CR1 reaffirmed in Ghana (split topic)

[Shomefune96 28]

So this journey has also been a long one for my husband and I from the start of the Petition in May of 2014 to now where he has had his last interview. We still do not have the firm visa, but they did take his passport. But they wanted to verify if i had changed my last name and if so, they wanted proof. Helloooooo....nothing in our paperwork gave them any reason to think i'd changed my last name. So basically we are waiting longer, just so i could write them a letter to tell them no, i haven't. You took our original marriage certificate at the first interview and haven't given it back to us. So no, i can't do anything without that. Anyway so here is how ours went

 

May 2014 Petitioned

5 months later

September 2014 Got the I-797 Petition Approval

4 months later

January 2015 notice from NVC that they were at least 90 days behind

2 months later

March 2015 Notice to come for interview in June

2 months later

First Interview June 2015-  was told to come back with some additional proof of our conversations in the beginning of the relationship

1 month later (i think we got lucky on this interview date to come back. I've seen others get a date as far out as 5 months)

July 2015- they didn't even look at the paperwork THEY requested, they just handed him a 221G (Administrative Processing) as soon as he walked up to the window with no explanation to why, told to reach out to them after 60 days)

60 days passed, Called NVC, called USCIS, no one had heard a peep from the Ghana embassy. Long story short, it took the embassy until February 2016 to return our case (literally 8 months) and this didn't happen until after i got the congressman involved.

 

Then nothing for 21 months.

 

April 2017- Case Reaffirmed by USCIS and sent back to Ghana (they never asked us for any additional proof, we never got an NOA)

July 2017-received notification of appointment, set for 9/18/17

Sept 2017- Second Interview, went well, they required only proof of last name change IF i had done so, but they took his passport, his phone numbers to call him directly and gave him the form to take to DHL to drop off this information. We took it to DHL same day.  Now we are waiting for the status to change from Administrative Processing to Issued!. They say it takes 2 weeks from the time they receive it. We shall see.  

 

NOTE: If you are reaffirmed and get the appt date, you are only required to have the things that have expired since you were there the first time, so make sure to look in your file at those things that would have expired. If you have other documents other than the ones i list then you'll need to get updated versions of those as well if they have expired. The main things will be police report, medical report, affidavit of support, updated tax records for 3 years, updated tax transcripts for the same year as the taxes, include updated biographic pages if you have moved, and then you will add whatever additional proof you have of your marriage, pictures, copies of plane tickets, cards you've sent each other.. My husband and i talk over the internet so i had to do print outs of our conversations. It ended up being over 500,000 pages of conversations and that was just from 2015 to 2017. i literally printed the first 50 of our conversations from his last interview and the last 50 of the most recent conversations. He'd gone back in July with the additional proof they asked, armed with 800 pages of conversations they never looked at, so i wasn't about to waste my money.

 

Also YES you will have to do that whole medical process over again and pay that ridiculous amount that has increased about 400Ghc more than it was previous. HOWEVER, there are vaccines they have you take during this process, that will not have expired by the time you go in to do this again. Make sure you tell that to the doctor and make it clear you do not want or need those vaccinations and you don't expect to be charged.  Not to be rude, but to make sure you are NOT, because you can tell them and someone forgets or doesn't make note of it, and voila, you pay full price. This way you don't have to pay for those again, that can lower your cost on it. 

 

I think basically anyone out of Ghana who are MARRIED, can expect this process to take at least 2 years to 3 years. That is at the least. I believe the process is much faster when applying for a Fiancee' visa. You don't have to prove all that you have to prove when you are going for a spousal visa. Just looking at all the forums here over the past 3 years and also people that i know in Ghana that have applied AFTER us, and arrived in America within 1 year of application while it took us 1 year just to get an interview. 

 

Also just so you know that during all this time i had been reaching out to our congressman. My first contact with them was to finally get our case back in the States from Ghana. Which i felt worked so i kept referring to them. Every time that i sent a request they responded, but nothing at all ever happened with it. One day i was talking to a cousin who also married a Ghanaian some years back. Their issue was different, they met and got married while he was here in the states, but just after they married his visa expired, so he'd stayed over. They applied for his adjustment and were denied. after about a year of BS answers from people she finally was able to get someone at the USCIS that would take enough time to work with her and explain what she needed to do. First he had to go back to Ghana and THEN they could apply. So he did. Took them 2 years from their petition, but he is back here. However, she stated that during the process after about a year nothing had moved, she couldn't get any answers and everyone was giving her the same old story. She had called the congressman several times to a point where they knew her by first name, but got nowhere. She read online somewhere to contact the Senators office. She did, as soon as she did her case started moving rapidly after that. 

