cardinal

My dad, brother, and I all have US/french dual citizenship. It is definitely allowed, but unless things have changed recently don't expect any help from the french consulates here if you need to renew your passport, register your kids as french citizens, etc. I've simply let my french passport expire because they are a pain to deal with (at least in Chicago & DC)

Hey, I saw your post and I wanted to say that I have kinda similar problems..

My fiance is Ivoirien born and raised.. But with the crazy situation there, he had to leave.. He is now in BF.

I have couple of questions for you: Do you think he should stay in BF and apply from there? (I am thinking with the situation in IC, we don't know when things are going to get better and even if they do, Im worried about the backlogged of the embassy.. All the case that are going to be delayed)

Is it possible for him to just apply from BF just because he rents a place there now? Or does he need additional residency proof? Or does he need to be Burkinabe before applying from BF (Which I don't think so since you say you honey is from BF but lives in france and I guess he will apply from Paris?).. Please let me know what you think.

I am myself, in the process of applying for my citizenship and will only apply for him when I get my citizenship (Early June) But Im trying to get all the info bcs I am going to work on the packet so that I can apply like hte NEXT day of my oath ceremony.. (Yeah.. NEXT DAY!

Also, do you have any good idea of the timeline?.. (If you have a robust application). I am trying to picture a possible date/period for the wedding)

I know the situation is crazy in IC.. I cry like every day about it.. My family is still there.. (Most of them are here though, thank God) and my Lovy is out.. So thank God..

But you have to understand the men... All this immigration stuff is not as important for them as it is for us.. We want them here like.. Yesterday.. And they are like: We will be together.. don't worry.. Especially if they are not a peace with the situation of their country (Or adopted country like your fiance).

Good luck. I pray for his family, and your case. I pray q l'extrait de naissance thing be fine. If anything, you can always have somebody geting a real birth certificate for him in BF or hopefully when things calm down a bit in abidjan... (Or worse case scenario, have the IC embassy of DC to write a paper to say that the national offices are not operational.. to get like a waiver or something.. ) But that's a bit extreme (Especially with the tension between BF and IC craziness)..

So wait for them to tell you that the copy is not sufficieint before doing anything major...

Take care.

Hey - so sorry, I haven't really been on since we sent in the I129F packet...distracted by CI and now BF. Is your fiance still in BF (which is probably crazier than abidjan right now )? I hope your family in CI are all fine - thank God our family made it through a bit shaken but okay.

My understanding is that is the consulate's prerogative to decide which cases they will process. After some emailing back and forth with the Paris COs it seems that they will process his visa as long as he is legally residing in France at the time of the interview. I think the Ouaga embassy is pretty laid back, and doesn't process many K1 visas - you might try emailing them to ask whether they will process the visa if he's living in BF.

I really have no idea on the timeline. It seems like the US end is what usually takes endless months. I'm **hoping** that he'll be here sometime in winter of 2011-12, and just trying not to focus too much on that (we both have a lot going on school/career-wise right now and I am lucky to get to see hime every 6-8 weeks). I have some general ideas, but my plan is to wait till we get the NOA2 before I start really planning. It will be a small wedding - our families are on 3 different continents - so having a short timeline isn't the end of the world. I laughed when I read your post, because Sihe is definitely more the zen one too, saying don't worry, we'll be together - and I am the ridiculously impatient one. I think part of it is that he is very conscious of the stereotype (and unfortunately sometimes reality) of african men just looking to get a visa, so he wants it to be totally my call - and partly because he is kind of scared to come! (it's not a straightforward career move for him, and he's still working on his english).

Keep me posted on how it goes and good luck with the naturalization process!

Hi all,

We just submitted the I129f petition and now I am thinking ahead to the next step. My fiance lives in France but was born in Cote d'Ivoire, which is descending into civil war. He only has an extrait d'acte de naissance with him in France, not a copy of the acte integral.

1. If I understand the instructions correctly, what he will need for the interview is the formal, long form certificate - ie, the acte integral. Is that correct?

