ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresCould this be true?
Wow, great!!! Excellent news.
mmarloMaleKenya2007-03-08 13:33:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresUSCIS Case Status
There could be a reason to check the status of the petition after it has been approved. Until the petition has been received by NVC, you might still have a need to deal with USCIS. I got "touched" almost two months after the petition was approved because there was some delay in sending it to the NVC. A day or two after the "touch" it was back on track and reached the NVC. This is the exception to the rule, but it is one reason to check the online case status after NOA2.
mmarloMaleKenya2007-03-03 16:37:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresOnly 4 days of meeting physically!
Four days might not be great as far as the US Consulate is concerned, but if he has the second visit before the interview, that should be enough, don't you think? I say file now; you should have enough for USCIS approval.
mmarloMaleKenya2007-03-08 22:44:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresFaxed Birth Certificate / Sponsorship
This doesn't make sense. You don't need the birth certificate for the I-129F application, so I don't know what the problem is. You only need the birth certificate at the time of the interview. You also need the passport for that, and you should get the birth certificate back with the passport (at least Jacinta did when she got her passport). Same with the affidavit of support. That will be required months from now, at the time of the interview. Of course these are things to worry about, but get the petition in first and then worry about them. You can paralyze yourself from immediate and necessary action by worrying too much about potential problems far down the road. One thing at a time.

I should add though on the sponsorship issue that if you get a co-sponsor, that co-sponsor has to be able to provide for all members of his immediate family, plus you and your family.

Good luck!
mmarloMaleKenya2007-03-11 17:47:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresInvitation letter?!
No problem, and best of luck.
mmarloMaleKenya2007-03-11 15:21:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresInvitation letter?!
I had to do this for my fiancee in Kenya. It wasn't a big deal, but I was there in Kenya with her, so I just gave it to her. It sounds stupid, but it apparently worked. She got her passport. Here's the letter I wrote:

24 October, 2006

Jacinta G. Miriti
Address
Nairobi
Kenya

Subject: Invitation to USA

Dear Jacinta,

I would like to invite you to the United States of America, so that we can marry and begin our lives together.

During your stay in the United States, I will bear all your responsibilities including, but not limited to, financial responsibilities, airfare to the USA, travel expenses within USA, medical insurance, housing, and food. You will stay with me in my house located at the address below.

Love,



Michael

Michael R. Marlo
Address1
Address2
USA
mmarloMaleKenya2007-03-11 15:06:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresIs he a good co-sponsor?
wow, that's quick. that's good to hear that the police and the embassy deal with each other directly. in my case, i just found out this morning that the ofica wrote jacinta's surname incorrectly on the certificate. mjinga! so now we need to get that fixed...
mmarloMaleKenya2007-03-05 18:11:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresIs he a good co-sponsor?
I think it's all good now. Jacinta picked up her packets from the embassy this morning, so I think we're in pretty good shape now. One thing you might want to do a bit early is apply for a passport and the police certificate. We got the police certificate after about a month, but the passport took well over two months when it should have taken no more than six weeks. Of course we're dealing with different countries here, but I'm guessing that they work fairly similarly.
mmarloMaleKenya2007-03-05 07:59:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresIs he a good co-sponsor?
Sasa? Mko poa? Mi niko fiti.

Congrats on finding someone so special and getting the courage to go through all of this with. My situation isn't too dissimilar from yours, so I hope you will be fine. I'm a grad student like your brother with the $30k fellowship, but at Michigan, not MIT, and in year 5, not 2. So I'm currently employed but will not be at the end of this academic year, though I'm looking for a job. I should think he would be a fine co-sponsor.

If you're filing for a K1 visa, you don't need to send the I-134 Affidavit of Support until before the interview, not as part of the application process, so you'll have a short period of time to get your own job situation worked out.

