WonTanNara

Hey Leedah, I am going to Dakar Dec 16th. It's 4 weeks away, but I can carry over the documents for you if you want. I plan on making a trip the embassy anyway just to show my face if I can't accomplish anything else.

It I carry the docs for you it will save you $100+ in DHL expenses. PM me if you want to go that route.

Hang in there Leedah, Dakar can be a real pain in the a$$. I've been feeling the same way you are, hmm.... maybe I should just pick up and move to another country. You're right, the immigration process is a freakin' nightmare and the US is very egocentric.

Don't give up! My thoughts are prayers are with you.

Hey chaingang--what is going on? Tammy finished--how are you doing with your visa? Anything?

hey wontara , miamiwife i hope you guys are fine , well i am still waiting for them

This time i called embassy and they told me that we are reviewing your police and medical report and once we are done with that we will let u know , i told him its 3 weeks now , he told me that we have only one guy to review medical and police report and we have thousands and thousands of applicants ,

so one guy is reviewing all those police and medical report thats why he said it can be time consuming ,,,,,,,,,

he told me we received your documents on 4th of november and i sent them on 27th of october , i wonder why would they say we received on 4th of november ,

it means i wont count on days in october and 3 days of november means that one week is gone

then 2 saturdays and sundays and on last tuesday they were closed too , so those 5 days are also gone

7 days earlier plus 5 days = 12 days

so i think those 12 days are wasted from total of 22 days

so lets hope and pray for the best but i will wait coz Allah says in Surah hajj (The pilgrimage) chapter no 22 verse no 15

"Whoever thinks that Allah will not help him (Muhammad SAW) in this world and in the Hereafter, let him stretch out a rope to the ceiling and let him strangle himself. Then let him see whether his plan will remove that whereat he rages! "

hope , patience , believe in Allah , strong faith in Allah will make our lives easy

May Allah give us peace of mind and soul and help us in our hard days of our lives

Amin

ya Raball AAlmin

Hopefully it will be soon, I want you to see your wife and babies.

Me, I am up and down but I cannot complain. God brought me and my fiance together across the ocean and I will see him 4 weeks from today!

You are so right, patience is very important. When the time is right for us all, it will come. I can't wait to see your dancing men!

I know you were I just wouldn't want her or anybody else (self included) to freak out. This is a lot to go through, and what you said made my heart jump a little, feeling like oh jeez now I am causing this horrible delay? What did she hear?? I think the jokers that answer the phone at DOS don't know diddly. And yes, we can disagree and still be friends. You are our official cheerleader!

I'm just feeling really punchy lately. AP sucks. No way around it. 2008 has been the longest year of my life.

But I have a sneaking suspicion that 2009 will be the best year of our lives...or at least the first of many!

Yeeeeah me too!

Well when I called the DOS I was Curious and asked why does my husband have to go through AP if he had already gone through secruity checks for 3 months during USCIS level and one at NVC, and the person that answer me told me that sometimes the Petitioner goes to Background checks as well as a final check... With all the checks that my husband and I had gone through I wasn't surprised of that statement and didn't think nothing of it. But then I read something to that effect here on VJ a while back... But I was just saying my Opinion, if you dont agree that's fine! I was just said it and was trying to make Julia feel better... Sorry

Nita

I know you were I just wouldn't want her or anybody else (self included) to freak out. This is a lot to go through, and what you said made my heart jump a little, feeling like oh jeez now I am causing this horrible delay? What did she hear?? I think the jokers that answer the phone at DOS don't know diddly. And yes, we can disagree and still be friends. You are our official cheerleader!

I'm just feeling really punchy lately. AP sucks. No way around it. 2008 has been the longest year of my life.

But you know what I heard that sometimes that AP can be because of the Petitioner as well.....

Ehhh Nita...

Based on everything that's been posted about Julia's case, I'm confident her fiance is undergoing security checks in Washington now (same as mine).

You should elaborate on this "because of the petitioner as well" thing.... I'm very curious to know what you've heard because from what I know, I would not agree with that statement.

brother i was in ap only for 20 months , so i cant talk on your behalf , but pray , remember Allah , and believe in Allah will give u peace of mind and soul ,

do submit what they told you , also send your passport that will save your time ,

my prayers r with you

Chaingang where ya been? Any progress on your visa? I hope so!

i have no idea about african languages. i know i must to be patient and i think i am .. sometimes i can be cranky.. i feel little better when i am checking people posts.. and same time counting days too for seing my julia again.. yes she will be here for her winter break.i can not wait for seing her again.. hope everything will be fine..

Every day for us something new.. and waiting for new days good luck mates..

