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Nigeria US Consulate Reviews
Average Rating: 3.5
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774 Review(s)
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|  Review #885 on September 28, 2006: |
masterpiece
Rating: 
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: K1 Visa
Part One of the Review: NVC >>>Embassy>>>>Packets>>>Getting Interview Date
This reply is based on a process in evolution. I intend to write a detailed account of this process that hopefully will stay in the Nigeria Embassy review section for awhile. It has certainly taken a lot of energy trying to sift out information where they maybe in previous threads. Other site members- Taye500, Neya, Sercontigo, Alyce- to mention a few have been very helpful and i thank them. If you are like me and you obsess over “things going according to plan” you are welcome to read through this review and return for updates. If you are more spontaneous, you may find this read a bit boring………….
My timeline also explains further. This is what i have observed from our own process. NVC often turns the case files around very quickly once received from USCIS (sometimes the very next day). NVC sent my files to Lagos (presumably on 9/7/2006). This information was received by calling NVC at 603 334 0700 armed only with the USCIS number. I mention this because you may receive the NVC letter stating case has been sent to Lagos days after NVC actually mailed the case to Lagos.
Anyway i have no way of verifying exact date Lagos received the files. I was busy trying to update address and so my e-mail correspondence with Lagos embassy had to do with address update. Finally on 9/18/2006, i received an e-mail saying the case has been "uploaded into the system" but with no mention of the address update, the theme of my prior e-mails to Lagos embassy.
I decided to wait for 10business days before having my fiancee head to embassy for the inquiry. I really did not want her being turned away because the case had not gotten prepped to the point of issuing the Packets. Moreover there were other issues at hand such as obtaining police report and getting other documents, she would need, to Nigeria. I had opted for Fedex but after all was said and done, i was staring at $385.00 and i had not even been charged some tax on jewelry yet. I finally looked for an alternative...would you believe after reclaiming my package from Fedex (some last minute afterthought). That alternative was finding someone travelling to Lagos. By paying for an extra suitcase (less than $200.00) i was able to get all the documents to my fiancee. It was risky placing those documents in the plane but i was willing to take my chances what with the luxury of all i could pack into one suitcase. The irony of it all is that the suitcase arrived Lagos before Fedex would have delivered. I guess it was more of perfect timing that i found someone travelling at just the right time.
My fiancee collected her packets today 09/27/2006. Let me say this in bold prints because i searched for this piece of info so many times and it took Taye500 underscoring the affirmative before i could get going but i guess that`s because enough people didnt just spell it out..........or perhaps i just could not locate the thread where similar facts had been depicted.
Yes you can collect your packages by going to the embassy with NOA2 (USCIS approval notice) and the NVC letter. Wednesday is specifically set aside for inquiries but note the time for that is from 11a.m. Again i did not know this "minute" fact and i sent my fiancee out there as early as 6a.m.....So 11a.m Wednesdays but it may also be possible to make inquiries on other weekdays. I can only report on the facts as i know them.
She did not like all the long hours but she persevered and went through what seemed like the actual interview to the point where she was given the packets and an interview date of Nov 15, 2006. If she wakes up sometime this year, i intend to get a very detailed report of the contents of the so-called packed "sheets of paper stapled together" is the summary of what i have obtained thus far from her. I want and will get more details posted.
I think often we get to a point where we are either so excited or have a lot going on...travel plans, more communication with S.O that we forget those yearning for information....just little titbits of information that can make a difference in plans and logistics. I intend to do my bit and post most of what i have here on the Nigerian Embassy section. I will add to this after my fiancee`s interview and paste.
