a few ?'s about applying for my egyptian husband

[pushbrk 13,611]

Be careful about lying-- I think Egypt is a place that they do house visits occasionally (!), so if you say one thing about his parents or family, and they come and visit and ask his family questions and hear another, you might be denied.

No, don't be careful about lying. Be absolutely truthful. Unfortunately, this region tends to have a reputation for lying carefully and sometimes without a care. Just tell the truth. Be very careful to be both truthful and accurate. No shortcuts with the truth. No worries about getting caught in a lie. Just tell the truth.

Edited November 26, 2012 by pushbrk

[kristen_maroc 126]

When I said "Be careful," I thought the implication was "don't lie." Because that's certainly what I meant. Lying = fraud which I believe can also be a bannable offense (I could be wrong!). Sorry if that isn't clear. I was trying to show that even small lies, like "my parents knew about my wife before she came to visit me" can be found out.

So yes. Absolutely. Do not lie!!!

[pushbrk 13,611]

When I said "Be careful," I thought the implication was "don't lie." Because that's certainly what I meant. Lying = fraud which I believe can also be a bannable offense (I could be wrong!). Sorry if that isn't clear. I was trying to show that even small lies, like "my parents knew about my wife before she came to visit me" can be found out.

So yes. Absolutely. Do not lie!!!

It was the explanation about how you might be "caught" as the reason for "being careful" about lying that got me going. There are cultures where people determine on a case by case basis DAILY whether to be truthful or to lie, based on their assessment of the risk of getting caught in the lie. Just engaging in the exercise indicates the tendency to be untruthful. That thinking has no place in the immigration process.

[kristen_maroc 126]

It was the explanation about how you might be "caught" as the reason for "being careful" about lying that got me going. There are cultures where people determine on a case by case basis DAILY whether to be truthful or to lie, based on their assessment of the risk of getting caught in the lie. Just engaging in the exercise indicates the tendency to be untruthful. That thinking has no place in the immigration process.

I'm with you. Unfortunately, sometimes people (and I'm not talking about OP, just in general) respond better to things that will certainly impact them (like getting caught) than doing the right thing. I'm the crazy girl who very strongly encouraged her husband not to work until the EAD card or green card was in-hand when he had offers for cash-under-table jobs... because down the line, when it comes to naturalization, it's better to be able to say truthfully that he's paid taxes on everything and only worked with documents than not. I don't want to put him in that position, so I very strongly convinced him that it was better to not have a job for awhile. A lot of people think that I was too paranoid. For me, after this crazy process, the last thing I want to do is jeopardize his status by doing that.

But, yeah. I know it happens. I knew a lot of people in Morocco who went through the process and some of them told lies in their interviews. I was shocked that they got through... I agree that it's best not to think about people lying or encourage it, but it happens.

[melanie1127 0]

The following answers will help us help you:

- How did you meet? Was it online?

- How long after you met did it become romantic?

- How long was it before you got married or engaged?

- How do you and his parents get along? Him and your parents?

- You mentioned religion isn't an issue-- that's great; can he articulate this at an interview?

- How is his English? What language do you usually communicate in?

Good luck.

- We met by chance on a boat party in cairo this summer.

- pretty quickly

- we got married 2 months after meeting, because i was going back to the US and i wanted to get married before i left so i could file his paperwork while i'm here for the holidays

- i have not met his parents yet, (i will in january) but they know of me, i've spoken to them on the phone, and they are happy about our marriage. he has never met my parents as he's not been to the US, but they know about him and are happy for us.

- as far as the religious difference -- why is this such an issue??????????????? what needs to be explained other than we don't mind the difference??

- his english is not perfect, but it's very good. i'm a TEFL teacher, so after we spend 8+ months together next year in asia where he'll be speaking nothing but english, his english will be perfect by the time he goes to the interview.

i'm thinking i might assemble the whole i-130 package and leave it with my mom when i go back to egypt, i'm going to meet his parents immediately when i return to egypt, and that way i can send photos to my mom, of me and his family, to include in the package and then send it off. do you guys think including photos with his family will make a big enough difference that i should include them even if it means delaying the sending of the package by a month?

[together4evr 360]

Yes. Wait and send pics. Or go live together in egypt and send the packet frim egypt using the egypt address and it will usually get processed quicker. when you get noa2 in 2 months then more it to asia. Marrying so quick is a red flag but it can be overcome

[hamigirl710 112]

- We met by chance on a boat party in cairo this summer.

