Consular Corner, September 2011
Contents:
Consular Sweep
TMI?
You be the Judge
Heathrow Airport on September 12, 2001
Changes to 9 FAM - Monthly Report, featuring:
- Services Performed for DHS by Consular Officers
- Authorization to Approve Petitions at Certain Posts
- Timely Retraction of a Misrepresentation
- Person-Centric Query Service
Consular Corner Quiz
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, September 2011
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, August 2011
Contents:
Special 9/11 Anniversary Edition

Consular Corner, July 2011
Contents:
Same-sex Partners: An Anniversary and an Update
From “The Answer Should Be Obvious” Department
You be the Judge
OIG Inspection Report of Embassy Santo Domingo
Changes to 9 FAM - Monthly Report, featuring:
- Organized Crime
Consular Corner Quiz
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, July 2011
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, June 2011
Contents:
DOS Launches New DS-160 Form
The Margins of the Upper Limits
Transparency and the FAM: An Update
Changes to 9 FAM - Monthly Report, featuring:
- Immigrant Intent
- ADIS
Are You Smarter Than A Junior Consular Officer?
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, June 2011
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, May 2011
Contents:
Interview With Andrew and Sheryn Hylton-Parker
A Day in the Life of a Consular Officer – Chennai, India
The Eyes of the Enemy
Changes to 9 FAM - Monthly Report, featuring:
- Multiple-Year Validity Period for NIV Waivers
- FGM Notification
Are You Smarter Than A Junior Consular Officer?
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, May 2011
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, April 2011
Contents:
Interview with Cornelius D. Scully (“Mr. Visa Office”)
“I Hate My Job (Sort Of)”
You Be the Judge
The Negative Affects on Bilateral Relations of a Cumbersome Visa Application Process
Changes to 9 FAM - Monthly Report, featuring:
- Licensure Requirement for H Nonimmigrants
- International Organizations
- Medical Examination of Immigrant Visa Applicants
Are You Smarter Than A Junior Consular Officer?
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, April 2011
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, March 2011
Contents:
Courage in Christchurch
Interview with Madam le Consul on INA 214(b)
Bright-line Documentary Requirements
CA’s Q&A
Where Are They Now?
Ciudad Juarez Then and Now
Changes to 9 FAM - Monthly Report, featuring:
- CBP Inspectors’ Notes
- Exceptions to MRV Processing Fee
- Poverty Income Guidelines 2011
Are You Smarter Than A Junior Consular Officer?
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, March 2011
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, February 2011
Contents:
“Consular Officers Will Be There”
Following Courageously in Bangkok and Luxembourg
Praise for Public Affairs
Changes to 9 FAM - Monthly Report, featuring:
- H-2A and H-2B Countries
- H-1B Extensions
- Refusal Worksheet
- Termination of Relationship
- TWIC Letter
Are You Smarter Than A Junior Consular Officer?
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, February 2011
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, January 2011
Contents:
Havana, September 1, 1977
The Job Isn’t Finished Until the Paperwork is ... Ignored
Courage in Karachi
SAO Cheer
Changes to 9 FAM - Monthly Report, featuring:
- Permission to Reapply for Admission
- Retention of U.S. Citizenship
Are You Smarter Than A Junior Consular Officer?
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, January 2011
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, December 2010
Contents:
Overpaid?
Small Things with Great Love
How Not to Get a U.S. Visa
Changes to 9 FAM - Monthly Report, featuring:
- Medical Exams for NIV Applicants
- H-1B Labor Certifications
Are You Smarter Than A Junior Consular Officer?
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, December 2010
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, November 2010
Contents:
Visa Refusal Statistics: Winners and Losers
American Citizens and Same-Sex Partners
Playing Con Fuoco
Terrorism and Visa Ineligibilities
Waivers for Presumptive Immigrants?
Changes to 9 FAM - Monthly Report, featuring:
- O-1 Extraordinary Ability
- Online Students
- Summer Work Travel Exchange Visitors
Are You Smarter Than A Junior Consular Officer?
