Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Africa: Sub-Saharan	going to pursue CR-1, live with him abroad (not in his home country). how will this affect the visa process	Believe it or not, a long distance never-met-him-before relationship IS STILL a relationship. And that is seriously the only thing you noticed about everything that I said to you in this thread? Like someone else pointed out downthread, believing your plan to be a good idea would take a healthy dose of ignoring everything you don't want to hear, and ignoring everything a poster says except the one thing you can snark about is a classic symptom of that. Best of luck! (Also, religion and claiming to have religious ideals/motives is a classic lure and a great way to convince someone to let her guard down. Many people who are not at all involved in the religious world are well-versed in the lingo and would be perfectly capable of making someone think that they are the most devout people to ever walk the planet. So the missionary part? I'm not buying it.)	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2012-05-15 06:21:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	going to pursue CR-1, live with him abroad (not in his home country). how will this affect the visa process	People said I was too young and naive. And we're fine now. She can do it if they really are determined to be together. They just have work harder than usual in the relationship. Young and naive can work out okay. But...what relationship? Someone you have never met is not worth "work[ing] harder than usual" (and what is "usual" at age 20?).	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2012-05-14 15:55:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	going to pursue CR-1, live with him abroad (not in his home country). how will this affect the visa process	Kindly read my post before replying. Being snippy isn't really going to help you get the support you need here on VJ. Also, I'm a planner too, believe me, and it is certainly good to think ahead of time about what the process will require if you should mutually decide to pursue a life together. But I would really question the motives of a guy who is willing to commit to someone from the other side of the world, sight unseen. Ask yourself if a reasonable adult would make a decision like this if he A) had an occupation, a good income, and a full life in his home country (I'm making an assumption that he does not, since you mentioned that he is in another country without a work visa), and B) involving someone from his home country. I would guess not. So, if he is willing to suspend the usual processes of being careful and cautious about something that will impact the rest of his life, why is this? The consular officers will assume that this is due to your nationality and potential to bring him to the U.S. (I'm also intrigued by the insurance settlement that you mentioned, which if he knows about it, could also be assumed to play a role in his decision-making processes.) I'm also in the situation of making a gamble on someone from a mostly unfamiliar country, but we made that decision together after hitting it off in person and having our connection to each other attain "critical mass" through spending enough time together that we were willing to make sacrifices to pursue being together. Having interacted with someone online would not be nearly enough to justify making those sacrifices, for me. What if you go through all of this planning and traveling to visit him, and when you get there, find that he is really just not who you thought he would be, or vice versa? I wouldn't want you to go ahead with your plan just because you have constructed this Epic Love Story that must culminate in riding off into the sunset together, and would find it too jarring, upsetting, or embarrassing to deviate from the script. Another issue that you haven't discussed is your potential to support him once he gets here. You say that you are 20 and unemployed. Co-sponsors are definitely an option, but I've read that co-sponsors may not be enough if you do not have the potential to generate a higher income yourself in the future. At 20, many people are enrolled in college and can be expected to earn more after graduation, but I'm not sure what your situation is or whether this is the case for you. Just some food for thought: if the shoe fits, and all... Edited by afoyoswa, 14 May 2012 - 10:19 AM.	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2012-05-14 10:18:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	going to pursue CR-1, live with him abroad (not in his home country). how will this affect the visa process	How/where did you two meet each other online? Why is there such a rush that you would get married on the same visit as meeting each other? Reading your story, I feel really skeptical that you know what you are getting into and that this guy is legitimate if you have planned out this entire sequence of events before ever even meeting him, and if I am skeptical, a consular officer is going to be even more skeptical. Please be careful. (In other words, everything newlyweds2010 said.)	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2012-05-13 18:15:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Nairobi embassy experience - April 2012 - Help!!!	You might try posting about your situation in the Nairobi Embassy thread because there are loads of people there with experience with this embassy, but no one will be able to give you very much advice unless you fill in your timeline or provide specifics about your process. You mention some type of visa, but your profile refers to naturalization (yours?), so I'm not clear on what you're trying to do.	