dana0402

Hello everyone -

For anyone with Cameroonian fiances/spouses - have you had trouble getting Cameroonian passports recently? My husband applied for a passport renewal in August and we still don't have it. He actually traveled with our son to Cameroon using a travel document because they said the passports would be in shortly. Well, now I'm getting ready to go in a few days and I still don't have it! Just wondering if anyone has had any similar problems and if anyone has heard anything about it? I really don't want to have to send it to him later on because I really don't trust the mail!

I see a lot of new faces since I was last on here - I wish I was able to keep up but it's difficult with a toddler running around! My husband currently has his 10 year green cards so we're taking a break from all this USCIS craziness! Good luck to everyone who is on this journey!

We are still a work in progress so I can't say we have a "happy ending" as yet. In my mind we are still "new" in the marriage game. My husband arrived in the US in January of '07. We've been married for a little over three years now. Our first year was very difficult and stressful for a number of reasons including his adjustment to the US, our adjustment to living together, his bouts of homesickness, work-related stress for me, etc. None of this came as a surprise because it just made sense that it would not be easy to integrate our lives with all of the outside factors that we were dealing with. Luckily we have always had great communication, so over time we were able to compromise and try to understand the other's perspective. We have a come a long way in our marriage and I have nothing else to attribute that to but the grace of God and a wonderful support system. So overall I would say that we are happy. I don't have any regrets about the marriage and even if it doesn't work for us in the end, I am still glad that I took the chance. I have learned a great deal about myself through his immigration here and our marriage, and I think I am a better person for it. Hopefully 5-10 years down the road, we are still a work in progress.

I feel like I wrote this post myself!! I can totally relate. My husband arrived in May '07 and we've had the same ups and downs. I do think happy endings are possible though

Hi All,

My fiance will be arriving in a month's time.

To the Petitioner's that were recently approved and that are now living with their S.O.?

1.How is your S.O. adjusting?

2.Has there been anything about our way of life or culture that has been hard for your S.O.?

3.What about technology and banking? I would think there are challenges with coming from a mainly cash based way of life to a more high tech and credit based society where 90% of the time I never physically touch my $ and I usually carry $25 or less in cash.

4.Did your S.O. think he/she knew all there was to know about Americans and life in the U.S. to later see differently?

5.What about his/her feelings and experiences with interacting with non-blacks and how have they adjusted to living in a society where blacks are a minority?

I look forward to reading your posts.

Thanks

Briefly...my husband has been here for three years. I haven't been on the boards lately but wanted to respond to you. Some of this is waaay to much to type out right now, but message me if you want more info

1. He's still adjusting. He's had a pretty rough go of it, but I think part of that is just his personality! Also hard to know how much of that is because he didn't speak English at all when he got here. He still has a hard time with some of the nuances.

2. Everything! For me, it helped that I had spent a significant amount of time with him in his country, so I understand his frame of reference. Some things are easy to deal with, like food, since we've found African markets. But there are a lot of things about the ways Americans act/react that still make him nuts! He really, at times, just can't understand why people act theway they do, and it can be very frustrating for me!

3. Be careful with that! I was the same way. I got him put on my credit card account, but I found that while it had been really easy to monitor my own spending, I had no idea what he was purchasing on a daily basis, and I had some fun surprises with my credit card bills! Not that he was spending money on anything outrageous, but we'd both go to the grocery store without realizing how much the other had spent. We actually switched to using cash for most purchases because we're on a tight budget!

4. My husband came with some preconceived notions - mostly about money and how rich everyone is, but he quickly figured things out. I'm sure there are other things as well.

5. My husband hasn't had a problem with this at all!

My husband and I only have the following evidence:

- lease of apartment in both names

- joint bank account (checking)

- bills in both names

- joint health insurance, home renters insurance, auto insurance

- car title in both names

- life insurance for him, with me as the beneficiary

- state issued IDs (drivers licences) showing same address

- stock (shares) in both names

- some club memberships

- we can provide letters from friends and/or neighbors

- photos

- cards from his mother, my parents, friends, adressed to both of us

We don't have credit cards (he is very much against using them, and hasn't had one for years , we use debit cards instead), and we don't have joint tax returns. That is because I don't have a job (he is the conservative type and wants to provide for his family), which means I never paid taxes; and he is trying to build his own company, which proved to be a long process so far, it has been going on for a few years now... His company is not in revenue yet, so he doesn't get a paycheck. We live on investors' money for now, and try to spend as little as possible, just for the strictly necessary things. Since he has no pay stubs and technically doesn't make any money, he hasn't payed taxes for a few years.

