Kanyiri

We use pingo.

OK, I am apparently going against the grain, but I would tell the truth. I would fully disclose the fact that you had a traditional wedding. I would include pictures and a statement from whoever led the ceremony saying that you were married traditionally but not legally. You could even get a statement from the marriage registrar people saying that you are not listed in their records as being married.

You really don't want to roll the dice with lying or selectively not including information.

I think ours took about a week, but I've heard of others taking a month. It depends on how busy they are.

I would include a letter explaining the situation with the pictures and the dates of your wedding and marriage.

Someone mentioned emailing the consulate. I emailed them just about monthly for an entire year and never got a response. I did email the ACS in Ghana and got a response from them. They said that they forwarded my email to the consulate people, but I still didn't get a response. Some people have been able to move their interview dates up, but they were at the consulate in person to do this. I attempted to get our interview date moved up when I was there, and I was unsuccessful. I even cried and they brought me to a back room, but they didn't budge. I was also there during a week with a holiday so they had a lot of employees out on vacation.

Good luck to everyone.

Yes Kanyiri,

All is well now, EXCEPT, a sister is ready to date!!!!!!!!! So if you want to help that progress, how about asking your hubby to teach me how to tell this man in the Ghana native language, that I think he is hotter than ten active volcanoes, the burning bush, and a bushel of serrano peppers, AND I want to take him out, get him drunk, and have my way with him!!! Just kidding, but I do want to have my way with him!!!! In an innocent sort of way..... MAYBE............ LOL!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS on the birth of your son. Such a blessing.

HAHAHA!! I'll do my best to get the translation, though I'm thinking if you just tell him exactly what you already said, you'll be well on your way to where you want to go. On the other hand, you could just go buy some tight jeans and make up excuses to say hello and then walk very slowly away. Then he'll do all the talking for you.

Thank you for the congratulations on our son! I am head over heals in love with him, which sometimes makes my husband a little jealous. Oops. He looks just like my husband, but at least he has my ears!

discerned1 - I'm sorry this has happened to you. I hope you take time to heal and know that God has someone very special in store for you.

Besangin - I just had to laugh at your comment: "As a matter of fact I have a HUGE crush on a gorgeous man from Ghana, and would get with him in a minute if the situation were condusive to such. So I am not against a relationship with an African man" Teehee! Anyway, I'm glad things are finally settled for you and all the mess that you were faced with.

Apply with a temp agency. They can help him get a good job that pays well and will add to his resume for later.

I'm kinda late on this topic, but I just wanted to add that I've gone through my share of these things and every apprehension you have mentioned is normal. Just remember that no matter how many times you discuss things online or on the phone, it is never the same as encountering it in person.

If anyone needs to talk, feel free to PM me. My husband has been here for almost two years and we are doing very well. We have our moments, but we always come through them.

I know I'm late on this topic, but in Osu there is a big blue building that was built during the time I was there. It's new, and it's clean. I can't remember the name of it, but it was around the same price as Frankie's. The place I always stayed at was right next to Papaye's, but it is probably a little less than what you are looking for. It was $20 a night. There is a big hotel around 37 that is called Golden Tulip. It'll be more around the $200 a night, but it's really nice. Also Labadi Beach Hotel is very nice. La Palm is also beautiful. Beautiful pool and view of the ocean. This shows pictures of the big ones: http://www.southtravels.com/africa/ghana/d...ions.html#accra

Good Luck!

pingo.com for phone records

Congratulations!!

Congratulations!!

My husband also turns his phone off when his family/friends are calling for money. We don't have much to give, but they all still think that the money is growing on trees. He gets very stressed when his family continually asks for money and we don't have that money to send.

For the first couple months that he was here, he had is EAD, but couldn't find a job. Nevertheless, every day he would either walk or take the bus to go apply for a new job. This is how he kept hiimself busy. We bought weights so that he could stay physically active (he had been a farmer his whole life), a book so that he could study for the GED, and the rest of the time he was out applying for jobs. I know he felt bad during the time that he wasn't working, but we couldn't help that. He did finally get a job through a temp agency about two months after he was here. He has actually been working at the same place since then. Luckily enough it pays much better than a McDonald's job would pay and half of his coworkers are Ghanaian. He has made a lot of friends and though he denies it, i think that has made all the difference in his happiness here. His friends there understand all the troubles he gets from back home and they speak a language he has known since childhood and are a culture that he is familiar with (not his tribe, but as close as we'll get).

