Good Morning VO,

I have a question or may be a Suggestion. Considering that Lagos is the busiet consulate in Africa , I suppose IV case loads will be huge as well. Wouldnt it be a good idea for the US embassy in Abuja to pick up some some IV cases . I believe this will help reduce the number of months beneficiaries have to wait to be scheduled for interview and again provide more flexibility for beneficiary that Resides in Abuja and Environ, sometimes people might have a friend/relative that resides in Abuja who will provide accomodation for them, trying to get a hotel or find someone to stay with in Lagos could be challenging at times ( my personal experience).

Also, Some countries that like Mexico and India who also have high IV petitons have two different consulates processing Immigrant Visas .

My first and only time at the consulate was in 2008 this was my first time in Lagos as well. My IV interview was scheduled at 7am, by 6:20am when I arrived at the consulate, the crowds outside looked like they came for a crusade.
I also have seen you mention in few of your replies that the Lagos consulate does have enough room to accomodate family members/petitioners, who might wish to accompany their loved ones to their Interview. I also firmly believe that if the case load was split, may be Abuja process only F4 and F2 visas or something like that, this will make the whole process a lot faster and also there will be a little room for petitioners/family members who wish to accompany beneficiaries to inteview and this will also help reduce "SOME" administrative processing ( cases for further review) because instead the consulate will send out their foot soldiers for investigation, the consulate will have access to the same family members. just to clarify, I do understand that AP could be for different reasons that was why I said "SOME" AP cases.


Thanks again Ma for all you are doing here, I still havent heard anything about my case .
Happy Holidays to you .

Badgers14:
Good Morning VO,

I have a question or may be a Suggestion. Considering that Lagos is the busiet consulate in Africa , I suppose IV case loads will be huge as well. Wouldnt it be a good idea for the US embassy in Abuja to pick up some some IV cases . I believe this will help reduce the number of months beneficiaries have to wait to be scheduled for interview and again provide more flexibility for beneficiary that Resides in Abuja and Environ, sometimes people might have a friend/relative that resides in Abuja who will provide accomodation for them, trying to get a hotel or find someone to stay with in Lagos could be challenging at times ( my personal experience).

Also, Some countries that like Mexico and India who also have high IV petitons have two different consulates processing Immigrant Visas .

My first and only time at the consulate was in 2008 this was my first time in Lagos as well. My IV interview was scheduled at 7am, by 6:20am when I arrived at the consulate, the crowds outside looked like they came for a crusade.
I also have seen you mention in few of your replies that the Lagos consulate does have enough room to accomodate family members/petitioners, who might wish to accompany their loved ones to their Interview. I also firmly believe that if the case load was split, may be Abuja process only F4 and F2 visas or something like that, this will make the whole process a lot faster and also there will be a little room for petitioners/family members who wish to accompany beneficiaries to inteview and this will also help reduce "SOME" administrative processing ( cases for further review) because instead the consulate will send out their foot soldiers for investigation, the consulate will have access to the same family members. just to clarify, I do understand that AP could be for different reasons that was why I said "SOME" AP cases.

Thanks again Ma for all you are doing here, I still havent heard anything about my case .
Happy Holidays to you .

This is a very, very, very interesting post. I'm intrigued.

I'm traveling back to Lagos this week and will discuss this with the team. The answer may be that, even though Nigeria has a high IV caseload, it's not quite high enough to justify dividing it between two sites -- but then again, maybe we just never thought about doing it differently before!

Thank you for bringing this up -- sincerely!

Thanks a lot Ma, you're really a wonderful person. Very approachable, we are really glad to have you in Nigeria. I also want to apologize, I misquoted you, it was a typo; that was when I made reference to your replies,I was going to write "does not have enough room to..." But I omitted the " not ". Again, my apologies.
Thanks again for considering my suggestions, it will also be better if Abuja take all IV cases instead of few categories but thier case load could be lesser ( sort of like pilot program), am really positive lots of people will be Happy.

Thanks again Ma.
May God bless you.

Thank you very much V O,may God bless you for ur good works.Amen

VisaOfficer:


That happens to a lot of people, unfortunately. The best course of action is to be completely candid and honest about what happened. If you qualify for a visa now, as long as you don't try to hide what happened in the past, the officer will likely be inclined to listen sympathetically.