My guess is that you're more worried about your financial situation than the government will be, as long as you can find a job that will pay you enough to keep you above the poverty line. Don't sweat it, and enjoy the rest of your time in Tanzania. I really miss East Africa!
mmarloMaleKenya2007-03-05 07:16:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresSurprise! Surprise! Surprise!!!!!
I feel sorry that you are going through a tough situation, that no doubt is a financial hardship, but it sounds like you're not trying very hard to understand the emotional hardships that she's facing, which no doubt are affecting her behavior. You don't have to and you shouldn't close one chapter in your life and open another just because you can. This woman no doubt cares for you and you should try to understand her position and use the time before and during your visit to fight for her. Can't you imagine the many reasons one might not want to leave their country, their friends, and their family behind to go somewhere completely foreign? Especially for outgoing, social people, living in the sprawling suburbs of America can be very isolating. You can find plenty of racism and xenophobia here, and it will be extremely difficult for her to put in place new social networks like she had at home. Yeah, it's a melting pot with lots of people from lots of different nationalities, but you can easily get harassed here even if you speak "perfect English" with an "accent". Unless you are already well off, she will have to work her @ off just to keep afloat. We have the world's most inefficient and expensive health care system. (I think Cuba has a lower child mortality rate.) Winter's can be very cold and uncomfortable for someone accustomed to year-round warm weather. There are so many cultural differences, too, that make a move like this such a big pill to swallow. Of course, there are many opportunities here, as well as her fiance, but you've gotta try to understand both sides of the story. This may be the greatest place in the world (if you have money) but it's not her home. If you love her, fight for her. If you don't love her, well, maybe you should look for someone else, but before you get engaged, try to find someone you can love to the point where the price of the tickets and hotel reservations doesn't matter.
mmarloMaleKenya2007-02-22 11:26:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Proceduresbirth certificate - foreign fiance - why?
We didn't send in the foreign fiancee birth certificate and didn't get an RFE. We couldn't have submitted it if we had wanted to because we only had one copy of the original which we had to submit when my fiancee was simultaneously applying for her passport. It would have set us back about 10 weeks plus about $50 in global express mail fees if we had insisted on submitted the document that was not required.
mmarloMaleKenya2007-03-17 13:26:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Proceduresno recepit sweet fa lost paperwork
Did she file using outdated forms? What exactly did they return to you?
mmarloMaleKenya2007-03-19 15:49:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresLost paper or did we mess up on filing???
This sounds tragic. I hope you get it sorted out without having to refile. Did you have any tracking information on the original submission?

If you do have to refile, let me make two suggestions: don't send in any originals, and consult the guides on this site before submitting. But maybe that's obvious, and you've already had to go through so much emotional turmoil...

Good luck.
mmarloMaleKenya2007-03-19 17:12:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresI hate VSC/NVC

wow this situation is so scary. i can't believe something like this happens. i'm so sorry you're going through this.good luck with finding the app. i hope its found fast and the rest of your process goes more smoothly!


the annoying thing is that the file can't actually be "lost" because, as soonerkiev points out, the physical location of every file is very easily trackable with the "wanding" system. the good thing is that with a simple phone call the congressman can get the file traced immediately and back on track in a matter of days. when the rest of us call to complain, we get the run-around. at least VJ lets you find some release and some ways of figuring out and fixing the problem. uscis should sponsor this site because it is far more helpful and the forum users far more knowledgeable than their customer service representatives.
mmarloMaleKenya2007-02-27 19:23:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresI hate VSC/NVC

I just don't know what to do next. If VSC insist they mailed it and NVC insist they haven't, I don't see how to resolve it short of them making us file again.


