₦airaland Forum

Don't dig any deeper.
You are assuming when MamaOO is giving you actual info.
It doesn't matter whether she is employed or not, she can file for him as long as she can find a co-sponsor to meet the income requirements

Beautyaddy:
Okay, I don't know where in my statement I am misleading anyone. How can someone not working and that means that she is depending on the government for some kind of income now petition an immigrant visa for anyone. I hope that you are aware that new immigrants into the U.S. cannot obtain or depend on the government for at least till after a year or two. Now like I stated earlier if his baby mama is earning some kind of income maybe through part time work even if her income is not enough to sponsor the person she's petitioning for a co-sponsor can help with the affidavit of support to allow the petition eventually approved.

This comes out as abrasive

MamaOO:
This is a HUGE lie!! Please top misleading people, ha!!

You may not have meant it that way, but simply saying it's not true might be less bristly

MamaOO:
Did I insult or denigrate her in any manner?? Please point to where I did.

Your flight terminates in Chicago as you said. So not a problem

amuwo1980:
and will that be an issue for me with cbp? since i indicated in the interview that am going to Chicago and truly am going to Chicago and here i am at Atlanta as point of entry?

Yes. The X-Ray is for the embassy. If they need to include it in the packet, they will.
Like I said, everything the CBP officer needs will be in that packet
Your own is just to pack enough food. Hahahaha

Astonestone:
Thank you so much. I'm grateful. Pls I just need to ask, is it just the closed pack I'm taking? I've been seeing somewhere about X-ray result or so. Thanks

You can take the chance and apply for an NIV.
Who knows, you might get it, if you can overcome the huge hurdle ahead you.
My advise would be for you to get her to file the IV petition, then apply for your NIV

Adogbejiomoefe:
Okay thank y'all for the advice and hopes I really appreciate it thank y'all
Was planning of see my baby baby before her one year birthday wish is December 25th this year
What can I do to make it possible to be there with my wife's paper work can't I make my own plans here and can some one help me out with a good connect

You are right, but take it easy with the tone of your response.

Only one other thing I will add here. Based on what I see above, this is more than a family of four. That number appears to be the minimum as he says "she has other children". Not sure if he is referring to the lady or her mum.

If it is her mum, as long as they are not dependent on her, its fine.

MamaOO:
This is a HUGE lie!! Please top misleading people, ha!! even if the wife is not working as long as his mother-in-law works and meets the income requirement (125% of the normal income requirements) and which in this case as a family of four is $30,750. She can sign the papers and act as the co-sponsor for his immigrant visa.
The wife will fill out an Affidavit of support as the primary petitioner while the mother needs to fill out an Affidavit of Support as a Joint Sponsor. This does not in ANY WAY affect his chance of being approved for an immigrant visa AT ALL!!!. I have seen several people go this route and they have all gotten their Green Cards and subsequently US Citizenship after 3 years.

Not true.

She can file, and her mum (who appears to be willing, based on information available) can file as joint-sponsor provided she (or both of them combined) meet the income requirement of 125% over the poverty limit.

And no, as long as they meet that requirement, her not working does not reduce the chances of the petitioning approved, as long as they can prove they are legally and genuinely married

Beautyaddy:
Quick question, how old is this lady? She alone can file for you if she is 21 years of age and above. Also she needs to have some kind of income to sponsor you for any kind of immigrant visa. Being a dependent on her mom reduces the chances of the immigrant visa she's going to file for you being approved.