Is this enough evidence, or are we going to run into problems? Any opinion would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

I had EXACTLY the same list of evidence - but in additon I also had those pesky jointly filed tax returns. I had NO problems, no interview, and my husband got his card very quickly. Hope that helps!

thinking of you - and hoping every day gets a little better for you. i'm so sorry

What a great idea

We're in Tampa, FL (but will hopefully be in DC by this summer...)

Hi all -

Sorry for it taking so long for me to update - I finally have a few minutes to sit down and breathe.

Ben and I got married on July 13 and filed AOS just before the fee increase, so we're waiting for news on that.

It hasn't been the easiest 3 months, but we're doing ok. Ben doesn't really like it here, and I'd go back to Cameroon in a second if I could, but that's obviously not going to work out and why we went through the process in the first place! He's done a little bit of work and taught some dance lessons, so sometimes he's busy. The hardest thing is a lack of community here. He can't really get around easily, and I know it's super hard to lose your independence like that. He was impressed when we visited DC a few weeks ago though, and I know he'd love for us to move up there at least. I got him a bike, so he can get around a little, and my mom has been really wonderful with him.

He was doing ok with food for a while, but he just told me today he's sick of sandwiches and wants fufu. Poor guy. He's starting English classes this week, so hopefully that will help, although he's been doing pretty well.

We've had to deal with A LOT of cultural adjustments - some are funny, some aren't. I just do my best not to get mad or frustrated. (Example of funny - ordering "frisbee" chicken at McDonalds. Example of not funny - putting something metal in the microwave and not listening to me when I said not to). It's been really tough overall - but I know that's because we have two VERY stubborn personalities. But we're making do, and hopefully he'll be able to last until we can make enough money to go back and visit. I know he misses his family like crazy.

Most importantly, we're together, and in love. Things will take a while to smoothe out. Considering he's been yanked out of his country, I think he's adjusting pretty well. I've had to adjust a lot too, but that mostly just involves me letting him make his own mistakes because that's the only way he'll learn!

I've travelled between Cameroon and the U.S. several times. I personally have been able to get through JFK quickly, but Ben tool almost 3 hours to get out. Sometimes it just depends on the other flights coming in at the same time. Give yourself at least 5-6 hours.

try flights.com

Pictures and picture frames. Clothing. Inexpensive electronic gadgets. I got Ben's mom a solar powered flashlight that she loves and has to hide from the rest of the family or they'll take it!! I also brought her cooking utensil--an oven mitt, etc. His brothers loved t-shirts and hats from my school and local sports teams. Postcards of your city. Calculators. Candy (chocolate if you can it it there without melting). Perfume is a great idea too. A nice wallet for older males.

Great! How long are you going to stay in Nigeria? What airlines are you flying? Jut curious, I'm trying to find an airline that goes from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to JFK- we want a shot at the temporary EAD.

try united, or look at flights.com

Ben FINALLY got here on Thursday! He flew from Douala on Royal Air Maroc and his POE was JFK. I waited for two looong hours after his plane arrived for him to emerge. Since he doesn't speak English, I was freaking out, wondering if he had some kind of a problem, or if he had even made his connection. He said that it was just that the lines were really long. He got the temporary employment authorization stamp and he said they didn't even ask him any questions--just took the envelope, led him into a side room, and then stamped his passport.

We flew back to Tampa that same night (including our plane being three hours late) and have just been taking it easy this weekend and trying to help Ben take it all in! I'm trying to find some places and activities for him and some kind of work. We'll see how it all turns out, and of course now we've got to do the wedding thing, but the hard part is over--I'm so glad he's here!

My fiance just arrived three days ago, so I don't have any answers, but I'm curious to see how others reply because I'm expecting VERY similar reactions from him...

I don't know about Grenada, but I was told that in Cameroon, PCVs had a much easier time getting K-1s and K-3s approved - I guess the COs have more faith in you guys!

Good luck!!!

All of my documents submitted also have the official Royal Kingdom of Cambodia seal on them. It's all legit. There shouldn't be a need to have a high amount of touches.

From what I understand...a "touch" doesn't necessarily mean that they are even working on your file. It could just mean it was moved from one place to another, and every time they do that, it gets scanned in as a touch. Being touched doesn't necessarily mean it will or won't be approved. Unfortunately, patience is the name of the game here.