You won't have to refile, but they may suggest that you fill out an I824 form to have your approved petition resent to to the NVC. I wouldn't recommend that though. In my case, I wasted the $200 filing fee by trying the I824 route, since I got the result I wanted by through my congressman and calling the CIS customer service and insisting that the California Service Center trace my approved petition.
mmarloMaleKenya2007-02-21 17:06:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresI hate VSC/NVC
Looky is right. You should contact your congressmen. I contacted mine last week. Within a day they had already put in a call. Within a few days, my file got "touched", and within a week, my application reached the NVC, after an uncomfortably long wait. Good luck.
mmarloMaleKenya2007-02-21 17:02:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresI hate VSC/NVC
Well, in my case, it was the California Service Center, but the way I understood it was that it like completely bypassed the NVC. But I dunno. Will post when I find out what's going on. My fiancee should be checking in with the Embassy in Nairobi today or tomorrow (haven't heard from her today and it's getting a bit late in the day). If I could find my NOA2, I would definitely recheck it for the exact wording. I *thought* it said it was going to the NVC first, for 2-4 weeks of processing, but maybe my mind is playing tricks on me (I've spent a lot more time reading about this stuff online than I spent pouring over the details of the NOA2). But based on the CIS lady's response to my question, it sounds like there *may* be a procedural change, or the CIS lady is just crazy.
mmarloMaleKenya2007-02-13 07:53:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresI hate VSC/NVC
I think I'm having the same problem, although I received my NOA2 December 26 and applied through the CSC. My fiancee changed her address after the NOA2 was received, so I called USCIS and they told me to fax the updated info to NVC. I did this 01/09 but got a letter back from NVC dated 1/19 saying they have no record of my application on file. I also emailed them around the same time and heard back 1/25 again saying that they have no record of my petition. I have not tried talking to an agent or emailing since then (because I was mistakenly under the impression that the automated service was giving me accurate information when it said it had no record of my case number), but I will try again tomorrow.

The letter I got from NVC asked me to provide them with a copy of my NOA2, which I would love to do, but somehow out of all the documents I have on file for the petition, I cannot find that one. In the event that I don't have a copy of the NOA, the letter says to contact CIS. So I called CIS and they told me to file a I824 to have CIS resend the approved petition to NVC. I did this a few weeks ago, sending in the cool $200 filing fee along with the application, and got a Receipt date back on that application of Feb 2. Naturally, it's still pending, with no idea how long it will take to process.

I decided to call CIS back yesterday (Feb 12) to complain again and see if I could get any additional information on the original application, but this time I got a different story (I didn't tell them about the I824 application). This time the lady told me, "Well, NVC shouldn't have your petition; it should have been sent directly to the US Embassy". I couldn't believe this could be the case, and it did not seem consistent with with I have read online or with what the NOA2 said (before I lost it). The CIS lady told me to contact the US Embassy in Nairobi and see if they have the case on file and to update my fiancee's address through them. So I've asked my fiancee to contact the US Embassy and DHS in Nairobi to find out ####### is going on. So I guess I could get some good news tomorrow, or I will find out I was mislead (the latter being what I think has happened).

Whatever the case, it's extremely frustrating, and I feel so helpless, and I'm sorry to hear that some of you with an earlier Approval date are still suffering in the same way.

Anyone else with a similar experience?
mmarloMaleKenya2007-02-13 01:52:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresAre there any REAL people working for USCIS?
First, relax a bit. You've got a long way to go in the process, and I'm really sorry if you're at your wits' end now because one month is not very long in the big picture. Check out this site and look at some other people's timelines. It depends on which service center is processing your case. I see yours is being processed by the CSC. Mine was done there, too, and it got approved in about two months, before getting sent on to the National Visa Center (after an annoyingly long and unexplained delay), and then extremely quickly onto the US Embassy in my fiancee's country. We're expecting probably another two months or so before she gets her visa and is able to come into the country. So about six months total.

After my petition was approved, I got an email notification, and the NOA2 arrived in the mail a few days later. Now if you had been lucky enough to get yours transferred to Vermont, well, then maybe you'd be expecting your NOA2 any time now, but as it is, you've got some time left to wait for the NOA2. Be patient and read up on this site. There's a wealth of information, and you can look at other people's progress who applied for K-1 visas from the UK, too. You should be able to get better estimates from their timelines.

Now here's what is a bit confusing about your message. How did you get an email notification without getting your NOA1 in the mail first? How did you know your CIS receipt number to get the email alert system working? You only get that CIS receipt number from you NOA1, which comes in the mail (unless you have good eyes and can read it on the back of your check that was deposited by the CIS). It seems like maybe you've misunderstood the NOA terms?! I can't tell.
mmarloMaleKenya2007-02-24 02:00:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures1st post former NSC adjudicator now petitioner

Hi and again, welcome to VJ - you're shedding much light on this "dark" process many of us have undertaken.

