Dimeji & Shannon

I went to his country and got married. Our next step will be to file for the CR1/R1 visa, which is the spousal visa. An attorney told me that will show more proof that we are true to our relationship. If that gets denied, then I plan on moving there.

California received my application in June and my adjudication date is approximately Dec 8.  I have become friends with a few US citizens that have went through the process with their partners that lived in Nigeria and all of their processes took between 6-8 months to finish.  If yours gets to the 8 month mark, you are kind of pushing it with the April date.  I wish you luck with yours, but can only speak on other people's processes, since mine is not complete.

On ‎10‎/‎24‎/‎2017 at 9:55 AM, dwheels76 said:

I have yet to know anyone who successfully got their Visa on arrival without a whole lot of wahala and money. It takes maybe 2 weeks or less do it online get it down the simplest surest way.

Man you sure telling the truth. Amen.

Just a note after the fact...doing the visa on arrival was a dream.  I went into the office and it took me 5 mins.  I should have paid online beforehand, but that was pretty quick too. 

I am traveling to Nigeria and have received 2 letters from the Comptroller General granting me permission to enter and get the visa on arrival.  Please see attached letters.  My question is...do I still have to apply online for a visa on arrival or actually get it when I get off of the plane?

visa on arrival document.pdf

2 hours ago, dwheels76 said:

I didn't send a airline itinerary. All you can do is wait they don't take long to process usually 2 weeks or less so if they need it they will let you know.
I didn't know New York did mailing. I thought they were only in person. I know DC and Atlanta are mailing. Well wait you must. Good luck.

Thank you so much for your response. 

I sent my paperwork to New York for a visa to Nigeria. I completely forgot to print a copy of my airline itinerary and include it in the packet. Any suggestions on what to do. Will it process without it or is there a way to add it?

10 minutes ago, David & Zoila said:

Great advice!  Just one more suggestion.  If you decide on a CR-1 and you will marry make sure you bring an ORIGINAL STAMPED/SEALED/CERTIFIED copy of the divorce decree along with several copies. It's amazing how many people want copies of these documents.  Good luck and God Bless,  david

Thank you. I wouldn't have thought to do that.

1 hour ago, RO_AH said:

My divorce will be final in about 2 weeks and I will have my decree. I will be getting married less than a month later. I don't see dates as an issue, legal capacity is what matters.

I would recommend waiting for your decree, then getting married in your future spouses country. A spouse visa has many advantages over a fiance visa. Look at both options and decide what is best for you then move forward. But as others have said, in order file either K-1, or to marry and get a CR-1 you will need your divorce decree first.

Thank you so much 

10 hours ago, Athens said:

you can read this old post I found on OvieDare timeline, do the same by adding a divorce decree timeline if it works for them. Be strong and prayerful.  

 

 

Thank you so much for sharing!

6 hours ago, Ebunoluwa said:

I agree it is a red flag to file for someone from a high fraud country soon after a divorce, even if you were separated for a while.
Get your divorce decree. Can't file without it.
Go visit again if you already visited once.
Gather lots of relationship evidence to front load the petition. Do a search on the reason why front loading is better.
As to what petition, a CR1 or K1, don't look for fast and easy, you won't experience fast and easy on this journey.
There will be gut wrenching times and melt downs and curve balls.
Look for a little more stable and less risky and with that I recommend a CR1.
Don't get married on your first visit, red flag.
Something else to consider a CR1 over a K1, if you are refused aK1 visa at the embassy stage (approval from USCIS is easy)
it will get returned and expire and you would have to file all over again with new fees.
If a CR1 gets refused and returned you will have another chance to give a rebuttal for a reaffirmation and if the rebuttal is
satisfactory he will get a second interview at the embassy. That is a long process but so is filing again.
As a K1 he has to file AOS (costs another $1225) after you would marry here he and can't work for about 4 months after AOS is filed.
As a CR1 he can work soon after entering and no AOS once here.
In a nut shell, get fast and easy out of your head and think slow and steady, stable and quality evidence.

 

Thank you so much for your advice. I appreciate it immensely!

3 hours ago, LabOz said:

I wasn't advising them to file now. I was telling them the consequences of doing so. The 2nd issue is that they don't have to wait months or year after divorce to file the petition as another poster had suggested.

