Dear Sir, my VO. Please what can my family do. We legally married an Ibo lady for our Yoruba son. They have two girls. The older one was about 3 or 4, while the last one was about one year. Without any sign of quarrelling, this lady made arrangements with her family, got America visa for the two kids and left for the USA without the consent of their father or that any of family members. Is it normal for immigration officers to grant visa to children without dna information of the parents. Please what can we do to get our children back. It is most likely that they travel with a fake name of a kidnapping, child trafficking gang. Please your advice is highly solicited.

Hi vo,

I have a pending case with USCIS but going through questions and answers here I felt I should ask this. My husband filed in for me with my 2 names only while I have 3 names on my passport. hope there is no problem about it.

Secondly the case with USCIS is beyond 5months which is their latest official time to attend to a case. Please what do you advice us to do as this the 7th month

Hi VO,
Good day to you. I applied for K1 visa and my fiancé applied/submitted for me in the US february 2015. I want to know the estimated time i should wait for them to send my case to Lagos. I will happy if i can just have the idea months. I can't want to be with my baby.
Thanks and looking forward to hear from you.

Olukayode

adeolu0510:
Hello VO, Please I made an error on my ds260 which has been sent to NVC, I used my Petitoner's former Chicago address unknown to me that he has moved to another state. Please, how can this be corrected with nvc and will this not ruin my application? Regards.

It's fine -- just let the officer know when you come to your interview.

aydotaone:
Good day
First Question :Pls I want to ask the difference between a consular and Visa Officer ?.
Second Question : Who conduct the interview for the applicant between them?
Thanks

Okay, so, when you join the U.S. Foreign Service, you get to choose from five career tracks: Political, Economic, Public Diplomacy, Management, and the most interesting and best*, Consular. Wikipedia has a pretty good description of what Consular work entails: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consular_assistance . The simple definition of a Consular officer is that we facilitate travel. Some of us handle visa adjudications, some assist American citizens who are traveling abroad, some focus on fraud prevention work, etc. In most cases, we try to end up in slightly different jobs in every country we're assigned to, in order to gain experience in all facets of Consular work. I'm a Consular officer who is currently assigned to the Immigrant Visa Unit, so right now I'm also a visa officer.

It's also possible for us to take a position in a different career track once in a while -- for instance, I'd like to work a tour as a Public Diplomacy or Political officer somewhere some day. And, in a major emergency (something like the 2010 Haiti earthquake), officers from other tracks will come help out in the Consular section. And there are some people who are not Foreign Service Officers but who have trained to serve as professional adjudicators, and they serve alongside visa officers but are not, technically, Consular officers themselves. But, in general, you can assume that the officer who conducts the visa interview is a Consular officer working an assignment as a visa officer.

*personal opinion

amazinglove:
Dear VO, could you please tell me when immigrant visa interviews are being scheduled? My case has been completed at NVC since mid June but no info as to when the interview would be scheduled. Help me please!!

We've told NVC how many cases we can take in August and September, but I don't think they've actually filled those months yet. I'm expecting them to send us a few more cases in August, and we haven't received any September files yet (which is normal, because it's only mid-July). I don't know how many cases they have in their queue, ready to be scheduled.

specilex:
Hi VO,

How long on the average does it take for an H1B to EB Green Card filing.EB2 and EB3, from PERM to AOS

Thanks

No clue. H1Bs are non-immigrant visas. Allow me to direct you to the non-immigrant visa thread at https://www.nairaland.com/1792662/u.s-non-immigrant-visas-listening . Thanks!

Luckysoj:
I have been rejected twice base on the facts that my dad apply for a K1 visa but never went ahead with because of change of mind at the long run any time I go or my brothers we are been denied the opportunity please what can we do on these case

I don't think your father's K1 case would affect you. As long as you can show the interviewing officer that you intend to use the visa correctly, having been a derivative in someone else's case would not be a factor in your future applications. You might want to ask my non-immigrant visa colleagues at https://www.nairaland.com/1792662/u.s-non-immigrant-visas-listening .

okoloto:
Dear VO,

Thanks for your wonderful insight. My friend a Nigerian have been dating a Benin republic lady for sometime. while she was submitting her DV lottery they were not yet married hence she played as a single lady. Now they just got married traditionally before the result came out and the lady won. No official marriage document yet as they will do the white wedding soon in Benin before the interview.

