and stereotypes to play God with a visa application I have put together at significant cost and effort.

[Boiler 43,561]

You make my point well with those comments. Many COs, much like you did, already hold negative stereotypes about the countries they serve in (we all have them), and that bias seeps into their adjudication of individual applications, regardless of whether those cases actually qualify for visas.

That's why the OP may have reason to be concerned about quick, almost dismissive, interviews at consulates. And, I might add, about the immense power COs have to make those significant decisions without administrative or judicial review. I, too, wouldn't want a prejudiced, narrow-minded CO who can't look beyond aggregate country statistics and stereotypes to play God with a visa application I have put together at significant cost and effort.

Significant decisions?

The subject is Tourist Visa's

[Transborderwife 4,666]

Instead of blaming "narrow minded co's" why not blame and be upset at those countrymen who do not return and overstay, then fade into the shadows of society?

[afrocraft 313]

Significant decisions?

The subject is Tourist Visa's

Indeed. The minimum tourist visa fee of $160 per application may only be 0.6% of Welsh per capita GDP but it's 6% of Nigeria's. And the application hassle is a lot more: it's a day's commitment if you live near one of the two cities with a US consulate/embassy and more if you have to travel. Not to speak of missed career opportunities (conference attendance, business meetings, etc).

[afrocraft 313]

Instead of blaming "narrow minded co's" why not blame and be upset at those countrymen who do not return and overstay, then fade into the shadows of society

I am upset with the lawbreakers, and on other forums I rail against the ills of Nigerian society and culture. But is it just to punish the innocent because of the guilty? Should all Americans be considered xenophobic bigots because the Trumpites among them embrace the fear of the foreign? Each individual application should be thoroughly vetted but the seemingly casual review of applications (as the experience of the OP suggests) lends credence to the impression that Nigerians are being treated unfairly because of stereotypes surrounding their nationality, rather than on the basis of their individual circumstance.

[az2014 381]

Indeed. The minimum tourist visa fee of $160 per application may only be 0.6% of Welsh per capita GDP but it's 6% of Nigeria's. And the application hassle is a lot more: it's a day's commitment if you live near one of the two cities with a US consulate/embassy and more if you have to travel. Not to speak of missed career opportunities (conference attendance, business meetings, etc).

You just proved exactly why there is a stereotype and rightly so.

All countries in the world are not equal, as you clearly stated, so you can not and should not treat them all equally, just looking at the applicant, not taking into consideration their home country.

Edited April 25, 2016 by az2014

[HFM181818 748]

afrocraft, having never served as a CO, may be unaware that as a CO, we live and work in the same country as the applicants....we are exposed to the same fetid air, slosh through the filth on the way to work, are fully aware of the country's current economic conditions and do validation studies to see what percentage of the visa holders are obeying the terms of that privilege...and when the percentage of abusers is sky high, the issuance rates should be sky low....ask yourself why someone living in a hovel 50 miles outside of Abuja or Lagos, making $184 a month doing who knows what, lacking proper medical care, clean water, infrastructure, would be chomping at the bit to get on a plane from the US and zoom back to Nigeria?

Ask yourself why Nigeria (and many other similar countries) are not going to be considered, ever, to join the VWP? Because the abuse rate of visas is off the charts...and the COs did not force anyone to overstay....that decision was made by the visa holder...so, the more who abuse said privilege, the harder it will become for others to get a visa and do the same....the intensity of scrutiny of the applicants will increase, and correctly so....we, as COs, do not and are not supposed to:

(a) feel sorry for the applicants

(b) hand them a B2 visa as some sort of 'test run' to see if they will comply with our laws and rules

© give them a B2 visa so they can go search for a better life in the US....

and since you seem to be on some sort of high horse, why aren't YOU living in Nigeria instead of the US of A, if Nigeria is so wonderful?????