Here are the letters that I filed with the American Consulate. It represents the difficulty expats in 3rd world countries have doing something as simple as introducing their fiance or spouse to their family, spending holidays with loved ones or just taking a vacation together. 

I can't offer any useful advice, as you can read we have yet to secure a tourist visa for my wife. I am still awaiting their reply and will post whatever response I get.

The following 3 emails are pretty self-explanatory:

Please clarify: What must an American citizen do to file a complaint regarding a Consulate employee? It seems that even with my wife's permission, no one at the Consulate will reply to my complaint about the unfair treatment she received at her visa interview. Clearly, the Consular Officer I spoke with at the Embassy was disingenuous when he advised me that the most efficient way was to write a detailed letter and email it to this address. Now I understand the snickers of the Consulate staff when I told them I wanted to file a complaint. It is also clear why the interviewer felt comfortable treating an applicant so poorly. Exactly what must I do to address this issue in a way that someone CAN respond.

My 2nd email:

Dear Sir or Madam:

After going to the Consulate myself the morning after my wife's interview, I was told that the best course of action would be to write an email outlining my complaint. You'll find my complaint as previously submitted at the end of this email.

We are aware of your policy not to discuss someone's visa application with other than the applicant. I don't believe this policy to be relevant to my complaint. However, to avoid any potential misunderstanding, my wife sent a separate email from her own email account informing you that you had her permission to discuss the matter with me. That being said, I filed my complaint, not to secure a reversal of the denial but to rectify what I believe to be misconduct on the part of a Consulate Interviewer.

Sadly, your office chose to respond to the simple permission received from my wife, rather than addressing the real reason for our communication with the Consulate: the complaint by an American citizen regarding the conduct of a Consulate employee.

However, I found the reply from the Consulate to be pertinent to issues raised by my complaint. In part, your reply and I assume the policy of the United States of America is as follows:

... This law requires consular officers to presume that nonimmigrant visa applicants intend to immigrate unless they can demonstrate that their familial, social, professional, and economic ties to the Philippines are compelling enough for them to return after a temporary stay in the United States.  Unfortunately, you were unable to overcome the presumption of immigrant intent.

How exactly was she supposed to overcome this presumption when the Consular Interviewer literally looked at not one single document that she brought to the interview? Not one.

By law, the burden of proof is on the applicant to show that s/he qualifies for the visa. This proof may come in many forms, but when considered together, it must be strong enough for the interviewing officer to conclude that the applicant’s ties to the Philippines will compel him or her to return at the end of a temporary stay in the United States.

When considered together? What exactly was she "considering together" to reach any kind of a fair determination?

I regret I am unable to provide a more favorable reply.  A refusal under Section 214(b) is not permanent.  You are welcome to file a new visa application when there are significant changes in your circumstances or when there is new verifiable information that might affect your eligibility for a nonimmigrant visa.  Although there is no guarantee that a new visa application will be successful, rest assured that all visa applications are given full consideration.

How was the Interviewer supposed to know what circumstances might have changed or what new verifiable information was available? The fact is that yes, our circumstances have changed, but of course, there was no way that she could have known that without looking at the "verifiable information" that was brought to the interview. For heaven's sake, she thought that Maricarl's first denial was for a fiance visa. Can this possibly be what is referred to as "giving full consideration?"

The reason for the first email and for this one is for someone in a position of authority to address my concerns or at least acknowledge them. How else can I be sure that at the least, the woman who interviewed my wife is watched for future violations of, if not the law itself, certainly the spirit of the law. For without doubt, my wife was not given "full consideration" or for that matter, any consideration.

Sincerely,
David C. Krolick, Philippine Permanent Resident & Tax Paying American Citizen
Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental 6200

My 1st email...

Dear Sir or Madam:

Please accept this as a formal complaint regarding the actions/statements of a Consular Interviewer. When I took my complaint to the Embassy, a Consular Officer recommended that I send this email with as much detail as possible. The details of my complaint are as follows:

First I should tell you that at my wife's second non-immigrant attempt she was also denied. The reason for her denial was explained as a lack of money in our joint accounts and the newness of our business. While I was unhappy about this (considering the substantial investment to launch our business) it at least made some sense and gave us the feeling that reapplying at a later date could likely have a better outcome.

We were hopeful about our recent chances. Our business, which in local parlance has "clicked," passed its first anniversary and I moved some additional funds into our 2 passbook bank accounts. However, the interviewer (for reference: a heavy-set African American woman with short hair) didn't care to look at any of the documentation, which included my passport showing that my status is Permanent Resident in the Philippines, the 2 passbooks I mentioned, our verified Philippines tax returns for 2009, as well as the invitation to my niece's wedding with a notarized letter from my brother inviting us to stay at his home.

I know that the position of the Consulate is that the Interviewer may not have found it necessary to inspect her documents and had enough familiarity with the application to make a well-founded decision. However, I find this hard to believe as she was under the impression that my wife's first denial was for a fiance visa (it was not). If it had been, I would certainly understand any reservations she might have had. All three applications were for a non-immigrant tourist visa as we have never had the intention to live in the United States.

After about a minute scanning my wife's application, the woman told her of the denial exactly this way: "I'm sorry, you're not qualified for a non-immigrant visa. Tell your husband that he should apply for an immigrant visa." My wife was taken aback and offered for her to look at the documentation she had brought. After all, at her previous interview very specific things had been said that needed to be accomplished in order to have a chance of being successful. To which the woman waved her hand in a dismissive gesture and said that she did not need to see them, repeating that my wife was not qualified for a non-immigrant visa. This could be interpreted as a singular pronouncement, only about the current application, except for repeating her next remark: "Tell your husband that he should apply for an immigrant visa." I was not aware of, nor have I ever seen any indication on your website or any place else that being the spouse of an American citizen automatically disqualifies someone from getting a tourist visa. The fact that the interviewer handed her the blue standard denial form meant to explain the denial with none of the boxes checked, leads me to conclude that none of the reasons were applicable. Perhaps the interviewer would like an additional box labeled: Spouse of U.S. citizen.

Furthermore, according to your website and signs posted at the Embassy, making false statements can result in a permanent denial. I find us in an untenable situation. As the spouse of an American citizen she has been denied due consideration based on the merits of her circumstances for a non-immigrant visa and should we choose to file an immigrant application as suggested, we risk being permanently ineligible as at this time we have no intention of staying/living in the States. The immigrant application is clearly for what its name implies: immigration. How could we honestly answer even the simplest questions such as "Where do you intend to live in the United States?"

I can sympathize with the Consulate's difficult job of judging which applicants are legitimate as opposed to which have the true intention to stay in the States. I also realize that the determination of a Consular has no appeal and my intent is not to circumvent that. However, any Interviewer who has their own agenda, which is not part of Immigration law, needs to be corrected, re-trained or discharged. It is unfair for people in our situation to literally have no chance for approval, or even, no chance for approval unless you happen to get a consular who will follow the rules. That is, unless what was said actually is true, that a spouse of an American citizen need not apply.

Sincerely,

David C. Krolick
Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental 6200