She can petition for a fiance visa for you, but you will have to get married within 90 days of your arrival in the USA

Adogbejiomoefe:
Thanks but remember I said she's not working but the mother does can she file for me using the mother statement of account
Can she file for a visit visa for through an immigration lawyer? As the fiancé visa takes time like a year plus and will it be possible as she has not come to Nigeria before thank you

So your advice is for him to spend N64K just to go find out the patently obvious?

ladylco:
Atleast it is not for you to tell whether he will be banned or not in this regards allow the VO do that, let him attempt to revisit then renew then the he will know his true fate

Confused me too, and I was going to ask him but remembered this is a VO-moderated forum

VisaOfficer:
Good morning,

I am a little confused by your question. If your wife was born in the U.S., she is a U.S. citizen and she should not need a green card. Additionally, if she has a U.S. passport (i.e. she has naturalized as U.S. citizen), she should not have a green card. Green cards are for long-term permanent residents (LPRs). If she has a U.S. passport that has expired, she should visit the American Citizen Services section of the consulate website for more information on the renewal process.

There really isn't that much questioning.
Everything the CBP officer needs is in your packet. Just don't open it before you get there.
At most, they will probably only ask you perfunctory questions about your family (or if it is a job, about the job and employer).
When I landed with my IV, the officer and I just spent time gisting about Nigeria while he went through the packet. He then asked about my kids and whether they have been to Nigeria before. I said yes, but not for the last few years. He asked if I give them anti malaria and so on, I said yes. As soon as they arrive and I put them on weekly anti-malaria medication
It just felt like a conversation between old friends.
So nothing to worry about. If you are traveling on a spouse IV, just be sure you know everything about your spouse and family so you don't trip up and invite any additional scrutiny

Astonestone:
Please is there any link for questions asked at POE for those using immigrant visa?

I've been searching. Or does anyone have any idea what likely questions would be asked. Thanks

Why do people always think they're smarter than those who do these jobs for a living and are actually trained for it?

She knew exactly what she was doing when she applied for the visa, and your first bolded statement below proves it.

So she wanted to go on vacation, got the visa, then did not travel until she got pregnant and all of a sudden she remembers she has a vacation visa to the USA just in time to have a baby?

Holyfield1:
Was the embassy aware that you were pregnant before leaving Nigeria.... I have a relative who will be travelling to the States soonest for Vacation but the real intent is to give birth.... Hope there won't be problem at the POE? She is with a tourist VISA and never informed the embassy about her pregnant as she got pregnant after getting the VISA

ROTFLMAO!!!

abujaniv:
When you discover the method for instantly determining who has genuine intent and who is a fraud, please let us know.

Biko dress, let me join yansh for the bench.
Me sef I am interested in the answer

nefertitiram:
oya, wats d solution. Tell us

I'm telling you. They will start going to pray for favor. As if God will support lawbreaking when you had every opportunity to do the right thing.
CBP officer set trap, bros fall carry leg for up

LadyGuinivere:
Azzin! A trap was set. He didn't ask for solutions BEFORE. He didn't try to get an extension. He cross leg dey wait for miracle. OK. Next thing Na folks will start praying for favor

Based on what you have written here, there IS a problem
He was stamped in for two weeks, but felt it was okay to stay an additional three weeks (and counting).
There is a reason the CBP officer decides to stamp a visitor in for just two weeks rather than the normal 6 months.
Sometimes it's a compromise solution instead of turning you back.
Your bros just failed a simple credibility test.
Oh, and yes, going strictly by what you've posted here, he has overstayed his visa. Ergo, he has broken US immigration law

gomez1only:
Hello everyone, I'm asking this question on behalf of my younger brother in yankee. He got a 2 years US visa in April this year, then travelled in middle of May, on his arrival at the POE, he was told he can only stay in the US until 1st of June 2017 (2wks stay). But, today is 8th of July and he's still in the US. But he plans on leaving by next month to come back to Nigeria. So, we're just scared of what might happen if he wants to return probably by next year. Will it be possible for him to also apply for a visa for his wife & kids? We need advice's please. What's his fate on coming back next year? What will happen to the current 2 years visa?

Abeg, make ona no fry us too much with yabbing o! Just go straight to the point on your advice please, Lol. Thanks in advance!

It doesn't matter. The VO is not interested in you bank transactions but your ties to home

giftwalter:
Hello guys, I will be collecting my savings from a cooperative before I apply for visa. How do I explain that the money that was sent is mine and not a means of deceit trying to convince the embassy there's enough money in my account?

