Hi VisaOfficer: At the end of my interview k1 visa interview a few weeks ago, I was asked to bring back a contact sheet, which I did a couple days later. I just want to make sure that you guys have received the contact sheet, as I did not get any acknowlegment of receipt. I have emailed the consulate, however I only received what seems to be an automated email response stating that my case is still undergoing administrative processing.

I am asking because many people have complained that they never received responses to their emails in regards to this, and months later were told that the consulate has not received their contact sheet. I am trying to be proactive.

My Case number is LGS2014618003.

Thanks

Good day VO, I stumbled upon dis thread nd I'll like u clarify issues for me, my interview is on the 31st,

1. As at the time I was filling my forms my mum was alive but terminally ill, so for her information, "if deceased" I wrote N/A now she's late, do I av to bring her death certificate along??

2. A very unfortunate incident happened, my wedding photos where digitalised, stored in a flash drive, I was only going to print them for the sake of d interview but it all got corrupted, though I have other pictures of I and my wife, I intend to bring the enlarged wedding portrait in our sitting room what's ur take on that??

3. Someone told me something, though I checked and never saw something like that, I wanna ask if u do it unannounced, he said the US embassy don't grant Young couples Visa that if I want to get it, I should look for a way to divorce my wife which to me is arrantly impossible, is dis really true??

Thanks for ur anticipated response, and well done

Ddream77: Hello V.O,
How did work go today? I guess it not easy working as a consular. May God give you the strength to continue you good work.
I got this mail from the embassy a few mins back ;

Dear Mr. Adeyemoh,
 
The administrative processing on your case is nearly complete.  Please return for a follow-up interview on Thursday, July 24, no later than 10:00 a.m.  If this time is not convenient for you, please let us know as soon as possible.
 
Please bring this e-mail along with you when you return to the Consulate on Thursday.

Thank you,
 
Please what are the things i'd need to bring along with me for the follow up interview when coming on the date given?

Your response and advice will be highly appreciated.

Thank you.

Sounds like you weren't asked to bring anything specific. I wouldn't worry about it - if they need specific documents, they'll let you know, and give you the opportunity to bring them.

hollaytan: Our dear VO, thanks for you invaluable and prompt replies. My fiance and her mother plans to visit me here in nigeria soon, I will like to ask if getting married here will make my k3 application faster because she plans to file petition for me when she goes back to the state.......pls your advice is strongly needed on how to go about the whole thing.

Secondly on behalf of a friend I will to ask when will Nigeria will become legible for DV lottery

You have to be married to apply for a K3 visa.

If you already have an I-129F petition for a K1 visa, getting married will render that petition invalid. The next step would be to file a I-130 petition for a spouse; then, once that petition is approved at NVC, you can file an I-129 petition for a K3. Personally, I don't understand why people do that. The waiting period for spouses isn't very long, so you're spending money and losing the privileges of the CR-1 visa just to gain an insignificant amount of time. (This is just my opinion. As we say, your mileage may vary.)

kole10: Hi VisaOfficer: At the end of my interview k1 visa interview a few weeks ago, I was asked to bring back a contact sheet, which I did a couple days later. I just want to make sure that you guys have received the contact sheet, as I did not get any acknowlegment of receipt. I have emailed the consulate, however I only received what seems to be an automated email response stating that my case is still undergoing administrative processing.

I am asking because many people have complained that they never received responses to their emails in regards to this, and months later were told that the consulate has not received their contact sheet. I am trying to be proactive.

My Case number is LGS2014618003.

Thanks

The case notes say "Contact sheet received." Thanks for checking!

tosinjoe: Good day VO, I stumbled upon dis thread nd I'll like u clarify issues for me, my interview is on the 31st,

1. As at the time I was filling my forms my mum was alive but terminally ill, so for her information, "if deceased" I wrote N/A now she's late, do I av to bring her death certificate along??

I'm sorry to hear of your loss! No, you don't need to bring her death certificate.

