We went for DH's spousal visa (didn't get it...the weirdest thing happened!)

We were there for three hours....ok that is expected but what happened at the end was very weird.

The first guy collected all of our stuff and said, "ok have a seat and wait for your interview".  We we are called for the interview the 2nd guy asks my husband to raise his hand and swear that all of his info is correct. (Yes of course it is, I think to myself). Well, the guy asks my husband if he has ever used any other names, my husband says "no" and the guy tells us that he entered the US in Nov '04 under a different name?? Of course he didn't, we both went back together for Thanksgiving and there were no issues at the time. We were shocked. Meanwhile, we can see a piece of paper with three different pics of my husband (one for each time that he entered) and one of them had a different name (he circled it). We asked if he could turn the paper around so we could really see what was going on and he said "I can not do that". Yikes, it surreal!!

Anyway, he said that he had never encountered this type of thing before so a further investigation is required. Again, I can't tell you how shocked we were! My thought after we left was why didn't the Dept of Homeland security pick this up? After all we received his I-130 approval.

Luckily we have my husband's passport back with us but we have no idea how long this "investigation" will take. It looks to be some type of database mess up. That said,  its quite scary that things like this actually happen!

So now we wait. He did say that we might have to travel to the Embassy yet again!

Needless to say, I am so tired of the bureaucracy that innocent people have to go through. Sometimes I think, yeah we we all have to deal with it now but I am beyond fed up. 

Yikes!  That is scary indeed!  I hope it's just a database error and they are able to sort it out.  However, I do see the embassy's point.  YOU know that it is a mistake but they don't, specially when their paperwork says they are right.  Of course, databases and even immigration officers make mistakes.  The embassy just needs time to sort it out. It's kinda like when there is an error in your credit report, just for comparison's sake.

I hope everything works out for you guys!

June

Oh, I forgot a little story, just to make you feel better.  When my now husband was coming to the US for our wedding, he was held up at immigration at Miami International Airport because he still had the green piece of paper they put in the passport of visa waiver people from the second to last trip prior to that. In that particular trip, just under a year earlier, we had only had a connecting flight from London to Dominican Republic in New York.  On the return trip, we did not go through immigration and thus the visa waiver thingie was never taken out of the passport.   As far as immigration was concerned, he had never left the US.  Never mind that he had entered and exited once more after that and that he had just come in on a flight fromr the UK!

It was stupid but really scary for us, specially my husband.  Of course, in the end they realize how incredibly stupid their argument was and let him go but not after a couple of hours of having him sitting in a room without knowing what was going on!

I guess the moral of the story is that if you have nothing to worry about then you are going to be OK!

June

Thanks June! You are right, we have nothing to hide nor did my husband ever enter the US under a different name.

Wow, that was a scary time for you guys! It actually makes me feel better to hear of another *bleep* up that was resolved.

The guy at the end was professional but the scary part was the "air of suspicion" that we felt. Add that to being completely shocked....it wasn't a very nice experience!

I would imagine that nothing pertaining to U.S. immigration is easy these days. It sucks, and I'm sorry you went through that.

I feel for you, I really really do! How horrible! I hope that they are able to resolve this asap! As for something almost similar - my brother in law coming to our wedding had a mark on his criminal record, so he had to get a visa to come to the US. He went down to the embassy - took a day off work etc... spent money...and they made him wait and wait, then after the interview (he's been a model citizen and that was over 15yrs ago!), they said, we'll see I have to pass this above me to my superior. He had to wait another month before he got a visa, but he got it! So, I suppose there's hope, they just like to make people wait and wait and wait and sweat it out.  

Please keep us up to date, DH is going through this shortly.

Wow, that's crazy!  I'm very sorry you are having to go through this.  I hope that they can resolve this soon, and in your favour.  Please do let us know what happens.  *hugs*

How could they get him mixed up with someone else? What rubbish! I hope they sort it out quickly.

Thanks all for your kind messages! 

I will definitely let everyone know the outcome. I did ask the guy for a formal explanation after the investigation (rather than just getting the go-ahead to courier DH's passport to get the visa which may be the case instead of having to go back), he said he would do that.

When we do hear back, I am hoping to get the explanation in writing so I will have a record of it for the future. I certainly don't want this kind of thing to get in our way again.

That seems very, very odd. I wonder if there was a way to contact the airline you flew during that time so that you could show proof that the tickets were in his name and not anything else?

Wow, that is awful, so sorry!  Good for you getting the explanation in writing.

That seems very, very odd. I wonder if there was a way to contact the airline you flew during that time so that you could show proof that the tickets were in his name and not anything else?

Funny that you should say that. I am hoping to find the email E-ticket from BA. I think I may have it saved on my computer at work (although since I am leaving soon, I have started to clean out my old folders so hoping I didn't delete it).

I am going to look for it tomorrow. Fingers crossed, I do still have it!

Wow, that is awful, so sorry!  Good for you getting the explanation in writing.

Yes Stacey, I do hope I can get something in writing (I don't see why not). Like I said, the feeling of suspicion was terrible. As for the database error, that was my comment...the guy said nothing about what might be the problem.

Funny that you should say that. I am hoping to find the email E-ticket from BA. I think I may have it saved on my computer at work (although since I am leaving soon, I have started to clean out my old folders so hoping I didn't delete it).

I am going to look for it tomorrow. Fingers crossed, I do still have it!

Fingers definitely crossed!!

That seems very, very odd. I wonder if there was a way to contact the airline you flew during that time so that you could show proof that the tickets were in his name and not anything else?

Not to mention they surely stamped & scanned his passport on arrival?? I hope you get an apology from them when they've sorted out the blip in their system.

Jules!  My heart skipped a beat when I saw this thread! 

I'm sure it will all get sorted out but what a pain in the a$$!!  Keep us posted.