Tourist Visa from Nigerian Embassy

[chispas 0]

My two cents worth would be to take what "sweetee" "dana" "joej" and "ET" said and follow absorb it all. They all are giving you priceless advice both on how to get your boyfriend here and what it takes to be in a relationship with a person from another country.

panamachic

[joej 0]

I just wanted to add that when I was in Nigeria a lot of people were saying my husband could get a quicky visa and just come back with me. haha. We were so naive then. Anyway it is not true.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

The biggest advantage of the K-3 is that your husband receives his green card and work authorization within weeks as opposed to 4-6 months.

The CR1 would offer that benefit (takes a lot longer to obtain, though). The K3 most certainly does not give anyone a work authorization and green card within weeks. The EAD and Adjustment process for a K3 is not all that different from a K1.

Are you sure, ET? A friend of ours named Caesar arrived in the U.S. on the exact same day as Peter, and he had his green card within weeks - even before Peter and I got married.

I thought the benefit to the marriage beforehand is that the person enters the U.S. as a permanent resident, and doesn't have to endure AOS. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Yes, I am sure. Nani came on a K3 visa and I remember well that we had to file for both her authorization to work and for her green card after her arrival. The K3 visa only gets the foreign spouse into the US and allows for travel to and from the US while it is valid - it is, other than the K1, a multiple entry visa and it is valid for 2 years following the first entry. Other than that, the K3 is a nonimmigrant visa and is not all that different from a K1.

To enter the US as a permanent resident, one would have to obtain an immigrant visa (CR1/IR1) overseas. That is possible but takes more time than the K3 in most cases. In fact, the K3 was introduced precisely because it took so long for USC spouses to obtain an immigrant visa - the wait has been 24-36 months in years past. Immigrant visa processing has improved quite a bit - it was even faster than K3's for awhile. These days, however, it's a pretty sure bet that a K3 is quicker to obtain than a CR1/IR1.

Your friend Ceasar either entered as a CR1/IR1 or on a Diversity Visa via the DV lottery. He most certainly did not enter as a K3 and automatically received his green card a few weeks later.

[k_quandary 0]

ewa0,

Hi again! I just wanted to echo that it is very very hard to get a tourist/visitor's visa from most countries in Africa. And, I know that everyone is telling you about fiance and family-based (spouse) visas. But, you may want to consider what someone else mentioned about international relationships in terms of where you are in your particular relationship. Are you ready to get married? Are you sure you want to get married to this man? If not, then you may want to meet again in a third place like London and strengthen what you have because the visa process takes a long and will definitely test your strength and patience. If you are ready to get married then this site is invaluable and we will be here in this forum to help and support you with all the information and knowledge that we have. Good luck!!

K.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

And, I know that everyone is telling you about fiance and family-based (spouse) visas. But, you may want to consider what someone else mentioned about international relationships in terms of where you are in your particular relationship. Are you ready to get married? Are you sure you want to get married to this man? If not, then you may want to meet again in a third place like London and strengthen what you have because the visa process takes a long and will definitely test your strength and patience.

[Neya 0]

EwaO,

The immigration process is very overwhelming and it is a long one. Don't worry right now about AOS, EAD, etc. The decision that is immediately in front of you and your man is: Do we get married in Nigeria or America? If you decide to go to Nigeria and get married there, then you file for K-3. If you decide to wait for the visa and get married in America, then you file for K-1. Once that decision is made, just focus on the K-1 or K-3 visa for now. The rest of the process will come in its own time. There are lots of us here who have fought with the Nigerian embassy and have made it out of those walls with a visa in hand--it is possible but not easy. However, I don't know a single person on this site or elsewhere that has been given a visitor visa from the Nigerian embassy. I agree with the others--don't count on him getting one. It will be a waste of another 100 U.S. dollars. Having sat outside the embassy while my husband was inside, I have seen the HUNDREDS of people that line up every day and pay 100 dollars each to try to get a visitor visa and I have seen those same people come out of the embassy rejected. It is the embassy's main source of revenue and they will lead you to believe that it is possible and likely for him to get a visitor visa only to deny him at the interview.

There are several people here on VJ that were successful in getting K-1 visas from the embassy there. However, just a word of warning to you---make sure that you meet the income requirements alone to sponsor your fiance here. It is 125% of the federal poverty level. If you dont' have any children, then the amount is (roughly--not sure of the exact amount off the top of my head) 16, 500 dollars per year in income. I have seen several people be denied a K-1 visa in Lagos because the U.S. citizen did not meet the income requirement and they were told at the interview that they do not allow for joint sponsors on a K-1 visa. Some other people got approved for a K-1 with a joint sponsor so it is not unheard of. But it depends on what officer your fiance gets for his interview. That is just something to think about as you make your decision of which visa to apply for.

I understand that the process is overwhelming and sometimes seems hopeless...we have all been through it. Being apart from the man that you love is heart-wrenching, to say the least. If your love is strong and the two of you are determined to make the relationship work, then you will make it through the separation and your love will be so much stronger BECAUSE of it. My husband is from Nigeria and was able to finally get his visa and come to the U.S. in December. We were apart for the first nine months of our marriage. It was difficult and I would not want to do it again. But we both look back on it and know that it made our relationship so much stronger as we learned to communicate with each other better and truly got to know each other's hearts and minds during our countless hours of chatting online and on the phone. Look for creative ways to build your relationship and you and your fiance will make it through the visa process just fine. Good luck. Feel free to post here frequently with your questions and concerns---we've all been through it and can help you in your journey.

