Visa for my Togolese Husband

[Jessica Henry 0]

Hello, I am a new member and was directed to this site from LonelyPlanet.com and I have several questions, so bear with me.

I am a 25 year old American citizen, I have been in Mali, West Africa for 10 months doing research for my Bachelor's Degree coursework. I am planning on staying here as long as I can (my whole life?!). When I first got here, literally the first day, I met my now husband. He is a citizen of Togo, also in West Africa. He is 33 and a certified trained car mechanic but has been working in a restaurant for the last 8 years (its a great job here). We were married April 24th of this year and live together in Bamako. We are totally in love and I know we will be together forever - I know a lot of people say that, but it's true. He never had any desire to go to the USA, but said he would go for me to meet my parents/family and we would have liked to go this coming May. Now I am thinking it may not be possible.

From my understanding the K-3 visa is the one for us. Even though we only want to spend 2-4 months in the USA while I get my dog ready to come back to Africa with us. So my first question is just a verification that the place he has to apply to is the US Embassy in Accra, Ghana (it says on their website it's the only one for immigration visas for citizens of Togo)?

Second, how long can we expect this process to take if I am on top of it at all times? Also how much can we expect it to cost? Do we need an immigration lawyer - what are the pros/cons? How much money do we need to prove we have in our bank accounts? Is he guaranteed the visa if all goes well (no criminal record, good health report, etc.) or are there still good chances he won't get it?

Does anyone know the current wait time for a visa appointment in Accra? I heard it is much much longer than average wait times so this concerns me. Also does my husband need to speak perfect English for the interview? He speaks English 100% of the time with me, but we understand each other and we speak simple English.

I saw the info for the DCF (think thats what it is called). I do not live in Ghana, but I do have residency and nationality/passport for Togo. Could we still apply through DCF in Ghana/would it be faster?

Where do I start?! What is the first form I need to print off and fill out? There are SO MANY!!!

Sorry if a lot of these questions have been asked, I feel like we are a special case since Ghana is not our home country but we have to apply there, we are newlyweds, and we plan on coming back to Africa quickly after going to the USA.

Will it help any if we prove we are coming back to Africa? I plan on going to get my Master's Degree in Ghana starting next August or the January after that (depending on when we can get a visa!!). Also we own a piece of land that we are building a house on right now in Togo, so we have clear ties to Africa.

Thank you so much if you can answer any of these questions. This process looks like a long, frustrating one but we are up for the challenge. My parents have to meet my wonderful husband!!

Jess

[milimelo 4,500]

Hello, I am a new member and was directed to this site from LonelyPlanet.com and I have several questions, so bear with me.

I am a 25 year old American citizen, I have been in Mali, West Africa for 10 months doing research for my Bachelor's Degree coursework. I am planning on staying here as long as I can (my whole life?!). When I first got here, literally the first day, I met my now husband. He is a citizen of Togo, also in West Africa. He is 33 and a certified trained car mechanic but has been working in a restaurant for the last 8 years (its a great job here). We were married April 24th of this year and live together in Bamako. We are totally in love and I know we will be together forever - I know a lot of people say that, but it's true. He never had any desire to go to the USA, but said he would go for me to meet my parents/family and we would have liked to go this coming May. Now I am thinking it may not be possible.

From my understanding the K-3 visa is the one for us. Even though we only want to spend 2-4 months in the USA while I get my dog ready to come back to Africa with us. So my first question is just a verification that the place he has to apply to is the US Embassy in Accra, Ghana (it says on their website it's the only one for immigration visas for citizens of Togo)?

Second, how long can we expect this process to take if I am on top of it at all times? Also how much can we expect it to cost? Do we need an immigration lawyer - what are the pros/cons? How much money do we need to prove we have in our bank accounts? Is he guaranteed the visa if all goes well (no criminal record, good health report, etc.) or are there still good chances he won't get it?

Does anyone know the current wait time for a visa appointment in Accra? I heard it is much much longer than average wait times so this concerns me. Also does my husband need to speak perfect English for the interview? He speaks English 100% of the time with me, but we understand each other and we speak simple English.

I saw the info for the DCF (think thats what it is called). I do not live in Ghana, but I do have residency and nationality/passport for Togo. Could we still apply through DCF in Ghana/would it be faster?

Where do I start?! What is the first form I need to print off and fill out? There are SO MANY!!!

Sorry if a lot of these questions have been asked, I feel like we are a special case since Ghana is not our home country but we have to apply there, we are newlyweds, and we plan on coming back to Africa quickly after going to the USA.

