Suchie:
Thanks VO for yur reply,As of today no case number has been assinged to us.Pls how can we get the case number?Secondly when I was filling the Form 1129F they asked about the embassy we wanted for his interview I wrote down US embassy Abuja.ln this case pls advice us on what to do next.We planned coming back to naija together for his interview that was why i wrote US embassy abuja.Am so confused abt this whole issue..I dnt knw if I should call the national visa center or the uscis and ask them which embassy his case has been forwarded to..I only have the approval letter which i received couple of days ago with the receipt number which starts with EAC and the A#.No other mail has been received since then.

Hi Suchie,

Don't worry, this is very easy to straighten out. If you just got the approval letter a couple of days ago, there's still plenty of time. NVC knows Abuja doesn't do K visas, so they'll likely contact you soon and let you know that these cases are handled in Lagos. You can contact them at any time and ask them to have the case handled in the country where your fiance is, too; or, if the case is sent to us and you decide at that point to have it handled elsewhere, we can forward it to that post. All will be well.

VisaOfficer:

Hi Suchie,

Don't worry, this is very easy to straighten out. If you just got the approval letter a couple of days ago, there's still plenty of time. NVC knows Abuja doesn't do K visas, so they'll likely contact you soon and let you know that these cases are handled in Lagos. You can contact them at any time and ask them to have the case handled in the country where your fiance is, too; or, if the case is sent to us and you decide at that point to have it handled elsewhere, we can forward it to that post. All will be well.

Thanks VO for yur reply,I really appreciate...I will keep you posted in any development at least am a lil bit relieved now...Thanks and God bless

Thank you so much and God bless u.

VisaOfficer:

Greetings! Yes, of course he should tell the truth. First of all, that's the right thing to do. Secondly, it's easier to remember the truth than to keep lies straight. Third: We have his photo and fingerprints in our system, as he ought to know by now, and if he lies again he will probably never get a visa to the United States. If he tells the truth, the officer will respect that and try to find a way to help him, in spite of his pattern of dishonesty.

If he really has a bona fide spousal relationship with his wife, she should file for him, and he'll likely end up in the U.S. eventually. We'll have extra questions given that he's used a fake identity and then attempted to lie about it, though. But again, additional lies to try to cover up his previous application history will only make his problems worse.

Thank you so much for responding so quickly! Should I also send a scanned copy of the I-797C (Reaffirm letter) with the email?

VisaOfficer:

It sounds like we haven't received the notification from USCIS yet that the case has been reaffirmed. As soon as we do, we'll reactivate your case, no matter how long it's been since we've heard from you. Shoot us an e-mail at LagosIV@state.gov reminding us that your case has been reaffirmed, and we'll check the system to see where it is and when it should arrive here.

Good evening VO, few questions sorry if its already been answered in part, but 57 pages is an awful lot to sift through. My wife is a USC, I am Nigerian. We've been living together for the majority of the last 4 years in Ghana. Nigeria is not too safe for her, a few bad experiences...so we agreed Ghana is much better, she's happier there. We started staying together in 2009, in 2012 we got married and she filed the I-130 a few months ago. She is self-employed so does a lot of her work from abroad, but does go back every few months for a couple months to work from home (in the states). we have several questions that people are telling us are "red flags". 1. she is 15 years older than me. (though to see her, people think Im older than her). 2. we've been told that possibly us staying in Ghana and not Nigeria might be an issue? 3. about 8 years ago she met a Nigerian guy online. she filed a fiancé petition and he got his visa, after marrying him in the states, the scammer took off and filed some VAWA something just to stay there without her again. He completely disappeared with his scam. its shocking that immigration in the States could've even not realized his scam, but they obviously didn't because he is still there. Anyhow, would this be counted against her in anyway? She's divorced, obviously, she did it without him because she couldn't find him anywhere. So those are the 3 challenges people say we have going against us. I don't feel they are obstacles, but she gets worried on what she is told on other forums. We've been together for the better part of the last four years. I know her inside and out, the good and the bad, there is nothing anyone could ask me that I don't know about her. Despite that, do you see us having any problems when it comes time for me to get a visa? I would like to put my wife's mind at rest. thanks for your help.

my intl passport and waec cerificates bear different birthday what should i do please?