Ben had his interview this morning and was approved!! Things apparently went very smoothly, and they asked very few questions--just how we met, if I had any siblings, where I was born, where I worked. And I guess the paperwork was ok because he was approved! He'll go pick up his visa on Thursday and hopefully I'll get him here in about 2 weeks!

Thanks to everyone for their support!!

I had a sort of similar case. My case was forwarded to the embassy in Yaounde on January 26. My fiance was actually called and went to pick up his packet. When he got everything together (mid-March, because he had been out of the country), he was given an interview date of April 13. When he got there, he was told there was "no record" of him in the system. To make a long story short, I was told to call the NVC too, but they also told me that they embassy needed to notify them. The official story that I got was that there was a problem with the satellites and transmission of information. Whatever. The real trick is to get in contact with your senator or representative's office. My congressman's office was super helpful, plus I think my fiance then got a note in the file that they were following his case--couldn't have hurt this morning when his visa was approved Keep records of EVERYTHING--every phone call, email, anything. And keep on it. Call and email everyday if you have to, because the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Just make sure to be gracious; I found that people at the embassy were much more likely to be helpful when I complemented them on how nice they were. I don't think they would have been as apt to help if I had been a raving lunatic. Feel free to send me a message if you any more questions. Good luck!!

I love fufu, and most other Cameroonian dishes. But all those dishes that are made from leaves (eru, etc)...gross!!!

Well the only time I tried fufu was with that eru stuff.. haha.. maybe thats why i didn't like it?

That could definitely be it--you've gotta try it with 'sauce gumbo" - okra sauce. I'll admit, it looks a little like snot, but tastes delicious. Fufu really isn't bad with any other sauces, but you're right, anything with eru tastes bad!!!

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions and suuport. We've got an interview date for Friday, so hopefully my next post will be a happy one (crossing my fingers).

I love fufu, and most other Cameroonian dishes. But all those dishes that are made from leaves (eru, etc)...gross!!!

Well, the woman I am working with at my Congressman's office apparently only works three days a week, so I'm trying to do a little legwork too. Squeaky wheel gets the grease, right? I've been having a ton of trouble getting through to the embassy to talk to anyone or get responses to emails, but I figured the more people working on it, the better, and it can't hurt to have a paper trail. So, last night I again emailed the embassy and the head of the consulate and I at least got a response. It's not great news, but at least I have an idea of what's going on. Here's what he said:

"In short, the problem is that the "transfer" of case information from the NVC to post is done electronically. Typically, this occurs without any delay or problem - which is why we had already begun working with your fiance.

My strong suspicion is that this normally uneventful transfer was disrupted by difficulties that our Embassy has been experiencing. Last week we lost our main satellite connection, and were relying on a much smaller dish to run the entire Embassy. This badly disrupted many other consular operations (visas) - which also made it hard for us to keep up with correspondence. We are hoping to stabilize our connection to the US - which I hope will allow NVC to retransmit the case - which I suspect is the problem.

Again, sorry for the delay. We are working on the problem and will update you ASAP."

So, we'll see how things go from here....

Just wanted to update...

Unfortunately, no big news. I absolutely cannot get in touch with anyone at the embassy--they are terrible about phone calls and emails. I have someone at my congressman's office working on the case now though, so I'm hoping that we'll get it resolved.

Ben was able to go to the embassy this morning. The woman said that she had contacted the NVC twice with no response yet, so she'd try again. I have no clue what's going on! They also never gave Ben a letter confirming his interview--just assigned him a date. The whole thing is just super convoluted and too long to even tell the whole story. I'm keeping really good records of everything that is going on and that people are saying--I hope it will push things through faster.

Thanks for your support everyone, I'll definitely keep you posted!

In dealing with my interview aftermath, I've procrastinated in writing about this, but I'd love to see if anyone else has had anything similar happen and how you got out of the situation.

We received our NOA2 in mid-January, I got a letter with the NVC case number at the end of the month. It was forwarded to the US embassy in Cameroon, and they then called Ben and gave him his packet. Ben went out of the country for a few weeks, but when he got back, he got all the paperwork together, did his medical exam, etc. He then went to the embassy to turn in some signed applican't statement that they have them do there, and he was told to come back a month later for his interview (April 13). Note: I guess the embassy in Cameroon doesn't have a separate packet 3 and 4 procedure because he was just told to do it all together.