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2012-04-19 08:26:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Upcoming Holidays	All of my experience is with East Africa, so it's possible none of this applies to Ghana, but: --Christmas really isn't a huge holiday the way it is in the U.S. People in Uganda typically celebrate by traveling to spend time with their rural relatives (usually one's father's extended family). Lots of food and socializing, but very little or no emphasis on gifts. Same thing for New Year's. --The recommendations I got for things to bring were useful items such as sheet sets, kitchen towels, etc. Also, nice bath products: lotion, shower gel, and such. These things went over really well. In the U.S., a luxury food item (fancy cookies or candy in a gift box) is an acceptable gift for nearly any occasion: in Uganda, such a thing can't be given as a gift at all, so that's something to keep in mind. Have fun!	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2012-11-11 19:13:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	What's the difference again?	Not Lagos, but we front-loaded for Nairobi & were very, very meticulous about assembling the petition package (lots of labels, lists, captions, etc.). At the interview (for which I was in town, but of course not allowed to attend), he was only asked a few questions (mostly about my visits, whereabouts, etc.) and the CO did not ask for any additional evidence. So, front-loading was definitely worthwhile in our case.	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2012-11-16 09:03:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	hey guys	For Nairobi, you don't mail in any documentation ahead of time: just bring it all to the interview.	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2012-11-22 09:23:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	happy thanksgiving!	Just saw this thread. My Ugandan sweetheart arrived in the U.S. 2 days before Thanksgiving, so we were fortunate enough to spend the day together with some friends. I cooked: --turkey --mashed potatoes --gravy --green bean casserole --creamed spinach --chorizo stuffing --cranberry sauce --apple cranberry crisp --banana bread He liked everything except the spinach, and especially liked the turkey and gravy and banana bread. It's not a holiday he's familiar with, so we didn't add any Ugandan food to the meal, but he cooked a nice Ugandan meal on Saturday once we'd overdosed a little on leftovers: so tasty! In general, he's still getting used to the food here, but likes or will tolerate most of what we've eaten. The idea was to share the cooking, but so far I've been handling the majority of it because most of the ingredients I have around are things he doesn't really know how to use (i.e. processed foods). We're heading to the outdoor produce market tonight to pick up some stuff he can cook with!	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2012-11-30 09:30:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	You know you're Husband is African when.......	I know a Ugandan who goes by Sunday, but from what I understand, his given name is Sidney.	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2012-08-09 08:25:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	You know you're Husband is African when.......	We're not married (yet!), but some funny things so far... Last week, he traveled to another town for work. The hotel he stayed in had a hot shower, and he was telling me about how much he prefers the basin bath with cold water he's used to at home. (I told him that he is more than welcome to use only the cold tap in the shower here in Boston in January, haha.) Oh, and he told me that he wouldn't mind inviting the whole world to our wedding. I want something as closely akin to a Ugandan-style wedding as possible, with no sit-down $100/plate dinners or worries about head count, so that would suit me just fine. At least, all the *nice* people in the whole world.	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2012-06-21 08:48:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Happy Endings In Sub Sarahan	We are just working on sending the K-1 petition, so I am loving all the stories of what happens after they arrive (even the ones who are struggling), and especially all the babies. I am expecting a lot of adjustment challenges once he gets here, but it's hard to really imagine what they will be like, so it's been good to see more details about the things that came up. Best wishes to all of you!	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2012-01-11 11:38:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Nairobi Embassy Thread!	So how did u all do it? how did u all meet? Our situation was quite different from yours, but just for reference: We met each other in person first (met by chance through a friend/family member), then talked on the phone/via email for half a year before beginning a serious relationship and another half a year after that before talking about marriage. By the time we applied for the fiance visa, we'd known each other over a year and I'd visited 3 times. He got approved for his visa just before the 2 year point, during my 4th visit. To go through Nairobi for a fiance/spouse visa, you're going to want to have a lot of very solid relationship history before getting started: partially because that's what difficult consulates like Nairobi will want to see, but mostly because it's a long, uncertain, difficult process and many couples will never survive it otherwise. And it is definitely not inexpensive! I took a second job to help save up for the trips, fees, etc. and that made a huge difference, so this is one area where planning ahead is huge. You will also want to make sure that your income meets the U.S. poverty guidelines if you plan to sponsor her, or know someone who will agree to be a co-sponsor. (Use the VJ search function to find more about this.)	