CAN SHORT TIME IN MARRIAGE AFFECT CO DECISION

[lucyrich 20]

Back to the original question. In our case, we first met in November, became engaged in February, and only after our engagement did we start researching immigration issues. We got married and filed the paperwork in April, less than six months after meeting. We had what would, by "normal" standards, be considered a short courtship, but we were both old enough and knew what we were looking for. Also, our courtship was almost entirely in person, with a lot of time spent together. The shortness of our courtship was not mentioned at any time during our process. Nobody seemed surprised, suspicious, or anything of the sort. Our fifth wedding anniversary is coming up soon, we're solidly together, and we finished the naturalization process last summer. I believe there are others on this board who have had significantly shorter courtships than our own, and I think that it's not uncommon for international couples to have a short courtship.

Having said that, I mostly agree with the general trend of this thread, even if I won't reinforce every single post. The big picture is what matters. A short courtship is one of the many factors, but by itself, it doesn't determine whether the consular officer thinks the relationship is valid or not. The bigger issue in this case is that, because of the high fraud rate in Nigera, when a man from Nigeria marries a woman from the US, the consular official will be suspicious that the man is doing it for the green card. They often see cases where a US wife is genuinely in love, but the Nigerian husband is attempting to deceive both the wife and the officials in order to get a green card. I'm not implying anything about the validity of this particular relationship. I'm just suggesting there may be an uphill battle, and it may be difficult to demonstrate the bona fides of the relationship to the satisfaction of the officer. As you plan how to present your case, keep in mind that any evidence which merely demonstrates that the US spouse is genuine may not be as powerful as evidence which demonstrates that the Nigerian half of the couple is genuine in his intentions.

[Y's_habibitk 2]

Back to the original question. In our case, we first met in November, became engaged in February, and only after our engagement did we start researching immigration issues. We got married and filed the paperwork in April, less than six months after meeting. We had what would, by "normal" standards, be considered a short courtship, but we were both old enough and knew what we were looking for. Also, our courtship was almost entirely in person, with a lot of time spent together. The shortness of our courtship was not mentioned at any time during our process. Nobody seemed surprised, suspicious, or anything of the sort. Our fifth wedding anniversary is coming up soon, we're solidly together, and we finished the naturalization process last summer. I believe there are others on this board who have had significantly shorter courtships than our own, and I think that it's not uncommon for international couples to have a short courtship.

Having said that, I mostly agree with the general trend of this thread, even if I won't reinforce every single post. The big picture is what matters. A short courtship is one of the many factors, but by itself, it doesn't determine whether the consular officer thinks the relationship is valid or not. The bigger issue in this case is that, because of the high fraud rate in Nigera, when a man from Nigeria marries a woman from the US, the consular official will be suspicious that the man is doing it for the green card. They often see cases where a US wife is genuinely in love, but the Nigerian husband is attempting to deceive both the wife and the officials in order to get a green card. I'm not implying anything about the validity of this particular relationship. I'm just suggesting there may be an uphill battle, and it may be difficult to demonstrate the bona fides of the relationship to the satisfaction of the officer. As you plan how to present your case, keep in mind that any evidence which merely demonstrates that the US spouse is genuine may not be as powerful as evidence which demonstrates that the Nigerian half of the couple is genuine in his intentions.

this is great advise in any case.

well said

[Sylvia_n_Joseph 3]

I knew mine for 2 years before filing and we were accused of fraud because he doesn't know what I do in a DOD cleared job. Lagos embassy is as corrupt as the country is reported to be

A fiancé not knowing what a fiancée does for a living is a huge red flag. Nothing corrupt about seeing the flag.

Telling him that he won't get the visa if he doesn't tell her what I do at work is actually espionage and was properly reported.

Did he tell her that he didn't know because you are a super spy or did he just say "i dint know"

I am not a spy what the interviewer did fit the reportable definition of attempted espionage. He knows where I work, that is all he needs to know according to security. If they pry again I am to make another report. Who knows maybe Lagos will end up with a bunch of new employees. The embassy should as a sub set of the DOS be familiar with NISPOM as they are the first to hide behind national security when they don't want to reveal that they illegally readjudacated the petition

[Imua 0]

Our situation is similar - we had a very short (documented) courtship and were introduced by a friend living in Nepal. I didn't know that being introduced by a friend would be an issue, only if you were introduced by a family member, especially if they were already in the US.......

We first met briefly at a party in June '06 but at that time did not know that we would hit it off so well. We emailed and phoned a couple of times but don't have any record of it - of course at the time didn't know that we would marry or file papers. We definitely grew closer but I had doubts about our age difference and if a Nepali Hindu family would seriously consider a Euro-American(Hindu or not) as a daughter-in-law - my Nepali ex's family never did accept me and would not even eat in the same room with me even though I am Hindu and vegetarian. In early May '07 I went back to Nepal and saw Govi again and we really got serious quickly. In Nepal the custom is arranged marriage within weeks of introduction and we followed that custom - my FIL was with us on our first date and we did not even sleep in the same room until we were officially engaged on June 14, 2007. We were married at the temple on June 21 and our court marriage papers were signed on June 29. If I were Nepali and in my 20s I am sure there would be no question - Govi's cousin recently married a guy who she had only known for 2 weeks - but I am worried that the CO will question why we only have correspondence from after our marriage.

Edited March 3, 2009 by Pattu Rani

[Sandrila 1]

You are married now, that can't be disputed but what can be disputed, in such a short amount of time is, the sincerity of the relationship.

Without having spent much time together and not having a good chunk of time actually married I think they may scrutinize the motive of the marriage.

However, every situation is different.

Make sure that you have a ton of proof. Pictures of the ceremonies (engagement/marriage), pix of you together, e tickets, boarding passes, any letters or email correspondence from hence forth (if you hadnt already thought of it), phone records.

Nothing is guaranteed. Sometimes you get a nice, easy going, trusting CO and other times very difficult and extremely distrusting even with the most thorough of proof.