u/JoeAdamsESQ

Here I share my Ten Commandments for Preparing for your Visa Interview. Also bear these in mind when interacting with any government official, including CBP, ICE, USCIS, etc.

1. Tell the truth. 
2. Listen carefully and answer only the question asked.
3. Silence is okay. Avoid the temptation to fill an awkward silence with irrelevant information.
4. Ask for repetition or clarification if you didn’t hear or don’t understand the question. "I don' know" and "I don't remember" are perfectly fine answers if that's the truth.
5. Do not volunteer extra information, argue, or try to be helpful beyond the question. 
6. If interrupted, let the officer finish, note the interruption, then complete your answer. 
7. Be polite but cautious:, avoid humor, sarcasm, absolutes, or characterizing your answers
8. When quoting conversations or documents, state whether you are quoting or paraphrasing; read documents sufficiently for context before commenting. 
9. Assume nothing is “off the record”; disclose communications truthfully (including that you conferred with your attorney), and request breaks when needed to consult privately.
10. Make a record right away. There is no stenographic, audio, or video recording of most interactions with a consular officer, CBP, ICE, etc. As soon as you are able to, write down the questions and answers as best you can and email them to your lawyer, or email them to yourself if you don't have a lawyer so you have a record.

Some colleagues from AILA report this week some (more) nonsense from USCIS on O1 adjudications.

The common patterns include:

• Requests for more detail about the beneficiary’s role and the production “plan” for indie film projects in early pre‑prod.
• Skepticism that upcoming indie projects are “distinguished” despite deal memos showing budgets and producers with track records.
• Statements that evidence doesn’t show the beneficiary “has/will command” high earnings even when deal memos show the rate for the upcoming jobs.
• USCIS misattributing submitted evidence to the wrong O‑1 criteria - here my colleague suspected AI used by USCIS was hallucinating that the petition claimed criteria that they hadn't actually claimed.

As always, my response to my lawyer colleagues is the same as I advise clients - fight these stupid RFEs point by point, item by item. Create a record that makes writing the denial an uphill chore that the officer does not want to do. If a case is denied and major legal errors are present we can evaluate filing an appeal with the federal court. USCIS hates this; I think it's great. I don't waste time and money with the Administrative Appeals Office ("AAO") except in VERY rare strategic circumstances.

Dumb RFE trends crop up every few years (I think it coincides with the USCIS officer training academy schedule but I don't know that for sure).