2. I checked the DOS website that lists what documents "should" be available in different countries and it says "available" for birth certificates in Cote d'Ivoire - even though the government is basically non-functional there at the moment. Has anyone been in this situation previously? Is this negotiable - can we explain the situation to the CO?? We will be going through the Paris consulate.

Any dvice would be much appreciated. Police certificate is not an issue as he moved to Burkina when he was 11 and I can pick up a police certificate for him on one of my trips there.

I am getting way ahead of myself because I haven't even filed the K1 yet but...someone was telling me that in high-fraud regions the COs do not look kindly upon couples who were introduced to one another by a third party. This seems a bit odd to me because many couples meet through a common friend or acquaintance. First, is this true or misinformation? Second, is it an issue only if the person doing the introducing is a relative of the beneficiary? The reason I ask is that my fiancé and I were introduced by a colleague. We were all at the same research institution at the time; my colleague has since moved back to the ministry of health. To me this seems perfectly straightforward; just want to make sure it will not be a problem come interview time. I had actually planned on asking my former colleague to write a letter for us since she knows us well and saw our relationship develop from the very beginning through the proposal. Good/bad idea?

Hello. I am not sure if you know this or not but if you click on the name of the country above the picture of the countries flag it will pull up all members that are also filing from there. Maybe you can PM one of them and make some connections. Hope this helps.

Thanks! I did check and it doesn't seem like there are many members from there who have been active recently. Doesn't seem like there are many folks from francophone africa on here generally...

Take it seriously. Unlike most Ghanaians, you have likely not built up natural immunity to malaria from being exposed over the course of your life. Pregnant women are more susceptible to malaria, more likely to get complicated malaria - which is a life-threatening situation - and malaria increases the risk of all kinds of complications during pregnancy. And west africa is ground zero for malaria

Not trying to scare you or saying you shouldn't go - just to take it seriously. I would definitely take an anti-malarial - checking first with your OB and travel doc about which one would be best for you. If you're taking an anti-malarial, you shouldn't need SP (fansidar) which was mentioned by another poster. If you decide not to go with the anti-malarials, definitely you want to take a dose of SP. Also as you mentioned protect yourself against mosquitos, and make sure you have a plan for what to do if you do get sick with malaria or anything else - identify a good local clinic before you leave and make sure you know their hours, location, and emergency phone number (to reach the doctor on call). If you do get sick with a fever, make sure they test you for malaria and don't just hand you drugs.

As usual, check with your OB and travel doc to see if they have any other suggestions. And have fun!!

-PhD student in international health next door to you in Burkina

Was on skype with my FI tonight. He is Burkinabé but born in Abidjan and his immediate family is still there. Anyways, we are increasingly worried about the situation there. His stepdad is Ivorien and in the police which gives them some protection, but it sounds like things are getting really bad.

Anybody else there right now or with family there and how are you dealing? FI is living in Paris but I can tell he wants to jump on a plane to his family (don't think he will, but the idea really scares me). We are also in the middle of getting ready to file and it is hard to focus on that when we are so worried about his family

I'm in the same boat - actually my FI and I both have this problem for many fields in the G325a - they might want to rethink the field sizes. Anyway, we are attaching supplemental pages for the address and occupation tables (I in particular have had 9 addresses in the past 5 years so there's no way it would fit), well labeled with the name of the form, my/his name, and exact wording of the question - since the questions on the form are not numbered for some strange reason. For fields that are just too short by 1-2 letters, like city and country of birth, I'm planning to just handwrite those in.

I haven't sent mine it yet though, so take with a grain of salt - maybe someone who has gone through the process already can share their experience

Was living/working/doing dissertation research in his country. He was a researcher at our local research partner (different study). We were introduced on the second day of my second stay there when one of my colleagues there told him to teach me to ride a moped. And the rest is history

Do we need to translate emails or chats submitted with the petition or brought to the interview? Almost everything we have is in french...(I am fluent)

I think this is a really context-specific question.