I do have a quick question: I was ill advised by a mutual acquaintance claiming to know the K1 process very well, to file an I824 - APPLICATION FOR ACTION ON AN APPROVED APPLICATION OR PETITION with my I129F for the K1 visa, with the notation to Cable Notify the consulate. Well that never happened. Of course my $200 was gratiously accepted.

Now what? I'm curious to ask for my money back. Nothing was ever done on the I824. Currently the online status of the I824 is the same showing the Sep 29th day received, but the update date has changed a few times, once on Jan 31, then on Feb 20 - the day the visa was approved at the interview, and again on Feb 21.


I was misadvised to do the same by a CIS Customer Service representative, only my I824 involved resending my approved petition to the NVC, when in fact all I needed was a letter to my congressman to get everything back on track. It was amazing how quickly the $200 check was cashed and also how quickly I got action from the CIS after contacting my congressmen.
mmarloMaleKenya2007-02-22 16:08:00
Africa: Sub-SaharanAfter the Denial of K1
Best of luck to you and your wife going through the K3 process. Congrats on your marriage.
mmarloMaleKenya2007-03-04 19:06:00
Africa: Sub-Saharanwhat to do when u dont speak the languge?
There is a very good African language instruction program offered every summer. There are still a couple days left to register, but they may extend the deadline if you're interested and can put your application together shortly. Many different African languages are offered there.

http://scali.afrst.uiuc.edu/

I don't know about that software. It might be useful; it might not. I assume it's "standard" Yoruba; you might find standard Yoruba quite different from your fiance's dialect.

I am a linguist who studies African languages (primarily Bantu languages of East Africa, but am familiar with other languages as well). Feel free to message me if you have any specific questions. You can see my website for more about my research.

My advice would be partially what other people have suggested--just talking to your SO and explaining how you feel about it--but also try to understand how important speaking the language is to him/her. My fiancee speaks at least three non-native languages better than I speak French, which I studied for nearly a decade, including 8 months living in France, so I know it can be frustrating. I can pick up bits and pieces of several of her languages and am improving, but I'll never be able to hold a conversation in anything but maybe Swahili if I dedicate a few years to it and live more in East Africa. You should think of your SO's multilingualism as a gift and try to foster it as much as possible. And don't forget--bilingual and multilingual kids are at a learning *advantage* over kids who only get exposure to a single language. It won't confuse them or slow them down, and it will actually speed their learning in other areas. Like I said, feel free to ask me other questions if you're interested.

There are a handful of universities that offer courses in Kikuyu. There is also quite a bit of written literature on the language, and it's fairly easy to learn its alphabet (although not all Kikuyus know how to write/read in Kikuyu).
mmarloMaleKenya2007-03-15 14:21:00
Africa: Sub-SaharanHow do you stay in touch?
Interesting. I looked into Vonage, which has pretty reasonable rates to Kenya about $.35/minute to a cell phone (less if you're calling a landline, especially in Nairobi), which isn't good, but it isn't terrible, since there aren't any hidden fees.
mmarloMaleKenya2007-03-19 13:24:00
Africa: Sub-SaharanHow do you stay in touch?
Yeah. I have YM, AIM, and MSN, but Jacinta for some reason never really warmed to the idea of the webcam or online chat. I would have liked to have tried it, but I dunno, maybe it's the time difference, maybe she didn't want to learn a new technology, but she didn't go for it. I always stay up late so I can wish her a good morning by email/SMS and then I tend to sleep a bit late (I'm a student) and only have a few hours before she's going to bed, so that's a bit limiting, especially since the cyber that's near her apartment doesn't stay open that late. We tend to just leave a lot of messages for each other that we don't necessarily have to respond to "live", and I tend to call her when it's a bit late and she's definitely back from town, in the house, and not going anywhere. It works for us. I guess I would tweak it slightly to include the webcam if I could, but I'm not going to push her now after a few months apart and now that we're hopefully within a month or so of being together.
mmarloMaleKenya2007-03-11 21:22:00
Africa: Sub-SaharanHow do you stay in touch?
Thanks for the info. Viapin looks like there's maybe one card that would be comparable to the one I've been using, except that it also provides an online calling history, which I don't think mine does. Maybe I'll try that one next time.

