Euma:
Hi Ma'am, how are you? I just want to let you know my husband and I got married yesterday and it was successful.

Good for you! I hope your marriage is as full of joy as your wedding day.

mabor:
Hello ma. Please the ds 260 was completed this Saturday. I already sent the email to Lagos.gov on Thursday.I am hoping they can let him come in this week for the oath and finger print. Or can he come in on Thursday or Friday. Lgs2013683024. I can not thank you enough ma.

Eek, all the good questions are coming while I'm out! I hope you got a satisfactory answer from LagosIV@state.gov.

Gabbyking:
Dearest CO,
I have been going through this Trend for a while and you've been so sweet. It has already answered some of my questions. I got married to my wife who is a U.S Citizen in Nigeria. She filed i 130 petition and case received on 30th March,2015 and routed to Nebraska Service center. Notice of action in standard mail received. Now we are waiting for a snail mail for the approval notice . Please how long do you think this whole process is going to take, knowing that our case is a straight one. As I have no immigration or criminal issue and never married before? Do you also think we need to start preparing our AOS document?
Thanks for your time.

It usually takes at least six to eight months for a petition to be approved. I think now is a good time to start working on the AOS -- especially as they don't expire, so you don't have to worry about that. Good luck!

shamecurls:
Hello Madam,

I must commend you for the great job you have been doing on these thread. May God grant you all your heart desire. I will like to know if a US born baby has a legal right to medicaid. Its been a serious argument on different threads and will appreciate if you can help clarify. E.g If an immigrant mother pays all her delivery bills and applies for medicaid for the child in the US. As she breached any law?

I will appreciate your response.

Thanks in advance.

The U.S.-born baby has the same right to Medicaid as any other U.S. citizen. If the family's income level qualifies the child for Medicaid, the child should receive Medicaid. No laws would be breached in applying to receive those benefits.

Now, for non-immigrants, and for immigrants-to-be, people do have to overcome public charge concerns to receive a visa to the United States. But once someone is in the United States as a Legal Permanent Resident or a citizen, if he or she qualifies to receive a benefit, no law is broken by applying for that benefit or by receiving it. Again, in the example you gave, this is especially true for the baby, who was born in the U.S. and therefore enjoys all the rights of citizenship.

According to http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/what-public-benefits-can-green-card-holder-receive.html :

Medicaid (Full-Scope and Emergency)

Medicaid is a health coverage program for low-income individuals, children, families, elderly, and the disabled. Each state runs a Medicaid program, though many give it a different name.

Two types of opportunities for medical care are offered under Medicaid: Emergency Medicaid and Full-Scope Medicaid. Permanent residents generally qualify for Emergency Medicaid without exception, assuming they meet the general, non-immigration-related eligibility requirements.

To qualify for Full-Scope Medicaid, permanent residents must, in most cases, have been a permanent resident for five years. A handful of states require 40 quarters of work before providing Full-Scope Medicaid benefits.

To find out whether your state provides Full-Scope Medicaid to permanent residents who are under 21 or pregnant, contact your local, county or state public benefits office.

Your state also may provide green card holders certain medical benefits funded without Medicaid money.

(The five-year rule mentioned above doesn't apply to the baby, because the baby is not a Legal Permanent Resident; the baby is a U.S. citizen.)

bukolacole:
. God bless America for this. Good day ma, how was your weekend ma? Please my question is, let assume a Legal Permanent Resident, (Green Card Holder) of ages 5,6,7 and even 10, but not of full age (18 or 21) checked out of The United States for like 5 to 10 years and now wish to return to the States, will he need another immigrant processes to return or he can return as a returnee without new Visa ma? Thanks ma.

To qualify for Returning Resident status, people have to show that their prolonged absence was involuntary and beyond their control. In general, we consider that everything that happens to a minor is involuntary and beyond the minor's control. So they wouldn't have to go through the full immigrant visa process again. Instead, they could apply for Returning Resident status, which is much quicker.

There are some exceptions -- recently we interviewed a young person who chose to return to college in Nigeria when technically still a minor, and didn't try to go back to the States for years. But that person had spent less than two weeks total in the U.S. several years ago, so it was hard to make the case that there was any residence to return to. Usually, with children / minors, we're quite lenient.

Hope this helps!

iamoluwafemi:


Good morning ma, I received a mail from LagosIV to complete and submit the attached contact sheet sent to my email. Being that our marriage is 2 years now,can I request that our visa status be updated to IR1 instead of the CR1 with which we began with, and If yes, how do I go about it.

