for all those in AP/AR in Egypt...

[dillydally 0]

hello fellow habayeb VJers,

How is everyone? InshAllah everyone is doing well and in good health especially during this blessed month of Ramadan. Now I am in the last steps of this process and my hubby is from Egypt (I applied for CR-1 and inshAllah everything goes well...since we are waiting for the case to be completed...sent to Egypt...then interview HOPEFULLY...and INSHALLAH approval). But I am noticing MANY people here have their loved ones waiting in AP/AR...while a lucky few...get approved immediately. Now I know this may make no sense...but I am wondering what the red flags are...

for example...is it the fact that someone has been married before, has children from a previous relationship/marriage, has income problems, age difference, different ethnicities, different religions...etc...

do not get me wrong i am all for diversity and love it but i am just wondering what causes these immigration officers to give the dreaded AP/AR ??? It would be interesting to see if each of us going through the Egyptian Embassy what our different qualities are and to see what the cause is to get a definite answer:

So I will start

Both my hubby and I have never been married before, neither of us have children from a previous relationship, we are both egyptian (I am the citizen), we are both Muslim, I do not have an income but I am getting support from my parents (el hamdulillah) and there is a 4 year age difference between us

Anyone else?? I mean I realize this is all personal information but I will compile the information to analyze it and maybe we can figure out what exactly is going on at the US embassy in Egypt Alrighty take care everyone and I am praying that everyone here gets their visa in hand ASAP!!!!!! I hate the fact that so many of us are so distant from our loved ones...and many at the hands of the US embassy in Egypt...ugh....lol inshAllah the visas are on the way!!

[Cheryl & Medo 3]

Medo and I have been in AP for 8 months... He is Muslim and I'm Christian. There is no problem supporting him. But we do have a 21 year age differance. Security checks have been complete, He had a home viset in July. Every thing is complete. They just need to stamp that freeking passport with a visa.

[sara535 15]

Who gets approved immediately? My understanding is that all men undergo AP/AR, certainly some longer than others but I dont think anyone gets approved immediately.

I think some people have been thrown off by the speedy approval and visa for The Sparrow's fiance, but their case is (in my opinion) pretty different than a lot here, largely because her fiance has already spent considerable time in the US as a student during which time they had a lengthy relationship. I am SURE that information really helped him pass through the security checks faster.

Could be wrong but its my theory.

everyone else going through Egypt, it just sucks.

I thought Morocco was bad but I think Egypt wins the crappy consulate prize.

[HLM 1]

well unfortunately i agree with sara!!! even though im still at the very beggining of this jounrney (yet the pain makes it feel like its been forever:() but i have read so many posts on how bad the embassy in Egypt is!!!

well dillydally... im egyptian married to an american...hes 27 and im 24.... we ve never been married before... ofcourse no children. we re both muslims. his parents are arabs. hmmm what else. we just sent out our papers like... three days ago or so!! so gosh hell of a way ahead. im taking advantage of the fact that we re in this blessed month and intensifying my prayers and duaas as much as i can.

[anitacastillo 0]

I think the name hits are more likely and more difficult/longer to overcome, than doubts about relationship.

IMHO

(I'm trying to be patient while the State Dept/FBI determine mi amor is not related - although they share a name- to a big time drug dealer...ugh!)

[~~~water~~~ 0]

I think lack of red flags definetly helps your cause,,,, Good luck I hope you journey is short...

[polarbear 0]

I think lack of red flags definetly helps your cause,,,, Good luck I hope you journey is short...

I have to agree that it's just the sucky Egyptian embassy. We're not in AP/AR because we have not been able to get the packet 3 and then an interview.... if it took 4 months for that, I don't want to think what's going to happen if he gets stuck in AP/AR.... But I'm thankful it only took 3 months to get an NOA2. Inshalla we will have an interview date soon.

Hopefully no red flags for us. Met in France where he had legal residency for 10 years, lived there together for awhile, returned home to our seperate countries, then applied for the K-1. He's Egyptian and Muslim, I'm American and Muslim (although I don't think they ask questions about your religion on any of the applications. Don't remember) No previous marriages, children, ect. and he's 7 years older. He's never been to the US though, so don't know if that will help or not.

[Aymerlu 3]

I'm just going to throw out my 2 cents here and it may not mean anything. My husband is now here, he's been here for over a year and our process from start to finish took 14 months. I don't think we had the typical "red flags," however what we consider red flags and what others consider red flags may be completely different. We had both been married. I had 2 children, he did not. The age difference is only 7 year, him being older. And really, I think it's considered a red flag if you have a SO in another country. Regardless of what some like to think, I beleive muslim men are put on AR a lot longer than christian men. I've been on this board for over 2 years and have seen 1 muslim man receive their visa quickly. (Good for them!) Also, as much debate as there has been here, Egypt is a high fraud country. I have seen quite a few women here fight to get there finace/husband here, only to regret it later. Am I for AR? I really have mixed feelings. I think the Cairo Embassy can do a heck of a lot more to speed things up, however, seeing things that I've seen in the past, I think they are really covering their steps. I know how the AR process hurts and how you feel like you are in a black hole, but speaking from experiance, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Hang in there everyone!!!!

