AbenaKofi

On 1/25/2018 at 9:00 PM, AntoinetteB said:

I know exactly what you mean my bestfriend is apprehensive about my love but honestly i think shes just nervous we won't spend as much time together anymore i think she had these big plans of us getting married together and now its just me but nothing can take my 😁 that man brings me more joy than any other has 😍😍😋😋 they'll come around men will use you in your own country for money 😂😂 

That’s right! It’s a shame bc people usually only hear about when this process goes wrong so that’s all they have to go on. These shows sure don’t help! Only a few more months until we can all be with our loves ❤️

On 1/24/2018 at 12:26 PM, dejene said:

Random question, anyone else in the VJ Facebook group? And if so, were you guys also approached by a lady supposedly representing TLC about a docu-series about the K1 process? Lol

Hahaha! My little sister keeps telling me we should go on, but no way.  We don't have drama as a couple but my parents and one friend would be all to ready to cause a ton of drama about how he's a scammer, etc.  It's enough of a headache in real life, let alone broadcast to the world! 

4 minutes ago, Anand & Vaish said:

@ineedadisplayname @Swissmiss82 i was thinking exactly the same but then for me it will turn into 3 weddings.. i need to have one small wedding in India..one after i land there and one more big wedding...thats why am all worked up. my fiance is doing her MS in US and she had to complete it by September and then take up her job too and she wouldn't get many holidays.

Oh man! Yes I’m also considering the small courthouse thing, then bigger US ceremony over Christmas, but that makes 3 for us too since we want to do one in Ghana after things settle down. Who the heck is paying for all this? 

On 1/11/2018 at 9:05 AM, Tels said:

September filers.. if you were to hazard a guess at when the whole process would be done, what would you say?

 

I was hoping to plan my wedding for late june.. but seeing as the k1 visa process is slower now, I think that may be too early and a risky thing to do. When are you guys planning to get married?

I'm hoping that he will be here by June.  I want to have the wedding at my university in August - before the fall semester starts, so I hope it works out! 

He sends me these beautiful wedding videos when he's feeling romantic and he doesn't realize it stresses me to no end because there is no way we'll have the time/money to pull any of that off! 

19 hours ago, madelineshea said:

This is going to be a really dumb question, probably, but it's worth asking.

Should I be planning on attending my fiancé's interview? I've been seeing TONS of people talking about traveling for theirs. It's something I would be thrilled to do, in theory, but in order to do that, my plane ticket would probably cost me about $800. I guess I need to know whether to be selling a kidney at this point or not.

It’s a good question! We’ve thought about it, but since I won’t be allowed in, and the timing is sketchy at this point, I don’t think I’ll be going. Instead we are going on another vacation in early March to take our minds off of the process 😊.  It’s a little nuts, but once he gets here we won’t be doing much traveling so perhaps we can consider it a pre-honeymoon 😜.

34 minutes ago, needlesss said:

Thank you! I found out I was pregnant when I was already 3 months and back in Cali so it was difficult for me to find a job being pregnant. Therefore, I decided to just wait until after I gave birth (at the end of August) to start my K1-visa journey. They received my package early September so now I am waiting for the NOA2... aka known to be the longest wait ever!!!

 Oh wow!  I'm also early Sept - NOA1 9/11 so hopefully we get good news at the same time  I'm sure the little one will keep you oh-so-busy during the wait!

On 11/25/2017 at 6:29 PM, needlesss said:

We met in 2015 and I found out I was pregnant this year after visiting him in Cambodia for 3 months.

Yay a baby! Congrats! May I ask when you’re due? Is this a race against time to see if he can be here for the birth? I’m rooting for you guys! And yay Team California 😚

We have a plan B to go the CR-1 route and plan C is for me to move to him.  We’re hoping it doesn’t get to that, because what’s the point of worrying in advance? 

On 10/21/2017 at 4:03 AM, LizM said:

Dito. I see it as time to prepare. I figured out the vaccinations I need to have, I renewed my passport that was about to expire in about a year, just to be safe; I made a few medical appointments to sort some things out that I've been procrastinating due to being busy at work. I'm getting an Amex card as apparently American Express credit history is transferrable between countries and I'd like to get a head start once there. And I'm getting hold of several records I'll need for either this process or AoS. It takes time, and I'm quite happy I don't have to do this in a hurry.