Hello CO, I married my wife almost 3 years before she bacame a USC and presently we've been blessed with a son, she migrated to the US via DV lottery and as we speak we've filled IR1 with USCIS (4months ago) and still hanging on for approval and again while married ive been to the US 2 times when she was still a GC holder (2011 and 2012 for official training).

Hence my question: we got married here in Lagos but after marriage her surname did not change because we both bear the same surname before our marriage and as a result we only have marriage certicate, our son birth certicate, wedding pix, etc. to show we are not biologically related, Can this lead to heavy scrutiny from USCIS down to USEL?

I will highly appreciate your response.... And I must say nice job your doing here.

VisaOfficer:

I just found your case in our system. I don't want to discuss a specific case in a public forum, so, to be very brief: It wasn't your spouse who was omitted from your initial entry, it was your child. It looks like you discussed all of this with the officer at the time of your interview.

.
Thanks for your time and your support, I quite agree with you because during the online registration the field marked" numbers of children" was optional I left it unfilled but I never know abt this but I know their name were inclusive . The visa officer did not narrow it to my baby and yet their name were on the beneficiary list. On the invitation. Pls is there any solution to this

I'm the US petitioner who works 2 full time jobs & used up almost all of my paid time off on my last visit to my fiancé. It will be very difficult for me to schedule time off to attend my fiancé's interview. How much emphasis does a Visa Officer put on the petitioner being present for the beneficiary's interview? Does Nigeria do stokes interview for K1 visas? Even if you do just interview the beneficiary, do you prefer to see that the beneficiary has the petitioner's passport in hand at the time of the interview?

You continued presence & assistance in this forum is truly a blessing to us all. Thank VO!

collegegrad2013: Thank you so much for responding so quickly! Should I also send a scanned copy of the I-797C (Reaffirm letter) with the email?

Feel free to do so, but we can't take action until we're notified by NVC.

Oscar8000: Good evening VO, few questions sorry if its already been answered in part, but 57 pages is an awful lot to sift through. My wife is a USC, I am Nigerian. We've been living together for the majority of the last 4 years in Ghana. Nigeria is not too safe for her, a few bad experiences...so we agreed Ghana is much better, she's happier there. We started staying together in 2009, in 2012 we got married and she filed the I-130 a few months ago. She is self-employed so does a lot of her work from abroad, but does go back every few months for a couple months to work from home (in the states). we have several questions that people are telling us are "red flags". 1. she is 15 years older than me. (though to see her, people think Im older than her). 2. we've been told that possibly us staying in Ghana and not Nigeria might be an issue? 3. about 8 years ago she met a Nigerian guy online. she filed a fiancé petition and he got his visa, after marrying him in the states, the scammer took off and filed some VAWA something just to stay there without her again. He completely disappeared with his scam. its shocking that immigration in the States could've even not realized his scam, but they obviously didn't because he is still there. Anyhow, would this be counted against her in anyway? She's divorced, obviously, she did it without him because she couldn't find him anywhere. So those are the 3 challenges people say we have going against us. I don't feel they are obstacles, but she gets worried on what she is told on other forums. We've been together for the better part of the last four years. I know her inside and out, the good and the bad, there is nothing anyone could ask me that I don't know about her. Despite that, do you see us having any problems when it comes time for me to get a visa? I would like to put my wife's mind at rest. thanks for your help.

Well, all those issues are issues that will make us ask additional questions. But if you can show that you've been together for four years, and can talk reasonably about your relationship, you should be fine. I don't know what Ghana's policy is, but if you do your interview in Lagos and we express doubts, you should let us know that the petitioner is with you and can be invited to an interview. We don't insist that petitioners be interviewed, but sometimes it's helpful. Good luck!

ppaul709: my intl passport and waec cerificates bear different birthday what should i do please?

Be prepared to explain how that happened and why we should believe that the same person obtained both documents.

justojai: Hello CO, I married my wife almost 3 years before she bacame a USC and presently we've been blessed with a son, she migrated to the US via DV lottery and as we speak we've filled IR1 with USCIS (4months ago) and still hanging on for approval and again while married ive been to the US 2 times when she was still a GC holder (2011 and 2012 for official training).

Hence my question: we got married here in Lagos but after marriage her surname did not change because we both bear the same surname before our marriage and as a result we only have marriage certicate, our son birth certicate, wedding pix, etc. to show we are not biologically related, Can this lead to heavy scrutiny from USCIS down to USEL?

I will highly appreciate your response.... And I must say nice job your doing here.

