LagosNIV:
Good morning everyone, VisaOfficer has departed Nigeria but it is clear that there are still many questions so I will make an effort to continue answering your questions!

I am a U.S. Foreign Service Officer working at the U.S. Consulate in Lagos, Nigeria. Like all of the VOs in Lagos, I handle both Non-Immigrant (NIV) and Immigrant Visa (IV) interviews. The purpose of this thread is to provide a forum for your questions about immigrant visas. My colleagues and I will make every effort to answer all questions within two business days.

Please note that we cannot answer questions about specific cases, except as based on the information provided here in this discussion thread. Any responses in this forum are not to be taken as legally binding, as they will be based only on what you tell us in your questions, not on the information in any actual case. While we will attempt to explain U.S. immigration policies, any opinions expressed are the personal views of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Government.

We may not be able to respond to every post in this thread, and we will not answer abusive posts. Also, please don't send me private messages -- I don't even read them. If you need personal attention, please send an e-mail to LagosIV@state.gov.

There is a separate thread for Non-Immigrant Visa Questions, also handled by U.S. Foreign Service Officers serving in Nigeria, at https://www.nairaland.com/1792662/u.s-non-immigrant-visas-listening . Please use this thread right here solely for questions about Immigrant Visas and Diversity Visas.

Regards,
LagosNIV

Good afternoon. Please I got an invitation on the 30th of march to come to the US in June. I couldn't apply since because I couldn't raise the visa fee due to insufficient funds caused by delay from clients. But now I've received payments and I want to apply this week by Gods grace. My question thus: Is there a guarantee I'd be given a visa? I'm aware it takes two weeks to process but I'm scared I might be denied due to the time I'm responding. Thank you in advance as I await your response.

drunkpunk:



Good afternoon. Please I got an invitation on the 30th of march to come to the US in June. I couldn't apply since because I couldn't raise the visa fee due to insufficient funds caused by delay from clients. But now I've received payments and I want to apply this week by Gods grace. My question thus: Is there a guarantee I'd be given a visa? I'm aware it takes two weeks to process but I'm scared I might be denied due to the time I'm responding. Thank you in advance as I await your response.

Is this an immigrant or non-immigrant visa question?

LagosNIV:


Is this an immigrant or non-immigrant visa question?

Non immigrant. Sorry I didn't state it

drunkpunk:

Non immigrant. Sorry I didn't state it

Please read my post that you quoted regarding non-immigrant questions...

Greetings, I am a US citizen I am petitioning for my single mother. She already has the embassy interview next moth. She gets the IR5 visa. I also have minor siblings that live with her in my country. I have been researching and I know that this type of visa does not qualify for a derivative. My siblings are 12 and 14. Their father renounced his legal right many years ago; in fact, he is being prosecuted for not paying child support. I would like to know, If I write to the consular in my country and explain the situation, will he be able to grant any kind of "exception" so the family doesn't have to be ripped apart? If so, what are the steps or forms I need to fill out or pay for the minor children? and, will my inquiry hurt my mom's case? I don't want to risk it and have the consular denying the visa for my mom. I thank you in advance for your time and consideration.

LagosNIV:


Immigrant petitions are filed with USCIS - we don't see them at the embassy until that agency determines that it is complete and sends it to us. A lot of it depends on you, so I have no way of knowing how fast the process will move for you.

. Thank you sir. I really really appreciate sir, my fiance got a message from the uscis, she call them and make the complain about the embassy sending our file back and they reply her back by telling to wait for the file to be reafirm and return back to the consular.

She is happy about that any way but the uscis said it will take 180 days for the file to get back to them. Please tell me sir. Will it take upto that . Please advise.

please can you reply to my inquiry in this link
https://www.nairaland.com/2669622/u.s-immigration-questions-ask-u.s/29#45518351

Sir. we have been under Administrative processing since Nov 2015, and this is the second admin processing , initially the case was in US embassy London, and it was in admin processing there for like 5months before they told us to come in for another interview, but they sent the case to Lagos because my husband who is the beneficiary does not have a residency in the UK, when the case got to lagos my husband was interviewed on Oct 2015 (we just had our new born baby in August 2015) he went to the interview with the birth certificate. after the interview he was told that his visa is approved and he should go and collect it in 10 business days, but instead we were thrown into administrative processing since then. Please what exactly is going on? even now the baby is almost 1yr old and have never seen his father, please what exactly is been done during this admin processing(if you dont mind sharing that info)? its almost 7month in Admin processing.