 

The reason i tell this story is because this is the same thing that happened to me (not that you will get the same result) but we'd contacted the congressman several times trying to get answers. It wasn't until she told me to contact our senator that anything happened on our case at all. From June of 2015 all the way up to February of 2017 we heard not one thing from USCIS, not even a letter to say F you, and the updated date on the NVC Case status page never changed from the time our case went into AP Status in 2015, nothing! I spoke to my cousin in February this year. I wrote the senators office that same day, they responded the same day, 3 days letter i got a message back from them that they had reached out to USCIS and were told our case was in progress, i checked the status page the next day and Holy Moly it had updated. It was the greatest moment of my life at that time. And after that it continued to move forward, April we got the reaffirmation email and then the letter in the mail, then in July we got the message to come to the embassy. So bottom line, bypass congressman and reach out to the senator and start doing it as quickly as possible. Basically if you haven't heard anything in 90 days follow up. They have more power and yield's faster results from what i have observed. 

 

Another agency i would say bypass completely. INFOPASS. that is just a way to pacify us cause they tell you absolutely nothing more than you can get from calling. Only this time you have took time off work to go, got all dressed up and cute to look presentable, only for them to tell you, its in progress. Unless you have questions about filling out forms or the process in general or need help getting it filled out, etc. Infopass is just a waste of time. 

 

I also found that after not having any info back for so long on our case, meant there were no updates at the NVC. So sometime in there, they had placed our case in Pending Cancellation status. I called them up like WT Fudge are ya'll doing and she said this happens when they have not heard from you or anyone else on your case in at least 1 year. So, note that every now and then, contact the NVC to just inquire at least on the case, that should be enough to not get that heart dropping to your knees feeling you get when you see that Pending cancellation notice. 

 

One last thing as well that i found out from other friends experience. If you are denied the first time and given a 221G and put into Admin processing. As long as your case is still in Ghana you have the chance to reconcile it. Got this info from 2 of my friends lawyers. You want to fight as much as possible WHILE it is there. Your husband or wife will need to go up to the Embassy on those Tuesday and Thursday days they have for questions, find out how to set up an appointment to get into the Embassy and set up an appointment to speak to someone. Do whatever it takes, because once it comes back to the states, that is when it goes into the black hole of mummified death until someone revives it again. 

 

[dmh59 16]

15 minutes ago, Shomefune96 said:

So this journey has also been a long one for my husband and I from the start of the Petition in May of 2014 to now where he has had his last interview. We still do not have the firm visa, but they did take his passport. But they wanted to verify if i had changed my last name and if so, they wanted proof. Helloooooo....nothing in our paperwork gave them any reason to think i'd changed my last name. So basically we are waiting longer, just so i could write them a letter to tell them no, i haven't. You took our original marriage certificate at the first interview and haven't given it back to us. So no, i can't do anything without that. Anyway so here is how ours went

 

May 2014 Petitioned

5 months later

September 2014 Got the I-797 Petition Approval

4 months later

January 2015 notice from NVC that they were at least 90 days behind

2 months later

March 2015 Notice to come for interview in June

2 months later

First Interview June 2015-  was told to come back with some additional proof of our conversations in the beginning of the relationship

1 month later (i think we got lucky on this interview date to come back. I've seen others get a date as far out as 5 months)

July 2015- they didn't even look at the paperwork THEY requested, they just handed him a 221G (Administrative Processing) as soon as he walked up to the window with no explanation to why, told to reach out to them after 60 days)

60 days passed, Called NVC, called USCIS, no one had heard a peep from the Ghana embassy. Long story short, it took the embassy until February 2016 to return our case (literally 8 months) and this didn't happen until after i got the congressman involved.

 

Then nothing for 21 months.

 

April 2017- Case Reaffirmed by USCIS and sent back to Ghana (they never asked us for any additional proof, we never got an NOA)

July 2017-received notification of appointment, set for 9/18/17

Sept 2017- Second Interview, went well, they required only proof of last name change IF i had done so, but they took his passport, his phone numbers to call him directly and gave him the form to take to DHL to drop off this information. We took it to DHL same day.  Now we are waiting for the status to change from Administrative Processing to Issued!. They say it takes 2 weeks from the time they receive it. We shall see.  