It's an uncommon situation but it's not unheard of. If you can provide your wife's and your own birth certificates (to show that you've always had the same surname, and different parents) that would clear things up very quickly.

olivialuv: .
Thanks for your time and your support, I quite agree with you because during the online registration the field marked" numbers of children" was optional I left it unfilled but I never know abt this but I know their name were inclusive . The visa officer did not narrow it to my baby and yet their name were on the beneficiary list. On the invitation. Pls is there any solution to this

That line is only optional because some people don't have children. One of the rules of the Diversity Visa program is that applicants must include the names of any spouse and children on their original entry. If an applicant fails to do so, the entry is disqualified. Because you did not list your child, you cannot receive a 2014 Diversity Visa.

feb242: I'm the US petitioner who works 2 full time jobs & used up almost all of my paid time off on my last visit to my fiancé. It will be very difficult for me to schedule time off to attend my fiancé's interview. How much emphasis does a Visa Officer put on the petitioner being present for the beneficiary's interview? Does Nigeria do stokes interview for K1 visas? Even if you do just interview the beneficiary, do you prefer to see that the beneficiary has the petitioner's passport in hand at the time of the interview?

You continued presence & assistance in this forum is truly a blessing to us all. Thank VO!

Greetings! Don't worry, we don't require petitioners to attend the interview. Sometimes, if the beneficiary tells us the petitioner is in Nigeria (or plans to visit soon), and there's not quite enough information to issue a visa otherwise, we'll schedule an interview with both of them. And on very rare occasions, if the case is really terrible but not quite terrible enough for a memo recommending revocation, we'll offer to keep the case open until the petitioner can come in (or until the beneficiary can produce some other type of better evidence). But general practice is to interview the beneficiary alone.

VisaOfficer:

Well, all those issues are issues that will make us ask additional questions. But if you can show that you've been together for four years, and can talk reasonably about your relationship, you should be fine. I don't know what Ghana's policy is, but if you do your interview in Lagos and we express doubts, you should let us know that the petitioner is with you and can be invited to an interview. We don't insist that petitioners be interviewed, but sometimes it's helpful. Good luck!

Yes, I'd be interviewing in Lagos since neither of us are permanent residents in Ghana and she most definitely would be there and glad to interview with me. Thanks so much for your response!

Hi VO,You are doing a wonderful job here..Kudos to you.pls what's the best way to contact US embassy Lagos?Is it by email or by calling them?I have been calling on the phone for the past two days they ain't picking their calls at the appropriate time too.Thanks

Suchie: Hi VO,You are doing a wonderful job here..Kudos to you.pls what's the best way to contact US embassy Lagos?Is it by email or by calling them?I have been calling on the phone for the past two days they ain't picking their calls at the appropriate time too.Thanks

Please contact us by e-mail at LagosIV@state.gov. Thank you!

VisaOfficer:

That line is only optional because some people don't have children. One of the rules of the Diversity Visa program is that applicants must include the names of any spouse and children on their original entry. If an applicant fails to do so, the entry is disqualified. Because you did not list your child, you cannot receive a 2014 Diversity Visa.

Thank VO for your support at least I can now be sure why it was not granted, it also a feedback on the develop site because it was not stated that the field line mark asterisk is a must filled it only stated optional when married, it does not require to state like 0-10 or as the case may be,to verify if the union have children because some may have a children but not married, I filled the form in best of my understanding of which the forms stands. I may not have intentionally did it . Thanks

Good morning V.O, i just need some help from you guys to help me understand something better, 4 years ago i applied for a U.S immigrant visa.. i went through the whole processing and everything, i was in the u.s on a visitor visa at that time (never over stayed or got in any trouble), and i got word from usics that my immigrant visa has been approved and that i have to go back home, and finish the rest of the paperwork there.. so i came back home did my first interview , they didnt ask me much, they just told me since my documents have been approved by usics all i need to do is my medicals and after 3 months, after getting the results they will call me to come back for a second interview..i did my medicals, .. and was ready for the next interview, at the second interview they told me my documents were under ''administrative processing'' and they would call me when the process is done.

i waited a year and half and didnt' hear a word from them, so i decided to give up on that and found another country to migrate too, i fell out with my attorney (aunty) that filed my immigrant application for me and she told me she withdrew my application , i didn't care much abt it cuz i gave up, but today i got an email from the embassy after almost 3-4 years here is the email, can anyone explain what all this is about thank you very very much.

