Good morning, everyone! It looks like our previous thread was a casualty of the recent data loss, so I'm starting a new thread here. Nairaland, I missed you and am glad you're back!

I am a U.S. Foreign Service Officer working at the U.S. Consulate in Lagos, Nigeria, primarily handling Immigrant Visas and Diversity Visas (IVs and DVs). The purpose of this thread is to provide a forum for your questions about these types of visas. My colleagues and I will make every effort to answer all questions within two business days.

Please note that we cannot answer questions about specific cases, except as based on the information provided here in this discussion thread. Any responses in this forum are not to be taken as legally binding, as they will be based only on what you tell us in your questions, not on the information in any actual case. While we will attempt to explain U.S. immigration policies, any opinions expressed are the personal views of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Government.

We may not be able to respond to every post in this thread, and we will not answer abusive posts. Also, please don't send me private messages -- I don't even read them. If you need personal attention, please send an e-mail to LagosIV@state.gov.

There is a separate thread for Non-Immigrant Visa Questions, also handled by U.S. Foreign Service Officers serving in Nigeria, at https://www.nairaland.com/1792662/u.s-non-immigrant-visas-listening . Please use this thread right here solely for questions about Immigrant Visas and Diversity Visas.

All the best,
VisaOfficer

@VisaOfficer

Thanks for restarting this thread again. Really kind of you.

@Visa Officer, thanks so much, really appreciate your kindness towards us.
Have a great week and day ahead.

CHEERS

What is the difference btw immigrant visa n diversity visa

Goodmorning V.O, Can one still get an appointment if you apply today and planning to visit the states on the 25th 27th of this month??

Gozychuks: What is the difference btw immigrant visa n diversity visa

Immigrant visas are based on petitions filed by family members or employers in the United States. The opportunity to apply for a Diversity Visa, however, comes from winning the annual Diversity Visa lottery. Nigeria's eligibility to participate in the Diversity Visa program ends on September 30, 2014.

The DV program was instituted back in 1995 to help ensure that the population of the United States remains as diverse as possible. Having immigrants from all over the world is one of the factors that makes us a great country! So, any country that sends less than 50,000 immigrants every five years to the U.S. (an average of 10,000 immigrants a year) is eligible to participate in the DV Lottery. The number 50,000 was chosen as a threshold without any specific country in mind. Now, nearly 20 years later, Nigeria has passed that threshold, and currently sends more than 50,000 immigrants every five years to the United States! So Nigeria will no longer be eligible for the DV program, as long as its immigration numbers remain that high. This was a purely mathematical decision and has nothing to do with anything except numbers.

~artworks~:
Goodmorning V.O, Can one still get an appointment if you apply today and planning to visit the states on the 25th 27th of this month??

Sounds like a non-immigrant question. Please see https://www.nairaland.com/1792662/u.s-non-immigrant-visas-listening .

Hey VO,
I am so glad you're back.
These few days for me was one hell of a nightmare.
Don't know what to think, don't know whom to ask or talk to, I called Adeboy007 cos he's about the only one I have direct contact with and he was as lost as I am but thank God Nairaland is back and you returned to start off where it all stopped.
Though we lost a lot of posts but happy to be back.

We have since gone to pick our passports and immigration packages (never felt so proud)
My kids wake up almost every morning to ask me "are we leaving today?" and I will always smile and say NOT YET.

I have got an issue I need to clarify.

My job makes me travel a lot, I travel an average of once every two months, so even whilst in the State if I must put food on the table and pay my bills I've got to keep traveling
How do I make sure this doesn't affect my status as a GC holder?

Regards

Iykonnet: Hey VO,
I am so glad you're back.
These few days for me was one hell of a nightmare.
Don't know what to think, don't know whom to ask or talk to, I called Adeboy007 cos he's about the only one I have direct contact with and he was as lost as I am but thank God Nairaland is back and you returned to start off where it all stopped.
Though we lost a lot of posts but happy to be back.

