About to start our journey

[pat_ase 1]

i just made an account to ask this question since it's been on my mind a lot. my fiancée and I have been together since 2021. she's 31 and I'll be 29 this year. she is a citizen through naturalization, is divorced. i have never been married and we both have no kids. we have text and WhatsApp call logs and video call logs to back it up(though not from the time we met as I had to create a new fb account). she's staying by herself and is not a burden to the state in anyway and can sponsor me. i guess my only concern is face time together. we are both from Ghana, from the same tribe and have a lot in common however, she doesn't come down often. The last time she was in Ghana was some years ago.

 

we do however plan on her coming early this year. we plan on going to see her parents to introduce myself to the family and make it known that i am in her life. no form of traditional marriage whatsoever. we figured we can do that down the line. we might file for the i-129f after she leaves back to the states. she might be staying for 3 weeks to a month. if finances allow, maybe more than a month.

 

my question is, is the one visit to Ghana where we can provide passport stamps and hotel stay and pictures of face to face with both sides of the family enough for proof of a bone fide relationship?

do we have a good case? because I read on here how Ghana is a hard embassy and it's filling me with dread. stay safe out there guys.

Edited January 8, 2022 by pat_ase

[Lady A 51]

I’m from Nigeria. I met my now fiancé once in person before filing for the K1. Never had any issues. Good luck! 

[pat_ase 1]

thank you very much Lady A

[pat_ase 1]

@Lady A, if you don't mind me asking. what's the age difference between you and your significant other?

[carmel34 3,633]

11 hours ago, pat_ase said:

she is a citizen through naturalization, is divorced. i have never been married and we both have no kids. we have text and WhatsApp call logs and video call logs to back it up(though not from the time we met as I had to create a new fb account). she's staying by herself and is not a burden to the state in anyway and can sponsor me. i guess my only concern is face time together. we are both from Ghana, from the same tribe and have a lot in common

One question that may come up either at the petition stage (USCIS) or interview stage (DOS embassy/consulate) is how long has it been since her divorce?  Another question they may ask is when did your online relationship begin, was it before her divorce was finalized?  Did you know each other in Ghana before she left to immigrate to the US?  The reason for these questions is they often see cases, especially from Ghana, where someone gets a green card then divorces their US spouse immediately after and starts a relationship with someone from their home country or continues with a relationship they had known before marrying the US spouse, to play the system.  Not saying there is anything like that in your case, but as they have seen everything, be prepared for scrutiny of both the first relationship that brought your girlfriend to the US, and your current relationship.  IMO, the more evidence of time spent together in person, the better, even though only evidence of one visit during the two years prior to filing the I-129F petition is required.  I assume that since your girlfriend has US citizenship now, that it has been more than five years since she received her green card.  Good luck!

[pat_ase 1]

@carmel34 her divorce got finalized in 2020. our online relationship begun in 2021. i didn't know her prior to when we met on Facebook. and it wasn't her first husband that brought her to the US. she came on a visitors then enrolled in a school. she then got her visa extended. it was then she met her ex and they fell in love and got married. during all this, i had no idea who she was.

[SalishSea 17,836]

OP, why not just marry on her upcoming trip, and do a CR-1?   The timelines are about the same, and you would have the green card immediately when arriving with the visa.  

Anecdotally, it seems that those from high-fraud African countries have an easier time with approvals as CR-1 vs K-1.

[pat_ase 1]

@Jorgedig I learnt that with the CR-1, it could take years before it goes through in Ghana here. and our best shot would be the K-1. plus marrying on her first visit after we started our relationship would raise an eye brow? one thing i suppose works in our favor is that we don't have a big age gap between us.

Edited January 8, 2022 by pat_ase

[RO_AH 1,659]

52 minutes ago, pat_ase said:

I learnt that with the CR-1, it could take years before it goes through in Ghana here. and our best shot would be the K-1.

I think maybe you learnt wrong...Are you here asking advice? So what if you go through K-1 and get denied? Next she will need to fly there again and get married and apply for a CR-1. My advice is also to get married on this trip and file CR-1 if possible. No it does not take years.

[pat_ase 1]

@RO_AH  Thanks for the advise. I will discuss it with my girl. Then we take it from there. 

[Redro 4,611]

2 hours ago, pat_ase said:

@Jorgedig I learnt that with the CR-1, it could take years before it goes through in Ghana here. and our best shot would be the K-1. plus marrying on her first visit after we started our relationship would raise an eye brow? one thing i suppose works in our favor is that we don't have a big age gap between us.

According to this recent post. They're scheduling interviews for K1's with NOA2 March 2020 and scheduling interviews for IR1/CR1's DQ'ed March 2020. 

 

 

You have a long wait ahead of you. Marry on the first visit and then make sure your wife visits you several times while you wait for the interview. 

[Rocio0010 5,579]

Hi, this is you coming to this post a year from now, to let us know that your K1 is taking long and that you wish you’d taken our advice and filed for CR1 instead.

Don’t be that future you.

[SalishSea 17,836]

6 hours ago, pat_ase said:

@carmel34 her divorce got finalized in 2020. our online relationship begun in 2021. i didn't know her prior to when we met on Facebook. and it wasn't her first husband that brought her to the US. she came on a visitors then enrolled in a school. she then got her visa extended. it was then she met her ex and they fell in love and got married. during all this, i had no idea who she was.

So you have never met in person?

[pat_ase 1]

she was supposed to come to Ghana sometime last year but it didn't come on. so this year will be our first face to face. however, we have a lot of video time together. the plan when she came this year was to introduce herself to her parents and mine. i have already spoken to some members of her family over the phone. and she has also spoken to some of mine.

[Rocio0010 5,579]

Another advice that you probably won’t like, but here we go: a marriage is a commitment. It takes a lot of compromise, and it’s a lot of team work. I’m afraid that video chats do not give you the familiarity that you need to in order to know if she’s the one. What’s the rush in marrying so soon? Get to spend quality time together, while you gather evidence for your case. If you like each other and you both decide to make it work, then you’ll have the evidence to back up your case. And you get to know the person with their highs and lows. Win win.