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Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Ghana
Timeline
Posted

Several of us have been trying to coordinate a writing campaign to raise an awareness of the backlogged interview process in Ghana. We have asked people to join our campaign through our fb page. However, let me help to make it a little easier for you. At the bottom, I have pasted the suggested letter we are hoping those concerned will send. Here are the people we want suggest you send the letter to:

a. One letter is addressed to the Honorable Janice L. Jacobs, Assistant Secretary of Bureau of Consular Affairs.

b. One letter is addressed to the Honorable Johnnie Carson, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs.

c. One letter is addressed to your local Senator

d. One letter is addressed to your local Congressmen

The address for the Jacobs and Carson is:

U.S. Department of State

Bureau of Consular Affairs (for Jacobs) African Affairs (for Carson)

2201 C Street NW

Washington, DC 20520

Use this link to find the address for your local representatives: http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml

Suggested Letter Format

[Your Name]

[street Address]

[City, ST ZIP Code]

Telephone Number

Email Address

Month/Day/Year

[Recipient Name]

[Title]

[Company Name]

[street Address]

[City, ST ZIP Code]

Dear [Recipient Name]:

I am writing to you today on behalf of myself and other US citizens who have petitioned the US government to allow a family member from Ghana to apply for a US visa. The work that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the (NVC) are doing to ensure that visa petitions are credible and properly prepared is appreciated. However, this tedious and thorough process has fallen short after it is completed at the NVC for petitioners for a Ghanaian family member. Specifically, there is a severe delay in the time it takes to obtain a visa interview at the US Embassy in Ghana.

You may be familiar with a website called Visa Journey. This website has almost 70,000 members. Individuals going through the US visa process post details about their progress through the process and share their experiences through blog discussions. Using the information from individual time-lines posted on Visa Journey and the processing time-lines posted by the USCIS, visa petitioners and beneficiaries are able to “guestimate” the time it might take to complete their visa process.

Based on individual experiences, as well as through admission of representative at the US Embassy in Ghana, there is a severe backlog in obtaining a visa interview in Ghana. In the case of I-130 visa petitions, many countries are able to inform beneficiaries of an interview date within 1-2 months following the closing of their case at the NVC. In those circumstances, interviews often take place within 60 days of notification. However, beneficiaries working through the US Embassy in Ghana are waiting 6 months or longer for an interview date notification which will not take place for at least another 6 months. This means that the process to obtain a visa through the US Embassy in Ghana takes at minimum a year longer than it takes with many other US Embassies in other countries. As you can imagine, this delay causes a major strain on relationships and becomes very costly for the couples who are ready to begin their lives as duo taxpayers in the US.

It is our desire to alert you and other political officials of this issue with a hope that someone will look into and improve this situation at the US Embassy in Ghana. This request is being sent to you as a part of a concerted writing campaign begun by members of the facebook page: US Embassy in Ghana: Help Unite families not break them apart. (Optional line: I have also attached details regarding my personal status in the visa process.)

Please help us to bring our family member home. We thank you in advance for your attention to our situation.

Sincerely,

Staying strong and patient in love and faith!

http://ghanaspouse.blogspot.com/

Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Ghana
Timeline
Posted

You can review the bio of the two people we chose to write and see why we think they are the right people:

Johnnie Carson: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/123210.htm

Janice Jacobs: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/105826.htm

This initiative will not have any chance of being effective if we don't have a high volume of people writing. We are trying to encourage anyone who is in the process in Ghana or has already gone through the process to join our writing campaign. We realize that some people may be concerned that participating in such a campaign might adversely impact their visa process. We respect your concerns. However, if you read the letter we wrote, we are not trying to be create an adversarial situation. We are thinking that the issue in Ghana might be a need for more people power and by raising the issue we might be able to help both the Embassy in Ghana and those going through the process today and tomorrow.

Then again, it may not help at all. We believe it is better to try than to just sit and complain. Please join us.

Staying strong and patient in love and faith!

http://ghanaspouse.blogspot.com/

Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Ghana
Timeline
Posted

Hello,

Count me in! Our case was completed in November 2009...have waited for 7 months still no interview date! I would love to join in the work even if I have interview scheduled this month or next month. It's totally out of order that they are doing what they are doing brashly simply because there is no rule to check on them.

Let me know whatever is it that you would like for me to do. Together, we form a dynamic voice united in common against this injustice.

B and D

You can review the bio of the two people we chose to write and see why we think they are the right people:

Johnnie Carson: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/123210.htm

Janice Jacobs: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/105826.htm

This initiative will not have any chance of being effective if we don't have a high volume of people writing. We are trying to encourage anyone who is in the process in Ghana or has already gone through the process to join our writing campaign. We realize that some people may be concerned that participating in such a campaign might adversely impact their visa process. We respect your concerns. However, if you read the letter we wrote, we are not trying to be create an adversarial situation. We are thinking that the issue in Ghana might be a need for more people power and by raising the issue we might be able to help both the Embassy in Ghana and those going through the process today and tomorrow.

Then again, it may not help at all. We believe it is better to try than to just sit and complain. Please join us.

Marriage (if applicable): 2007-09-08

I-130 sent: 2008-08-05

I-130 approved: 2009-04-08

Case Completed at NVC: 2009-04-08

IR-1 Visa Received: 2011-01-21

US Entry: 2011-01-29

SS card received: 02-26-2011

10 years GC Received: 03/10/2011

Citizenship eligibility Criteria: 3 years

10-31-2013: Eligibility Date

02-07-2014: Application Sent

02-11-2014: Application Received

02-11-2014: Priority Date

02-18-2014: NOA Received

02-20-2014: Bio-metric Letter sent Date

03-11-2014: Bio-metric Date

03-13-2014: In-line for Interview

04-10-2014: Interview Letter Sent Date

05-20-2014: Interview Date

06-19-2014: Oath Ceremony

06-21-2014: Applied for U.S passport Book (expedite-$60)

06-23-2014: Passport Application received

06-26-2014: Passport Completed processing and mailed

06-27-2014: Passport Received

Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Ghana
Timeline
Posted

Hello,

Count me in! Our case was completed in November 2009...have waited for 7 months still no interview date! I would love to join in the work even if I have interview scheduled this month or next month. It's totally out of order that they are doing what they are doing brashly simply because there is no rule to check on them.

Let me know whatever is it that you would like for me to do. Together, we form a dynamic voice united in common against this injustice.

B and D

Thank you so much for wanting to participate. We need people to write, use the letter we suggested or your own version that is focused on raising the awareness. Write to the individuals we identified and anyone else you think appropriate. Post information about our mission on any website that you think might include others in our situation.

I hope others will follow your lead!

Staying strong and patient in love and faith!

http://ghanaspouse.blogspot.com/

 
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