Mr. ......

This email is in regards to the above case numbers for ..........

We are writing to inform you that this case has been terminated under INA 203 (g). Please advise if you or the applicant would like to pick up or have the original documents mailed. If the documents are to be mailed, please advise the address to where the documents should be sent.

We hope this information is helpful to you.

Sincerely,
U.S. Embassy
Consular Section




Did some research on INA 203 (G), came up with this INA 203(g) says "...The Secretary of State shall terminate the registration of any alien who fails to apply for an immigrant visa within one year following notification to the alien of the availability of such visa but the Secretary shall reinstate the registration of any such alien who establishes within 2 years following the date of notification of the availability of such visa that such failure to apply was due to circumstances beyond the alien's control." What does this mean?

Thank You

VisaOfficer:

It's an uncommon situation but it's not unheard of. If you can provide your wife's and your own birth certificates (to show that you've always had the same surname, and different tparents) that would clear things up very quickly.

Thanks a bunch CO, this was helpful. We can make all that availble couple with some other documents we can think of.

rffff

Hello consular,
please i will like to know what i can do next,because it is really getting crazy now in me, 2007,i went for student visa and was denied,went back thinking that what i presented wasnt enough due to what they wrote in the paper i was given,was denied second time,2009,went back again for visiting visa,because i was invited by a friend then,and was denied again,later travel to malaysia and then came to nigeria,my fiancee then want me to come to the state to spend some time with her and be able to go and buy the cars we sell by myself since i will be free then,but was denied again in 2012,so later she came down to nigeria and that was when we got married,though we had some red flags like age difference,child issue,she has kid and i dont,which i dont care about,since my wife is my joy and happiness,we apply for the cr1 and was given an interview date.well i went for my interview and was denied giving me a paper that my application will be return to the uscis in the state. CO,i want to tell you that at my interview,everything went well and all the question they ask was answerable,all what they ask was presented and even tell me that they already have some,when it got to pictures and the one that are new,they took part of it,now i dont know what i can do,because this is confusing and me and my wife always think will they give me this visa atall,she is always sad,everytime i tell her if they dont give me the visa,she will have to come and stay in nigeria,she loves nigeria,but hate the amenities here,mostly electricity. kindly advice me what we can do,everytime i see my wife stressing too much makes me sad and think too much. she get crazy too when she doesnt see me on cam in time too and as you know internet get more costly to be going on cam now in nigeria.
she came to visit me 2 times,here in nigeria and malaysia.

Please I want to ask this concerning F1 visa application... Can I use a different sponsor from wat I submitted to school for I-20 issuance on my DS 160 form? since name of sponsor didnt reflect on the I-20. Thank you.

Hello,
I got married 2 years ago to my husband outside of the US. I myself is a US citizen who live in the state. I petitioned for my husband, and my I-130 was recently approved, but there is one problem. I never change my name, I still use my maiden name, will that be a problem? If I am ask to accompany my husband to the interview will the immigration officer ask why I never change my name? Can I still change my name and ad my husband name?
Thank you.

I want to know the procedures to follow for my wife who wants to go and deliver in the US

Thanks so much for ur good work.. We appreciate it so much VO.
Here is my question... Can the school of choice cause VO to denial visa
Cos I got admission at Devry university, Texas and was refuse visa last month without VO giving me a particular reason and someone told me that the school not a good school and that its for people who are not into study.. Plz I want to know if that's true and does embassy look at school before visa is issued.. So I can get another school for fall 2014

Hello VO, for a K1 applicant is it only the ds-160 that needs to be filled by the beneficiary or there are other forms? How about the petitioner is it only the I 134 s/he will fill? We have received our NOA2 like 2 weeks ago but no case number yet from NVC but we just want to get the forms filled. I also lost my previous passport so the passport number I used in filling the biometrics at the beginning of the application is different from what I use for the ds 160. I hope that won't be an issue? The passport details are the same with the old one but different numbers.