Pls help

Thanks, mate.

Wish you all the best. I know a few folks like you. One is a friend in Minnesota who lived for years as an UI but eventually became documented after marriage. They've now been married 6 years with 5 kids, including a set of twins

constance234:
Everyone has a different American story, and a different path in life. Same way every state here have different laws and also different institutions have diffrent laws. I can tell you in Georgia to hook up Scana gas you must have SSN, Georgia Power will ask you to pay $150 as deposit if you have no SSN and a new customer. Yes you can rent some partments here by paying extra credit risk fee of about $250 max, but most okay apartments won't even speak with you if you don't have verifiable source of income, credit history, rental history etc. Some banks here ask for proof of address to open an account, proof of address means any bill or letter with the address on it( one expo: when i got here i quickly registered at the local library, that library card became my proof of address)

Yes many live well doing under the table jobs, when the money is sent home and converted its big, but what standard of living do they have here? i have many that share 1 bed apartment with someone else and they sleep on the couch at night, the apartment will be in a run down neigbourhood with sketchy neigbours. Also i know people who live in shared apartments or their personal apartment in good neigbourhoods and doing okay because they sleep less than 4 hours a day lol.

I am not one to tell people do not come, because i will be a hypocrite if i say that, as i got here on a visit visa and adjusted my status within the ambit of the law as permitted( USCIS jurisdiction, not nairaland judges o). It is just appropriate to educate people to do lots of research before embarking on such venture as there are no friends or relatives here, most will leave you in your darkest moments.

People emigrate for so many reasons not just for economic reason, so we can not know it all, we know what we know... but i do know this, there is no golden fleece here , but with hard work and proper funds managemnent you will live the American dream.

Once you get to the US, just seek out the nearest CBP officer and ask him the question. You will be sorted out immediately

Zilifish:
Help how do i work with visting visa. Is it possible. I don tire for naija

I don't think he is supporting illegality. The way I understand his posts, he and FrontPageLawyer are just stating facts
The facts may be unpleasant, but they are still facts

KaptainAfrika:
It still does not change the fact that you are breaking the law, and it will eventually catch up with you, why don't you do it legally and have peace of mind. You guys give Nigerians, a bad image. I am not going to debate with people who support illegality either. Have some dignity.

I disagree sir.
The fact that the official designation of a legal immigrant is "Lawful Permanent Resident" or "Legal Permanent Resident" implies unlawful or illegal permanent resdident.
That means an immigrant can be either legal or illegal.
In any case, by definition, someone who has left his home country for another for purposes other than temporary visitation has already immigrated. The question is whether said immigration is legal or illegal.Or put differently, documented or undocumented.

KaptainAfrika:
There are no undocumented immigrants, only illegal aliens, immigrants are those who have legally and lawfully migrated to the US. I will also end it here, my charge and bail legal luminary.

True. One can open a bank account with a visiting visa. My account was opened before I got my IV.
But I had very good reasons for doing so because I was doing some work for a US company that was not on the basis of my B visa. I had to file a W8-BEN form establishing my non-residency. Also got credit cards on the basis of that account.
Infact, that helped me build great credit.
However, I would not advise anyone to try to live as an illegal/undocumented immigrant. It is not a good life. I have seen folks who lived that way, and it wasn't pleasant. Always looking behind you, scared of any red and blue lights, and being exploited by employers who pay under the table

constance234:
How will he or she ball if they stay out of drugs and crime with under the table jobs? people ball but i can tell you this no illegal immigrant with under the table job does. If you are even street smart you should be able to visit home in less than one year "Thief many, but na who dem catch be thief o".With a visit visa you can open a bank account for sure, and contact family at will. And alot of people get deported from America, maybe you havent met any.
I believe nothing said here will encourage or discourage anyone from becoming an illegal immigrant, my 2 cent is, people should be aware of the pros and cons before embarking on such move.

