ARK1

Hi

just wanted to say welcome. I am a returned Peace Corps volunteer too and served in Kenya where I met my fiance. I know the waiting can be a killer but my fiance came here on February 25th and everything is going great so it is worth the wait!

Hi everyone! I'm new. I just wanted to say hi and introduce myself.

I'm a returned peace corps volunteer that served in Mali. I met my fiance there. And now I'm trying to get him to America. It's only been a week and a half since I last saw him and I'm already going crazy. I don't know how I'll pass the time without him. Anyway, I'll be around since I find this website so addicting. Plus it makes me feel better about the whole situation since we're all in the same boat. I have millions of questions to ask too.

My fiance is coming to the US the end of Feb. What is an I-94? is it put in his passport when he goes through customs? Once we get married he is going to take classes at the University to become certified as a high school teacher and I was told that he will need his I-94 to qualify for student loans.

thanks

I finally talked with my fiance about his interveiw experience. He said it was very easy and it lasted about 1 min, all the guy asked was how we met, if I was a good teacher (we taught together), and if he had met my family. The guy interviewing him was a former Peace Corps volunteer (my fiance and I met when I was a Peace Corps volunteer assigned to his school) so maybe that helped too. Congrats on the good news coming out of Nairobi lately!

My fiance made an appointment with the embassy to pick up packet 3 (but I have heard you don't need an appointment if you have your letter from NVC) because he never got it in the mail. I don't think he ever got a letter from the NVC saying that he could pick up packet 3, although I got a letter from NVC saying the application had been sent to Nairobi. Once he got packet 3 the embassy told him to call one of the doctors on the list in the packet to make an appointment and when he was done with the medical he called the embassy to make an appointment for his interview. I am not sure how long it takes for the embassy to recieve the application, we wasted about 2 months waiting for the embassy to send and then resend packet 3 before he finally went to the embassy. Hope this helps!

Hey Guys......

Well, I called the embassy and the lady said the following:

1)No, they have not received our case.....(I tried just in case it was a fluke that NVC didn't know our case was gone......well, I should get an "E" for effort at least)

2)We have to wait until we receive the appointment letter from NVC to pick up the packet and do the medical because she said the medical will expire, so we have to wait. I asked her if we can call there once we know the package made it to Nairobi or do we have to wait for the letter from NVC and she said we would probably receive the letter before the package arrives there. Not sure about that........ARK1 and MADWOMAN Please Advise: Did you guys receive the NVC appointment letter before you called?

3)I asked about the change in doctors.....she said that they just changed them and the old ones are only good for the next two months, so, it may be best to just use the new ones.

So, that was the information that I got......let's hope we all leave NVC this week!!!! We will get through this together.

Thanks! He went for his interview and was approved

After I talk with him I'll post the details in case someone can benefit

ARK1

Just want you to know we are all sending positive thoughts and prayers towards your interview today!!!

My fiance in coming on a K1 visa. He is a high school teacher in Kenya and would like to take classes at the university in my town so he can be certified as a teacher in my state. My question is has anyone gone to school while the paper work is being processed or does he have to wait for the conditional green card before applying to school? just wondering if anyone has any experience with this.

thanks

Thanks for the info!! I will definantly ask my fiance to make sure the embassy will accept his medical. He has his interview on Jan 6th so hopefuly he won't have any problems.

Hey Everybody......Madwoman and ARK1 especially!!!!! look at the following:

MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS

Medical exams are required for certain types of United States visas. Such medical examinations must be performed by one of the following physicians:

NAIROBI

International Organization for Migration (IOM)

Migration Health Assessment Center (MHAC)

P.O BOX 55040-00200

4TH Ngong Avenue

Nairobi, Kenya

Tel: 2720061/2

MOMBASA

Dr. C. B. Patel

City House, Moi Avenue

Mombasa Medical Practice

P. O. Box 80681

Mombasa, Kenya

Tel 041-2222857/8

NO OTHER MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS ARE ACCEPTABLE TO THE U.S. EMBASSY IN NAIROBI

I just happened to be purusing the Nairobi Embassy website and it was updated on 12/23/08..this does not include all the other doctors.....does this mean they won't accept the doctor that you guys went to???? Check it out....don't want you guys to have any delays!!!!

I forgot to add that the Indian restaurant in The Mall is called Haandi.

My SO did the first part of his medical about a week and a half ago. I am not sure which doctor he went to but he said he was very nice. I would guess that they are much better about doing the exam and immunizations in one or two days for people comming from Uganda or Rwanda. By the way there is a mall called "Mall" near the sarit center that has out of this world Indian food so if you get a chance check it out also across the street from the Sarit Center is a great pizza place (kind of hidden by shrubery, the taxi's park almost in front of it) I can't remember the name but if you ask a guard at Sairt they should be able to direct you.

Just wanted to wish everyone happy holidays! Congrats to those who have received their NOA2. My SO did his medical exam and now has to make an appointment to go back for his immunizations, slow and steady wins the race right

good morning subbies. it's almost friday

Hey Charles where did you get this picture? It looks exactly like my high school football stadium in Grand Island NE and the surroundings look like my high school too. Very freaky!

