The tactics of “rogue” consular officers and CBP inspectors and what they don’t want you to know: you have rights.

Posted on October 18, 2025

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.”

The tactics of the consular officers and CBP inspectors are usually similar, including: 1) they isolate you in a room for hours; 2) they do not allow you to leave until you give them what they want (“you cannot leave until you sign this statement admitting that you worked illegally in the US”); 3) they intimidate and bully you by aggressively, rudely, and loudly questioning you; 4) they make false promises and play the carrot-and-stick game (“just tell us the truth and we will give you the visa” or “just tell us the truth and you will be allowed to enter the US”); 5) they torment and threaten you (“we will put you in jail” or “you won’t be able to see your husband”); 6) they make up false stories to get you to admit wrongdoing (“your employer is a fraud” or “we contacted your employer and he says he does not know you”); 7) when there is more than one interviewing officer, they play “good cop, bad cop”: one raises his voice and threatens you; the other – attempts to be kind to get you to sign a confession; 8) they check your phone for incriminating text messages or your social media; 9) they do not let you read the final written statement before signing it (“your return flight is leaving in a couple of minutes so just sign this”); 10) they write or transcribe the statement in English and do not allow a translator for you, forcing you to sign the statement even if you do not understand it; 11) they twist your words or omit certain exculpatory statements that you made during the interview; and/or 12) they do not give you a copy of the statement you signed. The end result? Visa cancellation or revocation, expedited removal, findings under Sections 212(a)(7)(A), 212(a)(6)(C)(i), 212(a)(6)(E), etc...

But your rights are also crystal clear and defined in the law. The most basic right is to be able to read and understand the statement. Before signing it, you have the right to request the official to revise the statement. If you do not want to sign the statement, you are under no obligation to do so. In addition, you are entitled to immediately receive a copy of the “Voluntary Statement” you signed for the consular officer or the CBP Record of Sworn Statement at the airport.

Perhaps your most important right is that the consular officer (or local staff at the consulate) and the CBP inspector are absolutely prohibited from coercing you to sign a statement in which you admit guilt. The Department of State’s own directives to its consular officers are insightful: "You must not resort to threats or promises in an attempt to extract an admission from an applicant.  Action that tends to induce an applicant to make an admission may constitute entrapment, and any admission or confession obtained by such methods may have no legal force or effect."

You have other rights. When you are at the consulate, unless you are accused of criminal behavior, you have an absolute right to leave when you want. Involuntary detention and false imprisonment are prohibited. So if a consul or a local staff member in the consulate were to threaten, for example, that “I will not let you go unless you write a statement that you got paid in the US," you are under no obligation to remain at the consulate or deal with that staff member. An admission extracted by involuntary detention and false imprisonment is de jure invalid, null and void.

Similarly, there is a prohibition on subornation of perjury, when a US government official knowingly compels an individual to make a false statement. Finally, profiling and discrimination based on race, ethnicity, gender, or religion are also prohibited under US immigration law.

You have rights. And these rights can be asserted after the incident – challenging the decision made, seeking the rescinding of the determination based on coercion and threats. If you need assistance in exercising those rights, please contact us.