IsrAziz

No worries A relative did that layover too. I had confirmed it with the consulate of Spain. They said as long as we weren't leaving the terminal, no need. I double checked with the airline and our bags were transferred safely, no need to go to baggage claim, etc, even with that long layover.

PS Seriously, stake out the electrical outlets. I only saw one and we got a good amount of dirty looks from people desperately looking for a place to park the night

Im not too concerned about that because I dont even own a laptop unfortunately coz it SURE could have come in handy on this trip. But with my luck I would have been one of those people walking around giving the dirty looks to those who had the outlet!!!! HAHAHA

Would you happen to know if there are any cyber cafes we would have access to? I probably wont even get your reply since we are leaving in like 3 hours but in case you are still online -

We did the Madrid 18 hour layover. You don't need a visa because you don't have to leave the terminal. Just find yourself a comfy spot to park yourselves (preferable near an outlet so you can plug in your phones/laptop, etc) and be prepared to listen to the automated airport announcements all.night.long

Thank you SOOOOOOO much for this confirmation of the information I got online!!!!! So good to hear from someone who is from Morocco and actually went through the same experience!!! I really really appreciate you posting this and taking a HUGE weight off my mind! I pictured us being turned away at gunpoint as soon as our plane landed HAHAHAHAHAHA Good to know thats not going to happen!

This link may lighten his mood Visa Requirements for Moroccan Citizens

Well thats not going to really make much of a dent in his mood because we are making the trip on Tuesday and I notice that Spain is not on there for being all that friendly to Moroccans.

Anyway his dream has always been to visit Oslo in Norway sooooooooo yeah!

Hahaha - Sorry

IKR????? Me too!

My husband right now: Me right now:

HAHAHAHAHA Its not funny but really you just gotta laugh!

He won't unfortunately. Certain countries may waive his visa requirement. Canada is an example of a country that may waive the requirement if he has a green card.

But this is at the discretion of Canadian officials, not a right given by the US. US rights are irrelevant outside of the US, just as how Moroccan law is irrelevant outside of Morocco.

Legally, the difference between being an LPR and a US citizen is this:

USC: A USC is by law an American, regardless of ethnicity or national origin.

LPR: An LPR is by law a <fill in your nationality> allowed by the US government to live in the US permanently.

Your rights are subject to what soil you're on. If you're on US soil, you're subject to US law. US law recognizes LPR status. If you're on i.e. Spanish soil, you're subject to Spanish law. A right given in the US is irrelevant to Spanish law. Your passport is a valid document everywhere. Thus, you're treated as a citizen of the country that issued your passport.

After you explained it to me I totally understand now. It makes perfect sense and what I was thinking before makes no sense. Even though my husband really liked the way I was thinking and not the way you explained it hahaha

Yeah, we've gone back to US a few times on vacation to visit family, but we've gone together there every time. Except for last July I went alone in only a week's notice after I found out my mother had two heart attacks and was in the hospital, (husband couldn't get off of work) but I'm sure I could get her to retrieve the medical records to show why I travelled alone that one time. And I still have a bedroom with all my stuff still in it with twin beds for whenever we visit, so it's not like we don't have a place to go when we move. Only reason I sold my Mercedes was because it had about $8k worth of work to be done on it to fight away the rust that was catching up on it and it wasn't going to be driven while I was gone anyway.

But I'm sure now with my parents having their own company, giving us a place to stay and being willing to hire us into their office we shouldn't have a problem with the I-864's.

You and your husband have already travelled to the USA together sounds like its going to be a piece of cake for you to get his visa then. You probably wont go through even a quarter of what we did since my husband has never been out of Morocco his entire life.

Alright, glad I asked, hehe. I know what it's like to apply for a visa and find out certain information at the wrong time. Happened with us when we wanted to pay via money transfer for my husband's tourist visa just 5 weeks prior to flying and we found out the day before our appointment the transfer would take 3-5 business days. (German banks like the money to circulate a bit before they transfer it into the second account) I was so stressed out to find that we'd have to reschedule our appointment, our hotel reservations, etc.

How long do you think it'd take with DCF if I did everything right? I know it has to do with which country and which consulate, but would you say 6 months - a year for DCF? Either way I know it's a heck of a lot faster abroad than applying within the US.

