Hello~
I've been lurking around this part of the side for about a week now. I'm in the beginning stages of applying to bring my fiance here from Iran.
I'm still at the beginning but I'm already stressing over the whole AP thing. So- anyone else with a SO from Iran?

Thanks
~ZiZi

There are a couple of members here that filed from Iran, but I can't remember who. I know one has already been approved and reunited.

Welcome!!!

Joyeanne's fiance is from Iran. Of course she doesn't come to visit since he's been here. Hmmm wonder why?

Welcome to VJ

Welcome! Have you already filed the I-129F?

If not we might all have suggestions to make life easier.

Why, thank you for the welcomes

And thank you for the guidance to the member who's from Iran (too bad she doesn't come online anymore )

actually, i haven't filed yet, all my papers are ready to go, i just can't get myself to mail it
I keep thinking that I've done something wrong or something is missing

Any help would be MUCH appreciated

Welcome to VJ! Don't start stressing over AP just yet. There are plenty of things to stress you before you get there .

Welcome. Any questions you have just ask. There is a lot of experience floating around VJ.

Welcome to VJ. There is deffinately a wealth of knowledge here and a great support system to get you through the wait.
I know what you're feeling with the paper work... I think I went through my packet over 100 times before I got the nerve to just seal the envelope and send it in I thought for sure I had missed something but it got approved rather quickly so I would advise you to just double, maybe triple, check everything and send it in.
There are some new things with IMBRA that I'm not familiar with so if it's something to do with that that's causing your stall then I suggest you ask someone else to check with you.
Good luck on your journey and God be with you

If I had to file again I would include a letter. In this letter I would express my love for my husband, and how I know he loves me. I would also include letters of support from both my family (notorized), and his family (translated and notorized/stamped). In this letter I would address any red flags that the consulate might find in our relationship to assure that the USCIS is aware of everything. Once they approve the knowledge of all of the flags it makes it difficult for the consulate to return it for validity of the relationship.

Do you know if you have any red flags?

Welcome to VJ! We are glad you are here. Relax...you are in for a rough ride, but we are all here to support you and help (if we can). Especially these folks on the MENA side of the board. They are a wonderful group with a large following of non-MENA lurkers (like me!). Anyways...I look forward to hearing more from you.

Joel

Awww I wasn't expecting such a warm welcome
I'm so happy I found a place where a lot of people are going through the same thing I am going through

Well, Morroco4ever, I guess I DO have quite a few red flags. At least, I think it will cause problems for me down the line. The first problem I have is that I'm a college student and my dad is supporting me. He's offered to cosponsor for me and he's going to support my fiance and I until we can get him permission to work when he comes here. So... I'm definitely stressing about how that will look on paper.
Also, I'm not sure if this will cause us a problem or not but my fiance is also my cousin. I know I know, totally NOT the thing to do in the US, definitely WASN'T expecting it, fought it to the end, but what can I say... it's love .
Oh and the little fact that my guy is Iranian . I do believe THAT will be the biggest red flag of all .

Thank you once again everyone for making me feel soooo welcome and I'm sure I will be turning to you all for answers to totally ridiculous questions.



Oh my God, my packet has been ready for almost a month now and I just can't make myself send it. I keep making new copies of the SAME evidence of meeting and putting things in different order. I think I'm going to drive myself crazy before I actually get it sent off .

I tend to believe that your biggest red flag is that he is your cousin. Is he your first cousin? Are you of Arab descent? I am first thinking of the legality here, and second if it appear that you are marrying for immigration purposes.

I doubt that you need a co sponsor is too much of a big deal really. Have you or your father ever petitioned a foreigner before?

Have you met face to face? How many times? Do you have support for this marriage from both sides of the family? Uhhhh....one and the same?

Do a search here in visa journey on red flags. It will give you a list. You need to think like a consular officer. They aren't looking to prove your case is valid, but rather that your case is invalid.

Good luck.

Well, I live in Maryland and I'm 100% sure that our marriage would be legal in this state. I'm not of Arabic descent but I'm Iranian. Actually, I was born and raised in the US but parents are both 100000000000000% Iranian.
Since 2003 when I first met him (like I said, I was born and raised in the US), I've traveled to Iran to see him 7 or 8 times. All of these are WELL DOCUMENTED. I'm a huge pack rat so I have EVERYTHING, all the boarding passes, all our yahoo conversations, etc....

Welcome!

Hello And Welcome...

I hope you can bring your SO to the USA soon, but be prepared for anything...have alot of patience! We are inchallah here for you!

Welcome to ME/NA. When I filed, I used a lawyer for the simple reason that I worry too much over if I have all the right documentation or not. (So I can't really help you there) I will help you the best I can ...The one thing to remember always is.....BE PATIENT! It's a long road and without patience, you'll go crazy..... Good luck on your journey and again, WELCOME!

amal

Hello and welcome. You'll never get anywhere until you get those papers in the mail. I did forget to make copies so you're way ahead of me there. Just be sure that a marriage is legal in your state between cousins, especially if first cousins. Good Luck on your journey.

Doreen

Uh duh....of course you aren't Arabic! Someone slap me silly! Why is it some of us assume that if you are of middle eastern descent then you are Arabic?

It sounds like you are very prepared, and that is a great thing. Of course I still believe they will scrutinize the fact that you are related, so I would still address that in your letter. I am assuming that marrying your cousin is acceptable in your culture, so I would use that fact. Even if it is legal in the state you live in, it is still frowned on here in the US, so make sure to use the culture you grew up in to prove your case. I stress this because I know first hand how they think about family of prospective immigrants that live here in the US try to bring over relatives on fraud marriage. You need to be prepared for this.

They also scrutinize when you need a co-sponsor, but the fact is that you are still young and a student, so I think that won't be too big of a red flag.

The reason I am telling you to address all of this in your initial petition to the USCIS is because our petition was approved with no problems, but when it got to the consulate they doubted our relationship was valid. They sent it back to the service center and requested that they revoke the petition based on the fact that they believe our marriage was for avoiding the immigration rules. We were finally able to prove our case to the USCIS, and they have now reaffirmed our case, and it is going back to the consulate. This has taken such a long time, and if I would have known then what I know now I would have addressed all of these flags first, giving them no power to send it back.

I hope this helps give you some ideas. Its good you found this forum, there are a lot of people here that are not only experienced, but very helpful. I wish I had found this forum before I had filed.

Best of luck to you!

oh no, i'm so sorry to hear about what you've gone through to get your visa. it's unbelievable that they make it so hard to get married .

Um.. regarding addressing our relationship in our petition... Should I write a separate letter? I mentioned that we are cousins on the actual petition and that we met through our familial ties (obviously ) in our "How we Met" supplement. Do you think I should go ahead and write a separate letter explaining our specific relationship and that it is a semi-common practice in Iran (well, at least some parts of it)?

Thanks for your help .

Most definately! I would write a letter declaring your love for each other, I would mention in passing that the practice of marrying cousins is okay, but stress more your relationship, your courtship, how you fell in love, how you know he loves you....make sense?

Thanks for your support in our situation. Morocco is notorious for sending back petitions. We have now been married almost 2 years, and I think our fight is coming to an end soon. We are waiting now for his second interview. Our hopes is that they will give up the fight and realize that our marriage is real, otherwise we would have never made it through all of this mess.

Did you search in visa journey of the other red flags? There is a big list, and it would be wise to review it before you start your letter.

welcome

the hard part for me was the paper work... the easy part is mailing it good luck ...