Thorough papwerwork is not the same as "exceptionally difficult."

I've been a reference interviewed in the processes before. It was not exactly rigorous. (It would have been hard to be, frankly... I had no knowledge of them doing anything shady, and they had no specific prior area of concern to try to grill me specifically on.)

This reminds me that I was interviewed for someone's US security clearance even though I wasn't a US citizen at the time.

I was confused that I wasn't even asked if I was a citizen, or that my friend listed me as a reference because I'm pretty sure he knew.