I couldnt venture to say but as you said it depends on many different issues. In our case it took a full year and a half but as I told you we were making all kind of mistakes during the process and had to redo many of the documents because we either filled them out wrong or used the wrong form in the first place. Thats the reason I stressed to have 2 I864 documents and to fill them out correctly. Im sure filling out the documents properly the first time will save you much stress, time and headaches.

Another problem we faced is that (as I had heard prior to our even applying) the American Consulate in Casablanca Morocco is one of the tougher consulates to get a visa from. Morocco is one of the top countries known for young men going online in search of older American or European women for green card marriage. I was told that in many cases once the man receives his green card he will then divorce his American wife and usually either return to Morocco to marry someone he had a prior relationship with or even find a new wife from his native country. This is what I was told is the reason that Morocco is red flagged automatically if the couple meets online and if the woman is older than her husband which both is also true in our case. So our visa process was already red flagged before we ever even put our names on the application.

Our saving grace is the fact that I left everything I owned in the United States (work home family friends everything) to actually MOVE to Morocco and marry my husband and I never left not even for a short visit until after he got the visa. We had affidavits from all of his coworkers and some neighbors in the village where we lived together proving we reside in the same home the entire time I lived there. We had a lot of pictures taken with his family on various outtings and also just in the home. I had saved many of our chat logs from the time since we met until my move to Morocco and still it took a very long time and we visited the American Consulate more times than I want to remember.

Because our case ran over a year in processing time my husband was required to repeat the medical exam because it had expired. When he was approved for the visa he still had to repeat the police reports because they had also expired before they actually issued the visa. Our process was long and at times very frustrating and expensive but mainly it was due to our own error and the fact that my husband is Moroccan, we met on the internet and I am older than he is. In your case it could be much faster and easier depending on your situation and circumstances.

I wish you and your husband much luck and happiness in the USA!

I was in same situation as you dear, they wont let us book at flight because it is going to enter UK london and he cant go there without a transit visa , so we decide to book at direct flight regardless the price, sometimes we have to stop thinking about money and come to usa first before anything esle . Well thats what we have decided we end up booking a direct flight for 1200 but if he were to enter london without no problem we would be able to get a cheap flight for 800. OH well.. all that matter is that he will be here...

I understand what you are saying and really appreciate the advice but honestly at this point we are bound and have no choice. When we originally book the flight we had never heard of a thing called a transit visa because the original flight had no long layovers and was basically just in and out. However as I stated in one of my posts above ^ the airline cancelled the flight right out from under us and forced us to take an alternate flight with an OVERNIGHT layover in Madrid!!! If we had been booking ourselves we would never have accepted this flight but the airline has told our travel agent that if we choose to have our money refunded and used towards a different airline carrier they would penalize us 500.00 DH PER TICKET. So now its not just a matter of spending more to get a better flight rather it is an issue of having money TAKEN from us for no good reason!

Whatever you decide to do I suggest you also check with whatever airline you decided on using. Sometimes the airline themselves won't let you on the flight if you don't have the right visa/travel documents. I'm not sure which airline you decided on in the end, but check with them also.

Our travel agent is checking on that for us by direct contact with the airline. We will get the information tomorrow.

One thing is what rights the US gives him as an LPR.

It's quite another thing what rights other countries will give him.

Legal permanent resident status is a status given by the US, and valid only in the US.

A national passport is a document recognized by all countries. A green card is a status recognized by the US only.

Sponsoring immediate relatives to come to the US is a right given to him by the US. Entry into i.e. Germany is subject to German law, and Schengen immigration policy applies.

The Schengen countries will not waive his visa requirement. He is still Moroccan and will not be able to travel visa-free until/if he becomes a US citizen.

French Consulate in Houston FAQ

Scroll down to find Morocco.

Ahhhhhh ok now I understand! I was under the misguided notion that he would be able to travel as freely as an American citizen once he has the permanent residency card. This is very good to know thank you soooo much. Ok now in the future if we travel we must make sure he has a visa for any countries he will be visiting. I need to break the bad news to him that his wife doesnt have a clue what she was talking about!

I noticed that on the normal I-864 form there was a field saying "I'm the first/second of two joint sponsors". Is that the field we both fill out, only I fill out first and my parents fill out second? I don't know for sure if there's a difference between co and joint in this case.