We have since gone to pick our passports and immigration packages (never felt so proud)
My kids wake up almost every morning to ask me "are we leaving today?" and I will always smile and say NOT YET.

I have got an issue I need to clarify.

My job makes me travel a lot, I travel an average of once every two months, so even whilst in the State if I must put food on the table and pay my bills I've got to keep traveling
How do I make sure this doesn't affect my status as a GC holder?

Regards

Good to see you again!

It's best if you stay in the U.S. until you receive your Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) card, then make sure you travel with it at all times. If you stay outside the United States for more than 12 months, you will lose your LPR status, so keep that in mind! Also, if you spend more time outside the U.S. than inside the U.S., at some point the Customs and Border Patrol agents will begin to question you. But if you can show that you're traveling for work, they shouldn't have a problem. Are you going to be able to change your work address from Nigeria to the U.S., even though you travel frequently? That would help.

If you do travel without your LPR card, you'll need to come see us for a boarding foil before you're allowed back on a plane, and that's complicated and takes around a week. So it's in your best interest to hold still until your card is delivered.

Hope this helps!

VisaOfficer:

Good to see you again!

It's best if you stay in the U.S. until you receive your Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) card, then make sure you travel with it at all times. If you stay outside the United States for more than 12 months, you will lose your LPR status, so keep that in mind! Also, if you spend more time outside the U.S. than inside the U.S., at some point the Customs and Border Patrol agents will begin to question you. But if you can show that you're traveling for work, they shouldn't have a problem. Are you going to be able to change your work address from Nigeria to the U.S., even though you travel frequently? That would help.

If you do travel without your LPR card, you'll need to come see us for a boarding foil before you're allowed back on a plane, and that's complicated and takes around a week. So it's in your best interest to hold still until your card is delivered.

Hope this helps!

Sure, I am a freelance filmmaker so my address changes to my US address and I am willing to spend the first 3 months in the States before jetting out to go film somewhere in west Africa and I am sure I cannot be outside to the US for more than a month a time.

I should be fine I suppose?

Thanks.

Iykonnet:

Sure, I am a freelance filmmaker so my address changes to my US address and I am willing to spend the first 3 months in the States before jetting out to go film somewhere in west Africa and I am sure I cannot be outside to the US for more than a month a time.

I should be fine I suppose?

Thanks.

Theoretically, in a "please don't quote me because I'm not a Customs and Border Patrol agent" sort of way, yes, it sounds like you should be fine.

hello V.O

My last appearance at the embassy was 2002,but can I change my application information as things have change since then....

VisaOfficer:

Theoretically, in a "please don't quote me because I'm not a Customs and Border Patrol agent" sort of way, yes, it sounds like you should be fine.

Thanks, I won't quote you, I'm just going to say "I heard"

Thank you and have a nice day.

charles424: hello V.O

My last appearance at the embassy was 2002,but can I change my application information as things have change since then....

What kind of visa are you applying for?

Important Notice about Panel Physicians

I wanted to let everyone know that some information on non-U.S. government websites about our panel physicians may be out of date. Specifically, VisaJourney.com seems to be using the wrong phone numbers for our physicians. If you need to see a panel physician as part of your immigration process, please use the following contact information which is current as of today's date:

The Consultants Practice
The Children’s Practice
25 Raymond Njoku
Ikoyi
Lagos
Telephone: 01-461-1941
Cell: 0706-585-9845, 0809-354-0899

Q-Life Family Clinic
Plot 155A Prince Ade Odedina Street
Off Ajose Adegun,
Victoria Island Annexe
Lagos, Nigeria
Telephone: 01-804-2000, 01-726-2840
Cell: 0702-770-4055

Please keep in mind that you should always double-check with our official website, http://nigeria.usembassy.gov/ , to be sure you have the most up-to-date information. So if you are reading this thread in the year 2017 or so, please, check our website rather than simply relying on what you're reading here.

