princessO

Yes my husband had his own vehicle...but really...to stay in his truck all night???!!!!! You cannot be serious!!! My husband and I are very serious about his interview and no matter how lively the island is...he will not be sleeping in his truck rather he will be in a bed, getting some sleep so that he will be well rested for the big day. Thanks, but no thanks

Welcome to VJ...I to am older than my husband by seven years and we also married on our first visit. I did go again seven months later for another visit. My husband was approved this past December for his Visa. You will read some approval stories as well as denial stories. Sometimes a spouse or fiance will visit numerous times and still get denied and sometimes visit only once and get approved. If you know what your red flags are, just make sure that your husband is ready to answer the questions regarding those red flags. Make sure that you have plenty of evidence to back your relationship ie. chat logs, phone records, pics with you and your husband as well as the two of you with family and friends. Get letters from friends and family verifying the bona fides of your relationship. Make sure you fill our your paperwork properly preventing a RFE. I dont think that you will need a lawyer. A lawyer will not make a difference for the red flags that you have, he/she will just be an added expense. The paperwork is not that difficult. If you just read the instructions and send the documents that are required, you should do just fine. As long as you fill the paperwork properly, have the evidence that you will need, you put the rest into Gods hands.

Welcome to VJ...I to am older than my husband by seven years and we also married on our first visit. I did go again seven months later for another visit. My husband was approved this past December for his Visa. You will read some approval stories as well as denial stories. Sometimes a spouse or fiance will visit numerous times and still get denied and sometimes visit only once and get approved. If you know what your red flags are, just make sure that your husband is ready to answer the questions regarding those red flags. Make sure that you have plenty of evidence to back your relationship ie. chat logs, phone records, pics with you and your husband as well as the two of you with family and friends. Get letters from friends and family verifying the bona fides of your relationship. Make sure you fill our your paperwork properly preventing a RFE. I dont think that you will need a lawyer. A lawyer will not make a difference for the red flags that you have, he/she will just be an added expense. The paperwork is not that difficult. If you just read the instructions and send the documents that are required, you should do just fine. As long as you fill the paperwork properly, have the evidence that you will need, you put the rest into Gods hands.

It is to my understanding, that while a immigration petition is pending for fiance/spouse, that a visitor visa would not be granted. Being apart from the one you love for 6-9 months is well worth the lifetime that you will spend together in the end.

In addition, the Consular Office accused him verbally of fraud because we stated on the petition that he had never been married. In fact, there is no record in Nigeria of him ever having been married.
Just out of curiosity, if you stated on petition that he had never been married and there is no record of the 1st marriage in Nigeria, how is it that this came up in the interview?

Okay VJ'ers--I need your "expert" advice. I pasted below an email I just sent to our attorney (waste of money by the way; but had already paid him before I found VJ). Can you please read and let me know your thoughts? THANK YOU GUYS!
My husband went for his interview in Lagos today and was not granted a visa. I have attached the letter that they gave him. (I didn't attach it for you on VJ; but basically we need to gather the evidence and schedule a second interview)
There are two pieces of "documentation" that they are requesting:
1) Divorce decree from native court
2) Photos from wedding or wedding party with current wife
Regarding the Divorce decree, this technically does not exist for a Nigerian "traditional" wedding, which is what my husband first "marriage" was. However, he has spoken to a Nigerian attorney and they will get a document to meet this need. In addition, the Consular Office accused him verbally of fraud because we stated on the petition that he had never been married. In fact, there is no record in Nigeria of him ever having been married. He only had a customary arrangement, was not married in the church or at the Marriage Registry.
Regarding the photos from our wedding, we only have two photos from our wedding day and my husband presented these to the Consular Officer. They were taken on that day but in a studio, not at the Marriage Registry. My husband is wearing a kaftan and I am wearing a dress. Going to the Marriage Registry in Nigeria is like getting married at the Courthouse here. It is not a formal affair. We did go out to lunch with some friends after the ceremony. A few pictures were taken, but were housed on my laptop. This laptop was stolen during an armed robbery in July 2009 at our home in Nigeria. When we got married, taking pictures to present as "evidence" was not even a thought in our minds. We did not get married to "prove a case". We got married because we love each other and wanted to raise our family together. (In fact, we didn't even intend to move back to the US, but my work situation changed unexpectedly.) We presented MANY other pictures of us together, our children together, with other family members, my Mother's trip to Nigeria, ETC. All taken during the TWO YEARS WE LIVED TOGETHER IN NIGERIA AS A FAMILY. Yet they are insisting we produce pictures from our wedding that don't exist.
So, how do we overcome this issue of the photos from our wedding???

Congrats