Unfortunately, 3utelecom charges 39.9¢ per minute to Kenyan cell phones. Ouch! If it were half that, I'd jump on it, but not at that rate.

If Ombeni can't send International SMSs through Vodacom, SMSCountry would only work for him if he also joined SMSCountry and used it from a cyber cafe. It's really cheap to send an SMS from one SMSCountry account to another, but if he's already at the cyber, why not just send an email!?

The way it works for Jacinta is she sends an SMS to a generic SMSCountry number, which I think is an Indian number, and puts my account name as the first word of the SMS. Then her message follows. It works quite well for Jacinta, but Safaricom does have International SMS capabilities. She's charged 5 KSh for local SMS and 10 KSh for international. She sent me 7 SMS messages today of short sweet nothings...but could have really written a long story for the same amount of money if she had gone to the cyber on the corner. But SMS is her preference, so I don't complain.

What I really like about receiving the SMSs through SMSCountry is that you don't pay anything to receive the messages (and they go directly to my email, which I have almost 24/7 access to). If she messaged my T-Mobile number, not only would she get charged, but I'd also be charged 15¢ per message, and there's no special deals on international SMS!

Funny thing about snail mail. I sent a really nice Valentine's Day card to Jacinta around February 1, but somehow it's never shown up. Then I sent her a couple of blouses on Feb. 15, cut the tags and marked them as used/worn, and she got them within 10 days, and she wasn't charged any import duty. But she's never gotten the card I sent her.
mmarloMaleKenya2007-03-11 17:08:00
Africa: Sub-SaharanHow do you stay in touch?
I've been using a $5 phone card called African Safari from tigerphonecard.com. It has a pretty good connection to her Safaricom cell phone line in Nairobi, and I get 25-30 minutes on it (although it says I should get 49). I've tried a lot of different cards, but this one seems to be the best. The only annoying things are that they force you to make a $20 purchase or you have to pay a $1 surcharge, so I just buy 4 cards at a time to avoid the surcharge, and the first time you buy they have to confirm your account with you buy calling you and verifying your credit card number.

Jacinta isn't very good about staying in touch via email. It's so convenient for me, but SMS is more convenient for her, since she can do it directly from her cell phone. I've been using SMSCountry as a pretty good compromise. You can send SMS messages through their website at a cheap rate to a cell phone, and they can send an SMS back to your account on the website if you set things up properly and if they format the message properly. The best thing is that you can set it up so that the email

I don't have any ties to these services; it's just what seems to be working best for me. But there is some kind of referral program through SMSCountry, so if you want to try it, we can set up a network of people mutually benefiting from the service. But if you know of something better, please let me know!
mmarloMaleKenya2007-03-11 15:25:00
Africa: Sub-SaharanCase Not Lost After All!!
Great news. Good luck!
mmarloMaleKenya2007-03-12 10:43:00
Africa: Sub-SaharanACCRA EMBASSY INTERVIEW
Good luck. What a headache.
mmarloMaleKenya2007-03-19 13:26:00
Africa: Sub-SaharanCertified Birth Certificates

Also wonder what clinic someone used for the Medical or does Lagos embassy send you a certain(sur general) they want you to go to. I know there's one on VI.........


I don't know precisely about Nigeria, but I do know that there are probably only a very limited number of clinics that the US Embassy will accept. They should have this information. The US Embassy in Kenya has this information on their website. Have you checked the US Embassy in Nigeria's website?
mmarloMaleKenya2007-03-21 12:49:00
Africa: Sub-SaharanCertified Birth Certificates
Got this from a State Department website:

BIRTH AND DEATH CERTIFICATES

Generally available, particularly for events occurring after 1970. Registration of births and deaths is compulsory in Lagos. The National Population Commission issues birth certificates for births after 1992.