Two things I'm sure of, we're all cranky sometimes, and everything will be fine...

My fiance is becoming incredibly impatient and told me today that if his AP isn't complete in 45 days he is going to cancel the visa application and that I can move to Turkey when I am done with my graduate program in May. WHAT? I am so upset...sitting here crying. He is being so irrational right now and seems to have his mind made up.

On top of that I have to take the Praxis tomorrow morning and I'm an emotional wreck right now.

Not to dash your hopes, but my I-129f, took NVC 4 months to clear it. you need to be realistic that with 2.5 million people wanting visa's its going to take awhile for processing.

Darcene

Um, what exactly do you know about AP? From your timeline, it looks as if you know absolutely nothing of AP.

I'll try to give you a small idea of what it's like. Imagine... you've had your interview, you've been told your paperwork is all in order and your relationship is verified, but... some mysterious processing still needs to be done on your case and you have no information about it and even worse ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA when it will finish. NO IDEA. NONE.

Thanks for the insight Junior. You might want to do your homework before you chime in about something you know nothing about.

Coming back alone is one of the worst things you have to do in life. I had not been able to eat or sleep for 20 hours on that journey back and had sleepless nights for a good 2 months after that. I think the best thing to do is to keep in mind the possiblity of having to come back alone to minimize the mental shock but to also have complete faith that anything forced is never good. I hope you don't have to go through this and that AP will be cleared between this time, I am praying for you that you and your fiance will be reunited soon, in the US.

God bless,

Tam

Thanks Tam, I really appreciate your support and your friendship. Much love to you.

I will add this... be happy that you are aware of it. Some of us thought we had done all of our homework and were completely blindsided by being put into AP.

Tammy is right, pay attention to every little last detail when preparing your paperwork, and also go overboard with proof of your relationship. Some people get put into AP for relationship verification. If you can prove it at the interview, you can avoid a delay.

and what is the differences living your love forever and city or country not important or living with your love or waiting for living with your love and living only the united states? if i will get marry with julia why we must to wait for this rules ruining our healts ?i told julia all the time. country or countries not important for me.. important is living with my love.

True... I have never been to Turkey so I don't know what it's like. Living in Africa would probably end my life a lot sooner than my fortunate and cushy life here. I really feel for the African people. There is no work, they don't have reliable clean running water and electricity, and there are some really scary sicknesses in Africa. I supposed this is a little off topic, but being there makes me appreciate what we do have in this country, and it's why we continue to wait for his visa to come here. My fiance will have the opportunity to educate himself, find good work, and help feed his family back home (oh yeah and never be hungry again himself).

hey thank you WonTanNara . i know before 11 september and after september .. lots of rules changed.. i know about africa too.. i had some afraican friends from nigeria ghibuti and ghana.. i know i heard from them lots of story yes thats sadness. just one thing is bother me i mean i have never been in the state before. if i am for this reason in AP or not... hope someday africa can be change. they are really cool and really friendly.. hope your fiance can get visa soo soon.. i am wishing this for everybody.. bcuz this is too hard and really unhealty for people..hope this world can never see any war or terorism anymore.

Won tan nara is Susu (my fiance's native language) and loosely translated it means "we are in this together." You're very welcome. I hope that by reading some of our posts you can take comfort in the fact that you are not alone. My fiance too has never left his home country before traveling to Senegal for his interview; he's never stepped foot on US soil. This all seems so ridiculous, doesn't it? It's got to be somebody else's bad name causing our bad fortune and I'm so sorry we have to go through this.

And yes, the African people that have touched my lives are so very special!

I absolutely believe your visa will come because your relationship is real and you have no criminal record. Be patient. Julia said she's going to go visit you for her winter break, right? Focus on that vacation, a little pre-honeymoon... I too will be going to see my fiance in 4 weeks and 2 days, but I'm not counting hee hee...

Hang in there!

I came across this and it talks about the different checks that are performed I found it interesting

http://www2.gtlaw.com/practices/immigratio.../017/item07.htm

Quote from that article:

"DOS reports indicate that approximately 80% of CONDOR clearances are completed within 30 days. If a CONDOR check has been pending for over 90 days, inquiries to the DOS are recommended."

BWWAAAAHHAHAHAHAH!

And....

DOS reports indicate that approximately 80% of MANTIS clearances are completed within 30 days. If a MANTIS clearance has been pending for over 90 days, inquiries to the DOS are recommended.

AAAAAAAHAHAHAH!

Ok, and then there's this... how many of us actually know what clearances our SOs are undergoing? I have not been able to get any information about any of it.

