The tactics of “rogue” consular officers and CBP inspectors and what they don’t want you to know: you have rights.
Webster’s defines “going rogue” as “to behave in an independent or uncontrolled way that is not authorized, normal, or expected.” “Isolated, aberrant, dangerous, or uncontrollable” are other synonyms associated with rogue. But what happens when “going rogue” begins to happen so often that it becomes normalized, part of the status quo, almost expected? Well, that does not mean that such action is lawful. In the context of applying for a visa or entering the US, you have rights to ensure that “rogue” misconduct by a US consular officer of CBP inspector does not turn your life upside down.
To be clear, sometimes consular or customs interrogations are indeed warranted; for example, when there are legitimate concerns about illegal work, OPT violations, H-1B violations, fraud, misrepresentations, drug use, Wilberforce Act violations, or human smuggling. But other times, these visa and airport interviews are little more than fishing expeditions based on some nebulous suspicions or profiling. Sometimes, the consuls or airport inspectors conducting these interviews are new, inexperienced, incompetent, lack supervision, or simply on a “power trip.”
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