For Lagos records, certified copies of records for dates ending with 1979 can be obtained at the Lagos State Ministry of Health, Old Secretariat, Ikeja, Lagos. For records after 1979, contact the local government that issued the original certificate directly. Most births and deaths outside of Lagos are also registered at the time of the event. Applicants can obtain certified true copies of certificates directly from the local government. Alternatively, acceptable identity/parentage documents are infant baptismal certificates and hospital or maternity clinic records of birth. Home births are rare in Nigeria and medical records are available in most cases. Affidavits may be acceptable as substitutes for documents for those born outside Lagos prior to 1960 or born in the eastern part of Nigeria in the 1960’s at the time of the Biafran War, when presented in combination with convincing secondary evidence of relationship.
mmarloMaleKenya2007-03-21 12:47:00
Africa: Sub-SaharanAnother October Interview Date
F me that is a long time to wait for an interview! The US Embassy in Kenya seems to operate very differently, perhaps better in some ways, perhaps worse in others. My fiancee will be setting up her interview in an appointment at the Embassy April 12. We think it should come within a week or so of that date. God, I hope it doesn't take six months--I'll have to completely change my summer plans!
mmarloMaleKenya2007-04-05 01:06:00
Africa: Sub-SaharanPOE

flying from madrid, we had to change planes in amsterdam. going through immigration there was very tough, and we almost missed our flight. the immigration officer was an a**hole.


I found the security in Amsterdam to be a bit tough too, and I wasn't trying to immigrate anywhere, just get back to the US from Kenya! They asked me so many questions about what I was carrying in my bags, and then I had to explain in detail why I was carrying recording equipment with me. It was sortof intimidating, and I wasn't trying to do anything wrong and should have been the easiest kind passenger to deal with! The guy should have smoked a joint before work to lighten up a bit!
mmarloMaleKenya2007-04-05 03:52:00
Africa: Sub-SaharanPOE
You got your visa, so you seem to have made it through the toughest part. Congrats! I wish I could tell you what the POE experience is like, but we're still waiting for my fiancee to get her visa! Please let us know how your experience goes, however. Thanks!
mmarloMaleKenya2007-04-05 01:01:00
Africa: Sub-SaharanK-3 VISA-GHANA (PLEASE HELP!!!)
Ghana may have a slightly different procedure, but the general instructions are the following (which I found here: http://www.immihelp.com/visas/kvisa/consulate-process.html --not a VJ site, but I have found it useful and mostly correct):

Step 1:

Immediately return the following documents for each applicant:
* Completed DS 230 Part I Biographic data form
* Clear photocopies of the biographic data page of your passport and the last page of your passport which contains your parents/spouse's names, and any other page(s) which may indicate any change in name/date & place of birth/marital status

Step 2:

Obtain the following documents which pertain to you. Do not send the documents to the consulate now. You will need to submit them at your visa interview.

* 2 photographs
* Passport
* Birth certificate
* Police certificates
* Deportation (Applicants who have previously been deported or removed at the government expense from the United States must use Form I-212, Permission to Reapply after Deportation and follow the instructions included on that form.)
* Court and prison records
* Military records
* Proof of legal termination of prior marriages
* Proof of relationship
K1 visa: Evidence that you have met your fiance(e), and proof of a valid engagement. Some examples of evidence are family and other photographs (old and recent) showing the parties together, letters, cards, correspondence, and telephone records.
K2 visa: Proof of relationship with K1 visa applicant
K3 visa: Marriage certificate. Optionally bring marriage photographs and other proof that the marriage is genuine.
K4 visa: Proof of relationship with K3 visa applicant
* Form I-134, affidavit of support
Consulate requires evidence that you won't need to go on welfare or receive other government assistance.
If children are immigrating with you, separate I-134 forms are not required. Listing them in Question 3 in Form I-134 is sufficient.
More details. That web page describes details specifically for sponsoring visitors. However, the documents required are same for any visa.

As soon as you have collected all the above documents, read the document called "Applicant's Statement" (enclosed in Packet 3), sign and date it, and return the checklist to the consulate together with a photocopy of all applicants' passports. You will not be schedule for a visa interview until you complete, sign, and return this checklist to the consulate.

After they receive the checklist, they will schedule your visa interview at the earliest possible date. It is not possible to predict when the interview will be scheduled. Generally, the visa interviews are scheduled within 2 to 4 months of the consulate receiving the checklist from the visa applicant. When your visa interview is scheduled, the consulate will send you an appointment letter (Packet 4) which contains instructions regarding the interview. Normally, You will not receive further correspondence from the consulate until the visa interview is scheduled. You may check the consulate web site to see whether your appointment has been scheduled.