Will it help any if we prove we are coming back to Africa? I plan on going to get my Master's Degree in Ghana starting next August or the January after that (depending on when we can get a visa!!). Also we own a piece of land that we are building a house on right now in Togo, so we have clear ties to Africa.

Thank you so much if you can answer any of these questions. This process looks like a long, frustrating one but we are up for the challenge. My parents have to meet my wonderful husband!!

Jess

Since you don't intend to live in the US but in Africa, your husband needs to get a visitor's visa - those are good for up to 6 months, depending on what the IO at the border decides.

Tourist visa application fee is around $140.

[Jessica Henry 0]

Since you don't intend to live in the US but in Africa, your husband needs to get a visitor's visa - those are good for up to 6 months, depending on what the IO at the border decides.

Tourist visa application fee is around $140.

Hi I have heard from several sources that now that we are married - he is no longer eligible for the tourist visa and to not even bother because he will be denied. Is this not true?

[milimelo 4,500]

Hi I have heard from several sources that now that we are married - he is no longer eligible for the tourist visa and to not even bother because he will be denied. Is this not true?

I've seen reports of US expats who were able to get visitor visas for their spouses - it did involve providing proof of jobs, house/rental in the country overseas as strong proof they do not intend to immigrate to the US.

[Jessica Henry 0]

After reading so many of these posts, I think that if we are going to be married, permanently.. well we should just get the K-3. From my understanding is the tourist visa is valid for 5-10 years only and you can only come in for 3 months at a time. I don't know if there will be a point in the future that I need to come home for longer (like if I want to have children there or do some more school stuff... surely never permanently live there). I also am pretty sure if this process is as hard as it is made out to be, we may as well get it done right the first time right? A tourist visa would be convenient this time.. but what about next time? My parents are getting older and they miss me, but they can't come to Africa in their condition. So now I think the K-3 is the way to go. Can you give me any advice on this topic?

[milimelo 4,500]

After reading so many of these posts, I think that if we are going to be married, permanently.. well we should just get the K-3. From my understanding is the tourist visa is valid for 5-10 years only and you can only come in for 3 months at a time. I don't know if there will be a point in the future that I need to come home for longer (like if I want to have children there or do some more school stuff... surely never permanently live there). I also am pretty sure if this process is as hard as it is made out to be, we may as well get it done right the first time right? A tourist visa would be convenient this time.. but what about next time? My parents are getting older and they miss me, but they can't come to Africa in their condition. So now I think the K-3 is the way to go. Can you give me any advice on this topic?

You can forget about K3 as that one is no longer issued as when both petitions come to NVC at the same time they close the I-129f one which leads to K3.

You'd be going for a CR-1 visa which once activated, turns into a permanent resident card (first one good for 2 years if married less than 2 years at the time your husband enters the US). After 2 years minus 90 days, you file to remove conditions on residence in order to get 10-year green card.

Legal Permanent Residents are supposed to reside in the US - away for longer than a year without a re-entry permit and he could get his green card revoked.

[Penguin_ie 5,994]

If you are getting a spousal visa (CR-1, or very unlikely- K3- which is now obsolete), then your husband and you MUST reside in the USA, and must immigrate to the USA within 6 months of getting the visa. You cannot use it to visit the USA for a couple of months a year, and/ or just to have in case you want to live in the USA in a few years.

You have three options:

- Tourist visa. Best option in my opinion; you will need to prove that you intend to return to Africa by ties to where you currently live (jobs, owning property, bills, enrollment in university etc). Tourist visas are cheap to apply for and quicker than spousal visas.

- Spousal visa and move to the USA, see how the two of you like it. Doesn't seem like this is what you want.

- Spousal visa, visit the USA, and come back to Africa. Somewhat a grey area legally, as the spousal visa is supposed to be for immigation, but they won't stop you leaving. Negatives: a lot more expensive and takes longer than the tourist visa; you will need to apply again if you want to visit the USA again in a few years and/ or actually move to the USA in future, and you having applied for one before and only stayed in the USA for a couple of months will raise a red flag.

[Darnell 8,478]

Some Light Reading?

Comparison on K-3 vs CR-1 - http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/204324-wondering-if-i-made-a-mistake-marrying-in-us/page__view__findpost__p__3060767

K-3 administratively closed - http://www.visajourney.com/news/2010/02/07/department-of-state-to-close-k-3-visas-if-i-129f-and-i-130-petitions-approved-and-received-together/