Yup! I’m the USC so I don’t have to do AS much at this time but I’m trying to simplify the apartment, declutter, and keep an eye on flight prices. My aunt says never to rush time so I’m being patient, but here in the US, time seems to fly from November through January. The holiday hustle! So I say it’ll be January before we know it, then time for the NOA2s to roll in February. 🙏🏾😊

Very true, I hear Montana is beautiful (but cold in the winter!).  

I like Cali but God willing would like to relocate south to Texas to get a little more for my money.  We won't be able to do too much here.  

6 hours ago, Jenilyn and Awal said:

Seems a lot here in californiain California , I meet them at the Area festivals all the time. 

Yup!  My fiance even has a few school alumni in the Bay Area so I'm hoping that will ease the transition.  

@kobbynakos, I don't believe there are that many black people in Montana, period.  You may have better luck closer to the capital or in a university area...

On 10/18/2017 at 2:05 PM, Damaris Martis said:

I heard that people who apply thru a lawyer their process goes faster and I am wondering if that is true or not?

Nope, they just make the paperwork easier  for you (for a fee).  If your situation is fairly straightforward, you should be fine without.  

On 10/16/2017 at 10:57 AM, O&GForever said:

To me there are benefits to both visas and every couple has their reason for why they choose that path--there's truly not a right or wrong option. I know some think a CR1 visa is more of a guarantee at the Ghana embassy, but I have seen many married couples denied just like the K1s. I think no matter which route you go, it all about preparation with quality evidence, a willingness from the U.S. Citizen to travel there as much as they can, and the beneficiary being willing to put in time to practice for the interview. You can't just travel to Ghana once, get married and think everything will be okay because you're husband and wife. It's a costly process. It's an emotional process. It's a difficult process. But couples get approved in the Ghana embassy every day and those are the couples who have put in the effort to prove their case. 

Thanks for the thoughtful response! Much appreciated. 

I’m in a similar boat! I met my now fiancé when I was in Ghana in March.  I went back in August for 10 days and we got engaged and filed in September.  I just feel like since it takes almost a year from start to end, why not get the ball rolling?  We traveled and visited his family, so we have a variety of photos, so I hope that helps. 

I’ll also be visiting over Christmas, so by the time he goes for his interview, at least we’ll have one more meeting. I hear so many discouraging things about Ghana/Nigeria and the high denial rate, but it is what it is.  Gotta have hope! If you look around the site you can see a few success stories as well.  I hope the process goes smoothly and quickly for you!

On 10/11/2017 at 9:13 PM, Brown7508 said:

So after about 6 months of video chats and voice calls, I finally met the man of my dreams. Yet we spent such short time together, i feel like ive known him a lifetime. During my visit he proposed day 7

Similar to us! Well, we met in person while I was visiting, then I came back 6 months later and then we got engaged.  It is what it is :).  I will be going back there for 2 weeks in December, so I'm hoping the additional visit and more time spent with the family over the holidays will help.  That'll be 3 in-person meetings if you count the first.  All we can do is hope! 

On 10/12/2017 at 12:21 PM, O&GForever said:

I have seen quite a few K1 visas approved in Ghana during recent months...more than I have seen the entire time I've been on this site. That said getting approved at this embassy is no easy task. My husband and I had to go through two visa processes to get him here...K1 denied...CR1 approved. 

The approvals is a good sign! We are also prepared to go the CR-1 route if necessary.  @O&GForever, knowing what you know now, would you have gone for CR-1 initially, or do you think it wouldn't have made much difference, since it seems to be at the whim of the embassy?  

I don't know the first thing about tracking but I'm glad we have so many experts and case-stalkers! Hahaha.  It'll make the time go by for sure.  

8 hours ago, KatziGuthmann said:

Oh yes. When we were going to send the petition, we hoped to have NOA 2 before Cristmas  

 

I hope you get to see your fiance soon! We both felt so much better when we booked our flights for winter holidays, at least an exact date to wait for

Yes - we are spending 2 weeks together for Christmas - that's exactly my feeling!  We at least have a reliable countdown.  And hoping that soon after, things will move quickly with the process.  I wasn't planning on going back out there after the holidays - we really need to save the money (and my vacation time) for all the next steps with weddings and flights and paperwork.  