Simple. When you get there, just ask the CBP officer, I am sure he/she will be very glad to help

Zilifish:
What is seriously? Abeg be real

Please go take out your frustration on someone else.
With my previous visa I could still do my work in the US, so I would go there twice or three times a year and spend roughly half the year with my family every year there and the other six months in and around Nigeria.
Do we need to crack open you skull and dump the information in there for you to understand?

erico2k2:
That was not my point, The point Im raising is you SAYING YOU SPEND HALF OF THE YEAR IN THE USA AND THE OTHER HALF IN NIGERIA!,there is no smartness there, its just plain fact of one bigging up something to make whom you was talking to seem irrelevant.There was no need for you to say all that trash.YOU ARE LESS THAN A YEAR OLD IN THE STATE SO QUIT THIS TRASH

When you try to be a smart ass, be sure you have all the information.

If you have ever been to the US, you would know that CBP usually stamps you in for between 4 to 6 months, especially a regular visitor like me with a home and family in the USA. Plus you conveniently missed the part where I said 'Usually, I fly Delta. . .'? Where else does Delta fly to from Lagos, oga?

I can spend that much time outside because the nature of my job means I can work remotely. And if you don't understand that, find someone to help translate it for you

erico2k2:
Look why do you lot derive pleasure from just talk, you spend half the year in the US and the other half in Nigeria,You forgot you told us you got your VISA last year right
Did you not write this? https://www.nairaland.com/3840289/sure-fly-royal-air-maroc

Please can someone tell me what this fixation is with the color of the paper issued by the VOs?

Multiple Pos have said it here that the color of the paper does not matter. They print both approvals and denials on all colors depending.

SO why do people keep going on about 'blue paper' and 'white paper' all the time?

Not true.
You could have been anything you wanted. You could have taken a loan and gone to College and get a good job. Or work those so-called 'menial' jobs and use it to pay for College or do an online college degree.
There are so many ways to have made it beyond menial or care-giver jobs. You could have even taken the easy way out and done a nursing program which pays even better than some jobs.
You either did not have enough information, or you were not prepared to put in the work. Nothing comes easy in he USA, but if you work hard and smart you can earn a good and comfortable living

Beetobee:
A big AMEN to that. As bad as people believe Nigeria is, it's much much better than those 'green pastures'. Believe me, I am an American citizen as I was born in Ohio; I relocated some ten years ago to the States but just couldn't cope. I managed two years, give or take, and ran back to my Naija. Believe me, there are much more opportunities here than there. Even when you manage to get a job, which in most cases will be menial or some caregiver job, you barely survive with one job. The tax, something else. Issues of racism, something else. Human relations, something else. I could go on and on and on,but good luck to everyone every where.

You, my friend, are a really sad, frustrated individual

Oh, and for your information, even if she does decide to involve in prostitution, it will not affect her citizenship.

In any case, I am sure she that in the 17 years she has been in the USA, she would have equipped herself with enough of an education to pursue an honest and rewarding living.

It might be a good idea for you to do the same and get some education first before you start trying to run people down with you sour grapes

moses93:
what the hell are you now doing in Nigeria then, since you're now bubu who travel around the globe? we know how the whole story will end, very soon now she'll be complaining that they refused her work because of her skin. or she'll go into prostitution and get kicked out of there.

I have a green card, and I spend half the year in the USA and the other half in Nigeria. Why? Because irrespective of what people like you think, I love Nigeria.
If I wanted, I could have got my green card about 10 years ago. But I preferred to visit and come back.

So no, not everyone will fight to get out

Freemancipation:
The only reason a lot of people pretend to love Nigeria is because they haven't gotten the chance or opportunity to escape the country.

If you bring an American slave ship to Apapa today, a lot of people will be fighting to come on board. And they are the same folks shouting one Nigeria all over nairaland.

Pele.

