$480 Ripoff at Manila US Embassy for Bogus Tourist Visa Interviews for Filipinos - Scam and Complaint Letters

Below is my letter of complaint to the US Embassy in Manila for their bogus Tourist Visa Interview - which was only a 2 min interrogation in which they were NOT even allowed to speak - of my girlfriend and her family, which was improper, unfair and unreasonable. The lady interviewer didn't even allow them to speak or present their evidence of supporting documents for their qualifications, even though me and my girl's sister paid a total $480 for it ($160 per applicant). Hence it was a SCAM AND RIPOFF.

Note: If you are connected to the media, and wish to do a story about the mistreatment and scam of Filipinos at the greedy US Embassy, which charges $160 for the bogus tourist visa interview, feel free to do so. Especially if you are from these Manila media outlets:

Manila Bulletin
Philippine Daily Inquirer
The Manila Times
The Philippine Star
Rappler.com
GMA News
ABS-CBN News
CNN Philippines

Subject: Urgent Complaint about Unfair Tourist Visa *Interrogation* Last June! Please forward to Manager/Admin!

Dear US Embassy, Dept of Immigration:

In regards to the Tourist visa "interrogation" (not interview) of the following applicants:

***********************
***********************
***********************

Please forward this letter of complaint to your director and managerial staff, not just a lowly cleric or secretary. I would like a person of authority and influence to read my important complaint please, as I will be raising a public campaign about it.

I would like a logical point-by-point response please, from a real THINKING representative, and not receive a dumb useless form letter from a lowly clerical staff stating something like, “sorry you were disappointed, but that’s our policy” etc. This letter is also being sent to the Better Business Bureau, Amnesty International, RipoffReport.com, the Embassy headquarters in the United States (aka Dept of Foreign Services) and other government agencies.

I would like to file a complaint, dispute and violation of human rights about your embassy’s rude, horrid and unfair treatment of my girlfriend and her mother and sister during their very short interrogation process for the filing of their US tourist visa (B1/B2 nonimmigrant visa) back in June of 2019. (Their application ID numbers in PDF files are attached to this email) When they told me what happened, we realized how unfair, unreasonable and horrendous it was and how they were treated. Allow me to elaborate.

The so called “interview” lasted only two minutes, and they were NOT even allowed to speak one second unless spoken to, and NOT even allowed to present the material in their portofolio – which contained a list of documents that support their qualification for the visa – and which took me hours to put together for them (long nights in front of the computer and copy center to print out all the supporting documents). All for nothing! The interviewer – a mean cold white American woman who signed her initials as SS on the blue rejection slip (which was ironic since her behavior was exactly that of an SS Gestapo agent) – refused to see any of the supporting documents in their well organized portfolio, and refused to listen to any info they tried to volunteer.

Yet get this: They paid $160 USD per person for this? WTF? The three of them paid $160 each, which comes out to 160 x 3 = $480. Almost 500 dollars! All for a one or two minute interview in which they were not even allowed to speak unless spoken to, and treated like animals or slaves! WTF? No one would pay that much money for a one or two minute interview that’s unfair and bogus and which they aren’t even allowed to speak or present their case! Get real man. Would YOU (the person reading this) want to do that? Of course not. That’s friggin beyond ridiculous, unspeakable, and travesty of justice and human rights! It’s also a total SCAM too!

Everyone knows that during an interview, the interviewee is normally allowed to present his or her case to demonstrate why they are a good candidates for the position, in the case of a job interview for example. Because an interview is a two way street, not a one way interrogation. And in fact, even a police interrogation is more reasonable and fair than this was, because during an interrogation, the cops are glad to allow a suspect to present any material or info that would help them solve the case of course. But in this insulting tourist visa “interview” the candidates are not even allowed to do that! Geez.

For $160 per person, or $480 in this case, the interviewee should have at least have been given 5 or 10 minutes to present their case, supporting documents, portfolio, etc to try to prove why they should qualify to receive the tourist visa, and to prove that they have strong ties to their home country and would likely return from a trip or vacation to America without overstaying illegally. Gee whiz. Imagine paying nearly 5 hundred dollars and not even allowed to speak or present your case! Nothing could be more unfair or unreasonable than that. And not allowing someone to speak on their own behalf is an abuse of their civil rights, not to mention totally disrespectful, and treating them as though they were animals or slaves or something! Gee whiz. That’s so insulting and dehumanizing.