Thank you for replying. I have had some positive feedback regarding not having to wait long after my divorce, especially since my soon to be ex and I were separated for so long. I appreciate your feedback.

5 minutes ago, OvieDare said:

I was separated for about a year before filing my divorce and in my state of CA is takes 6 months to finalize. So with the suggestion of another VJ member I included a timeline leading up to my divorce with my petition. I filed my petition the day after my divorce was final. My fiancée interview is this coming Tuesday 08/15 in Lagos, Nigeria so we will see very soon if it is an issue with a recent divorce. I'll post if it is. 

Omg..good luck to you. Please do let me know what happens.

My fiancé is in Nigeria...I have heard that visas are more difficult to obtain for there. I wanted to hear which visa would be easier and/or faster to get approved. 

6 minutes ago, Coco8 said:

Use the search engine and use key words like Nigeria fiance, or Nigeria spouse.

 

There is also a sub-forum for Sub-Saharan Africa:

 

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/89-africa-sub-saharan/

 

You can post a thread there asking people for advice on whether to marry or do a fiance visa. 

 

You should also start planning the evidence you are going to submit about your relationship. You will need a lot.

 

People on the site are very helpful so take advantage of that. And read about other experiences to learn from what they did right but also from there mistakes.

Thank you so much

4 minutes ago, Athens said:

Do not rush to file for k1 immediately divorce is finalised.  Wait for some months or even a year before filing.  

Why is that necessary?

4 minutes ago, Coco8 said:

You cannot. 

 

Take into account that Nigeria is a very hard consulate. Search for information on VJ. It might be better to marry (once the divorce is final) and submit a spousal visa. 

I'm actually new to using this site. Where do I search for that information?

Thank you for that information 

I waited a long time to file my divorce, but finally got it filed after obtaining my third paralegal. It's not going to be final until January 5, but want to start the K-1 process before that. Can i apply and/or my fiancé get accepted before my divorce is final? Dimeji and I have been in a relationship for over a year and want to start a new chapter in our relationship. I know that I should have filed for my divorce way before now, but I definitely was not having any luck in the paralegal dept

7 hours ago, observatorka said:

A tourist visa is for tourism, that's it.
Anybody can apply for a tourist visa, even an unemployed person. 

He's been told several times that he has to show proof of employment and ties to return to the country for a tourist visa by the embassy. Were you able to have a tourist visa granted and be unemployed?

4 minutes ago, MacUK said:

Needs more information.

Are you talking about engaging in self employed work while in the US? Or getting a tourist visa if you're self employed in your own country?

I'm talking about self employment in the country of origin. I had already read that you cannot work while here on a tourist visa. I'm sorry for not being clear in my question 

2 minutes ago, Dilorena said:

 

A lot of people are self employed/ freelance.

The thing is, you still have to prove that you pay your taxes, that you have a steady income, etc. I've done so before and it wasn't an issue. 

I don't know why Geowrian said no, it's case to case and it might be a little harder to prove, but if that was the case, anyone that didn't work for a company wouldn't be able to get a VISA and that's silly.

sure, it depends on the type of self employment and that the rest of the ties to your country are strong: owning a house/property, cars, family living in your country, etc. 

 

Thank you for that information 

6 minutes ago, evapaula said:

DS160 does indeed have "fiance" in the drop down for immediate relatives. I filled out 3 myself, and I recently helped my parents apply for their visas and remember it well. 

I actually answered my own question. 

1 minute ago, evapaula said:

DS160 does indeed have "fiance" in the drop down for immediate relatives. I filled out 3 myself, and I recently helped my parents apply for their visas and remember it well. 

Thank you very much! I'm so new to the process...is the DS160 for all non-immigrant visas?

For someone applying for a tourist visa can the employment be self-employment?

I guess I should have not worded the original message that we cannot get the K-1, but that we would not be eligible for that particular visa.  We hadn't applied for it.  Also, with the education visa and me being a fiancée, would it make a difference that I am buying a house in Nigeria?  Especially as far as him showing that he plans to return there.

He does want to go to school, so thought that we could get him here a little sooner.