Q: How come it’s so difficult to get a holiday visa here in Guyana? After three attempts, I have not been able to get one, yet I have a friend in Barbados who got a holiday visa on the first try.
There are several factors that affect the consular officer’s decision to approve or deny a visa. The most important factor concerns the applicant’s ties to Guyana or a third country besides the U.S. During the interview, the officer weighs the applicant’s responses to a variety of questions posed on the application and during the interview. As the officer is trying to assess the applicant’s ties, the officer is simultaneously gauging the applicant’s demeanor during the interview. Body language conveys a strong message too.
According to U.S. immigration law, all visa applicants are considered intending immigrants unless they can prove to the consular officer’s satisfaction that they have no intention of staying in the U.S. The officer also has to consider that Guyana has one of the highest overstay rates when compared to the other countries in the region. This is augmented by the fact that Guyana has one of the healthiest migration rates per capita in the world. Every year, one percent of Guyana’s population migrates to the U.S. while another one percent migrates elsewhere. Unfortunately, because so many Guyanese have abused holiday visas with the intention of migrating, they have made it that much more difficult for other Guyanese to be able to enjoy a nice holiday in the U.S.
Q: Recently, I was in the U.S. Embassy for my immigrant visa interview. The officer asked me some rather personal questions regarding my relationship with my wife. I didn’t think they could ask me about such matters. Why do they do that?
Immigrant visas to the U.S. are highly coveted around the world. It should come as no surprise that thousands of people around the world have engaged in fraudulent marriages solely for the purpose of migrating to the U.S. This places the consular officer in the delicate position of trying to determine whether or not those relationships are legitimate based on physical evidence provided by the couple as well as responses to a series of questions asked during the interview. To this end, the officer is allowed to ask questions, even if they are personal, to establish satisfactorily that the relationship is legitimate and was not contracted solely for the purpose of assisting someone to migrate. Although the consular officer is not obligated to ask questions about a couple’s intimacy, this line of questioning can be employed because one finds that legitimate couples rarely have trouble jogging their memory when it comes to such matters.
Q: My friends tell me that I have to provide bedroom photos of my fianc