The Mysterious Packets 3 and 4:
These are, in the main, sheets of paper all stapled together bearing instructions about the following:
Forms to present for Police Report (well,to save time you should get the police report even before you receive this...if timed perfectly, the police report should still be valid) My fiancée went for her police report around Sep. 10….that is the interval between when NVC sends out the files to Lagos and when Lagos actually updates your case in their system
• Forms to present at Kamorass Clinic for medical exam
• A page about the type of passport pictures to bring
• A page or two about vaccinations to receive
Packet 4 is for all intent and purpose instructions about procedure for Interview, information about documents to have on hand(i will update this bit later) and more importantly the interview date itself.
| | | Nigeria | Review #854 on September 19, 2006: |
chinelo
Rating: 
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: K1 Visa
apart from the waiting period, it was a stressfree day for me. everyone was real friendly and if you are the outgoing type you want to interact with other people and hear there cases. my appointmnet time is 7am and i was there by 6am/ i was called around 8am to submit my affidavit of support, birth certificate and the finaicail documents i have, three hours later i was called for the interview. after the swearing and the thumpprint. the lady asked me how i met my fiance, his hobbies, if he has brothers and sisters, if he met my parents, what made me choose him, and she only asked to see the pictures of both of us together.
| | | Nigeria | Review #845 on September 13, 2006: |
CFO
Rating: 
· 1 person found this review helpful
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: K1 Visa
My fiancé arrived at the embassy around 5 AM. There were approximately 10 to 15 people already waiting, but he was able to arrange it to where he was the first person in line. About 6:30, a security officer checked everyone's paperwork and verified it and then issued yellow slips based on the type visa the person was there to receive. Around 7AM an attendant came out and led the line of interviewees into the embassy. After inside, another set of security officers collected the yellow slip of paper after separating K-1 visa applicants to another line. Within 10 minutes a black lady called his number and she asked for his documents and collected them (approval forms, medical, and affidavit of support) and instructed him to go and sit down. Within a few minutes, a white lady called his name and then at a counter while standing she asked his name and she asked my name (fiancée’s name). She asked how we met each other. She asked him about my line of work. She asked where I lived, my favorite foods and how many times I visited Nigeria and the dates. She also asked where he took me during my visits after looking at our pictures. As he was answering the questions, she was writing them down or taking notes. She requested pictures and she collected our emails and read them. She asked my fiancé his profession. She also asked him why he didn't find a Nigeria woman to marry (trying to trip him up). He answered this question from his heart. She then told him to go and sit down. After a few minutes she was typing on the computer and she stepped away. He noticed that she passed off copies of our emails to another white man working there. My fiancé says he was all prayers at this point because the two were going back and forth. Then she went to the printer to collect what she was typing (2 yellow papers). She gave him one of the yellow copies and told him come back on Tuesday. The paper was his approval letter for his K-1 Visa. The lady never uttered with her mouth his visa was granted, but the paper said so. The following week, he returned to pick up his visa. They told him to by 2 PM and he arrived around noon. After waiting a while, a security officer came to lead to line of waiters into the embassy well after 2PM. A number tab was given to each. Over the microphone, they started calling names. When his name was called he went to pick-up passport w/visa and a brown paper package. They asked him to verify the spelling of his name and informed him not to open the brown package to be given the custom officials at the airport in US.
Please be organized when you go to this embassy. Make sure to create multiple copies of everything. I sent my fiancé a big binder with colored and labeled tabs with emails, pictures, written letters, phone bills, calling cards, engagement announcement, financial information, employment verification, Tax Returns. I am thankful this part is over. Now the issue of getting everything here in the states...things I never thought of. Best of luck to everyone going through this. It is definitely worth it for the one you love! 