[doodlebug 3]

There were a few others besides Sparrow that got their visas fairly quickly.

Anywho I'm the USC and am 42 now ( ) and muslim and have been divorced for 9 years with two children. My husband is Egyptian and is 34 (will be 35 in Dec) and never married and is muslim. We've been in AP for over 2 months now.

Up until this point things have gone fairly smoothly alhumdulilah aside from him taking a while to get the packet 3 together because he thought that once he has the interview he gets the visa and has to leave the country right away. hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

[Ahmed & Sue 0]

Hello again all,

Thought I might as well share my info.

I am 41, christian (heavily involved in the church), and widowed with 3 kids (one grown). Married 20 years when he died 2 years ago(my husband was 76 at the time of his death, so age is not a factor for me). The support income is not a problem. I have an excellent job for 12 years in an automotive factory.

Ahmed is 26, never married, muslim, no children. He is an English teacher for a private school, and he does home lessons nights and weekends.

We met online 2 years ago. Started the whole process June 3rd of 2006. Truthfully, when we met, I had just lost my husband, and I thought Ahmed was my oldest son playing tricks on me with the messenger. If it wasn't for that, I would never have kept talking to him. He kept telling me his problems, and I kept telling his straight out how to correct them. In return he listened to me go on and on and on about losing my husband, and how bad it felt. Looking back, it was kind of funny. Each of us kept trying to cheer the other one up. But me, I kept trying to figure out which friend my son had pulling the joke on me. I mean, I knew when I saw him on cam it was not my son, but we have a big range of nationalities we both know, and I was sure it was his friends helping him pull a prank. I just kept coming back each night talking to him trying to figure out where he "really" was at. Imagine how I felt when Ahmed asked me to marry him! Needless to say, I finally spoke with a mutual friend online that had known Ahmed for over 2 years. He assured me Ahmed was in Egypt, and my American friend went so far as to have a background check done on Ahmed (without my knowledge) to make sure he was not trying to scam me! Everything Ahmed had told me checked out. We filed in June, 2006, for a fiancee visa, and had to refile in October, 2006 after meeting in person for the first time in September. Ahmed's interview was April 18th, 2007, and we have been in administrative processing ever since. Some days are much harder than others. I am usually positive, but it gets really hard at times.

Anyway, now you know. And I know it sounds crazy, but it is a true story.

I just keep praying everyday. So far I am not seeing anyone turned down that is on here. It may take forever, but I have not seen anyone turned down yet. And this, I consider a good thing.

Sue

[SandyNJack 5]

Jack and I are both from the same religious background. Neither has been married before and neither has children. We do have a 13 year age difference, me being the older one. I am not sure what sort of hits his name will get given that his real name is Jack. lol But we will see how long it takes. It is torture to be apart from him and I miss him so much every moment of every day but we both try to remain calm and patient. I am very glad that you are all here and that I am here for you all as well.

Edited October 3, 2007 by SandyNJack

[♥Sora_9_Dam3a♥ 0]

i'm a US citizen, born and raised in the US...but i also have an egyptian passport..my husband is egyptian, we're both muslim...never been married, obviously no children...um...he's 8 years older than me...alhamdulillah, we began our paperwork in march 2007 and everything was reviewed and approved by november 2007..now, we're waiting on the interview date this is hard!!

good luck everyone!!!

[polarbear 0]

i'm a US citizen, born and raised in the US...but i also have an egyptian passport..my husband is egyptian, we're both muslim...never been married, obviously no children...um...he's 8 years older than me...alhamdulillah, we began our paperwork in march 2007 and everything was reviewed and approved by november 2007..now, we're waiting on the interview date this is hard!!

good luck everyone!!!

Sounds a bit like my case... never been married before, 8 yrs difference (he's older), both muslim, started paperwork march 2007 and we just had the interview... take heart, CR-1 takes a little longer than K-1, but inshalla you will have the interview date soon.

Edited December 5, 2007 by polarbear

[Ban Hammer 12,901]

i'm a US citizen, born and raised in the US...but i also have an egyptian passport..my husband is egyptian, we're both muslim...never been married, obviously no children...um...he's 8 years older than me...alhamdulillah, we began our paperwork in march 2007 and everything was reviewed and approved by november 2007..now, we're waiting on the interview date this is hard!!

good luck everyone!!!

and i'm confused

[♥Sora_9_Dam3a♥ 0]

i'm a US citizen, born and raised in the US...but i also have an egyptian passport..my husband is egyptian, we're both muslim...never been married, obviously no children...um...he's 8 years older than me...alhamdulillah, we began our paperwork in march 2007 and everything was reviewed and approved by november 2007..now, we're waiting on the interview date this is hard!!

good luck everyone!!!

and i'm confused

...haha...i mean, we were never married before we married each other...haha..