AHandSD

Lol.
Despite your illusions, you are hardly the school marm of MENA (nor, might I add, a credible "reporter/analyst" of anything related to the region.) You know so painfully little about the politics, culture and society of the Middle East that it‘s hilarious that you continue to presume that you could “school“ anyone about it.
Your post history here is well-known to me and to most of the veterans on this board, so given your track record, it is no surprise that you suddenly announce that you are unable (or unwilling) to process or discuss short citations from mainstream news articles on the subject of your thread (much less slightly more advanced pieces from Foreign Policy magazine) or come up with any coherent response, and instead demand some Cliff Notes-type synopsis to help you digest a few paragraphs. 500 words, eh ? The snippets are mostly less than that. And yet you would style yourself as a journalist
“Cryptic” and “distorted” ? Bwahahahahhahahaha ! Fact is: You’re out of your league.
What kind of "progressive" "Western" "secular" "liberal" would defend an army firing live ammunition on unarmed demonstrators ?
What kind of "progressive" would defend an army placing a democratically elected leader under house arrest ?
What kind of "progressive" would defend shutting down journalists and television stations that represent opposition viewpoints ?
What kind of "progressive" would cheer all this on as a "revolution" instead of calling it what it is - a violent military coup to overturn the results of a democratic election and reinstate a former regime (the army elite and their coterie) known for its oppression and abuses of human rights.

I hope that the justice will be served - I know that it won't bring Dawn back but at least the justice system may prevernt any future tragedy. People like this need to be kept away from the roads...
My thoughts are with Hatem and his family. Please keep us posted, Jackie!

Ah, now I get it, I was wondering how to add friends, and, as usual, I found the answer to what I was looking for in the forums. I guess I have not posted because I feel I have little to offer at this point in the process, and there's so much available here, that I haven't been unable to find what I needed so far, to ask a new question. This site has been so much help to us though, and I hope to be more active, as I, myself, am learning more and more.

I think you should take a look at the bankruptcy laws. What you want to do might not even be possible. A chapter 7 filing requires you to liquidate assets to pay off your creditors before any debts are forgiven. A chapter 13 filing requires you to make payment plans with your creditors. Unless your debts are related to a business then you aren't even eligible for chapter 11.
The days when you could file a bankruptcy and just walk away from your debts while keeping all of your income and assets are long gone. I'm not at all surprised that your creditors won't let your ex-husband assume the loans. Your signature is an extra guarantee to them that the debt will eventually be paid. They have no motive to give up that guarantee.
Anyway, neither USCIS nor the US consulate are going to make any decisions based on your credit rating, though it's possible that the consulate might see your credit rating. Some consulates use Lexis Nexis to run a check on the petitioner, and if you or a creditor has recently pulled your credit report then your rating might be on the Lexis Nexis report. The only thing they would be concerned about would be tax liens.