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, November 2010
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, October 2010
Contents:
Innovation in the Visa Process
OIG Reviews Mission China
Helsinki Green
Changes to 9 FAM - Monthly Report, featuring:
- Polygamy
- False Claims to Citizenship
- Lost and Stolen Visas
- Application Fee Exemptions
Are You Smarter Than A Junior Consular Officer?
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, October 2010
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, September 2010
Contents:
Shoe Diplomacy
Consular Court
Respect for Africa
Enjoy the Moment
TAL is a Bless Sing
Consular Menagerie
Changes to 9 FAM - Monthly Report, featuring:
- CLOK Requests
- Form DS-260
- Political Offenses
Are You Smarter Than A Junior Consular Officer?
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, September 2010
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, August 2010
Contents:
Embassy Abu Dhabi: A 3 FAM 1332 Operation
Is Pregnancy a Visa Ineligibility?
Consular Court
Another Consular Miracle
Medical Grounds of Inadmissibility: Substantial Revisions
Changes to 9 FAM - Monthly Report, featuring:
- Immigrant Investors
- International Child Abduction
- Association with Terrorists
Are You Smarter Than A Junior Consular Officer?
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, August 2010
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, July 2010
Contents:
Promoting American Values via Social Media
Consular Education at the Other End of the Leash
You be the Judge
Consular Miracle
Changes to 9 FAM - Monthly Report, featuring:
- Language Incentive Pay
- The Privacy Act
- Human Trafficking and CIMTs
- 222(g) Chart
Are You Smarter Than A Junior Consular Officer?
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, July 2010
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, June 2010
Contents:
Love and Marriage
Liberalized Appointment System in China
Havana: 999 and Rising
The Consular Corner World Cup Probability Model
Changes to 7 FAM - Monthly Report, featuring:
- Gender Change on U.S. Passports
Are You Smarter Than A Junior Consular Officer?
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, June 2010
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, May 2010
Contents:
Happy Anniversary, Madam!
New Consular Fees
Updated Guidance on Student Visas
Dynamic Dhahran
Changes to 9 FAM - Monthly Report, including:
- 214(b) Denials
- Death of IV Petitioner
- Fraudulent DHS Documents
- Money Laundering Inadmissibility
- Returning Resident Visas
- Transportation Letters
Are You Smarter Than A Junior Consular Officer?
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, May 2010
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, April 2010
Contents:
Uninvited
Does Architecture Matter?
Flummoxed on Visas?
Good Writing Does Matter
Consular Processing Following the End of the HIV Ban
Changes to 9 FAM - Monthly Report, including:
- H-1B and TARP
- Minor Personal Employees
- Limits on Stays for H and L Nonimmigrants
Are You Smarter Than A Junior Consular Officer?
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, April 2010
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, March 2010
Contents:
Winners of our Writing Contest
ACS Vilnius to the Rescue
Full House in the Foreign Service
Laptop NIVs: The Future is Here
Changes to 9 FAM - Monthly Report, including:
- Inadmissibility Grounds
- NIV Waivers for CIMTs
- 214(b) Not an Inadmissibility
Are You Smarter Than A Junior Consular Officer?
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, March 2010
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, February 2010
Contents:
Ten Questions With: Shaila B. Manyam, Foreign Service Officer, U.S. Embassy Port-au-Prince
Executive Capacity
Musical Inadmissibility
Changes to 9 FAM - Monthly Report, including:
- HIV-positive applicants
- Personal employees of foreign diplomats
- Unlawful presence correction
Are You Smarter Than A Junior Consular Officer?
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, February 2010
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, January 2010
Contents:
"For Such A Time As This"
Highlighted in Tragedy
Fredrick Douglass on Haiti
More on Embassy POS
This Is Not America
Thank You, Kolkata
900 Days
Embassy Art and Little Uglies
Changes to 9 FAM - Monthly Report, including:
- MOH for foreign officials
- Officers' discretion in 6C1 cases
- Interpreting double negatives
Are You Smarter Than A Junior Consular Officer?