I can only tell you my experience. When he was living in BF, my FI basically managed his own finances. He did not have a lot of money to spare and so we didn't really go out much because he wasn't comfortable with me paying for things (fine with me as I'm a homebody anyways), but he was able to support himself. Now he is in grad school in France and is really struggling for money. He is working incredibly hard and living very frugally but the simple fact is that it is really hard to get a job in France, especially if you have an african name and are black. He has one job but can't get enough hours to cover all the bills and has been searching for another. He did not ask me for money, but I saw how stressed hje was and have given him money on several occasions. It actually caused an argument last time because he didn't want to accept it - said I had given him too much already. There are a couple of other things here - I am half french so I know the situation in France very well. My cousins there are in their 30s, have degrees from great schools, "good" jobs, work very hard, and still are supported financially by their parents. The economy is simply a mess (one of many reasons I don't live there). So I do know that it's not simply that he's not looking hard enough. Also, one of the reasons he is in this program in france is that we hope it'll make it easier for him to get into a PhD program in the US (and eventually a good job) - so in a sense this is something he is doing for our long term future. Note that I am a grad student myself so this has not been easy but by living frugally I have been able to make it work.

Has it been hard sometimes? Of course. We are socialized to believe that women should not have to support their men. I am a liberal feminist and I still find that I have that instinct, although objectively I don't agree with it. What helps is reminding myself (1) that if our genders were reversed, this would not be an issue, (2) that I really have been incredibly fortunate in my life and career and most of that is due to the "luck" of being born american, not because I am better or smarter or work harder than my FI, (3) that this is really a temporary situation, and most important (4) that he is doing everything he can to support himself and work towards being able to support both of us.

For me, (4), and the trust that is between us, is really the most important factor, but every situation is different. Good luck! These are tough issues

Okay, so based on everyone's advice I have streamlined it to describe circumstances of meeting and dates and places of visits/co-residence. Forgive me if I am a little nervous. I KNOW we will get additional scrutiny because he is from Burkina. I understand why - I lived in BF and lost count of the number of guys who walked up to me with their phone number and told me they would be willing to marry an American WE know that our relationship is true and valid, just trying to see things from the POV of the consulate to forestall problems...Paris is also not the most tolerant place for African immigrants, even students there legally (I'm half french so I feel I can say this! ) - hoping it does not extend to the consulate!

Thanks! This is very helpful.

Our question 18 is a bit complicated because it wasn't just me going back and forth on trips; we have both moved countries throughout our relationship. I actually lived in BF during 2 separate periods, which also included some short trips to neighboring countries for work. In the middle of my second stay, he moved to France for grad school and since then I have visited him 3 times in Paris, the first time while I was still resident in BF, the second two times from the US. I'm submitting copies of my entire passport plus itineraries and I just want to make sure that there are no questions as to why there are so many entry and exit stamps or why some of my itineraries are US-Ouaga, some Ouaga-Paris, and some US-Paris. I forgot to say that we will also include photocopies of his passport to show when he moved to Paris. Also I am in international health and travel A LOT so I have lots of visas and lots of passport stamps - just want to make sure the dates and evidence for the relevant visits are clear amidst all that!!

Hi,

As I have been perusing the postings here, it seems that there is some difference of agreement re frontloading - or probably more accurately, that it differs by consulate. I've also seen folks say that too much can hurt your petition.

I have read the reviews of the Paris consulate and it doesn't seem too bad, but am wondering whether the fact that my fiancé is from West Africa (in France on a student visa) makes a difference. Does that raise the suspicion of fraud? Should I submit more evidence of a relationship with the petition? I don't think we have any red flags - both never married, no kids, he is a yr older, we met 18 months ago and lived in the same city (and saw each other almost daily) for 9 months and have seen each other several times since, we communicate easily in french (I am fluent - dad is originally french), we both have graduate degrees and are researchers (in different fields), he's never been to or applied for a visa to the US, I have never petitioned for a visa for anyone before. I have not met his immediate family as they are in Ivory Coast and there has been a state dept travel warning there for several years.