Good morning ma! Help! Help! Help!!!!....good morning guru's in the aouz....dis
december is my interview,I choose abj embassy,plz,....am
aplying for an m1 visa,going 2 sturdy welding @ powersteel
institute,ohio,....plz what are the possible questions I need
to be preparred for....plz help..........many thanks 1Love#

Dear VO, you really are an angel. The best kind there is. It would be remiss of me if I didnt come back to this forum to say thank you for all you do. I just want you to know that you are very much appreciated. The kindness, love, care and obvious professionalism with which you respond to our inquiries is heartwarming. We couldn't ask for more. Thanks for responding to my inquiries. My visa finally says issued, I'm soo happy and grateful to God, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I wish I could have met you. Well who knows maybe someday.... God bless you ma'am do have a wonderful holiday

Good afternoon,a real mother,mentor and counsellor.Ma,she wentto submit d child's passportn medicals today but she said d person dat atttended to her didnt askfor d child's birth certificate and passport photograph,she was only told to come nxtweek for her visa and dat of d kid.Op it doesnt matter?.

Hello VO,

I was wondering if there are any forums for U.S. Citizens applying for their spouses like this forum. I have a friend who would like to connect and obtain information the way we are able to do. Please if you know of any let me know. I hope that you are great vacation and look forward to your return to Lagos.

Thanks,

nalacandi

good morning, I believe I sent an email regarding my wife and step daughter I 864 form, it was last June or July I couldn't track the right date , however your information that you provided me was very helpful, my wife had interview in October, and now we are united in Texas, I just want to say thank you very much for your help, have wonderful life. and thank you again

Good morning VO,

I had previously filed for an Immigrant Visa in 2008 through the Amsterdam Embassy. The visa was denied. However, because of the length of time outside of the U.S., I re-applied and would like to consular process through Lagos. An I-824 was filed and approved in March 2014 regarding my wife's' previously approved I-130.

Since May 27, 2014, we has made five written inquiries of the consulate in Lagos as to when an interview would be scheduled.

The standard response is "Thank you for your email. We have forwarded your inquiry to the appropriate unit. We urge you to wait patiently for a substantive response. "

We wrote to the Amsterdam embassy to make sure they were aware of the transfer request. Amsterdam responded promptly in August to advise that on July 9, they transferred the I-130 to the Lagos consulate. Our last inquiry to Lagos on October 31, 2014 produced the same responses as before.



At this juncture, we are requesting assistance in getting the status for the Immigrant Visa interview. We are aware that a waiver will be required.

NVC Case # AMS2007812003

Thank you for any assistance in this matter.

Goodmorning ma'am. How are you today, and hope you are enjoying your vacation?

Is it possible to ask for a previous priority date to be retained in a new case, or is that only done if it is Filed by the same petitioner?? We started this journey since 2008 and it hurts to have to spend longer years waiting. My first case filed by my stepdad was not approved before My Mum filed again in 2011. If only she was well informed, she would have just refiled another I-130 form immediately she got to the U.S in 2009 rather than waiting to hear from USCIS for the previous one my Stepdad filed, which they did not approve in 2011, Even after they appealed, it was still denied on the basis that his not my biological father, but amazingly I see some Forums on the internet where some beneficiaries who's cases were Filed by their Stepfather's were approved. The 2011 case has been approved this year in July. But sometimes I feel so sad when I see the Visa bulletin, of the F2B priority date cutoff already in 2008, and it even hurts more to realize, I once had a Priority date of 2008. To be an only child, and to have my mum so far away from me and then raising my son, not having her around even hurts more. She calls and we chat practically everyday, and she keeps saying she can't wait to have us around. She also comes visiting every year, but due to the Ebola Crisis in West Africa, not sure she will be coming down again. Although Nigeria is Ebola free, they might not understand in her Place of Work, since most of them have never been out of the U.S, and they think Africa is the same, most of them do not know there are various countries in Africa. Lol. I remember I asked u a question sometime ago about how we could add my Son, because I had him after my mum Filed and U said it wouldn't be a problem adding him as a derivative that once my case becomes current and I get an interview Date, that I Should send an email to the Embassy.

Then another question is if I have another child, can the child also be included as a derivative, or are the number of derivative kids limited? I ask this ma'am because my Boyfriend and I live together, Raising our Son. His 2yrs now, and we can't tell the future, if we would have more kids before my case becomes current.