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2013-04-11 15:02:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Nairobi Embassy Thread!	hi congrats,,im in boston USA and my gf is in Kenya, we have decided to get going on getting her here for an visit. shall we go the college way, or vacation? we been talking online since december, can anyone help? Most people on this thread have gone or are going through the Nairobi embassy for fiance/ee or spouse visas, so there may not be a lot of knowledge here about other types. I'm not sure what you mean by "college way"--has she applied to some type of educational program here in the U.S.? I know people who have traveled to the U.S. for short fellowships and have been sponsored for exchange visitor visas by the institutions offering the programs, but the application/selection process for these programs is lengthy and the chance of being selected for a reputable one is very small (even for someone who has the particular educational/employment background desired), so it would be a lot of effort (both before and during the program, if accepted) and uncertainty to go through if the real objective is to visit a U.S. boyfriend. Plus, concealing the real purpose of the trip may backfire if you end up applying for family-based immigration benefits later, which would of course greatly benefit from being able to show relationship history before/during the visit. As for tourist visas, these are very difficult to obtain through Nairobi for anyone who is young and doesn't have strong evidence of ties to Kenya (owning property; having dependents to return to; having long-term, stable employment history, etc.). My Ugandan sister-in-law has lived in Nairobi for 6+ years, is married to a Kenyan man, and has 2 small children, and was not approved for a tourist visa to attend our wedding. Have you thought about going to Kenya to visit her, instead? Edited by afoyoswa, 11 April 2013 - 09:49 AM.	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2013-04-11 09:48:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Nairobi Embassy Thread!	One quick question about the police certificates: on the K visa instructions sheet, it says that "Each applicant is required to submit a police certificate from the police authorities OF EACH locality of the country of the applicant?s nationality or current residence where the applicant has resided for at least six months since attaining the age of sixteen." Since my fiancé has lived in three localities for 6 months or more, does this mean he needs to get police certificates from each one? As far as we were aware, the police certificate issued is by the CID in Nairobi is a "Certificate of Good Conduct" not limited to one locality, but applying to the entire country. Is this a correct interpretation? In your experiences is this the only one you/your fiancé(e)'s obtained? My (now) husband has lived in multiple cities in Uganda, but he only obtained one certificate of good conduct from the main police station in Kampala, and this was sufficient at the interview in Nairobi. So, it seems likely that this would also be the case for Kenya, but hopefully some past Kenyan applicants can comment? Good luck! Edited by afoyoswa, 26 March 2013 - 08:12 AM.	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2013-03-26 08:12:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Nairobi Embassy Thread!	Just checking in with everyone...how is everybody doing? Ben and I are wonderful I can't believe it's 2013 already. ... Ben isn't crazy about CHEESE...omggggggg! So, everytime I get together with friends and they ask what I want to eat.............PIZZAAAAAAAAAAAAAA, lolololol. Good to hear from you, Jill! And I hear you about the cheese! Aaron is quite willing to eat cheese and pizza for that matter, fortunately, but he still can't understand what the fuss is all about. He thinks eating plain cheese is just the same as eating butter. But he puts up with it, just like I'm eating a lot more white rice than I ever have, just because he so strongly prefers it to brown (which we do eat sometimes anyway). I haven't been around much lately because WE GOT MARRIED! Everything went so well. Things were tough and very stressful at times (especially with my family), but it made me feel so much closer to him to see how kind and gentle and supportive he was in the middle of all the craziness (and hopefully, vice versa!). Now we are putting the finishing touches on the AOS package, he is starting school next week, and we are talking about future timing for babies, a larger place to live, travel, etc. and generally enjoying each other immensely. I love going home every night. We've been joking about that Maroon 5 "Daylight" song and all the angst in it about how OH NO!!! the couple is going to be apart for a WHOLE DAY and not see each other until evening, but it kind of feels like that right now as silly as it is. SOOOO great having him here. And the obligatory gratuitous photo (okay, 2!): Hope everyone still in the embassy phase is hanging in there!	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2013-02-01 15:06:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Nairobi Embassy Thread!	