Cost of Immigration From Nigeria (Lagos)

[SleekysBaby 0]

Hello Everyone!

I have been a member here for awhile, simply reading posts about this whole immigration experience... I am not engaged or married to my Honey YET... I haven't even met him in person, to be honest! I have known him since December '06. We have discussed him coming to the US, and we can't seem to agree about the costs or the time it takes to get a visa from Lagos.

His side: He says that sometimes you have to pay to even stand in line to apply for a Visa. The "rich" people can make a phone call and get a Visa in a couple of days, whereas the "poor" people have to wait for up to 3 years. He says Visa's cost around $2000, and that is just for the Visa fee. One of his friends got married to an American woman while she was in Nigeria, and his friend wasn't able to move to the US for over 3 years.

My side: I look up the fees online and tell him that's how much it should cost.

His side: He says the people at the embassy can change the costs depending on how they feel that day and if they like you!

I am hoping someone out there who has gone through the experience of bringing someone here from Nigeria will be able to shed some light onto this issue for me, and perhaps give me an idea of the REAL amount of money involved. I will greatly appreciate any help! THANK YOU!

-Dina

PS: I apologize if there is already a post about the fees... so far I haven't found anything helpful to me, so I decided to try this...

[Perseverance 1]

Who is filing for the VISA? If you file for him then you pay the fees listed by the USCIS. If he is filing on his own, to try and come here to see you, then I am sorry to say the Consulate in Nigeria can be corrupt. And who know what he could end up paying, and still never actualy get a Visa. Getting a Visa out of Nigeria is NOT an easy thing. I wanted my SO to come here to visit me first...riiiiggggghhht, not happening, so I went there, much easier, you will have to get a Visa to travel to Nigeria it is not a problem with an invitation letter from your SO. Just to let you know come 7/30/07 the USCIS is raising the fees signifigantly. Sorry about spelling I am not a fabulous speller, and I cant get the spell check to work on here.

[Aniomaman 0]

Hello Everyone!

I have been a member here for awhile, simply reading posts about this whole immigration experience... I am not engaged or married to my Honey YET... I haven't even met him in person, to be honest! I have known him since December '06. We have discussed him coming to the US, and we can't seem to agree about the costs or the time it takes to get a visa from Lagos.

His side: He says that sometimes you have to pay to even stand in line to apply for a Visa. The "rich" people can make a phone call and get a Visa in a couple of days, whereas the "poor" people have to wait for up to 3 years. He says Visa's cost around $2000, and that is just for the Visa fee. One of his friends got married to an American woman while she was in Nigeria, and his friend wasn't able to move to the US for over 3 years.

My side: I look up the fees online and tell him that's how much it should cost.

His side: He says the people at the embassy can change the costs depending on how they feel that day and if they like you!

I am hoping someone out there who has gone through the experience of bringing someone here from Nigeria will be able to shed some light onto this issue for me, and perhaps give me an idea of the REAL amount of money involved. I will greatly appreciate any help! THANK YOU!

-Dina

PS: I apologize if there is already a post about the fees... so far I haven't found anything helpful to me, so I decided to try this...

Sorry to disappoint you but everything metioned above is not true. Well first off am Nigerian but am also a UK citizen, take most stuff you hear with a pinch of salt. Don't send no money for visa, go thru the legal way. The embassy cannot just increase the fees, that sounds so ridiculous. I sent you a pm. Have a blessed day.

[Perseverance 1]

Who is filing for the VISA? If you file for him then you pay the fees listed by the USCIS. If he is filing on his own, to try and come here to see you, then I am sorry to say the Consulate in Nigeria can be corrupt. And who know what he could end up paying, and still never actualy get a Visa. Getting a Visa out of Nigeria is NOT an easy thing. I wanted my SO to come here to visit me first...riiiiggggghhht, not happening, so I went there, much easier, you will have to get a Visa to travel to Nigeria it is not a problem with an invitation letter from your SO. Just to let you know come 7/30/07 the USCIS is raising the fees signifigantly. Sorry about spelling I am not a fabulous speller, and I cant get the spell check to work on here.

