Expert: Ernest Tufft - 1/17/2007

Question
What kind if Visa do I need, shots and is Nigeria considerd tourist African State?

I'm going with my Nigerian boyfriend. Should I stay at a hotel or with his family?

He said I will be safe, but I heard there are a lot of civil unrest there. Is this true?

If he has a greencard, can he come back to the U.S. with me?

Last, what if he gets a wild hair up his a-- and ask me to marry him there, would this marriage be valid in the U.S.?  

Answer
Wanda,

Sorry if the response seem delayed.  The All Experts system failed to send my previous response.

I can only offer limited help to the variety of issues that you raise.  Yes, Nigeria is a West African nation, the most populated black nation in the world.  This country is very complex, having many important tribal groups and for its geographical location at the mouthy of the Niger River, one of the world's great rivers, which I believe is longer than the Mississipppi River.  When I researched my travel in West Africa, I had want to go to Nigeria, but unfortunately, the south of Nigeria, at least, has a nasty reputation for armed robbery and theft.  This is not related to the newsworthy civil unrest in the delta oil region, but rather to the complex urban rich versus poor lifestyle of an oil rich nation, particularly on the street of Lagos, a city of some 12 million people.  If your boyfriend is from Nigeria and has family resources to ensure your personal safety, I would this as an opportunity to go into a region where it would otherwise be difficult for an American to go alone.  To remain safe, you would be wise not to wear gold jewelry and other signs of personal wealth, and to dress as Nigerian women do.  You would certainly have fun browsing the open air markets for African print fabrics and having clothes made.  Nigeria, like other West African nations has quite a wide variety of major health problems, the most serious of which for you would be malaria.  You will need to get a long list of immunizations, all of which can be done at a local health clinic within minutes, but you should also consult with your doctor to determine what proactive steps to take to avoid getting malaria.  We took medication beginning a month before we left the USA and we continued taking that meditation for a month after we returned.  The drug has no real side effects for me, but my wife suffered from minor discomfort.  Mostly though we found that avoiding mosquitoes was the best thing to do.  We wore long sleeves and long pants, washed into our clothes a special DEET chemical, kept tubes of DEET bug repellent in the daypack or purse, and slept where air-conditioning could blow the critters away.

You will need the immunizations to get the Visa, and should apply for it with the Nigerian consulate in the USA.  You can send by overnight mail your passport and a cashier's check, and they will return it within a few days.  The information for the Visa can be found at the website for Nigeria.

You boyfriend's greencard is, in fact, not green but pink I believe.  He can leave and return as long as he spends most of his time within the USA.  At customs in the USA, he will most likely stand in line for awhile as his ID is checked while you will speed through with simply a show and stamp of your passport.

If you feel comfortable about your boyfriend's family (don't allow yourself to be pushed into anything you don't feel completely comfortable with) then a marriage ceremony in Nigeria could be very pleasant.  However, the hassles of making this marriage legal in the USA are not worth the bother.  When you return to the USA, which I assume you would do given the ease of life here, simply go to the local county recorders office and complete the marriage certificate papers to make the marriage legal in the USA.  After you are married and living in the USA, he will have an opportunity to become a US citizen that much sooner.  Good luck...