₦airaland Forum

Hi VO,

I don't know if you remember me, but my husband was approved and arrived in March from Nigeria. I was told that we could not file for his parents to come here to live unless my husband becomes a U.S. Citizen. Is this true? Can we only file for them to visit?

Thanks,

nalacandi

Dear VO,

We want to thank you for all you have done for us. Even though we were worried, you let us know we should continue to keep trusting the process. We never lost our faith and despite our fear of not understanding how this process works and the long wait in Admin Processing, my husband was finally approved, and he arrived home to me yesterday at 10:00 am. I saw my husband for the very 2nd time in our entire relationship and marriage exactly 2 yrs and 4 months after marring at 11:30 am yesterday morning and brought him home for the most joyous reunion ever on Good Friday.

We want to say never give up to all still waiting and thank you VO for your timeless efforts every day. May the Lord continue to bless this world. Amen.

Sincerely,

Nalacandi and husband together again...

Approved! Now we just need the visa. Thanks for all the support here. We really are appreciative. Wish I understood the process after approval better tho. Praying for those of you still in AP. There is hope and there is an end in sight. Just keep your strength in the Lord, Allah, Jehovah, etc. You will arrive there.

nalacandi

FemiFaniKayode:
now that ur visa palava is ova, make sure u use that same agidi(fighting spirit) to hold your marriage.
we don't wanna see you in family section talking abt divorce ooooooo

No oooo will never divorce I love him too much for that. We have an awesome marriage and we have worked hard on communication and I know that we will make it. I promise no divorce oooo for us

FemiFaniKayode:
you rugged it till the end!!!
congrats

Thanks Femi it's been a long 3 years and we still pray for all those going through this process and we wish them success. I appreciate the support I have received from this forum, all the people I have met along this journey, and for the VO Officer for this forum. I wouldn't change a thing in this journey and I would like to say to others, please never give up because your end will come soon, as well. Love n hugs to everyone!

Now it's Arsenal time, woop woop! Go Gunners!!!

Nalacandi

VisaOfficer:
Sounds like he arrived too late and will need to come back another day. Please have him e-mail us at LagosIV@state.gov, as we are closed to the public next Friday. Thanks!

Thanks ma, I will email them today. I am grateful we have been approved, but I am so saddened that he arrived on time and was refused entry. I am praying he can come Monday and drop his documents for processing. This whole process is so confusing.

Nalacandi

The officer told him to arrive between 12 pm and 1 pm ma'am and he got there at 11:30 am. Then called him just now and said they made a mistake. Ma'am that's not right, to be honest. He did as told and now you are sayibg you will be closed next Friday. Why can he not drop his stuff on Monday since it's your mistake. Not to mention that his medical is no longer sealed because the first post had him open it and then he was told to leave.

Nalacandi

The officer called my husband and said she made a mistake and told him the wrong time to arrive by the time he made it to the second post they had already had him open the medical and then denied him entry sayibg they are closed but he got there by 11:30 am. What will happen noW? He followed instructions ma'am.

Nalacandi

Hi ma, my husband is at the embassy and he arrived before 12 pm to drop his passport and medical as instructed by the CO Officer at his interview and they are refusing to allow him entry so that he can get his visa for next week. Can u please advise what to do?

LGS2014598025

nalacand

Hi ma, hope you had a wonderful rest from all our questions. Please, can you tell me if there is any update on our case yet, LGS2014598025. Hoping to hear something soon and make sure we don't need to do anything else. Your God sent the way you tame so much time answering questions. Some of the questions I have to read 3 or 4 times to understand. I don't think I could do your job but your doing a fantastic job.

Nalacandi

Go Gunners

Hello ma,

Been awhile since I posted. My husband and I wanted to check in and see whether any progress has been made on our AP status. We noticed on Feb 4 that an uodate was made on the ceac website and are hoping it means something. Case # LGS2014598025. We are hoping and praying we will have a resolution soon. We are trying our best to be patient, but hoping for a resolution sooner, rather than later.

We really appreciate all the kind things you are doing here on the site.

Thanks nalacandi

krisnwanegbo:
By 13 Feb 2015 it will be 63 days since after the interview, am kind of worried about this AP stuff, asking if I shud send them mail as a reminder or I shud just ignore them??

