Infrequent Visits - Frown Upon?

[MyJourney1 15]

I'm the US Citizen Petitioner; He's the Nigerian Beneficiary (My Fiance). We met online in 2010. Our relationship was built using Chat's and Skype every single day. His attempt to visit me failed. I was able to visit him. So, we met in person for the first time in 2011 and only spent 1 week together because that was the most I could get off from work. Will that short and single visit be an issue with getting approved the K1 VISA?

Edited March 30, 2012 by MyJourney1

[bigdog 376]

You should be OK with all your documentation, look at other Nigeria postings for similar issues. It is what it is, you can explain wanted to stay longer, but in this economy work is important. Good Luck.

[MyJourney1 15]

You should be OK with all your documentation, look at other Nigeria postings for similar issues. It is what it is, you can explain wanted to stay longer, but in this economy work is important. Good Luck.

Thank you!

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

Something about 30 days of face time seems to be the magic number for Lagos. Less than that amount of face time your chances for approval go down. A week you are at less than a 50% chance of getting approved. If you have lots of photos with family in public settings you may sneak by , otherwise plan another trip.

[EAbbas 213]

I feel your pain.. for us i don't have a full time position.. lack two hours per week for that and no time off no benefits... so if i took time off i would have to save for at least 3 weeks. then pay the airfare (which is about 2k for the uptight seats lol) the person to watch my house etc.... and THEN prayerfully use all my savings to make the trip praying i wont need it for car repairs or medical bills when i come home...

I was with him at length when we were married but just wish i could do another trip now!

However, our small bank is going thru a merger and if i leave now i could easily lose my job and i have the opportunity to gain full time with benefits employment.

Nothing would make me happier right now than to be with my husband for two weeks.... but having a job to come home to right now in this economy is a MUST!

Wish things were different...

Edited March 30, 2012 by EAbbas

[Globe-trotter 3]

Hello Myjourney1! I am a Nigerian and I would suggest you try to take out time and make another trip to Nigeria. One visit and one week stay might be a mountain on your case at the US Consulate in Lagos. All the best.

[EminTX 131]

The Nigeria threads of the Africa board will give you a lot more information. It is best to stick with that for any country-specific questions.

For most countries, your time together seems sufficient. From what I understand though, for Nigeria, it can be questionable. Go to the Africa board and commit yourself to reading maybe 10 or so threads every day (it is easy enough with the pages in date order from the last post) and see what situations you read about there. As you have seen in a response to one of your threads before, most questions you have have already been discussed and answered, probably with better details in various other threads instead of just this one that you are starting now.

It could be especially helpful to read about other interview experiences and the things asked or asked for. Considering the disproportionate number of Nigerians that I know and have known that live here, I would guess that you know some, too. See any that you can find IRL (in real life) and treat them to lunch to pick their brains about their interview and paperwork experiences. Take notes.

You are not the first person to do this. Learn from everyone who has marched this road before you. VJ along with other resources are goldmines for you and can save you a ton of stress and heartache if you can avoid many of their mistakes just by learning first.

Edited to add:

Oh yeah--take up a hobby while waiting through this--especially if it would be super annoying to a spouse since you are alone now. (I made a ring for my fiance. Bang-bang-bang-bang with a hammer for 6 months while watching TV shows on Netflix.) Or, get a second job. Being busy will keep you from focusing every minute on the delays and any extra money is a godsend when you have a spouse.

Good luck.

Edited March 30, 2012 by EminTX

[MyJourney1 15]

I feel your pain.. for us i don't have a full time position.. lack two hours per week for that and no time off no benefits... so if i took time off i would have to save for at least 3 weeks. then pay the airfare (which is about 2k for the uptight seats lol) the person to watch my house etc.... and THEN prayerfully use all my savings to make the trip praying i wont need it for car repairs or medical bills when i come home...

I was with him at length when we were married but just wish i could do another trip now!

However, our small bank is going thru a merger and if i leave now i could easily lose my job and i have the opportunity to gain full time with benefits employment.

Nothing would make me happier right now than to be with my husband for two weeks.... but having a job to come home to right now in this economy is a MUST!

Wish things were different...

It puts you at a "catch22". You want and need the other visits and you want an approval, but you must keep your job, of which is difficult to come by.

