Wallhut

I wish you two all the luck in the world. I’d also like to amend my former comment to add that, while Ghana is not a gay-affirming culture, there are plenty of non-gay-affirming folks in America too, and while I may bemoan the lack of gay friendliness there, Ghanaians are the warmest, most lovely, charming and wonderful people I’ve ever encountered, which is why I married one.

4 hours ago, Lucky Cat said:

We filed my wife's I-751 in March of 2019.  The status has been "case is ready to be scheduled for an interview" since May of 2019......that's right......almost 2 years.

To be fair, I think most are faster......especially, if there was a K-1 interview done before.

Does USCIS schedule the interview or are you supposed to go online and schedule it yourself? I seem to recall that during the K-1 process I had to go online and schedule my spouse's embassy interview.

I know you can file for Removal of Conditions beginning 90 days before the card expires to go from the 2-year to the 10-year green card. Do you not get the 10-year card before the existing one expires? How long does it generally take to receive the 10-year card?

On 1/3/2021 at 6:16 PM, fromthewater said:

Remember, if you chose to stay together and file jointly, you have to stay together until the I-751 Removal of Condition is approved. Currently, it takes 18~24 months for RoC to be adjudicated depending on your service center/local office. So are you able to stay together until 2 years after the 2-year GC expires?

 

Wait, what? You file the I-751 90 days prior to the conditional green card expiring. You don't get the  10-year green card before the temporary one expires?

Thank you very much for your responses. I found an immigration attorney's video on YouTube that in serving literally hundreds of thousands of cases he has never heard of the government suing the sponsor. I do see my husband could sue me in federal court for support but I know he would return home before doing that.

Hi. My husband's conditional visa expires at the end of this year. I want to get a divorce. He is asking to stay and get his 10-year green card and then we split up. But even if we get divorced I am still responsible for him until he reaches 10 years in the U.S. because of the Affidavit of Support, is that right? It's only if he goes on some public assistance, but I would not want that hanging over my head like that. Does anyone have any knowledge about if a K-1 sponsor has ever had it come back on them to repay the government under this provision?

Has anyone ever had a loved one come from Ghana (or elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa) to America and experience chronic sinus symptoms? I had my husband tested for allergies and he was seen for possible asthma but we can't seem to find any satisfactory answer as to why he constantly suffers upper respiratory symptoms (sneezing, itchy eyes, congestion). We live in middle Tennessee which is terrible for many allergens and it sure looks like allergies, but again, he was tested and nothing much came up. He seem to be very averse to cold weather, and the smallest exposure sets him off also. Does he just need time to adjust to the American climate? Any ways to help are appreciated. He is on daily Flonase and takes Claritin D as needed.

Has anyone been able to speak with a live person at USCIS? I tried calling today and it said they were putting me through to a representative, I heard about 1 second of hold music, then silence, then the call was ended.

Please, I need some help. My husband received his Green Card in October, 2019. We have been working on building a house in Ghana and after he got his card he returned there to work on the house in November. It will be six months since he left in a short while and he is afraid to return from Ghana now. He does not have a job there, only to work on the house. He has always planned to return here, but we did not file any special paperwork before he left. I am his only family in America. Our house is in my name and he does not have a job here. All he has here is his own checking account and a credit card account. Should we be sure he returns before the six month deadline? How critical is that?

Thank you for your kind words, and I wish you all the best. Let me add that you best be prepared for all you will be facing when brining someone from everything they've ever known to a totally new environment with you. They will be bored, they will miss home, they may have medical ailments like my husband. You will need all the patience and strength you have to get through the challenging start to things. Just take care of yourself and be patient and loving and you will make it.

Wow, first of all please let me say how sorry I am that you suffer so with your respiratory ailment. I believe my husband had a cold-air allergy as well. While I understand there is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, I do now see his issues are not unusual. Thanks so much for your response.

Thank you very much. He just recently had his flu vaccine for this year. I will surely get some Elderberry and Vitamin C. I am hoping his sinuses will adjust sometime soon. I'm tired of sweating in my sleep because we have to keep the room so warm. LOL It's fine if it keeps him from having sneezing fits. It breaks my heart to see him suffer the way he does.

Greetings!