Additional Information: Please inform the consulate immediately of any changes that may affect your visa application, such as your change of address, your change of marital status, the death of the petitioner, birth or adoption of any children by you. Failure to keep the consulate informed of your current address at all times may result in the delay of the issuance of a visa to you.
mmarloMaleKenya2007-04-17 10:23:00
Africa: Sub-SaharanLetter of complaint re: US Embassy in Nairobi/medical exam
Honestly, I don't think sending the letter had an effect. I got an email from the congressman's office asking for Jacinta's name and date of birth (which I had already provided them with) after she had already had her interview and got approved. Then I got a strange voice mail message from another congressman's office, also after the interview, informing me that she had *missed* an interview scheduled for March 26. I tried calling the congressman's office on two separate occasions but couldn't get a hold of them just to see what the story was they had gotten. I don't understand it because Jacinta did go to the Embassy on the 26th--that's when she dropped off her packet 3 information to the Embassy and found out that there wasn't a separate letter she needed to schedule the medical exam. I don't know if they considered that a "missed interview", or if the Embassy's record-keeping is just that f*d up.
mmarloMaleKenya2007-04-19 23:26:00
Africa: Sub-SaharanLetter of complaint re: US Embassy in Nairobi/medical exam

PLEASE LET US KNO DETAILS OF THE INTERVIEW.


It sounded like the interview wasn't very difficult. Jacinta said it didn't last very long (after they finally called her), and they only really asked a few questions about our relationship. Like: when I was in Kenya, how long I was there, why I was there, when I left, why I left, etc. There may have been something about how we met, but I'm not entirely sure. She was kind of breaking up on the phone due to a bad connection, and I didn't really get what else she said about the interview.

Thanks guys for all your kind words! We are very happy. She will be flying from Nairobi on the 28th, arriving in Detroit on the 29th--the same day as I move into our new apartment for the summer in Ann Arbor. I start my new teaching job three days later for the Spring term. We'll be in Ann Arbor through August, until we move to LA. I just found out I got a visiting instructor position at UCLA next year. This summer is going to be a wild ride!
mmarloMaleKenya2007-04-15 17:19:00
Africa: Sub-SaharanLetter of complaint re: US Embassy in Nairobi/medical exam
Thank you for all your kind wishes. I am happy to say that today, when Jacinta went to drop off her medical exam results, the Embassy officer had the good sense to carry out the interview today and had the kind heart to approve her! She can pick up her visa on the 26th and will be coming here shortly thereafter! I can't wait!
mmarloMaleKenya2007-04-12 23:33:00
Africa: Sub-SaharanLetter of complaint re: US Embassy in Nairobi/medical exam
04/03/2007

Dear Pat,

My case (NRB##########) is currently in the hands of the US Embassy in Nairobi, but we have had a really difficult time dealing with them. They have some unbelievably unfair policies that seem to make this process go on forever. The expiration date on my petition is approaching fast--it expires April 25, and I am deeply concerned that it may expire before my fiancee has her visa in hand. Because the case is currently overseas, I don't know if you can help, but if you can somehow expedite the process and see to it that the expiration date of the petition is extended, I would be most appreciative.

The process for getting a medical exam in Kenya and dealing with the US Embassy in Nairobi in this regard has been very frustrating. The packet 3/4 materials that my fiancee was given when she picked up the materials March 5 indicate that she needed a letter from the Embassy to make the appointment for the medical exam, so after she had completed all of the other packet 3/4 materials, paid her application fee, etc., she made an early-morning trip on March 20 to the Embassy (about 2 hours from her apartment) to return the other materials and pick up the letter necessary to schedule the doctor's exam and schedule her interview. When she got to the Embassy, however, she was denied entrance, with the explanation that she needs an appointment to see a consular officer--a rule which had not been explained to her when she picked up the packet 3/4 materials.

The appointment with a consular officer was scheduled for nearly a week later, March 26, at which time she was told that she needed to have already completed the medical exam to set up her interview and that contrary to what the packet 4 materials say, she doesn't need a letter to do so. Essentially she had wasted a week of her time and two trips to the Embassy, four hours round-trip travel time each time plus waiting at the Embassy itself, due to misinformation given by Embassy workers earlier in the month.