Happy holidays to you all Just wanted to break the silence So, in the process of getting acquainted with my new home and switching from British English (in Kenya, we call it the Queen's language) to American English...I've learnt from my fiancé that the word 'thrice' does not exist in American English...you say 'three times' and the pronunciation of 'squirrels' is so different from Kenyan pronunciation This made me laugh! Aaron and the other Ugandans I know use lots of new-to-me expressions, especially to do with time, such as "yesternight" and "midday-thirty"/"midnight-thirty". I love them and find them perfectly comprehensible to a American-English speaker, so I hope he never stops using them.	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2012-12-03 14:05:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Nairobi Embassy Thread!	He's here! The first 6 days have gone better than I could have even imagined. It already feels like he's always been here. Hanging out with a frog at Boston Common... Edited by afoyoswa, 26 November 2012 - 12:56 PM.	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2012-11-26 12:55:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Nairobi Embassy Thread!	APPROVED!!!! I'll post a longer review from Aaron soon, but in general, it went really well. He got a (the?) blonde lady, and said that the interview lasted only 3 minutes and that she never looked at any of the documentation/photos he brought (i.e. she seemed to have already decided before seeing him). We are so relieved & happy!	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2012-11-06 03:33:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Nairobi Embassy Thread!	Hi everyone! Nairobi has mostly gone well so far, and more importantly, Aaron's medical exam was just fine, despite the 3 x-rays they insisted on giving him (and having us pay for). We're gearing up for the interview Monday. Hope all of you are well. I feel prepared due to all the stories and advice here, but of course I'm not the one actually going for the interview. We're going through all the paperwork I prepared (with expert VJ assistance) together, though, and I'm hoping the stack of paperwork will be fortifying for him at the embassy...	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2012-11-03 05:49:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Nairobi Embassy Thread!	Afoyoswa, you are going to love Kenya. I wish you safe travel and the very best in your interview. Looking forward to hearing the good news!!! God bless. I went for about 1.5 days in January and really liked what I saw, but I'm looking forward to spending enough time to actually see something this time! We'll be in/around Nairobi for 8-9 days, which should be fun. Good luck to you and Aaron, enjoy your trip and keep us posted waiting on the good news in progress.... Thanks! I'll try to come back and update somehow after the interview. Nyosh, Ben and I are doing wonderfully...enjoying every second of this beautiful and lovely life Stay blessed always. Joy, I wish you a lovely trip! I'm sure all will go super smooth. Give Aaron our best! xoxoxoxoxoxo Thanks: I will! So, I think I've got the paperwork end of this pretty well in hand. But it would be really nice to have a bit of a list to share with Aaron from people who've done this recently(ish) of Things You Wish You'd Known Before Your Nairobi Interview. Anyone? Can be big things, little things, silly things, serious things, etc.: anything! For example, I recall someone here mentioning that the waiting rooms are kept very cold, so bringing a sweater or something to keep you warm is helpful. Edited by afoyoswa, 16 October 2012 - 01:30 PM.	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2012-10-16 13:28:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Nairobi Embassy Thread!	Hey guys, how is everyone doing??? Keeping busy.............. Looks like it. Wishing everyone well! Leaving in a week and a half two days to go over there to be with him (or nearby, at least) for his interview! I'm sure I'll be starting the posts full of panicky last-minute preparation questions any day now. Edited by afoyoswa, 15 October 2012 - 09:10 AM.	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2012-10-15 09:08:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Nairobi Embassy Thread!	Hi wenzangu, I just received NOA2 today for K1. Not sure how to proceed or what to do next. I am the petitioner USC. My honey- the beneficiary, is in Nairobi. What should I do? Please advise. Thanks. * First, you'll want to make sure that your beneficiary has all his/her paperwork in order (passport, police certificate, birth certificate) and that you have a good start on gathering your own paperwork for the I-134 (tax records, employment records). * Then (optional: you'll get a notice in the mail eventually if you wait), about a week after your NOA2 notice, start calling NVC to ask whether they have your case now. They will want your receipt#, and if after you provide that, if they start asking for your and the beneficiary's names/DOBs/etc., then they have it and will give you the case # (NRB______) and also maybe tell you when it will be sent to Nairobi. (They may also tell you it's not there, in which case ignore what NVC says about 1 month or whatever and call back a day or two later.) * Once they've sent it, (also optional! the embassy will contact the beneficiary when they have the petition, but it can take a while, or they can claim they emailed and yet no one ever receives anything) you can try to locate and track