 

NOTE: If you are reaffirmed and get the appt date, you are only required to have the things that have expired since you were there the first time, so make sure to look in your file at those things that would have expired. If you have other documents other than the ones i list then you'll need to get updated versions of those as well if they have expired. The main things will be police report, medical report, affidavit of support, updated tax records for 3 years, updated tax transcripts for the same year as the taxes, include updated biographic pages if you have moved, and then you will add whatever additional proof you have of your marriage, pictures, copies of plane tickets, cards you've sent each other.. My husband and i talk over the internet so i had to do print outs of our conversations. It ended up being over 500,000 pages of conversations and that was just from 2015 to 2017. i literally printed the first 50 of our conversations from his last interview and the last 50 of the most recent conversations. He'd gone back in July with the additional proof they asked, armed with 800 pages of conversations they never looked at, so i wasn't about to waste my money.

 

Also YES you will have to do that whole medical process over again and pay that ridiculous amount that has increased about 400Ghc more than it was previous. HOWEVER, there are vaccines they have you take during this process, that will not have expired by the time you go in to do this again. Make sure you tell that to the doctor and make it clear you do not want or need those vaccinations and you don't expect to be charged.  Not to be rude, but to make sure you are NOT, because you can tell them and someone forgets or doesn't make note of it, and voila, you pay full price. This way you don't have to pay for those again, that can lower your cost on it. 

 

I think basically anyone out of Ghana who are MARRIED, can expect this process to take at least 2 years to 3 years. That is at the least. I believe the process is much faster when applying for a Fiancee' visa. You don't have to prove all that you have to prove when you are going for a spousal visa. Just looking at all the forums here over the past 3 years and also people that i know in Ghana that have applied AFTER us, and arrived in America within 1 year of application while it took us 1 year just to get an interview. 

 

Also just so you know that during all this time i had been reaching out to our congressman. My first contact with them was to finally get our case back in the States from Ghana. Which i felt worked so i kept referring to them. Every time that i sent a request they responded, but nothing at all ever happened with it. One day i was talking to a cousin who also married a Ghanaian some years back. Their issue was different, they met and got married while he was here in the states, but just after they married his visa expired, so he'd stayed over. They applied for his adjustment and were denied. after about a year of BS answers from people she finally was able to get someone at the USCIS that would take enough time to work with her and explain what she needed to do. First he had to go back to Ghana and THEN they could apply. So he did. Took them 2 years from their petition, but he is back here. However, she stated that during the process after about a year nothing had moved, she couldn't get any answers and everyone was giving her the same old story. She had called the congressman several times to a point where they knew her by first name, but got nowhere. She read online somewhere to contact the Senators office. She did, as soon as she did her case started moving rapidly after that. 

 

The reason i tell this story is because this is the same thing that happened to me (not that you will get the same result) but we'd contacted the congressman several times trying to get answers. It wasn't until she told me to contact our senator that anything happened on our case at all. From June of 2015 all the way up to February of 2017 we heard not one thing from USCIS, not even a letter to say F you, and the updated date on the NVC Case status page never changed from the time our case went into AP Status in 2015, nothing! I spoke to my cousin in February this year. I wrote the senators office that same day, they responded the same day, 3 days letter i got a message back from them that they had reached out to USCIS and were told our case was in progress, i checked the status page the next day and Holy Moly it had updated. It was the greatest moment of my life at that time. And after that it continued to move forward, April we got the reaffirmation email and then the letter in the mail, then in July we got the message to come to the embassy. So bottom line, bypass congressman and reach out to the senator and start doing it as quickly as possible. Basically if you haven't heard anything in 90 days follow up. They have more power and yield's faster results from what i have observed. 

 

Another agency i would say bypass completely. INFOPASS. that is just a way to pacify us cause they tell you absolutely nothing more than you can get from calling. Only this time you have took time off work to go, got all dressed up and cute to look presentable, only for them to tell you, its in progress. Unless you have questions about filling out forms or the process in general or need help getting it filled out, etc. Infopass is just a waste of time. 

