Confessions in denied cases – To sign or not to sign

The State Department has told all consulates that they could return petitions to CIS in the US only if they had good reason to do so. This means that the consular officer must have some information that was not available when CIS approved the petition. A petition can not be returned to CIS just because the consular officer feels that there is attempted fraud involved.

The State Department now says that in order to return a petition, the consul must have “factual and concrete reasons”. The State Department also says that the consular officers must provide the applicant with a written explanation for denying the visa and returning the petition. So, applicants in denied cases should receive the reason that the petition is being returned to CIS. That will just be for their information. It will not allow them to appeal or submit more documents to the Consulate.

The Consulate says that they have prepared a form that the applicant will receive in denied cases. The form will give the legal and factual reasons for the denial and return of the petition to CIS.

Sometimes it is very difficult for consular officers to obtain hard facts or hard proof but they feel sure that there is attempted fraud. What do some consuls do if they feel there is fraud but they do not have solid proof of fraud? 
 
In more than one case, a consul has forced the applicant to sign a confession stating that the relationship is not genuine and that attempted fraud has taken place. The consul has said, “If you don’t sign this confession, you will never be able to go to the States”. Why does the applicant sign the confession even though the relationship is genuine? One reason is that she is frightened and confused. But a stronger reason is that the consul makes her believe that if she signs, there is still a chance for her to go to the U.S.

In the Vietnamese culture, signing a confession is not just an admission of guilt. It sometimes allows the person to have another chance at doing things the right way. That is why the visa applicant signs the confession. She sees hope for another chance in the future.

In American law it is just the opposite:  a signed confession of fraud eliminates any future chance of getting a visa to the U.S. This is what the consul knows but the applicant does not know.

Therefore, we believe that it is best for the applicant to try to find the courage to refuse to sign any confession.

Q.1. If the applicant refuses to sign a confession, what will the consular officer do?

A.1. The Consul has two choices: one is to return the petition to CIS without good reasons. If the petition is returned to CIS without clear proof of fraud, CIS may re-approve it and return it to the Consulate. The other choice for the consular officer is to tell the applicant that she has to submit more documents to prove the relationship, or to eliminate the appearance of fraud.

Q.2. I heard about a fiancee case that was returned to CIS. CIS did a very careful investigation of the sponsor and then interviewed him. Does CIS always interview the sponsor of a rejected case?
 
A.2. The interview was unusual. CIS does not normally do this. Fortunately, in this case, the interview turned out well. CIS just asked for the sponsor’s current employment verification. It looks like CIS will re-approve the fiancee petition and return it to the Consulate in Saigon.

Q.3. What happens when the sponsor files a spouse petition after a fiancee petition has been returned to CIS?
 
A.3. If CIS does not think that the fiancee petition was fraudulent, they will re-approve the petition and return it to the Consulate. Then the Consulate will begin processing the spouse petition. If CIS agrees that the fiancee petition was fraudulent, the Consulate will refuse to process any other petition.