CP7416

21 hours ago, Rocko20 said:

Agreed. It took mine 8.2 months just to get the NOA2, 10 months for visa in hand.

It seems like that’s the same amount of time K1 has taken for years (on average). 

Thsnks! 

2 hours ago, Mrsamoah2018 said:

No!!!! If u file k1 do not do an engagement party they will think it's a wedding and deny you...Ghana too??...o no no no 

Thanks Mrs Amoah 

I’m not going to do it 😅

It was ok back in the day, not that we did it for any reason other than to have an engagement with his family and friends. We did include pics somewhere along the way.  BUT it seems as things have changed over the years. 

Thanks for reaffirming that I better not do it. Well less money for us to spend, so that’s a good thing. 

27 minutes ago, O&GForever said:

Yes, he was approved in February 2017. I traveled to Ghana a few months after our K1 was denied, we got married and started all over with the CR1. He’s been here about a year and a half now. 

 

Ghana is a very difficult embassy to get through. They have been approving more visas there then I have seen in the years I’ve been dealing with immigration. But that doesn’t mean it will be any easier. Make sure to do your homework. Definitely front load your case with plenty of quality evidence. Some would say you don’t need much other than a genuine relationship, but what works at some embassies won’t work in Ghana. More trips, more chats and call logs, more different types of evidence are needed for Ghana. I know K1 and CR1 visas are different, but check out the review I wrote about our interview. I listed everything we submitted and will give you an idea of what it takes to be successful there. 

 

 

 

I’m glad you were finally successful and hope you and your husband and doing well and that he likes it here. I went through k1 process with my ex husband 11-12 years ago (same embassy), back then it wasn’t too difficult. I’m sure it’ll be different this time.  I’ll check out your review. Thanks for your advice and answering my questions. 

4 minutes ago, O&GForever said:

Speaking from experience, do not do a traditional engagement party. It will not help your K1 case, in fact it will do the opposite. There are many on this site who have been denied for that very reason...my now husband and I included. The Ghana embassy doesn’t care that it’s traditional for the country or that some people don’t view it as a wedding, they will deny you if they get any hint of a ceremony. Learn from others mistakes and don’t do it. 

Thanks so much for your advice.  I definitely won’t do it now that so many of you are telling me not to.  I’m sorry that happened to you.  Was your husband able to get a spousal visa?  One reason I want to try k1 is if it’s denied, we can always try CR1.  

6 hours ago, Loren Y said:

Timelines change, but right now a K1 is taking 8-10 months ( Took me almost exactly 8 Months from I129f sent to Visa in Hand, and that was a simple no flags, no RFE's petition) I have seen CR1 taking 12-14 months, so maybe a 4-6 month difference. You have to decide what works best for you. And time together is time together, My fiancee and I had visits we sent in from 5 years before we even applied for the K1 and included it when front-loading the packet . If you still have passport stamps, and boarding passes, etc. include them with the petition even if they were over 2 years ago, it didn't cause any problems with my petition, and even at the interview the CO mentioned that we had proof of our relationship from 5 years ago, and that is something he doesn't see much, so I think it was a benefit to include it, but overall we had over 10 visits of 2-3 weeks each before we applied, and I had 1 visit while waiting for NOA2 that I had her take to the interview with her for additional evidence, but the CO didn't ask to see it, she mentioned it, but he was fine with what we had submitted.

I don’t know much about front loading the packet, this is another thing I’ll have to learn. I have passport stamps but boarding passes I didn’t keep, either that or they are too faded you can’t read much. We mainly chat via fb messenger. Do you recommend something better that we can show chat history? 

Good to know we can still include visits over 2 years ago. Thanks! 

29 minutes ago, Sugarlegetiti said:

Traditional engagement will not help your chances for a K1 visa. With K1 all you need is the intent to marry within 90days of arriving in the USA and  have met your fiance in person within two years.  You have two options you can file the K1 now or you go marry in May and file CR1. K1 is expensive and CR1 is cheaper 

Thanks I’ll check into this. A few months ago we were undecided about which route to take, marriage or fiancé. Seems like I better do some more research.  I always thought CR1 took a lot longer to process 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

25 minutes ago, adil-rafa said:

 

But do not marry on 1st visit / Ghana is like Morocco / u must see each other on multiple visits to be successful 

good luck /stay for the long run and you can be happy

Thanks! 