Now look. I don’t mind if they get rejected or don’t qualify according to the interviewer’s criteria. But for God’s sake, at least give them 5 or 10 minutes to present their case in a PROPER interview, and show their supporting documents to the interviewer (which I spent hours preparing for them). The supporting documents include proof of income, monetary transactions, home ownership, affidavit of support (form i-134), photocopies of many overseas passport stamps demonstrating a proven track record of not overstaying while traveling abroad, invitation letters that are well written and persuasive, etc. Then, if they still don’t qualify, then fine, at least they tried their best and presented all the material they could to support their case. But NO! They were not allowed to speak unless spoken to, and not allowed to present anything! Not even for a second! Instead they were put into a line of hundreds of Filipino applicants, like a mass cattle call, with impatient interviewers who were anxious to get them all out of the way as quickly as possible. How rude! Excuse me but for 160 dollars per person, they DESERVED to be treated far better and far more humanely than like cattle! Duh! Think about it please.

Furthermore, the blue rejection letter they received (see below) by the bogus “interviewer” is self-incriminating. By issuing it, the embassy shot themselves in the foot, because it is an Achilles heel that can be used against them. See the last paragraph in the blue paper. Notice how it says that one can “present new materials with the application” to justify their eligibility for the tourist visa, thus insinuating that this interview process allows the applicant to present material to support their qualification, when in REALITY, my party was NOT ALLOWED to present anything at all! GOTCHA! BUSTED! Thus this letter is self-incriminating, as the actual “interview” did NOT allow what it claimed to allow! Therefore I am including it below, as evidence to support my legitimate complaint. Please read it.

Obviously, we did NOT sign any contract nor did we ever agree to such a bogus “interview” in which we were not even allowed to speak or present material to present out case. Thus there is a BASIS of complaint here, regardless of your “policy”.

I hope for God’s sake, you don’t presume that because you are a government agency, that you are in an authority position and therefore can do anything you want and get away with it, including actions which are unfair, unjust, unreasonable, and mean-spirited - as in the case with this bogus improper “interview”. I hope you aren’t approaching this with a “might makes right” kind of attitude, in which you do not have to justify anything you do because you are “the law” and no one has any power over you except a higher governmental authority. Because that would really suck. It would be immoral, shameless and dishonorable if you think that you can do anything unjust or unreasonable and get away with it, simply because you are in a position of authority. I hate people with that kind of attitude. It’s immoral, unspiritual and ungodly, and disgusting as well. So I hope that is not your attitude here. You can’t just “shit on people” just because you can get away with it. That’s a horrid attitude and needs to be exposed and I hope karma comes to bite you on the butt for it, or the judgment of God is cast on such an attitude.

I’m sorry but this really takes the cake for being “beyond ridiculous”, so I gotta report it and let the world know about it. I can’t let this go unpunished and unexposed. No way. I’m putting this letter on my blog and forum, and sending it to the BBB, human rights organizations like ACLU and Amnesty International, consumer websites, RipoffReport.com, and other government agencies as well. I also plan to report your scam and unfair treatment of Filipinos to major newspapers in Manila too, which ought to be newsworthy to them. I gotta do that because if I sent this letter to your embassy only, I’m likely to receive a form letter stating something like “sorry but that’s our policy” only. Not justice. So I gotta involve as many third party authorities and agencies/organizations of influence, as possible, in the hopes that it may reach a sympathetic ear higher up, or a person who cares about fairness and justice. This totally unjust and insulting behavior of the US Embassy in Manila should be made public and exposed, so the right people can take action to remedy or correct their unjust and dehumanizing process.

Even if this letter doesn’t accomplish anything, at least it’s better than nothing and it sends you and the universe a message that YES! There are consequences for your negative actions, even if it’s only mere exposure. You see, if I did nothing, then I would be inadvertently condoning it, saying that what you did was ok and that you can do it again to others, treating anyone else like garbage too. That’s definitely NOT the kind of message I want to send. At least by exposing what you did publicly, I create a consequence for your actions, for the universe and all who find it, to see. Thus this letter of complaint, which will be posted publicly, is a matter of PRINCIPLE.

