I’ve heard that the visa decision is made before you even go to the consulate interview. The questions at the US consulate interview supposedly don’t affect anything — it’s just a formality, “just a chat.” Has anyone encountered this? Is that really how it works, or do the answers at the interview actually matter?
In my case the decision had been made in advance — as soon as I approached the window in Frankfurt, the consul pulled out a paper about administrative processing (AP) with my full name already written on it; this was before any conversation began. I’ve heard people say that sometimes the consul will say they want to issue the visa, but the system won’t allow it and a check is required — so the decision is clearly not up to them personally. In the end I waited six months, and then the visa was issued after all. So I’m inclined to think that for administrative processing the outcome is definitely decided before the interview.
6 Likes