When we were looking at options, the general consensus seemed to be that as long as the application was straightforward, it's better to do it yourselves.  Check and triple check

9 hours ago, AntoinetteB said:

I definitely struggle with connection issues with whatsapp actually it happened tonight with me and my fiance cut our conversation short 😭😭😭😣😣 hes always telling me to remain patient and positive but that's hard 😢😢🙁😒

Hahaha same here! I guess that’s how it is when you’re used to spotty network. I get so frustrated and he tries to calm me down.  After so many dropped calls I’d rather move to text so my head doesn’t explode lol.   I try to think of it as just say a few more months and this won’t be an issue.  

7 hours ago, Swissmiss82 said:

well I don't want to sound like a crazy stalker - but with the USCIS app on iphone you can track radom cases and see where they are working on it right now. and also in other topics here you can see that they are currently confirming a bunch of people from May!

If you browse around (to motivate your hope), you find several single cases approved from june or even july! not many, but some!

Oh good! Hahaha tracking random cases - you’re good! I’ll keep hope alive then 😊😊😊

10 hours ago, Cat&Charlie said:

 

Also he said that they are behind and they're still working on March! So we're looking at a 7 month wait for now.

Oof! 🤦🏾‍♀️ Well, knowing is half the battle. I was just fantasizing the other day about NOA2 for Christmas but that seems to be a dangerous pastime now! 

Well, I guess the silver lining is more time to get things ready for one another.  My aunt says “never rush time,” so I’m trying to heed those words and enjoy the sweetness of the Long distance relationship for now.  Does anyone else struggle with bad network for whatsapp/FaceTime? ❤️  

16 hours ago, Swissmiss82 said:

yeah we will also have a small wedding for just the two of us, after the POE.. and we plan on the big wedding - well not huge, but about 50 guests - for oct/nov 2018. we already found an awesome venue, but we won't book until noa2. for some reason i don't trust this time process just yet lol but the planning and researching is fun, and keeps me busy to not go crazy with this wait..

 

but i already got the dress for the big wedding  so exciting! i look at it every day and motivate myself to stay strong and the wait will be worth it....

 

another question - did anyone research yet on how to transfer money or how to do that? keep an account in your home country?

and what about all your personal belongings, will you ship things or what are the plans?

That's so exciting that you have a dress already! I have my eye on what I want 😉 but won't get it just yet. 

My fiance is packing light and plans to do a major downsize before POE - we may sublet his apartment so he'll leave the furniture and bring luggage. Whatever won't work with the luggage, we'll ship via DHL. 

13 hours ago, Swissmiss82 said:

have you guys started planning on the wedding? and will you guys do one wedding or possibly one small one after the POE and a bigger one at some later point?

 

Happy Weekend everybody and good patience

Agree - it’s too hard and too expensive to plan a wedding around a moving target!  I have my eye on a few places for something small, and will take action once we buy his flight.  I was thinking Day 60ish? What are you guys planning as far as how far into the 90 days you want to get married?

8 hours ago, legatoblue18 said:

Woooohoooo just arrived to visit my fiancée! Might be the last visit before our K1 finishes. Hope it's not too long of a wait after this. 😇

Aww yay! I’m going to Ghana over Christmas to spend two weeks with mine, and that’ll likely be the last time until he gets approved. Hopefully once we all get NOA2 things will move quickly!

On 9/30/2017 at 9:36 AM, kaleya said:

My timeline initially estimated NOA2 around the middle-end of January, and now it is estimating the first week of February. I'm sure it will keep getting pushed back, but I'm hopeful that we will have NOA2 before March 2018!

Mine too! Since the timeline supposedly cycles, I’m hoping it’ll hit six months and then shorten a little. Maybe by the time they get to ours it’ll be down to 4 months 🙏🏾😙

On 9/27/2017 at 4:06 AM, Swissmiss82 said:

How do you guys plan on all the tasks on our to-do list?

Fiancé plans to take care of everything as soon as he gets approved...we’ll need to find another tenant, but if it doesn’t happen by the time he gets the visa, his friend can help out. I want him here ASAP! 😍

Agreed. Multiple entry is the way to go! Save you some wahala later on 😏