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, January 2010
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, December 2009
Contents:
Happy 2010!
A Positive Visa Experience for Foreign Students
Department of State, New Year's Eve, 1999
Smart Power and Tanks
New Year’s Prayer
Podgorica: Thanks and Congratulation
Port of Spain: Harsh Criticism
Approval Notices: No Longer Required (Most of the Time)
Changes to 9 FAM - Monthly Report, including:
- Changes to SB-1 procedures
- Death knell for the I-20 and DS-2019
- Changes to H-1B and H-2 processing
- Surprising optimism from DOS
Are You Smarter Than A Junior Consular Officer?
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, December 2009
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, November 2009
Contents:
Thank You, Embassy London
Frontline Speech
Changes to 9 FAM - Monthly Report, including:
- A typo that appears to dis the DAS
- Guidance on releasing criminal information
- A warning about non-approved forms
- A distressing recommendation on cheat sheets
- Misleading information about a key provision of the INA
Are You Smarter Than A Junior Consular Officer?
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, November 2009
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, October 2009
Contents:
Ten Questions With: Julie A. Ruterbories, Consul General, U.S. Consulate General Amsterdam
Comprehensive New Policy on DNA
Respect and Prestige
Respect for MLC
Changes to 9 FAM - Monthly Report
Are You Smarter Than A Junior Consular Officer?
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, October 2009
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, September 2009
Contents:
CCFB - The First Month
The Ultimate 214(b) Tie
An Irish Thumbs-Up
Writing with Clarity
Speaking with Clarity
A Tale of Two Consular Sections
Twenty Years of MRVs
Interview-day Inspiration from East of Eden?
Changes to 9 FAM – Monthly Report
Are You Smarter Than A Junior Consular Officer?
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, September 2009
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, August 2009
Contents:
Consular Corner on Facebook
Ten Questions With: Stephen A. “Tony” Edson
"Immediate Family Members" and DOMA
Consular Haikus
Cambodia Undiplomatic
In the Wake of MP Son Chhay: Consular Stimulus Needed
Worldwide Nonimmigrant Visa Referral Policy
Changes to 9 FAM – Monthly Report
Are You Smarter Than A Junior Consular Officer?
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, August 2009
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, July 2009
Contents:
Visa Interview Pet Peeves
The Arlington Rap
Honey We Ain't Stupid
The Visa Application Process on YouTube
OIG on Nonimmigrant Visa Adjudication
The State 274068 All Stars
Changes to 9 FAM - Monthly Report
Are You Smarter Than A Junior Consular Officer?
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, July 2009
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, June 2009
Contents:
My Favorite Visa Refusal
Name that Abbreviation
A Sloppy Visa Applicant is a Truthful Visa Applicant
Immigration Benefits Based on Racial Purity
Signposts from Mumbai
TAL and Tons of Tears
While You Were on the Visa Line
Changes to 9 FAM - Monthly Report
Are You Smarter Than A Junior Consular Officer?
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, June 2009
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, May 2009
Contents:
Not Everyone is Really that Much of an Individual
The Art of the Visa Adjudication
Visa Interviews: A Look Back
A Job Well Done
Changes to 9 FAM - Monthly Report
FSO Posts Jeopardy Streak
Are You Smarter Than A Junior Consular Officer?
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, May 2009
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, April 2009
Contents:
AILA Rome District Conference in Tel-Aviv: As Good As It Gets
Greatest FS Achievement
Body Language, Baseball and Visa Interviews
9 FAM -The Transparency Rolls On
Get a Visa, Save a Life
Five Years for Burroughs
U.S. Opens Visa Section to the Libyan Public
Are You Smarter Than A Junior Consular Officer?