My Ghanaian husband first arrived in the U.S. in June, 2018. He returned to Ghana in February of this year, then came back to America in July. We live in Tennessee, which is known for many different kind of allergy-causing plants. He has been allergy tested, and amazingly no real serious allergic reactions were found. His whole time here is marked by endless sneezing and stuffiness. We try allergy medicine, prescription allergy medicine, I put a very nice HEPA filter in our bedroom; everything I can think of, but nothing seems to stop it. He seems to be most reactive to cold. This makes some sense as it is never cold in Ghana. Has anyone else had an experience of a spouse coming from Subsaharan Africa to the U.S. and having unending sinus issues? Did you find any resolution?

Thank you!

Hello,

I'm hoping some others may have experience which will help me. My fiance arrived in the U.S. in late June. His 90-day period will be over on 09/23 but we are already married. We have already filed the AOS paperwork and he recently had his biometrics appointment. We obtained a Tennessee State ID for him, but they put an expiration date of 09/23 since that's when the 90-day period expires. We want to get his State ID updated but I don't know what documentation I need to show the state. If anyone can help me here I'll greatly appreciate it.

Wallace

My fiance from Ghana recently arrived in the U.S. and we were married. You can't get any less gay-friendly than Ghana. As others have said, the people your fiance will deal with are U.S. citizens. We did not have any problem and the man who interviewed my fiance at the Accra consulate was very nice and respectful. Good luck! 

Abena,

I hope you are doing well in life. I pray your visa journey will soon be finished as ours is now.

My fiance picked up his visa five weeks after the interview, but not because that was when he was notified it was ready. Like so many others there was no notice the visa was at DHL, neither from the embassy nor DHL. They said it would be two weeks, and on the third week he went to DHL but they said it was not there, so we decided we should wait until we were notified it was ready, but that never occurred. Finally another member on this website said her fiance tried and tried to contact the embassy but never got through, and also called DHL but they said it was not there. He finally went to DHL in person and his visa was there waiting. Another friend of mine I met on here whose husband is already here said her fiance was never notified his visa was ready for pick up either and that he just went to DHL and it was there. So my finace decided to try again last week and this time when he went the visa was there. So once you are approved do not expect to be told the visa is ready. Wait three weeks and if you have not heard anything then physically go the DHL office to check. Sadly, that is the only way to know for sure.

My fiance just left today to visit his mother in Togo before coming to America. He will return to Accra in a few days, pack and them come here. I am very excited.

Please take care.

Wallace

Oh, Juva.

CONGRATULATIONS! I am SO HAPPY for you! Wow, he had a tough interview! I am 26 years older than my fiance, but when it is an older woman and younger man they are very careful from what I've read. That was QUITE an ordeal for him! He must have done well to go through all that and still be approved! This is fantastic news!

Wallace

On 5/8/2018 at 4:36 AM, success said:

Please what is priority date for the k1 visa and what visa category did you select when scheduling for the interview . How do you location the d160 confirmation number 

My understanding is the Priority Date is the date when the USCIS first received your application. When creating your account on ustraveldocs.com to set up your interview you should select Immigrant. You will receive an email with the confirmation number after completing DS-160 online at the ceac.state.gov website. You must complete the DS-160 (which is the true application for visa, rather than the I-294) before scheduling your appointment.

I hope this helps, and good luck!

Wallace

KingDev,

Wow! That is amazing! All I can think is that even though you never received the Package 3 it was ready when your fiance went for the interview. That is likely why they were not turned away. In any event, it doesn't matter, they were approved! That's all that matters, right? But I agree, I would not schedule the interview until you are certain the Package 3 is ready. But now I think it is no longer an issue as it appears the reason there are no more interview openings online is that the embassy will be scheduling them at the time of providing the Package 3.

Congratulations again on your success!

Wallace

That is very interesting. I can only imagine the change is due to the two of us who scheduled our interview before getting the Package 3 and were turned away when appearing for the interview before it was sent. I'm guessing they want to prevent that from happening again and so will schedule people themselves when they send the Package 3. That explains why there are no appointments available on the ustraveldocs website.

Please do not dispair. I'm sure your case will not "fall through the cracks." You have come so far, you must remain positive. I know you don't really mean "harrass" the embassy, but again, while neither I nor my fiance have ever contacted the embassy, I highly recommend if you do so to be patient and courteous with the people there. They have the ability to make the most critical decision in your life, so I would always keep that in the front of my mind. Also, I am sure they do the very best they can with the resources they have available. I'd be willing to guess it's just as frustrating for them at times trying to carry out their duties as it is for us waiting to have our fiance approved.