As a student of history, philosophy and a believer in KARMA, I see the big picture, and know that all your actions have KARMIC consequences, even if I’m powerless to do anything about it directly. Moreover, in my experience, when I’m fighting for what’s right and fair out of principle, the universe tends to give me a helping hand, as well as my guardian angels (or higher forces). Thus I do seem to carry some “cosmic weight” around, even if not any legal or political weight.

Also, if you think one man with no legal authority or political power can’t make a difference, think again. As a student of history, I can cite many great men with no power or legal authority, who made a difference in their historical era. For example: Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, and even the Martin Luther of the Protestant Reformation, etc. Those men made a difference not because they had any legal authority or political power, but because the will of the universe, fate/destiny and masses of people were behind them. They were making changes in accord with the will of the universe and of the masses, thereby making them successful, effective and influential, even to this day. Therefore, my campaign does have some historical precedent, especially since I too, am a leadership type with vision and charisma and I believe, with higher forces backing me up as well. Therefore, I believe I speak with some cosmic and intangible authority from a higher law.

In summary:

Your interviewer was very improper, mean-spirited, unreasonable and did NOT give us a proper interview. My party was NOT even allowed to speak unless spoken to, and NOT allowed to present important materials (which I spent a lot of time preparing) to support their case. Nothing on your website warned us of the unfair, one-sided, unreasonable, mean-spirited nature of this interview. My party NEVER agreed to it, either orally or in any contract. They assumed, as everyone else did, that they would get a fair and reasonable interview in which they could present their case, which is how interviews are usually done. Thus we have a LEGIT case of COMPLAINT and DISPUTE here.

This letter will be posted online and sent to the BBB, Amnesty International, the ACLU, RipoffReport.com and other government agencies that handle complaints of this nature, as well as major newspapers in Manila. I hope you guys apologize and try to resolve this fairly and reasonably.

Proposed Resolution:

My proposed resolution would be one of the following:

1. Refund the $160 per person we paid for this bogus insulting “interview” that was nothing like a real interview, for the reasons stated above. And apologize for the rude improper conduct of the interviewer.

2. Allow them to retake the interview but this time have a PROPER interview with a reasonable interviewer (not the same one) willing to hear their case who will allow them to present all their supporting documents and portfolio (which I spent a lot of time preparing) and give them a REASONABLE amount of time to do so. Like a real interviewer would. Also if possible pay for their transportation and accommodation costs too, of course, since the previous bad unreasonable interview was not their fault, but the fault of the embassy staff. At $160 a person and hundreds of applicants, obviously someone is getting filthy rich off this, so covering their travel costs would of course be nothing to them.

3. Or do #2 but have the interview by webcam or phone, by a reasonable interviewer who is willing to do an honest PROPER interview.

Either way, I’d still like an embassy representative to reply to my letter of complaint point-by-point in a logical reasonable manner, and not just send me a dumb useless form letter that states “sorry but that’s our policy” like organizations are eager to do.

Thanks for your attention. I take full responsibility for this letter of complaint.

Sincerely,
Winston


Shorter version of my complaint letter to US Embassy in Manila:


Subject: $480 Ripoff at US Embassy - Should I report to Manila newspapers and media?

Dear US Embassy,

In regards to the Tourist visa interviews of the following 3 applicants:

* paste application ID's

I have a major complaint. Can you forward it to your director or supervisor please?

Last year me and my girlfriend's sister in the US paid to send my girlfriend, her mom and her other sister to apply for a US Tourist visa. When the interview came in June, it was very unfair and improper and could hardly be called an interview. They got a 2 minute interrogation where they were NOT even allowed to speak! The lady said "Do not speak unless spoken to" and did not even examine the evidence and supporting documents I put together for them to show proof that they will return to their own country after a visit to the US, which is what the interview is supposed to be all about right? For $160 each person, which totals $480 for all three of them, that is a total RIPOFF! How would YOU feel if that happened to you and you were in their shoes? Think about it. Be empathetic for a moment. You'd feel it was a ripoff too, right? Be honest.