mishicokpi:
Greetings, I am a US citizen I am petitioning for my single mother. She already has the embassy interview next moth. She gets the IR5 visa. I also have minor siblings that live with her in my country. I have been researching and I know that this type of visa does not qualify for a derivative. My siblings are 12 and 14. Their father renounced his legal right many years ago; in fact, he is being prosecuted for not paying child support. I would like to know, If I write to the consular in my country and explain the situation, will he be able to grant any kind of "exception" so the family doesn't have to be ripped apart? If so, what are the steps or forms I need to fill out or pay for the minor children? and, will my inquiry hurt my mom's case? I don't want to risk it and have the consular denying the visa for my mom. I thank you in advance for your time and consideration.

Unfortunately there is no means for your IR5 mother to bring over derivatives. If the siblings are your brother and sister, you could file for F4 visas. This doesn't weigh against your mom, but it is probably something she will want to consider before choosing to immigrate to the US.

bolahanna:
please can you reply to my inquiry in this link
https://www.nairaland.com/2669622/u.s-immigration-questions-ask-u.s/29#45518351

... I am trying to help folks but you need to put in a little bit of effort of your own. Look at the post IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING YOUR OWN where I answered your question.

yehmesee:
Sir, LND2012855002. we have been under Administrative processing since Nov 2015, and this is the second admin processing , initially the case was in US embassy London, and it was in admin processing there for like 5months before they told us to come in for another interview, but they sent the case to Lagos because my husband who is the beneficiary does not have a residency in the UK, when the case got to lagos my husband was interviewed on Oct 2015 (we just had our new born baby in August 2015) he went to the interview with the birth certificate. after the interview he was told that his visa is approved and he should go and collect it in 10 business days, but instead we were thrown into administrative processing since then. Please what exactly is going on? even now the baby is almost 1yr old and have never seen his father, please what exactly is been done during this admin processing(if you dont mind sharing that info)? its almost 7month in Admin processing.

Certain cases, depending on their particular circumstances, occasionally have to go through administrative processing to meet US legal requirements. We complete these as quickly as possible. I cannot comment on a specific case on this forum, but I can assure you that we work to resolve these cases as quickly as possible.

janice321:
Hello VO, I need help on the the following:
I met my spouse online 15years ago but after sometimes we stopped dating due to distance n she adviced me to go and get married in nigeria to avoid wasting my time about 6 years ago but few years into the marriage I did not work out.
So I went to file for divorce in the law court here in Nigeria case yet to be dissolved.
However in one of my recent trip to US I met my former gf who advice me to get marry then, I narrated my ordeal to her and I discovered we are in love again. To formalize it ,can I get married to her without informing the embassy once the divorce paper is out from court because I will be going again next month to visit on my B1/B2 visa?
I have intention of coming back because my business is still here in Nigeria a I v been doing in the past four years.
Also she said if I married her I must be ready to relocate, which is the best type of visa to applied for ?

The B1/B2 visa is a non-immigrant visa. In the future I will just have these posts removed because people don't seem to want to read what this thread is about, and it is cluttering the thread for people who actually want to read about immigrant visa issues.

Hi LagosNIV, Thanks for the great response and been helpful to some of us. I have been following this thread and the rest of the related threads for a very long time now. I have a lady i'm dating at the moment, we met online for over 3 months now, and we talk everyday, exchange emails, video calls and all sorts because i'm so much in love with her, she's a us citizen, she will be coming here in 3 months to meet me and my family. She already have the intensions of filing a k1 when she return. I went on uscis website and it says we must have met within the last 2 years, this something i really don't understand. My question is number 1, is it too early for her to file despite we are going to have a communication history of 6months once she return, question number2, is it too early to file? question 3, Should we wait for at least over a year to file?


Plus she meets all the requirements, earning over 25k per year, and she's single.

Dear LagosNIV,

After my IV interview yesterday morning, the VO said everything is okay but I need to provide my petitioner's Tax Return to GSS Document Collection Center. He gave me a white paper form and write Tax Return.

I suspect he did not check properly or maybe he just need to see Tax for 2015 because there is a page in between the W-2 Statement having U.S. Individual Income Tax Return for 3years (2012, 2013 and 2014). He only said, I can't see Tax Return. I decided not to say anything.

But I forgot to ask him when to submit? And also to know if there is a time limit for submission.