My question is, in the application submission, can the girl include him as now the husband. Will it affect the process in anyway. The marriage certificate will bear the date of after the winning.
As a Nigerian, will the Nigerian ban affect their chances. The lottery was played in Benin and i assume the interview will be in Benin. My friend resides and works in Nigeria but is always in Benin for business though they have already planned the lady moving over to Nigeria to live with him.
My friends already have 3 kids all below 10 from the last marriage though they are with their mum. Can he include the kids name in the application and what is the possibility of him taking them later if they are successful now. The new wife is in support of this.

All documents he can produce like birth certificate, int'l passport and the likes will be Nigerian.
Thanks for the good work

As long as they married AFTER the lady submitted her DV entry, she can include her spouse and stepchildren in her application. If the children hope to travel as part of the case, they must come to be interviewed with the parents, and their visas must be issued no later than Sept. 30. Otherwise, the case will be closed, and they will have to file separate petitions for the children from the United States.

patilise:
Dear VO,
I received the below below email, is this genuine email from KCC?

... if i reply the reply email is
support@kcc-program.com
which seems kcc support email.

kidnly help

No, this is a scam. Do not send them any money. Please see http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/immigrate/diversity-visa/if-you-are-selected.html and especially https://www.dvlottery.state.gov/ for accurate information on how to check to see if you have won.

dugochi:
Hello Visa Officer,

If an immigrant visa has been filed by a sibling, is it possible to still apply for a non- immigrant visa while waiting for the immigrant to mature?

Thanks

Absolutely! As long as you intend to use the non-immigrant visa appropriately, there's no problem at all.

ajigbotosho:
Dear Sir, my VO. Please what can my family do. We legally married an Ibo lady for our Yoruba son. They have two girls. The older one was about 3 or 4, while the last one was about one year. Without any sign of quarrelling, this lady made arrangements with her family, got America visa for the two kids and left for the USA without the consent of their father or that any of family members. Is it normal for immigration officers to grant visa to children without dna information of the parents. Please what can we do to get our children back. It is most likely that they travel with a fake name of a kidnapping, child trafficking gang. Please your advice is highly solicited.

If they're already in the United States, your best course of action is to contact Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Their contact information can be found at http://www.ice.gov/contact .

We do not request DNA in the majority of cases -- and from what you write, the woman is their biological mother, so DNA results would have been a match. I'd appreciate it if you'd send more detailed information to LagosIV@state.gov, so I can look into the case and see what the mother told us.

winnie123:
Hi vo,

I have a pending case with USCIS but going through questions and answers here I felt I should ask this. My husband filed in for me with my 2 names only while I have 3 names on my passport. hope there is no problem about it.

Secondly the case with USCIS is beyond 5months which is their latest official time to attend to a case. Please what do you advice us to do as this the 7th month

As long as the names match (that is, Jane Smith and Jane Elizabeth Smith instead of Jane Smith and Mary Catherine Jones) it won't be a problem.

It generally takes around six to eight month for USCIS to process a case, but that's just a general guideline. You might want to reach out to USCIS and ask for a status update.

Kay213:
Hi VO,
Good day to you. I applied for K1 visa and my fiancé applied/submitted for me in the US february 2015. I want to know the estimated time i should wait for them to send my case to Lagos. I will happy if i can just have the idea months. I can't want to be with my baby.
Thanks and looking forward to hear from you.

Olukayode

Good morning! It generally takes around six to eight months for a case to be processed in the States. Then they send it to us, and we contact the petitioner with instructions for making an appointment online.

Hello ma
we are applying for k1 visa....our call log dat we were able to print out is less dan a year but our chat history print out s 2yrs....my question is since d call history is not up to 1year..ll it be a red flag....tanks for d good work u re doin

Thank you, VO for your prompt response.
Please, how many immigrant visa interviews are scheduled each month on the average? Are there also a fixed number of interview slots for different visa categories each month? As a pending CR-1 immigrant, would I be "competing" for slots with other immigrant and non-immigrant visa categories?
Thank you, again.

enye2000:
Hello ma
we are applying for k1 visa....our call log dat we were able to print out is less dan a year but our chat history print out s 2yrs....my question is since d call history is not up to 1year..ll it be a red flag....tanks for d good work u re doin

No, that shouldn't be an issue. The most important thing will be how well the beneficiary can talk about the relationship, not the papers that are submitted as evidence.

amazinglove:
Thank you, VO for your prompt response.
Please, how many immigrant visa interviews are scheduled each month on the average? Are there also a fixed number of interview slots for different visa categories each month? As a pending CR-1 immigrant, would I be "competing" for slots with other immigrant and non-immigrant visa categories?
Thank you, again.

