Tourist Visa requirements

[musa 0]

Hi, people. I am trying to find out the full details of the process of obtaining a tourist visa for the U.S. My fiancee and I are trying to meet the requirements for the K-1 Visa. As you know, for the K-1 we need to have met at least once in the past two years. I'm Nigerian and I have once successfully gone through the visa process for Germany (student visa), and also several unsuccessful attempts for a student visa to the UK. This was all years ago, but I do know that when it comes to this whole bureaucratic process, I will need all the help I can get.

So, I'm looking for advice, pointers, shared experiences etc.

Edited July 27, 2008 by musa

[stevi1123 0]

Hi, people. I am trying to find out the full details of the process of obtaining a tourist visa for the U.S. My fiancee and I are trying to meet the requirements for the K-1 Visa. As you know, for the K-1 we need to have met at least once in the past two years. I'm Nigerian and I have once successfully gone through the visa process for Germany (student visa), and also several unsuccessful attempts for a student visa to the UK. This was all years ago, but I do know that when it comes to this whole bureaucratic process, I will need all the help I can get.

So, I'm looking for advice, pointers, shared experiences etc.

Hello,

Is there a reason why your fiance cannot be the one who visits? It would most likely be a much easier process than you attempting to obtain a visitor visa from Nigeria to the US.

A friend of mine did indeed obtain one last year, but he had to prove that he was not a flight risk by providing a lot of evidence that he was "tied" to Nigeria. Luckily, he had a high-paying job at Shell Oil, and was in senior management there. He also owned large plots of land, and had his own business on the side. For someone without such kinds of proof, it is difficult to obtain a visitor visa from Nigeria to the US. All of this was taken into consideration when he was applying for the visitor's visa.

I wish you well

[Sylvia_n_Joseph 3]

Nigeria is a very hard place to get a tourist visa. You have to show strong proof that you will return to Nigeria after you visit. A good job, money in the bank , responsibilities that will bring you back to Nigeria. Many have had to meet in Nigeria or other countries. A friend of mine used the UK and another went for a vacation in the Bahamas because it was easier for him to go there. There are no tricks that will get a tourist visa just a lot of documentation that you intend to return to Nigera.

[Ta Ta 1]

Very hard indeed and often a waste of money and time. We've been there done that and were not successful.

It is easier for her to visit you.

[musa 0]

Ok, we're back to this option. In my other thread, I talked about how my fiancee wants to come to Nigeria, so we can cover the "meet at least once within 2 years" requirement for the K1. The idea was she'd bring her son and they'd spend a few months here with me. That's off the table again, because it's hard for her to just quit her job, without knowing whether she'd find another one, when she gets back, you know?

So now I'm trying to find out what the requirements are for obtaining a tourist visa in Nigeria? Specifically, I need to know if there is anything else she needs to do, other than sending me an invitation letter stating I'll be staying with her for the duration of my visit. Is there anything else she must/can do?

What about me? Are there any Nigerians here who've successfully been through the tourist visa process? What are the things I need to put in place? Documents, procedures, tips, advice etc. Thank you

Edited August 5, 2008 by musa

[musa 0]

Ok, so I was looking through the online non-immigrant visa form on the website of the U.S. Consulate here in Abuja.

Question 37:

37. Are Any of The Following Persons in The U.S., or Do They Have U.S. Legal Permanent Residence or U.S. Citizenship?

Mark YES or NO and indicate that person's status in the U.S. (i.e., U.S. legal permanent resident, U.S. citizen, visiting, studying, working, etc.).

- Husband/Wife

- Fiance/Fiancee

- Father/Mother

- Son/Daughter

- Brother/Sister

In my case, I would need to indicate that my fiancee is in the U.S. and a U.S. citizen. How does this information affect the tourist visa process AND the K1? I'm going to say she's my fiancee and that I'm going over to visit her. Of course, I'm going to be truthful about everything, so if they ask whether we've met, I'll say no. What is the purpose of my visit? To fulfill a K1 requirement.

Right? I don't want to be dishonest to the consulate by saying I'm just visiting a pal. And I certainly don't want to be disrespectful to my fiancee by saying she's just a pal, even if she would be ok with it for the sake of the visa.

What are your thoughts on this?

Edited August 5, 2008 by musa

[Ta Ta 1]

You must prove ties to your country such as :

a job

employers letter showing leave time

bank account with enough money to be self reliant during your stay ( even if you have the invite letter stating she will take care of all your financial

needs while there.)

children ( if you have children, their birth cert. )

It would be helpful to let them know you successfully entered Germany on a student visa and returned to your country. That is in your favor.