And as far as proving my domicile it's definitely going to be more than just my voters card, haha. Also going to setup a bank account again when I go back next time on vacation. Going to change my name finally on my SSN card and take some photos of my grandmother's furniture that's in storage and waiting for us to use it in an apartment or house. Still maintain my driver's license and my mom's going to print out a company letter stating they're going to hire us once we arrive, so I've got some good ties to the US.

And good idea with the IRS email, I'll have to keep that in mind when the time comes to apply. Thanks again for the juicy information!

NO NO you are the SPONSOR you are NOT a co-sponsor. So you check the box that states you are the sponsor and on the same form (different original of course) your parents mark the box that states they are the co-sponsor. You dont have a second co-sponsor. Make sure you fill out your own I864 and your parents fill out a second I864 so you will have 2 originals when you are finished......one for you and one for your parents. This is the part that I made the huge mistake. You were smart to try to find out this information prior to applying. We just applied blind and figured it all out as we went along so mostly trial and lots of error which is what took so long for us to get the visa!

You are most welcome and I am happy that my experience could help someone! Good luck!

To get that you must have put in that your husband is a permanent resident of the US. Technically he does not become a resident until he enters the US.

No I put that he is a Moroccan resident and where it asks what countries he has visited in the last 6 days I also put Morocco because he has never been out of Morocco.

I know that he doesnt become a permanent resident of the USA until he arrives and his visa is stamped. This transit visa information states that he may stay in the airport in Madrid without a needing a transit visa.

It states the requirements as such:

1. Unless stated otherwise, passengers wishing to TWOV must:

- be en-route to a third country (e.g. itinerary TYO-LON-TYO

is not considered TWOV); - My husband is traveling FROM Morocco PASSING THRU Madrid and EN-ROUTE to a third Country The United States. POINT ONE HE QUALIFIES

2. - prove that they will continue their journey within the

prescribed period (e.g. hold onward tickets); - My husband holds a ticket stating he will continue on with his journey to the United States within the prescribed period as stated on the airline ticket. POINT TWO HE QUALIFIES

3. - have documents required for entry into the country of

destination and for transit through countries en-route; - My husband has his visa stamp on his passport and the packet given to him by the American Consulate unopened as stated on the front. His airline tickets also confirm his beginning, middle and end destination. POINT THREE HE QUALIFIES

4. - remain in the transit area (airside) or on the aircraft. We dont plan on leaving the area that we are allowed to be in. We didnt book the layover in Madrid it was given to us by the airline. We took the flight because we really had no choice. The flight we originally booked and paid for in full a month in advance was cancelled by the airline. This was the alternate booking they provided to us not by our choice but by default. The original flight only had a 2 hour layover in Barcelona and then another 3 hour layover in London. Either way we never intended on leaving the airport so we are good with this one as well.

From this information to my understanding my husband qualifies for the TWOV and will not need a transit visa. He meets all requirements to stay inside the airport in the designated area until our flight to the USA leaves.

It depends on the set up of the airport if he'll have to pass through immigration. What if he has to go to a different terminal to connect?

On that site link I provided it gives the option to enter what city you will be in with the layover so if there are variations as you say it will most likely state that on the information the site provides. I didnt check every city. I only entered Madrid which is the city we will have our layover. That is the reason I provided the link as well so others can enter their own personal information as I realize not everyone is passing through Madrid.

In the information the site provided me it clearly states he must remain either inside the transit area or on the aircraft so if he must travel to another terminal for his connecting flight this information would not apply to him. I think if you read it the information is very clear as to what the requirements are and the passenger must obviously meet all of the requirements to qualify. Luckily for us in our case we do!

Hope this helps.

Sorry I just remembered that with the I864 your parents will need to provide THEIR income tax documents and also proof of income and proof of citizenship for the main co-sponsor. Also the last 3 months of bank statements. That is all they required for our co-sponsor.

You are beginning the exact same situation my husband and myself just completed! He got his IR1 visa last month and we will be leaving Morocco in a couple days to begin our new life in the USA.

Everything that was told to you here by the other members is correct. Especially about the sponsor and co sponsors both filling out the I864 documents. YOU are the main sponsor because he is your husband but your parents will be co sponsors because they have the financial means necessary to provide for him until which time he is able to find work.

Please dont make the same mistake we did which cost us precious time. We filled out the wrong co sponsor form thinking that our co sponsor in the USA had to fill out form I864A NOOO that is not correct. Your parents fill out the exact same form that you fill out but there is a place on it for sponsor and co sponsor.

