Case of R.E.

Some lawyers refer to embassies and consulates as fiefdoms — where the rule of law does not seem to apply, where the whims of a single consular officer can wreck lives. R’s case is a prime example. She was already a US citizen, but had been separated from her young daughter for nearly 6 years. Her daughter’s IR-2 immigrant visa case sat at the US Embassy for most of that time — collecting dust under Section 221(g). Why? Because the consul insisted that R travel to the Embassy with her American husband for an interview, and until that happened, he was not going to issue a visa to her daughter. But there was no such requirement in the law. R’s marriage to her husband had already been reviewed three different times by USCIS. When we brought this to the attention of the State Department, it agreed, and finally the Embassy issued the visa to R’s daughter.