u/VastPitch5733

Details in https://www.migrationpolicy.org/journal/feature/west-africa-diaspora-citizenship

Understand the verification requirements for each country and you may need a certified DNA test.

I'm no expert, but for people who have no means to gain lawful status in the US, if you have the resources like the support of a family member in the US legally, one approach might be to book lodging in Rwanda with WIFI and then in Benin for 90 days later.

Rwanda and Benin appear to offer visa-free entry to Haitians for 90 days each. These might be places to park legally while trying to get a resident visa there or somewhere else like West Africa or Canada.

Buy a ticket from an international airport in the US to Kigali (Rwanada) connecting through an airport that doesn't require you to have a transit visa if the connection is on one ticket. I think Doha (Qatar airways), Istanbul (Turkish Airlines) or Addis Ababa (Ethiopian airlines) work. You may also need to have a ticket for 90 days later through the same airports (probably Addis Ababa) from Kigali (Rwanda) to Cotonou (Benin) to show your exit plans when entering Rwanda.

Alternate between the two (with the future ticket) until you have a resident visa somewhere.

Consult each consulate before you leave to make sure this plan legally works.

While traveling abroad and applying for Resident visa, also learn French or English using internet resources or take private lessons on italki.com. There are some very inexpensive teachers from places with a low cost of living.

Canada has some entry programs for people with a documented proficiency in French but you have to demonstrate level B1 on TCF Canada. The test is offered roughly monthly at US test centers in many major cities. I don't know how often its offered in Rwanda or Benin.

If one does end up in Haiti first, one viable route may be Cap-Haïtien -> Panama City -> Istanbul -> Kigali.

Again, I'm no expert. I've just been trying to creatively think by scouring the internet and ChatGPT, but I hope this helps someone.

I can't imagine what folks are going through. Good luck to all.

So I've been using a series called Competences: Compréhension Orale by Barfety et. al. to beef up my comprénsion orale hoping to be ready for the DELF B1 in December.

The audios are downloadable on the CLI website.

FWIW, they also have a version of the same series with Amérique du Nord appended to the title. Those audios are also downloadable. I didn't buy this book, but did download the audios and in most cases they are the same dialog with a (I assume) Quebecois difference, so it's pretty interesting to listen to a Quebecois dialogue right after I've mastered the Metropolitan version. It's quite understandable to me which surprised me. I thought some of you might find that useful since its rare to be able to compare the two so directly.

90% of my podcast listening is Inner French, though I'm almost up to date, I also occasionally listen to the podcast L'Histoire Nous Le Dira which is a podcast by a professor from the University of Trois-Riviers. He's also pretty understandable and speaks with great enthusiasm, so it's kind of fun to listen to.

I'm heading to Quebec City in a few weeks so we'll see how it goes and whether I can function in French.

West African Countries Offer Citizenship to Descendants of Enslaved Africans

Interesting Resource for Metropolitan and North American French