your probable petition package through DHL (search VJ for "DHL tracking" to find a thread that explains this) so that you'll know when it arrives at the embassy. * If you are able to find out when it arrives (or if a week or two go by and you haven't heard anything), then you can email the embassy to ask whether they have it (provide both of your names and birthdates along with the NRB_____ case number). * When they confirm, you can pay the visa fee, which will then give you access to the online scheduling system. * After you schedule the interview date (warning: when we scheduled in mid-September, the earliest available dates were November, and I saw an IR-1/CR-1 applicant on VJ yesterday saying that there were no available dates at all at this point [not sure if they have the same pool of appointments as K-1 people, though], so something weird is going on with interview dates right now), you can email the people who schedule the medical exams to ask for a date 3+ days before the interview. (And that's as far as we've gotten, so I'll let someone else chime in for the rest.) Edited by afoyoswa, 28 September 2012 - 08:40 AM.	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2012-09-28 08:38:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Nairobi Embassy Thread!	Hi, I scheduled my interview appointment this morning (with great assistance from Gloria - G & Oxy)and I made a print screen of the interview calender. You may find the dates available. Wow. I'm just looking back at this post, and I'm having a hard time believing that within the last 13 days, all of the appointments from now until November have been taken? Really??? [Since the image isn't showing up in the quoted post: on Aug. 28, there were appointments available as soon as Aug. 30 and practically every day in September.] I just cannot express how very, very tired I am of this whole process at this precise moment in time. Edited by afoyoswa, 10 September 2012 - 09:54 AM.	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2012-09-10 09:50:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Nairobi Embassy Thread!	Hey good people! Guess what? The blonde lady hasn't gone anywhere! But she's been nice to me!!! YAY, I got approved!! Congratulations! Everything processed correctly if you can view the interview calendar. Wow, November...that's something else. Typically, for K-1's it's only been a couple weeks at best. I would go ahead and get something scheduled, and you have the ability to keep checking the calendar and are able to change it if someone cancels or something else pops up sooner. I tried, but the dates kept getting further away. So, it's best to schedule it now and then change it if you can. Congrats for coming this far!	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2012-09-10 09:11:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Nairobi Embassy Thread!	Okay....so, Aaron got the payment made on Friday, but when we tried to enter the MRV receipt # on the embassy website later that night, the website kept rejecting it and returning a message about "Invalid PIN." We figured we just need to wait, because the M-pesa slip had said that if the payment was made after 3:00pm then the payment would not be available to use until the following business day, and he made it at 2:35pm. I also remember something about how once you enter the payment confirmation information on the website, you also have to wait some period of time before scheduling the appointment? I just went back to the embassy website. This time, it accepted the MRV receipt # without a problem, and then let me access the appointment calendar, but the first available appointment showing up is...Nov. 5?!?!? Is this for real? I.e. if I can see the appointment calendar, does that mean that everything has processed as it should and those are really the next possible dates, or is there some chance that I could go back later and see dates sometime in this millennium? (Exaggerating a little, but...ack. November?)	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2012-09-10 06:12:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Nairobi Embassy Thread!	We are SO excited for you and Aaron! Keep us posted on EVERYTHING!! Wishing you the best of luck and sending prayers your way too! Thanks, Erin! I keep putting off the updates because there's always another BIG one right around the corner so it seems more sensible to wait. Hoping for an announce-able one very, very soon, though! Watch your email. How's everything in Utah? Oh, and you should update your signature!	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2012-09-09 21:29:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Nairobi Embassy Thread!	Good luck, Cotton Candy! We finally got confirmation from the embassy that our petition is there, so yesterday we were able to access the online payment/scheduling system and get the Mpesa PDF. Aaron is going to try to get the payment made today, and then it's scheduling time! And after that, time for me to get documents ready, buy my ticket, and send wedding save-the-date emails (all the wedding deposits are transferable, of course)	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2012-09-07 08:19:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Nairobi Embassy Thread!	So, for people who have gone through Nairobi recently, how long does it take for the embassy to acknowledge receiving your petition? It has been a week now since it was delivered and signed for there, and they haven't replied to my email. I think I'd seen a range of a few days to maybe 2 weeks here somewhere, but wanted to make sure this is normal and that there's nothing else I'm supposed to be doing. Waiting is really frustrating, no matter what phase of the journey you're in!	