Wah oo am now convinced one can be addicted nairaland is an addiction. Travel section is d best to me and d immigrant visa section handled by d VO is d bomb. Thank God we are back and d VO is not tired of us thanks for all helps

Good morning vo, i am so happy u r back after the attack on nairaland, may God richly bless u.
My question are - (1) how long does it take to get re-invited for interview after DNA testing result might hv bn released?
(2) How long does it take for medical report to expire? because we did ours in April and we had our interview in may from where we asked to do dna testing.
(3) What should we come along with on the day of our 2nd interview?

Thank you so much and have a pleasant day.

Firewami: Good morning vo, i am so happy u r back after the attack on nairaland, may God richly bless u.
My question are - (1) how long does it take to get re-invited for interview after DNA testing result might hv bn released?
(2) How long does it take for medical report to expire? because we did ours in April and we had our interview in may from where we asked to do dna testing.
(3) What should we come along with on the day of our 2nd interview?

Thank you so much and have a pleasant day.

1. In general, once we've received the DNA results, applicants are contacted within a week. We do tend to receive several results at once, so it takes a while for us to put the results with the correct case, review the case to see what else is needed, and hand the case off to the person whose duty it is to contact the applicant. It's not a same-day event by any means. But it should be fairly quick.

2. Medical reports generally expire in six months (three if there are certain medical problems).

3. You'll be told what to bring for the next interview. Every case is different, so I can't give you a concrete answer based on what you've written here.

Good luck!

VisaOfficer:

1. In general, once we've received the DNA results, applicants are contacted within a week. We do tend to receive several results at once, so it takes a while for us to put the results with the correct case, review the case to see what else is needed, and hand the case off to the person whose duty it is to contact the applicant. It's not a same-day event by any means. But it should be fairly quick.

2. Medical reports generally expire in six months (three if there are certain medical problems).

3. You'll be told what to bring for the next interview. Every case is different, so I can't give you a concrete answer based on what you've written here.

Good luck!

Thank you, that does it, so we should be expecting to get invited within 3 weeks.

Can a someone invite his/her sibling. If yes what are the conditions/moadalities involved

Gozychuks: Can a someone invite his/her sibling. If yes what are the conditions/moadalities involved

For a non-immigrant visa, or for an immigrant visa?

Hello visa officer. You are doing a great job.

Pls my hubby is filling our ds-160 form. But there is a part on his own form where he is been asked if he ten-printted during his last visa interview. But he sincerely can't remember if he did. He got his last Us visa in 2007. So he can't really remember.

My question is, when did the Us start the 10-printing policy in Nigeria. We already used google but we got varied responses. It will be good to get answers from Nigerians.

And also we plan scheduling our interview for August. But he had already paid for his visa since last year. He paid last year because he intended to have his vacation in the Us last year, but one thing led to another and he couldn't make the interview so he cancelled it and went to the Uk instead. Now we are applying together and his visa fee will expire July this year. There are no dates for July again so we are left with August. Will the visa fee still be valid for an interview scheduled for August since we will be doing the scheduling within the 1year validity period. Or should we just pay another fee altogether.

Pls advice! We are confused

VisaOfficer:

For a non-immigrant visa, or for an immigrant visa?

Immigrant Visa and non immigrant

hi. I was randomly selected for further processing in the dv 2015.however I'm having difficulties filling out online form DS 260 cause I'm told date of birth doesn't match the record. The truth is when I first entered the lottery, I only entered my year of birth as 1989 skipping day and month.I used same year of birth to check the results when they were first released only to discover that I'm among the selected. how comes I'm now not able to fill out form DS 260?
I have gone as far as contacting KCC and NVC. national visa centre says that they don't handle diversity visas whereas kcc says they can't help me.I'm now confused not knowing what to do. please advice me on what to do to overcome this challenge. thanks a lot!!

IyawoToBe: Hello visa officer. You are doing a great job.

Pls my hubby is filling our ds-160 form. But there is a part on his own form where he is been asked if he ten-printted during his last visa interview. But he sincerely can't remember if he did. He got his last Us visa in 2007. So he can't really remember.

