Tota

I'm in the North Bay petitioning for my husband... Not Muslim

Then it's a mix up or delay tactic. Make sure everything is in order and then reissue the arabic and english version with a letter of explanation that this is the civil authority recognized on their website and please advise further if something else is required.

OK, will do. Thank you so much for your help

The stamp is in blue or black ink and is put in the top left hand corner. It's a circular stamp with the eagle. They put it over folded corners. It has Arabic writing of the title of their office. It should be on both the Arabic and the official translation of the English version.

Yup we got them!!

So what the hell........

The civil authority is the Ministry of Justice in Egypt on the 4th floor of the building you went to be married in.

OK, we were there and married. We always took the stairs because it took too long to wait for the elevator.

If you were married in the Ministry of Justice then you should definitely have a marriage certificate like we have because that is definitely the civil authority they're referring to. There must be some mix up. I'd have the papers double checked at the Ministry of Justice to make sure it's all in order and then resend the marriage certificate and the English translation.

I really hope its a mix up. Is the ministry of justice stamp even in english? Everything i see on here is arabic. We did a lot of running around, getting stamps. Waiting in long lines. Etc Etc.

If they only sent the English translation then the RFE would request the original Arabic document. If the marriage was registered through the civil authorities then the Ministry of Justice stamp would be on the English translation version and they would know it's properly registered in Egypt by civil authorities as a marriage between a foreigner and an Egyptian and therefore recognized by the United States. The RFE indicates the required stamp is missing.

WHAT IS CIVIL AUTHORITY?

If they only sent the English translation then the RFE would request the original Arabic document. If the marriage was registered through the civil authorities then the Ministry of Justice stamp would be on the English translation version and they would know it's properly registered in Egypt by civil authorities as a marriage between a foreigner and an Egyptian and therefore recognized by the United States. The RFE indicates the required stamp is missing.

WHAT IS CIVIL AUTHORITY?

1) If the marriage was done by a lawyer or a holy person then the marriage is recognized only in Egypt - and on paper only. If that paper isn't also registered with the civil authorities it can be torn up and there will be no record of the marriage otherwise.

2) If #1 was done then that paper should be taken to the Egyptian Ministry of Justice Annex (Office of Marriage of Foreigners), 4th floor, Lazoughly Square, Abdin, Cairo and registered by your attorney on your behalf. Otherwise it's not recognized by the United States. If you did this step then it's possible it wasn't registered when you say you registered it. Basically your marriage paper should have the official stamp of the Ministry of Justice on it which means it's registered and that's what the US Embassy in Cairo is looking for. Both the Arabic version and the English translation version have to have this stamp.

My information comes from what I know others did in similar cases in years prior. Things may have changed since the revolution. The US Embassy in Cairo website says in there marriage in Egypt section that you can contact them with any questions. I'd see how they'd want you to proceed.

I'm sure we have all the stamps. We did register it also. There was some confusion about going back to the embassy after everything to get another stamp, but they told him its already registered so nothing needed to be done from there.

1) If the marriage was done by a lawyer or a holy person then the marriage is recognized in Egypt - and on paper only. If that paper isn't registered it can be torn up and there will be no record of the marriage otherwise.

2) If #1 was done then that paper should be taken to the Egyptian Ministry of Justice Annex (Office of Marriage of Foreigners), 4th floor, Lazoughly Square, Abdin, Cairo and registered by your attorney on your behalf. Otherwise it's not recognized by the United States. If you did this step then it's possible it wasn't registered when you say you registered it. Basically your marriage paper should have the official stamp of the Ministry of Justice on it which means it's registered and that's what the US Embassy in Cairo is looking for. Both the Arabic version and the English translation version have to have this stamp.

My information comes from what I know others did in similar cases in years prior. Things may have changed since the revolution. The US Embassy in Cairo website says in there marriage in Egypt section that you can contact them with any questions. I'd see how they'd want you to proceed.

We got married at the Ministry Of Justice

Where did you get married?

In Cairo.

I dont think the lady whos helping me out with the papers sent out a copy of the arabic certificate. I think she only sent the English translated one. Not sure if that makes any difference but really it doesnt even sound like they need the Arabic copy. FML I dont even know.

I just got a RFE stating -

An appropriate civil authority should issue the marriage certificate In order for the marriage to be considered valid, for immigration purposes, it must have been registered with a civil authority from the location where the marriage took place. A religious authority, such as a priest, minister, or rabbi is not considered to be a civil authority.

IM REGISTERING THIS AS TWO THINGS.

1) THE CERTIFICATE ISNT VALID, MEANING... FAKE?!?!?!?!

2) ITS NOT REGISTERED?! WHEN WE DID REGISTER IT.

Hi Ladies

He was approved and without AP -

we are thrilled - excited - numb

I cannot believe after one year of this journey

and two years after we met today he is actually going to

be here with me - no more goodbyes - no more airport scenes

have faith you days will come

Congratulations!! Approved without AP though??

Uffff this really sucks.

I talked to my husband and he knew that he would need to get permission once he had his visa in hand.

He is sending me his military certificate and other forms once our i-130 is approved. We got an expedite approval so we are hoping it will be soon!

Expedite approval? What is thatttttt... How long ago did you send your I-130? I'm going on two months now.. still no approval.