Please, kindly help me with this information because right now I'm confused.

Good morning VO,
Greetings to you.
My fiance is about to file a k1 for me,but I have a concern : I was married under native law and custom and applied for divorce in a customary court,but my husband refused to attend proceedings even after he had been served papers,i eventually got the divorce and custody of our only child, whom I have been taking care of,without a single help from my ex. Now I got introduced to someone and we fell in love and he wants me with him. But I know my ex will never give his consent for my daughter,who is now 14,to leave with me,and consent of the other parent is required for a k2 visa.
My daughter has known no other parent except me.
What can be done under the circumstances to ensure I travel with my daughter.
Please kindly be detailed and explicit in your response. I can't leave my daughter behind.
Thank you so much in anticipation of your response. .

Good day... I intend moving (relocating) to the US with my wife and son. Please what are the procedures and my chances?

Good evening vo, please sir how long does it take before a petition filed for a 23year old son of a USC to be called for interview at the embassy?? I hear it takes up to 10years

I'm a beneficiary in my moms DV win back in 2011 but I didn't travel with her. But is there any chance of still traveling as a beneficiary ??

My last question sir is there any chance of getting a visit visa as a beneficiary for Immigrant visa ? to have spend some time with my mom before my nysc start later this year...

Thanks sir

hello sir,

my husband filed another petition for me using his last name.
please, i would love to know if I need to make another international passport with a name change or if it is ok to continue using my old passport
my old passport is valid for 5 years and it is only a year old.
I have Legal documents to back up my new name (husband's last name).

thank you.

I have a K1 that is in process at USCIS. My fiance and I have a very very bad fight (over something someone said via Facebook, go figure) in which I wrote an enflamed email to USCIS to withdraw my petition. Long story short, my petition is on security hold anyway and the withdrawal wasn't processed cause it wasn't in writing. I called the service center and was told by a tier two to send another email that I won't be withdrawing. So if all that utter confusion and self imposed foolishness works out and yeilds an approved petition, will those emails place doubt on the bona fide of the relationship at the DOS interview stage or will it just be viewed as a lovers fight? Also this is our second K1./the first was denied. This is very stressful for us.

Mossrules:
Hi LagosNIV, Thanks for the great response and been helpful to some of us. I have been following this thread and the rest of the related threads for a very long time now. I have a lady i'm dating at the moment, we met online for over 3 months now, and we talk everyday, exchange emails, video calls and all sorts because i'm so much in love with her, she's a us citizen, she will be coming here in 3 months to meet me and my family. She already have the intensions of filing a k1 when she return. I went on uscis website and it says we must have met within the last 2 years, this something i really don't understand. My question is number 1, is it too early for her to file despite we are going to have a communication history of 6months once she return, question number2, is it too early to file? question 3, Should we wait for at least over a year to file?


Plus she meets all the requirements, earning over 25k per year, and she's single.

You need to have met before she files for the visa, so yes, at this time it is too early to file. When she comes in 3 months she will be eligible to file. There is no need to wait a year though.

emmotions:
Dear LagosNIV,

After my IV interview yesterday morning, the VO said everything is okay but I need to provide my petitioner's Tax Return to GSS Document Collection Center. He gave me a white paper form and write Tax Return.

I suspect he did not check properly or maybe he just need to see Tax for 2015 because there is a page in between the W-2 Statement having U.S. Individual Income Tax Return for 3years (2012, 2013 and 2014). He only said, I can't see Tax Return. I decided not to say anything.

But I forgot to ask him when to submit? And also to know if there is a time limit for submission.

Please, kindly help me with this information because right now I'm confused.

If you know that a document is in the file or can provide it at the time of the interview, that is always the fastest way to get these things done. That being said, you should read the white paper as it has all the instructions on how and where to drop off additional information. The case can't move forward until you've dropped the necessary paperwork off, but there is no time limit unless you fail to provide the information for at least 1 year.

platinum131:
Good morning VO,
Greetings to you.
My fiance is about to file a k1 for me,but I have a concern : I was married under native law and custom and applied for divorce in a customary court,but my husband refused to attend proceedings even after he had been served papers,i eventually got the divorce and custody of our only child, whom I have been taking care of,without a single help from my ex. Now I got introduced to someone and we fell in love and he wants me with him. But I know my ex will never give his consent for my daughter,who is now 14,to leave with me,and consent of the other parent is required for a k2 visa.
My daughter has known no other parent except me.
What can be done under the circumstances to ensure I travel with my daughter.
Please kindly be detailed and explicit in your response. I can't leave my daughter behind.
Thank you so much in anticipation of your response. .