You could have downloaded Lyft and then requested a 6-person vehicle. That would most probably have been enough for you all. You can do it now ahead of your departure. And it's cheaper than Uber

kraba:
Hello all. Got to the US today via Doha with Qatar Airways. I travelled with wider and our 4kids.

The trip itself was pretty stressful cause we had an 8 he 55minutes layover in Doha after a 10 hr 15minutes Lagos-Doha connect as against the usual 7hr 30mintes it took before the Qatar crisis.

After a total of like 37hrs (that"s adding the 4hrs spent at mmia) we got to JFK terminal 8 on schedule at 3.15pm local time and the place was pretty scanty.

We used the automated scanner and after a few minutes queue, it was our turn. The CBP Lady just shared jokes with the kids while she proceeded to stamp US all in for 6months, no questions asked, not even "why are you here ?" We thanked her and left. It took like 5minuyes to stamp each of the 6pps and the machine receipts.

Fast forward to agric after we collected our bags, we had declared that we had things like garri, egusi, ogbonna, yam flour, groundnuts etc. We itemized the food items and the cost in USD in the i-94 given to US on the plane and also answered in the affirmative to the question on good in the automated process.

The officers just asked whether we were sure we had no prohibited items and asked us to jave a pleasant stay.

Getting a ride to our accommodation was a bit dicey.The Uber guy showed up then said he couldn't take 6. I had to cancel and got charged $5
Eventually had to pay $55 to Bròoklyn for a ride with one of those "kabukabu" guys who brough a minivan. The yellow vabs eanted us to pay for 2 Cab that would have set me back $75 per Cab.

On the whole JFK was pretty stressless at least the terminal 8 I used today.

Perhaps by simply lifting the sliding cover on the window. . .

newmusic:
But how is co-passenger opening the window? Ayam not understanding oh!

I enjoyed this. very much.
The implicit of the writing and the way it captured the entire experience.
I'm bookmarking your blog immediately.
And if you ant advice for vacation locations, feel free to ask. I have been to quite a few places

Naijasinglegirl:
I was in Zanzibar for a few days two weeks ago. Being my first time outside Nigeria, this trip was special for me in many ways. I travelled via Ethiopian Airlines, transited in Addis Ababa for two nights and spent five days in Zanzibar. A quick summary of my experience during my short vacation.



LAGOS AIRPORT
When the immigration official at the airport said, "Virgin passport. Are you are a virgin too?" I knew my trip was about to get interesting. My virgin passport and I were asked the most random questions.
"Tanzania? Why you no go Dubai?"
"Sure you are not planning to run from Nigeria?"
"Does your father know you are travelling?"
"Is it your boyfriend that sponsored your trip?"
"Your face resemble person wey sabi that thing well."
The immigration officer said he wasn't going to release my passport until I find him something for his own vacation. He kept to his word one thousand naira later.
The last security check at MMIA was where I was thoroughly searched by a woman. She kept whispering into my ears, "You no go find me something?"
I said, "English, no speak." After all some of the officials kept asking me if I was a Nigerian or Tanzanian so where unnecessary tips were involved, the only language I was going to speak was Swahili.




MY FLIGHT TO ZANZIBAR
As much as I enjoyed my first international flight experience, certain things did not bring my happiness to the fullness.
- I expected WIFI onboard but didn't get any.
- My co-passenger was a bush girl!
- I had a window seat but my co-passenger in the middle kept sliding up my windows to look out as if we were in Lagos danfo. Only God knows what she was looking for outside even when it got dark. Oh I remember. She kept asking me questions like, "Wey that wey been dey there? That thing you don snap tire?" That thing meant the wings of the plane and the clouds when it was 8pm!
- My co-passenger had BO. It was terrible.
- My co-passenger woke me up to lay my tabletop for food by slapping me on the vagina area. It was painful.
- I ordered white wine. My co-passenger asked if my wine was 'sweet' and before I could respond, she was 'tasting' from my cup. I told her she can have it all.
- My co-passenger took my orbit gum without permission.
- My co-passenger wouldn't let me rest until I captured the perfect shot of her while she ate. I took 12 photos to get it. She said, "When the food is about to enter my mouth, SNAP!" And I thought I was the JJC here?
- My co-passenger was a copy copy. Each time I took a photo of the clouds, she did same. She watched the same movies I watched. Ate in the same pattern l did. Went to the restroom each time I did. I kept wondering, who sent this girl Jehova?
- Finally, I had panic attacks each time the plane shook. I was the only idiot that kept screaming, "Jesus! Jesus!" During our landing at Addis Ababa, the plane suddenly went on full speed upon hitting the runway. Kuku kill me. The Nigerian in me thought it was brake failure.