Bring proof of that.

The most important thing for the future visa process will be to be truthful on each and every form and watch your spelling. They will cross reference everything.

We were denied a k1 due to the fact that he misspelled the name Stephen with a V and by mistake made a typo with his birth year in a tourist visa form long ago.

The CO back then also said that it does not matter what I would provide for him while he is here, he must be able to come and be here on his own merits and denied the tourist visa. Then the denial of the K1 due to the typos on the B2, as they say it is a misrepresentation.

We will hire a lawyer to fight that allegation and do a waiver.

My suggestion is, if she can not stay for a few months because of her job, then why not for 10 - 14 days ? Longer is of course better, but

if you are denied the B2 then she would still have to find a way.

Best wishes and let us know what happened.

[We_Destiny 1]

Seriously as Stevi mentioned the job you currently hold needs to be extremely GREAT. Another thing is, yes you have to be honost but when you walk into the embassy claiming to want to come to US to meet K1 requirements, to shortly thereafter move to the US to get married. The odds of you receiving a tourist visa are next to none. I don't mean to be harsh, but if it was that easy visajourney would not exist. Alot of people probably would go that route.

Seriously unless your job is GREAT and you have a SUBSTANTIAL Bank account and own PLOTS of land, and are already married in Nigeria with kids (which would void the K1 anyway) it would just be a waste of time and money. Answer me this.... how many people do you know in Nigeria that have been issued a tourist visa ? and better yet what was the proof of strong ties they gave ?.......

I agree with Sylvia if she can't go to nigeria maybe meet up in Canada, London or the Islands. Or better yet, she should just visit Nigeria for a shorter term like O said 2 weeks.

This journey requires a lot of planing and sacraficing it is by NO Means easy on the pocket, emotions or anything else.

Good luck with your journey..

Edited August 5, 2008 by We_Destiny

[Ta Ta 1]

Ok, so I was looking through the online non-immigrant visa form on the website of the U.S. Consulate here in Abuja.

Question 37:

37. Are Any of The Following Persons in The U.S., or Do They Have U.S. Legal Permanent Residence or U.S. Citizenship?

Mark YES or NO and indicate that person's status in the U.S. (i.e., U.S. legal permanent resident, U.S. citizen, visiting, studying, working, etc.).

- Husband/Wife

- Fiance/Fiancee

- Father/Mother

- Son/Daughter

- Brother/Sister

In my case, I would need to indicate that my fiancee is in the U.S. and a U.S. citizen. How does this information affect the tourist visa process AND the K1? I'm going to say she's my fiancee and that I'm going over to visit her. Of course, I'm going to be truthful about everything, so if they ask whether we've met, I'll say no. What is the purpose of my visit? To fulfill a K1 requirement.

Right? I don't want to be dishonest to the consulate by saying I'm just visiting a pal. And I certainly don't want to be disrespectful to my fiancee by saying she's just a pal, even if she would be ok with it for the sake of the visa.

What are your thoughts on this?

My now fiance entered NO to the fiance in the B2 form ( Q. 37 ). We had not met at that time.

We had no problem from the CO ( during the K1 ) with that answer. My lawyer also agreed that how can you be engaged and consider yourself fiances if you both never met in person. If you say she is your fiance then your chances are 0 in my opinion to obtain the B2.

So, the question is are you truly engaged and promised to marry or are you exploring your relationship at this point ?

Just my thoughts, it is a grey area.

[musa 0]

The job I hold now is great to me, anyway. But I understand what you mean. It's not a dollar-paying job in a foreign oil company, that's for sure. I'm IT Manager at a university here in Abuja, and I earn =N= 110,000 per month. I got this job in June, I neither pay rent, nor pay much for food, because I stay on campus. I've never been married and I don't have any kids. I don't really know how I'm going to prove ties. I got my mom down in Lagos, and I'm sending her =N= 25K each month to support her. She's retired.

I don't think I could get a visa to the UK or Canada even. If I'm not mistaking, then it's pretty much the same story with Western visas, regarding accessibility, right? Like I said, I'm looking for as much advice and help as I can get, so keep it coming

Ok, so I was looking through the online non-immigrant visa form on the website of the U.S. Consulate here in Abuja.

Question 37:

37. Are Any of The Following Persons in The U.S., or Do They Have U.S. Legal Permanent Residence or U.S. Citizenship?

Mark YES or NO and indicate that person's status in the U.S. (i.e., U.S. legal permanent resident, U.S. citizen, visiting, studying, working, etc.).