This is what I have - am wondering how much to submit:

1. Photocopies of passport showing entry and exit stamps

2. Itineraries with photocopied boarding passes (was able to find about 75%)

3. Letter from my university stating the dates when I lived in Ouaga doing work for them

4. Receipts from my stay in Ouaga (was able to get these back from the university!)

5. Photos of us - 8, taken on 5 different trips over a 14 month period

6. Screen captures of an gmail folder of our emails (over 200, showing sender, subject line, date, and beginning of message for each email)

7. Screen captures of skype chats

8. Letter from my parents, letter from my boss, letter from his uncle saying that this is a real relationship (and that they approve

My answer to question 18 on the I-129f is also almost a page long. And of course we have the letter of intent to get married. Too much? Not enough? I am going to go crazy putting this thing together!!

thanks so much. This forum is what is making it possible for us to do this without an attorney!!

1. List your address as best you can. USCIS knows that not everywhere uses "123 Main St., Anytown, USA" Just enter what it is. There are no "right or wrong" answers, just the truth.

2. If they were contracts, was he "self employed" . If so, enter "self employed" to cover the period. Otherwise add a detail sheet and list each employment period separately. If he was in the same general category of work, list that "Research Scientist" or something such as that. If someone is with the same company for a while and holds various positions you can either generalize (I my case I would just say "construction" or "engineering") OR you can list the LAST position held.

In general none of this is material information, meaning it has no affect on the visa or petition. They use this information, if needed, in background checks and such to sort you out from a bad guy with the same name for example. Just answer as clearly and completely as possible.

Thanks! He is a researcher (geographer) and was working on various studies at a research institute. So I don't think he would be self-employed - we will add a sheet with all the details!

Sorry, two more questions - the more posts I read the more worries I have!

1. WRT evidence of meeting. I'm concerned about primary evidence - I do not have all the boarding passes from my first (4 month) trip to Burkina (I met my fiance and we began dating while on that trip but we weren't thinking of visa applications at the time!). My rent receipts I submitted for reimbursement - will check if I can get them back but I am guessing no since it is over a year ago. I do have:

-My trip itineraries from the airline

-Passport stamps - but I am worried they won't show up well in a photocopy

-Internet receipts for the first two months

I do have my boarding passes and itineraries for my second (9 month) trip - although again, no rent receipts - as well as from subsequent trips to france where he is currently studying. Should I ask my university (which is also my employer) for a letter certifying that I was in Burkina doing work for the university during those two time periods, or would that not count as primary evidence? Should I include an attachment explaining why I don't have all the records from the trip? I do have lots of secondary evidence - pictures, hundreds of emails, skype chats, letters from my parents, his family, my boss...

2. We are also concerned about the timeframe. We would like to send in the petition in March. His student visa for France expires at the end of september 2011, so if he has not received the visa by then he will be heading back to Burkina. I assume his file would then need to be transferred from the embassy in france to the embassy in Burkina - which I assume will mean additionnal time and hassle. Does anyone have experience with their fiance(e) moving countries in the niddle of the process - how does that affect the timeline?

Again, thanks!!

Hi,

I am new here. I apologize if this question has been answered previously - I did try to search but couldn't find it. My fiance is from Burkina Faso - currently living in France getting his masters. We met while I was living there doing dissertation research.

1. We are having trouble with the G325a questions regarding residence in the past 5 years. While in Burkina, neither of us had a street address (many of the streets there have neither names nor house numbers - including some expat neighborhoods. There's no mail delivery to home addresses - people just have PO boxes). I had a building name and neighborhood name, he just has the name of his neighborhood. Neither of us had a PO Box - we just got mail at work (and I had my US mail forwarded to my parents). I was thinking to provide what information we have and attach a google map with our residences marked on it...Has anyone dealt with this before and what did you do?

2. Again in the G325a, my fiance had something like 10 short term contracts over a period of 4 years from the same research institute in Ouaga. However, he was not continuously employed by them (ie, there were a few months here and there when he was not working for them) and his position titles differed a bit (research assistant, assistant, supervisor, interviewer, etc). Does he need to list each contract separately, or can he list it on a single line and just put research assistant/supervisor/interviewer as the position?

thanks!!