- pretty quickly

- we got married 2 months after meeting, because i was going back to the US and i wanted to get married before i left so i could file his paperwork while i'm here for the holidays

- i have not met his parents yet, (i will in january) but they know of me, i've spoken to them on the phone, and they are happy about our marriage. he has never met my parents as he's not been to the US, but they know about him and are happy for us.

- as far as the religious difference -- why is this such an issue??????????????? what needs to be explained other than we don't mind the difference??

- his english is not perfect, but it's very good. i'm a TEFL teacher, so after we spend 8+ months together next year in asia where he'll be speaking nothing but english, his english will be perfect by the time he goes to the interview.

i'm thinking i might assemble the whole i-130 package and leave it with my mom when i go back to egypt, i'm going to meet his parents immediately when i return to egypt, and that way i can send photos to my mom, of me and his family, to include in the package and then send it off. do you guys think including photos with his family will make a big enough difference that i should include them even if it means delaying the sending of the package by a month?

Yes waiting a month and having more proof of a bonefide relationship is much better than sending it too soon and risking a denial. The religious difference does not make a difference to most of us but for some reason the consulates in Muslim countries many times will focus on this. This is a red flag and as long as you guys have a bonefide relationship I would not worry about it. I know you want to be together but you will be living in Asia together so if you can wait a few months to file I would do so. Longevity in a MENA relationship can help a lot at the consulate inteview!

Edited November 27, 2012 by hamigirl710

[pushbrk 13,611]

Yes waiting a month and having more proof of a bonefide relationship is much better than sending it too soon and risking a denial. The religious difference does not make a difference to most of us but for some reason the consulates in Muslim countries many times will focus on this. This is a red flag and as long as you guys have a bonefide relationship I would not worry about it. I know you want to be together but you will be living in Asia together so if you can wait a few months to file I would do so. Longevity in a MENA relationship can help a lot at the consulate inteview!

If you will live together a few months before the interview, there is not reason to wait to file any longer than it takes to include those photos with the parents. Several months living together pretty much covers any of the red flags mentioned.

[Cathi 5,849]

No, don't be careful about lying. Be absolutely truthful. Unfortunately, this region tends to have a reputation for lying carefully and sometimes without a care. Just tell the truth. Be very careful to be both truthful and accurate. No shortcuts with the truth. No worries about getting caught in a lie. Just tell the truth.

this is key, tell the truth and be as accurate as humanly possible. I am married to a man from a MENA country and we have a 21 year age difference, me being older. We met on the internet, married on the first visit and are different religions. As you can see we had some major red flags. I visited him 5 times in the first 9 months after we married, all visits being a minimum of 3 weeks, 2 of the visits 6 weeks or more. We front loaded our petition with about 15 pictures, co-mingling of finances(joint bank accounts and my being on his health insurance in his home country), travel itineraries for our honeymoon and other trips we took together, and boarding passes with corresponding visa stamps in my passport. I attended the interview with my husband, we were both interviewed and it was not an easy interview, we were both 100% honest in our answers. My husband's visa was approved and he had about 9 weeks of AP. Good luck.

[pushbrk 13,611]

this is key, tell the truth and be as accurate as humanly possible. I am married to a man from a MENA country and we have a 21 year age difference, me being older. We met on the internet, married on the first visit and are different religions. As you can see we had some major red flags. I visited him 5 times in the first 9 months after we married, all visits being a minimum of 3 weeks, 2 of the visits 6 weeks or more. We front loaded our petition with about 15 pictures, co-mingling of finances(joint bank accounts and my being on his health insurance in his home country), travel itineraries for our honeymoon and other trips we took together, and boarding passes with corresponding visa stamps in my passport. I attended the interview with my husband, we were both interviewed and it was not an easy interview, we were both 100% honest in our answers. My husband's visa was approved and he had about 9 weeks of AP. Good luck.

This is a classic example of how to overcome some significant red flags. Congratulations!

[Cathi 5,849]

This is a classic example of how to overcome some significant red flags. Congratulations!

Thank you pushbrk. We did not have an easy case by any stretch of the imagination, but we overcame all of our red flags. We were both well aware that it was going to be an uphill battle, and we were very prepared. Make sure you have all of your ducks in row and be prepared for anything. Even as prepared as I thought we were, at the interview when I was being questioned the CO threw a few questions at me I never expected in a million years. To the OP, just because you and your husband don't have a problem with the fact that you are different religions doesn't mean it is the social norm, because it isn't. You have to look at it from the perspective of the CO, they are trained to know what is socially acceptable and the norm, trust me. It is huge for them to know and SEE that your marriage and the difference in religion is accepted by your husband's family. My in-laws love and accept me like I am part of the family.