ZANZIBAR
Zanzibar was fun. I stayed at Kendwa, Uroa and Stonetown. Thankfully transportation cost was reasonable enough to move from one town to another. I spent most of my time at the first two locations playing with sand in ways I never did during my childhood since there was nothing much to do on an Island. I was told the population of tourists were few due to Ramadan. I partied, went on a boat cruise, went on tour about town in Tanzanian danfo known as dala-dala, went in search for local restaurants on Tanzanian okada known as boda-boda, snacked on Tanzanian agege bread, visited their local market, made friends with locals, toured prison Island and went snorkeling which turned out to be a disaster.
Quick tip regarding snorkeling, Zanzibar might not be an English speaking city but ensure your snorkeling guide or fisherman like I was given understands English. Even if it's only the word 'HELP!’' especially if he intends to take you alone to the middle of the Indian Ocean in your snorkeling equipment to demonstrate, "In! In!! In!!!"
Mba! I refused to go in.



FOOD
I have a newfound respect for Nigerian cuisine since I returned to Lagos. One of my biggest challenge was feeding while I was in transit, and in Zanzibar. I knew I was in trouble when hunger had me licking my margarine like ice cream after I finished my main meal on the plane in less than three minutes. Why are airplane meals so small?
Travelling on a budget meant I couldn't experiment or gamble with local Tanzanian dishes all the time and only a few pricey restaurants were open due to Ramadan. My breakfast at my hotels were mostly pastries and it wasn't long the Nigerian in me started longing for jollof rice. A restaurant I visited swore they had something similar to rice and stew. I asked for it and got served a plate of white rice, lime and freshly blended tomatoes.




FLIGHT TO LAGOS
A Nigerian girl and her friend at Addis Ababa Airport walked up to my seat at the boarding area and said, "You be Nigeria?"
She was still wearing a hair net at 8am for an international flight. They were the upgraded version of the girl I had as co passenger enroute Zanzibar so I quickly moved away since I wasn't ready for any 'My Naija sister' relationships. Unfortunately, the chatty Igbo guy I had as seat partner was no different. He wouldn't stop asking the air hostess for an extra can of beer, even after the 5th can before announcing to me. "Maka make I go pee oh."
When lunch was served, he expressed his disappointment on why a Naija girl like me was using cheese on bread rather than some of the beef sauce meant for my rice on the bread. I told him I am Ethiopian. He apologized for his wrong assumption. I said, "Hakuna matata."
He said he prays one day Nigeria can have their own airline like us. I said, "I pray for you people too."




POST VACATION BLUES
My week in Zanzibar was the shortest of my life. I still tell people that I may be physically present in Lagos but spiritually, I am still in Zanzibar. I may not have visited a country westerners consider as developed but they were organized enough to get me wondering how I have been able to survive the madness in Nigeria, especially when you compare the professionalism in Nigerian Airports against the others. At least no one at Addis Ababa Airport and Zanzibar Airport asked me if I am a virgin.
Travelling has made me an Oliver Twist and I haven't gotten tired of documenting my experience. A large part of my leisure time is now spent on looking up affordable flights and reading up on more tourist friendly nations in Africa and the rest of the world generally. My faith is saying this is the start of many more travel experiences to come. Until then, Kwaheri.




PS: My vacation was a gift from a reader of my blog.