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Hello fellow VJers,


How is everyone? Wonderful I hope. My name is Shanon and I'm from the US. My darling fiance, Kessington, is Nigerian and currently resides in Senegal, West Africa. We became engaged on 12/11/06, three months after being introduced on eHarmony.

I mailed the I-129F to the USCIS TSC on 12/26/06. For some reason, it was transferred to the CSC. I received an e-mail from the USCIS on 03/29/07 that our fiance petition approval notice was sent on 03/28/07!! Thank you Lord!!! I received the official NOA2 via snail mail on 03/31/07. It took just under three months to process based on their receipt date of 01/08/07. However, as anyone who's familiar with this process knows, the waiting can be agonizing at times.

Well, I just wanted to introduce myself. I also must say how very glad I am that I discovered this website. It's been so helpful to us. It's comforting to connect with people who are/have been in a similar situation. If there's anyone who's going or has already gone through the K1 process with their West African fiance(e), especially from Senegal, I'd love to hear about your experiences. Thank you. I wish everyone well as we weather the immigration storm.


Many blessings,
Shanon & Kessington

Well Shanon (& Kessington) Glad you said hello...and [size="4"]CONGRATULATIONS...May your journey be a quick

Hi Shannon and welcome aboard. I am also happy to have found this site. It is such a big help. I am engaged to a nigerian man as well. We were even thinking about moving down to North Carolina eventually. He says that he don't think he can get used to the cold weather here in Wisconsin. I dunno. How is the North Carolina weather. I heard that it can be pretty mello.

Hello Shanon (& Kessington) - glad you said hello.. and CONGRATULATIONS... may the rest of your journey be a quick and stress less one....

Congrats on your speedy approval!!

All I can say is put your seat belt on, you never know how the ride is going to be. But I hope the best for you and many others.

Hi Shanon! Welcome to VJ. My husband went through the Embassy in Senegal so if we can be of assistance let me know. There are a few others here that have gone or are going through Senegal as well, hopefully they will chime in later.

Good luck on your journey.

Hello and welcome! I hope the embassy process is speedy for you.

Hello and welcome !

Our Dakar experience has not been a good one. My fiance has been on AP since his
interview Dec. 14. You can read the details of the interview in my previous posts in my
profile ( click on my id name ).
If you have any questions I will be happy to help out.

Best wishes to you both !

Welcome to VJ Shannon!

Welcome Shanon and goodluck on this journey! Myself and my USC fiancee are both Nigerians, I live in London and she lives in MD. Feel free to drop us a PM anytime and am sure you will have a smooth ride in senegal.

Hello everyone,

I hope everyone is doing great today. Thank you so much for the well wishes. I wish you all the best as well.

To respond to discerned1's question: I love Charlotte. I'm originally from upstate NY and relocated to NC a year and a half ago. The climate here is quite moderate. It can get "chilly" in the winter, but it hardly every snows, except in the mountains.

Welcome Shanon!

This forum has been my lifeline! We have similar NOA2's- and are now getting together documents for packet 3- (which neither of us have received). I travelled to Ghana in 2004 and fell in love with West African life! I wish you the best on this journey.

Hello again,

I forgot to ask in my last post if anyone knew of any websites where I can find low international airfares? I used smartfares.com when I visited my fiance in December. I only paid $840 plus taxes/fees, which came up to a total of $1156. That was the lowest fare I could find at the time for a direct flight from JFK to Dakar.

I've been checking around and the fares have gone up $200-300 since then! The lowest fares were of course the ones with layovers in Paris, Belgium, etc. I have to fly from Charlotte to JFK, so I'd prefer not to have an addtional layover in another country. Any assistance would be much appreciated.

Thank you,
Shanon

I flew to Dakar with South African Airways it cost me 1199.00, I went to Dakar in oct, jan, and feb.

Nice to see a new face around! Good luck to you and the rest of your journey!

Have a wonderful Visa journey all the best during this process !!

Welcome to VJ. I hope your visa journey is speedy and you are together soon.

Hello everyone,

Thank you. I wish you all well too! I hope everyone had a lovely Easter and I pray that we are reunited with our loved ones very soon. Have a great evening.


Take care,
Shanon

Congrats and good luck.

Hi!

We live 15 minutes from Charlotte. My husband flew into Atlanta, GA. I flew to Atlanta to meet him then flew back. By the way, Atlanta is only a 4 hour drive from Charlotte.

Wish you the best!

Boaz

Hey everyone,


I hope you're all doing well. Thanks Boaz. I've checked some fares through ATL and for some reason they are much higher than JFK. I don't know why. The flight from ATL to Dakar is only about an hour longer than from JFK.