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2012-08-31 10:56:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Nairobi Embassy Thread!	GOD IS SO GOOD!!! I got approved. Thank you so much Jill, and everyone who keeps this thread going, Katie, Gloria you were a big help yesterday and will write my review here later on. God bless you all abundantly Hurray! That is great news: so happy for you! Looking forward to hearing more about the experience.	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2012-08-30 11:04:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Nairobi Embassy Thread!	Hi, I scheduled my interview appointment this morning (with great assistance from Gloria - G & Oxy)and I made a print screen of the interview calender. You may find the dates available. It's so helpful to know what the interview calendar looks like! Thanks so much, and good luck with your interview!	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2012-08-28 13:28:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Nairobi Embassy Thread!	Congratulations!!! And thank you for posting this really detailed account: so helpful! I am sending it to Aaron: I think he will very much appreciate having a better idea what to expect. Would there have been any place for the U.S. citizen to wait without standing outside the complex? My number was called to Window 5 where a pleasant lady asked for the following documents, one by one: Two DS 156, two DS 156K, two DS 230 Part 1 only, 3 passport pics, Affidavit of Support (without any supporting evidence), original and a copy of my birth certificate, police certificate. She confirmed to me that she did not require our I-134 supporting documents, letter of continued support/updated letter of intent or any additional documents. We were well prepared just in case and we even had an extra copy of everything including our petition to USCIS. Ensure that your police certificate has a fingerprints report from the police attached to it. Another interviewee who did not have her fingerprint report was told to send the fingerprints form by DHL. For the DS-230, can you confirm that they did not want Part II/pages 3-4?	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2012-08-25 20:19:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Nairobi Embassy Thread!	I think what they mean is "Complete DS-230 "PARTS" 1 and 2". Pages 1 and 2 are "PART 1" and pages 3 and 4 are "PART 2". We completed all four pages and nothing was returned. I would complete all four pages. Ah, that makes sense! I am so glad I have awesome VJers to ask things like this to! I would really be driving myself nuts. Okay, now that we have that clear, time to send the forms to Aaron! Our (probable) petition was delivered to the embassy this morning. As soon as they acknowledge that they have it, we are ready to spring into action! <--but with a bit less energy than this guy. Gosh, I am *tired*!	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2012-08-24 13:39:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Nairobi Embassy Thread!	Thanks! I found a package that I'm pretty sure is our petition, and it's currently in the air between London and (presumably) Kenya. Meanwhile, Aaron just called to tell me he has his police certificate: hurray! I'm looking at http://nairobi.usemb...sa-packets.html and getting ready to send him the list of things he'll need to prepare for the interview, and I am wondering: on the Nairobi embassy site, the DS-230 file link says, "Complete DS-230 Page 1 and 2" but the VJ example form shows all of the pages completed. Which is correct? Should he complete only the first 2 pages, or all of them?	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2012-08-23 15:04:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Nairobi Embassy Thread!	So, after I was told on Friday that our case was undergoing "additional processing" and got really worried that this was some sort of unanticipated glitch, I called NVC today and apparently our petition was shipped out to Nairobi yesterday! I know that I am supposed to email them to find out when they have received it, yes? And then we can pay the visa fee and get this show on the road as far as scheduling? Could anyone who's scheduled a medical exam + interview recently comment on how far ahead the available dates usually are? Once we get the date, I'm going to book my flight to go over there, so I'm wondering how much advance notice I'll likely have.	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2012-08-21 11:34:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Nairobi Embassy Thread!	Well, you need the mobile deposit slip before you can pay the M-pesa agent because all that you need to be able to complete the payment is on that slip. What you have to do after you pay is to fill in the confirmation details of the transaction. Everything you need is on the deposit pay slip and all the instructions on how you should pay are also there. After you have paid the fee, the receipt number is what will allow you to schedule your appointment. Before you go to an M-pesa agent, you will need that deposit slip, without it, he can't help you because it has the receipt number and where to send the money. So you need it. Ah, that makes sense! You do the process on the embassy website first, and then give the money to the MPesa agent. I had it backward. Thanks for clearing that up!	