Young Elohim: Good morning V.O, i just need some help from you guys to help me understand something better, 4 years ago i applied for a U.S immigrant visa.. i went through the whole processing and everything, i was in the u.s on a visitor visa at that time (never over stayed or got in any trouble), and i got word from usics that my immigrant visa has been approved and that i have to go back home, and finish the rest of the paperwork there.. so i came back home did my first interview , they didnt ask me much, they just told me since my documents have been approved by usics all i need to do is my medicals and after 3 months, after getting the results they will call me to come back for a second interview..i did my medicals, .. and was ready for the next interview, at the second interview they told me my documents were under ''administrative processing'' and they would call me when the process is done.

i waited a year and half and didnt' hear a word from them, so i decided to give up on that and found another country to migrate too, i fell out with my attorney (aunty) that filed my immigrant application for me and she told me she withdrew my application , i didn't care much abt it cuz i gave up, but today i got an email from the embassy after almost 3-4 years here is the email, can anyone explain what all this is about thank you very very much.

Mr. ......

This email is in regards to the above case numbers for ..........

We are writing to inform you that this case has been terminated under INA 203 (g). Please advise if you or the applicant would like to pick up or have the original documents mailed. If the documents are to be mailed, please advise the address to where the documents should be sent.

We hope this information is helpful to you.

Sincerely,
U.S. Embassy
Consular Section




Did some research on INA 203 (G), came up with this INA 203(g) says "...The Secretary of State shall terminate the registration of any alien who fails to apply for an immigrant visa within one year following notification to the alien of the availability of such visa but the Secretary shall reinstate the registration of any such alien who establishes within 2 years following the date of notification of the availability of such visa that such failure to apply was due to circumstances beyond the alien's control." What does this mean?

Thank You

Greetings! Our computers generate those letters automatically if there's an open case that hasn't seen any action for 12 months. In this example, if the petitioner withdrew the application, it's possible that she withdrew it through NVC and no one told us... so eventually the inaction would have triggered a termination letter. Again, those are supposed to go out after 12 months of inactivity, but for some reason our computers seem to "sit" on them for a while and then print out a whole batch at the same time.

Hope this helps!

tuja4u: Hello consular,
please i will like to know what i can do next,because it is really getting crazy now in me, 2007,i went for student visa and was denied,went back thinking that what i presented wasnt enough due to what they wrote in the paper i was given,was denied second time,2009,went back again for visiting visa,because i was invited by a friend then,and was denied again,later travel to malaysia and then came to nigeria,my fiancee then want me to come to the state to spend some time with her and be able to go and buy the cars we sell by myself since i will be free then,but was denied again in 2012,so later she came down to nigeria and that was when we got married,though we had some red flags like age difference,child issue,she has kid and i dont,which i dont care about,since my wife is my joy and happiness,we apply for the cr1 and was given an interview date.well i went for my interview and was denied giving me a paper that my application will be return to the uscis in the state. CO,i want to tell you that at my interview,everything went well and all the question they ask was answerable,all what they ask was presented and even tell me that they already have some,when it got to pictures and the one that are new,they took part of it,now i dont know what i can do,because this is confusing and me and my wife always think will they give me this visa atall,she is always sad,everytime i tell her if they dont give me the visa,she will have to come and stay in nigeria,she loves nigeria,but hate the amenities here,mostly electricity. kindly advice me what we can do,everytime i see my wife stressing too much makes me sad and think too much. she get crazy too when she doesnt see me on cam in time too and as you know internet get more costly to be going on cam now in nigeria.
she came to visit me 2 times,here in nigeria and malaysia.

Greetings! Without having interviewed you myself I can't hazard a guess as to why the visa wasn't issued. At any rate, USCIS will contact the petitioner and give her the opportunity to respond to the issues that came up during the interview, whatever they are. If her response makes sense, USCIS will reaffirm the petition and ask us to reinterview you. She could also file for you again.

Nalikedis: Please I want to ask this concerning F1 visa application... Can I use a different sponsor from wat I submitted to school for I-20 issuance on my DS 160 form? since name of sponsor didnt reflect on the I-20. Thank you.

Sure, no problem, just be prepared to explain if the officer asks.

nairalandaa: Hello,
I got married 2 years ago to my husband outside of the US. I myself is a US citizen who live in the state. I petitioned for my husband, and my I-130 was recently approved, but there is one problem. I never change my name, I still use my maiden name, will that be a problem? If I am ask to accompany my husband to the interview will the immigration officer ask why I never change my name? Can I still change my name and ad my husband name?
Thank you.

Greetings! No, that's not a problem. The officer might ask about it, but keeping your maiden name is a very American thing to do. We're more concerned with the genuineness of the relationship than with the name you choose to be known by. If you want to change your name, though, you can.