field investigation

[LovinLiberia 0]

Well, we have been expecting this ever since my fiance's K-1 interview last week. There were hints from the embassy and my fiance was being nosey during his interview and saw some stuff written on a notebook about a field investigation. Also, a consular officer called me yesterday morning saying he was trying to find my fiance in order to complete his case investigation.

Today Booker got a call from the guy asking him how to get to his neighborhood. Ya'll know how it is in Africa without street names...Go up the dirt hill, bend Left (this is how Liberians say "turn left") at the junction across from the field with cows, bend right by past the green house..lol. Anyway, the man told him he is on his way to do a field investigation. We are actually excited about this because Booker's whole family lives in the area and all of their houses are next to each other. His 40+ relatives have also been expecting this and they are more than happy to show the embassy how valid our relationship is, LOL. I'm afraid they might cook and throw a welcome party for him or something, lol. I'll call him tonight to see how it went. I'm glad we are moving along the channels towards the end of this part of the journey.

[MaryandMian 1]

This is good news so means they are actively working on the case now. When my husband had his field investigation the officer came to his home had tea and snacks, then visited his married sisters and enjoyed tea and snacks too. Keep us updated and I am sure the family will be lovely hosts.

[LovinLiberia 0]

I agree that it is better than letting the case rot on someone's desk. Lol @ tea and snacks. I can just imagine seeing that. How long did it take to hear back from the embassy after his investigation?

[Ta Ta 1]

Another hoop to jump through but knowing all you guys it will be a party............lol.

Our guys talked today !

[MaryandMian 1]

Hopefully you will not have to wait as long as we did.

Embassy interview December 12, 2005

Field investigation was January 17, 2006

Visa in hand May 10, 2006

[LovinLiberia 0]

Ok, thanks for those stats...hopefully, it won't take long to hear back from them, especially since it's only been a week since he had his interview and they are already on to the field investigation. I hope it continues to move at this rate...

Omoba, it's about time. I had to Booker about not answering his phone for unknown callers. Even the CO asked him ####### happened with his phone, lol.

[ForeverAmen 0]

Field Investigation?!?! Is this something new? When my husband arrived on a K-1 Fiance' visa, I don't recall anything about a Field Investigation; and if he did have one, he did not tell me. Just curious ........

Thanks!

[LovinLiberia 0]

Boaz, it's not a standard part of the K-1 process. It's just for certain cases & countries. Usually, they want more evidence of validity, verification, or fraud checks and they will go into your fiance's community to check his character and to match see if the story he presented at the interview is true.

[ForeverAmen 0]

Hmmm ... OK. I learn something new everyday!

Thanks.

[Kelechi 0]

Hey girl congratulations on coming one more step closer to getting your fiance here with you so we can all get together for a fish fry and some good old Southern BBQ. Or maybe some Fufu too????

[akatagirl 0]

Wow! I can't believe they are going thru with the field investigation..Well I am sure with all his family around that the CO will get tea and snacks, fufu and whatever else he or she may desire!! Its good that at least they are moving forward with your case and I am sure it will all turn out very well!!

[taurean 0]

Princess: you must post the details of the field investigation! Seems like the investigator is in for a surprise party of sorts. I am sure everything will be fine and that the visa will be approved soon after!

[JJWashington 0]

Yes, please post the results and the entire process. Does anyone know of this happening in Lagos? Either way, I agree with the other posters that this is a good sign that they are moving forward!!!

[LovinLiberia 0]

Yes, please post the results and the entire process. Does anyone know of this happening in Lagos? Either way, I agree with the other posters that this is a good sign that they are moving forward!!!

Field investigations can happen at any embassy randomly. They mostly happen in MENA, though. I was told that since Liberia has recently emerged from the war that it is almost a standard procedure to do a field investigation. A man from the embassy told me this and also my fiance knows 3 other people who had field investigations. In fact, he was once questioned by a CO in regards to another man who was applying for an immigrant visa a few months ago. They sound horrible, but they usually don't last long and they pretty much just want to see if everyone's stories match up.

Well, the CO left the embassy late and was in a big rush so he spent maybe 20 mins max with my fiance's family. They were all at the house waiting for him, but he only wanted to speak to about 3 people. He interviewed them separately and asked them each about 5-10 questions like:

Did she really visit Liberia?

How often do you see them communicating?

Does she have relatives in Liberia?

How long did she stay?

Where does he work?

Where does he live?

Where did she stay while here?

How did they meet?

How long have they been together?

Are they married?

There were more questions...each person was basically asked the same questions, but he added a few different ones occassionally for variety. He then asked my fiance's aunt to take him to the house that I stayed in while I was there. She brought him up the hill and across the soccer field (lol) to the house and there he questioned 2 of his cousins with the same type of questions. He thanked them all, then left.

30 mins later, my fiance got a call from the man saying that he was at the front gate of his job and he should meet him there. I guess this was his way of popping up and verifying his work place. My fiance said that the guy didn't look official at all, just very ordinary with white sneakers, a sweater, and jeans. He says he would have never guessed this guy was from the embassy. The only way he knew he was from the embassy was because he was riding in an embassy car (a mercedes). The guy proceeded to scold him for not answering his phone the previous day and told him to always keep it on because the embassy will be calling him soon . He then asked my fiance the same questions:

How did we meet?

Who do I live with?

How long have we known each other?

How often we communicate?

How we communicate?

Is she a Liberian?

Does she have relatives in Liberia?

and there were a few more...

He says it lasted well under 5 mins and once the guy was done, he didn't even say bye...just "thank you for your time" and promptly turned and walked away. The embassy was scheduled to close about 45 mins after that, so I guess he wanted to rush back to report his findings. My fiance called out to him for his name but the man ignored him and kept walking. My fiance said that the guy had an attitude of "I'm not here for friends, I'm here for business." I find it weird because when he called me at 5am the other day he was as sweet as could be. He laughed and joked and even held a conversation and was very apologetic for waking me up. It's kinda freaky how they can switch into robo-human-dr-jekyll-and-mr-hyde mode within seconds. I guess they are trained well to get straight to the point when it comes time to investigate.

Now we wait to see what the next step in the nightmare will be, lol. Even though his interview was last week, I feel like we have been dealing with this embassy for years. I am so ready to move on.

Edited July 25, 2007 by PrincessMetzger

[forchika 4]

PrincessMetzger-thanks for posting the details of the field investigation.....has been a interesting turn of events!!!! I am praying for you and Booker!!!!! I just know you all will be successful in obtaining the visa....HANG IN THERE!!!!!

Robin