I am new to this forum, actually new to all of VJ... so, hello!
My husband (as of Dec. 30, 2005) and I are trying to get the ball rolling on this whole visa process (we have been talking and talking about filing our I-130 for months). Our plan is to travel from Paris (where he is now) to Algeria this August to do a DCF at the US Embassy in Algiers.

I was wondering if any of you that have been to Algeria have applied for a "family guest" or "spouse" visa. I am looking at the requirements (on the Algerian Consulate website) and I'm not exactly sure what they are looking for.... for instance do I need a letter of invitation or sponsorship from my husband's family or my husband? and if it is from my husband, does it have to be notarized? and what does the letter need to say?

ANY information on this would be hugely appreciated.... thanks!

Hopefully Icey or Meriem will chime in, but neither of them did DCF. I haven't seen anyone here recently who did DCF through Algeria. Did you try sending the consulate an email?

i did talk to the consulate today, i think i know what i have to send
even though I'm not exactly sure what my husband should write in his letter besides that he is inviting me to algeria... but thanks!!

Hi Hollyw. Welcome to VJ. My fiance sent me a letter of invitation that was signed by his father since he owns the house I would be staying in. It was called a "Attestation d'hebergement" if i am spelling it right. It stated his fathers name birth date and birth place. His present address in Algeria. Then it had my name , birthdate, birth place, and address in the USA. Then it stated the dates I would be in Algeria. It was signed by his father and notorized at the public office of Setif. If he sends it to you from Algeria it will take about 21 days snail mail. I called the Algerian embassy in Washington and talked to Ali. He said if Hachemi color scans it and emails it and I get a good clear printout in color, they would accept it. And they did no problem. PM me if you need anything else. Good luck.

Meriem

Hi.. welcome to our lovely little corner. I am currently in Algeria on a family guest visa... so I had to have 2 passport photos, 2 visa applications, my intinerary, a $100 payment, the hebergement (invitation letter), and my passport.. in an overnight envelope, with a pre-paid return one on the inside with my address as the sender and reciever. ::takes a breath:: lol

The sponsorship hebergement/invitation letter must be written in the name of the homeowner of the domicile of where you will be staying. If you will be staying at his fathers house, then his father has to do the letter.

Also... last time I checked Algiers was not an embassy that does DCF, you can double check though to make sure, however I did find this information recently when I was helping out a friend.







yes, you did spell it right, vive meriem!

and you're right too about scanning, both of my documents were scanned and emailed and printed off..



yup.. we swooped right in. Me and Meriem both did fiancé visas because we both ran into the bureaucratic Algerian red tape of trying to get married... it is a long drawn out process, would involve a lot of paperwork, translating, heart ache and two separate visits just to get a marriage license ... and it is NOT cheap at all to get to Algeria... it's not like it's a hot destination spot..



their e-mail address is ConsularAlgiers@state.gov



and lastly, I dont really want to be nosy, but, is your SO legal in France? We had an instance not too long ago where a USC female had a Algerian husband who lived illegally in Spain, and now they're in a screwed situation because Algeria punishes any Algerian who overstays their visas abroad... Algeria puts a 5 year restriction on them, they cannot leave Algeria for anything for 5 years. Not that I'm assuming he is illegal in France, I just dont like to see people go through all the paperwork and money spending to go through heart ache.

thank you sooooo so so much for all the help...
I had emailed the US Embassy in Algiers last weekend to ask about filing the I-130 and they had said it was no problem, but I think I will email again and ask specifically if i have to be a legal resident of Algeria to file in Algiers... so thanks for the heads uP!

what a great idea about sending a color copy scan of the documents to the Algerian consulate... i was going absolutely crazy trying to figure out how i was going to get the papers from Algeria to the US with enough time to get the visa and leave for Paris on the 24th of July... i was even looking at plane tickets to Washington, DC to go down and get the visa in person. I'm sure I should call the consulate just to make sure that this is ok and to get an email address.... do I just need to ask if sending a color scan of the invitation is acceptable?

My husband IS a legal resident of France, although he is technically on a student visa and he is not a student anymore, but he doesn't seem to think he will have a problem once he's back in Algeria. But I do know plenty of people who are illegal... or "irregular" as they like to call it... in France and Spain, but I have never heard of the five year hold or anything... though I wouldn't be surprised....

thanks again for your help!!
it is such a relief to find a group of people that know what I'm talking about...
no one I know seems to have a clue!

Hachemi scanned the invitation and sent it to me. You will have to include the printed out color copy of the invitation with your visa application. They will not accept the invitation sent apart from the visa application.

You will need 2 copies of the Algerian visa application. It has to be filled out on the computer. They do not accept hand written applications. You can download it from the Algerian embassy website. Attach a passport style photo to each application. A 100 dollar money order, your passport, your flight itinerary, your invitation, like Icey said. Ok let me explain the overnight envelope. At the post office buy 2 overnight envelopes. On one address it to the embassy with your address as the return. On the one you are putting inside with the documents (so they will ship your passport back to you), go ahead and fill out your address as the sender and receiver. If something happens, either way, it will come back to you, instead of going back to the embassy and getting lost. Kind of silly, but it make sense really. Hope that helps.

Meriem

thanks again for all the help... i'm waiting now for the invitation so i can get my visa.
i emailed the US Embassy in Algiers about filing the I-130 in person at the embassy even if i wasn't a resident in Algeria.... and this is the response I got:

Dear Madam:

Thank you for your message. U.S. Consular Section in Algiers accepts
I-130 from any U.S citizen even if he/she is not resident in Algeria. You
will find more information about the requirement to petition your husband
on the following link:
http://algiers.usembassy.gov/family_based.html

Sincerely,

Consular Assistant



so I am assuming that this means I can do a DCF in Algeria? I just wanted to be clear that that is what the email means.... and then I follow the instructions and the guide on VJ for filing a DCF?
thanks again in advance

Hey, seems like there are a lot of Algerian people coming up on the boards. My fiancee is the one living in Spain illegally. I have brought up on multiple occassions that very few people have heard of/had a problem with this 5 years thing but he insists that his father is a police officer and that is the law. GGRRR I tell him that there are people online doing this but he just keeps saying that he won't risk it. You think there is there any way to find out for sure?

He has a meeting with the Spanish govt july 11th to see if they will give him legal residence...if they we are good to go there but if not...i really don't know what we'll do

curious to see how the DCF goes in Algeria...

i have never heard of having to stay in Algeria for five years because of overstaying a visa, but of course that doesn't mean it doesn't exist . i know plenty of Algerians in France that have overstayed their visas and none of them have ever mentioned that they cant go back because of this. i asked my husband about it tonight and he had never heard of it, but said that it could be something that is supposed to scare Algerians into not overstaying their visas and keeping them in the country. ??? who knows.
when i go to Algeria in August, first i am flying to Paris, because that is where my husband is now, and then we are taking the boat from Marseille to Oran (20 hours, ohhhh boy). The only think i can think of to suggest for you is that there is a boat that goes from Alicante, Spain to Oran and Algiers. Maybe they aren't as strict about passports and visas and everything? just a suggestion.... good luck!!