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, April 2009
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, March 2009
Contents:
Transparency and the FAM
Change Transmittals and Transparency
Section 428 Hits Home
"Reason to Believe" and Visa Denials
U.S. Consulate General in Hyderabad Begins Issuing Visas
U.S. Embassy in Kabul Begins Issuing Non-immigrant Visas
Visa Validity Periods Extended for Iraqis
Former Secretary of State Powell and the Gettysburg Address
Landmark Conference on Consular Processing
Are You Smarter Than A Junior Consular Officer?
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, March 2009
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, February 2009
Contents:
Ten Years to 99 State 21138
Visas and Sleep-walking (Consular Officers)
Visas and Sleep-walking (Immigration Attorneys)
Lift Every Voice and Sing
US Embassy Baghdad Video
Jeddah Update
Are You Smarter Than A Junior Consular Officer?
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, February 2009
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, January 2009
Contents:
Ten Questions With: Valerie J. Chittenden, Consul, US Embassy Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic
"Charge d'affaires" Clarified
Tough Luck Visa Stories
A Consular Year
While You Were on the Visa Line
Are You Smarter Than A Junior Consular Officer?
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, January 2009
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, December 2008
Contents:
Deep Breath in Mumbai
Consular Officers: Compassion within a Dark Shell
For Those Who Are Wondering: Yes, Hawaii is a State
Time to Leave
U.S. Visas - The Saudi Litmus Test
Ambassadors and Visa Applicants: The Common Thread
Are You Smarter Than A Junior Consular Officer?
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, December 2008
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, November 2008
Contents:
Grabbing the Bull by the Horns
No Good Purpose
Unreasonable Client Expectations
What Americans Like
Let Us Always Be On Guard
Vindication
Teasing the Siblings
My Mom was a Consular Officer
From the Consulates: Hyderabad, Ciudad Juarez, and Hong Kong
Are You Smarter Than A Junior Consular Officer?
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, November 2008
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, October 2008
Contents:
Ten Questions With: Ellen Peterson, Vice Consul, U.S. Consulate General, Tijuana, Mexico
New Colossus
On Being a Junior Officer
Rejoicing in Manila
Denied but Determined Down Under
"Those Damn Congressional Letters"
From the Consulates: Montreal and Vancouver
Are You Smarter Than A Junior Consular Officer?
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, October 2008
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, September 2008
Contents:
Ten Questions With: Charles J. Jess, Consular Section Chief, U.S. Consulate General Shanghai, China
Are You Smarter Than A Junior Consular Officer?
U.S. Consulate Istanbul: Where Birds Don't Fly
Messages Diplomatic and Visceral
U.S. Consulate Manila: No Birds in Flight Here, Either
The Arrogance of the French Embassy
New CG in Chennai
You're in Wonderland, So Just Deal With It
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, September 2008
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, August 2008
Contents:
Ten Questions With: Rachel C. Graciano, E Visa Officer, U.S. Embassy, Tel-Aviv, Israel
Are You Smarter Than A Junior Consular Officer?
Lost In Little Bits
Chinese Folk Artist
Bushmen Denied Visas
Travel Agents Are No Saints
Out Of Africa
Visas By The Hour
Visas By The Window
Impressive New Consuls General in India
Barred for Insulting Consuls
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, August 2008
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, July 2008
Contents:
Ten Questions With: Matthew E. Keene Deputy Consul and chief of the Nonimmigrant Visa Unit U.S. Embassy, Sofia, Bulgaria
Dancing in the Rain
Living Diplomacy
Are You Smarter Than A Junior Consular Officer?
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, July 2008
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, June 2008
Contents:
Are You Smarter Than A Junior Consular Officer?
Lottery
You Find The Terrorist
Sleaze-bag in Seoul
No Merci from Mère
What's a Girl to Do in ?
E Visas in Toronto
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, June 2008
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, May 2008
Contents:
Are You Smarter Than A Junior Consular Officer?
You Can't Go Home Again
Visa Denial Song
Kingston Commotion
Visa Waiver Song
Prose for VWP Wannabe Countries?
