DCF In Nigeria

[jan22 3,052]

On 4/11/2023 at 8:44 AM, JeanneAdil said:

u can file for nonimmigrant like student and tourist in Nigeria but not spouse or fiancee

 

https://ustraveldocs.com/ng/en/immigrant-visa/

 

From that site

 

In general, a person who wishes to immigrate to the United States must have a petition approved by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) before applying for an immigrant visa. The petition is filed either by a qualified relative or a potential employer at a USCIS office in the United States. Specific information about filing immigrant petitions is available on the USCIS website. An individual with an approved petition and a priority date that is current for processing (when applicable) is eligible to apply for an immigrant visa or K nonimmigrant visa.

 

 

and from another site

 

and from V J  past info

 

DCF in Naija(Nigeria) - Direct Consular Filing ...

VisaJourney

https://www.visajourney.com › forums › topic › 4184...

 

 

 

Mar 8, 2013 — Nigeria is not one of the country with a USCIS field office so they do not offer DCF . Also if you get a Nigerian passport the US embassy ..

https://britishexpats.com/forum/marriage-based-visas-35/dcf-lagos-nigeria-119505/

I wasn't going to repond to this, since its written in an older post, but there is too much misinformation not to correct it for possible future readers.

 

The VJ 2013 post is grossly out of date -- and was superceded when all the USCIS posts closed in 2019-2020.  It should be ignored, as it has no relevance to anything now.

 

Not sure where you got the idea that you could not file for an immigrant visa in Nigeria (i.e., "but not for spouse or fiancee")!  Of course, as it states in the paragraph you then quoted, there has to be a petition filed and approved before the visa application is filed -- but that's true for anywhere in the world.  That paragraph makes no mention of the possibility of filing the petition in Nigeria for certain types of IVs, but it doesn't give any details on filing in the US either.  It, appropriately, refers the reader to DHS for information on filing the petitions (which will include the concept of exceptional circumstances allowing overseas filing as an option).

 

I do not know if Lagos is currently accepting I-130s with exceptional circumstances (there was a recent time period in which they were not, which may or may not have been a workload issue), but they have the same legal authority to do so as any other US Consulate/Embassy does.

[JeanneAdil 6,491]

1 hour ago, jan22 said:

I wasn't going to repond to this, since its written in an older post, but there is too much misinformation not to correct it for possible future readers.

 

The VJ 2013 post is grossly out of date -- and was superceded when all the USCIS posts closed in 2019-2020.  It should be ignored, as it has no relevance to anything now.

 

Not sure where you got the idea that you could not file for an immigrant visa in Nigeria (i.e., "but not for spouse or fiancee")!  Of course, as it states in the paragraph you then quoted, there has to be a petition filed and approved before the visa application is filed -- but that's true for anywhere in the world.  That paragraph makes no mention of the possibility of filing the petition in Nigeria for certain types of IVs, but it doesn't give any details on filing in the US either.  It, appropriately, refers the reader to DHS for information on filing the petitions (which will include the concept of exceptional circumstances allowing overseas filing as an option).

 

I do not know if Lagos is currently accepting I-130s with exceptional circumstances (there was a recent time period in which they were not, which may or may not have been a workload issue), but they have the same legal authority to do so as any other US Consulate/Embassy does.

Posted by USCIS 2011 and things have not changed 

Effective August 15, 2011, petitioners residing in Nigeria, where USCIS does not have a public counter presence, must file their Forms I-130 by mail with the USCIS Chicago lockbox. U.S. Embassies and Consulates that do not have a USCIS presence will only be able to accept and process Forms I-130 in exceptional circumstances, as outlined below. Forms I-130 that were properly filed at an Embassy or Consulate overseas where USCIS does not have a presence before August 15, 2011, will not be affected by this change.

 

There are exceptional circumstance according to USCIS

 

Examples of exceptional circumstances include:

• Military emergencies – A U.S. service member, who is abroad but who does not fall under the military blanket authorization for U.S. service members stationed abroad on military bases, becomes aware of a new deployment or transfer with little notice. This exception generally applies in cases where the U.S. service member is provided with exceptionally less notice than normally expected.

• Medical emergencies – A petitioner or beneficiary is facing an urgent medical emergency that requires immediate travel.

• Threats to personal safety – A petitioner or beneficiary is facing an imminent threat to personal safety. For example, a petitioner and beneficiary may have been forced to flee their country of residence due to civil strife or natural disaster and are in precarious circumstances in a different country outside of the United States.

• Close to aging out – A beneficiary is within a few months of aging out of eligibility.

• Petitioner has recently naturalized – A petitioner and family member(s) have traveled for the immigrant visa interview, but the petitioner has naturalized and the family member(s) requires a new petition based on the petitioner’s citizenship.

• Adoption of a child – A petitioner has adopted a child abroad and has an imminent need to depart the country. This type of case should only be considered if the petitioner has a full and final adoption decree on behalf of the child and the adoptive parent(s) has had legal custody of and jointly resided with the child for at least 2 years.

• Short notice of position relocation – A U.S. citizen petitioner, living and working abroad, has received a job offer in or reassignment to the United States with little notice for the required start date.