American Husband and Egyptian Wife

[americandude 0]

I am engaged to a 25 year old Egyptian Muslim woman whom I met in Egypt about two years ago. I'm a 30 year old American citizen finishing my thesis in Cairo. It's my understanding that most American-Egyptian marriages involve American women and Egyptian men. As I intend to marry my fiancee very soon, I'd like to find other couples that consist of an American husband and an Egyptian wife, both because I'd like to find out how their visa application processes went and also because I would like to discuss their experiences with intercultural matrimony.

Specifically, I'd like to know if during the I-130 visa process whether such a coupling is looked upon favorably. In other words, do American embassy officials have fewer concerns about visa fraud and the like if the husband is American and the wife is Egyptian? For selfish reasons, I certainly hope so!

Also I'd like to know what the typical waiting time the past year or so has been for I-130 visa approval in Egypt.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Boiler 43,438]

I am not sure I have seen many if any in your situation.

Sounds like good news and bad news. Less issue for the Consulate but you are not likely to get on TLC.

[kyrachos 11]

I don't personally know anyone in your situation (Egyptian wife/fiancee, foreign husband/fiance), but I know they exist! When my husband and I did our civil marriage at the Ministry of Justice, there was a non-hijab-clad (i.e. I don't know if she was Christian or Muslim) Egyptian woman marrying an Asian man and another woman who was wearing a hijab marrying a Caucasian guy. They exist, but I can't connect you to them.

My personal opinion is that yes, your situation is looked more favorably upon than the typical case (Muslim man, "Christian" woman, sometimes much older). In the end, I don't think it matters very much, though. If a couple has enough evidence, they will be approved. The red flags are being different religions, not meeting the in-laws, communication barriers, short engagement/marriage periods, wife covering much more of the finances than the husband (and other things that are strange according to Egyptian culture), large age differences, met online, and other things. Any couple that doesn't have a combination of those red flags is looked favorably upon. Heck, when I went to the US embassy to get my eligible-for-marriage affidavit, the consular officer asked me how my then-fiance (who was standing next to me) and I met and she beamed (literally, her demeanor went from dull and serious to happy and chirpy) when I said something other than online or that he was my tour guide (that's also one they probably see a lot). We had a nice, quick chat about it, in fact. Anyway, my point is that when it comes down to the interview, your situation certainly won't hurt you, but the CO might find something else to pick at, so you still have to provide a lot of evidence that your marriage is real.

As for the wait times, there are various factors that will determine how long you and your (soon-to-be) wife will wait. We got our NOA1 on October 3 and haven't heard a peep since then, but our case is at the Nebraska Service Center. Apparently California is moving quickly. We will probably be looking at 9-12 months before we're approved if everything goes well, but that's just a guess. There's a way to search VJ to find the statistics you are looking for, but I'm still new to the site, so I am not sure how to access them.

[~PalmTreeGurl~ 154]

Best wishes on your upcoming marriage. I'm an American woman that married an Egyptian man in 2006. Started the process from beginning to end = 6yrs and hubby has been a US Citizen now for 2years. There are a couple of Egyptian women married to American men in the group but not sure if they come over here much since they are done with the visa process.

[HollyDaniela 6]

Are you a Muslim man? It is against Islam for a Muslim woman to marry a non-Muslim man. This could cause a lot of problems for her with her family if you are not Muslim.....If you are not, well hey I am a non-Muslim woman marrying a Muslim man, and so trust me I understand that love is love, why do there have to exist such barriers?

[Karam and Jamie 44]

I am engaged to a 25 year old Egyptian Muslim woman whom I met in Egypt about two years ago. I'm a 30 year old American citizen finishing my thesis in Cairo. It's my understanding that most American-Egyptian marriages involve American women and Egyptian men. As I intend to marry my fiancee very soon, I'd like to find other couples that consist of an American husband and an Egyptian wife, both because I'd like to find out how their visa application processes went and also because I would like to discuss their experiences with intercultural matrimony.

Specifically, I'd like to know if during the I-130 visa process whether such a coupling is looked upon favorably. In other words, do American embassy officials have fewer concerns about visa fraud and the like if the husband is American and the wife is Egyptian? For selfish reasons, I certainly hope so!

Also I'd like to know what the typical waiting time the past year or so has been for I-130 visa approval in Egypt.

Thanks in advance for any help.

I personally know an Egyptian woman who married an American man. They are both Christians though. Their Visa journey went just fine Best of luck to you

[shhamada 5]

The problem you'll encounter is converting to islam. You'll have to marry in Egypt. It'll take months. Just do your research and be very prepared.

I'm female and married a Moroccan man, that was a six week nightmare. Marrying a non muslim man is difficult, but can be done..it isnt Egypt per se, but islam.

Best wishes to you both

[Ihavequestions 419]

Just read the guides and follow the instructions and you will be fine. Know that an Egyptian and a foreigner must have a courthouse marriage and that can take a couple of days to accomplish. You are free to have a separate, religious ceremony as long as it takes place AFTER the courthouse marriage (so there is no confusion during the immigration process).

Mabrook!

[Cali&Safi 3]

^{Bring her here on a K1, its faster, and then you can marry here.}

^{I know of a girl. 4 -5 years ago, Muslim-Egyptian who married a American guy- Christian after she was issued a K1 Visa, it was basically straight forward in their process, with little troubles.}

^{But with any visa you apply for, have your evidence in order, lots of it, especially pics with her and her family.......}

^{Best Wishes.}

Edited December 24, 2014 by Cali&Safi

[Moustafa/Crystal 65]

I think as long as you are a real couple, you will be fine. Start collecting your evidence and getting the necessary documents. It is my understanding the wait from filing the I-130 to POE is just over 400 days for a regular non-expedited visa without too many delays. I am assuming you are Muslim otherwise you are going to find it nearly impossible to get married to her in the Middle East. The K-1 will get your wife to America faster, but you will have to around a 12 month wait to get her a green card, plus the cost is higher.

If it was me, I would get married ASAP and get the paper work turned in. It is a lot of waiting. The Nebraska Service Center is running taking about 5.5 months to process the I-130 for a petiton with no RFE's. Then up to 60 plus days at NVC....The sooner you get started, the sooner you can bring your wife to the USA. Good luck!

Edited January 15, 2015 by Crystal Klein

[Cathi 5,610]

Are you Muslim? If not you will have many problems to overcome. It is against Islam for a Muslim woman to marry outside of the religion, and her parents surely won;t allow it. the consulate is also very aware of the culture and how she is not allowed to marry anyone but a Muslim.

If you are Muslim, congrats! Follow the guides at the top of the page and you should be fine.

^{Bring her here on a K1, its faster, and then you can marry here.}

^{I know of a girl. 4 -5 years ago, Muslim-Egyptian who married a American guy- Christian after she was issued a K1 Visa, it was basically straight forward in their process, with little troubles.}

^{But with any visa you apply for, have your evidence in order, lots of it, especially pics with her and her family.......}

^{Best Wishes.}

There is no way a Muslim family would allow their daughter out of the country with a man if they are not married first.

[Boiler 43,438]

Just going by VJ but many Muslims marry non Muslims.

And use the K1.

[amysaid 9]

Many Muslims marry non Muslims yes, but that's Muslim MEN marrying non-Muslim women... The opposite is not allowed in Islam and the embassy staff are well aware of that. They will question the hell out of it. I do know an Egyptian woman that married an American man but the man converted to Islam before they married, and even then the family seemed to still have issues. But their K1 visa was eventually approved. The good news is AP is generally a lot shorter for Egyptian women than Egyptian men.

[Boiler 43,438]

The Consulate do not operate under Islamic laws.