 

I also found that after not having any info back for so long on our case, meant there were no updates at the NVC. So sometime in there, they had placed our case in Pending Cancellation status. I called them up like WT Fudge are ya'll doing and she said this happens when they have not heard from you or anyone else on your case in at least 1 year. So, note that every now and then, contact the NVC to just inquire at least on the case, that should be enough to not get that heart dropping to your knees feeling you get when you see that Pending cancellation notice. 

 

One last thing as well that i found out from other friends experience. If you are denied the first time and given a 221G and put into Admin processing. As long as your case is still in Ghana you have the chance to reconcile it. Got this info from 2 of my friends lawyers. You want to fight as much as possible WHILE it is there. Your husband or wife will need to go up to the Embassy on those Tuesday and Thursday days they have for questions, find out how to set up an appointment to get into the Embassy and set up an appointment to speak to someone. Do whatever it takes, because once it comes back to the states, that is when it goes into the black hole of mummified death until someone revives it again. 

 

Very well written.   I agree infopass is a waste of time.  My experience, my senator wasn’t of help to me.  I went to the American services in Ghana and the lady told me it could take up to 5 FIVE years.   Why does it take so long when ur married as opposed to fiancée doesn’t make sense to me.   We r still awaiting word from embassy on our reaffirmed appointment since they changed how they do things 🙄 come Saturday will b one month since my husband picked up his packet.   I called monthly USCIS and NVC for status updates.    Congratulations and best wishes to u and urs.   Last I saw it was taking 1 month to get the visa from dhl but that was a while ago.  Keep us posted on that. 

[trustG 74]

2 hours ago, Shomefune96 said:

So this journey has also been a long one for my husband and I from the start of the Petition in May of 2014 to now where he has had his last interview. We still do not have the firm visa, but they did take his passport. But they wanted to verify if i had changed my last name and if so, they wanted proof. Helloooooo....nothing in our paperwork gave them any reason to think i'd changed my last name. So basically we are waiting longer, just so i could write them a letter to tell them no, i haven't. You took our original marriage certificate at the first interview and haven't given it back to us. So no, i can't do anything without that. Anyway so here is how ours went

 

May 2014 Petitioned

5 months later

September 2014 Got the I-797 Petition Approval

4 months later

January 2015 notice from NVC that they were at least 90 days behind

2 months later

March 2015 Notice to come for interview in June

2 months later

First Interview June 2015-  was told to come back with some additional proof of our conversations in the beginning of the relationship

1 month later (i think we got lucky on this interview date to come back. I've seen others get a date as far out as 5 months)

July 2015- they didn't even look at the paperwork THEY requested, they just handed him a 221G (Administrative Processing) as soon as he walked up to the window with no explanation to why, told to reach out to them after 60 days)

60 days passed, Called NVC, called USCIS, no one had heard a peep from the Ghana embassy. Long story short, it took the embassy until February 2016 to return our case (literally 8 months) and this didn't happen until after i got the congressman involved.

 

Then nothing for 21 months.

 

April 2017- Case Reaffirmed by USCIS and sent back to Ghana (they never asked us for any additional proof, we never got an NOA)

July 2017-received notification of appointment, set for 9/18/17

Sept 2017- Second Interview, went well, they required only proof of last name change IF i had done so, but they took his passport, his phone numbers to call him directly and gave him the form to take to DHL to drop off this information. We took it to DHL same day.  Now we are waiting for the status to change from Administrative Processing to Issued!. They say it takes 2 weeks from the time they receive it. We shall see.  

 

NOTE: If you are reaffirmed and get the appt date, you are only required to have the things that have expired since you were there the first time, so make sure to look in your file at those things that would have expired. If you have other documents other than the ones i list then you'll need to get updated versions of those as well if they have expired. The main things will be police report, medical report, affidavit of support, updated tax records for 3 years, updated tax transcripts for the same year as the taxes, include updated biographic pages if you have moved, and then you will add whatever additional proof you have of your marriage, pictures, copies of plane tickets, cards you've sent each other.. My husband and i talk over the internet so i had to do print outs of our conversations. It ended up being over 500,000 pages of conversations and that was just from 2015 to 2017. i literally printed the first 50 of our conversations from his last interview and the last 50 of the most recent conversations. He'd gone back in July with the additional proof they asked, armed with 800 pages of conversations they never looked at, so i wasn't about to waste my money.