Molly

Wow Molly...

Thanks for this post...I am a newbie just starting out with the whole process and yourr advice is fantastic.

Neya

[mandolinv 0]

Hello to you Newbies. It's good to have you here. This site is great for advice and support through those hard times. I came crying here a number of times while waiting for my man to come. I will pretty much agree with what people have said so far. For those of you who are new, the best advice I can give is to read. I know it is difficult to read so much when you don't even know what you are looking for, but read, read, read. It will really help. I was extreamly overwhelmed when I first came. People were telling me all kinds of things. Also, I didn't understand why things weren't working. People at immigration were telling me how things were supposed to work. But, it doesn't work that way in Nigeria. There is practically no way for a visitor's visa to get approved. So, If you are going to be together, expect it to take time. It to my husband and I a year from the time I left Nigeria (1 day less than a year) to be together again. Also, know that you will have to learn a whole new language (no, not that of your significant other, but that of immigration). Expect it to take time to become fluent . I know the idea of reading all this is overwhelming. My husband wouldn't come near this sight because he was so overwhelmed with it. Just take it one small post at a time and eventually, you will start understanding parts of it. Ask lots of questions as you go along if you don't understand what you are reading. Good luck and good reading.

[denitrakelly 0]

I recently started the process and would suggest that you visit Nigeria and marry there. Take lots of pictures and when you return file the I-130. This is what i have done.

DeNitra

[MBJM 0]

I know you probablly don't need one more persons opion but I will throw mine out here anyway. Because of how hard it is for an African to get a visitors visa I highly recommend that if you are not sure about marrying him that you visit him.

this is good for 2 reasons, one it gives you some time to spend time togeather and 2 it gives you insite into his culture.

As someone else has already said marrying an African (I am engaged to a Ugandan and I LOVE him) is very diffrent then marrying an american. They treat relationships diffrent, there is not a lot of dating, and at least in Uganda (not sure about other African countries) any dating relationshipis just kind of expected to end in marriage.

Spending time in his culture will help you understand some things about him that are part of him because of the culture.

He will have a diffrent sense of humor, understanding of gender roles, idea of how time and money should be spent.

I don't think any of these diffrent views are bad, they are just diffrent and the more you know ahead of time the better off you will be when you start you life togeather.

Also, Africa is really not as sacry as it may sound to visit..come and enjoy the beauty that is Africa (I have lived here for about 9 months total now)

good luck!!!

Megan

(ps, sorry for some reason I can never get spell check to come up on my computer here in Uganda)

[vickky 0]

yea i do agree wt what some experince VJ siad concerning ur fiancee to come as a visitor, I could tell u not even in nigerian embassy alone, around the world specially being black is more harder.

Am a nigerian and my fiancee is nigerian too but he's schooling in malaysia for the past 3yrs and I've been tryin to obtain both visitor and student visa but all in vain, they only reason was i dint have my citizenship yet, so when i got it, I travel to malaysia for the first timein life to meet him though we met in naija b4 he decided to go over there. To be in a relationship is all abt sacrifice or a big risk u have to take it, if it work u see if not such is life. So i took the risk of goin there and then gather all necessary information for him to come here, being in another country wasnt easy they requires more from us than any residence over there, am tellin u most black are very suspicious, and had it been We were both from diff country i dont how it would be, when i came back from malaysia i have to call immigration and asked them abt my issue if he could come from there, they told me yea since its K1 visa that they consider it as non immigrant, so intead for him goin back to nigeria just for that I decided to file thru malaysia embassy for him.

So ma dear dont waste money for tourist visa cos i've been on that process and it didnt work for me, go to niaja nd do what u supposed to do suchis life and see what would happen from ther, i do beleive some balck american do go thru that process and it work out for them, dont panic not every guys in nigja would play u there some million of nice ones over therre looking for someone to be love.

Good luck! am planning going to niaja soon so u can join me if u dont mind.

wish u the best of luck!

vickky

[AubreyJ 0]

I hate to say it, but I'm with the others that a tourist visa is near impossible to get. I couldn't speak directly for Nigeria, but from what I've heard, it is just like the Ghanaian embassy that my fiance has dealt with in the past. We are in a very similar situation in that he basically just wants to come visit my family and friends and see where I come from- but not to stay. We are planning on moving back to Africa after his three months. And it is very frustrating to have to run the courses for an immigrant (in effect) visa when all we really need is a tourist visa. But the sad truth is that it's just not realistic for him to be granted a visitor's visa because he's young and from a poor country.. Not fair at all, but the way it is:( You will need a lot of patience and persistance for this process. It seems to hardly ever go as fast or smoothly as people expect it to, and it's a lot of hard work, and especially hard on your heart to be apart for so long. Be strong and you will do just fine, and you have a great group of people here to support and help you the whole way.

[jamyleandkhadijah 0]

Hey ,

Getting Tourist Visa from Lagos US Consulate is not a sure thing i will advice u two to take ur time and prepare for ur Visa journey...I am have been thru the same process and i was denied and ask to get married first then file for a K3 ......................Goodluck

Jamil