2. A very unfortunate incident happened, my wedding photos where digitalised, stored in a flash drive, I was only going to print them for the sake of d interview but it all got corrupted, though I have other pictures of I and my wife, I intend to bring the enlarged wedding portrait in our sitting room what's ur take on that??

That is actually a good idea. I vote yes on the wedding portrait. You might want to remove it from the frame, though.

3. Someone told me something, though I checked and never saw something like that, I wanna ask if u do it unannounced, he said the US embassy don't grant Young couples Visa that if I want to get it, I should look for a way to divorce my wife which to me is arrantly impossible, is dis really true??

No, that is not true. We do see a lot of sham marriages among DV winners; but we also issue a lot of visas to young DV winners who married their beloveds after winning the DV lottery. The sham marriages mean that we ask everyone a lot of questions, but if you have a bona fide relationship with your spouse, you should be fine!

For the record: Divorcing someone just to get an immigration benefit is immigration fraud, just as marrying someone solely for an immigration benefit is immigration fraud.

@Visaofficer thanks a lot for your prompt response. I appreciate it alot

VisaOfficer:

You have to be married to apply for a K3 visa.

If you already have an I-129F petition for a K1 visa, getting married will render that petition invalid. The next step would be to file a I-130 petition for a spouse; then, once that petition is approved at NVC, you can file an I-129 petition for a K3. Personally, I don't understand why people do that. The waiting period for spouses isn't very long, so you're spending money and losing the privileges of the CR-1 visa just to gain an insignificant amount of time. (This is just my opinion. As we say, your mileage may vary.)

Thanks for your apt response, are you saying that CR-1 visa is more advantageous than k3, am naïve about CR-1 visa , I will like to know about it. Secondly in my situation which of the visa type is best suggested for me........thanks for your anticipated reply

I will like to know if direct consular filling is possible in nigeria.....thanks

Turlest: Good Day V O.

Please Ma / Sir, am in need of your help and i know by the grace of GOD my problem would be solve through this thread.

My name is Busari Ajibola Yusuf and my wife name is Kemisola Janet Babalola now Kemisola Janet Busari.
CASE No.: 2014AF00016659
Applicant Name: Kemisola Janet Babalola
Beneficiary: Yusuf Ajibola Busari

Our interview date was scheduled for 17th July, 2014 by 7.00 a.m.
on that faithful day we got there, submit all the necessary document requested like the necessary payment.
Where we had problem was during the interview, series of question were being asked.

THE MAIN ISSUE: my wife did not go with her original WASSCE Certificate, but took the computer print out along and we forgot to take the scratch along. So the CO. now gave said we are ineligible. A print out was given to us which states:

"Dear Visa Applicant.

This office regrets to inform you that it is unable to issue a visa to you because you have been found ineligible under the educational & Labour Qualifications Sections 212(a)(5)(A) of the law. After careful review of your application, it has been determined that you do not meet either the minimum education or Job-Skill requirements necessary to qualify for the Diversity Visa Lottery. You are therefore not eligible to participate in the DV Programme."

After that She didn't return the following Documents to us back:
1. Marriage Certificate
2. Attestation of Birth
3. medical Report of my wife because mine is not yet ready
4. Police report.

Please i need your reply as soon as possible.
DELETED

May GOD reward you abundantly.

Do you have the original one now or the WAEC scratch card and beg along that line?

ferdimako:
Do you have the original one now or the WAEC scratch card and beg along that line?

The WAEC Scratch card is with me and right now she is in that school for the original Cert.

Please, i will be very grateful if VO can do this favour for me.

VisaOfficer:

You can e-mail LagosIV@state.gov and request that we return your marriage certificate and attestation of birth. The medical report and police certificate are part of our files now. It does appear that your wife failed to convince the Consular officer that she is academically qualified for the visa, so no visas can be issued in this case.

It's not that she was unable to convince her, what she was all about is the original certificate.

Please VO help us out in this matter and you will never regret doing this help for my family.