Many thanks and God bless you.
LGS2014572028, LGS2014625024 and LGS2014625026.

I'll make the updates when I'm back in the office. Please remind the officer at the next interview to check, too. Thanks!

stevewale:
Good morning ma. Hope you had a great weekend? Sorry to bother you mam.

My fiance's dad has gotten another sponsor for me and she already sent all necessary docs to us.

Please I will be submitting same along with my passport on Thursday.

Her gross for the recent years and tax used are:

2013 - $33,080.00
2012 - $38,028.00
2011 - $35,315.00

(SHE HAS JUST ONE DEPENDENT, HER 5 YEAR OLD SON)

Please hope I am fine and good to go with this

Thanks for your usual patience in answering our questions ... Good God will reward you ma

Looks good to me!

ezychris:


Thanks ma
Please ma, how then can I get an immigrant visa?

Unfortunately, not everyone is eligible for an immigrant visa. It sounds like you don't belong to one of the categories of eligible immigrants at this time.

You might consider tailoring your studies in such a way that a qualifying employer would be interested in bringing you to the U.S. as an employee. Take a look at the section on employment-based visas at http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/immigrate/immigrant-process.html .

cobless:
vo can attestation of birth from NPC be used if birth certificate is lost.

Yes, it can.

ijenma1:
Good morning VO, pls i will like to confirm this from you. i wedded last yr 29th Dec 2014, at Assumpta cathedral owerri. we were given a marriage testimonial by the church not a marriage cert. does the embassy accept this also . My husband has gone back to the states and already filed .

We do need to see a marriage certificate, not a marriage testimonial. If Assumpta Cathedral is registered with the Nigerian Government as a place of worship that may issue marriage certificates for ceremonies performed there, we would accept a marriage certificate from the Cathedral.

good day ma,pls i will be grateful if u will answer my question,i went for the interview with my husband and my one year pules baby,they granted my husband visa,i and my baby was not given, the rejection was on section 124b and intent to go for another interview by ending of dis month but not with my baby pls help me out.The visa officer ask why are u traveling we told her for vacation and to have our second baby ,after asking my husband were do u work he told her.she ask me were do i work i told her, hw much is the medial fees ,she ask how long am we staying i told her that me and my baby is staying for 2month while my husband is for 3weeks that was all she said that my husband is qualify while me and my baby is not. pls help me out for my next interview.thanks.

Vickyc92:
good day vo pls im new on nairaland my questions goes like this,(1) my dad made a petition for a family based iv for me, my mom and my siblings then i was under 18 years and now am 23years so i want to know if im still eligible to travel,(2)my mom case seems to be treated faster than that of my siblings and i cos my dad says they want us to go for a dna test so i want to know if my mom will be interviewed before us as her own case is now with the NVC and ours is still in USCIS does it mean she will be given her visa before my siblings and i and will it affect us, finally im single but i have a baby girl will being a single mother affect my visa i mean adversely

Is your father a Legal Permanent Resident, or a U.S. citizen?

It does sound like your mother's case is moving more quickly. But if she wants to wait for you, she can ask us to keep her case open until your cases are ready to be processed. (Keeping her case open prevents a situation in which her visa expires before her children's visas are issued.)

Being a single mother will not adversely affect your visa. In fact, if your father is still a Legal Permanent Resident, the baby can be included in your case. (If he is a citizen, it's complicated; if you're an IR2 you can't have derivatives, but if you're an F1, you can.)

myelle:
good day ma,pls i will be grateful if u will answer my question,i went for the interview with my husband and my one year pules baby,they granted my husband visa,i and my baby was not given, the rejection was on section 124b and intent to go for another interview by ending of dis month but not with my baby pls help me out.The visa officer ask why are u traveling we told her for vacation and to have our second baby ,after asking my husband were do u work he told her.she ask me were do i work i told her, hw much is the medial fees ,she ask how long am we staying i told her that me and my baby is staying for 2month while my husband is for 3weeks that was all she said that my husband is qualify while me and my baby is not. pls help me out for my next interview.thanks.

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

Good Evening madam,
My dad filed an i-130 for myself and siblings but USCIS demanded for a DNA test. My dad has done his and the laboratory in the US sent the DNA kits to the embassy and the tracking says it was received over the weekend. I will like to know how long does it take the embassy to schedule the beneficiary for DNA test with a panel physician and what we need to come with when coming for the DNA test. Thanking in anticipation.

