Possible red flags in K-1 visa petition

[RANNK1 8]

Hello everyone on vj. I discovered a potenitial problem in the k-1 visa petition I submitted.

I included 20 pictures of myself with my Nigerian fiance. A few of the pictures are of us at a blessing ceremony in his fathers house. It is customary for the father to bless the engagement of the couple and watch them exchange vows and engagement rings. Nigerian men wear engagement rings too. We are wearing street clothes like jeans and and the scene is laid back with a few family members wearing t-shirts and jeans. The pictures show us kissing and also exchanging rings. I am stressed that the blessing ceremony could be interrpretated as a marriage. I wish i had not included those pictures. ON the back I wrote that it was a blessing ceremony with the family.

I was still married legally to my ex when i traveled to NIgeria, and was not officially divorced May, so there is NO WAY I could have married him. I included my divorce decree with the petition- so they should see the date on it.

I also reread the intent to marry letter that my wonderful fiance wrote to me - which is nice. However, he refered to me as his wife in the letter, as is customary for Nigerians to refer to their fiance/ ee as husband or wife . He said things like " I love her so much as my wife....." I wish that I had made him change the wording so as to not cause confusion.

In my letter i refer to him as my fiance.

IN our emails and IM he often refers to me as his wife.

What do you all think? Will this be a problem at some point?

Should I mail a notorized letter to immigration to explain explicitly that we are not married and explain the Nigerians customs???

Or should I wait until he goes into the embassy in Lagos and have him take in a sworn statement from me and also from himself and his father explaining that we are indeed engaged and not married.

please help

[brnidokiegurl 0]

(engagement) ceremonies are common practice many places BUT the fact you were still married and not free to become engaged would look worse to me. Establish your timelines and be prepared

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Hello everyone on vj. I discovered a potenitial problem in the k-1 visa petition I submitted.

I included 20 pictures of myself with my Nigerian fiance. A few of the pictures are of us at a blessing ceremony in his fathers house. It is customary for the father to bless the engagement of the couple and watch them exchange vows and engagement rings. Nigerian men wear engagement rings too. We are wearing street clothes like jeans and and the scene is laid back with a few family members wearing t-shirts and jeans. The pictures show us kissing and also exchanging rings. I am stressed that the blessing ceremony could be interrpretated as a marriage. I wish i had not included those pictures. ON the back I wrote that it was a blessing ceremony with the family.

I was still married legally to my ex when i traveled to NIgeria, and was not officially divorced May, so there is NO WAY I could have married him. I included my divorce decree with the petition- so they should see the date on it.

I also reread the intent to marry letter that my wonderful fiance wrote to me - which is nice. However, he refered to me as his wife in the letter, as is customary for Nigerians to refer to their fiance/ ee as husband or wife . He said things like " I love her so much as my wife....." I wish that I had made him change the wording so as to not cause confusion.

In my letter i refer to him as my fiance.

IN our emails and IM he often refers to me as his wife.

What do you all think? Will this be a problem at some point?

Should I mail a notorized letter to immigration to explain explicitly that we are not married and explain the Nigerians customs???

Or should I wait until he goes into the embassy in Lagos and have him take in a sworn statement from me and also from himself and his father explaining that we are indeed engaged and not married.

please help

As I mentioned in another answer to you...what is acceptable in Kiev may NOT be acceptable in Lagos, Nigeria. The timing of your relationship would raise maybe ONE question in Kiev. "Did you know he was still married when he started seeing you?" answer "yes". End of questioning.

Also the referral as being married would be of more concern. What is customary in Nigeria doesn't matter. If they believe you are married they can deny the visa and ask you to file an I-130 for a K-3/CR-1

You are dealing with an extremely difficult consulate and you need to prepare every step as such. The fact it is Nigeria and you are older is already two strikes against you, and two things you can do nothing about. You also can do nothing about what you already submitted and will be forwarded to the consulate. I would suggest from this point you get serious and document your relationship very well. Also refer to the regional forums for people who have been successful in Lagos and see what they suggest.

I am not making any judgements on your realtionship, only stating the facts of dealing with a very difficult consulate.