- Husband/Wife

- Fiance/Fiancee

- Father/Mother

- Son/Daughter

- Brother/Sister

In my case, I would need to indicate that my fiancee is in the U.S. and a U.S. citizen. How does this information affect the tourist visa process AND the K1? I'm going to say she's my fiancee and that I'm going over to visit her. Of course, I'm going to be truthful about everything, so if they ask whether we've met, I'll say no. What is the purpose of my visit? To fulfill a K1 requirement.

Right? I don't want to be dishonest to the consulate by saying I'm just visiting a pal. And I certainly don't want to be disrespectful to my fiancee by saying she's just a pal, even if she would be ok with it for the sake of the visa.

What are your thoughts on this?

My now fiance entered NO to the fiance in the B2 form ( Q. 37 ). We had not met at that time.

We had no problem from the CO ( during the K1 ) with that answer. My lawyer also agreed that how can you be engaged and consider yourself fiances if you both never met in person. If you say she is your fiance then your chances are 0 in my opinion to obtain the B2.

So, the question is are you truly engaged and promised to marry or are you exploring your relationship at this point ?

Just my thoughts, it is a grey area.

I see what you mean. The thing is we are not just exploring. We want to get married. I know it probably sounds crazy to you guys, but that's how we feel about each other. When it comes to that, I don't care what people think. But on the subject of the different options we got at making this happen, I really need all the input I can get, folks. And thank you for what you've contributed so far.

The job I hold now is great to me, anyway. But I understand what you mean. It's not a dollar-paying job in a foreign oil company, that's for sure. I'm IT Manager at a university here in Abuja, and I earn =N= 110,000 per month. I got this job in June, I neither pay rent, nor pay much for food, because I stay on campus. I've never been married and I don't have any kids. I don't really know how I'm going to prove ties. I got my mom down in Lagos, and I'm sending her =N= 25K each month to support her. She's retired.

I don't think I could get a visa to the UK or Canada even. If I'm not mistaking, then it's pretty much the same story with Western visas, regarding accessibility, right? Like I said, I'm looking for as much advice and help as I can get, so keep it coming

Ok, so I was looking through the online non-immigrant visa form on the website of the U.S. Consulate here in Abuja.

Question 37:

37. Are Any of The Following Persons in The U.S., or Do They Have U.S. Legal Permanent Residence or U.S. Citizenship?

Mark YES or NO and indicate that person's status in the U.S. (i.e., U.S. legal permanent resident, U.S. citizen, visiting, studying, working, etc.).

- Husband/Wife

- Fiance/Fiancee

- Father/Mother

- Son/Daughter

- Brother/Sister

In my case, I would need to indicate that my fiancee is in the U.S. and a U.S. citizen. How does this information affect the tourist visa process AND the K1? I'm going to say she's my fiancee and that I'm going over to visit her. Of course, I'm going to be truthful about everything, so if they ask whether we've met, I'll say no. What is the purpose of my visit? To fulfill a K1 requirement.

Right? I don't want to be dishonest to the consulate by saying I'm just visiting a pal. And I certainly don't want to be disrespectful to my fiancee by saying she's just a pal, even if she would be ok with it for the sake of the visa.

What are your thoughts on this?

My now fiance entered NO to the fiance in the B2 form ( Q. 37 ). We had not met at that time.

We had no problem from the CO ( during the K1 ) with that answer. My lawyer also agreed that how can you be engaged and consider yourself fiances if you both never met in person. If you say she is your fiance then your chances are 0 in my opinion to obtain the B2.

So, the question is are you truly engaged and promised to marry or are you exploring your relationship at this point ?

Just my thoughts, it is a grey area.

I see what you mean. The thing is we are not just exploring. We want to get married. I know it probably sounds crazy to you guys, but that's how we feel about each other. When it comes to that, I don't care what people think. But on the subject of the different options we got at making this happen, I really need all the input I can get, folks. And thank you for what you've contributed so far.

[Ta Ta 1]

I hope you didn't take my above post the wrong way. I am just offering the perspective of what will the CO think and what are they looking for. I by no means tried to insinuate you are not engaged, am just throwing things out there.

We felt we were engaged before we met also but what goes on paper and why is a grey area with not having met but saying you are engaged.

I still don't know the correct answer to that. That is why my lawyer said you can say no, which gives you a better chance for B2 approval. But is that 100 % correct ? I am not sure. Will the K1 CO question that and say you misrepresented your no fiance statement on the B2 forms ? I don't know.

Kind of in between a rock and a hard place.

What if the K1 CO sees emails about you both discussing being engaged ? You see what I mean ? What if he asks when did you propose and how ?