Dear Visa officer,I have been an ardent follower of your thread,but your reply on young couples forced me to register as a member of Nairaland.Thanks to that.
Now my Questions :

I read ur reply that states "that is why young couples are asked many questions"to determine if the marriage is genuine.Pls how do you know exactly if a marriage is fake or real?is it by the "many questions "asked?Because,I think I know 3 young couples,genuinely married that were denied visas.
With due respect ma,I believe you know better the role nervousness plays in the interview process?In the previous months,I heard people said they were not even asked a single question,but were denied visa all because of the consular officer perception that the marriage was a sham.
Pls ma,am curious to know if mere seeing a newly wed amounts to visa denial?Is it now a crime to get married cos ones beloveds is a selectee of d Lottery?
How else does the CO want Applicants to prove d genuiness of their marriage?I really want to know if it goes beyond asking many questions as u said.
pls how do you address the issue that applicants complain they were never asked questions about their marriage,yet were charged for alien smuggling and subsequently banned?

We all know the cost of getting the US visa+stress involved.I feel people should at least get an interview,as the name implies.

Thanks for your work,waiting for your gracious reply.

HI VisaOfficer,

I'm a Nigerian living in abroad. I was offered a trainee position at a company in the US, and the exchange organization have already started the application for a J-1 visa. In any case I move back to Nigeria before the J-1 is issued, is it possible to pick it up in US embassy in Nigeria or have the application transfered to the US embassy in Nigeria?

regards,

hollaytan:


Thanks for your apt response, are you saying that CR-1 visa is more advantageous than k3, am naïve about CR-1 visa , I will like to know about it. Secondly in my situation which of the visa type is best suggested for me........thanks for your anticipated reply

Yes, a CR1 gives the bearer conditional Legal Permanent Resident status, whereas K visas are non-immigrant visas and do not automatically lead to LPR status. I can't tell you which visa is best for you -- that's a very personal decision involving many many factors!

hollaytan: I will like to know if direct consular filling is possible in nigeria.....thanks

No, it is not possible in Nigeria. Petitions must be filed through USCIS in the United States.

The WAEC Scratch card is with me and right now she is in that school for the original Cert.

Please, i will be very grateful if VO can do this favour for me.

Well, my role here is not to do favors for people; it's to answer questions about the immigrant visa process.

Every DV1 gets one opportunity to convince an officer that he or she is qualified and eligible. In this case, the DV1 did not convince the interviewing officer. We do not reschedule in these situations.

I would also mention that a WAEC certificate and a scratch card are not always reliable, and that that is why we rely much more strongly on the interview than on documents.

vickkyplus: Dear Visa officer,I have been an ardent follower of your thread,but your reply on young couples forced me to register as a member of Nairaland.Thanks to that.
Now my Questions :

I read ur reply that states "that is why young couples are asked many questions"to determine if the marriage is genuine.Pls how do you know exactly if a marriage is fake or real?is it by the "many questions "asked?Because,I think I know 3 young couples,genuinely married that were denied visas.
With due respect ma,I believe you know better the role nervousness plays in the interview process?In the previous months,I heard people said they were not even asked a single question,but were denied visa all because of the consular officer perception that the marriage was a sham.
Pls ma,am curious to know if mere seeing a newly wed amounts to visa denial?Is it now a crime to get married cos ones beloveds is a selectee of d Lottery?
How else does the CO want Applicants to prove d genuiness of their marriage?I really want to know if it goes beyond asking many questions as u said.
pls how do you address the issue that applicants complain they were never asked questions about their marriage,yet were charged for alien smuggling and subsequently banned?

We all know the cost of getting the US visa+stress involved.I feel people should at least get an interview,as the name implies.

Thanks for your work,waiting for your gracious reply.

These are good questions and I think you will understand why I won't answer all of them Every marriage is unique, every interview is unique, and there's no way we can tell people exactly what to bring or exactly what to say.