| | | Nigeria | Review #836 on September 10, 2006: |
crazi4christ
Rating:
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: Waiver/Admin Review
Well, this process has taken forever. When we first had our interview we were told that it would only take a few months. Well after waiting 7 months I returned to Nigeria and went to the embassy to find out what was going on. They werent replying to my emails so I did it in Person. That wasnt much help. But I didnt find out that they had just started to process our case again. So we waited and waited. Sept 05 one year from our last interview. My husband was returning to the Embassy on a weekly bases for them to have him go and get more documents. It was crazy I was fed up and Pregnant I contacted my Congressman and he looked into in. Finally In Decemeber 1 month before I was due. The embassy said that we would have to presue another Visa or due the K3 over again. Well the CR1 we had started in the being so we choose to finish it. They never gave us a direct reason why. That is why the Congressman is still fighting it. They are very harrsh at the embassy. Just make sure you have every little document that way they cant send you away and say they want more. We kept bringing everything they would ask for and when he gave it to them they would say we dont need that now we need you to go get this document and when you get it bring it back to us. I know the embassy very well. It is seriously how the Interveiwer feels that day about you getting a Visa or not. If you want to know more you can IM me and I will let you know. I felt the interviewer we had was raciest because of what he said to me.
| | | Nigeria | Review #572 on May 15, 2006: |
kiwib99
Rating:
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: K1 Visa
The following is me and my now husband's interview experience at Lagos in June 2005. This information will be beneficial for genuine Nigeria-USC Couples who want to diminish the stress of going thru this difficult consulate.
General Tips for Dealing with Lagos
1. You must do your research! Every case is different so you must understand what could possibly be viewed as being a problem by the consulate. Carefully review others experiences so you know what to expect. Start this well ahead of your interview day so you can rectify any possible problems in time.
2. Related. You must be prepared and well organized. Keep all your paperwork in such a way that everything can easily be located and that you have all the necessary details and papers.
3. Have ample proof of your relationship. I can only speak about going through the K1 experience but the consulate namely looks for emails and pictures. Print out every single email correspondence and have plenty of pictures. I mean hundreds. If you have handwritten letters over the span of your relationship, especially from before you filed the K1 (i.e. not just a few weeks prior to the interview) this will be to your benefit BUT only if you have the postmarked envelopes to prove the date.
4. Have your financial information in order. You must be able to show proof that you make over the stated limits and that you are currently employed. Lagos claims that it does not accept co-sponsorship for K1 visas, so be prepared for this!!
The following is re-posted from some time ago after we got approved at the interview in Lagos::
We arrived at the embassy at 6:30AM and it was already packed (interview was scheduled for 7AM). There were two separate lines: One for non-immigrant visas (NIV) and another one for immigrant visas/diversity visas (IV and DIV). The NIV line was considerably longer than the IV/DIV line.
Around 6:45AM they told us to have the following documents handy: 1. the interview letter 2. international passport 3. passport photographs (you’re supposed to have 4) 4. medical results. They then told those in the IV line to open their packet where the x-ray and medical results were contained, take out the white envelope and then open it while still in line.
Around 7AM they started to admitting people in. The person admitting those in line made sure that each person had those items. When it was my fiancé’s turn the person there looked at me and told us (very monotone voice-seems to be a standard line for him) “you are not allowed inside, but tell the CO that the petitioner is around, and if there are any concerns they will call you in.” I was fully prepared for that, so I gave my fiancé a kiss and went outside to wait.
Directly across from the U.S. consular section there are benches that you can pay N50 to sit on. So I planted myself there and waited for about 4.5 hours until my fiancé came rushing out to tell me that the CO wanted to see me. But I’m jumping ahead of myself. This is what happened to my fiancé while I was waiting outside:
There are two waiting rooms. The first one you enter you pay your fee ($100 for K1), you are assigned a number and then you wait until your number is called. When your number is called, you go into the second waiting room (which is very cold) where the interview is conducted.
He was called by the first interviewer. The man was a Nigerian, and he just collected his documents. He asked for his forms (DS 156, DS156K, birth certificate) and the financial documents (I-134, taxes etc). He scanned through them and did not suggest there were any problems. In fact he joked with my fiancé that he was going to the U.S. to enjoy life (said this in Yoruba). He asked him what I did for a living. He told him that I was a student but I had had some part-time jobs.
While he was waiting for the second interview, my fiancé sent me a note through someone that had already finished their interview to tell me that everyone was okay, but that there was no news, and I should stay calm (what a sweetheart  .
