Hello everyone....I am new to the forum but I have been using the Guides since I started the process back in November. (They have been sooo helpful) My fiance is Iraqi and we have been together for 2 years and 8 months. He finally got a date for his interview and if all goes well, inshallah, he can come over here and we can get married.

Are there any Iraqis who have successfully come on a K-1 Visa? He left his country before the war, when he refused to join the army. He ended up in Spain as a refugee and that's where I met him. He has Spanish residency so we are going through the Embassy in Madrid.

If and when he gets his visa, he is thinking about going home (to Baghdad) before he comes here. He hasn't seen his family in nearly 5 years. Any thoughts on if this would be a problem? I spoke to a border patrol officer on the phone and she was pretty clear (and rude) when she said "Just because a person has a Visa, this is not a guarantee they will be granted an entrance into the U.S." Anyone out there gotten a Visa, and been sent back by border patrol?

I can't answer your question, sowy...


But welcome aboard! I hope you find all the help you need here and good luck.

Sarah

Welcome to VJ and specially to our little corner of the world, the ME/NA forum. I think there's one, maybe 2 others on here I know of w/ Iraqi SO's... and I know one other woman here in my town who's husband is Iraqi and she's not on VJ (I keep telling her she needs to check us out ). They are having a hell of a time, but each case is different so I'm not sure what's giving them such lengthy issues, maybe some of it is that they're having to go thru Amman, Jordan for processing and Jordan is just one of the busiest consulates right now.
anyhoo, I don't know the answer to your question, but I wish you both well, and inch'allah, you will have a speedy process - and again, welcome to the forum... you'll find lots of good information, some wonderful, knowledgeable folks, and above all, the support to get you thru this process! One key word if you haven't learned it already.... PATIENCE!
Noura

Yeah, there was one girl from Minneapolis that has not been online here in months. She had a rose in her avatar, what was her name? Hmmm.

I don't know the answer to your question, UOM, but welcome and be very glad you're going through Madrid and not Jordan. Since the war, all Iraqi visa stuff has been rerouted to Amman, causing an increadible pile up and delay.

Hello and welcome.

Sorry, can't answer your questions, but welcome to VJ!

Welcome to VJ and to the ME/NA forum. We're happy to have you join us!

When your fiance receives his K1 visa, it will be valid for 6 months. I don't see that there would be any problems with him going to Iraq before entering the U.S. As far as running into problems entering the U.S., the border patrol officer was correct about a visa not being a guarantee of entry into the U.S. However, there are very few that have had trouble. Just be aware that it is standard procedure to have you fiance answer some routine questions upon entry - it is very important that he is clear on the fact that you are his fiancee not his wife. Arab muslims tend to undergo more scrutiny at the border, but you should be just fine.

Best of luck to you!

Hi And Welcome!!!!
I don't know anything helpful about immigrating from Iraq except that you probably shaved a year off the wait by avoiding Amman, good for you.
That red rose avatar belonged to Reddaisy (maybe spelled redaisy) ) She had a really long wait, but I don't remember what the holdup was so I don't know if her timeline is useful to you or not. I wonder how she is doing....
Anyways, Welcome

Welcome, Oum_Zaioody ! We're glad to have you join us !

As far as your questions..... let's see.... well Reddaisy's fiance was Iraqi. They finally received their K-1 visa... unfortunately they had to wait through 10 months of Administrative Review after his interview. She doesn't come on here much anymore, but you might try PMing her. Also there is another VJ member -- Crystal_Dream -- who is processing for an Iraqi (not sure if they are K-1 or CR-1 or K-3.) They are not yet at the interview stage, but you could also PM her for advice/info.

Don't know if the travel to Iraq would be a problem or not. But yes, there certainly are people who were issued a visa, yet got turned back by immigration upon arrival in the U.S. It's not all that uncommon. Read this thread for one recent case.... and most of all, make sure your fiance understands what went wrong here:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=15648

and here:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=15688

But please don't let all this scare you too much -- knowledge is power. And you're in the right place to get it.

Wishing you and your fiance the very best in your visa journey !



-MK

Welcome UOM_ZAIOODY. Good luck at the interview.

Meriem

Welcome to our little corner