US Embassy in Dakar-Senegal

[BIG_O 0]

Hi there - I will be dealing with the consulate in Dakar in a few months. I understand that there aren't too many K1 applicants that are processed through Dakar, but I have a couple of questions. Is it a consensus that the presence of the USC at the interview, even though not required, is in actuality a big plus? Also, is it true that the officers conducting the interviews are quite often natives of Senegal?

[Omorlove123 0]

Hi there - I will be dealing with the consulate in Dakar in a few months. I understand that there aren't too many K1 applicants that are processed through Dakar, but I have a couple of questions. Is it a consensus that the presence of the USC at the interview, even though not required, is in actuality a big plus? Also, is it true that the officers conducting the interviews are quite often natives of Senegal?

Hi there,

we are going though Senegal/Dakar embassey with the next couple months also. Could you let us know what you find out about the interview there. I will not be able to be there at the interview so i am curious to find out what you here. I have been to Senegal embassey and there were American and Senegalese working there, so i would also be interested in the answer you receive about the interviewers. Have you heard that Senegal grants visa's in the interview?

Please let us know.

Thanks

Linda

[Zee Bee 61]

Hi there - I will be dealing with the consulate in Dakar in a few months. I understand that there aren't too many K1 applicants that are processed through Dakar, but I have a couple of questions. Is it a consensus that the presence of the USC at the interview, even though not required, is in actuality a big plus? Also, is it true that the officers conducting the interviews are quite often natives of Senegal?

You may want to read up on the embassy in Senegal. According to this the USC is allowed at the interview (not true in all countries). You may want to call them and verify this. I don't know as to whether it helps in getting an approval or not by my thinking is it can't hurt the process. I can't answer your question as to who conducts the interview though.

Someone who has gone through this embassy may be able to give you more specific details.

Hope this helps

Zee

[Ta Ta 1]

My fiance had his interview Dec. 14 in Dakar and 6 month later here we are

still in AP/AR.

If you search for the topics I posted you will find details of the interview etc.

Click on my name and go to topics.

In my opinion it helps if the USC is there and it may sway the conoff to grant

the visa without AP/AR if everything else looks good.

From what I hear most are put on AP/AR for 5-6 month or longer.

Taurean's fiance received the visa 2 - 3 days after the interview, she went 4-5 times to visit and stayed for long periods, that also helps and she was there for

the interview.

The interviewer was a friendly white woman. To my knowledge there are no Senegalese inteviewers.

If both are from Senegal expect DNA testing as one VJ member

currently is undergoing to prove they are NOT related. If children follow expect DNA testing to prove that they ARE related to the beneficiary.

Best wishes !

Edited June 8, 2007 by Omoba

[taurean 0]

My husband went through the Embassy in Dakar as well. You can read my review in the consulates section. I was able to be there for the interview and whether that made the difference in getting the visa I am not sure, but I guess it doesn't hurt. He was approved that day actually and picked up the visa two days later. When we were there, a woman from Sierra Leone also applying for a fiancee visa was approved without her USC fiance at the interview. The USC can be inside the Embassy, but during the interview you will more than likely be asked to sit down while your fiance(e)/husband/wife is interviewed.

I can only base my observations on one day, but both of the COs that day were Americans. There are Senegalese working in other areas of the Embassy but I didn't see any conducting interviews. Although I did see that there were two Senegalese that helped with translations when the interviewee chose to be interviewed in Wolof.

[BIG_O 0]

Thank you all for your feedback. I live in Los Angeles and I have traveled to Dakar twice this year alone, at a rate of about $2500 for a airline ticket, each time. I am planning to attend the interview with my fiancee, who does not speak english at all. I have had to complete most of the forms that were submitted thus far. I am just worried that a simple inquiry, for which I would have an answer, may turn into an unecessary delay. My fiancee is from Mauritania, currently a student in Dakar. I am a naturalized US citizen, born in Mali.

[Ta Ta 1]

wow that is way too much for a ticket, maybe taurean will come along and give you

some tips on cheaper flights.

What language do you communicate in with your fiance ?

[akim oda 0]

I also agree that is way too much for a ticket. I pray you don't pay that much again, I believe you can find tickets much cheaper. I have not been there before and also not flown from Cali. So maybe that plays a part in how much the ticket is. They are way far from each other. I hope someone who has been there can help you find a much cheaper ticket. I fly from Florida to Ghana and the most I've spent is 1550, that is after taxes. Wish you lots of luck

[Destiny'sJourney 0]

Hello BigO,

My fiance is Nigerian, but lives in Senegal, so we'll be going through the Dakar embassy as well. His interview is scheduled for June 21. Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend the interview. Hopefully that won't work against us. I'll keep you posted. I'll also post a review in the consulate review section afterwards.

Your fiancee should start gathering the required documents for the interview soon. If you like, PM me with your e-mail address and I'll forward the e-mail I received from the embassy regarding the required documents. My fiance had a particulary difficult time getting his Senegal police report. They gave him the run-around for over a month before it was finally issued this week! I think it's due largely in part because he's not Senegalese.

$2500, that's extremely expensive. Check out the online travel sites. I used smartfares.com when I visited him in December. I got a direct flight from JFK on South African for $1156, including taxes. Of course tickets are a few hundred dollars higher during the summer travel season, but I'm sure you'll spend less then $2500. Try booking your flight from LA to JFK separately from your Dakar flight. I did that with my Charlotte to JFK flight and saved a lot that way. Bonne chance with everything!

Shanon

[BIG_O 0]

My fiancee and I communicate in French. Well, my french is quite broken but I'm getting some practice lately...

[Ta Ta 1]

Destiney's journey are you still on AP ?