Then he was called by the second interviewer. She said, “Actually you will not be granted the visa today because for K1 visas we do not entertain co-sponsors and your fiancé does not make enough money to support you” His response, “no problem, ma” and she said, “but that does not mean we cannot still conduct the interview. I will still look at your evidence.” She also said, maybe something can be arranged so she can come to Nigeria, and you two can get married. To which he said nothing.
CO: When did you meet?
Ans: 2001
CO: Where?
Ans: At the airport.
CO: Do you work at the airport?
Ans: No
CO: So how is it that you met her at the airport?
Then he explained to her how my aunts came to Lagos to pick me up from the airport when I came to Nigeria in 2001. Since he and his family live close to the airport, my aunts stayed at their house (Our families are family friends). My family lives about 4 hours from Lagos so they came earlier and stayed at his house. Because my aunts are not that familiar with Lagos, he took them to the airport upon his brother’s instructions.
CO: So what is the relationship between your brother and her aunt?
Ans: They are family friends.
CO: How many brothers do you have?
Ans: 2
CO: Only 2? Where do they stay?
Ans: Lagos
Then she asked for his evidence. He first pulled out some emails. She had a look on her face, as if to say “is that all?” But we had separated the emails into folders according to years, so he had to go to the other folders to pull the rest out. We had about 125 emails. Then she said “You have had a relationship for four years and you only have that amount of emails?” He responded, “No, ma. You asked us when we met. We met in 2001, but the relationship did not start until 2003.” She replied, “ok,” and she seemed to be taking some notes.
He handed over the emails. And then he handed over the photographs (we had separated the pictures into 4 small photo albums, with about 200 photos total). She asked him when I had been in Nigeria. He answered, once in 2003, twice in 2004, and that I was here now. She was then asking him, how is it that I am able to afford to come to Nigeria based on my income. And how do I get money? He said that I was a student, but I worked part-time sometimes and that my school gives me money, but he doesn’t really understand the setup. And she said, “She’s here now?” She then pulled out a blue form and checked a box that said, “Return immediately with the petitioner,” and asked him to come get me.
I was outside, sitting on those benches, reading a Nigerian magazine, when my fiancé came running towards me to tell me “they want to see you.” I saw a blue form in his hand so I was really scared. But it was a form asking that he return with me. I was surprised, but for some reason I knew I was going to be called in. I had our cell phones and my camera with me, so he had to run back to the car while I waited with the security guards to go through the checkpoint. He returned really quickly and the security guards, asked “Did you fly there?” He wasn’t even out of breath. They let me in, and as we were walking inside, he filled me in as much as possible. I went to the window of the interviewer.
While he was outside getting me, she had gone through the emails and the pictures.
I greeted her and she greeted me. And she said, “There is a problem. You don’t make enough money.” I was prepared for there to be some problems with my financial information, but I was sure that my co-sponsors information would make everything okay since she makes way over the limit. I tried to explain my situation to her (that I was a full-time student, I received a stipend from my school for living expenses and that I had worked some part-time jobs in the past). I actually did make over the limit, it just wasn’t fully reflected in the taxes I filed because not all the money I get from my school’s fellowship is taxable. Anyways she was not really trying to hear that, we were kind of talking past each other. She told me that she does believe the relationship is genuine and for that reason if I can prove that I can support only 1 person (instead of 2) that she would have no problems (around $11,000). She said by law you are required to have a job before you can petition for anyone. I said I do have a job! I’m a graduate student, and my school pays me. Anyway we went back and forth for a few minutes, and I continued to plead my case. She looked over my W2’s and taxes from my other part-time jobs (which I did not currently hold). I don’t think she really looked at the 1098’s that my school gave me that reflects the stipend. And then she said, I need some kind of employer letter or something. So I said, well there are the letters from my school. But my fiancé had not handed those over (doh!), so I gave her the funding letters from my school, which gave details of the stipend amounts and conditions of my fellowship. She took them and said “sit down, I will be back”
About 10 minutes later, she called us back. She said, “Congratulations! Good luck on the rest of your life together” and my fiancé and I hugged each other. And I was jumping up and down saying “thank you, thank you ma’am.” And she gave us a blue letter and told us to come back on Friday to pick up the visa. We went Friday to pick up the visa. The letter said we should be there at 2PM. We were there at 1:30PM and no one else was in line. The guards told us that they were closed, which was a lie. They just wanted us to tip them. But we just waited there and another security guard let us in. They let me in with my fiance. When we got there, we handed over the blue letter to a security guard and waited in the first waiting room. They were still conducting NIV interviews. Then my fiancé’s name was called about 15 minutes later. He went to the second waiting room, where he was handed over his passport and the brown envelope.
