going to pursue CR-1, live with him abroad (not in his home country). how will this affect the visa process

[AmyWrites 593]

A friend added me to the group

The "stranger" was an american

Jesus christ, do you honestly believe everything people say on the internet? Let me tell you how to pretend you're American on Facebook. On city/country, you select a city in the US. That's all. Copy/paste a picture of an American looking person and upload that in your profile pic. Done.

Please read this: It's very informative

Edited May 15, 2012 by AmyWrites

[Boiler 45,402]

I wonder if it is a fees scam or he just wants a ticket to the US.

[aaydrian 479]

Jesus christ, do you honestly believe everything people say on the internet? Let me tell you how to pretend you're American on Facebook. On city/country, you select a city in the US. That's all. Copy/paste a picture of an American looking person and upload that in your profile pic. Done.

Please read this: It's very informative

My friends do that all the time with countries I didn't even know existed.

at Sarah, you need to sit and really think about your 'boyfriend's' intentions and past actions.

Lets say that Mike's friend actually is a USC, he is giving Mike a hand up as this could has been the same way he got to the US in the first place. The USC friend is paying it forward by helping Mike.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

"Some of the signs that an Internet contact may be developing a relationship with a U.S. citizen in order to obtain an immigrant visa through marriage are:

Declarations of love within days or weeks of the initial contact;

Proposals or discussions of marriage soon after initial contact;

Requests to the U.S. citizen to visit the foreign national’s home country soon after the declaration of love or proposal;

Responses to messages from the U.S. citizen friend are along the lines “I love you/Sorry I missed your call,” or similarly one-sided conversations;

Once engaged, married, or an immigrant visa petition is filed, suddenly starts missing scheduled appointments to chat or call.

While chat rooms, dating, and social networking sites can be ways to make friends across international borders, the U.S. government urges U.S. citizens who meet foreign nationals on the Internet to keep in mind the signs noted above. Entering into a marriage contract for the principal purpose of facilitating immigration to the United States for an alien is against U.S. law and can result in serious penalties, including fines and imprisonment for the U.S. citizen and the foreign national involved."

This is from the Moroccan consulate website, but the message is the same, and it is coming from the US government on what to look out for. Source: http://morocco.usembassy.gov/visas/immigrant-visas/fiance-visas.html

The comment that being "religious" is an easy way to defraud people is spot on. The guy that found you on facebook sounds like he could see you were an easy target and then tried you out on his friends. He was lucky the second one worked. You also said your boyfriend's English "isn't that great" so he couldn't fully explain how he was in South Africa. That is a humungous red flag.

[Lisamarie 79]

It screams scam. The fact that when you weren't interested in him he suggested his friend, means to me that they're sitting there approaching Americans, just waiting for someone to take the bait. There are probably lots of "friends".

Sarah, please reconsider going there. You haven't even met him yet, you can move on. There are a million other guys out there and you are still so young. Don't be in a hurry and don't put yourself in a risky and potentially dangerous situation.

She answered this already upthread: a Nigerian stranger contacted her out of the blue on Facebook expressing interest in her, and when she wasn't interested, he suggested that she might be interested in his friend instead. The Facebook group sounds like it came along after the fact.

[Lisamarie 79]

"Maybe" he was an American. Or "maybe" he said he was American to build your trust before he introduced you to his Nigerian friend "Mike". And if he is American, maybe he is being used as a laison, to connect with unsuspecting young women on FB for his Nigerian friends.

A friend added me to the group

The "stranger" was an american

[Boiler 45,402]

How do you know they are different people if you have not met them?

[AmyWrites 593]

How do you know they are different people if you have not met them?

They hired a private investigator...

[Boiler 45,402]

Ahhhh

That makes sense.......

[Adriene H 89]

South Africa has the highest reported incident of rape in the world.

While men are also subjected to sexual violence and 3.5% of men have

been forced to have sex with other men, the majority of sexual violence

is against women. The South African government reports that one of

these reasons is the culture of patriarchy in South Africa. Its report

states that patriarchy is firmly rooted in the country and fighting it

is seen as attempting to destroy African tradition or Afrikaner ideals.

The danger from rape and sexual assault is compounded because of the

prevalence of HIV/AIDS in South African townships. A woman being raped

over the age of 25 has a one in four chance that her attacker is HIV

positive and more women than men are affected from HIV/AIDS.

The perpetrators of rape in South Africa tend to be men known to the

victim. It is reported that a husband or boyfriend kills a woman every

six hours in South Africa. Many men and women say that rape cannot

occur in relationships; however, one in four women reported having been

abused by an intimate partner.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_violence_in_South_Africa#Rape_of_women

[Lisamarie 79]

That's a good point, too.

How do you know they are different people if you have not met them?

[pushbrk 12,824]

Here are a few suggestions for assisting one in determining if a relationship is sincere, prior to making a visit.

1. Can you talk on the webcam regularly and always on time.

2. When you talk on the webcam, are others (family members, friends of the foreigner, etc.) included in the conversation?

3. Is there interest in meeting the US Citizen's family on the webcam? Does this actually happen?

4. Does the foreigner completely answer detailed questions about their family, work, education and life experience?

Others have pointed out some red flags. The biggest ones to me are how the couple initially became acquainted, the lack of full explanation of status in South Africa and the ability to remain in SA for an extended time without a job. The most recent red flag is changing the goal from marriage to pursuing a K1 visa. What is the foreigner's reason for this?

[PMartin37 161]

This sounds like a classic scam. I hope this guy is simply someone who will use you for a visa (Do you honestly believe he will randomly contact some American girl otherwise?) and not a violent person who wants to hurt you or your mom once you get there. A private investigator for some guy online halfway around the world is pointless; unless this guy is a CIA agent, you virtually have little information other than what he posts online, which can be anywhere from 1-100% BS.

And also, there's MANY people in the world who are willing to "leave everything behind" for their US's partners... including their US partners once they get to the US. The reason why consular officers give people such a hard time is because many people will in fact do lots of things just to get a US visa. Filing for a K-1 visa for him is just perfect, you have 90 days to marry, which means 90 days for him to suddenly decide to leave you. Although frankly I don't see how any CO would approve this, the red flags here are great and you're dealing with a potentially the most difficult consulate.

PLEASE read the threads here on this regional forum because they'll have a better idea of what to tell you, and on "Effects of Major Family Changes on Immigration Benefits", where you'll often see letters along the line of "He/she came to the US and is now cheating on me/leaving me/not interested in me/etc". And use Google. Inform yourself. In the best scenarios, you're still dealing with Lagos and that means you will have to mentally brace yourself for it.

Good luck

What could this guy still gain from the beneficiary if he leaves her after entering on a K-1 visa? IF he was every able to get one?

[pushbrk 12,824]

What could this guy still gain from the beneficiary if he leaves her after entering on a K-1 visa? IF he was every able to get one?

Without marrying and adjusting status he would gain entry to the USA and live here just like a few million other illegal aliens. The difference, is he has no other way to get across the border with the Atlantic ocean being a bit more daunting than the Rio Grande or a fence, etc.

[PMartin37 161]

Without marrying and adjusting status he would gain entry to the USA and live here just like a few million other illegal aliens. The difference, is he has no other way to get across the border with the Atlantic ocean being a bit more daunting than the Rio Grande or a fence, etc.

I'll say.

But she can make a report to USCIS that they didn't in fact marry and wouldn't they likely start deportation procedures? That is certainly would I would do if someone scammed me. I know you have to be very careful from reading posts on VJ that people will continue scamming in some ways to work the system to remain here and possibly get the petitioner in all kinds of trouble.