Thanks a lot ma'am for your good work on nairaland and hope to hear from you soon

Hi VO,
Many thanks for your assistance. My sister is now with us. She likes it here. I wish other immigrants success as they process their petition. Kudos to the embassy officials. Happy holidays.

fatboislim:
Hi VO,
Many thanks for your assistance. My sister is now with us. She likes it here. I wish other immigrants success as they process their petition. Kudos to the embassy officials. Happy holidays.

Those photos are unnecessary!

qonfupanda:
Good morning ma! Help! Help! Help!!!!....good morning guru's in the aouz....dis
december is my interview,I choose abj embassy,plz,....am
aplying for an m1 visa,going 2 sturdy welding @ powersteel
institute,ohio,....plz what are the possible questions I need
to be preparred for....plz help..........many thanks 1Love#

This is a question for my non-immigrant visa colleagues at https://www.nairaland.com/1792662/u.s-non-immigrant-visas-listening .

Adeyinka2014:
Dear VO, you really are an angel. The best kind there is. It would be remiss of me if I didnt come back to this forum to say thank you for all you do. I just want you to know that you are very much appreciated. The kindness, love, care and obvious professionalism with which you respond to our inquiries is heartwarming. We couldn't ask for more. Thanks for responding to my inquiries. My visa finally says issued, I'm soo happy and grateful to God, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I wish I could have met you. Well who knows maybe someday.... God bless you ma'am do have a wonderful holiday

What a lovely note to find on my first day back in the office! Thank you so much! Enjoy the United States.

omotfavy:
Good afternoon,a real mother,mentor and counsellor.Ma,she wentto submit d child's passportn medicals today but she said d person dat atttended to her didnt askfor d child's birth certificate and passport photograph,she was only told to come nxtweek for her visa and dat of d kid.Op it doesnt matter?.

I don't have her case number, so there's no way for me to check. Please ask the mother to e-mail us at LagosIV@state.gov if the visas aren't ready next week.

nalacandi:
Hello VO,

I was wondering if there are any forums for U.S. Citizens applying for their spouses like this forum. I have a friend who would like to connect and obtain information the way we are able to do. Please if you know of any let me know. I hope that you are great vacation and look forward to your return to Lagos.

Thanks,

nalacandi

I hate to direct you to www.visajourney.com because they're not affiliated with the U.S. Government and often have incorrect information -- but it is a very popular site for spouse petitioners to discuss immigration issues. Just remember that the best place to get solid information is travel.state.gov or www.uscis.gov.

honnynut:
Good morning VO,

I had previously filed for an Immigrant Visa in 2008 through the Amsterdam Embassy. The visa was denied. However, because of the length of time outside of the U.S., I re-applied and would like to consular process through Lagos. An I-824 was filed and approved in March 2014 regarding my wife's' previously approved I-130.

Since May 27, 2014, we has made five written inquiries of the consulate in Lagos as to when an interview would be scheduled.

The standard response is "Thank you for your email. We have forwarded your inquiry to the appropriate unit. We urge you to wait patiently for a substantive response. "

We wrote to the Amsterdam embassy to make sure they were aware of the transfer request. Amsterdam responded promptly in August to advise that on July 9, they transferred the I-130 to the Lagos consulate. Our last inquiry to Lagos on October 31, 2014 produced the same responses as before.



At this juncture, we are requesting assistance in getting the status for the Immigrant Visa interview. We are aware that a waiver will be required.

NVC Case # AMS2007812003

Thank you for any assistance in this matter.

Looks like we've been communicating through your attorney and somewhere along the line a message was lost. We had you scheduled for a Nov. 10 appointment. Could you e-mail us at LagosIVscheduling@state.gov and ask for a rescheduled appointment? I'll make sure you get more than the usual standard response.

Jchi9876:


Those photos are unnecessary!

Aw, I missed the photos?

Hi vo.

I was told to pick up my immigrant visa today. Before going I checked my status which said ISSUED. However when I went to the collection center I was told they receive the immigrant visas twice a week. And they were expecting some tommorow . And I should come tommorrow afternoon.

I wanted to confirm it from YOU and if that is so and when will it be.

Could you please help check.?

My interview was last week thursday.
And I checked the status that says ISSUED(visa has been printed).

Thank you.
Awaiting your response. .

pretty16:
Goodmorning ma'am. How are you today, and hope you are enjoying your vacation?

