Hi Everyone,
I recently attended a visa interview for an M-1 Visa to attend a flight school in florida to do hour building and CPL and i have to say that i have never been treated in such a dis-tasteful manner as i was that morning.
Bit of background on me.
- British Citizen & lived there for about 20 years
- JAA PPL(A) Holder
- Hourbuilding Partially in Australia (have family out here)
- hold security clearances in UK and Australia
- never been in trouble with the law
- excellent training record
- Orginally from the Caribbean and my father was a pilot also - my name is of indian origin.
- have never been involved in terrorism or supported or condoned terrorism in any way
First you ring the flight school and tell them your requirements - they were very helpful and sent me the required info.
Second - fill out all the paperwork and send a request for an I-20 form
Third - register online with TSA, SEVIS and arrange an interview
Fourth - pay a fortune in application fees for TSA, SEVIS, (a pin number just to even arrange an interview!!!!!!!!!) and the visa application fee - roughly about $130 Aussie Dollars
Fifth - you turn up for the interview and are promptly told that the pictures are the wrong size. Their regulations say a) must cover >50% of the photo and b) must be so many mm by so many mm - you show them their regulations and they still blame you so you then have to walk for a mile to get some new passport photos done (this happens in 90% of cases i am told)
Sixth - you get basically stripped and everything taken off you. I was there with three others and we weren't even allowed to take a pen. This was questioned and his response was that there were pens up in the interview waiting room - i found out later that this was a total lie.
Seventh - bearing in mind that you have just been nearly stripsearched and had everything but the interview forms taken from you - guess what? - yes you are x-rayed again!! & this time your books go through some kind of electron scanner or something make sure that they are in fact made out of paper.
Eight - you wait forever to get called to each window - it really does take 4 hours sometimes
Nine - you eventually get to see an interview officer who doesn't even know what you want to go and do - so you kindly explain your intentions.
Ten - You get your response - bear in mind he hasn't even looked at my paperwork properly - just basically taken one look at me - who was smartly dressed and pretty credible and genuine and said...
US Immi: "You're application needs to go for some additional processing"
AHMC : "oh i see, what is that and how come?"
This process was then explained to me and the reasons were basically as follows - i paraphrase partly, for brevity and conciseness - the jist is still the same:
"Based on your name, skin color, hair color and the fact you wish to fly in the United States we believe you may be a terrorist. What we intend to do is send your application off to the CIA,NSA,FBI,DOD and everyother government agency in washington to see if we are right. We have no interest in having your 'kind' in the united states and hope that you do not pursue your application"
AHMC: "Well sorry to hear that but i would still like to pursue my application as it means a lot to me and i am not a terrorist - how long can i expect to wait?
US Immi: "well if you persist then it could take any where from 3-4months and even then you will have to pay another application fee and go through the whole process again...please don't apply and by the way times up - go wait for your documents in the waiting room - bye!"
At this point he said that in order for them to do this additional processing he need to get all the documents i had brought and make copies. I took great delight in watching his face drop as i handed him the following:
1) Full British Security Clearance
2) Full Australian Security Clearance
3) UK PPL(A)
4) Australian Pilots Licence
5) Two valid passports (one of which was UK the other a former british colony in the carribean)
6) Police Reference
7) Bank statements
8) proof of significant ties in the UK to return to
i then muttered the words "still think i'm a terrorist?
" - he said nothing and sloped off slightly red faced.
Sorry for the length of this but i was totally disgusted and just wanted to warn anyone that isn't white and has a name which sounds foreign that you should expect to be checked and treated with distain by the US Immigration service. I had all the credentials required and was in many eyes "an exceptional candidate for a visa" but their policy now is to discriminate - so if you have suffered this type of discrimination then please don't feel alone.
I will be posting their emails on my website and will let you know the address if anyone is interested.
I would like to say - if anyone from US Immigration reads this -
I am proud of who i am, I am proud of my name and where I come from (Trinidad & Tobago) and i am proud of my creed.
You can call me anything you want just because some idiots enacted 9/11 but i will still succeed at flying whether it's in the US or anywhere else and shame on you for being so narrow minded. Not everyone who has a slightly foreign name is a terrorist.
To anyone else who has or does go through this - be proud of who you are and where you come from - it is a difficult world now for some but don't let this type of thing steer you away from you're plans. You will succeed - stay focused and your dreams will come true.
Best Wishes,
AHMC