Most of our Diversity Visa applicants do receive visas. But everyone who reads Nairaland is aware that some touts sell the identities of Diversity Visa winners, or refuse to give information unless the winners agree to "marry" someone, or give applicants fake academic packets. This is common enough that we must review every case very carefully, in our efforts to prevent mala fide applicants from entering the United States.

If, as a result of the interview, we're pretty sure a marriage isn't real, yes, the case is disqualified. But we only enter permanent ineligibilities when there is a "smoking gun" -- when the discrepancies between the two persons' interviews just can't be explained, for instance, or when other information we have in our computers absolutely contradicts what we're being told.

My guess is that the people who say "We got 6E / 6C1 and the officer didn't even ask us anything about our marriage!" are likely not telling the whole story to their friends, because we don't just randomly lay permanent ineligibilities on people.

If it turns out that we made the wrong decision, and the couple comes back to us with different visa applications in the future, there are actions we can take to correct our error at that time. I sincerely hope we're not making too many errors either way -- not refusing too many good applicants, and not issuing too many bad applicants. This stuff keeps me awake at night. But, at the end of the day, the burden of proof is on the Diversity Visa applicant, and there's only one opportunity to convince the officer.

I wish that we never saw any fraud and that I could take all Diversity Visa cases at face value. But that's not what happens. If you know someone who has assumed a fake identity, presented fake documents, or entered into a fraudulent marriage, I would suggest that you mention these complaints to them as well.

doughng: HI VisaOfficer,

I'm a Nigerian living in abroad. I was offered a trainee position at a company in the US, and the exchange organization have already started the application for a J-1 visa. In any case I move back to Nigeria before the J-1 is issued, is it possible to pick it up in US embassy in Nigeria or have the application transfered to the US embassy in Nigeria?

regards,

I know very little about J-1 visas. Please ask at the non-immigrant visa thread, https://www.nairaland.com/1792662/u.s-non-immigrant-visas-listening .

Public service announcement:

Next week is the celebration of Eid-Al-Fitr -- I believe Monday and Tuesday, but haven't heard anything official yet. Eid Sayid to all our Muslim friends! Kul 'am wa enta bi-khair!!!

So, visa collection may be slightly postponed next week. Please be patient! We'll do our best to get 'em out promptly.

VisaOfficer: Public service announcement:

Next week is the celebration of Eid-Al-Fitr -- I believe Monday and Tuesday, but haven't heard anything official yet. Eid Sayid to all our Muslim friends! Kul 'am wa enta bi-khair!!!

So, visa collection may be slightly postponed next week. Please be patient! We'll do our best to get 'em out promptly.

you got it right .... Same to you

VisaOfficer:

This is a question for the non-immigrant visa thread. https://www.nairaland.com/1792662/u.s-non-immigrant-visas-listening

no one is replying me on this thread, I want to fill my B2 form already

VisaOfficer: Public service announcement:

Next week is the celebration of Eid-Al-Fitr -- I believe Monday and Tuesday, but haven't heard anything official yet. Eid Sayid to all our Muslim friends! Kul 'am wa enta bi-khair!!!

So, visa collection may be slightly postponed next week. Please be patient! We'll do our best to get 'em out promptly.

Ma, visa status check  CEAC hasn't been updated since last friday, hope there's no problem.av bin trying d collection centre number cudnt get thru.is there any other number to call them aside d one  d sheet we were given?
Thanks ma! Nairalanders appreciate U̶̲̥̅̊
.

Gdevening VO,thanks for your soothing reply .Pls satisfy my curiosity.

I quote"I sincerely hope we are not making too many errors either way-not refusing too many good(real) couples,and not issuing many bad applicants"

(1)does the above mean the Applicant need some sort of LUCK in front of the CO during interview? Since I deduce the CO is trying to strike a balance between the real and fake couples.

(2)You said the burden of proof is on the applicant!What really is this burden of proof? If this strong burden of proof is on the applicant,why do CO 's not give ample time to newly-weds to proof the Union?I read from your post when you said the CO's dont trust documents totally, but what the applicant can tell them,yet people complain of the way they are thrown out like thrash?