Is it possible to ask for a previous priority date to be retained in a new case, or is that only done if it is Filed by the same petitioner?? We started this journey since 2008 and it hurts to have to spend longer years waiting. My first case filed by my stepdad was not approved before My Mum filed again in 2011. If only she was well informed, she would have just refiled another I-130 form immediately she got to the U.S in 2009 rather than waiting to hear from USCIS for the previous one my Stepdad filed, which they did not approve in 2011, Even after they appealed, it was still denied on the basis that his not my biological father, but amazingly I see some Forums on the internet where some beneficiaries who's cases were Filed by their Stepfather's were approved. The 2011 case has been approved this year in July. But sometimes I feel so sad when I see the Visa bulletin, of the F2B priority date cutoff already in 2008, and it even hurts more to realize, I once had a Priority date of 2008. To be an only child, and to have my mum so far away from me and then raising my son, not having her around even hurts more. She calls and we chat practically everyday, and she keeps saying she can't wait to have us around. She also comes visiting every year, but due to the Ebola Crisis in West Africa, not sure she will be coming down again. Although Nigeria is Ebola free, they might not understand in her Place of Work, since most of them have never been out of the U.S, and they think Africa is the same, most of them do not know there are various countries in Africa. Lol. I remember I asked u a question sometime ago about how we could add my Son, because I had him after my mum Filed and U said it wouldn't be a problem adding him as a derivative that once my case becomes current and I get an interview Date, that I Should send an email to the Embassy.

Then another question is if I have another child, can the child also be included as a derivative, or are the number of derivative kids limited? I ask this ma'am because my Boyfriend and I live together, Raising our Son. His 2yrs now, and we can't tell the future, if we would have more kids before my case becomes current.

Thanks a lot ma'am for your good work on nairaland and hope to hear from you soon

Unfortunately priority dates cannot be transferred from case to case. The only time it might appear that a priority date is "transferred" is when someone's visa category changes - for instance, when a petitioner naturalizes and her child's category changes from F2B to F1. But that's not really a transfer; it's just that the petition remains the same and the priority date is retained, even though the category has changed.

There is no limit on the number of derivative children that can be included in an F2B case. Be fruitful and multiply as your heart desires. (For anyone reading this who is under 21 years of age and is considering being fruitful and multiplying, please keep in mind that derivatives cannot be added to IR2 cases -- only to F2Bs, F1s, and F3s when a parent is the petitioner.)

Gbola2014:
Hi vo.

I was told to pick up my immigrant visa today. Before going I checked my status which said ISSUED. However when I went to the collection center I was told they receive the immigrant visas twice a week. And they were expecting some tommorow . And I should come tommorrow afternoon.

I wanted to confirm it from YOU and if that is so and when will it be.

Could you please help check.?

My interview was last week thursday.
And I checked the status that says ISSUED(visa has been printed).

Thank you.
Awaiting your response. .

Not knowing your case number, I have no way to confirm anything. My advice would be to call the collection center and confirm that your visa is there before making another trip.

Thank you..

VisaOfficer:


Aw, I missed the photos?

Yea! Guess it was taken down

Gbola2014:
Thank you VO. My case number is LGS2008669015.
Kindly help me confirm .

Thank you..

Looks like the delay came because our computer didn't want to recognize you as an IR2. But the problem's been fixed; the visa's been issued and is en route to the collection center. Tomorrow afternoon should be fine!

Thank you VO...
God bless you...

Once again.

VisaOfficer:


Unfortunately priority dates cannot be transferred from case to case. The only time it might appear that a priority date is "transferred" is when someone's visa category changes - for instance, when a petitioner naturalizes and her child's category changes from F2B to F1. But that's not really a transfer; it's just that the petition remains the same and the priority date is retained, even though the category has changed.

There is no limit on the number of derivative children that can be included in an F2B case. Be fruitful and multiply as your heart desires. (For anyone reading this who is under 21 years of age and is considering being fruitful and multiplying, please keep in mind that derivatives cannot be added to IR2 cases -- only to F2Bs, F1s, and F3s when a parent is the petitioner.)

Thank You Very much ma'am for your reply. I Am very grateful. And welcome back to Nigeria. Hope you had a wonderful Vacation.??

Dear VO,

Thank you kindly for always providing such great advice on this forum. You are much appreciated! I wanted to check once again on our case as it has no status update since Nov 26; LGS2014598025 to see if there is any update at all.