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2012-08-16 14:01:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Nairobi Embassy Thread!	Joy, the letter from the bank is actually on the instructions as supporting evidence for the I-134...I would get it if you can. I did and it doesn't take that long - get two copies of the letter. If you can't, I would think the other supporting evidence you have would be OK. The Embassy can be so quirky though, so I personally would not risk it. You KNOW how they are! LOL As far as your other question about the fee, we used MPesa to pay the fee and you need the MRV receipt number in order to schedule the interview. Let me read through the link you attached and try to remember how we did it and come back to you. I don't want to give you the wrong information Hi Jill, The instructions say "Evidence should consist of copies of any of the documents listed below that applies to your situation" and list several different forms of evidence: A. Bank letter B. Employer statement C. If self employed, copy of last income tax return or report of commercial rating concern D. List of serial numbers/denominations of bonds & name of record owner(s) I'm definitely not providing ( C ) or (D), and I'm not listing my savings on the I-134, so there's not anything that a bank letter would need to be verifying. My primary bank account is online, so I'm not sure how big of a deal it will be to get a letter. Also, I have my savings scattered around in a bunch of different accounts opened at different times, so it would be ridiculously complicated to generate one, I'd imagine! I'm going to try, but I'm hoping I'll be okay even if it doesn't work out. Thanks for the details about the MPesa payment. Clearly I'm fixating on this one specific thing to lessen my angst about all of the other overwhelming details. (We're making some flexible-but-possibly-definite wedding plans now: did I mention that?) I think I've identified the missing piece of information: when you make the payment using the phone, what do you need to do to direct the payment to the embassy? Is there a code or something that you enter? Do you have any tips about how to organize all of this evidence for Aaron to bring to the interview? I'm thinking of a binder with sheet protectors holding the originals, and 3-hole-punched copies of everything in case they've lost something. They're going to keep the I-134 and supporting documentation, so it needs to be attached together and ready to hand over, right? <breathe> Edited by afoyoswa, 14 August 2012 - 02:12 PM.	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2012-08-14 14:12:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Nairobi Embassy Thread!	Joy, I would email them about the petition to confirm that they received it, and just copy Aaron on the email. When they respond, they will respond to both of you and this way you will surely get the email. That's what I did, and it worked out just fine. And yes, I am still around and so are lots others to help out Thanks, Jill! Apparently it hasn't even reached the NVC yet, so we have a little while. As long as I have sufficient income from my work (and show pay stubs, an employer letter, tax transcripts, etc.), I don't need bank statements, do I? Also, I am just looking at: http://usvisa-info.c...payment_options to try to understand the payment process. I have a friend in Uganda (Aaron's cousin) who is going to take care of making the payment for us. If she already knows how to use MPesa, what information is she going to need from us in order to do this? The site mentions a "Mobile Pay Deposit Slip PDF": is that what is given to you when you pay the money to the MPesa agent, and then going through the process on the embassy's website is what applies that payment to the visa fee? I am so lost, and don't want to get this wrong!	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2012-08-14 08:10:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Nairobi Embassy Thread!	First, congrats on your NOA2...things will move along quickly now. The Embassy doesn't schedule the medical exam, Aaron does that himself, but he will need the email from the Embassy confirming that they've received his petition. The email also gives instructions on how and where to schedule the medical. Aaron will have his medical at IOM in Nairobi. Just wanted to clarify that the Embassy doesn't schedule the exam for you. Good luck with everything! I know you guys will be super fine. Thanks, Jill! I haven't been around the Nairobi Embassy Thread much for quite a while because I was so frustrated with the lack of progress at VSC: so glad you and others are still around to help with this stuff now that I actually *need* to be here! Would they communicate directly with Aaron? I'd be the one following up with them to find out when the petition gets there, so would they send all of this information to him, or to me? He doesn't have internet access or check email that often. Finally, congratulations, its about time you got your NOA2. With the police certificate, this is what you have to do Board any taxi going to Nakawa. Get off at Game-Shoprite Lugogo. From Jinja road to Game Lugogo. The taxi will cost 500shs or 1000shs depending on where you board from. Then when you get to Game Lugogo, you will get a boda boda that will cost you between 1500shs-2000shs. Tell the boda guy that you are going to Police headquarters where they do fingerprinting and it will cost you that much. By the way, its not Kibuli anymore the headquarters moved to Naguru. When you get there, you will walk into the gate and you will see a tent at the furthest corner. Go