3)You made it clear that the applicant has one opportunity to convince the CO.I thought this should have been a leeway for ample time in interview as it is supposed to be?

With due respect ma,a lot of young couples have been denied visas because of this huge burden of proof difficult to comprehend.I beg your offices to pls give young couples a fair time in your consulate.It is meant to be an interview, not some scary movies as the CO's are making it look.Except young people won't get married in Nigera as a result of the DV program.

Thanks for your work here.Waiting for your reply. Goodnight.

Good day Visa Officer,

I would really appreciate if you could clarify my situation.

I was a graduate student in the US with the government sponsorship and therefore, J-1 two-year home residency requirement. I met my guy here and we developed relationship. After making research, we decided that the easiest way is to fulfill 2 year obligation without trying to obtain any waivers, and I am going to return to my home country soon. We would like to file for some sort of immigrant visa in future, we are considering both: fiancé visa (K-1) or spouse visa (IR-1 / CR-1).

My major question is: can we file all the papers and start the process before ending of 2 years, so that this 6-12 months of waiting period (for fiancé or spouse visa) would fall within the two years? I understand that I will not be technically issued an immigrant visa or even might not be called for an interview before fulfillment of 2 years, but can the rest of the long process take time during this 2 year period? So that after 2 years we will not have to wait another 6 months or 1 year.

Thanks a lot for any information and have a great day!

Dear VO
I am married to a Nigerian man and I filed I-130 and then filed I-129f k3 which was advised by USCIS customer service center on.  April 28, 2014 my application was accepted. I was told the process was about 5 months. However, I was reading your post and you wrote “K3 Personally, I don't understand why people do that. The waiting period for spouses isn't very long, so you're spending money and losing the privileges of the CR-1 visa just to gain an insignificant amount of time.” The reason I am so confused 1) I filed the k3 and k4 because my stepson is traveling with my husband.  2) I did not file an I-130 for my stepson, will that stop my stepson from traveling at the same time as my husband if the I-130 is approved at the same time. 3) Can you tell me what the estimated wait time for my husband on an I-130 and I-129f K3. And is the wait time on track for 5 months…..or sooner would be great . I am an American and I thank you for taking the time to give nairalanders valuable information on the visa process. Thanks and Have a Bless Day!

chloe7: no one is replying me on this thread, I want to fill my B2 form already

Sorry, not my area of expertise. All I can do is direct you to https://www.nairaland.com/1792662/u.s-non-immigrant-visas-listening

AREOLA:
Ma, visa status check  CEAC hasn't been updated since last friday, hope there's no problem.av bin trying d collection centre number cudnt get thru.is there any other number to call them aside d one  d sheet we were given?
Thanks ma! Nairalanders appreciate U̶̲̥̅̊
.

There is a problem, but it's likely not with your case. We're experiencing computer issues all around the world, and printing is slowed as a result. We're working on it!

vickkyplus: Gdevening VO,thanks for your soothing reply .Pls satisfy my curiosity.

I quote"I sincerely hope we are not making too many errors either way-not refusing too many good(real) couples,and not issuing many bad applicants"

(1)does the above mean the Applicant need some sort of LUCK in front of the CO during interview? Since I deduce the CO is trying to strike a balance between the real and fake couples.

There are a lot of factors that go into a visa decision. Luck has very little to do with it. If a couple can't agree on whether they had breakfast together that very morning AND whether one of them has ever been married before (these are just examples and now we will stop asking people these two questions), that is indeed their bad luck.

(2)You said the burden of proof is on the applicant!What really is this burden of proof? If this strong burden of proof is on the applicant,why do CO 's not give ample time to newly-weds to proof the Union?I read from your post when you said the CO's dont trust documents totally, but what the applicant can tell them,yet people complain of the way they are thrown out like thrash?