I stand by my first comment, there is alot of coruption in the Lagos Consulate, people are approached there about "extra fees", if you do not know the process and your legal rights you can EASILY be tricked into paying more then is required.

[Queen Jenn 0]

I hope that I don't sink your boat by telling you that it's not likely that you'll be able to get him here. My SO and I have been trying to meet since December 06 (we've known each other since April of 06) and he has not been able to get out. I'm looking into going there, but it's a sticky situation with my family right now and I'm trying to be patient and see what happens.

Anyway, maybe you could go there. And if you don't feel safe going to Nigeria, try Ghana. Your SO doesn't need a visa to get to Ghana. You will, but it's about 1/2 the price of applying for a travel visa to Nigeria and the hotels are less expensive as well.

GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!

[Aniomaman 0]

Who is filing for the VISA? If you file for him then you pay the fees listed by the USCIS. If he is filing on his own, to try and come here to see you, then I am sorry to say the Consulate in Nigeria can be corrupt. And who know what he could end up paying, and still never actualy get a Visa. Getting a Visa out of Nigeria is NOT an easy thing. I wanted my SO to come here to visit me first...riiiiggggghhht, not happening, so I went there, much easier, you will have to get a Visa to travel to Nigeria it is not a problem with an invitation letter from your SO. Just to let you know come 7/30/07 the USCIS is raising the fees signifigantly. Sorry about spelling I am not a fabulous speller, and I cant get the spell check to work on here.

I stand by my first comment, there is alot of coruption in the Lagos Consulate, people are approached there about "extra fees", if you do not know the process and your legal rights you can EASILY be tricked into paying more then is required.

That is so wrong, Nigerians themselves are corrupt and don't like going thru the legal way. That's the reason why a lot of touts around the embassy use that opportunity to prey on silly people. If you know your legal rights, you will apply at the embassy and tender REAL documents. If you apply and can prove ties to Nigerian then YES u will get a visa but if not then you won't. Nigerians ain't dumb enough to be "tricked" into paying more but they go all out to pay more to so called "visa agents" who promise them they will get the visa for them. Please go thru the legal way and always take what you hear with a pinch of salt. Am Nigerian myself and telling you the real deal.

[chispas 0]

Who is filing for the VISA? If you file for him then you pay the fees listed by the USCIS. If he is filing on his own, to try and come here to see you, then I am sorry to say the Consulate in Nigeria can be corrupt.

You are doing the absolute right thing by asking questions from various sources. And I second the suggestion to pay the legal fees and to work with the USCIS standards. If at any time you feel uncomfortable with the information you are getting, please keep looking further.

Chispas

[Perseverance 1]

Who is filing for the VISA? If you file for him then you pay the fees listed by the USCIS. If he is filing on his own, to try and come here to see you, then I am sorry to say the Consulate in Nigeria can be corrupt. And who know what he could end up paying, and still never actualy get a Visa. Getting a Visa out of Nigeria is NOT an easy thing. I wanted my SO to come here to visit me first...riiiiggggghhht, not happening, so I went there, much easier, you will have to get a Visa to travel to Nigeria it is not a problem with an invitation letter from your SO. Just to let you know come 7/30/07 the USCIS is raising the fees signifigantly. Sorry about spelling I am not a fabulous speller, and I cant get the spell check to work on here.

I stand by my first comment, there is alot of coruption in the Lagos Consulate, people are approached there about "extra fees", if you do not know the process and your legal rights you can EASILY be tricked into paying more then is required.

That is so wrong, Nigerians themselves are corrupt and don't like going thru the legal way. That's the reason why a lot of touts around the embassy use that opportunity to prey on silly people. If you know your legal rights, you will apply at the embassy and tender REAL documents. If you apply and can prove ties to Nigerian then YES u will get a visa but if not then you won't. Nigerians ain't dumb enough to be "tricked" into paying more but they go all out to pay more to so called "visa agents" who promise them they will get the visa for them. Please go thru the legal way and always take what you hear with a pinch of salt. Am Nigerian myself and telling you the real deal.