there and tell the man that you want a certificate of good conduct and then he will write you a bank slip of 9500shs which you will take the bank (Stanbic Bank, IPS building near Parliament building) Then go back to Naguru, fill out a form, write an application letter and then you will have your fingerprints taken. Make sure you go with 2 passport photos , a photocopy of your passport. Because they are attached to the fingerprint form. Then you will directed to an office next to the gate, where you will pay 3000shs, leave your fingerprint form there and you will get a receipt. Then you will be told when to go to Kololo. So this is how it went...I still insist you have to go at around 9am so you can beat lunch time...I never seem to do that because I went to bed late and woke up late... You can get a taxi like last time and get out at game, get a boda boda and you will be charged 3000shs(atleast that's what i was charged). Tell him to take you to Interpol offices at Kololo. Make sure he know and he is not taking you to Naguru...Make sure you tell him Interpol offices Kololo. Anyway, I got there, and went through the security check, asked me what i needed, I told her, i went to naguru on Monday and i was told to come here on friday...they might ask for your receipts from naguru, so make sure to have them.. and then the police officer was kind enough to direct me to where I should go. You will see a building with flags and then walk past it and continue, you will see stairs going down, follow them and you will get to the intersection of building...one is up and the rooms are labelled with numbers, just walk past it and you will see a small door and enter there...if that is too confusing, just ask any police officer to direct you to where they give out bank slips..they were really kind to me...or anyone in the compound will direct you to where bankslips are given... They will ask you for your receipt and bankslip from Naguru and then they will write you a new bankslip similar to the one tht was given in naguru, you still have to go the same bank to pay..The amount is 50,500shs. From interpol to the bank I got a boda because there are no taxi stages in Kololo...So i got a boda who took me, he waited for me and brought me back to Kololo for 6000shs altogether... Went back to the same office where the bankslip was written,give them the pink bankslip and retain the blue one and i was given 2 receipts, one for the bankslip and one for 3000shs which is called Officer's allowance or something like that...you pay that and get the 2nd receipt, so in total you have 3 receipts, the blue one from the bank, the two that you have been given, then you will be told where to go to room 3... In room 3 you will find 2 police officers, and they will ask for all your reeipts, make sure you have your receipt and bankslip from naguru plus the ones you have. Give them all to her. In total you should have 2 bankslips&3receipts in total. the two from Naguru and the 3 you will have got. You will be told to look through lots of applications to find yours, the papers we filled in naguru. When you find them, they look through them and make sure its you and then send you to another room with those papers and the receipts where you will have your photo taken...You will be told to go and wait by the gate...it takes about an hour and then a police officer will come with the signed certificates and read them out pick yours, go and sign in the book and go home...That's pretty much it... That is how getting the police certificate went. its a pretty easy process. Good luck with that and congratulations on your NOA2 This is so helpful, Ann: thanks! I've forwarded this to Aaron. Looks incredibly detailed to the point where anyone should be able to follow it, but if he has any questions, I'll pass them along. How long did the whole police certificate process take, overall?	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2012-08-11 08:11:00
Africa: Sub-Saharan	Nairobi Embassy Thread!	I thought that too, until I saw the option of M-pesa while trying to schedule my appointment. When I saw the M-pesa option, I had seen shops around town with that service but better yet, my sister has a friend who does that, so yesterday I went to the agent and he helped me out. He sold me a safaricom line, sent the money to my line and i sent the fee myself. I booked my interview today morning. This guy is found in Kampala. I'm not sure about other agents but I know this guy through my sister and i'm sure, he can help. I can send you his details. For the medical, I received a confirmation for my appointment and I think you have to go with the money in cash Good luck and speedy NOA2. hang in there. God bless Thanks--this is very helpful! I'm passing this info along to Aaron. It will be really nice to be able to sort out a lot of this stuff before Aaron and I go to Nairobi. And......I got my NOA2 yesterday!!!!! So now we are officially into the Stuff Happening phase: whee! Ann, do you have any tips for getting the police certificate? I got some instructions from the USC half of another UG/USC couple, but it would be even better to hear from someone who's actually dealt with it. So, the next part is: call NVC until they receive the petition and can give me the case number. Then I can start contacting Nairobi to find out when they receive it. When Nairobi receives the petition, they will schedule the medical exam, and we can pay the visa fee and schedule the interview (for at least 3 days after the medical exam). Something like that? Did I miss anything?	afoyoswa	Female	Uganda	2012-08-10 06:30:00