In my experience so far I would say wait a bit longer. We been in ap more than 90 days now and emails didn't make much diff for us. But u can email them but they will not they'll u anything you don't already know and that he is ap. That's all they told me. But it is if right to start asking after 60 days.

krisnwanegbo:
Will like to know if after the Interview by the Consular, and one is been placed under Administrative Processing Required, if the counting start in next following working day, or if they the embassy contact u and request for a particular document, and the document was send to them after 30 days of counting.
Please want to know how do one count to the 60days that is on their Website??

My understanding was that I had to wait 60 calendar days from the date of interview, ubless I am providing them additional I formation regarding the Case. That's just what I know from my case being in ap

bestridetravel:
I will congratulations to you. Be expecting your VISA soon in the address you provided. There is nothing much about all those grammar. Let not your haert be troubled dear. God bless you and your family.

Thanks bestridetravel appreciate the encouragement very much. I pray it will be soon. Amen! we won't give up we know God will carry us through.

igwe100:
if the contact sheet was given to him,be ready to welcome the embassy officers either at your work place,village,home anywhere.the cant call u back with without working on that contact sheet.it might not be the contacts u gave.

@igwe100 thanks we are definately prepared and welcome them to come into his home, village, work, or wherever. It just feels like nothing is happening after 3 months. I just don't get the secrecy in all this, to be honest, I know all the tricks and traded of my govt, havibg been in military family all my life, so it's not like I don't know they could be watching him, etc. But, I will say that I have never been through this before. We won't give up, but for me I am just trying to make sense of this whole process.

zeezahbee:
Just let them be, they will call you when they are done.

@zeezahbee y does 2 years sound so wierd to u? Also, I understand being patient, but how can you say just let them be?

zeezahbee:
2years. Sound weird

We married Dec 2012 but we were not able to file our I-130 application until May 2013 due to attorney fees. Then we got caught in the government white house shut down once that passed things moved along as normal time frame but we again we delayed slightly due to the aos requirements. We got all approvals with no RFE's and smooth, so to speak. Then we had our interview 11\05\14 & we were put in AP with no stated reason for it. He was given contact sheet, completed it and gave it to the officer b4 he left the embassy. Tomorrow is 3 months in AP still with no reason why. Hope that helps? But, I can provide u more details if needed. I'm just so worried b about his safety and plus I really miss my husband. Due to my mother medical I have been unable to revisit bit I would enjoy another visit to see him again and to see more of Nigeria. Any thoughts on whether I should contact them again or still want it out a little longer?

igwe100:
@ nalacandi .the best I know on administrative process. Is normally it takes three months or less , the should called u back for another interview.if the dont called back in three months the want to investigate more about the case.so the best shot is that your papers are genuine.the will send field Marshalls if required.be patient with them and dont disturb them, the more u disturb them the more the keep u waiting and might come and give u a negative anwser.my visa took almost two years of administrative process there. I know how u feel.

Thank u for replying. Do u mean that you actually spent 2 years in admin processing until approved or your entire process including ap took 2 years? We will be in ap 3 months in 1st week of February. I'm trying to be patient but I'm more worried than ever with the election and all this boka haram stuff going on. Just scared I guess.

I woukd like some advice. We filed a spousal visa and we finally had our interview after 23 months apart since marriage. Our inter was 11/05/14, but we were placed on AP. Fast forward, 01/29/14 we are still in AP, no change in status, no home visit, no progress, and can't get any information regarding our case. I don't understand why it's so secret the reason for our AP? Also if this process is to be about bringing families back together with shorter wait times, why are we still apart after 25 months? This is tortuous and seems so unnecessary. Plz don't misunderstand I get that US Security is of utmost concern in this process, I want my country to stay safe, I also get that Nigeria is a high fraud country, and I understand there are reasons for all this, but I don't understand why we are not allowed to know what is happening with our case so that we have an idea of some timeframe. Can anyone help me understand why my husband must go thru this suffering?

VisaOfficer:
Hmm, that is the same address I have for Accra. Here's their contact information page: http://ghana.usembassy.gov/consular-contact.html

Thank you so much my friend did hear back from the Ghana embassy I guess there was a problem more with her receiving the instant reply for some reason. Appreciate all that you do.

Nalacandi

VisaOfficer:
I'm afraid we don't have an update at this time. I'll have a word with the good people who answer our e-mails and remind them that we welcome inquiries from the public.