The process for completing the requirements of the doctor's exam has been even more frustrating. Later in the day on March 26, my fiancee went to the doctor's office to schedule the medical exam. Their policy forbids them from setting up the exam over the phone or over email. (Can you imagine such a policy by a doctor's office in the US?! The office is 90 minutes from my fiancee's house, and she has to make a trip there and back just to set up the exam.) She went back to the doctor's office the following day Tuesday, March 27, for the first part of the exam, where they took some medical specimens for laboratory analysis. She was then sent to another clinic in another part of town for her x-ray. She went back to the doctor's office on Thursday, March 29 for the second part of the exam where they completed her blood work and where she had the physical exam with the doctor. On Monday, April 2, my fiancee had to make her fourth trip to the doctor's office to receive some missing vaccinations. After already making four trips to the doctor's office, she had to make a fifth trip yesterday, April 3, to collect the results of her exam. For some reason that we can only surmise to be an intentional complication of the process for potential immigrants, the doctor's office does not forward the results to the Embassy, so my fiancee had to travel back to the doctor's office to pick up the results. However, as she was traveling back home after picking up the results, the doctor's office called her to notify her that there was some problem with part of the results and instructed her to return today, April 4, to rectify the problem. Six visits to the doctor's office for what should be a routine medical exam. (I can't even imagine how difficult this must be for someone who does not already live in Nairobi; my fiancee is "only" 90 minutes from the doctor's office, but many others would be much, much farther away.)

Making matters worse is the lack of interaction between the doctor's office in Nairobi and the US Embassy and the Embassy's policy of only accepting materials by an appointment. My fiancee had been told to schedule an appointment to see a consuler officer after she had picked up the results of her medical exam. I thought this appointment was the interview itself, but I was wrong. She had to schedule an appointment with the Embassy just to drop off the results of the medical exam. So after she had picked up the results yesterday afternoon, she called the Embassy to make the appointment. She was given a date of April 12--8 days later--to *drop off* the results of the medical exam. Only then will her interview be scheduled. If we are lucky, the interview will take place within another week of the appointment with the consular officer, by April 19, but my sincere concern is that my approved petition expires April 25 and that there may be other delays that would cause further problems to our earnest effort to get a visa for my fiancee. I emailed the Embassy about a month ago to express this concern, but they told me that they cannot extend the expiration date of the petition, a claim that I know to be false because I have spoken with other individuals who have gone through other Embassies/Consulates and who had their petition deadlines extended by up to four months.

This series of interacting policies by the US Embassy and the (American) doctors they employ is simply unbelievable and clearly can be designed only to penalize potential immigrants to the US. It is extremely embarassing that this is the face of our government in a foreign country with whom we are allies, and the fact that my fiancee is being treated in such a demeaning way (i.e., all signs say that she is not welcome since she has to unnecessarily navigate so many artificial obstacles that cannot be justified by national security concerns) is infuriating.

I am sorry for sending such a long message, but I wanted to explain the depth of my frustration, and the lengths to which my fiancee has gone to follow all of the requisite procedures. As I noted above, I would greatly appreciate if you could try to move forward my fiancee's appointment for returning her medical documents and/or the date of her interview. She has quit virtually all activities unrelated to acquiring the visa due to the full-time committment it requires and therefore is available on any date for either appointment. If it is not possible to move the appointment dates forward, perhaps it is possible to ensure that the expiration date of the petition is extended so that it does not expire before my fiancee is granted her visa.

Should you have any questions or feedback, feel free to contact me ...

Best regards,

Michael
mmarloMaleKenya2007-04-05 01:10:00
Africa: Sub-SaharanEmbassy said "no record" of fiance--Help!
This is very good news. I hope your interview goes as smoothly as ours did. Good luck!
mmarloMaleKenya2007-04-24 13:19:00
Africa: Sub-SaharanEmbassy said "no record" of fiance--Help!
Good luck, and keep us posted!
mmarloMaleKenya2007-04-23 19:33:00