5 minutes ago, Sugarlegetiti said:

It will be her third visit in May so it will be fine to marry if she chooses to. I married my husband on the second visit and we have no problem.  Your are right the next vist she should stay longer. I stayed  30days each on both visits 

Right my next visit be my 3rd time to see him.  At my place of employment you can take a total of 3 weeks off at a time.  maybe I can stretch it to 4 weeks, but our policy is max 3 weeks off in a row. Though with doing 3   12 hour shifts a week, maybe I can arrange it to total 4 weeks.  If I get to go in November I can only go for 2 weeks because that’s all the time off I’ve accumulated so far 😆

1 minute ago, adil-rafa said:

u dont have to spend a lot of time ,  just google the question

many posts will show up on web from VJ posters showing their denial for showing engagement photos taken wrongly for wedding photos

oh ok  thanks  

12 minutes ago, kris&me said:

Ghana will look at this as a marriage

has been discussed many times here by Ghanians who are denieat  K1 at interview 

go to the Ghana portal and read thru the posts and embassy reviews

Thanks 😊

 I'll check them out.  I stay very busy with work, school, and mom duties, not sure I can devote much time to reading them, but I'll see what I can find.   

21 minutes ago, BJ & Christine said:

There is no need for engagement. All u need to prove is relationship is genuine and u both have the intent to marry within 90 days on entering USA on k1 visa.

Ok thank you!  

3 minutes ago, JFH said:

A "traditional engagement" can create more problems than it's worth in countries like Ghana. Many people have been denied a K-1 following a traditional engagement as the lines between "not married" and "married" become very blurred. Since "engaged" is not a legal status in the USA and is not required to get married (we never "got engaged", we just gradually realized as the relationship progressed that we wanted to be together for ever so we decided to get married), you do not need ring receipts, photos of either of you on one knee, party invitations, Facebook status updates, announcements or anything of that nature to be approved for a K-1 visa. Contrary to popular belief, it's perfectly possible to receive a K-1 visa with no ring, no proposal, etc. All that is required is that you are both intending to marry each other within 90 days of the intending immigrant's arrival in the USA. 

 

For Ghana your biggest hurdle is going to be time spent together. How many times have you seen each other? You need a LOT of strong evidence for Ghana. Avoid anything that looks like a ceremony. It will harm your case. Focus on evidence of time spent together. Visit as often as you can afford. 

I was there for 3 weeks in 2016 and 2 weeks in 2017.  Hopefully I am able to take off work before the end of this year (planning for 2 weeks), but not totally sure yet because I am a fairly new employee there... we will see.  I don't think our time together in 2016 can count for visa purposes because it has been over 2 years, I saw the application said must have visited once within a 2 year time period.  Thanks for your advice!

My fiance and I are planning to apply for K-1 visa now that my divorce is final.  Is it better to have a traditional engagement in my fiance's country?  Does traditional engagement help boost our chances of him obtaining a visa?  Or is it sufficient enough that we have a mutual agreement to get married?  We weren't necessarily planning to do a traditional engagement because I am not sure if I will be able to visit before this year is over and if that is the case  I won't be there until May at the earliest (next year).  We could not get engaged last year when I visited as my divorce was not final.  My first husband and I did have a traditional engagement 12 years ago.  It's been too long ago that if forget certain things about this process and with that, as time passes, things change.  Your help and/or advice is appreciated. 

Thanks!

22 minutes ago, old-fella said:

yes, it's fine for him to apply for a visitor visa to come to visit you.  Question is will he one? 

 

1. I assume your boyfriend is from Ghana (from the details of your profile). Ghana has a high rate of Visa denial

2. Are you guys in the system for a k1 visa? If so then his chances of securing a visitor visa are not so easy. 

 

Good luck

Yes, he is from Ghana.  I’m aware of the denial statistics, but he still wants to try for B2. He has traveled to other countries with work, not to the US though.  

We have not filed K1.  Thanks for your help. 

My boyfriend would like to come visit me in the US since I am not able to visit him this year due to starting a new job.  Is it ok to say during interview that the purpose is to visit his girlfriend?  He doesn't wish to stay in the US, he has a good job back home.  Thanks for your help! 

31 minutes ago, Nitas_man said:

What usually happens is that the widow (and her new hot young oily beefcake) enjoy a life of work free luxury and travel on our hard earned gains

 

 

hahaha!!! 

13 hours ago, MrsBonsu said:

 

 

 

Hi, whatever visa you apply for from anywhere or many many years ago it will be seen, they never go off file, so no matter who you are or when you applied those visa application are always in the system, that's why no one can lie to the consulars about a past application! Good luck!

Ah ok thanks again! 

On May 5, 2017 at 0:41 AM, Damara said:

 

Thanks Damara! I like what you have said. 

