Ghana Newbie Intro & Request for Help

[ghanaguy 0]

Probably like most, my fiance and I have been through a lot -- and it appears to be just starting. We thought the tourist visa was going to be perfect and the PR reads that way. Her interview resulted in refusal on my birthday after five months of prep and anticipation. Recovery has been tough. What to do next? Fiance?, go to Ghana - marry & file as spouse?, where to file? DCF? and when? . . . The same stories I see at this site over and over again.

Current plan: I am closing my home down for the winter in central NY and going to Ghana this month (07/23) to stay as long as it takes. I thought the first step was "MY" petition that I could complete and file here to get things started only to learn that she has to provide some documents too so it appears we will file from Ghana. The good news is that we will be together as I am retired and time is not an issue. I lived in Ghana for 5 years before, know a bit of the language and culture and have a flat (apartment) there so we can be together comfortably. BUT . . . there appears to be some differences in how and where we will file our form(s) and the inherent problem of access to information and documents from 6,000 miles away. Thank God for this site as I am working on those now and it appears from my lack of experience that information and support from those people in the Ghana portal could be invaluable to us which brings me to our technical issue:

HOW DO YOU ASK A QUESTION (CREATE A TOPIC) IN A COUNTRY PORTAL?

Most of the site (like this one) has a button on the upper right side of the posting list to CREATE A NEW TOPIC (or words to that effect) but I do not see anything like that anywhere on the Ghana group portal. Can someone help me?

Peace

[Penguin_ie 5,986]

You cannot create a topic that can only be seen in the Ghana portal, but anything you post will automatically be seen there as your flag shows Ghana. We do have an Africa forum you can post in for regional/ country specific questions: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/89-africa-sub-saharan/

[evoria 19]

First sorry for your denial. I have been there, done that and made it through with help from this site. To start a new thread go to forums, then go to the bottom where it says Africa and choose Ghana.

About us: After being denied a business visa, I went to Ghana in 2009 and returned and filed a fiancé visa, We were denied then I went back in 2011 and we got married. I applied for both a I-130 and 129 both were approved at the same time. The I-129 was cancelled when the I-130 was approved.

Expect 6 - 12 months, baring any red flags and RFE, to get visa in hand, this depends on how much work you do to get your documents together. As you are aware mail in Ghana is hit or miss. In addition I have heard of many recent delays with the NVC, of course immigration reform will delay things even further. However if you are proactive and follow the instructions here you should not have any problems.

Edited July 4, 2013 by evoria

[ghanaguy 0]

First sorry for your denial. I have been there, done that and made it through with help from this site. To start a new thread go to forums, then go to the bottom where it says Africa and choose Ghana.

About us: After being denied a business visa, I went to Ghana in 2009 and returned and filed a fiancé visa, We were denied then I went back in 2011 and we got married. I applied for both a I-130 and 129 both were approved at the same time. The I-129 was cancelled when the I-130 was approved.

Expect 6 - 12 months, baring any red flags and RFE, to get visa in hand, this depends on how much work you do to get your documents together. As you are aware mail in Ghana is hit or miss. In addition I have heard of many recent delays with the NVC, of course immigration reform will delay things even further. However if you are proactive and follow the instructions here you should not have any problems.

Thanks for the story. It really helps to know we can do this. I am so grateful that we can go through it together and shudder to think what it must be like for those who cannot -- the six months we have been apart have been HELL (on the good days) and worse on the rest. I had my fiance get a PO Box in Kumasi and plan to do all mail EMS to "reduce" as much risk and delay as possible. Do you have other suggestions that might help us (others)?

[evoria 19]

Thanks for the story. It really helps to know we can do this. I am so grateful that we can go through it together and shudder to think what it must be like for those who cannot -- the six months we have been apart have been HELL (on the good days) and worse on the rest. I had my fiance get a PO Box in Kumasi and plan to do all mail EMS to "reduce" as much risk and delay as possible. Do you have other suggestions that might help us (others)?