Forgive my rant, I've gone from being really depressed today to being really pi$$ed off.

and what is the differences living your love forever and city or country not important or living with your love or waiting for living with your love and living only the united states? if i will get marry with julia why we must to wait for this rules ruining our healts ?i told julia all the time. country or countries not important for me.. important is living with my love.

True... I have never been to Turkey so I don't know what it's like. Living in Africa would probably end my life a lot sooner than my fortunate and cushy life here. I really feel for the African people. There is no work, they don't have reliable clean running water and electricity, and there are some really scary sicknesses in Africa. I supposed this is a little off topic, but being there makes me appreciate what we do have in this country, and it's why we continue to wait for his visa to come here. My fiance will have the opportunity to educate himself, find good work, and help feed his family back home (oh yeah and never be hungry again himself).

WontanNara--I know how you feel--I HATE visiting my husband and then having to say good-bye and not knowing when I will see him again.

Yeah... it's so hard. I really hope we can come home together. By the time I leave Africa, if AP doesn't finish before then, we will have been on AP for 9 months.

Insh-Allah.... his AP will finish before then.

and also would like to add a sence. when i see people who got their interview after me and they got their visas , i feel like stupid..

Onur you can't beat yourself up over that, it's out of your control. I know how you feel, though...

My fiance has a cousin, who has a girlfriend, who has a friend, who has found her way to me for help for her Guinean fiance's visa. I've answered all of her questions, I've helped her learn from my mistakes, I've helped her understand the Dakar embassy and it's processes, and my fiance and I have helped her and her fiance find a place to stay in Dakar. Her fiance has his interview in a very short time, and there is a very real chance that this man could get his visa and leave Senegal well before my fiance. How is that just? I've gone out of my way to help them and still, my fiance is not here with me. I cannot control it. Helping them is my sacrifice for God.

You are more than likely undergoing security checks because somebody here in the states with the same or a similar name did something criminal. I know this because I read Julia's response from her inquiry with her Senator. My fiance and many others are in the same exact position. We have another friend who went through this and later on found out a man with the same name had been arrested and deported from the US. At this point your visa is conditionally approved and the security checks are being done in Washington. It's taking so long because there are a over a million people that apply for visas each year. Our government is already spending too much money (the 'war' in Iraq is costing us billions of dolllars) so the government does not have enough people to do all the work that needs to be done. Sadly, our government is kind of screwed up...

Before September 11, 2001, if a consulate requested security checks from a US government agency, the agency had 30 days to respond. At the end of the 30 days, the consulate had the authority to issue the visa. After September 11, our newly formed department of homeland security changed that law and the consulates overseas are required to wait for clearance from Washington. It SUCKS, it makes good people suffer, but it is what it is and you cannot take it personally.

Hang in there, you are not alone. Remember, nothing good is ever easy and good things come to those who wait!

Oh and you're right about arguing. After our argument was finished today, we said we always feel closer after an argument.

For those of you that haven't seen it, here is a little clip about our festival here in VT. This one is from last year. Our festival this year was great and as soon as we get the new clip I'll post it.

Ohhh fun!

I live in VT, prefer to travel in the summer, SO is from Guinea, and we'll eat pretty much anything.

It would be really fun if we could pair this meeting with a W. African music festival. Here's what I know about recurring festivals:

Burlington, VT - 1st weekend in November

Oakland, CA - end of May

Fresno, CA - 2nd week in July up in the mountains, camp style

Boulder, CO - August (I think)

I know there are also festivals in Atlanta and Chicago too but I'm not sure when. Of course I think our festival in VT is the best on but I'm biased.

I am having a bad day today. I've pretty much spent the day in and out of bed, crying. I'm going to see my fiance in 4 weeks and all I can think about is OH MY GOD WHAT WILL I DO IF HAVE TO COME HOME BY MYSELF AGAIN? It's tearing me apart today and I should be focusing on the fact that I'm going to see him. We even had a fight today because I'm out of my head! We are ok now, but jeez louise this we need this to be over soon...

Tammy, you are so right about there being not much else but numbness and tears after six months. We are into our seventh month now and I feel like a zombie stumbling around (when I actually get my a$$ out of bed). I also agree with you about those that have not ever been on AP chiming in, they just don't get it.

Onur, welcome. My fiance is experiencing the same thing you are. He's stuck in Sengal waiting for the last seven months with no work and not much to keep him occupied. He too is a simple, decent person. He's an artist, a drummer with a love of music in his heart. I also know he loves me like you love Julia. He's no terrorist, yet my government is taking their sweet old time with this. It's ridiculous.