Hello everyone,

I was wondering, once my fiance flies into the POE, which will probably be JFK, can he then fly into Charlotte where I live? Will he need additional paperwork? Thanks for your help.


Shanon

Hi and welcom. I am an old-timer who basically lurks now and then or send personal email. This forum was my best friend for several months while I went through the process and later through the adjusment period. Welcome and do use it to the fullest.

WELCOME AND BLESSINGS TO YOU MY SISTER!!!!

Good afternoon,

Thank you for the welcome chispas and Lady Victor. Things are progressing nicely. The embassy has received our approved petition and we're now officially gathering the documents for the interview! I'll keep you posted.


Shanon

Hello everyone,

Just an update....my fiance's interview is JUNE 7!!! He just called on Tuesday to schedule it. I'm glad there isn't a long wait for K1 interviews. God willing, I'll be posting some wonderful news next Thursday!


God bless,
Shanon

Congratulations and good luck on the interview

Here's hoping that all goes well with the interview!!!

Good day all,

Just to re-update. My fiance had to reschedule his visa interview. It's now scheduled for June 21. He's still waiting for some documents from Nigeria. He finally got his Senegal police report yesterday, after given the run-around for over a month. So we have to wait 2 more weeks to find out, but at least he'll receive everything he needs and actually have time to breathe before the interview. Thanks again for your support.


Shanon (& Kessington)

Crossing my fingers and toes for a successful interview

Thank you Zee!



Shanon

Wow, your interview is so close. I wish you the best of luck and free of bumps.

Best wishes for a smooth interview !

Thank you so much!

Hello all,

My fiance had his interview on Thursday, June 21st. He said the interviewer said that she couldn't issue the visa that day, she had to forward his file to another department. He was given some generic form that said they had to "confirm his visa eligibility" and they would contact him if they needed any additional information from him or if they needed to schedule another interview. The form wasn't a 221g nor did it specify AP/AR or that any documents were missing. NO reason was given. We don't understand this.

Needless to say, I'm devastated. My fiance is sad, but is trying to be strong and positive for my sake. He says the interview seemed to go well. He answered all the questions, we had all the documents and supporting evidence. It's so unfair!!!!!!!!!!! I don't know why they're doing this. Right now, I'm just so depressed, angry, and frustrated!!!!! I called the consular section Thursday, but the person I spoke to was unable to give me any specific information and suggested that I e-mail them. I e-mailed them, but they were already out of the office, and they're closed on Friday. The "Eligibility Review Unit" responded Monday with this stupid generic e-mail:

During the interview stage of the immigrant visa process, consular officers have to review approved petitions to confirm that the requisite family relationship, on which the petition is based, exists. If an applicant cannot provide any convincing evidence of his relationship with the petitioner and/or if the consular officer has reason to believe the applicant is ineligible because of issues other than family relationship, the case is referred to the Eligibility Review Unit. The Eligibility Review Unit must also address all additional concerns/issues that come up while analyzing those cases.

We will contact the applicant if we need additional information or if we need to conduct an additional interview. Each case is very different and the length of time it takes to complete an eligibility review can vary greatly. Also, cases are reviewed on a first come, first served basis. As a result, we cannot predict how long any specific review will take. Until we have completed this review, we cannot move forward with your application.


Eligibility Review Unit (KC)

I called the consular section again this afternoon and was told that it's their policy that you have to e-mail them for your case status. I then e-mailed the ERU and asked for the specific reason(s) that our case was forwarded to their department. Hopefully they'll respond tomorrow morning. If we don't get any specific answers from them or if his visa isn't granted by the end of this week, then I'll contact my senator. We're not giving up!!
If anyone has been through this and your case has already been adjudicated or resolved. I welcome your comments and suggestions.



Thank you,
Shanon

Sorry to hear about the delay. I went through a similar situation with my husband. But you are right with your thoughts of not giving up. If push comes to shove then contact your Senator's office. For our situation, contacting our Senator's office proved to be very useful.

Stay strong!

Boaz

I'm really sorry to hear about this mess you are in. I truly hope you can get it resolved quickly and maybe you will be able to squeeze some sort of answers out of SOMEONE. Don't give up at all.

I am sorry that you are also on AP/AR now. It has been almost 7 month for us since the Dakar
interview with my fiance.
It is very frustrating. They will NOT give you detailed information and the senator was no help at all. The congessional
aide said right away there is nothing they can do.
You can search for my topics that I posted about the interview on / after 12/14/06 and see how our specific interview
went.
I email Dakar 2 times per month and call DOS 2 times per month for status updates.
DOS = 202 663 1225 ( press 1, press 0 ) Have case number ready.

