When the American consular officer called his name, Irakli felt chills down his spine. This was it, the moment had been preparing for so long. He had been declined a U.S. visa once before, but this time he was ready: he came with a fake proof of income, a fake employment letter and a fake wife. Getting a visa to the U.S. had long been an idée fixe for Irakli, a 40-something Georgian. He saw it as a ticket to a new world, where he would start over, where his musical talent would be properly appreciated and where – with luck – he would hit it big. He had paid $12,000 to a visa fixer, who prepped him for the interview at the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi, furnished him with fake credentials and even supplied a gainfully employed woman to pose as his wife. The fixer specifically instructed Irakli to look serious for the interview: “Dress like you’re going to a funeral and lose that grin.” Still, Irakli (not his real name) says he couldn’t repress a wide smile as he bellied up to the consular officer’s window. It was his reaction to being nervous: “I had not been this… Read full this story
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