Thank you very much. I'm just angry at times about this whole situation. I really do wish there was some other way to move through this process to have my husband here before the upcoming election. Due to his job type and his Christianity I fear for his safety every day. I've waited a long time to find a husband who desires children with the same values of how we desire our family to be in Godly ways. We pray every day for some progress on our case.

If I were able to make arrangements for my mothers care while I am away is it possible for the CO Officer to see my husband and I while I am present in Nigeria. We trust in God that there is a reason for our pain and we long to see each other again.

Someone posted that a sure way to get a visa approved was to pay off the VO Officers and i was so outraged. VO, we truly miss each other and I just feel lost. I feel like I must have done something wrong to create this situation. I can hear the fear in my husbands voice about all that is happening around him and I feel helpless.

This is so hard and I can't lie I feel lost without his companionship. I just keep remembering his contqgious smile and that being the first thing I would see when I would wake up next to him during those days together. My Jon, my family, my friends, his family, and his friends are all in support of our marriage. I wish I could just share all that he has brought to my life and vice versa.

We are truly thankful that you continue to listen to my ranting and always for your quick responses. You truly have a beautiful heart. Please can you help us move this along. We miss each other very much.

Hi VO,

I have a question for a friend who was just put in AP in Ghana. She has been trying to email them at IVDVACCRA@state.gov. she was told she should receive an immediate email response with general tips and links but she is not getting it. Could she be doing something incorrect? She has attempted twice now. If u might have suggestion it wud be greatly appreciated.

Dear VO,

I submitted an email for a status update and I was informed to no longer email for update. I was not aware that we are not allowed to ask for an update. I guess I have become a bother, but to be honest my husband and I have been waiting more than the 60 days for something to happen on our case only to be told we can no longer even ask. I don't want to upset the embassy, but I cant lie and say that we miss each other and this process is becoming brutal. Maybe we seem desperate to others, but I must be honest that I don't see why we must endure this AP process and continue to delay our lives together. My mother is beginning to have more health problems and I had to take her to the Emergency Room the other night. Please have I don't something wrong when we were told after 60 days we can submit a request? Plus I was informed this could take several weeks and I am now being told several months. I have not seen my husband for 26 months and I want to visit him but I am scared to leave my mother because I am her caretaker and I am also caring for a woman who just lost her husband to a stroke whom I used to take care of before I started working with disabled at Easter Seals. Please any advice?

I apologize if I have upset anyone, it is not my intention, but yes I am desperate, as someone told me recently, to be with my husband whom I love dearly. This process is killing us and stressing us, but I can guarantee we won't give up. We are just asking for some sense of relief to be able to relax some. I cry every day and have been since before Christmas.

Thanks

Nalacandi

VisaOfficer:
Unfortunately, no. The administrative processing in this case is necessary and cannot be expedited. Also, the term "waiver" only applies to ineligibilities such as INA212(a)(6)(C)(i), material misrepresentation, etc.; there's no "waiver" for administrative processing.



It's up to you. I don't see that an attorney is useful in your case, but please keep in mind that as a Visa Officer I rarely see the point in spending money on attorneys in these cases, so my input on this particular matter may not be helpful.



He is free to apply, but it will be difficult for him to overcome the presumption that he is an intending immigrant. If he applies and is refused, that will not affect his immigration case in any way.



Again, waivers are not applicable to this case.



This is up to him. I'm afraid I can't give advice.



Again, the administrative processing in this case is necessary and cannot be skipped. Unfortunately I can't comment in detail on any case requiring administrative processing. I know this is frustrating, but I assure you that it doesn't mean no work at all is being done on this case. It is being actively worked on in our offices. I hope to be able to give you an update sooner rather than later.

Thank you so very much. Your advice is actually very helpful and I truly appreciate all the tine you spend reading our postings and responding so thoroughly and so quickly.

Nalacandi

Dear VO,

Happy New Year to you, please I apologize for continuously asking for updates regarding our case (LGS2014598025), but I have a few questions.

We have been in AP now for more than 60 days and I sent an email to the embassy and previously it was communicated to me that this could take several weeks and it indicates this when I check our status on the ceac website. Nevertheless, the email I received on Monday now states this process will take several months or longer. To my dismay, I was devastated.