However, to Abena Kofi, my heartfelt congratulations to you and your fiance. My fiance has his interview this week, and we are praying for the same outcome. I am so happy for you two.

Wallace

Hello,

Yes, we were able to schedule a new interview. I didn't hear back from the traveldocs website about re-using our existing GT Bank fee (since he was turned away at the first interview) until after we paid a new fee, and then when they did reply their response was just basically, "Hey, we see you scheduled a new interview," so there was no real resolution of whether or not they would have allowed us to reschedule using the same fee. Since another person posted they were told a new fee was required (they didn't specify who told them this, but I assume it was the U.S. Embassy) I just figured we might as well do the same thing so we could reschedule as quickly as possible. The only date available when I did schedule was in early May, and I scheduled it a couple of weeks ago, so I have no idea what the nearest date is to schedule one now.

I wish you guys the very best of luck too. I hope you get the Package 3 email very soon. Keep an eye on the petitioner's email account as that's where it is sent.

After the long wait we will have our answer soon, but I am sure they will clearly see the real and life-long love we have for each other and approve him coming to me. That will be the happiest day in my life.

Wallace 

Hi Success! I love your screen name. That shows positivity and I love it.

Keep in mind the "Packet 3" is simply an email that is sent to the petitioner. Our package went from the NVC to the embassy in late February and we just received our Package 3 email in late March, so for us it was about one month. I would not expect there to be a consistent time frame, though, because these things are uncertain and change regularly. There are many factors that go into the time frame for things to happen.

I would not take either action (Complete DS-160 or pay GT Bank fee) until you can see on the CEAC website that your case is in READY status. Once that is true I think you are safe to do those two things, but DO NOT schedule your interview until your petitioner receives the Package 3 email. I would even say at this time it is OK for the fiance to complete the medical exam and obtain the police report (if not already done) once the CEAC shows the case in READY status.

I sent an email request from with the traveldocs website two days ago asking if we can use the original bank fee since my fiance was turned away at his interview. That's the website where you actually schedule the interview. The website says they will answer within 1-2 business days, but it's nearing the end of the second day and I have not heard back, so today I sent my fiance enough money to pay a new GT Bank fee and receive a new invoice number to reschedule his interview. As you've probably seen, another visajourney member was in the same position and was told they must pay another fee, so I'm just proceeding because we want to reschedule the interview as soon as possible.

Just FYI - I'm attaching the document we received as part of the Package 3.

I hope this helps. Please keep us updated on your progress. I wish you two all the success in the world!

Wallace

Instructions- K1 Application.pdf

Thank you so much for this information. I will send my fiance the money to pay another fee, even though it does not seem like we should be required to do it since I don't recall being given any notification we had to wait for Package 3 before scheduling the interview as long as the status on the CEAC website showed READY, which it did. The traveldocs website where we actually do the scheduling, and where I asked about using the existing fee, said they would reply within two days and tomorrow will be the second day, so I hope I hear something. Whatever their response, I'm going to pay the second GT Bank fee if I have to because my love coming to me is worth more than all the money in the world.

Thank you again for keeping us updated on your progress. I will do the same. I believe love conquers all and the love I have with my fiance is stronger than the hardest steel, so I know we will be successful. I pray that is true for you and your fiance also.

Wallace

Juva,

Thank you very much for this information. I saw your earlier post and as it happens it was only one day before his interview, but at least it prepared us for what to expect, and sure enough he was turned away. Only a few days later we also received the email saying he can now schedule his interview. I also tried to re-use the GT Bank receipt number in the traveldocs website to schedule a new interview but it would not accept it. I sent a message within the traveldocs website asking if he can re-use the original receipt since he did not actually have the first interview. I just wrote them yesterday and am waiting for the response.

Can you tell me if anyone told you that you must pay another GT Bank fee or did you just go ahead and do it when the prior receipt number did not work?

Also, are you not having the interview until May because that was the earliest date available on the traveldocs website to schedule it?

I hope all will finally work out well for you guys. I know you are going through a lot in this process and I pray for the best for you. Please keep us updated on how things go.

Wallace