My question is, when did the Us start the 10-printing policy in Nigeria. We already used google but we got varied responses. It will be good to get answers from Nigerians.

And also we plan scheduling our interview for August. But he had already paid for his visa since last year. He paid last year because he intended to have his vacation in the Us last year, but one thing led to another and he couldn't make the interview so he cancelled it and went to the Uk instead. Now we are applying together and his visa fee will expire July this year. There are no dates for July again so we are left with August. Will the visa fee still be valid for an interview scheduled for August since we will be doing the scheduling within the 1year validity period. Or should we just pay another fee altogether.

Pls advice! We are confused

What kind of visa is your husband applying for? It sounds like a K visa, but 1. there are plenty of K appointments left in July and 2. if he's your husband, he shouldn't be applying for a K (fiance) visa. If he's applying for a non-immigrant visa, please post your question on the non-immigrant thread.

I can't remember when the 10-print collection started, but as of January 2007, we were indeed taking 10 prints.

Gozychuks:
Immigrant Visa and non immigrant

I can't help you with non-immigrant issues. For an immigrant petition for a sibling, your sibling would need to file an I-130 petition for you at USCIS. The wait time for that is currently running around 12 years. www.uscis.gov for more.

muremera009: hi. I was randomly selected for further processing in the dv 2015.however I'm having difficulties filling out online form DS 260 cause I'm told date of birth doesn't match the record. The truth is when I first entered the lottery, I only entered my year of birth as 1989 skipping day and month.I used same year of birth to check the results when they were first released only to discover that I'm among the selected. how comes I'm now not able to fill out form DS 260?
I have gone as far as contacting KCC and NVC. national visa centre says that they don't handle diversity visas whereas kcc says they can't help me.I'm now confused not knowing what to do. please advice me on what to do to overcome this challenge. thanks a lot!!

I'm not sure what to tell you. The 2015 season will be the first in which DV winners are asked to fill out the online DS-260s, and the applicants I see who use that form have already filled it out by the time they come to see me. There should be a "help" button on the webpage where you're filling out the online DS-260; what does that tell you to do?

Greetings,
Wow! Good to be back VisaOfficer
I and my wife's visa was approved last tuesday,thanks a lot for the assistance and God bless you. I am looking forward to get our package picked up tomorrow hope it will be ready by then?

Cheers.

Hi VisaOfficer. Thank you for opening another thread. You're doing a great job.

My question is about the proof of financial support in K1 visa. My fiance quit his job middle of last year and is currently unemployed. On his latest 1040 form, his income was around $45,000. $18,000 was from his salary income from that job and the rest ($27,000) from his share on oil royalties. In case my fiance is still unemployed by the time I have my interview would his income from oil royalties + assets be enough for financial support? Or does his income have to be from salary earnings? What other forms do I have to bring during the interview for proof of financial support aside from the 1040 and W2? Thank you in advance for your advice on this matter. God bless.

VisaOfficer:

What kind of visa is your husband applying for? It sounds like a K visa, but 1. there are plenty of K appointments left in July and 2. if he's your husband, he shouldn't be applying for a K (fiance) visa. If he's applying for a non-immigrant visa, please post your question on the non-immigrant thread.

I can't remember when the 10-print collection started, but as of January 2007, we were indeed taking 10 prints.

thanks visaofficer. We are applying for a b1/b2 visa. We just don't know if a visa fee is still valid for an interview scheduled for a date outside the 1year expiry date.

Thanks V.O for yout assist.my qst is,if my fiancee is residing in the State and also a citizen which of the VISA should we apply for and the requirements cos we intend tieing the knot early next year in the State.

Welcome back V.O! My husband intends filing for me this July and he discovered that my birth certificate does not carry my English name cos my parents got the certificate before I got baptised. The name on the cert reads NKEIRUKA ANYAMADU while on Form I-130 STELLA NKEIRUKA ANYA.
I want to know if this will affect the processing in any way or do I get a new birth cert.
Thank you V.O in anticipation.