From our point of view, we give people more than ample time. I understand why people who don't receive visas don't agree, but with the volume of applicants we have, it would be impossible to give them more time than we do.

Our goal is to treat all our applicants with respect, even when we are telling them that we can't issue a visa. I have not seen anyone thrown out like trash. Again, I understand that an unhappy applicant will perceive the situation very differently.

(3)You made it clear that the applicant has one opportunity to convince the CO.I thought this should have been a leeway for ample time in interview as it is supposed to be?

See "ample time", above.

With due respect ma,a lot of young couples have been denied visas because of this huge burden of proof difficult to comprehend.I beg your offices to pls give young couples a fair time in your consulate.It is meant to be an interview, not some scary movies as the CO's are making it look.Except young people won't get married in Nigera as a result of the DV program.

Thanks for your work here.Waiting for your reply. Goodnight.

Thank you for your honesty. We will continue to give people fair interviews.

Ragazza: Good day Visa Officer,

I would really appreciate if you could clarify my situation.

I was a graduate student in the US with the government sponsorship and therefore, J-1 two-year home residency requirement. I met my guy here and we developed relationship. After making research, we decided that the easiest way is to fulfill 2 year obligation without trying to obtain any waivers, and I am going to return to my home country soon. We would like to file for some sort of immigrant visa in future, we are considering both: fiancé visa (K-1) or spouse visa (IR-1 / CR-1).

My major question is: can we file all the papers and start the process before ending of 2 years, so that this 6-12 months of waiting period (for fiancé or spouse visa) would fall within the two years? I understand that I will not be technically issued an immigrant visa or even might not be called for an interview before fulfillment of 2 years, but can the rest of the long process take time during this 2 year period? So that after 2 years we will not have to wait another 6 months or 1 year.

Thanks a lot for any information and have a great day!

Yes, you absolutely can file all the papers before the two years are over! That's a very good idea. Good luck!

queenpa: Dear VO
I am married to a Nigerian man and I filed I-130 and then filed I-129f k3 which was advised by USCIS customer service center on.  April 28, 2014 my application was accepted. I was told the process was about 5 months. However, I was reading your post and you wrote “K3 Personally, I don't understand why people do that. The waiting period for spouses isn't very long, so you're spending money and losing the privileges of the CR-1 visa just to gain an insignificant amount of time.” The reason I am so confused 1) I filed the k3 and k4 because my stepson is traveling with my husband.  2) I did not file an I-130 for my stepson, will that stop my stepson from traveling at the same time as my husband if the I-130 is approved at the same time. 3) Can you tell me what the estimated wait time for my husband on an I-130 and I-129f K3. And is the wait time on track for 5 months…..or sooner would be great . I am an American and I thank you for taking the time to give nairalanders valuable information on the visa process. Thanks and Have a Bless Day!

Greetings! Stepchildren are indeed what make the K-3 route more attractive. That's because you only need to file one I-130 petition for the spouse, and then any stepchildren can be included as K-4 derivatives in the K-3 case, without filing a separate I-130 for each stepchild.

The waiting period fluctuates, but I often interview people whose CR-1 or IR-1 petitions become current before they show up for their K-3 interview. I think it depends how quickly people file the I-129 after the I-130 is approved.

VisaOfficer:

There are a lot of factors that go into a visa decision. Luck has very little to do with it. If a couple can't agree on whether they had breakfast together that very morning AND whether one of them has ever been married before (these are just examples and now we will stop asking people these two questions), that is indeed their bad luck.



From our point of view, we give people more than ample time. I understand why people who don't receive visas don't agree, but with the volume of applicants we have, it would be impossible to give them more time than we do.

Our goal is to treat all our applicants with respect, even when we are telling them that we can't issue a visa. I have not seen anyone thrown out like trash. Again, I understand that an unhappy applicant will perceive the situation very differently.



See "ample time", above.



Thank you for your honesty. We will continue to give people fair interviews.

Thank you ma,have a blessed day.