ijeme

I am going to get them to fax my transcripts. Thanks again... I really appreciate the quick reply!

thanks

I have to send in another 864 for another pettition and am short on w2 copies. Is it acceptable if i send a copy created by lining up my 3 yrs of w2's on a single sheet of paper?

If I do not send a letter of employment and pay stubs with my i864 will I get an RFE?

I am asked to send tax form and w2 on the NVC petitioner packet

How wonderful, best wishes in your reunion!

when can the embassy see an approved case?

Our case is approved and case completed. at an inquiry at the embassy we were told the case was not showing in the system. we know the file is not there physically but shouldnt they atleast see our case number?

I130 Case approved last winter - NVC completed case this summer. When will overseas embassy be able to see it in the system after reciept of physical file? Help!

I want to go through my interview process in lagos. Basically im an asian, working here.

If someone has done it. Please tell me the procedure and share your experience. It will help a lot.

Thanks in advance

GGT

Lagos has a long wait time and could be considered as overly cautious, ####### and even inhumane for this. When I last inquired I was told they had 2000+ pending cases at NVC. And I130/IR1/CR1 filers are still waiting interview dates from cases completed in 2005. They admit they our backlogged and only k visas seem to process faster (being they jump queue of I130 filers!)

If you want to get an opinion from someone with experience with the immigrtion process in multiple countries ask several attorney's for their oppinion on which country has the best practices given your options. Atleast you have options!

Best of luck.

i have never had a problem with getting my visa within 7 days. you should get your visa back within 7-10 business days. If I were you I would pay to send it next day fed ex and return next day and use the expedited fee for a multiple entry visa!

As for being money hungry, In the US there is some sense of law and order with it or should I say checks and balances. In Nigeria the money hunger appears more akin to corruption. From all forms of government (just look at the contracts for roads or the lapse in payments to government workers) to the phone company to the street vendor. Here in the US if you are cheated, you can complain and get resolution. If you find your purchase faulty you can usually return it or get some level of satisfaction. Where is the complaint department in Nigeria? Who will you complain to?

If you purchase something and try to return it in Lagos be ready for a fight because they will dismiss you as a stranger. Refunds or returns are just too rare without a dramatic crowd gathering scene. It is known that once you hand over the money it will not be return to you. So get the best price and be sure it is what you want.

Another interesting difference between what is apart of the 'Nigerian' lifestyle is bribes. In Lagos you can start spending money from the time you open your gate till you return on everything but what you want to buy. If you want to park, if you want a safe park, if you want to gain entry, if you are stopped by a cop and want to go free and not wait on the side of the road forever being processed, if you want anything that is given for free here in the US (its expected even) you are expected to pay a bribe in Lagos.

Oh and the Embassy is not without this Nigerian Factor, if you want to get in line for inquiry pay a bribe and you will get a signal to come up before he calls everyone else when it should be first come first serve.

Bribes bribes bribes I don’t know how the average person can survive there. We were told to bring crates of food and drinks as an offering for the registrar when trying to get my marriage license. Can you imagine? after paying $5000N to government workers for the license they wanted cases of indome noodles and apple drinks too! I could go on and on.... but the latest pet peeve of my SO is bribes for getting gasoline/petrol.

I gots ta share this, you can not pump your own gas in Lagos, they have attendants at the stations... Do you know these attendants can demand a bribe before pumping the gas for you! especially if you are buying gas in a can for use in a generator and you must have correct change because they don’t give change. The common phrase now is I don’t have change smaller than 100N or 50N. This practice is supported by the station owners and everyone, if you protest those waiting to buy behind you will fuss you and tell you to pay and move on claiming this is how we do it here.

Have you gone in for customer service anywhere in lagos? The workers have little compassion for customer service. Have you ever received service with a smile from anyone behind a desk in Nigeria (excluding major hotel staff)? Been to the airport, a restaurant, try to ride a taxi or bus..... where are the smiles and the how may I help you? Pass them some money and oh there are the smiles and service!

just trying to keep it real

I think you make good points here...moving to the US isn't just about establishing a new family or a more comfortable way of life. But the irony to your statement is that with all the problems of the US and its culture our SOs will need to assimilate in some ways. America will be their home. the environment that seems so foreign will be come normal to them. That's the irony.

