Important KEY questions that might shed some light on the issue of who passes or not at the US tourist visa interview:
"Dear Mr. Martin Lahm and US Consulate:
I have a critical question for you that would shed a lot of light on the matter. Here is a blog article containing a story about how a Filipina girl aced her tourist visa interview in 3 or 4 minutes:
https://twomonkeystravelgroup.com/usa-v ... filipinos/
Her full name is displayed in her blog post above on her ID card, as you can see, so she can be looked up in your records. Can you tell me how she aced the interview and proved that she had "strong ties" enough to return home after visiting the US? The answer to this would definitely shed a lot of light on the matter, so I am asking this now.
Now at first glance, it appears that because she has a good job, that that may be what qualified her for the tourist visa. However, I don't think it's that simple. Because if you read all the anecdotal accounts online from Filipinos who applied, you will find that many with good jobs, and even good assets and property, were denied the visa. So there is no common denominator or linear logic as to who gets approved and who doesn't. And all your website says is a vague statement like "the applicant must prove they have strong ties and will return home" which can be arbitrarily interpreted a number of ways. So there must be other factors, perhaps even intangible ones, including expert psychological profiling, that are involved too. Am I right? Can you shed any light on this?
Here's my theory and educated guess, which I posted in my forum, about how your process might work behind the scenes. Can you tell me whether I am right or not? Or give me some useful specifics about the exact criteria that is used in whether an applicant passes or not? Or any useful info that might shed light at all? If I am right then that means of course, Mr. Martin Lahm, that your claim that everything is done "by the book" cannot be true, right? So why did you say that?
My Hypothesis and Theory:
viewtopic.php?style=11&p=344519#p344519
"However, the US tourist visa requirements are vague. They say that the applicant must prove that they have "strong ties" that will bring them back home. But "strong ties" could be arbitrary. Isn't having a child back home a "strong tie"? If it's about a job or business, that isn't always consistent either, because if you read the anecdotal accounts online, lots of Filipinos with money and assets who are considered rich or well-off have been refused a US tourist visa too. So there must be other intangible factors at play. Like psychological factors based on the applicant's photo and background.
It could be, as Mr S said, that the decision is already made by people in the back, perhaps professional psychologists or profilers, and the interview at the front is just a formality. Obviously a lowly office worker like those interviewers cannot make a decision in 3 or 4 minutes. They aren't that smart, nor are they experts in psychological profiling. My guess is that the interviewer's monitor screen already tells them if an applicant is already approved or not, and the interview is just a formality that doesn't make any difference. Someone in the back who is an expert in profiling people has probably already researched the applicant's background, and made the decision in advance.
That's why the new application online I saw, now asks for the applicant's Facebook page or blog. Because those things allow them to see a bigger picture and more in depth about the applicant's life and background and who they hang out with. A blog of course, allows them to see into their mind and thoughts and education level. In the case of this successful applicant:
https://twomonkeystravelgroup.com/usa-v ... filipinos/
As you can see, her blog looks clean, neat, well organized, and her English is very good. She sounds educated and classy. Sure she has a job, but lots of applicants with jobs get turned down. So it can't just be about that. Besides, how would the embassy know if she plans to abandon her job and stay in the US with her boyfriend permanently? Especially if she falls in love with him? She did say on her application that she's going to the US to visit her boyfriend. So they know that such a thing is possible. So the big question is: How do they know she won't overstay in the US and fall in love with her boyfriend and not wanna come back? It can't just be because she has a job, even if she's had one for years. There has to be other factors they look at. That's what I wanna know. I'll send these questions to the US embassy and see if they can shed light on it. lol
You can tell a lot about someone from their photos, blog, and facebook, if you know how. Not all men are good at reading people (even if they are arrogant know-it-all types of men who think that if they can't see something then no one can). But there are some who have a 6th sense and intuition about it, especially if they've investigated and profiled thousands of people before.
For example, if you ask a homicide detective who has solved a hundred cases, they will tell you that they can tell if someone is guilty or innocent just from talking to them and sizing them up. They are able to read them and use their 6th sense and intuition to size them up, and most of the time they are right. When you have a lot of experience sizing people up, it comes naturally with time. Experienced doctors who have seen thousands of patients can usually recognize symptoms right away after a while, even without doing tests, because after a while, they learn to recognize them automatically. I would imagine the FBI has an expert profiler and psychologist who does things like that, like sizing people up by looking at their pics and background info, which lowly clerks and FBI agents cannot do. Believe it or not, some people are good at that sort of thing, and if you are, you can easily size someone up in minutes from talking to them or looking at their photos and videos.
For example, watch the movie "Silence of the Lambs" and you will see that Hannibal Lecture is an expert criminal psychologist who is able to see little clues, details and nuances about someone that ordinary people will not notice. And if you read Sherlock Holmes stories, you will see that Holmes can see many subtle clues about a suspect just from looking at him, that normal people never see. Such people do exist in real life.
Of course, a lot of arrogant men think that's impossible, and assume that just because they suck at reading people that everyone else must too, because they think they know it all, and if they can't see something, then no one can. Those arrogant men are ignorant and wrong of course, but they exist unfortunately, because male pride and male ego and arrogance are full of shit. I've kicked those men's ass in debate many times and all they can do is run away and yell parting insults at me, because they can't stand losing or being proven wrong. Their egos are huge and even if they are low IQ and stupid, they still think they "know it all" because they are men and have huge pride and ego. Stupid f***s is what they are. But they are everywhere, even in this forum there are stupid men who think they know it all when they really do not. (you know who you are) Sorry I just had to get that out, because there are many arrogant stupid pricks out there who will debate everything even when they know they are wrong, and I'm so sick of those stupid f***s.
Anyway, that's my theory. It's an educated guess about how the process might really work. Because there is no consistency with it, so there must be more at play here, such as deeper intangible factors that involve expert profiling and psychological analysis.
I would consider myself good at that too. Because after meeting thousands of people, I too have an instinct or knack about who I can trust and who I can't. And most of the time I am right.
I would venture to guess that if an applicant looks too floosy, like they just "flow with the wind" and don't care about any morals, ethics or principles, that is a red flag to them. You sort of can recognize that from looking at a person's mannerisms, face and personality, the way they talk and carry themselves, their body language, etc. It's hard to explain, but you can tell. Even dogs can read people well by their intuition, they know a good person from a bad person. Any dog owner will tell you that. So it's an intuition that one can hone, especially with experience.
It could be that having a blog helps a lot, like in that girl's case above, who aced the interview in 3 minutes by just answering a few simple questions about herself. Because when you have a blog, it means you stand for something. You have a purpose and a specific viewpoint, you aren't just an empty vacuous shell with no opinion and just flows with the wind, like most Filipinos probably are (no offense to any Filipinos out there). They probably prefer people who stand for something, over someone who stands for nothing and just flows with the wind, because such a person who gets to the US could decide to overstay there, just because he or she "feels like it" and doesn't care about following the law, and does not even think twice about it. That would be my guess.
Maybe I should ask Dianne to start a blog, if that's the case. lol"
Sincerely,
Winston"