 

Also YES you will have to do that whole medical process over again and pay that ridiculous amount that has increased about 400Ghc more than it was previous. HOWEVER, there are vaccines they have you take during this process, that will not have expired by the time you go in to do this again. Make sure you tell that to the doctor and make it clear you do not want or need those vaccinations and you don't expect to be charged.  Not to be rude, but to make sure you are NOT, because you can tell them and someone forgets or doesn't make note of it, and voila, you pay full price. This way you don't have to pay for those again, that can lower your cost on it. 

 

I think basically anyone out of Ghana who are MARRIED, can expect this process to take at least 2 years to 3 years. That is at the least. I believe the process is much faster when applying for a Fiancee' visa. You don't have to prove all that you have to prove when you are going for a spousal visa. Just looking at all the forums here over the past 3 years and also people that i know in Ghana that have applied AFTER us, and arrived in America within 1 year of application while it took us 1 year just to get an interview. 

 

Also just so you know that during all this time i had been reaching out to our congressman. My first contact with them was to finally get our case back in the States from Ghana. Which i felt worked so i kept referring to them. Every time that i sent a request they responded, but nothing at all ever happened with it. One day i was talking to a cousin who also married a Ghanaian some years back. Their issue was different, they met and got married while he was here in the states, but just after they married his visa expired, so he'd stayed over. They applied for his adjustment and were denied. after about a year of BS answers from people she finally was able to get someone at the USCIS that would take enough time to work with her and explain what she needed to do. First he had to go back to Ghana and THEN they could apply. So he did. Took them 2 years from their petition, but he is back here. However, she stated that during the process after about a year nothing had moved, she couldn't get any answers and everyone was giving her the same old story. She had called the congressman several times to a point where they knew her by first name, but got nowhere. She read online somewhere to contact the Senators office. She did, as soon as she did her case started moving rapidly after that. 

 

The reason i tell this story is because this is the same thing that happened to me (not that you will get the same result) but we'd contacted the congressman several times trying to get answers. It wasn't until she told me to contact our senator that anything happened on our case at all. From June of 2015 all the way up to February of 2017 we heard not one thing from USCIS, not even a letter to say F you, and the updated date on the NVC Case status page never changed from the time our case went into AP Status in 2015, nothing! I spoke to my cousin in February this year. I wrote the senators office that same day, they responded the same day, 3 days letter i got a message back from them that they had reached out to USCIS and were told our case was in progress, i checked the status page the next day and Holy Moly it had updated. It was the greatest moment of my life at that time. And after that it continued to move forward, April we got the reaffirmation email and then the letter in the mail, then in July we got the message to come to the embassy. So bottom line, bypass congressman and reach out to the senator and start doing it as quickly as possible. Basically if you haven't heard anything in 90 days follow up. They have more power and yield's faster results from what i have observed. 

 

Another agency i would say bypass completely. INFOPASS. that is just a way to pacify us cause they tell you absolutely nothing more than you can get from calling. Only this time you have took time off work to go, got all dressed up and cute to look presentable, only for them to tell you, its in progress. Unless you have questions about filling out forms or the process in general or need help getting it filled out, etc. Infopass is just a waste of time. 

 

I also found that after not having any info back for so long on our case, meant there were no updates at the NVC. So sometime in there, they had placed our case in Pending Cancellation status. I called them up like WT Fudge are ya'll doing and she said this happens when they have not heard from you or anyone else on your case in at least 1 year. So, note that every now and then, contact the NVC to just inquire at least on the case, that should be enough to not get that heart dropping to your knees feeling you get when you see that Pending cancellation notice. 

 

One last thing as well that i found out from other friends experience. If you are denied the first time and given a 221G and put into Admin processing. As long as your case is still in Ghana you have the chance to reconcile it. Got this info from 2 of my friends lawyers. You want to fight as much as possible WHILE it is there. Your husband or wife will need to go up to the Embassy on those Tuesday and Thursday days they have for questions, find out how to set up an appointment to get into the Embassy and set up an appointment to speak to someone. Do whatever it takes, because once it comes back to the states, that is when it goes into the black hole of mummified death until someone revives it again. 

 

Congratulations . Hope they issue ur hubby visa soon.  Do u mind sharing the questions he was asked, some ppl get like 3 or 5 questions and that's it. These ppl are really frustrating us. But God willing we'll get it done. 