Well, Ben showed up at 7:30 on Friday morning for his interview, where he was told THEY HAD NO RECORD OF HIM. He was told that they would have to contact the NVC and that they would call him "sometime" to come back for his interview. WHAT??!! I was then able to get in touch with the consulate. Even though I gave his case number, she said they didn't have his info. She said they would contact the NVC and that I should call too. By this time, it was nearing 7:30 am EST, meaning it was 12:30 and time for the embassy to close in Cameroon. I called the NVC, and the woman told me that there was nothing I could do and I just had to wait for the US embassy to contact them.

At that point, I was so frustrated! I sent emails to the general visa box, as well as to the consul and vice-consul at the embassy. While I was disappointed, all I really wanted was for things to be resolved quickly--I just didn't want them to tell us we had to wait another MONTH for an interview (particularly when every one else I know who has gone thorugh that embassy has gotten their interview within 2 weeks). So today, Monday, we got...no response. Nada. Now, I realize that they are extremely busy, but I don't want the case to get lost in the shuffle again. I'm just having a hard time believing that they got his information, gave it to him, and scheduled him for an appointment, all without ever notcing that there was "no record" of him in the system. And I don't understand why she told me to call the NVC when clearly they are the only ones who could do anything.

I realize this was a really long explanation--but has anyone heard of anything similar? How was it resolved? I didn't know if contacting my congressman would help because the problem seems to be on the part of the US embassy now. Suggestions please!!

In dealing with my interview aftermath, I've procrastinated in writing about this, but I'd love to see if anyone else has had anything similar happen and how you got out of the situation.

We received our NOA2 in mid-January, I got a letter with the NVC case number at the end of the month. It was forwarded to the US embassy in Cameroon, and they then called Ben and gave him his packet. Ben went out of the country for a few weeks, but when he got back, he got all the paperwork together, did his medical exam, etc. He then went to the embassy to turn in some signed applican't statement that they have them do there, and he was told to come back a month later for his interview (April 13). Note: I guess the embassy in Cameroon doesn't have a separate packet 3 and 4 procedure because he was just told to do it all together.

Well, Ben showed up at 7:30 on Friday morning for his interview, where he was told THEY HAD NO RECORD OF HIM. He was told that they would have to contact the NVC and that they would call him "sometime" to come back for his interview. WHAT??!! I was then able to get in touch with the consulate. Even though I gave his case number, she said they didn't have his info. She said they would contact the NVC and that I should call too. By this time, it was nearing 7:30 am EST, meaning it was 12:30 and time for the embassy to close in Cameroon. I called the NVC, and the woman told me that there was nothing I could do and I just had to wait for the US embassy to contact them.

At that point, I was so frustrated! I sent emails to the general visa box, as well as to the consul and vice-consul at the embassy. While I was disappointed, all I really wanted was for things to be resolved quickly--I just didn't want them to tell us we had to wait another MONTH for an interview (particularly when every one else I know who has gone thorugh that embassy has gotten their interview within 2 weeks). So today, Monday, we got...no response. Nada. Now, I realize that they are extremely busy, but I don't want the case to get lost in the shuffle again. I'm just having a hard time believing that they got his information, gave it to him, and scheduled him for an appointment, all without ever notcing that there was "no record" of him in the system. And I don't understand why she told me to call the NVC when clearly they are the only ones who could do anything.

I realize this was a really long explanation--but has anyone heard of anything similar? How was it resolved? I didn't know if contacting my congressman would help because the problem seems to be on the part of the US embassy now. Suggestions please!!

I have a sort of similar situation--I met my fiance while studying abroad in Cameroon in the spring of 2005, though I was lucky enough to go back and spend another 10 months with him in 2006. We also got into a serious relationship really quickly. I'm almost 23--and he's 5 years older than I am.

My family has been weird about the whole situation--partly because it will be an interracial marriage, partly because of the cultural differences, partly because they wanted me to marry someone Jewish, and partly because of my age. And while they aren't hindering my efforts to bring him here, they certainly aren't helping me either.

I have to echo what everyone else says--do what you feel is right. I definitely don't feel that I am "too young" or "not ready" to get married, but I know my parents, and especially my grandparents, aren't too happy about it. Oh well. I can't live my life based on that. I know I definitely haven't picked the easy road, but I'm comfortable with my choices and soooo excited to have my fiance here with me.

If you have any questions, feel free to PM me!