We are the busiest Consular post in Africa. At present we're seeing more than 1,000 immigrant visa beneficiaries every month, and that number is growing each month as USCIS sends us more and more cases! To give you an idea of how much our IV caseload has grown, we are seeing almost as many people now as we were when Nigeria was eligible for the Diversity Visa program (and in the next couple of months, we'll be seeing just as many or more people...).

As a CR-1, you're not "competing" with anyone, but you do have to wait your turn. As soon as your case is ready to be scheduled for an interview, you join the same queue with all other IR and CR applicants, and will be given the next available appointment.

For numerically limited visas (but not CR or IR visas), the annual total is indeed fixed at 25,620 family-sponsored visas per country per year, but Nigeria has yet to see a year with 25,620 numerically limited family-sponsored cases. At the rate that our numbers are going up, though, I suppose it could happen in the not-too-distant future!

http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/law-and-policy/bulletin/2015/visa-bulletin-for-august-2015.html includes some explanations of how the various visa categories are limited by number, if you really want to get lost in the details.

VisaOfficer:

We are the busiest Consular post in Africa. At present we're seeing more than 1,000 immigrant visa beneficiaries every month, and that number is growing each month as USCIS sends us more and more cases! To give you an idea of how much our IV caseload has grown, we are seeing almost as many people now as we were when Nigeria was eligible for the Diversity Visa program (and in the next couple of months, we'll be seeing just as many or more people...).
As a CR-1, you're not "competing" with anyone, but you do have to wait your turn. As soon as your case is ready to be scheduled for an interview, you join the same queue with all other IR and CR applicants, and will be given the next available appointment.
For numerically limited visas (but not CR or IR visas), the annual total is indeed fixed at 25,620 family-sponsored visas per year, but Nigeria has yet to see a year with 25,620 numerically limited family-sponsored cases. At the rate that our numbers are going up, though, I suppose it could happen in the not-too-distant future!
http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/law-and-policy/bulletin/2015/visa-bulletin-for-august-2015.html includes some explanations of how the various visa categories are limited by number, if you really want to get lost in the details.

You are the best, VO. I promise this will be my last question for now :
When NVC schedule IR-1/CR-1 interviews, is the order in which they send completed cases to you based on priority dates or the times the cases were completed? Also, my petitioner (my husband) is a member of the US Armed forces and I was thinking my case would be expedited because of that but it's been a year now that we've been on this journey and all efforts committed by my husband to bring me over quickly had proved abortive. Why is our case different than other military spouses who have enjoyed expeditious processing?
Thank you!!

amazinglove:
You are the best, VO. I promise this will be my last question for now :
When NVC schedule IR-1/CR-1 interviews, is the order in which they send completed cases to you based on priority dates or the times the cases were completed? Also, my petitioner (my husband) is a member of the US Armed forces and I was thinking my case would be expedited because of that but it's been a year now that we've been on this journey and all efforts committed by my husband to bring me over quickly had proved abortive. Why is our case different than other military spouses who have enjoyed expeditious processing?
Thank you!!

As you suspect, the order isn't based on priority dates; it's based on the date the case is complete and ready to be scheduled. (Maybe if two cases are ready on the same day and there's only one slot available, they look at priority dates? Not sure about that.)

Not sure why your case wasn't expedited -- unless your husband didn't submit the request to NVC in the first place, or didn't submit evidence that he's actually active military when he made the request for expedited processing. Whenever NVC asks me to expedite the spouse or child of an active military member, I always say yes, personally.

VisaOfficer:


As you suspect, the order isn't based on priority dates; it's based on the date the case is complete and ready to be scheduled. (Maybe if two cases are ready on the same day and there's only one slot available, they look at priority dates? Not sure about that.)