As you've stated, the other parents' consent is necessary. These are the U.S. immigration laws. How you manage this situation with your ex or choose to move forward with the immigration process is ultimately a personal decision that only you can make.

Hebunn:
Good day... I intend moving (relocating) to the US with my wife and son. Please what are the procedures and my chances?

Your first step should be to review the publicly available information here:
Then, you should consider reading through this thread in its entirety. Most of the information you are looking for is readily available. https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/immigrate.html

Emmanuelson:
Good evening vo, please sir how long does it take before a petition filed for a 23year old son of a USC to be called for interview at the embassy?? I hear it takes up to 10years

I'm a beneficiary in my moms DV win back in 2011 but I didn't travel with her. But is there any chance of still traveling as a beneficiary ??

My last question sir is there any chance of getting a visit visa as a beneficiary for Immigrant visa ? to have spend some time with my mom before my nysc start later this year...

Thanks sir

The length of time you have to wait depends on many factors - after the petition has been approved you will be given a "priority date" number. When that date is current, you can complete the interview. That being said, it will take several years.

Unfortunately, you are no longer elegible to travel as a beneficiary on your mom's DV. She can file for you under a different visa class though.

Is it possible to get a B1/B2 tourist visa? Yes, but you have to meet the requirements.

BestWifey:
hello sir,

my husband filed another petition for me using his last name.
please, i would love to know if I need to make another international passport with a name change or if it is ok to continue using my old passport
my old passport is valid for 5 years and it is only a year old.
I have Legal documents to back up my new name (husband's last name).

thank you.

You can manage this however you want to, but the name on the passport is the name we will have to issue the visa under and is therefore the name that will appear on your U.S. documents, so it is up to you if you want to get a new passport or keep the old one.

mykaboo:
I have a K1 that is in process at USCIS. My fiance and I have a very very bad fight (over something someone said via Facebook, go figure) in which I wrote an enflamed email to USCIS to withdraw my petition. Long story short, my petition is on security hold anyway and the withdrawal wasn't processed cause it wasn't in writing. I called the service center and was told by a tier two to send another email that I won't be withdrawing. So if all that utter confusion and self imposed foolishness works out and yeilds an approved petition, will those emails place doubt on the bona fide of the relationship at the DOS interview stage or will it just be viewed as a lovers fight? Also this is our second K1./the first was denied. This is very stressful for us.

Threatening to withdraw someone's immigrant petition goes a bit beyond a lover's spat, don't you think? Of course this can play a factor in future interview.

LagosNIV:


Threatening to withdraw someone's immigrant petition goes a bit beyond a lover's spat, don't you think? Of course this can play a factor in future interview.

Yes it is more. Built up silence on other issues that erupts when you are doing everything in your power over a two year period and your fiance mentions another's opinion who is doing zero zilch Nada. People consider divorce and they get counseling and work things out. People consider breakups and they work towards better communication and work things out. No difference just we are being evaluated and have to seem issueless, unfortunately....

LagosNIV:


Your first step should be to review the publicly available information here:
Then, you should consider reading through this thread in its entirety. Most of the information you are looking for is readily available. https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/immigrate.html

Thanks so much for the prompt response... Really appreciate.

I have an appointment a week today and I just noticed I made an error while filling out the form. My month of birth is July and I mistakenly typed May and also for the section where they asked if i've travelled out of tthe country,i typed NO instead of YES cos i've visited some other countries. Pls is is possible I can fill out another form and if I can't,what do I do about it?

Dear VO, what is the difference between K1 and K2 visa?
How can I convert my B1/B2 visa to the either above? I.e k1 or k2 because m planning to get married few month soon when I travel.

LagosNIV:


As you've stated, the other parents' consent is necessary. These are the U.S. immigration laws. How you manage this situation with your ex or choose to move forward with the immigration process is ultimately a personal decision that only you can make.

Dear VO,
Thank you for your response, it is appreciated.
I know how I choose to go about it is a personal decision.
Like I said earlier,and you agreed,the other parents' consent is necessary.
But my question is this :
In the absence of consent,are there other options /alternatives that I can explore that would be accepted by the US embassy.
Thank you in anticipation.