Is it time to contact my Congressman?

[4nellag]

One year after filing my I-129 for my fiancee, our application was approved but had to file a medical-based I-601 waiver petition. This was filed and submitted to the Lagos consulate September, 2007. I found out Lagos cases are adjudicated in Accra, Ghana. Over three (3) months after filing, Accra says they have no record of my petition, and that I should contact Lagos. Meanwhile, Lagos says the petition process is not complete and that when they receive a response from DHS, Accra, my fiancée will be notified. I cannot imagine it will take so long for the adjudicating office to receive an application from nearby Lagos.

Is it time to contact my Congressman?

[gaby]

If callling your Congressman will speed your process, I guess you should conatct him right away, many people in this forum, contac their Congressman to get help and sometimes it seems to be helpful, good luck ok.

[loslagos]

What you are telling me is a big suprise to me. I filed in july 2007 in Lagos too . i think i have to rush to the embassy to check my status too. It is going to be 6 months that i filed by next week. I think your best bet is to try the congressman. i am doing same after coming back from the embassy next week. Are you new on this forum?

[sunnysol]

I do think it is time to contact your Congressman AND Senator. You need to ask for the immigration liason--they will have you sign a release form so that they can inquire into your case. I have contacted both senators and my congresswoman--I chose the person that I felt was most experienced with immigration (not all immigration liasons have experience with immigration) and helpful and I have kept in constant communication with her.

My husband will be going through the Accra office. Please keep us posted of your experiences. A new chief officer of DHS was recently appointed in Accra according to my Senator's immigration liason. Best of Luck!

[uknygirl]

One year after filing my I-129 for my fiancee, our application was approved but had to file a medical-based I-601 waiver petition. This was filed and submitted to the Lagos consulate September, 2007. I found out Lagos cases are adjudicated in Accra, Ghana. Over three (3) months after filing, Accra says they have no record of my petition, and that I should contact Lagos. Meanwhile, Lagos says the petition process is not complete and that when they receive a response from DHS, Accra, my fiancée will be notified. I cannot imagine it will take so long for the adjudicating office to receive an application from nearby Lagos.

Is it time to contact my Congressman?

Go for it! Its never too late! MY hubby contacted the congressman 2 weeks back but he was communication via email to the Us Embassy, London, Yesterday he made a phone call, and the embassy promised him that my visa will be issued within 10 days. IM SO SO SO HAPPY!!!! This good news came to me yesterday evening! IM FLYING TO NYC SOON!!!

I filled my waiver in October and the proccessing started 3rd Nov., they told me it will take 12-15 weeks, but now it will only take 10 days.

[uknygirl]

Go for it! Its never too late! MY hubby contacted the congressman 2 weeks back but he was communicating via email to the US Embassy, London, Yesterday he made a phone call, and the embassy promised him that my visa will be issued within 10 days. IM EXTREMELY HAPPY!!!! This good news came to me yesterday evening! IM FLYING TO NYC SOON!!!

I filled my waiver in October and the proccessing started 3rd Nov., they told me it will take 12-15 weeks, but now it will only take 10 days.

:thumbup:

[ILoveLucy21]

ukny girl, how did ur husband get his congressman to expedite the visa (what grounds did he use??) let us know pleaseeee :) p.s. congrats!!!

[4nellag]

@uknygirl

WOW! Your story is very encouraging. I have already contacted my congressman's office, and I hope they are able to assist me.

[uknygirl]

hmm.. my hubbys business frd is best frd of our area congressman. Thats how my hubby got in touch with him, through her. Plus, his office is 2 offices away from my hubbys Showroom. I didn't get my visa yet! 2 weeks back I emailed H Clinton on behalf of my hubby and yesterday I got a email from her saying to fill out this form and fax it back to her office, hubby is doing that today, basically she wants our details so she can contact the embassy in London on our behalf. Lets c what happens. Good luck to all!!!!

[josh]

4nellag,

my wife submitted her i-601 medical waiver in dakar end nov 07. 10+ wks on, the application still has not arrived in accra. i contacted my congressperson today and submitted a request to look into and (hopefully) expedite it. they were helpful previously and i hope they can come through for me again. as i understand it, part of the reason it takes so long is that most (if not all) medical waiver petitions have to get approved by the CDC in the US before getting sent on to Accra. I think this is where the hold-up is.

please let us know of any developments. i'll be following very closely. i'll let u all know of progress in our case. best of luck!

[4nellag]

Your are right - medical waivers are first sent to CDC in Altanta, after which they are sent back to the consulate where the petition was filed, in your case, Dakar. The embassy in Dakar then sends it to Accra. Mine got to Accra two weeks ago, and I have been told to expect word from them before end of February.

I will keep you informed of any progress in our case.

[josh]

Thanks for sharing. It's great to hear you've got some movement. Did you end up contacting your congressperson? Do you have a sense of whether that facilitated the process? In the end, I suppose it took around 4 months just to arrive? - incredible. And it sounds like it's to be up to another month before they decide. When I called Accra to see whether my wife's application had arrived, they told me they would make a decision in not more than 2 months after they received it. I hope for both of our sakes that it doesn't take that long.

I contacted my lawyer (pro bono, not well acquainted with immigration law) who had been told these delays happen from time to time in medical cases. It had been suggested to her that my wife return to the embassy in Dakar to hand in the application again (though not paying again the exhorbitant fee) with a letter inquiring about the status. But as my wife lives in Sierra Leone, this is not an easy task, so I'm hoping my congressperson will come through. Fingers crossed...

[4nellag]

Yes, I did contact my congressman but I am not sure that helped at all. I got a letter from him saying DHS is in the process and I will be contacted when my case is adjudicated. I guess when a petition is within normal processing times, they do not try to expedite it.

[josh]

Any word from the Embassy in Ghana? I hope it was positive.

I ended up contacting my congresswoman's office, and they promised to inquire, but I haven't heard back from them after about a month.

But I did call the Embassy in Ghana again this morning - I had been putting it off, dreading the depression that comes with getting a "still hasn't arrived" response - and found that it actually arrived about 2 weeks ago! So they should decide in the next 2 weeks or so, but told me to call them again after 2 weeks. It took just shy of 4 months for the application to get to Ghana.

I trust that the embassy "adjudicated" your case (they do love those official words, don't they?) - did they rule on it within the 1 month that they estimated? How did they notify you - by post? Or did you end up calling them?

If successful, do you have any idea how long it takes from approval to actually getting the visa? I look forward to hearing back from you. Thanks!

[4nellag]

Yes, Ghana approved our petition. I had to call on Feb 19 to find out. You are right, they should be making a decision on your case in 2-3 weeks. You should call in another 2 weeks. The Lagos embassy only called my fiancee two days ago (April 1) and scheduled an interview for May 7th. She has to get new medical and police reports - I guess that's why they scheduled it that far.

Good luck with your petition.

[plasma]

congrats nellag, am in the same process & with accra,i called them last week & they told me they just got my petition & to call them in 2 weeks, am really encouraged by ur posting,thanks for sharing

[adeildo]

congrats!!!!