On May 6, 2017 at 8:55 AM, MrsBonsu said:

Hi, I know you want your boyfriend here the quickest way possible, but your dealing with the toughest embassy, applying for a student visa and possibly getting denied will be even more problematic, because then you will either wanna k1 or cr1 then, the reason I say this is because when ever a person applies for a visa it stays in there system FOREVER!, so research your options very carefully for your next step, you don't want them looking at two failed visa's for him when you try again for the cr1 or k1, they will also question your first marriage, but it will be him that they question not you because you won't be in the embassy, and the school route is he prepared to see it through? Coming here and them marrying and then leaving school won't look good, because he still will have to prove his intent to immigration here, which he can still be denied or told he has to go back home and wait the process out from Ghana, so my suggestion is to research and choose wisely, go to travelstate.gov and see how many student visa's are issued each year for Ghana, and look through Ghana's portal here for outcomes from past post about student visas, as with anyone going through the embassy through Ghana I wish you good luck! 

Thanks so much Mrs. Bonsu.  I appreciate your advice 

Do you know if it also stays on file how many times someone has applied for the lottery?  I was going to have him try again this October.  

On 5/4/2017 at 10:43 AM, Jojo92122 said:

You can do a K-1 fiancee visa.

 

Alternatively, you can marry and file for a CR-1 spousal visa.

 

A student visa will not work because it's a non-immigrant visa that requires the beneficiary to have funds to pay international tuition and a home that the student will return to once the course of study is finished.

 

A tourist visa is next to impossible for a single man from Ghana.  Even if he could get one, it's a non-immigrant visa limiting him to 6 months of visiting the US where he can't work, can't go to school, etc.

Thanks Jojo 

Sounds like k1 or CR1 are going to be my option. Hope either one will work since I've done K1 before. Not sure how that will look for me in USCIS' eyes. I know tourist visas are almost impossible to obtain 😕. Don't think my bf would like sitting around the house for 6 months not working.  I didn't realize some foreign students pay $10k to go to school here (from another poster) really don't think that's going to be an option. 

On 5/6/2017 at 9:25 AM, Boiler said:

Have you thought of moving, seems simplest.

Yes, I have thought about moving.  My bf and I have talked about it. I'd take a big pay cut if I moved and I've a young child in school. Not sure if his dad would want him to move away and I wouldn't want to leave him. Those are only a couple reasons holding me back from moving. 

Thanks and I hope your visa process is moving along nicely! 

On 5/5/2017 at 0:26 AM, Allie D said:

I'm no expert but if he comes here on a student (non-immigrant) visa to be with her, isn't that immigration fraud? When the couple files an adjustment of status, they'll have to document their relationship, such as how they met, how they stayed together, etc.

 

By telling the truth, that he came to the USA on a F1 non-immigrant visa to be with her (a citizen), then he violated his stated intent (to study). So that's a red flag for the AOS process.

 

Alternatively, they could say, oh - we used to know each other a long time ago, then he came to the USA to study and we "miraculously" found each other again. That's falsification of evidence and immigration fraud.

 

Perhaps the best thing to do is visit your boyfriend in Ghana time to time, document the relationship, and apply for a K-1 visa once your divorce is finalized. If you really love each other, which I don't doubt, you'll be able to make your relationship work in spite of the inconveniences.

Thanks so much Allie! I wasn't sure if filing for K1 visa twice (once with my husband) and let's say I do for my bf, if that would raise a flag.  Do you know of anyone who has done it for 2 people and been successful?   We are willing to go that route in the future if it is possible.  I've visited my bf twice so far. By the time we get ready to file I will have visited again. 

Hi everyone, 

I used this site to bring my fiancé/ now husband to the US with a K1 visa back in 2006/2007.  The site and people were amazing; I met some great people, some who I still keep in contact with today.  I was able to complete the entire process only using VJ.  Well... my husband left me a year and a half ago; we are in the process of getting a divorce.  I am ok with letting him go and I was the one to file for a divorce, as he is living with his girlfriend and seems very happy.  I don't want to discourage anyone; there are people with good intentions.  Nonetheless, the above-mentioned is not my reason for coming back here.  I would like to ask a question, but thought I'd give a little background first.

Before I met my husband, I had an online boyfriend in 2005 that is from his same country (Ghana).  I decided to marry my husband because I thought my boyfriend at the time was not serious, and a little too young for me (5 years difference).  I wanted to marry and he was not on my level.  Him and I have remained friends over the years, at one point I regretted marrying my husband and wished I stayed with the bf.  Since my husband and I separated, the ex and I have rekindled our relationship, though he is still living in Ghana.  Having a long distance relationship can be very tough, as everyone on here knows.  We would love more than anything to be together.  I encouraged him to file for DV lottery; however, he was not selected.  We are wondering if there are any other routes possible to have him come here. I am aware of other possible ways, but unsure which would be the best.  I know visitor is almost impossible, student, maybe?  I don't meet many Ghanaian's who come to the US with student visas though.  We have talked about marriage some time after my divorce is final, but I am not sure if that is frowned upon by the USCIS, being as I have already done that.  I don't mind to move there, but he doesn't want me to because he says my pay will be severely reduced, which I am sure it would be.  Any advice is welcome or questions too, if you want to ask.  

Thanks