Aburoy:
Good Evening madam,
My dad filed an i-130 for myself and siblings but USCIS demanded for a DNA test. My dad has done his and the laboratory in the US sent the DNA kits to the embassy and the tracking says it was received over the weekend. I will like to know how long does it take the embassy to schedule the beneficiary for DNA test with a panel physician and what we need to come with when coming for the DNA test. Thanking in anticipation.

We should be in touch with your family next week to schedule the appointment. However, the waiting period for USCIS DNA tests is extremely long at the moment -- several months from now, unfortunately. I wish I had better news for you. All you'll need is your passport or other government-issued photo identification.

wow, that is a long time. The deadline given by USCIS will elapse in 2weeks. will you advice he writes to apply for an extension to the deadline given considering the long queue of People for DNA Test?

Regards
Roy

VisaOfficer:


To qualify for Returning Resident status, people have to show that their prolonged absence was involuntary and beyond their control. In general, we consider that everything that happens to a minor is involuntary and beyond the minor's control. So they wouldn't have to go through the full immigrant visa process again. Instead, they could apply for Returning Resident status, which is much quicker.

There are some exceptions -- recently we interviewed a young person who chose to return to college in Nigeria when technically still a minor, and didn't try to go back to the States for years. But that person had spent less than two weeks total in the U.S. several years ago, so it was hard to make the case that there was any residence to return to. Usually, with children / minors, we're quite lenient.

Hope this helps!

. Sure it really helps, thanks ma.

Dear vo,pls my hubby made a mistake while filling d Ds 260 form for immigrant visa,d mistake is on his country of birth,should I notify d vo during my interview or I should wait for me to b asked abt it,can the mistake lead to my visa denial,thanks.will be looking forward to ur answer.

oloriakinyemi:

Smiles

Goodmorning vo,how was your weekend?please ma,my husband submitted our original birth and marriage certificate and other documents to the USCIS when he started the petition and we have not been able to get them back till now,he called them again last week and they told him the documents are with the NVC,he called the NVC yesterday they told him they have only the police certificate and that it's expired(though have done another one)what do you think we should do cos we would need the originals for my interview and secondly ma,please where can we get the new affidavit of support form?cos he called NVC yesterday to confirm the one he printed but they told him the one he printed it's the old one.LGS2014690030.thanks ma

Hi VO,

I have a priority date of Aug 22 2013 (f2a category) which is about to be current in May. I am the beneficiary while my husband is the petitioner. Trying to get my docs together to send to nvc but our lawyer insists my passport must have at least a year's validity on it so as not to delay processing because we would still need to file an i601 waiver. I currently have 8 months validity left on the passport and the Nigeria Immigration Service won't renew any passport with more than 6 months validity. Can I still send a copy of my passport data page as is to nvc, and get another when or before my interview is scheduled? Would that delay or affect any process?

Good morning vo, I must Thank you for this opportunity given.. Thanks.. please I will like to know those documents needed to be send by my fiancee to me and the embassy filing for my immigrant. and also how many weeks would it take to be called for interview?? please I will be glad and appreciate if you can tell me all the necessary documents involve in this case so as to avoid mistakes and to have a successful immigrant visa application.. thanks in anticipation of your timely response.. N.b. she is US citizen.. Thanks and God bless once more

VisaOfficer:


You should be physically present in the U.S. -- otherwise we have no reason to issue an immigrant visa to your spouse, as the purpose of an immigrant visa is family reunification. However, if your husband can convince the interviewing officer that you plan to relocate to the U.S. together, theoretically in that case we could issue the visa.

You can file the I-130 at any time, although USCIS will want to know what your mailing address in the U.S. is. You can file even if you haven't filed tax returns -- you're correct that you'll need a joint sponsor.

Thank you very much for thorough answer. After filing I-130 I will have to wait several years before consular processing. Can I travel outside of the US with pending I-130? And I'm on reentry permit. Does being on reentry permit and being abroad for some time affects my case adversely?

During 2-3 years probably my address will change. Will I we be able to change address shown on petition during interview.

Thank you very much.