Secondly, I noticed you mentioned that you were communicating with an attorney and we have an attorney, but she seems to not be doing anything to help us at this point despite being paid fully for services. Is she allowed to make contact and get updates and determine what next steps are available to us to get through this process.

I have a situation where my uncle has been diagnosed again with pre-cancerous cells and is not doing well. I would like to find out if there is away for my husband to apply for a visitor visa and have some chance of visiting to meet him in person before anything should happen and he pass away. I have lost 2 fathers and my uncle has been my replacement father since I was born and he was to walk me down the isle for our American Ceremony Reaffirmation of Vows and I fear that he might not be around to do this soon.

Can our case be expedited for family emergency. My uncle is more than just an uncle, he literally is father. My biological father took his own life and my 2nd adoptive father died of cancer 12 years ago. My uncle is all that I have left at this point.

I really want my husband to be able to meet him and we could do our reaffirmation while he is here for visit, so as to not miss this opportunity before it is too late. What would be the likelihood he would even qualify for a visitor visa. We would ensure that my husband returns to Nigeria as he has a job that is important for him to maintain until we find out about our immigrant visa (approval I pray). We have been waiting for 18 months now and we were one of the ones caught in the government shutdown. Please is there anything we can do. I just found out this evening about my uncle and I want them to meet physically before it is too late.

Any advice would be great and any status update would be terrific, as well. Thank you so much.

I trust you had a good vacation and we are glad to have you back.

nalacandi

nalacandi:

Dear VO,

Thank you kindly for always providing such great advice on this forum. You are much appreciated! I wanted to check once again on our case as it has no status update since Nov 26; LGS2014598025 to see if there is any update at all.

Secondly, I noticed you mentioned that you were communicating with an attorney and we have an attorney, but she seems to not be doing anything to help us at this point despite being paid fully for services. Is she allowed to make contact and get updates and determine what next steps are available to us to get through this process.

I have a situation where my uncle has been diagnosed again with pre-cancerous cells and is not doing well. I would like to find out if there is away for my husband to apply for a visitor visa and have some chance of visiting to meet him in person before anything should happen and he pass away. I have lost 2 fathers and my uncle has been my replacement father since I was born and he was to walk me down the isle for our American Ceremony Reaffirmation of Vows and I fear that he might not be around to do this soon.

Can our case be expedited for family emergency. My uncle is more than just an uncle, he literally is father. My biological father took his own life and my 2nd adoptive father died of cancer 12 years ago. My uncle is all that I have left at this point.

I really want my husband to be able to meet him and we could do our reaffirmation while he is here for visit, so as to not miss this opportunity before it is too late. What would be the likelihood he would even qualify for a visitor visa. We would ensure that my husband returns to Nigeria as he has a job that is important for him to maintain until we find out about our immigrant visa (approval I pray). We have been waiting for 18 months now and we were one of the ones caught in the government shutdown. Please is there anything we can do. I just found out this evening about my uncle and I want them to meet physically before it is too late.

Any advice would be great and any status update would be terrific, as well. Thank you so much.

I trust you had a good vacation and we are glad to have you back.

nalacandi

Greetings,

There's no update at this time. Also, expedited processing refers to securing an earlier initial interview; once the adjudication process has begun, it can't really be expedited. Your husband is free to apply for a non-immigrant visa, but it would be difficult for him to overcome the presumption that he's an intending immigrant.

Your attorney can contact us, but there's nothing we can tell him/her that you haven't heard here.

Good morning VO and compliments of d season to you we thank God we have some one like you. Pls I have this question disturbing someone I know I hope from you I will get something I can tell d family because I have no clue. The couple married in nigeria and won lottery a little over 2 yrs in American now there is problem with d family beause the husband got to know d baby they had in America ( d wife came in with d pregnancy) does not belong to him after a routen medical examination because d baby was veru sick and full family examination was need. D wife confessed who d father is probably got pregnant after a let's kiss and say good bye meeting with d former boyfriend. Now d centre can not hold d man want out of the union but afraid because they are visa lottery migrants. Please is divorce allowed for lottery winners and what is d concequence of this divorce if any.

Welcome back mam, hope you had a nice vacation. Out of curiosity ma, just want to ask if there's any update and if there is progress with our Admin Review and if we should expect to hear from the embassy soon.