What I suggest is to read the Wiki's here for the type of visa you are applying for. The I-130 information here is pretty straight forward. If you supply all the documents suggested here as they suggest, you should have no problem getting approved. The directions here on how to submit the application are crucial, read them, for example some documents require more than one copy.

In addition to assure no delays, know that the Embassy will only take originals or notarized copies of birth certificates and divorce decrees. As a matter of fact I sent originals along with originals to the NVC who forwarded them to Ghana. We picked up the original at the interview. Also, they only accept the new birth certificates. If there have been name changes get notarized documentation of that. The naming thing in Ghana can be complicated if documents have 3 or 4 different names. Make sure every name matches the birth certificate, police report and any other document you submit. My husband’s birth certificate had the double identical last name, however of course we only used one. It was not accepted he had to get a new birth certificate with one last name.

My biggest piece of advice would be to use the 6-8 month wait for USCIS processing to get all originals in hand. We just did the I-130 for the kids and once the NVC sent the file to Ghana we had like a month. That is not enough time to get anything done in Ghana.

In addition study the forums here and search the site to learn everything you can. Also, during the interview be prepared to prove your relationship. Ghana is high fraud and even though, our relationship was 3 years old, I was standing there and had a book of evidence as thick as a dictionary we still were under the microscope.

I hope, I was helpful - Good Luck

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

You may want to move to Ghana but file in the US because DCF usually requires that you have been a resident in the country 6 months before filing which would make it a slower path back to the US. Assuming you have met and meet the requirements you could file the K1 petition today and leave and wait for the interview there with her ( building evidence of a relationship ) Any west African country you need to overwhlem them with evidence and prepare for the interview. Not just show a ticket that proves you met but know every detail about each other , from your work to your birthmarks and kindergarten teachers name. ( I am only slightly exagerating because one wrong answer can turn into a no bonifde realtionship claim by the CO )

[evoria 19]

You may want to move to Ghana but file in the US because DCF usually requires that you have been a resident in the country 6 months before filing which would make it a slower path back to the US. Assuming you have met and meet the requirements you could file the K1 petition today and leave and wait for the interview there with her ( building evidence of a relationship ) Any west African country you need to overwhlem them with evidence and prepare for the interview. Not just show a ticket that proves you met but know every detail about each other , from your work to your birthmarks and kindergarten teachers name. ( I am only slightly exagerating because one wrong answer can turn into a no bonifde realtionship claim by the CO )

" Not just show a ticket that proves you met but know every detail about each other , from your work to your birthmarks and kindergarten teachers name. ". Just slightly is correct. What was funny to me was they asked my husband about my house. Well if he never has been here how can he know? But he answered and the lady said how do you know, he was like, she walks with the laptop around the house to see. Thank God I did. But who would think that would be necessary.

[ghanaguy 0]

You may want to move to Ghana but file in the US because DCF usually requires that you have been a resident in the country 6 months before filing which would make it a slower path back to the US. Assuming you have met and meet the requirements you could file the K1 petition today and leave and wait for the interview there with her ( building evidence of a relationship ) Any west African country you need to overwhlem them with evidence and prepare for the interview. Not just show a ticket that proves you met but know every detail about each other , from your work to your birthmarks and kindergarten teachers name. ( I am only slightly exagerating because one wrong answer can turn into a no bonifde realtionship claim by the CO )

Thank you for the comment and suggestion. That was my thinking. Timelines suggest to me that DCF with residency requirements etc is too risky for us. What I was suggesting is -- with less than 3 weeks before my flight -- I would prepare all of my materials and begin to collect data, etc for next round and go to Ghana - complete her forms for the petition and submit to the Chicago Lockbox if I understand correctly. Is that the same or similar to your suggestion?

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

Yes, that will get things started and you can spend time getting to know each other. Be prepared for really odd questions

We had " did your father die because he heard you were marrying a white woman" to questions about by relationship with my ex and the reaosn for the divorce in 92 to questions about my children's education/classes and my grandchildrens names and ages.