We have been apart now for 25 months since we married and have now celebrated our 2nd Anniversary just 3 days past Christmas and this has been an emotional and stressful process. We have been waiting for 19 months since date of filing our I130 and we clearly have shown intent on creating a life together and a family. We want children and I am beginning to fear this might not happen either. I have dreamed of having children since I was very young and it just did not happen for me until now.

We desperately miss each other and we surely will never give up, but we have tried to be patient, but it’s becoming increasingly more difficult.

1) When I visited Nigeria in December 2012 to marry my husband I had intent to return to Nigeria for additional visits prior to his interview, but within 2 months of my return to Texas my mother had to have emergency cervical spinal cord surgery due to a prior injury just after my older brother’s birth. I am my mother's only and primary Medical Power of Attorney and I have had to remain in the states to care for her. She had an MRI last Friday, we are now waiting for the results, and there is a strong possibility she might require another major surgery. Can we apply for a waiver to show a hardship regarding our separation?
2) I noticed in a prior response you indicated that you had been corresponding with an attorney and my attorney has refused communication with me since my husband’s interview in November. Will this adversely affect our case in AP if she refuses communication with the embassy and she is not offering any communication to me or should I have her removed from our case and proceed to continue this process independently?
3) Is it possible that my husband could file for a B2 Visitor Visa and be approved for a short stay so that we could briefly spend some time together, if we can obtain permission from his employer, and we show strong intent on his return to Nigeria (at least until our petition is approved). Clearly, my leaving the states would be incredibly difficult due to my mother’s impending medical concerns. My mother even wrote two affidavits in support of our relationship and indicating that she needs me to remain here in the states to care for her and be available in an emergency. We certainly would have no intention of overstaying his visa and risk jeopardizing our immigrant visa petition as we clearly have intent on creating a life together and having children.
4) What evidence would we need to submit if a waiver is possible?
5) What evidence would we need to submit to show his intent to return to Nigeria?
6) I saw in an earlier post also that the purpose of all this is try to reunite the family as quickly as possible, but I must admit 19 months is a bit extreme, and additionally several more months would be just as extreme. Therefore, I don’t understand how this is working to our advantage.

My husband was very nervous on the day of his interview and we have shown evidence of a bona fide relationship, but we are now stuck in this limbo. This has been very emotional and very stressful on us both and financially.

We desperately want to be together and both of our families support our marriage. We want desperately to have a traditional wedding ceremony in Nigeria when we are able to save the money and you can see from our pictures that we did our best to make our registry wedding as authentic as possible, as well.

You reported in an earlier post to me that our AP appears to be straightforward, so I don’t understand why it has taken over 2 months to resolve it.

Please any advice you can provide would be beneficial. We sincerely miss each other and desire some contact with each other until this can be resolved.

I assure you that we are honest people and we would never want to mislead the embassy in anyway and want to do this all the legal and correct way, but I need my husband during these difficult times. We literally talk 3-5 times a day by phone, we text, we video cam, we chat on messenger and now have WhatsApp. We share everything in our lives with each other from the time we wake until we go to bed.

Sincerely,

nalacandi (my apologies for the length)

Dear VO,

Happy New Year. I guess u have been off for vacation. I sent an email to the embassy to change our status from CR1 to IR1 and I asked for an update on our case as you suggested I cn do. 2 months we are in Admin Processing and in the email I received no update. The generic email stated they will update our status, but told me we are still in AP. I don't understand why this has yet to be resolved. According to the NVC most AP situations are to be resolved in 60 days. Please what can we do. We have the necessary information, but there is no movement. We have celebrayer our 2nd wedding anniversary apart again. When might we obtain information or a new interview to resolve our status please. Thank you kindly.

nalacandi

Dear VO,

Please forgive I have a question . I've been informed that the embassy will be shutting down for a few weeks and I was not aware of this. Can u confirm this?

Also, is it not possible for us to request another interview to provide the documents that our attorney did not frontload which I feel has played a part in the decision made to place us in AP. My husbnd was just very nervous that day and we don't seem to be making any progress here.

I noticed you were able to do this for others. I really feel we have been placed on AP in error, if you want my honest opinion.

