Our passports were confiscated

Our passports were confiscated

From Kompas

In February 2002, my mother and I applied for two visas to the U.S. at the U.S. Consulate General in Surabaya. We were interviewed by Juaquin, who, without looking at the documents, which were all original and met the requirements, rejected them outright, without giving us any clear reasons.

On March 20, we tried to apply for visas through the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta. After having been interviewed, our visa applications were approved, and we were told that we could receive them on April 22. As we live in Surabaya, I called the embassy to ask whether or not someone else could pick up the documents. The officer who answered my call told me that they could be picked up without an authorization letter from us, just with the tickets for obtaining the passports.

On April 22, my friend told me that my mother and I had to come to the embassy again on April 29 at 2 p.m. We fulfilled the request. After meeting us, the officer kept us waiting for about three hours and then started to interrogate us. My passport and all our documents were said to be fake. Our passports and my mother's original identification card were confiscated. Even the yellow cards to fetch the passports were also taken. How could the embassy seize one's documents in such a way?

KURNIAWAN

Surabaya