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

3 hours ago, Shomefune96 said:

So this journey has also been a long one for my husband and I from the start of the Petition in May of 2014 to now where he has had his last interview. We still do not have the firm visa, but they did take his passport. But they wanted to verify if i had changed my last name and if so, they wanted proof. Helloooooo....nothing in our paperwork gave them any reason to think i'd changed my last name. So basically we are waiting longer, just so i could write them a letter to tell them no, i haven't. You took our original marriage certificate at the first interview and haven't given it back to us. So no, i can't do anything without that. Anyway so here is how ours went

 

May 2014 Petitioned

5 months later

September 2014 Got the I-797 Petition Approval

4 months later

January 2015 notice from NVC that they were at least 90 days behind

2 months later

March 2015 Notice to come for interview in June

2 months later

First Interview June 2015-  was told to come back with some additional proof of our conversations in the beginning of the relationship

1 month later (i think we got lucky on this interview date to come back. I've seen others get a date as far out as 5 months)

July 2015- they didn't even look at the paperwork THEY requested, they just handed him a 221G (Administrative Processing) as soon as he walked up to the window with no explanation to why, told to reach out to them after 60 days)

60 days passed, Called NVC, called USCIS, no one had heard a peep from the Ghana embassy. Long story short, it took the embassy until February 2016 to return our case (literally 8 months) and this didn't happen until after i got the congressman involved.

 

Then nothing for 21 months.

 

April 2017- Case Reaffirmed by USCIS and sent back to Ghana (they never asked us for any additional proof, we never got an NOA)

July 2017-received notification of appointment, set for 9/18/17

Sept 2017- Second Interview, went well, they required only proof of last name change IF i had done so, but they took his passport, his phone numbers to call him directly and gave him the form to take to DHL to drop off this information. We took it to DHL same day.  Now we are waiting for the status to change from Administrative Processing to Issued!. They say it takes 2 weeks from the time they receive it. We shall see.  

 

NOTE: If you are reaffirmed and get the appt date, you are only required to have the things that have expired since you were there the first time, so make sure to look in your file at those things that would have expired. If you have other documents other than the ones i list then you'll need to get updated versions of those as well if they have expired. The main things will be police report, medical report, affidavit of support, updated tax records for 3 years, updated tax transcripts for the same year as the taxes, include updated biographic pages if you have moved, and then you will add whatever additional proof you have of your marriage, pictures, copies of plane tickets, cards you've sent each other.. My husband and i talk over the internet so i had to do print outs of our conversations. It ended up being over 500,000 pages of conversations and that was just from 2015 to 2017. i literally printed the first 50 of our conversations from his last interview and the last 50 of the most recent conversations. He'd gone back in July with the additional proof they asked, armed with 800 pages of conversations they never looked at, so i wasn't about to waste my money.

 

Also YES you will have to do that whole medical process over again and pay that ridiculous amount that has increased about 400Ghc more than it was previous. HOWEVER, there are vaccines they have you take during this process, that will not have expired by the time you go in to do this again. Make sure you tell that to the doctor and make it clear you do not want or need those vaccinations and you don't expect to be charged.  Not to be rude, but to make sure you are NOT, because you can tell them and someone forgets or doesn't make note of it, and voila, you pay full price. This way you don't have to pay for those again, that can lower your cost on it. 

 

I think basically anyone out of Ghana who are MARRIED, can expect this process to take at least 2 years to 3 years. That is at the least. I believe the process is much faster when applying for a Fiancee' visa. You don't have to prove all that you have to prove when you are going for a spousal visa. Just looking at all the forums here over the past 3 years and also people that i know in Ghana that have applied AFTER us, and arrived in America within 1 year of application while it took us 1 year just to get an interview. 

 

Also just so you know that during all this time i had been reaching out to our congressman. My first contact with them was to finally get our case back in the States from Ghana. Which i felt worked so i kept referring to them. Every time that i sent a request they responded, but nothing at all ever happened with it. One day i was talking to a cousin who also married a Ghanaian some years back. Their issue was different, they met and got married while he was here in the states, but just after they married his visa expired, so he'd stayed over. They applied for his adjustment and were denied. after about a year of BS answers from people she finally was able to get someone at the USCIS that would take enough time to work with her and explain what she needed to do. First he had to go back to Ghana and THEN they could apply. So he did. Took them 2 years from their petition, but he is back here. However, she stated that during the process after about a year nothing had moved, she couldn't get any answers and everyone was giving her the same old story. She had called the congressman several times to a point where they knew her by first name, but got nowhere. She read online somewhere to contact the Senators office. She did, as soon as she did her case started moving rapidly after that. 