Are we not in essence saying the same thing?

[Aniomaman 0]

Who is filing for the VISA? If you file for him then you pay the fees listed by the USCIS. If he is filing on his own, to try and come here to see you, then I am sorry to say the Consulate in Nigeria can be corrupt. And who know what he could end up paying, and still never actualy get a Visa. Getting a Visa out of Nigeria is NOT an easy thing. I wanted my SO to come here to visit me first...riiiiggggghhht, not happening, so I went there, much easier, you will have to get a Visa to travel to Nigeria it is not a problem with an invitation letter from your SO. Just to let you know come 7/30/07 the USCIS is raising the fees signifigantly. Sorry about spelling I am not a fabulous speller, and I cant get the spell check to work on here.

I stand by my first comment, there is alot of coruption in the Lagos Consulate, people are approached there about "extra fees", if you do not know the process and your legal rights you can EASILY be tricked into paying more then is required.

That is so wrong, Nigerians themselves are corrupt and don't like going thru the legal way. That's the reason why a lot of touts around the embassy use that opportunity to prey on silly people. If you know your legal rights, you will apply at the embassy and tender REAL documents. If you apply and can prove ties to Nigerian then YES u will get a visa but if not then you won't. Nigerians ain't dumb enough to be "tricked" into paying more but they go all out to pay more to so called "visa agents" who promise them they will get the visa for them. Please go thru the legal way and always take what you hear with a pinch of salt. Am Nigerian myself and telling you the real deal.

Are we not in essence saying the same thing?

This is not about saying the same thing or not, am offering advice to the OP which I believe am allowed to do in this forum. Thanks!

[Kelechi 0]

The fees are posted here: http://www.uscis.gov Once you get there click on forms and when you get to the forms page scroll down and you will see every fee that you will need to get your petition approved. Once the petition is approved the fees for a visa is on the Department of States web site if I am not mistaken. And you can also go to the Nigerian Embassy web site to get information on the direct filing fees to get the visa. I will try to find the sites and send you a link to these other two sites. Please be careful of the information that you except on forums. Forums are just a help not the law. Take the information and go to the appropriate government site and make sure all you have been told is true.

[Aniomaman 0]

The fees are posted here: http://www.uscis.gov Once you get there click on forms and when you get to the forms page scroll down and you will see every fee that you will need to get your petition approved. Once the petition is approved the fees for a visa is on the Department of States web site if I am not mistaken. And you can also go to the Nigerian Embassy web site to get information on the direct filing fees to get the visa. I will try to find the sites and send you a link to these other two sites. Please be careful of the information that you except on forums. Forums are just a help not the law. Take the information and go to the appropriate government site and make sure all you have been told is true.

[Kelechi 0]

Okay these are some other sites that you should familiarize yourself with that I talked about in my previous post. www.state.gov At this site you can click on countries then under travel information click visas. At this site you can find information on Affidavit of Support, poverty guidelines, vaccinations, more forms you will need and you can read the law about visas. There is a lot of information there on that site to learn.

Then you can go to http://nigeria.usembassy.gov/welcome.html And at this site is a wealth of information that you will need to learn and this site is as I call it from the horses mouth. Make yourself good and comfortable with this site you can go here and read about most things you are asking about here.

Then once you have educated yourself on these sites use Visa Journey as a support system only. Well this is what I do I ask questions too but I leave here and try to find the anser from the proper government agency whether it be USCIS, NVC, or The Embassy.

I hope I have helped you and if not just continue to ask your questions until you are satisfied.

[SleekysBaby 0]

Wow guys!

Didn't mean to create any bad feelings.

Getting an immigration attorney was actully one of the first things I told my man I'd do... I figured that would be the easiest/ safest way to go.... Probably NOT the cheapest, though, eh? Both of us are broke...

There are some other issues we need to figure out before we even take the first step to bring him to the US... I'm just doing my research like a good girl.

Thank you for the links to the websites!! and all your input... I appreciate everything.