Just wear whatever you have that is clean and presentable. Jeans should be fine as they are considered nice attire locally, but granted for US officials you will look more dressed up wearing trousers (khakis, slacks, etc).

Bush meat is anything you find in the bush: rabbit, squirrels, etc. There is one particular large rat - called the grasscutter - that is most likely the one everyone is referring to. I've had it, and it wasn't too bad. It tasted kinda like goat meat to me.

My husband used NAA to fly from Ghana to the US. His flight took off on time, and then landed back in Ghana an hour later. They said they had a problem with the plane, and they would be delayed in Ghana. He was supposed to come on Dec 20, and ended up getting here on Dec 25 when they could finally get a plane to take everyone. They did put them in a nice hotel, but they did not tell them exactly when they would be leaving and left everyone in limbo. They were supposed to give them phone cards, and they didn't until I kept calling and two days later they didn't want to hear from me anymore. I've also heard from other Ghanaians that their service is getting progressively worse. The only thing that is nice is that you don't have to transfer in Europe.

Congratulations!!

Yes, he only needs to hand in the first forms. The rest they will take at the interview (so long as it is the same as the K1 process).

I don't know anything about the process you are now entering, but I just wanted to say good luck with everything. Hopefully this will progress where the other process did not. You are in my prayers.

Kanyiri

We had issues with names matching on the passport and birth certificate. They are sticklers for that. Good luck!

As I am the female and the American, I didn't have to deal with this directly. I did however have at least two friends that did. For both of them, they sat down themselves with their fiancee's parents to discuss what they wanted to do. I think at least one of them had other friends in the village who sat with them in place of his parents to represent him (he bought them beer later to compensate). They discussed what would be a typical bride price and how they would handle it. For one of them, the typical price would be two cows (plus a few other things). So he found out the cost of two cows and paid them the amount in cash b/c the family was trying to hide the fact that their daughter was marrying a white man (using local terms, this just means someone not from Africa) (for discrimination - begging - purposes). The other man that I know of, went more traditionally and actually bought whatever livestock they recommended and even had a traditional marriage ceremony.

Good luck!

I don't know too much about plane ticket prices, but I would guess that it would be around $1300. Try NAA and Delta as others mentioned for the direct flight. Also beware of all the celebrations going on in Accra this year!

All4Kweku - It's good to hear from you! I'm sorry the visa process is still not working out. If you do end up moving to Ghana, you'll love it! Let us know how everything works out for you!

How much you want your family to approve is completely up to your and your fiance. My family did not approve at all. I also had fights with them and didn't speak with them for long periods of time - mostly because of the interracial thing. Now that they have gotten to know him, they love him and are back to calling me almost daily just to talk about any little thing.

When you are looking for your family's approval, just remember that even if you were marrying someone who should potentially fit into the mold of what your parents want, doesn't mean they would actually like that person. Most parents operate under the "no man is good enough for my child" rule. I know alot of people who married within the US to the seemingly perfect person and still the parents did not approve. Also remember, that you have to spend the rest of your life with the man you marry. Your parents will only be there for a fraction of that time.

Good luck!

Last year we celebrated by being online together all day from the night before til I slept. Then again when I lwoke until off to the office and once again when I got home. Needless to say I didnt get much done that day!. The highlight of my day was when I received Orchids from the delivery guy.. my sweetie had sent me flowers! I was so outdone!. This year we are got out gifts early as we are celebrating the gift of a new life. We just learned we are expecting a new baby due in October!

Congratulations!!

As for Valentine's Day, we've never really done anything big. Yesterday though we were iced in so we got to spend the whole day together! He cooked dinner and even bought me a bonsai tree! How cute is that?!