The Fun of Fraud
The Receiving End of Anti-Fraud
The Price of Fraud
The Visa Fraud Video
Honing Visa Interview Skills at DC Bars
My Best Moment
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, May 2008
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, April 2008
Contents:
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, April 2008
Disney Channel Diplomacy
Going Native
Visa Gods
Divine Presence in the Visa Application Process
The Color Purple
Disgust and Disappointment: A Mother Scorned
Of Iraq and Toronto
Visas 24/7
Diplomatic Frankness
Paperless Processing and Pachyderm Procreation
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, March 2008
Contents:
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, March 2008
Shocked U.S. State Department Discovers Andorra Not In Africa
First World In, ROW Out
The Conoff is an SOB!
The Power of the Interview Window
The Visa Interview: Negligent Homicide?
The Most Important Quality for Conoffs
Mush-for-Brains
FSO Senioritis
New U.S. Visa-Processing Embassy and Consulates
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, February 2008
Contents:
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, February 2008
Visa Officers: Brains, Common Sense and Intestinal Fortitude
Visa Work: No Perfection
Any Idiot Can Deny a Visa
Amazing Visa Journey
Can the Visa Function be Manipulated?
The Enemy from Above
Bright Line Tests and Slimy Applicants
Pressure and the 9/11 Hijackers
The Visa Process: What Price Integrity?
Consular Officers and Flag-Waving Americans
Son Mentirosos?
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, January 2008
Contents:
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, January 2008
2007 Visa Update Scorecard
Consular Crucible
Sisyphus in Seoul
Raw and Exposed
A Hardened Heart
He Who Smelt It…
Loneliness and the Long Distance FSO
Crucible Insanity
FSO Senioritis
Bionic Refusal Stamp
Of Visas and Cattle
Visa Work and Motherhood
Visa Consuls: A Moveable Feast?
The More Things Change...
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, December 2007
Contents:
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, December 2007
2 x 5 = Enhanced Security?
2 x 1 = Enhanced Communications?
Visa Officers: The Infantry of the Foreign Service
Consular Work: A Loss of Innocence
Starship Chennai
Visa Work: Psychologically Draining
Visa Work: I Feel Evil for Feeling Resentful
Visa Work: Happy People
Visa Work Rocks
Maura Harty Resigns
New Visa Officers: You Spend a Lot of Time Feeling Stupid
Visa Work: The Goal Here is Not to be Martyrs
War Stories from the Front
At the Consulates: Toronto, Wuhan, Jerusalem
How to Communicate With Consular Officers (Not)
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, November 2007
Contents:
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, November 2007
10 Fingerscans
Update: Visa Applicants with Drunk Driving Hits
Consular Officer on Visa Interviews: Humanity at its Best and its Worst
Former Ambassador on Visa Interviews: "Dog's Work"
Diplomacy vs. War: A Quiz
DOS Zombies and the Security Clearance Process
Consular Officer on 214(b): A "Bad Vibes" Refusal Tool
Consular Officer Salaries
Consular Officer Assignments: Anything But Cushy
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, October 2007
Contents:
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, October 2007
FAM Paint Job
The Prevalence of Fraud
Fraud and Consular Stress
Apathy on the Fringes
No Rest for the Weary
The Local Cuisine Outlet
Why Foreign Service Officers Don't Generally Blog
Cal and Condoleezza
GAO Diversity Visa Report: A Postscript
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, September 2007
Contents:
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, September 2007
New Visa Guidance on O-1, TN, and K
Rumble in the GAO-ngle
Consular Management At Its Best
The Hardships of Foreign Service
At the Consulates: Afghanistan, China, and India
Consular Commuting
Caracas Practice Tips
Quote of the Corner

Consular Corner, July 2007
Contents:
Top Ten Visa Wait Times at U.S. Consular Posts, July 2007
New FAM Guidance: Adam Walsh, DUI, and LCA
At the Consulates: Chennai, Tel Aviv, and Toronto
In the News: Hyderabad
Quote of the Corner
Consuls at Their Best
Consular Communications