But on the postive side, being in an intercultural relationship has helped me embrace being an American more than I did in the past. I like our freedom. i like the equality women have here. I like the way the fact that we, as Americans, are so open and relaxed. We have a ton of problems but....America isn't the wort place on earth to live and assimilate into.

I know I will offend some with this post but the truth hurts sometimes and I am about to vent so here goes….

Where is the elderly in your American family? I bet the answer will be still in her home more so than in an elderly facility.

Not everyone who places family members in a facility is more concerned about money than family. Some family are not mentally or financially able to care for anyone. Some people should not be taking care of others because they may be unfit to do so because they need constant medical care.

Nothing good goes without abuse but I am thankful for the existence of facilities for those people who need it. Free health care for the elderly and disabled, pregnant woman and children too. I think this helps our society and families in a lot of ways especially those families that can not afford to care of relatives. It keeps them off the street and keeps them from begging. It keeps them healthier; it keeps kids from having to be forced into child labor.

Have you seen the amount of begging in the streets in Lagos? In any public place there are beggars, some are lame, old, mothers with babies on hips and even kids who should be in kindergarten begging through car windows, these beggars just weaving in and out of crowds and traffic being ignored and shunned and hardly helped by their fellow bother. Do they have family? Would they benefit from a facility that provides food and shelter?

I have seen men and boys without legs riding on what looks like makeshift skateboards through markets and in traffic begging from people with said stories and crying on car doors but are simply being ignored. Where is the community or social groups for them? I am compelled to give because it is nothing I have ever seen before but for the average Nigerian these people are dismissed everyday. You have to see the polluted traffic that these are begging in to get the true picture here but I wish these people had an opportunity to have a place to go and be cared for since obviously their family cant do it.

Leaving Nigeria may not be much of a sacrifice in the economical sense, but it is a BIG sacrifice in so many other ways. Granted things are more comfortable because of electricity, education, and opportunities but it is so hard to move to a place were things are so foreign, you lose a sense of comfort/belonging that you may never get back. Some of your values, cultures, and other things which are so essentially important to you have to be modified or lost for you to fit in or adapt. America is a great place to be but can be difficult as well.

Please keep in mind i am speaking from personal experience. I have travelled to Lagos Nigeria 5 times in 16 months by choice or should i say force in trying to wait out this visa process. The culture is prevalent in watching the elders or during special events like marriage or child birth or in greetings but the youth in the now generation has already accepted what may be called foreign. I saw a whole lot of folks walking and taking on cell phones, or listening to ipods with headphones. I wore more african attire than those around me. I saw more jeans, yes jeans in this hot climate than wraps and aftans. More perms and weave than natural braids or afros. Don't get me wrong the culture is not lost but already heavily influenced by the US and UK. And this happens whether or not they have traveled.

I know that there are plenty of things that I do that my SO does not understand, so it goes both ways.

...

Look at all that our SOs have sacrificed to be with us. What I have listed is so small. We have talked about all of these things and more, and he tells me he will adjust. To me he is a brave man to leave all that he knows, to come to a different country, all for a woman that he loves. I feel honored. I know it will not be easy for him. I will support him and have patience while he is adjusting to life in America. It is the least I can do, after the sacrifice he has made for me.

In my experience, leaving Nigeria is not much of a sacrifice it is a welcomed opportuninty that many pray for their children. Even if it is to come here an drive a cab. Those selling on the streets would jump on it. For too many there is no comfort back home. only struggle and sacrifice.

How much of a sacrifice is it leave a place like lagos and have constant electricity, clean typhoid free water, a bus system that gives you your own seat and provides air conditioning, cops that protect you and come when you call, cars that are pulled off the road for polluting, any type of food imaginable to select from in an air conditioned store where you pay the price you see not the one you bargain for.....

Let's keep it real. I know i could not adjust to the life in Lagos so I don't think that it is so much of a sacrifice to leave it, to me it is more of a win win for the couple. The TRUE sacrifice or test for love would be for a US citizen born and raised to live in Africa because their SO could not secure a visa for entry into the US.

I think adjusting to not having house help is minor to dealing with finding a job here in the US. How many Africans do you see working in a bank here in the US? ok how about this one, do you know of any african colleges whose degrees are recognized here in the US? all these factors play into the adjustment of our African spouse.

also we never call each other by name only pet names. Havent you noticed how most people have some generic title instead of unique name as we do here in the us. I am even called "my wife" by many. I am also called Auntie.