Inshallah God give us all more patience...

It will be 2 months tomorrow waiting for approval on our I-130 petition. Are they even working on cases for Egypt right now or is that all on hold?

Or am i just being impatient?

Hi Tota,

I am sorry I did not clarify. The US visitor visa (B2, I believe) is something we applied for about a year and a half ago now...about may of 2011... it was a long and arduous process. He applied on his own at the embassy in Cairo, but I sent him a letter inviting him. The applicant has to prove that they can financially afford the trip and that they will return to Egypt if/when they visit. This is typically a disqualifier for a lot of people, but thankfully he works on a contract basis for the govt and this is sufficient to prove that he will return. I don't know what your person's situation is. Anyway, he applied and had an interview there. After the interview he was told he was like 95% approved, but now it will be in Administrative processing, aka background checks galore. That is supposed to take about 2 months, but as most VJers are noting it is taking quite longer. We waited about 6 months before I got irate and contacted my congresswoman. Within 2 days of our congresswoman's office inquiring, he was asked to send in his passport for the visa to be added. Thanks to the stellar (sarcasm) relationship between the US and Egypt, they give a 5 year multi entry visa. SO the visa he has is good until 2017. I am thankful for this because even if we can't afford multiple trips a year, I at least know that the option is there for us to see each other even if Egypt is a mess. The total time it took for him to get his visitor visa was about 7 months, but this is not supposed to be the typical time frame since we were stuck in AP for far too long.

Anyway, I am hopeful that this K1 process will not take until 2017! We just got started, so I am trying not to stress too much.

Feel free to message me if you have any more questions about our experience with that.

Oh wow you are very fortunate! Thank you for the info

I am soooo very thankful that my fiance received the visitor visa that is valid until 2017. This really helps my anxiety when I am not advised my anyone including him to visit egypt. And Elhamdulilah he will come again to spend time with me in a couple of months. I'm praying for all of our sake that the embassy in cairo can stay open and the country rebounds in a healthy way. The current state of Egypt breaks my love's heart everyday and that of course breaks mine. I realllllllly do NOT want to imagine being in this process for 3 years.....

How does the visitor visa work? How long did it take for him to receive that??

so what exactly is required for egyptian to go to malaysia?......my fiance has his egyptian passport

From what I read online- nothing is required UNLESS the egyptian citizen plans on staying longer than 90 days. I will check further into it because it almost seems to good to be true.. But if you notice, a lot of tourism in Malaysia are middle eastern! I'm assuming because of the visa that isn't needed for travel. Airfare from Egypt to Malay isn't very expensive and accommodation is very affordable in malaysia.

seriously? he was under the asumption that getting a travel visa to another country would be just has hard and long process, or require alot of money just for the visa.....what other countries allow egptians in just on a egyptian passport?

Not an assumption. It's a hassle for some countries. Something we just don't want to deal with.. Here's a link you can see which countries don't require a tourist visa for egyptian citizens.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_requirements_for_Egyptian_citizens

Awesome suggestion, thanks! My husband and I have been looking to see where he might easily take a visa so we can rendezvous. I would prefer to see him Egypt despite the situation but he doesn't feel it's safe. He was actually shot at by police coming out of the mosque the other day! Thank God he's ok but I want him out of there now.

We were thinking of Jordan or Lebanon. Or we were thinking maybe he could get a tourist visa to visit me here as long as someone of his family wrote a note promising he would be returning. Which of course he would as he has too many things to finish doing before staying permanently! I wonder if that would work....

If anything, we can add Malaysia to our list of considerations.

Thanks, and I wish all couples well and expedited reunions to last a lifetime <3

Yes add it! Its a beautiful country

Good luck

Malaysia is a very beautiful place.. We went there on our honeymoon ... Just don't get ripped off by the locals!!

My parents say the same thing.. Don't go visit him just wait save the money for when he comes. Obviously easier said than done. Going on 8 months without hubby

I'm just wondering how someone who is eligible for medi-cal and food stamps finds the funding to travel to Egypt multiple times.

If you mean that personally towards me, then keep wondering.

But if you mean that from the governments state of view, that did come to my mind as well.

I WANT TO SCREAM & CRY WITH YOU TOO.

I just filed ONLY for the first part of the petition for my husband to come here from Egypt. Been there twice to see him, we miss each other dearly & i feel that this situation is ONLY going to get harder with all the KHARRA BUSINESS going on in Egypt. We've came up with a plan, since im sick of going there, and hes sick of the BS going on over there.. We've decided to save money and meet in MALAYSIA. The airfare is inexpensive (imo) Egyptian citizens don't need a tourist visa to malaysia UNLESS they plan on staying more than 90 days. My family tells me, why don't i save money for when he comes here & for the petition etc etc?

ONLY GOD... ONLY GOD KNOWS WHEN HE WILL COME HERE!! SO MIGHT AS WELL SPEND THAT MONEY AND VACATION IN MALAYSIA

I went in for an appointment today at a "clinic" due to a car accident I've been in and my doctor office doesn't see accident patients! So when I showed them proof of income they basically explained to me that I'm qualified for medi cal and food stamps. I wasn't an all go for it or anything but just curious if it would be an issue for our petition.