If you say she is your fiance on the B2 form you would most likely be denied because they will think you will marry here and try to adjust status. If you say she is not your fiance, they may hassle you at the K1 interview later and slap you with misrep on the B2 form.

It may be wise to consult an attorney with that question. Ours said, no fiance was fine, because you had not met at that time, how can you be engaged online ? How can you not ?

Gray area

[Perseverance 1]

I understand her not wanting to up and quit her job with the economy the way it is here. Perhaps she could take and unpaid leave of absence for a shorter period of time 6 weeks maybe and still be able to come back to her job. Has this option been concidered?

I agree with everyone else getting a tourist visa to the US from Niaja is next to impossible. Another option you said you already had a success with a tourist visa from Germany, perhaps another country? Is Singapore still visa free for Nigerians? I know it used to be. Also try China, I know of people here on VJ who have had thier rendezvous in China, when are you planning to do this? Might be easy to get in with the Olympics going on.

There are some options to explore, Nigerians can still go some places outside of Africa visa free, not many but some try this, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigerian_passport you may have to paste it into your browser.

Dont give up and keep us posted

P

[musa 0]

I hope you didn't take my above post the wrong way. I am just offering the perspective of what will the CO think and what are they looking for. I by no means tried to insinuate you are not engaged, am just throwing things out there.

We felt we were engaged before we met also but what goes on paper and why is a grey area with not having met but saying you are engaged.

I still don't know the correct answer to that. That is why my lawyer said you can say no, which gives you a better chance for B2 approval. But is that 100 % correct ? I am not sure. Will the K1 CO question that and say you misrepresented your no fiance statement on the B2 forms ? I don't know.

Kind of in between a rock and a hard place.

What if the K1 CO sees emails about you both discussing being engaged ? You see what I mean ? What if he asks when did you propose and how ?

If you say she is your fiance on the B2 form you would most likely be denied because they will think you will marry here and try to adjust status. If you say she is not your fiance, they may hassle you at the K1 interview later and slap you with misrep on the B2 form.

It may be wise to consult an attorney with that question. Ours said, no fiance was fine, because you had not met at that time, how can you be engaged online ? How can you not ?

Gray area

No, I'm not taking it the wrong way at all. I know you're trying to help me and I welcome it, you know? The clearer the picture, the better for me. And you summed my dilemma up nicely. I'm basically caught between fulfilling the K1 and not violating the B2, in terms of misrepresentation. I want to be able to go through both processes with a clear conscience. I would hate for any of this to fail, just because someone in the process feels I lied, you know?

I hope you didn't take my above post the wrong way. I am just offering the perspective of what will the CO think and what are they looking for. I by no means tried to insinuate you are not engaged, am just throwing things out there.

We felt we were engaged before we met also but what goes on paper and why is a grey area with not having met but saying you are engaged.

I still don't know the correct answer to that. That is why my lawyer said you can say no, which gives you a better chance for B2 approval. But is that 100 % correct ? I am not sure. Will the K1 CO question that and say you misrepresented your no fiance statement on the B2 forms ? I don't know.

Kind of in between a rock and a hard place.

What if the K1 CO sees emails about you both discussing being engaged ? You see what I mean ? What if he asks when did you propose and how ?

If you say she is your fiance on the B2 form you would most likely be denied because they will think you will marry here and try to adjust status. If you say she is not your fiance, they may hassle you at the K1 interview later and slap you with misrep on the B2 form.

It may be wise to consult an attorney with that question. Ours said, no fiance was fine, because you had not met at that time, how can you be engaged online ? How can you not ?

Gray area

No, I'm not taking it the wrong way at all. I know you're trying to help me and I welcome it, you know? The clearer the picture, the better for me. And you summed my dilemma up nicely. I'm basically caught between fulfilling the K1 and not violating the B2, in terms of misrepresentation. I want to be able to go through both processes with a clear conscience. I would hate for any of this to fail, just because someone in the process feels I lied, you know?

I hope you didn't take my above post the wrong way. I am just offering the perspective of what will the CO think and what are they looking for. I by no means tried to insinuate you are not engaged, am just throwing things out there.

We felt we were engaged before we met also but what goes on paper and why is a grey area with not having met but saying you are engaged.

I still don't know the correct answer to that. That is why my lawyer said you can say no, which gives you a better chance for B2 approval. But is that 100 % correct ? I am not sure. Will the K1 CO question that and say you misrepresented your no fiance statement on the B2 forms ? I don't know.

Kind of in between a rock and a hard place.