Hello. I received an email from NVC in January that they had finished reviewing my case and will contact me when an interview had been scheduled for me. This is as regards an F4 application.
I am yet to receive an interview date and I had a new baby a month ago who is not on the application.
I will like to know the process involved in adding my new baby to the application.
Thank you.

teefah80:
Hello. I received an email from NVC in January that they had finished reviewing my case and will contact me when an interview had been scheduled for me. This is as regards an F4 application.
I am yet to receive an interview date and I had a new baby a month ago who is not on the application.
I will like to know the process involved in adding my new baby to the application.
Thank you.

what year did u file for f4 I mean ur priority date?

Thank you for your prompt reply.
My priority date is 03 March 2004.

okay.

VisaOfficer:


The U.S.-born baby has the same right to Medicaid as any other U.S. citizen. If the family's income level qualifies the child for Medicaid, the child should receive Medicaid. No laws would be breached in applying to receive those benefits.

Now, for non-immigrants, and for immigrants-to-be, people do have to overcome public charge concerns to receive a visa to the United States. But once someone is in the United States as a Legal Permanent Resident or a citizen, if he or she qualifies to receive a benefit, no law is broken by applying for that benefit or by receiving it. Again, in the example you gave, this is especially true for the baby, who was born in the U.S. and therefore enjoys all the rights of citizenship.

According to http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/what-public-benefits-can-green-card-holder-receive.html :

Medicaid (Full-Scope and Emergency)

Medicaid is a health coverage program for low-income individuals, children, families, elderly, and the disabled. Each state runs a Medicaid program, though many give it a different name.

Two types of opportunities for medical care are offered under Medicaid: Emergency Medicaid and Full-Scope Medicaid. Permanent residents generally qualify for Emergency Medicaid without exception, assuming they meet the general, non-immigration-related eligibility requirements.

To qualify for Full-Scope Medicaid, permanent residents must, in most cases, have been a permanent resident for five years. A handful of states require 40 quarters of work before providing Full-Scope Medicaid benefits.

To find out whether your state provides Full-Scope Medicaid to permanent residents who are under 21 or pregnant, contact your local, county or state public benefits office.

Your state also may provide green card holders certain medical benefits funded without Medicaid money.

(The five-year rule mentioned above doesn't apply to the baby, because the baby is not a Legal Permanent Resident; the baby is a U.S. citizen.)

Thanks very much Madam.... I sincerely appreciate your response. So what i have deducted from your write-up with regards to my example is that the child has a right to access medicaid but the non-immigrant has to pay her bills in full and get her Zero-balance statement for visa renewal. I hope accessing a medic aid for the baby wont deny the mother a visa renewal?

Sorry for over emphasizing madam....I just want to be very sure without mixing up points.

Thanks in advance

VisaOfficer:


Good morning Andriy,

Based on what you've written, your ban has expired and you are no longer ineligible, so you can just apply. The officer will likely be rather curious about whether you intend to use your next visa properly -- but now that you are in your 30s the officer will be more interested in your current situation than in a mistake you made when you were 19. If you are forthcoming about the experience in 2001, the officer is not likely to hold the experience against you. Good luck!

Dear VO,
Thank you for your responce!
I did apply for a b1/b2 visa this week.Seems like the interview went great,the VO in Kiev,UA was very kind and nice. That day I was told that my case will go through Administrative Processing. I realize I need to be patient and expect a result within next 60 days...out of your experience,do all applicants who violated immigration rules have to go through the same thing (administrative processing)??
Thank you

By the way, VO, are you vacationing here in Nigeria?

Good evening Madam,
Hope your day was stress free. please i want to know what the waiting time for F1 visa is like. USCIS approved my i-130 and my priority date is february 2014

Aburoy:
wow, that is a long time. The deadline given by USCIS will elapse in 2weeks. will you advice he writes to apply for an extension to the deadline given considering the long queue of People for DNA Test?

Regards
Roy

USCIS is aware of our wait time. But it's a good idea to write them and remind them that they will need to give you an extension.

chimsyluv:
Dear vo,pls my hubby made a mistake while filling d Ds 260 form for immigrant visa,d mistake is on his country of birth,should I notify d vo during my interview or I should wait for me to b asked abt it,can the mistake lead to my visa denial,thanks.will be looking forward to ur answer.

A mistake like that won't lead to a visa denial on the immigrant visa side of the house (unless you're actually applying for a Diversity Visa). Just let the officer know at the time of the interview -- no wahala.

(About Diversity Visas -- we are seeing some applicants who were selected because they listed an incorrect country of birth, or because they listed incorrect countries of birth for their parents. In that case, yes, it will be a disqualification.)