Hello. I don't know if this is in the right forum or not and I am new here but I thought I'd post it here anyway. I am dating a man from Nigeria. Him and I are wanting to get married in the future. What must we do so that him and I can get married and then him move to the United States. About how long will the process take? About how much will the process cost? I am an American citizen.

There are two basic options.

File for a fiance visa. If you qualify though USCIS and he qualifies at the level, he will be given a visa to enter the US and must marry you within 90 days.

Get married and then file to get a visa for a spouse. There are several routes if you are already married which you can choose from. Click on the Guides tab at the top of the visa journey homepage. You can read all about each of these options. Only you will know which one is the best for you and your fiance.

Good Luck.

How much money will these visas cost?

First thing you need to do is read the options, guides, and research.

Start here: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;page=compare

Then read the guides.

Depends on the route you go. It's not cheap, but you do not need to pay everythign up front.
I am doing the fiance visa route. Roughly here's teh costs
intial petition $170
Various expenses in getting copies of documents needed, mailing, passport photos etc
At teh consulate level- a minimum of $100 for the medical, and $100 for the visa plus expenses for gathering documents, translations if necessary, travel to consulate and medical exam

You must also prove you have met within the last 2 years (travel costs) and prove an ongoing relationship (telephone bills, emails, more traveling etc)

Then there is the cost of adjusting the status once he arrives - several hundreds there too

This question has been asked before and the answers will vary drastically dependent on the scope. If you are talking just visa and petition fees it is not that expensive up front as the cost is spread out but it does seem every time you turn a corner you are writing a check for a hundred to a few hundred dollars. If you include travel costs, moving costs, communication costs, etc... the number can get up there. Everybody's experience is different.

A very learned immigration attorney one told me there are four types of fraud levels at consulates:

Low Fraud Consulates
Medium Fraud Consulates
High Fraud Consulates
Lagos

At most consulates thepresumption is that the relationship you have is valid... in Nigeria, the presumption is that your relationship is not valid... be prepared to give them plenty of evidence that your relationship is real... plan on taking a lot of visits to Nigeria to show that your relationship is continuing... and plan on geting rejected the first time around...

You might also want to ppost in the Sub-Sahara African forum. Couples there will be able to give you a better idea of what kinds of things you will face going through the process.

Unfortunately zyggy is right. Nigeria is considered a country with a lot of FRAUD. I saw it on Dr. Phil recently and then had a friend experience this 2 days ago.
I'd suggest posting more questions in the African Discussion here on VJ and ask people who have gone through this.

PaladinGirl,

Have a consultation with a US immigration attorney who has experience with the US consulate in Nigeria. In addition to answering the questions that you pose here, such an attorney can also advise you on the issues that your fiance and you will face with his visa application - and Nigerian men will often face issues.

Yodrak

Welcome to VJ. Everyone prior to me has given good advice. My input - be patient. The visa process may be long, and it is hard. Good luck!