What if the K1 CO sees emails about you both discussing being engaged ? You see what I mean ? What if he asks when did you propose and how ?

If you say she is your fiance on the B2 form you would most likely be denied because they will think you will marry here and try to adjust status. If you say she is not your fiance, they may hassle you at the K1 interview later and slap you with misrep on the B2 form.

It may be wise to consult an attorney with that question. Ours said, no fiance was fine, because you had not met at that time, how can you be engaged online ? How can you not ?

Gray area

No, I'm not taking it the wrong way at all. I know you're trying to help me and I welcome it, you know? The clearer the picture, the better for me. And you summed my dilemma up nicely. I'm basically caught between fulfilling the K1 and not violating the B2, in terms of misrepresentation. I want to be able to go through both processes with a clear conscience. I would hate for any of this to fail, just because someone in the process feels I lied, you know?

I hope you didn't take my above post the wrong way. I am just offering the perspective of what will the CO think and what are they looking for. I by no means tried to insinuate you are not engaged, am just throwing things out there.

We felt we were engaged before we met also but what goes on paper and why is a grey area with not having met but saying you are engaged.

I still don't know the correct answer to that. That is why my lawyer said you can say no, which gives you a better chance for B2 approval. But is that 100 % correct ? I am not sure. Will the K1 CO question that and say you misrepresented your no fiance statement on the B2 forms ? I don't know.

Kind of in between a rock and a hard place.

What if the K1 CO sees emails about you both discussing being engaged ? You see what I mean ? What if he asks when did you propose and how ?

If you say she is your fiance on the B2 form you would most likely be denied because they will think you will marry here and try to adjust status. If you say she is not your fiance, they may hassle you at the K1 interview later and slap you with misrep on the B2 form.

It may be wise to consult an attorney with that question. Ours said, no fiance was fine, because you had not met at that time, how can you be engaged online ? How can you not ?

Gray area

No, I'm not taking it the wrong way at all. I know you're trying to help me and I welcome it, you know? The clearer the picture, the better for me. And you summed my dilemma up nicely. I'm basically caught between fulfilling the K1 and not violating the B2, in terms of misrepresentation. I want to be able to go through both processes with a clear conscience. I would hate for any of this to fail, just because someone in the process feels I lied, you know?

[musa 0]

I understand her not wanting to up and quit her job with the economy the way it is here. Perhaps she could take and unpaid leave of absence for a shorter period of time 6 weeks maybe and still be able to come back to her job. Has this option been concidered?

I agree with everyone else getting a tourist visa to the US from Niaja is next to impossible. Another option you said you already had a success with a tourist visa from Germany, perhaps another country? Is Singapore still visa free for Nigerians? I know it used to be. Also try China, I know of people here on VJ who have had thier rendezvous in China, when are you planning to do this? Might be easy to get in with the Olympics going on.

There are some options to explore, Nigerians can still go some places outside of Africa visa free, not many but some try this, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigerian_passport you may have to paste it into your browser.

Dont give up and keep us posted

P

We also need to consider the cost involved in both of us travelling somewhere. It's not cheap. That's why we're looking at just one of us travelling. And right now, it doesn't look like she would get leave, paid or unpaid. Singapore isn't visa free, but I know my sister went there once and it wasn't difficult at all. But like I said, when it comes to us both travelling, we have to look at what we can put together. We were looking at the carribean, anyway. Barbados, Trinidad or St Vincent.

[musa 0]

I understand her not wanting to up and quit her job with the economy the way it is here. Perhaps she could take and unpaid leave of absence for a shorter period of time 6 weeks maybe and still be able to come back to her job. Has this option been concidered?

I agree with everyone else getting a tourist visa to the US from Niaja is next to impossible. Another option you said you already had a success with a tourist visa from Germany, perhaps another country? Is Singapore still visa free for Nigerians? I know it used to be. Also try China, I know of people here on VJ who have had thier rendezvous in China, when are you planning to do this? Might be easy to get in with the Olympics going on.

There are some options to explore, Nigerians can still go some places outside of Africa visa free, not many but some try this, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigerian_passport you may have to paste it into your browser.

Dont give up and keep us posted

P

We also need to consider the cost involved in both of us travelling somewhere. It's not cheap. That's why we're looking at just one of us travelling. And right now, it doesn't look like she would get leave, paid or unpaid. Singapore isn't visa free, but I know my sister went there once and it wasn't difficult at all. But like I said, when it comes to us both travelling, we have to look at what we can put together. We were looking at the carribean, anyway. Barbados, Trinidad or St Vincent.