I know getting denied a visa is not funny, but the TV thing really is a hoot. I can picture it now.

Usama is convinced, as are his sisters, that some of his "friends" have given him the evil eye.

They told me to put up my right hand and say something but I forget what to say. Can you imagine walking around Boston and when someone gives you a dirty look putting up your right hand and saying this thing to ward off evil spirits?




omg you should have seen the faces! There were like 50 + people in the inside waiting room (there are two waiting rooms, one in and one outside) and they were glued to that tv with their eyes popping out when the sad guy walked away with the paper.

Did they make you say "Hamza al enake"? I tried to spell it like it sounds.

My hubbie says that almost every time we talk. If I tell him that someone told me how cute our little boy is...he'll say it. I think I've posted on here before that my husband had me to put up a silver plate with the "hamza" hand that has the eye in the palm. I had to post it on the wall that faces the front door.... it's supposed to keep out the "evil eye".

I honestly don't remember. They gave me so many things to say I can't remember them all. He also had me say something to him each time after we prayed...it's supposed to mean let's pray together in mecca or something like that. I'm not good at remembering things unless they're written down but I was too hot to even think over there. lol

That is kind of funny. I don't remember the TV, but maybe we just didn't pay it any attention. Or maybe they roll it out when the DV interviews are done????

Also, we weren't waiting very long before we got called to the window. But, that would have been an interesting video to see.

There were two waiting areas. When you first go to the visa area there is an outside waiting area with some chairs. We at first bypassed that and headed inside and we were told that we needed to wait outside until we were called. After the first couple of hours I was thirsty so the man let me go to the bubbler to get some water. That's when I first saw the tv. It was air conditioned inside too.

When they finally called us and the lady took some papers from him and told us to sit down, we then had the choice of either sitting inside, where the tv/video was, or back outside. That's when we saw the video played over and over again. It was a/c in there so originally I wanted to stay but then after watching the video I decided we should wait outside in the heat instead of freakin' out watching the sad guy walk away with the paper with no visa.

Man...that is a real mind screw to have something like that on TV while people are waiting to find out if they are denied or not.

Oh. OK. Yeah, I definitely remember the 2 waiting areas. We have been there twice, plus I have been to the other side, American Services about 3 or 4 times. We waited inside the whole time (except for cig breaks), but maybe you had to sit outside cause there were a lot of people there? That sucks. Especially because of the heat!!!! OMG, I am so glad we didn't see that video. It sounds depressing.

This is not an unusual question. We were asked the same thing 5 years ago for AOS here at our local office.

It happened right here in California, too, so it really doesn't matter who, what, when, or where.

well the reality is that a huge number of visa applicants from that region ARE denied the tourist and lottery visas due to not meeting the requirements. When my husband was waiting for a few hours in the room in Casa he said he saw many many people denied. Fortunately he and I had already talked about the difference between our family based visa and some of the others so he knew he was in a different situation. I also had told him very very clearly that he would NOT get his visa the day he interviewed because there would be a period of administrative review.
I personally think its SO important to try to learn from each other and tell our SO's exactly what to expect (to the best of our abilities, anyway). My husband was certainly intimidated at the prospect of going through the whole interview at the U.S. consulate thing, particularly after hearing so many anecdotal tales of denials, and knowing what to expect made it much easier for him. Its one of those 'ounce of prevention' type things. So maybe from now on make sure those guys going through egypt KNOW about the stupid TV thing, without scaring any one too much about the hellish interviewers. Remaining calm is key.

Doodle, I know you are at a peak time in all of this process but it sounds like aside from the pictures that were requested you guys are ok. Easier said than done, but it sure sounds like your man needs you to be the strong stable one right now and he's needing some reassurance. Be a rock. and again, easier said than done but try to just blow off the sex question. as someone else said, it must be a fair game question because it does come up from time to time. maybe later down the road it would in fact be good to send a formal complaint but now is not really the time to let it send you over the edge.

Good point. I remember reading that it happens all over. And I also knew that people get asked very personal questions during the AOS interview. So, it was definitely discussed with my husband that he could get asked the question at any point. Doodle's husband may even get asked that question again in the future.

It is a fact of life, but it still rubs a lot of people the wrong way. But, then again, almost every part of immigration is bothersome in some aspect.

We got it in AOS, when we were interviewed separately & then together, to see if it matched.

My husband was told several times he was approved for the interview by the CO and that they would call him in 1-2 months for his passport... he was handed a white paper with his name, CRO# and AP and send passport checked off... so its not a bad thing that he got a paper... if he was denied he would KNOW it... so its all good doodle ... just do whatever is needed (photos) i think u said... and get that finished ASAP so the AP can begin... and be sure to call DOS and ask them the status of ur case... just to see whats going on in washington....

Hey Doodle, glad to see you back home in one piece. Sorry to hear your vacation was made bad by sickness and heat. As far as the visa issuance, well, I think maybe someone forgot to send their mojo for us. It'll all come thru in the end tho, we've made it this far without a total meltdown, now it seems we just take it in stride while waiting for the other shoe to fall. Good luck and keep a chin up.

Heyyyy I sent Mojo Burritos and Mojo Meat Seasoning !!

But here's another dose to help you sail over the hump:



Hope your processing goes fast !



-MK

Doodle just reading your post and wanted to reassure you that the CO not keeping his passport is not an issue. It depends on the CO and how he/she handles each case. Mian's passport was not kept, he was not asked to pay a courier fee, and was not given a token. He was given two sheets of paper one was blue and stated it was a 221(g) and we just needed some additional AP. The other was a form letter stating our case was in AP and to call them after 45 days passed if he had not heard from them. This is a joke on this estimate for Islamabad now they are saying months which is correct for the consulate we processed through.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...ost&id=2442
Blue 221(g) copy

I do not have a scanned copy of the white form letter on my pc. Some cosulates also use different colors so do not worry too much if you have white forms instead of blue, green or pink.

Hang in there!
Mary