how do you make up for the lack of records?

[butterlove 0]

Hello VJ family!

I have some concerns for my experienced K-1 visa people or anyone currently going through the journey to answer.

So randomly I moved to Ghana. I just wanted to volunteer and do something different for awhile. So 4 months after I move to Ghana I met a wonderful guy then a year after that we are engaged. I'm in Ghana for another 5 or 6 months (which is when i will apply for K-1) but all the records we won't really have. It will be hard to get phone records from the first" hello"over a year ago in Ghana. We have whatsapp records and pictures but will the phone records count us out? I'm really nervous because the idea of seeing my fiancé multiple times a week to never scares me. how can I make up for the potential lack of phone records? Will the embassy forgive it since I actually lived in ghana during most of our courtship? We are trying to prepare now because it's never too early. If anyone has experience with living in the foreign country then filing k1 please advise me. I don't want to marry without him meeting my parents and k3 is out because I'm volunteering and not working in Ghana. The last thing I want the embassy to say is not enough proof of real relationship. Thanks in advance.

[midge and isi 8]

So I was sorta similar, For k-1 petition you just need the proof you have met. So your passport stamps and pictures will be enough for the initial petition of meeting withing the last two years. So don't worry over that. I sent pictures, and passport stamps, and a little from when i was home (skype records) but you don't need that for this point.

You have a while (at least a year) before you need to have on-going evidence for embassy interview. So start collecting now! More pictures with date stamps while you are there for the next few months, outings with others. To be honest I don't think letters from people do that much good but you could get a few from people there. If you both take a bus trip somewhere see if you can get receipts, etc.

I had my parents go with me to Ghana- so we had pictures of that which i think is a very helpful thing. If that is even in the realm it would be fun for them as well.

When you get back make sure you document things- calls, skype, email, snail mail, etc.

Also think about your I-134 since you are volunteering you most likely will need a co-sponsor.

Hope that helps!

-where in ghana are you?

[butterlove 0]

So I was sorta similar, For k-1 petition you just need the proof you have met. So your passport stamps and pictures will be enough for the initial petition of meeting withing the last two years. So don't worry over that. I sent pictures, and passport stamps, and a little from when i was home (skype records) but you don't need that for this point.

You have a while (at least a year) before you need to have on-going evidence for embassy interview. So start collecting now! More pictures with date stamps while you are there for the next few months, outings with others. To be honest I don't think letters from people do that much good but you could get a few from people there. If you both take a bus trip somewhere see if you can get receipts, etc.

I had my parents go with me to Ghana- so we had pictures of that which i think is a very helpful thing. If that is even in the realm it would be fun for them as well.

When you get back make sure you document things- calls, skype, email, snail mail, etc.

Also think about your I-134 since you are volunteering you most likely will need a co-sponsor.

Hope that helps!

-where in ghana are you?

Thanks so much! That's makes me feel better about the process. I'm hoping to get the phone logs from the networks here but with Ghana you just never know. I'm in Accra currently. Thanks again.

[katie & sifa 25]

My husband and I met while I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kenya so we were in a similar boat. We both got letters from our employers saying that we worked at the same hospital (even if you and your fiance don't have the same situation, could you get a letter from the group you volunteer with at least showing you work in the same area he lives in?) We started saving things like bus tickets and making sure that they put both of our names on the tickets, and we also took a vacation together in another part of Kenya and saved all the hotel receipts, bus tickets, etc. You have some time to start saving stuff like that Anything you can think of to get both of your names on, do it!

Oh yeah, I also had copies of my Kenya work visa, entry/exit stamps, and my Kenya resident card.

When we had the interview I had been back in the US for a while so we did have Skype records from that but they didn't ask to see it (this was Nairobi though.) They did ask us to see pictures which we had spanning most of our relationship - set your camera to date stamp them.

Edited March 30, 2013 by katie & sifa

[J J Moose 3]

When I filed for the K-1 for my Ghanaian spouse, here's the evidence I included:

- my entire passport, showing multiple entries/exits to/from Ghana

- affadavits from a Ghanaian as well my parents

- engagement announcements from my local newspaper

- moneygram receipts of money I had sent him (I was worried about showing that money changed hands, but interestingly, our lawyer said that this was beneficial. If he was paying me for a green card- obviously not the case- then I wouldn't be sending money to him. Me sending him money is behaving like a family member)

- plane tickets

- evidence of my family coming to Ghana to meet him and have an engagement party (plane tickets, photos)

- lots of photos of our relationship, particularly with other people (family and friends)

- emails we wrote back and forth

- phone records (I got these from America, since he wasn't able to get any from Ghana)

Obviously, you might not have all these things, but it's good your thinking ahead and saving things now! With this amount of evidence the interviewer didn't even seem to question the validity of our relationship at all.

However, we did have a terrible time with the American consulate in Accra. They were so disorganized and difficult to deal with. When we got the interview packet, every piece of paper in there was incorrect. Every single document had inaccuracies. The packet listed the wrong fees, the wrong amount of passport photos, it included forms that had been expired for over 6 years, they even gave us the wrong interview date since they scheduled the interview on a public holiday when the consulate is closed. They gave us documents we weren't supposed to see, the cashier tried to shake us down for more money than the interviewer told us to pay- it was awful. This was 2 years ago, so I hope its changed.

We hired a lawyer in the US, and I'm really glad we did. It helped a lot and there were several calls made to senators and the state department on our behalf. If you're doing it on your own, double check and triple check any and all information they give you or tell you at the consulate. Check the guides on VJ well, and look at the department of state website. Don't trust that the consulate is giving you the correct info.

Also, when its time to go through the medical exam, I don't recommend Trinity Clinic. They refused to give us a copy of the vaccination document worksheet (even though the page has instructions on it that tell them to do so) and not having that copy created a mess when we got to the US and wanted to file for a green card.

Sorry if this long, I just want to tell you all the stuff I wish I had known going in. On a brighter note, once you guys get to the US together, the USCIS is much easier to deal with and much better organized. Since we moved stateside, I've been able to handle all the immigration paperwork myself, no lawyer necessary, and it's gone smoothly.

Good luck!

Edited April 3, 2013 by J J Moose

[REM4ever 0]

Do NOT listen to Gold Member! Ghana embassy wants proof and more proof. I am on my second interview for proof only!!!! I would say front load the petition with all the evidence you can because in the interview they are going to look at file and not even look at new evidence and then say, " come back with more evidence". Ghana is a high romance fraud area and it much harder than Kenya. Adding pictures, reciepts affidavits and all the in the front will will save you time! Good luck! To the previous member, NO it has not changed! They are still giving old outdated documents and behaving that way. That place needs to fire everyone in there and start over!!!!

Edited April 23, 2013 by REM4ever