About the tax information....if you have never worked in Germany since leaving the USA you do NOT need to file your US income tax for the years without working.....however you WILL be asked about that during the Consulate interview so prepare yourself by sending an email to the IRS at this website: http://www.IRS.gov. When you ask them in email whether or not you need to file taxes for the years you have lived in Germany and explain to them whether you did or did not work during any of those years they will send you an email response. Simply print the response they send you and include it with the other documents you have that you will turn in during your interview. This is sufficent proof to the Consulate officials that it is not necessary for you to supply them with tax documents for the years in question. I hope that helps and I explained it well.

We filed for my husbands visa after we were married for 6 months and it took a year and a half for us to finally get it but our case took longer than normal because we were making so many mistakes along the way so we had to go back and redo it the right way before they would accept the documents. Please try very hard not to make mistakes because they cost you valuable time.

Here is some advice: AVOID MADRID AIRPORT AT ALL COSTS. They hate Moroccans. I have a friend whose husband was not allowed in the airport while changing from an Air Maroc flight to another flight. This was during his first flight coming to the US on K-1 Visa. They made him go outside of the airport. His wife was with him. She was allowed in, he was not. Finally an airport worker saw him standing outside the doors, felt sorry for him, and rushed him to the plane right before takeoff. This same man has a friend who had a long flight layover in Madrid. The airport made him go back to Morocco because he had a long layover. He was coming over here on a K-1 also, by himself. He had to go back to Morocco and get a totally new flight NOT going through Spain. I would never go through there again unless I was a US citizen. They are brutal!!!!

PS--Iberian Airlines is the armpit of the airline industry!!!! Sorry if this posted twice!!!!

Wow you really scared me with this information! I really hope we have better luck then the ones you know who had these issues because at this point we have no choice but to fly Iberia airlines and through Madrid. These were the only options left for us.

I totally agree Iberia Airlines is the armpit of the airline industry and believe me I will NEVER deal with them again after this trip is over. We will be praying that Allah will bless us and protect us on this trip because Iberia is telling us that they will refund the money for our tickets that we booked the flight they cancelled on us BUT they plan on keeping 500.00 DH for EACH ticket!!!! We cant continue our journey with that much missing from our funds so we are being forced basically at gunpoint by Iberia to use their airline!!! NEVER have I ever been treated this badly by ANY company but you live and you learn which I definately have!

So we have no choice you see. We will have to take our chances.

I want to thank EVERYONE of you who offered your advice and information. I found it all extremely helpful. I did a little investigating on my own as someone here suggested and used Google. I found this information on one of the sites so I am pasting it here just in case someone else might ask this same question again. Anyone reading this will be able to answer them.

R32) TWOV

....

Transit Without Visa (TWOV): Passing through an international

transit area of the airport in order to board a connecting (or

to proceed by the same) flight, without entering the country

(i.e. clearing immigration).

Unless stated otherwise, passengers wishing to TWOV must:

- be en-route to a third country (e.g. itinerary TYO-LON-TYO

is not considered TWOV);

- prove that they will continue their journey within the

prescribed period (e.g. hold onward tickets);

- have documents required for entry into the country of

destination and for transit through countries en-route;

- remain in the transit area (airside) or on the aircraft.

TWOV is not intended for those holding stand-by tickets, e.g.

airline staff or other passengers travelling on industry

discount.

Here is the site I found this information at: http://www.skyteam.com/en/your-trip/Services/Visa-and-Health/

You have understood incorrectly. As I said in my previous post on this issue, a green card may be sufficient for entry into Canada, Mexico, or the Caribbean; but for European nations, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, etc. where US Citizens are allowed visa free travel, that privilege is not extended to LPR's.

Could you please provide a link to this information that you are providing? I appreciate it thank you so much!

Yes I also was of the understanding that once he got his permanent residency card for the USA which is what he will have once we enter the USA that means he is able to travel just as an American citizen would. He is able to sponsor others to come to the USA so that residency card gives him almost the same status as a person born in the United States is my understanding.

Check the airport website for info on those who have long layovers. They will always have info for international passengers and which countries require visas.

Sometimes, you can get answers from googling, too. I know this because I once tried to search for "do i need visa for long layover in china" etc.

I hope you are able to leave before your deadline.

Thank you for your advise and kind words. I will try your suggestions as well and I hope we are able to leave too!