Furthermore, the woman interrogator kept trying to speak to my girlfriend's mom, who doesn't speak good English and is too shy and unconfident to talk to her, instead of my girlfriend, who was the spokesperson for them. WTF? It was like she was trying to prey on their weakness by insisting that the one least able to speak be the one to reply. That was very lame and low down. Everyone knows that the one best able to speak English (my girlfriend) should be the representative to answer all questions. It was like this bad lady was trying to trip them up on purpose and taking advantage of their weak point. That's not nice or reasonable.

So all three were dismissed in two minutes without a real proper interview where my girlfriend could present her case and evidence and portfolio of supporting documents. For $480 they definitely should have at least gotten a fair hearing. I'm sure if you were in their position, you'd feel the same way. 

So this is very unfair and I strongly request that you give them another interview, on the house, with a more reasonable interviewer that's willing to see the big picture and examine all the evidence presented. For $480, they definitely deserve at least that. Or at least allow them to have a phone interview or email interview with a more open minded assessor? You guys OWE them at least that, especially for a high price like $480. It's not right for you to take that much money and NOT even give them a fair interview or fair hearing. Right? Think about it. I'm sure your conscience and common sense agrees with me. This is a MORAL issue, not just a technical one. In your heart, you know that (if you have a heart that is).

You see, some of the evidence they had could have led to an approval of their tourist visa. For example, my girlfriend has many stamps in her passport to show that she has been to other Asian countries - such as Hong Kong, Cambodia, Thailand, and Taiwan several times - and back without overstaying. I printed out a photocopy of her passport stamps as proof, which she had along with her passport that she brought to the interview. This was MAJOR evidence, because a solid track record of going abroad and back several times establishes credibility and likelihood that the person will likely do the same under a US Tourist Visa. Had the interviewer seen this, it may have changed the decision and outcome. You see what I mean? This was one of several supporting pieces of evidence I prepared for them, which may have led to their approval if they had been properly examined.

Also, while doing research online about the US Tourist visa interview for Filipino citizens, I noticed that there is no consistent pattern to who gets approved or not. Some people with low income get approved, and some people with high income and big assets who are wealthy do not get approved. This means that it's not all about the income or job history. There must be some SUBJECTIVITY involved in this interview process, in that the assessor must look at the applicant's character, look for red flags, clues, etc. Whatever they were trained to look for. Or they may be going by their gut intuition and judge of character too. This means that sometimes, low income people can get approved for the US Tourist visa if they make a good impression, are likable, and look trustworthy, according to the reviewer's judgment. Therefore, what this means is that had my girlfriend gotten a BETTER interviewer, one that was nicer (not as mean as the one they got), more reasonable and open minded and willing to examine their case and evidence and portfolio of documents, etc, the outcome may have been different right?

That's why I ask you to re-interview them with a more fair and reasonable interviewer, not like that mean spirited lady that dismissed them and seemed to already make up her mind from the start. So I ask that you appeal their case. I know this may not be your standard procedure but you owe it to them, morally speaking, for the $480 that me and the sister in America paid. If you were in my shoes, you'd agree I'm sure.

Otherwise, I will be contacting all major media newspapers in Manila and forwarding this letter of complaint and case to them. I'm sure the unfair treatment of Filipinos and the big ripoff at the Embassy, in which you take a lot of money from people and do not even give them a real two-way fair interview, may be deemed newsworthy by the Manila major media. You'd get bad press from it, and of course, it would not be my fault, because I am simply telling the truth, and God knows it. You have a responsibility to do what's right. Remember that.

Thank you for listening. Please consider my request. If you would like, you can contact my girlfriend and talk to her about it. She feels the same way. I can give you her email or cell phone number in the Philippines. She would love to talk to you about this case too. I am authorized to represent her, since I sponsored her application and would be her sponsor/supporter in America if she went there, so you may discuss this case through me as well. As we all know, the one sponsoring the case has a major say. So I take full responsibility for this complaint, not them. They are nice humble people and not as skilled in complaints and writing as I am. I am also a US citizen and native English speaker, and good in communication and am articulate, as you can see. And I also run a large major expat website at HappierAbroad.com so I am sort of a public figure too. 

I await your reply. Please have a director or supervisor review my case and this letter and reply to me. Not a lowly clerk who only knows how to send dumb form letters. Thanks for your attention.

Sincerely,
Winston