 

The reason i tell this story is because this is the same thing that happened to me (not that you will get the same result) but we'd contacted the congressman several times trying to get answers. It wasn't until she told me to contact our senator that anything happened on our case at all. From June of 2015 all the way up to February of 2017 we heard not one thing from USCIS, not even a letter to say F you, and the updated date on the NVC Case status page never changed from the time our case went into AP Status in 2015, nothing! I spoke to my cousin in February this year. I wrote the senators office that same day, they responded the same day, 3 days letter i got a message back from them that they had reached out to USCIS and were told our case was in progress, i checked the status page the next day and Holy Moly it had updated. It was the greatest moment of my life at that time. And after that it continued to move forward, April we got the reaffirmation email and then the letter in the mail, then in July we got the message to come to the embassy. So bottom line, bypass congressman and reach out to the senator and start doing it as quickly as possible. Basically if you haven't heard anything in 90 days follow up. They have more power and yield's faster results from what i have observed. 

 

Another agency i would say bypass completely. INFOPASS. that is just a way to pacify us cause they tell you absolutely nothing more than you can get from calling. Only this time you have took time off work to go, got all dressed up and cute to look presentable, only for them to tell you, its in progress. Unless you have questions about filling out forms or the process in general or need help getting it filled out, etc. Infopass is just a waste of time. 

 

I also found that after not having any info back for so long on our case, meant there were no updates at the NVC. So sometime in there, they had placed our case in Pending Cancellation status. I called them up like WT Fudge are ya'll doing and she said this happens when they have not heard from you or anyone else on your case in at least 1 year. So, note that every now and then, contact the NVC to just inquire at least on the case, that should be enough to not get that heart dropping to your knees feeling you get when you see that Pending cancellation notice. 

 

One last thing as well that i found out from other friends experience. If you are denied the first time and given a 221G and put into Admin processing. As long as your case is still in Ghana you have the chance to reconcile it. Got this info from 2 of my friends lawyers. You want to fight as much as possible WHILE it is there. Your husband or wife will need to go up to the Embassy on those Tuesday and Thursday days they have for questions, find out how to set up an appointment to get into the Embassy and set up an appointment to speak to someone. Do whatever it takes, because once it comes back to the states, that is when it goes into the black hole of mummified death until someone revives it again. 

 

Excellent summary, correct and useful to many in this thread.

[Shomefune96 28]

dmh59 thank you. I really won't feel settled until he has it in his hands. I can wait a month, no problem, i been waiting this long :--)

 

Trust G, yes because i always ask him that when he leaves. The first time he went in, they asked him more questions about my family than they did us. They asked him what my mother and father did for a living. If they were both still alive, are they still married. They asked if i had any brothers and sisters, older or younger. They wanted to know if i had ever lived outside the united states and if so where. After that they asked him when we met, how long after we met did we get married. How many times we have seen each other and did he have any reservations about our ages (i'm 4 years older than him) and religions (he is Muslim, i am christian). 

 

At the last interview in September it was more questions about my family and us. They asked again what my dad did for a living. What did i do for a living. How often i had visited since we first started the process, and why not more and that was literally all she asked him this time. But she did tell him something that i'm not even sure if they are supposed to or would normally tell him. She told him that the letters she received from my parents and from me was a huge part in their decision. 

I had had my parents to write letters expressing their feelings about our relationship. I'd also had my brother and my sister write letters before and those were already in the file, but my parents i wanted them to send updated letters.I think it just clarifies for them the fact that you are in an official relationship. My mom made it a point to point out every chance she could in the letters that he was her son-in-law. I have added here copies of the letters they wrote, just in case you all may want to try it as well, you can at least know where to start, taking out our addresses of course You guys might stalkers LOL!!! I' m messin'. 