I am concerned that my inability to return to Nigeria has also contributed to the AP processing, but my mother had to have major spinal cord reconstructive surgery as her spinal cord was being slowly crushed and would have decapitaed her internally without the surgery and I am her medical POA. Now she is having complications and may require another surgery. My husband has offered to take care of her while I work as I will not be able to take off and stay with her in the hospital and rehab for 2 weeks, as I did before. My mother is praying my husband can be here soon, because she can see the sadness in me without him for so long, see we have been waiting 19 months since filing, as it is. Now, our status has changed as of today and we are celebrating our 2nd wedding anniversary apart, as of today. We are now a CR-1 Category.

To complicate matters further my uncle has been diagnosed with 2 additional precancerous areas, in addition to the pancreatic cancer he just survived. You see, my uncle is to walk me down the aisle for our American Reaffirmation of vows and we might need to change the date for that now that my husband won't be here for our anniversary on the 28th. I'm concerned my uncle might not survive much longer and I lost a father to suicide and my adoptive dad to cancer, already.

Honestly, I need my husband for this emotional support to get through these events and I truly desire that my uncle be able to walk me down the aisle, as I've stated my father is unable to do so and I would be devastated if this could not happen.

We want to do reaffirmation on Valentines Day in 2015 since it carries the same color scheme as our Christmas Wedding.

Please can't something be done here. We have all we need to prove a bona fide relationship, we provided it at his interview already, and we can provide it again, asap.

My family and my husbands family are in support of our marriage. We just want to prove that we are an honest couple in a truly bona fide relationship. We are ready to start our lives together and we want children, also. I may be older than him but I am still of childbearing age, as of now. We just want to start our lives and make new memories together. We talk several times a day, but it is not the same.

Sincerely,

Mr and Mrs Nalacandi

Hi VO,

I am curious about something that came to my mind. My husband has had his medical in October and I understand that he must enter the US within 6 months of the issue of his medical. Will our AP process affect this and his police certificate. Is it possible our case can be resolved before this is necessary. He even returned and got the second immunization that was required and I am worried that his immunization won't be good for his entry. LGS2014598025 Case # as we seem to be unable to get status update regarding our case. I want to be able to prepare for this ahead of time since it takes a week to get his medical information back.

Thanks for all you do. Christmas is around the corner hope you will have a good holiday.

Mr. and Mrs. Nalacandi

Dear VO,

Thank you kindly for always providing such great advice on this forum. You are much appreciated! I wanted to check once again on our case as it has no status update since Nov 26; LGS2014598025 to see if there is any update at all.

Secondly, I noticed you mentioned that you were communicating with an attorney and we have an attorney, but she seems to not be doing anything to help us at this point despite being paid fully for services. Is she allowed to make contact and get updates and determine what next steps are available to us to get through this process.

I have a situation where my uncle has been diagnosed again with pre-cancerous cells and is not doing well. I would like to find out if there is away for my husband to apply for a visitor visa and have some chance of visiting to meet him in person before anything should happen and he pass away. I have lost 2 fathers and my uncle has been my replacement father since I was born and he was to walk me down the isle for our American Ceremony Reaffirmation of Vows and I fear that he might not be around to do this soon.

Can our case be expedited for family emergency. My uncle is more than just an uncle, he literally is father. My biological father took his own life and my 2nd adoptive father died of cancer 12 years ago. My uncle is all that I have left at this point.

I really want my husband to be able to meet him and we could do our reaffirmation while he is here for visit, so as to not miss this opportunity before it is too late. What would be the likelihood he would even qualify for a visitor visa. We would ensure that my husband returns to Nigeria as he has a job that is important for him to maintain until we find out about our immigrant visa (approval I pray). We have been waiting for 18 months now and we were one of the ones caught in the government shutdown. Please is there anything we can do. I just found out this evening about my uncle and I want them to meet physically before it is too late.

Any advice would be great and any status update would be terrific, as well. Thank you so much.

I trust you had a good vacation and we are glad to have you back.

nalacandi

Hello VO,

I was wondering if there are any forums for U.S. Citizens applying for their spouses like this forum. I have a friend who would like to connect and obtain information the way we are able to do. Please if you know of any let me know. I hope that you are great vacation and look forward to your return to Lagos.

Thanks,

nalacandi

VisaOfficer:
If your two-year anniversary comes before a visa is issued, please ask your husband to remind us of that in his next interview so that we can change the visa category appropriately. There's nothing else that you need to do related to the visa category.

Ok wonderful. Thank u so much.

Nalacandi & hubby