Foreign Service Officer: ORAL ASSESSMENT STUDY GUIDE

United States Senate
Rayburn Office Building
Washington, D.C.
August 2, 2007
Ambassador Christopher Underwood
U.S. Embassy Kuman
Dear Mr. Ambassador:
I am writing on behalf of my constituent, Arthur Dent, who contacted me regarding his efforts to
obtain a student visa for his wife’s cousin, Abdul Falafa, a citizen of Kuman. According to a
letter written by Mr. Falafa, he was accepted for study by the Apex School of Engineering of the
University of Canton, Ohio, and applied for a student visa at the U.S. Embassy in Asima. He
finally got in for his visa interview three weeks after he contacted the Embassy and only one
week prior to the day he was scheduled to begin classes in Canton. Mr. Falafa spent an entire day
waiting in a crowded room before he was interviewed by a consular officer. He was told that his
documents would need additional checking and administrative processing but was not told how
long that would take. He further intimated that he had been treated with disrespect.
Mr. Dent, who was prepared to finance Mr. Falafa’s engineering studies, called the consular
section repeatedly during the following week but was unable to talk to an American who could
tell him what was going on. Ultimately, no visa was issued in time for Mr. Falafa to begin his
studies at the American university. Mr. Falafa chose to pursue his studies in England. I would
greatly appreciate information I can pass to my constituent regarding why the Embassy failed to
complete student visa processing for this genuine student.
Sincerely,
F.P. Leihigh
United States Senate
Sinclair, Steven
From:
Sent:
Hedwig Bigg [bigg_hedwig@state.gov]
Wednesday, July 20, 2007 1:03 PM