No one will give you details so we don't know what the problem is.
I had emails from the fraud prevention unit and eligibility review unit, all canned responses saying they will contact us when
the processing is completed.
They may be verifying documents, make background checks about submitted items or do home investigations.
PM me and I will give you my email address so we can stay in contact. To my knowledge we are the only two
VJ members on AP/AR with Dakar at this time, except for one other member who had to do DNA tests and who told me
that it seems to take 6 month or so to get off AP/AR from what he heard.
Lets keep in touch and compare notes. Since there are not a lot going through this embassy we have no timeline
of how long it will take. The not knowing is often unbearable but it will end and you will get through this.
I have not seen my fiance in over a year. If you can, plan a trip to visit him, that helps to establish proof of a bona fide
relationship for a possible 2. interview.
Hang in there.

Good afternoon,

Thank you all so much for the encouragement. I'll keep you posted of any new developments.

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God bless,
Shanon

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congrats , one must be very careful when dealing with overseas relationships. Sometimes your in love with the person but the person that's overseas is only in love with coming to America. They will treat u nice and all a claim their love for u in order for u to file paperwork for them to come, but usually it's after all the paperwork is done that you'll find out if it's really u that they love. WORDS OF CAUTION.

Thanks IDO for posting this caution. Most people who are in love or secure in their relationships don't want to hear this or entertain the thought that it could happen at this special time in their lives. However, a big However.... it needs to be stated over and over again. Moreover, we should have a checklist of things to look for in a long-distance partner before, during, after and two years after the I do vow.
Take care all
Chispas

IDO and Chispas I know you both have been burned and I am very sorry that things didn't turn out for you.
I also agree that caution should be mentioned but I believe at the right time and at the right place.This isn't the time nor
the thread.
In this particular thread with someone just finding out about being put on AP,
support is in order and not walking on someone that is already down by posting doubt of her SO's intentions.
We were not asked for relationship advice here and really it is off topic.
So please be supportive and don't co tranfer your bad experience on the OP.
Perhaps you can start a thread of your own which may help caution someone that is just beginning this journey.
Support the OP is all I am saying

I have to agree with Omoba here. I do feel badly about the outcome of your relatonships. Your advice is probably necessary, but this thread isn't the right place. That said, I am sure that it would very helpful for others to hear of your experiences so as to be aware of what can happen. Destiny's journey in this thread, is looking for support and encouragement, let's provide her with that.

Good luck to you and best wishes.

In all of that I failed to give my support to Destiny's Journey. Hang in there!! You will get through it.

I sincerely apologize to anyone if they feel I was transferring my "being burnt" to this thread. I did not perceive my life's growth as something negative. Moreover, it was not my intention to put a damper on the happiness of anyone on this board. The only thing I ask is that my relationship with my husband not be seen as if I was burnt, taken advantage of, picked the wrong one, unlucky or anything like that. Again, it was not my intention to spoil anyone's happiness on this board and thanks for the timely reprimand to an old-timer whose experiences are now passé.
Chispas

Chispas, apologies for my choice of words...( being burned ).
It shows maturity that you take your experiences life has taught you as not being negative. That is a good thing.
There was no damper on happiness ........the OP was distraught because of the embassy review ( AP/AR ) she just found out about and needed support.

No hard feelings at all and may God bless you,

Sabine

Chispas:

Now it's my turn to apologize. I in no way meant for you to feel bad about sharing your experiences. And I am the last one to reprimand anyone about anything. I value hearing about all experiences, and I really feel that to share all of the experiences in a public forum, good and bad is courageous. Unfortunately the tone of written words can come across not in the way that words do in person. The only intent by my previous comments was just to direct support to Destiny's Journey. Again I apologize for any harsh words that might have been written.

Omoba and others.



Just because my journey isn't as cheery as some others doesenl't mean that I should pick and choose where I should write about it. I felt a burdon to write what I wrote and that's what I did, sorry it wasen't to your likeing, but as you may no, I do what I do, I feel that I have a right to share my journey as well.

Yes, you do have that right to choose where and when to post.

The general consensus however is to be sensitive to the OP in this particular thread at this particular time.
Sometimes our own problems should not overshadow the pain of others but encouragement is in order.
There is nothing "cheery" about the OP's topic here either and it serves no purpose to spread doom and gloom when
someone is already down after just getting bad news and looking for encouragement and help.
That is the reason I suggested you create a topic of your own instead of taking this thread into a different
direction.
You and your story can be helpful to certain people and we all value your opinion and validate your experience and
regret you had to go through that. I truly hope never to be in your shoes.
I feel it would be better voiced in a separate thread and to stay on topic with the issue of AP/AR at hand and how to deal
with the embassy from here.

If you fail to get my point then fire away, there is nothing else I can say to try to evoke empathy for the OP from you.
Peace