 

Now this of course is for those reading this post that may not be in reaffirmation but still awaiting the first interview. There are some things that are severe red flags to them. They are 

Your religions

Did you get married the first time you met

How many times you have visited before getting married

Age difference (especially if the woman is older than the man)

Have you ever applied before with someone else, and how long ago that was (they will dig deep on this one)Serie's Letter1.docSerie's Letter1.doc

 

 

 

 

MyLetter1.doc

Princess Letter (1).doc

[trustG 74]

7 minutes ago, Shomefune96 said:

dmh59 thank you. I really won't feel settled until he has it in his hands. I can wait a month, no problem, i been waiting this long :--)

 

Trust G, yes because i always ask him that when he leaves. The first time he went in, they asked him more questions about my family than they did us. They asked him what my mother and father did for a living. If they were both still alive, are they still married. They asked if i had any brothers and sisters, older or younger. They wanted to know if i had ever lived outside the united states and if so where. After that they asked him when we met, how long after we met did we get married. How many times we have seen each other and did he have any reservations about our ages (i'm 4 years older than him) and religions (he is Muslim, i am christian). 

 

At the last interview in September it was more questions about my family and us. They asked again what my dad did for a living. What did i do for a living. How often i had visited since we first started the process, and why not more and that was literally all she asked him this time. But she did tell him something that i'm not even sure if they are supposed to or would normally tell him. She told him that the letters she received from my parents and from me was a huge part in their decision. 

I had had my parents to write letters expressing their feelings about our relationship. I'd also had my brother and my sister write letters before and those were already in the file, but my parents i wanted them to send updated letters.I think it just clarifies for them the fact that you are in an official relationship. My mom made it a point to point out every chance she could in the letters that he was her son-in-law. I have added here copies of the letters they wrote, just in case you all may want to try it as well, you can at least know where to start, taking out our addresses of course You guys might stalkers LOL!!! I' m messin'. 

 

Now this of course is for those reading this post that may not be in reaffirmation but still awaiting the first interview. There are some things that are severe red flags to them. They are 

Your religions

Did you get married the first time you met

How many times you have visited before getting married

Age difference (especially if the woman is older than the man)

Have you ever applied before with someone else, and how long ago that was (they will dig deep on this one)Serie's Letter1.docSerie's Letter1.doc

 

 

 

 

MyLetter1.doc

Princess Letter (1).doc

Wow God is good.  U guys are same like us but we were one month difference and I'm a Christian even though I born to Islam, but my husband is still a Muslim, but it's all about love and understanding. God bless your marriage. Thanks for the feedback because these Co's u can't predict what they do. 

[trustG 74]

On 7/17/2017 at 9:00 PM, nyala62 said:

Ohhhh My sister trustG, I will do that for you ooooooo. we will need your participation in the celebration when Madam arrives. Yes the stress of checking the status is over Hahahaha. I'm always praying for the rest who are also in line waiting. May Allah the Almighty make it easy for you all.  ( The Rock is high but we gonna dig it down )

Gm my vj family's, please if someone has a British passport can he visit the states without a visa? Thanks 🙏🏾 

[Jenilyn and Awal 22]

I think they can get Visa faster but USA is not on the list of places they can visit without a passport from what I saw when I googled it. 

[Jenilyn and Awal 22]

19 hours ago, Jenilyn and Awal said:

I think they can get Visa faster but USA is not on the list of places they can visit without a passport from what I saw when I googled it. 

I mean to say you need a Visa stamp in the passport  for USA. 

[trustG 74]

Hi vj family God has blessed us with another month and another week. Let's continue to pray for his mercies and favoured in our lives. May this week and month be our victory. Let the positive feedback flow on the page we all need prayers and encouragement. ♥♥♥♥

Edited October 2, 2017 by trustG

[dmh59 16]

1 hour ago, trustG said:

Hi vj family God has blessed us with another month and another week. Let's continue to pray for his mercies and favoured in our lives. May this week and month be our victory. Let the positive feedback flow on the page we all need prayers and encouragement. ♥♥♥♥

Sending out good vibes and asking the Almighty for all who have interviews this month That all goes well.   Keep us posted 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

[Sundee 270]

1 hour ago, trustG said:

Hi vj family God has blessed us with another month and another week. Let's continue to pray for his mercies and favoured in our lives. May this week and month be our victory. Let the positive feedback flow on the page we all need prayers and encouragement. ♥♥♥♥

Amen. Share the positive vibes. 

[trustG 74]

12 minutes ago, dmh59 said:

Sending out good vibes and asking the Almighty for all who have interviews this month That all goes well.   Keep us posted 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

Amen oooo more prayers we need them prayers 

[Volta-Region 26]

Our interview is this month.   

[trustG 74]

1 minute ago, Volta-Region said:

Our interview is this month.   

Same here oooo May our good God shine his face on our spouses at the interview, the waiting is too long we need them ASAP. 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