Maybe this will be a starting off point for you, but I think as long as you stay in the international transit zone you should be fine.

Thank you very much I read on that site and although my computer wouldnt accept the download of the country list Im sure Morocco must be on it. I am thinking like you said we should be safe as long as we stay near the boarding gate for the connecting flight and dont go roaming around alot. Also I will let one of the airport officials know our situation as soon as we arrive and hopefully that person will be very understanding that we knew nothing about this before we booked our flight. Now we will be flying on Gods good graces.

Perhaps someone knows whether you can stay in the terminal overnight and they won't require it?

Yes this is what I need to know. I already figured he wouldnt be able to leave the airport so we never intended to but we need to know if he will be able to stay overnight inside the airport.

Ok we were told today by the travel agent that if we are using the same airline which is give the delay then we dont need to get the transit visa. Meaning for example we had to change our flight from the RAM and Lufthansa to Iberia which will take us all the way using the same airline.

So now we have an overnight layover in Madrid Spain but the travel agent told us that since it is Iberia Airline we are using to get us to Spain and then the following day we are using the same Iberia Airline again to take us on to the USA there is no need to get the transit visa because it is considered one voyage not 2 since it involves only one airline.

Does anyone know if that is true or not??? Please help. I wrote to the link given above at the Embassy in Rabat but Im pretty sure that was about the German issue and now our plans have changed. I wrote anyway asking and if they cant help I asked them to direct me to someone who can.

Our flight is leaving on Tuesday January 22nd and I really hope we can get some valid information by then.

Thank you in advance!

I'm so sorry but i dont know if its good idea or no But why did not just book direct ticket tto NY once there try book another ticket to the state where you live

The tickets available to take going straight from Morocco to the USA are more than double the price we are paying and yes I realize that you get what you pay for but if we could save money its better for us. We will be starting our lives over once in the USA and will not have much money to start with if we pay double the airfare just to get there!

According to this he may not need the Schengen transit visa because he will be a permanent resident of the US, although he isn't now, which is where in the problem lies.

You'll need to apply for a Schengen transit visa and it isn't the US embassy's job to tell you that.

Thank you so much for responding. Its really a shame they dont have a better set up in these type of circumstances. I guess its true that nobody really cares beyond their own job duties. Im getting very frustrated. We dont have time to wait for this "transit visa" as we need to leave here on Sunday which is the day after tomorrow. It would have been so nice to know this information ahead of time!

I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know. Maybe you and some of the other members here should apply for jobs at the consulate and embassys so others wont have these same headaches! Its a real shame!

All we need to do is book a flight before the visa expires in April! Why is this harder than getting the visa in the first place???

My husband got his IR1 visa to the USA Alhamdulillah but now we cannot seem to find a suitable flight before our scheduled January 20th trip!!! We booked on Iberia Airlines over 2 months ago right after getting the visa but at the very last minute and unannounced they cancelled our flight!!! Our travel agent caught the problem Alhamdulillah BEFORE we got to the airport in Casablanca only to be told they changed the flight from an 8am departure to a 3pm departure time. Ok fine we would have waited no problem BUT and here is the kicker........Iberia changed the flight time of our FIRST flight without taking into consideration we did not plan on staying in our first destination and had scheduled connecting flights............not only didnt they take it into consideration but they also didnt CARE!!!! Finally after much hassle they refunded our money (minus 20.00 that they kept for Im not sure what reason since it was THEIR error not ours)!!!!

The whole thing is we booked that far in advance hoping to get a better price. NOW we have to rebook and are running into all kind of problems.

There is one flight that goes from Casablanca to Frankfurt Germany and although I didnt care for the 19 hour layover we were going to accept it anyway. We were denied that flight because they said my husband needs something called a "transit visa" which we never even heard of before! They said because we are changing airlines in Frankfurt (we originally start with Royal Air Maroc airlines in Casa then in Frankfurt switch to Lufthansa) but because of the airline change he is not allowed to stay longer than 6 hours in the airport! What kind of nonscience is this???!!!

I just want to go home already! Sooooo tired of Morocco.....no offence to Moroccans but its not my home!

So how do we get this "transit visa" by Sunday (2 days from today) and why didnt anyone at the Consulate tell us we would need this if our travel takes us somewhere other than directly to the USA???

Sorry accidently posted same message twice