I've had crying fits where I've told him I'm selling my house, my car, and everything I own so I can go to Africa and be with him. Julia I'm sure you've had similar thoughts. But, as difficult as this immigration process is, it will be over and the opportunities that are available in this country I think outweigh the difficulties we face with immigration right now. Focus on that for now. Four months, seven months, thirteen months.... it's all just a little bleep in time when you consider how many years we have to live our lives together.

Let's stick together, ride the waves, give each other support, and just let yourself feel what you need to feel without beating yourself up.

Insh-Allah we will all be reunited soon...

since you were never on AP you cannot possibly understand the frustrations of not knowing how long this is going to take and what is going on not to mention looking forward to the interview date and then having AP slap you blindsided.

It SUCKS doesn't it? OMG I never had any idea that this could happen. All I knew was you either got the visa or you didn't. Neither one of us was prepared and it was a harsh slap in the face. Up one side and then the other. SEVEN MONTHS LATER.........

I agree with you, anybody who has not been through this could possibly begin to understand just how difficult it is.

Sorry about that. I dont know why they have gone up on the price.

geez louweeeeze!

Try manjai lodge. Its pretty cozy and basic. I'll look around for you.

When are you needing it so i'll know the dates?

Leedah.

Thank you so much! We want to arrive Friday 12/19 and depart Friday 1/9. I'll look for Manjai lodge. I really really appreciate your help!

I can understand the human mind might be irrational at times but he should get his kit together, man up and take a hold of himself. If he is showing this kind of behavior now you guys are going through hard times, how will things become when you two are finally married? Have you considered this?

I don't think this is a fair assessment. None of us can fully appreciate what our SO's go through outside the borders of the US while they are waiting and waiting and waiting. I didn't understand this before, but now I totally understand why Guineans will keep the entire visa process a secret from everybody, including their immediate families. People love to cluck cluck cluck to place doubt in the minds of others and I think that is happening to Onur, too. He's feeling the eyes of everybody around him, watching him, waiting... sooo... you're going to the US, eh? When exactly is that gonna happen?

Not only that, nobody is perfect. We all have our unpleasant personality traits which are amplified by stressful and discouraging situations. I wouldn't be too hard on him Julia. I've personally been through this exact type of scenario and I think nothing less of my fiance. He is a wonderful human being and in spite of the occasional hissy fit under stress he is perfect for me. Think of it this way, if Onur is showing this type of behavior now, it will give you an early opportunity to figure out how to move through these times while making your love stronger, not tearing it apart by fighting among yourselves. Let him feel what he needs to feel and when the storm has passed talk about it to figure out how to move through it together. You'll have your stormy times too and will probably appreciate the same kind of compassion.

I feel your pain, sister, it'll be over when the time is right.

Leedah I'm so sad! Janice quoted me a price of £460 for 3 weeks and that converts to almost $700! Way out of my budget. Wah! She also did not have a double bed room available and, since this will for all intents and purposes be our honeymoon, twin beds for that price just won't cut it.

If you have any other suggestions I am all ears.

Hugs...

Hope you have lots of fun.

http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/reports/FBI/a0824/final.pdf

Here is a loooooong read about security checks, sorry off topic but thought you may

like to know this.

In a nut shell ( page 11 ) checks back logged longer than 6 month are to be completed by April 2009, someone else said by February 2009.

Thought about you when I read that and hope you will be done with checks sooner than later.

Thanks Omoba! I don't mind OT. I'm really excited about this trip.

I wonder about this article. I only read page 11, and it talks about USCIS/FBI name checks, which are actually AOS name checks. We have an immigration attorney in our dance community and she's told me that the AOS name checks and visa security clearance processes are different. I could be wrong, and I would love to be wrong, and would love for our checks to be completed in April. It would at least give us a light and the end of the tunnel. We've been waiting almost a year since I filed the original petition, and for a K1 visa that is just ridiculous!

Insh-Allah.... we really want to come home together.

We've been through this too, Julia. My fiance has been stuck outside his home country for seven months waiting for his visa. Guinea is really unstable now so he doesn't want to risk going back (they closed the borders in 2006 because of violent protests and they are heading down that path again). There's nothing for him in Senegal and he feels so helpless. He's told me "If I don't have my visa in blah blah blah then I'm going to blah blah blah" but then the next day he's fine. I've also said the same thing, "If he doesn't have his visa in blah blah blah then I'm selling all my ####### and moving to Africa!"

It's a rollercoaster ride, isn't it! Focus on your upcoming trip. Try to find the silver lining... this wait, as difficult as it's been, has really brought us SO much closer together and I know we'll never take each other for granted. Nothing good is ever easy. Hang in there!