So that was it! We prevailed in the end. I don’t know what really convinced her. Maybe she was just trying to see how we would react to her. It just goes to show you how subjective the process is though. I hadn’t heard anywhere that they don’t support co-sponsorship for fiancé visas. Thanks to everyone on VJ who posted their experiences in the past, especially those going through Lagos in the past. Praise God. And thanks to the CO that interviewed us.
My overall advice would be that, make sure your relationship and financial evidence is solid. Be organized and prepared. I think the only reason she approved us in the end was because it was obvious we had a genuine relationship. As far as the relationship evidence is concerned, for fiancé visas they are primarily looking for emails and pictures. I think letters (with postmarks) are bonus and really only useful if they are from before you filed. Phone records are useless if they don’t show the phone numbers dialed (but bring them anyways!).
We arranged our evidence into a 3 ring binder; each section divided by color-coded tabs. Each section had its own folders. As I said the only thing they really looked at as far as our relationship evidence was emails and our pictures, and that seemed to be enough for them. They kept all my financial information (except for the school letters) along with my co-sponsors information (although they said I couldn’t use a co-sponsor!) and returned the emails and pictures.
Section #1 BENEFICIARY’S INFORMATION
-Form DS 156 (2 copies)
-Form DS 156K
-Certified copy of birth certificate
-Police certificate
Section #2 PETITIONER’S INFORMATION
-Certified copy of birth certificate
-Copy of Front page of passports
-Notice of Actions from I-129F petition
Section #3 EVIDENCE OF RELATIONSHIP AND ENGAGEMENT
-Letter of intent to marry from Petitioner
-Pictures (from our official engagement ceremony last July, excursions around Lagos, family events, random candid photos)
-Handwritten correspondence between couple (letters, cards, postcards)
-Electronic mail correspondence between couple
-Correspondence between Couple and Family
-Phone Correspondence (copies of phone cards)
-Proof of Petitioner’s travel to Nigeria
-Yahoo Chat logs
-Pictures of souvenirs handed out to guests at our engagement ceremony
-Engagement Ceremony guestbook
-Statements of family consent and support for the engagement
-Congratulatory greeting cards on engagement
Section #4 EVIDENCE OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT-SPONSOR
-Letter explaining financial situation of sponsor and providing information about co-sponsor
-Notarized I-134
-Letter from Bank
-Bank Statements from December 2003 to May 2005
-Funding letters from University
-Copy of 2004 Tax return
-2004 W2’s and 1098-T
-Copy of 2003 Tax return
-2003 W2’s, 1098T and 1099-MISC
Section #4 EVIDENCE OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT-CO-SPONSOR
-Letter from co-sponsor explaining why agreed to sponsor and summary of financial security
-Copy of Naturalization Certificate, front page of U.S. passport to prove United States citizenship
-Notarized I-134
-Bank Letters
-Letter from Employers
-Copy of 2004 Tax returns and W2’s
-Copy of 2003 Tax returns and W2’s
-Copy of 2002 Tax returns and W2’s
-Recent Pay stubs
-Recent Bank Statements
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