And as far as the "magic" word. He says please and thank you but an odd difference is his trouble hearing me say Thank you to him for anything. He feels what he does for me should not bring thanks from me it is apart of his role as husband and/or head of household. He has told me it makes him feel distant. It slips alot because I am accoustumed to thanking anyone for anything. But he has to understand it is a force of habit as i have to understand the phone thing. It will take time to change.

I am enjoying this post and the provoking thoughts....keep it going.

MAGIC word? Yeah your husband sounded a little bit rude...

Clarification... that shopping scenario is not of me and my husband. My husband's English is better than mine and is one of his many attractions. However, the loud phone voice..... that he does.

Just enjoying this post and provoking thoughts.

Have you noticed some Africans by culture tend to sound more brass or direct than Americans. In tone (or should I say LOUDNESS) and in choice of vocabulary. I have often heard the one word command "Take" used in Lagos. Here we say, help me with this, hold this, grab or take this

Picture this, a woman observes a husband in a check out line passing groceries to his wife, she notices the wife is temporary distracted by the cashier when she hears the Nigerian husband bellowing "Take" from the opposite end of the counter as he passes the plantain. Without a word the wife takes the plantain and meets the peering eyes of the woman. What do you think the woman thoughts are?

Do you think the husband was rude? Should the wife have stood with one hand on her hip and educated her man right then and there about the “MAGIC” word before taking the plantain?

Thanks that answers it all for me!

Are there any issues if your cr1 visa interview is scheduled after your 2nd yr anniversary ... due to long processing.

No issues. You will obtain an IR-1 and gain immigrant status on entry without conditions, if you have been married 2 years or more.

So this is automatic and there is nothing that I have to do to switch the case type from Cr1 to Ir1?

Briefly...

IR-1 is for couples married 2 years or longer.

CR-1 are for those married less than 2 years (you'd fall under this category). It's conditional so you'll have to apply to lift conditions 90 days before the 2nd year anniversary of your entry into the US.

I-130 is the first thing the USC sends in. It's his/her petition to sponsor the spouse.

Are there any issues if your cr1 visa interview is scheduled after your 2nd yr anniversary ... due to long processing.

I agree, encouraging social interation, by introducing him to new friends or planning more family gatherings where he can talk with more people can help in his adjustment.

My experience is different from yours, of course, but it helped me to adjust to my husbands 'differences' by visiting his home. A few weeks in his world has helped me to understand (and even appreciate) his reactions and behaviors that otherwise would have been misconstrued.

With each trip to his home more appreciation and understanding was gained by both of us.

I admire your courage and willingness to seek advice. Remember, no one is perfect nor free from frustrations but a willingness to change for the better is the best way to show love during rough moments in a relationship.

That is my 2 cents on him.... As for you, find some time alone to refresh your energy. Don't forget to care for the woman he fell in love with .... you!

Are K4's only applied for when you are filing an I129 for spouse or fiancee? Kids have an approved I130 processing at NVC can they qualify for a K4 alone? The current wait for cr2 interview assignment is 10 months after case complete.

That only applies to k visa folks. with the CR-1/IR-1 NVC sends you the packet for your interview.

Thanks again for your assistance.

I was provided an informative link that I would like to share. It explains the CR1 process packets and differences in posts.

http://www.carpenterandcapt.com/MarriageVisa.html

There is a link for K visa processing too.

now back to waiting

After case is sent to lagos i keep reading one can pick up packets 3 and 4. What is in these?

my husband was able to get through to a person at the NVC from africa. go figure.

The answer is .... NVC charges $70 for US citizens spouse and children (immediate family). When i paid for my husband's it was never noted in the system that it should apply to kids too since the kids I130's were filed 6 months later. So I pay nothing for the kids AOS bills and do not have to send in anything. The agent noted the kids accounts and told us to check back in a week to confirm continued processing.

Glad I asked! I just saved $140 bucks in fees!

Thanks everyone for your input.

IJEME,

Since you filed each different I-130 for your kids and husband, You just only need to pay 1 $70 dolloars for your husband, Just make sure you return the NVC fee bill with your kids and husband with the $70 dollars money order. Staple them all together.

JunCel

My husbands case has a different timeline. The fee for him has already been sent. The kids are being processed togther, different i130s.

So does that mean i should send in the kids bills without money - maybe reference my husband's paid fee by case number or $70 for both kids?