Not sure why your case wasn't expedited -- unless your husband didn't submit the request to NVC in the first place, or didn't submit evidence that he's actually active military when he made the request for expedited processing. Whenever NVC asks me to expedite the spouse or child of an active military member, I always say yes, personally.

He actually did send NVC proof of being an active duty servicemember via email attachments to NVCexpedite@state.gov but I guess folks over there didn't just want to help. But anyways, I hope to be with my husband very soon, by God's grace.
Thank you so much, VO. You have been of tremendous help on this forum. God bless you!

@visa officer where do I get the form?online? Do I bring the money in cash (dollars) when coming? Thanks in advance

Emioga:
@visa officer where do I get the form?online? Do I bring the money in cash (dollars) when coming? Thanks in advance

It depends what you're applying for. Please clarify. Thanks!

Hello VO,

Is it true that after my K1 visa is issued, I have to travel to the US before my medical expires. I still have a lot of work to do at my job and since the Visa is valid for 6 months, I don't intend to travel until the 4th or 5th month of validity. How long is the medical valid? What happens if it expires? Will a new one be issued? Thank you.

MarieEyre:
Hello VO,

Is it true that after my K1 visa is issued, I have to travel to the US before my medical expires. I still have a lot of work to do at my job and since the Visa is valid for 6 months, I don't intend to travel until the 4th or 5th month of validity. How long is the medical valid? What happens if it expires? Will a new one be issued? Thank you.

Yes, you must travel before your medical paperwork expires. In fact, the expiration date of your visa should match the expiration date of your medical report. If the medical report expires, you must see the panel physician again, then pay us to replace the expired visa ($265 for a K visa replacement). Also, keep in mind that K visas can only be replaced during the same fiscal year that they were issued, so if you wait until after Sept. 30, the visa cannot be replaced and the petitioner will need to file a whole new petition on your behalf.

If by some chance we slipped up and issued you a visa that is valid for longer than your medical paperwork, you will still need new medical paperwork from the panel physician in order to enter the United States.

VisaOfficer:


NVC hasn't sent us all their August cases yet -- but, that said, I doubt they will send us very many more at this point. We still have openings in September, but it depends how many cases are in NVC's queue...

thanks alot.
please i will need your help to check my name file when it arrives lagos, if its possible.
you can send me a personal mail, please to get my details.
thanks in anticipation of your kind response and help, please.

.

Thank you for your response VO. Presently my file is at the NVC and I'm sure for it to arrive anytime soon. Since the K1 beneficiary gets to choose a date, can I choose a date very much later in the year therefore having my medical also later in the year or am I giving a particular timeline of dates only which I can choose from? Thank you.

VisaOfficer:


Yes, you must travel before your medical paperwork expires. In fact, the expiration date of your visa should match the expiration date of your medical report. If the medical report expires, you must see the panel physician again, then pay us to replace the expired visa ($265 for a K visa replacement). Also, keep in mind that K visas can only be replaced during the same fiscal year that they were issued, so if you wait until after Sept. 30, the visa cannot be replaced and the petitioner will need to file a whole new petition on your behalf.

If by some chance we slipped up and issued you a visa that is valid for longer than your medical paperwork, you will still need new medical paperwork from the panel physician in order to enter the United States.

Sunshine721:



thanks alot.
please i will need your help to check my name file when it arrives lagos, if its possible.
you can send me a personal mail, please to get my details.
thanks in anticipation of your kind response and help, please.

Sorry, this is not a service I offer, and I do not communicate privately with Nairaland members. NVC will notify you when you have an appointment date.

MarieEyre:
Thank you for your response VO. Presently my file is at the NVC and I'm sure for it to arrive anytime soon. Since the K1 beneficiary gets to choose a date, can I choose a date very much later in the year therefore having my medical also later in the year or am I giving a particular timeline of dates only which I can choose from? Thank you.

You can choose any available date as far in the future as you would like! Just don't let a full year go by without contacting us at all, or your case will be closed and the petitioner would need to file a new petition for you.

@VO returning residents form

Emioga:
@VO returning residents form

If I recall correctly, you are asking where you get the Returning Resident form and how you pay. You will pay in person at the Consulate. The form you'll need depends on what stage you're at in the process.

Please read the attached instructions and see if you need the DS-117 ( http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/217444.pdf ) or the online DS-260 ( https://ceac.state.gov/ceac/ ). Thanks!