Hello Myjourney1! I am a Nigerian and I would suggest you try to take out time and make another trip to Nigeria. One visit and one week stay might be a mountain on your case at the US Consulate in Lagos. All the best.

You're right; Okay I will plan another trip; Thanks! :-)

Edited March 30, 2012 by MyJourney1

[MyJourney1 15]

Something about 30 days of face time seems to be the magic number for Lagos. Less than that amount of face time your chances for approval go down. A week you are at less than a 50% chance of getting approved. If you have lots of photos with family in public settings you may sneak by , otherwise plan another trip.

Okay; Thanks...

Hello Myjourney1! I am a Nigerian and I would suggest you try to take out time and make another trip to Nigeria. One visit and one week stay might be a mountain on your case at the US Consulate in Lagos. All the best.

Agree!

You should be OK with all your documentation, look at other Nigeria postings for similar issues. It is what it is, you can explain wanted to stay longer, but in this economy work is important. Good Luck.

[favored 31]

because its lagos consulate, you cant always knw what exactly is good enuf.. each yr differs, even each intvw days differ.. but to make your support keep lookin stronger, u shld consider at least a two weeks visit btw now and ur NOA2 approval. and before u leave, give him a copy of ur stamped passport again.. and if u can visit durin da intvw, dat cld help. since u started in 2010ur and this is 2012, u shld hv at least seen each other twice already even if difficult.. u wld also be able to strt piling up mre pictures wit friends.. by the way, if dey do ask him why he had applied for visa before, he better not lie if visitin u was da reason..

[promy 1]

Something about 30 days of face time seems to be the magic number for Lagos. Less than that amount of face time your chances for approval go down. A week you are at less than a 50% chance of getting approved. If you have lots of photos with family in public settings you may sneak by , otherwise plan another trip.

they just need to know or see if you guys spent so much time together and also with friends and family so you need such evidences like my fiance was in Nigeria like 5 different times esp during festive periods and we had lots and lots of pictures. Goodluck to you!!!

[MyJourney1 15]

because its lagos consulate, you cant always knw what exactly is good enuf.. each yr differs, even each intvw days differ.. but to make your support keep lookin stronger, u shld consider at least a two weeks visit btw now and ur NOA2 approval. and before u leave, give him a copy of ur stamped passport again.. and if u can visit durin da intvw, dat cld help. since u started in 2010ur and this is 2012, u shld hv at least seen each other twice already even if difficult.. u wld also be able to strt piling up mre pictures wit friends.. by the way, if dey do ask him why he had applied for visa before, he better not lie if visitin u was da reason..

You know what? This is such an EXCELLENT IDEA! to visit him during his interview. And as far as him applying for a VISA before, he would say "Yes", which was when he tried to visit me. We had already made it our resolve to be truthful no matter what (even on embarrasing questions). We will assume that the Embassy are "Mind Readers" already knowing the answers to everything they're asking us. I love your idea to visit him while he has his Meeting; Thanks a mil!

Edited March 30, 2012 by MyJourney1

[MyJourney1 15]

because its lagos consulate, you cant always knw what exactly is good enuf.. each yr differs, even each intvw days differ.. but to make your support keep lookin stronger, u shld consider at least a two weeks visit btw now and ur NOA2 approval. and before u leave, give him a copy of ur stamped passport again.. and if u can visit durin da intvw, dat cld help. since u started in 2010ur and this is 2012, u shld hv at least seen each other twice already even if difficult.. u wld also be able to strt piling up mre pictures wit friends.. by the way, if dey do ask him why he had applied for visa before, he better not lie if visitin u was da reason..

Hey! Would I even be allowed to got to the Interview with him?

[dwheels76 5,463]

Hey! Would I even be allowed to got to the Interview with him?

Nope they won't let you in Embassy with him. But here's a tip I learned here on VJ. Give him your Passport when you arrive at embassy. When he is asked to hand over passport he will hand over yours also and that will alert the CO that you are there.

[MyJourney1 15]

Nope they won't let you in Embassy with him. But here's a tip I learned here on VJ. Give him your Passport when you arrive at embassy. When he is asked to hand over passport he will hand over yours also and that will alert the CO that you are there.

I can't get over how smart you are! Thanks!