I concur, my fiance hasn't had his medical exam yet but was told it would be about $250 paid in shillings

This is to those who have already completed the medical exam (Naraj, ARK...)

How much did the medical exam and vaccinations COST?

I can't find information on this anywhere. Thanks for your help!

Everything was paid in shillings, and I can't remember exactly, but in US dollars, the exam was around $105, and it was around $100 more, in all, for the 3 vaccinations she received. On the phone, they said it would be about $245 for the 6 or so vaccinations she needed, on top of the exam fee, but I guess there was some miscommunication, because it turned out that she didn't need but 3 shots.

By the way, I figured the vaccinations would probably be more expensive in Nairobi anyway, so I disobeyed the embassy website's advice and had her receive every recommended vaccine that was available in her country before leaving for Nairobi.

Thanks 4 the tip. I think it is just the ds 156 i saw a link on the embassy web site

What online forms? All of his forms should be filled out already, right? (I-134, DS-156, DS-156K, DS-230 part 1, DS-230 part 2) Just curious.

FYI: As soon as you have an idea of when the medical results are coming back, you can go ahead and schedule the interview for a day or two after that. If the bloodwork comes back later than expected, you can always eschedule the embassy interview for about a week later.

I just hope my tips might speed up the process a little. Don't mean to tell you what to do

g

Thought this might help people. My fiance went to the embassy to pick up his packet three and while he was in Nairobi he

talked with one of the doctors and he has to wait for them to call him and tell him when his medical appointment will be, hopefuly they will call in the next week or two. As soon as he is finished with his medical appointment he fills out some forms on line and then he can call the embassy to make his interview appointment. Good luck everyone with their journey

Anyone know about how much the medical exam will cost? The nairobi embassy website only has a list of approved doctors but not their fees.

thanks

I would ask your SO because in Kenya no one takes travelers checks because of fraud but my ATM from the US worked at their ATMs so I could get cash that way too. Also a lot of places in Nairobi and other major tourist places took all the major credit cards. I know going to a new place can be unnerving and scary but look at it as an investment in your relationship. I lived in Kenya for 3 years and I think my fiance and I have a better understanding of each other because I have a pretty good understanding of his culture and when he comes here he'll experience and learn about my culture. Good Luck!

My fiance has an appointment the end of October to pick up his packet3. Does anyone know if he will be able to fill out the papers and hand them in at the appointment? Once he hands in packet3 can he then make his medical and interview appointments? Will he need anything other than his passport and the letter with his appointment info on it to get into the embassy? thanks

I would call the embassy and ask if you need an appointment. My fiance is Kenyan and the embassy in Nairobi sent him packet 3 like 3 times and he never received it so the embassy e-mailed me and said he could go to the embassy Mon-Fri 8-5 and pick one up. He went to the embassy and was turned away because he did not have an appointment so he made an appointment on line and will go oct 27 to pick up the packet, hopefuly he will be able to turn in the forms while he is there but then he has to make another appointment for his interview.

Good Luck

Thanks,

Yes he could go to the embassy but he wants to exhaust all other possibilities before going to Nairobi because it is 5 hours away and he is a teacher and would have to take a day or two off and find someone to teach his classes but he will do it if he has to. e-mail is a great idea, why didn't I think of that

The embassy in Nairobi has sent packet 3 out twice, once the end of March and once the beginning of June and he still has not received the packet My question is this...I sent him all the documents he will need for the interview end of April so it has been 2 months, will he run into problems at the interview? should I send him another letter from my employer and affidavid of support?

Thanks

I don't think it's fair to blame women, there are men who get used too. This can happen to anyone in any culture and I agree that you have to go into any relationship with open eyes. When I met my fiance I was a Peace Corp volunteer at his school and we got to know eachother as friends first and when we started dating I asked one of my good friends (she's like a big sister to me) what his reputation in the village was and i trusted that if she had any reservations she would have told me and I extened my service for an extra year for among other reasons to make sure we both had adequate time to get to know eachother and had an understanding of each others expectations.

Thanks,

I see your interview is comming up, good luck!

Hi,

The Embassy should have recieved our K-1 visa from NVC by the end of March but my fiance still has not received packet 3, it has been almost 8 weeks. I have tried calling the embassy at 254-020-363-6000 I also tried 254-02-363-6000 but I get a busy signal. I also e-mailed them but have not recieved a response yet. Any suggestions? Hopefuly the got the info from the NVC and I just need to be patient.

Thanks

I met my fiance when I was a Peace Corps volunteer at the school where he was teaching. I sent in copies of my work visa, certificate I got from Peace Corps, and a copy of my description of service (it has the begining and ending dates of my service), as well as boarding passes and itenerary from when I went home to visit for x-mas and when I finished my service and flew home. hope this helps

I was hoping someone could clarify a few things for me.

1. How many copies of the I-134 and evidence (employer letter, pay stubs etc) do you have to send in?

2. When can you apply for a SSN? some people have said you can't until your EAD arrives and others have said that as soon as his arrival is in the computers they can give him an SSN.

3. My understanding is that he cannot travel outside the US until the AP is approved and that will last until he gets his green card is that correct?

thanks for all the help