Hi everyone,

Let me start off by saying a big "thank you" to those of you with experience with this process and all the help and encouragement you give to others when things don't go as one wants and hopes it will. God Bless you all.

Yesterday, dgintenn asked what she thought was a "dumb" question. I'm the type person that thinks there is no such thing as a dumb or stupid question until it comes to my own questions. So here's my "dumb" question.

I was in Morocco this past February....my first "meet in person" visit. Tarek proposed to me the night before Valentine's Day and then gave me a ring the night of Valentine's Day. (Oh....my answer was "yes"). Exactly one week later, I was given henna. There really wasn't a big deal made about it. It was done at his house. His Mother and Grandmother were there as well as the lady that did it, of course, and her Mother and 2 year old daughter. Tarek and a friend of his were in and out during the 2-1/2 hour ordeal. He took pictures which I have put in an album intended for him to take with him to the interview. So here's the question.....Now I didn't consider this an engagement party, but will the consulate? And will the pictures be a good or bad thing?

Ok....here's another one. I'm going back to Morocco in September. That will be a 7 months span. Is that going to be considered a long gap in time between being with him?

I've been working on my "letter of intent" for a while now and I tend to want to explain EVERYTHING. So are these 2 questions legit and should I put something about them in my letter.....especially explaining the time frame between visits?

Thanks

I don't really know about either one, but I would say the pictures could be good Henna isn't just done at engagements or before weddings, and I don't see why you should specifically address it as "not" or "definately" and engagement party.

As far as 7 months being a long time, I have no idea.. I have had 5 visits all together, and after I got married it was 6 months before I could go again, then 6 months after that visit I saw him in January. I'm a graduate student and I stated that i was a poor graduate student who could neither afford a lawyer nor travel extensively, and that was all I bothered to say about it. We talk every day so I would think it's obvious we're not just not interested in seeing each other. Hopefully, some one will come with better answers!

You only need to have a face to face visit within the last two years to qualify for the I-129F fiance visa filing.

Yes the photos would be good, but you only need photos and other documentation to support the fact that you visited him when you said you did.

Your letter of intent should be short, very short and to the point. Do not put a lot of verbage in it.
Just say, "To whom it may concern, I _-your name -- have accepted his proposal of marriage on such and such a date and we will wed within 90 days upon arrival in the US. sign it and date it.

Ok....so the basic generic "letter of intent" would be the best to use. I've seen where people of written that they explained about reasons for time lapses, etc. Where are they explaining that?

uuuuuhhhhhhh....

I don't think the 7 months is a big deal. Many people meet and then apply for the visa and it's nearly a year before they are together again. Most people cannot afford to make multiple trips half way around the world on a 'regular' basis. The main thing is to document communication, with phone bills, emails and chat logs, which you will send to Tarek when preparing for the interview.

Keep in mind if you file by May, depending on whether you get RFE's your interview should come around some time shortly thereafter. First thing you need to fill in your profile and timeline. If you are going through Vermont and the filing goes smooth. It'll take < 3 months until you get an interview. If you file through Cali then add another 3 months to that. In other words, don't pay for a ticket just yet. I would either file and see how it goes and be sure to disclose the age difference in your cover letter. Or better yet, take the advice given and get married.

I hope this helps a little.

best wishes

Hi, dgintenn here. Thanks for the "there are no dumb questions" comment!!! I too, did the henna thing. In our case, it was an engagement party with family, but I sure don't see how that can be a bad thing. But knowing Casa, who knows. People are too fast to make snap judgments about these couple's intentions. Only the two people involved know their own circumstances and feelings.

I wish I had read more on here before we submitted Hamid's I-129 so I could address more on red flags. I will be going back in June for a month. My span will be 3 months. I'm sure many of us will tap out our savings seeing our SO thanks to Casa. Like I said, I wish I had explained a little more in my letter. I am gathering more evidence to take to Hamid for his interview. But to tell you the truth, after hearing all on this sight, I am so discouraged due to our age difference, fairly short relationship (by Casa standards), and my divorces. Most of these men have made it clear about their circumstances, such as whether or not they are poor, how they feel about merging cultures, whether they are looking for marriage and children, etc. These Moroccan men I have met (including Hamid, his friends, and others on the web) have, to the last person, been honest, sincere, working men who just want to meet a woman for a long-term relationship.

It's so unfair that a person sitting in Casa makes a snap judgment and effectively destroys many legit relationships. But Hamid and I have made up our minds we will keep appealing and refiling if necessary, until he gets to come here as we planned. If we lose appeals on two applications, we will probably get married and file a spousal visa and keep fighting this. If American relationships had to defer to Casa's standards, there would be very few relationships in the U.S.A.

By the way, he would just as soon I live there, but I can't retire right now, and health care is not so great there. Plus Americans would be giving up Medicare and other health care that you have paid a fortune into. I am going to look into teaching jobs in the future just in case. So if anybody has any info on that front, please let me know. Also, he would gladly sign a prenup, so it's hard to see how Casa can see these guys as golddiggers or green card grabbers, although I'm not stupid enough to think there aren't those types floating around. If a person is willing to invest years appealing, how can these be phony marriages and relationships?

I APPLAUD EACH AND EVERY PERSON ON THIS SITE--YOU ARE SO DEDICATED TO HELPING OTHERS AND IT IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!!!

IN SUMMARY (AND I KNOW YOU ARE SAYING, FINALLY, PRAISE ALLAH) IMMIGRATION NEEDS TO SPEND ITS MONEY GOING AFTER THE KNOWN PROBLEMS INSTEAD OF CREATING PROBLEMS FOR THE REST OF US!!! NOW I'LL SHUT UP, AT LEAST FOR THE MOMENT!!!! LOL

Hello and welcome to VJ. Many people have engagement parties in Morocco and many do not. If you have pictures, then you can present them at his interview, just be sure he makes positive they are aware they are for an engagement, not a marriage. My husband and I did not have an engagement party in Morocco, though we did become engaged there and gave one another rings, which he proudly showed them during his interview. He did, of course, make arrangements for me to have henna done while on my visit, because he knew I would like this. I only made one trip to Morocco in 10/04 and applied for our K-1 in 11/04. It was approved in 2/05 and he had his interview 5/05 (all this is in our timeline). I did not make another trip back to Morocco. The only requirement of filing a K-1 is that you have met within two years of your filing. I would think that he just might be here with you within the 7 months of your filing.

The letter of intent is very simple and there is an example on VJ.

Good Luck.

Doreen