[ghanaguy 0]

What I suggest is to read the Wiki's here for the type of visa you are applying for. The I-130 information here is pretty straight forward. If you supply all the documents suggested here as they suggest, you should have no problem getting approved. The directions here on how to submit the application are crucial, read them, for example some documents require more than one copy.

In addition to assure no delays, know that the Embassy will only take originals or notarized copies of birth certificates and divorce decrees. As a matter of fact I sent originals along with originals to the NVC who forwarded them to Ghana. We picked up the original at the interview. Also, they only accept the new birth certificates. If there have been name changes get notarized documentation of that. The naming thing in Ghana can be complicated if documents have 3 or 4 different names. Make sure every name matches the birth certificate, police report and any other document you submit. My husband’s birth certificate had the double identical last name, however of course we only used one. It was not accepted he had to get a new birth certificate with one last name.

My biggest piece of advice would be to use the 6-8 month wait for USCIS processing to get all originals in hand. We just did the I-130 for the kids and once the NVC sent the file to Ghana we had like a month. That is not enough time to get anything done in Ghana.

In addition study the forums here and search the site to learn everything you can. Also, during the interview be prepared to prove your relationship. Ghana is high fraud and even though, our relationship was 3 years old, I was standing there and had a book of evidence as thick as a dictionary we still were under the microscope.

I hope, I was helpful - Good Luck

Thank you for the excellent response. A few questions came up as I read you advice again. Can you help me understand "originals" better? Example: You say you "sent originals along with originals to the NVC". How do you get multiple originals? What makes a document an original for this process -- some kind of raised seal, notarized, ...? Is the "original" requirement as strict for US issued documents as for Ghana documents? In a related area, you say they "only accept the new birth certificates" and we are assuming that refers only to the Ghana birth certificates. Correct? Also - my fiance has a seven year old daughter. We have a passport for her. Your post raises the question for us as to when should i/we file for her?

[evoria 19]

Thank you for the excellent response. A few questions came up as I read you advice again. Can you help me understand "originals" better? Example: You say you "sent originals along with originals to the NVC". How do you get multiple originals? What makes a document an original for this process -- some kind of raised seal, notarized, ...? Is the "original" requirement as strict for US issued documents as for Ghana documents? In a related area, you say they "only accept the new birth certificates" and we are assuming that refers only to the Ghana birth certificates. Correct? Also - my fiance has a seven year old daughter. We have a passport for her. Your post raises the question for us as to when should i/we file for her?

[evoria 19]

There is one original. I sent copies during the first phase to USCIS. I sent the originals to NVC, along with copies. Once you start reading the instructions you will see when and where to send the originals. Birth certificates, divorce decrees, and affidavits, will need to be originals or notorized originals with raised seals. Some years back Ghana created a new birth certificate, that is the one they want.

For her daughter you have time she is only seven. I just would not think the mother would want to be away from her daughter for long, even if you guys have not made the decision include her name on paper work. However not applying would mean returning to Ghana for the interview, that is another cost that could be avoided if she is done with the mother. For us the situation with the mother broke down and it was no longer safe to leave them. However, we had included there names on all the previous paperwork, since we knew we wanted to apply for them at some point. I have heard people who have had trouble trying to get the paperwork through when they had not mention a child on previous paperwork. Be prepared to answer questions regarding the father. We were asked for custody papers.

Again it is important to be proactive with the documents. It is your burden of proof. When we went to the Embassy, I am always shocked to see people stand there with little to no evidence. When you have a 3 ring binder full of well displayed evidence, the CO has an entire different respect for what you are presenting.

[TBoneTX 43,413]

*** Thread moved from Introducing Our Members to the Africa/Sub-Saharan regional subforum -- thread has become country- and region-specific. ***

[bigdog 376]

_{Good Luck, my suggestion is to review the requirements on VJ and USCIS,}