visaqueries

He's talking with her right now. We will buy one a refundable one if necessary.

We have the bestTV it's just a reciever and it hooks up to your wifi, one time fee and that's it you don't have to pay each month. We've had it for about 2 years now and it still Works perfectly we have about 400 channels, mostly Arabic, but there's some English, Persian, Turkish, etc... I would say About 90% is Arabic with the major news channels: CBC, AlNahar, AlJazeera, etc.
We tried dish network for Arabic TV and they have about 3 good channels on that package nothing special
Here's where We got ours
http://www.skyviewfta.com/BEST-TV-Wifi-Package

This was my consulate review:
My fiancé had a very tough interview. He said that while he was interviewing, the interviewer beside his interiewer finished interviewing two people with a third getting ready to interview.

The interviewer had really read all the information I submitted in the first packet. He did not seem to have reviewed any of the packet my fiancé sent in before the interview. However, there was enough information to create quite a lively exchange of information.

I'll provide red flags, so it might help: 11+ years difference, different religions, and he'd been married before to a citizen of another western country. My fiancé said our interviewer asked every question he could think of related to his previous marriage, our friendship turned relationship, family...

I think that sometimes when the interviewer senses red flags, they question hard to see if there is a chink in the armor. That's what happened with us. Thankfully my fiancé speaks English well. I say that because there was no confusion as to what was being asked, and my fiancé didn't have to really concentrate on the language part; he could just talk.

Types of questions included: Why when you tried for a visitor visa did you say that she was just a friend, but you were beginning the relationship before that time? My fiancé explained that when we applied for his visitor visa we hadn't seen each other in three years. He knew we were meeting to determine the extent of our feelings. My fiancé said, "How could I have even written she was my girlfriend when I hadn't seen her? I can't call someone my girlfriend when I've not even seen them. After we saw each other, yes, I could say that. Not before." Incidentally, his visitor visa was denied, and I ended up travelling there.

My fiancé talked about our traveling together, and the interviewer questioned how such traditional families would be okay with us traveling together. My fiancé explained that though our families are very aware of our engagement, they don't question us about the extent of our relationship. Without them discussing their feelings with us, we don't know what they think. The interviewer then stated he felt our European trip was actually our honeymoon and we are probably already married.

Concerning his previous wife, he asked about how it could be that he was friends with me and married to someone else. My fiancé explained that both of us knew about the other (my relationship was not romantic at that point), and I was providing input regarding their business plan. Additionally, we only communicated until the business issues were resolved. Then communication ceased and resumed once his marriage was dissolved (her decision). The former wife had planned to move to Egypt then decided she didn't want to move or be married, so the interviewer wanted to know why all of a sudden he wanted to move to America. My fiancé explained that we haven't fully decided that we will spend our lives in the US, but the best decision for us now is for him to move here. Our plans might change, but we are determined to start our lives together here.

There were more questions, but because the interviewer was truly convinced our relationship was authentic, they were specific to our lives. In the end, he stated that the only lacking component was he still felt we were married. He told my fiancé he'd be going to the Department of Justice to determine if his divorce was recorded, and if he had no marriage on file. If that turned out to be the case they would, "go forward with our visa". It would be a few weeks before we would know. My fiancé tried to hand him the original divorce decree, but the interviewer told him he can't trust it as those can be bought anywhere in the city.

As a side note: one thing my fiancé forgot to do was to highlight some paperwork that would determine our "not married" status. We traveled last year and this year to places in Egypt. By law, an Egyptian man is not allowed to stay in the same room with a woman to whom he is not married. We had receipts for our hotel stay with two rooms last year 2012 and reservations for our two rooms this year as well (I was arriving three days after his interview and we then took the trip). We know it only proves that we had purchased two separate rooms, but we felt it would help with the case. We debated what to do about that, and in the end we sent the receipts via DHL the day he interviewed. The good outweighed the bad when we debated if we should send them. In our cover letter we stated that they already had a copy of the receipt from 2012 (so they wouldn't think we just generated a fake receipt).

At any rate, we determined the name of our interviewer (written at the bottom of the paid receipt), and we now smile and ask ourselves "What would D do?" Interviewer told fiancé after fiancé called me a girl that he was actually marrying a woman. So, when we talk about each other my fiancé says, "Now woman, according to DP, I think we should go to the Mall of Arabia." I am sure an interviewer has never been referred to as much as we affectionately refer to him. He was tough. We are grateful for him working diligently to do his job, and we just hope through his diligence he determines we do indeed qualify for a visa.
By the way, we were approved on February 4. It was very hard, and my fiance had to stand up for his ideas and thoughts. We are looking forward to his arrival May 2.

This was my consulate review:
My fiancé had a very tough interview. He said that while he was interviewing, the interviewer beside his interiewer finished interviewing two people with a third getting ready to interview.

The interviewer had really read all the information I submitted in the first packet. He did not seem to have reviewed any of the packet my fiancé sent in before the interview. However, there was enough information to create quite a lively exchange of information.

I'll provide red flags, so it might help: 11+ years difference, different religions, and he'd been married before to a citizen of another western country. My fiancé said our interviewer asked every question he could think of related to his previous marriage, our friendship turned relationship, family...

I think that sometimes when the interviewer senses red flags, they question hard to see if there is a chink in the armor. That's what happened with us. Thankfully my fiancé speaks English well. I say that because there was no confusion as to what was being asked, and my fiancé didn't have to really concentrate on the language part; he could just talk.

Types of questions included: Why when you tried for a visitor visa did you say that she was just a friend, but you were beginning the relationship before that time? My fiancé explained that when we applied for his visitor visa we hadn't seen each other in three years. He knew we were meeting to determine the extent of our feelings. My fiancé said, "How could I have even written she was my girlfriend when I hadn't seen her? I can't call someone my girlfriend when I've not even seen them. After we saw each other, yes, I could say that. Not before." Incidentally, his visitor visa was denied, and I ended up travelling there.

My fiancé talked about our traveling together, and the interviewer questioned how such traditional families would be okay with us traveling together. My fiancé explained that though our families are very aware of our engagement, they don't question us about the extent of our relationship. Without them discussing their feelings with us, we don't know what they think. The interviewer then stated he felt our European trip was actually our honeymoon and we are probably already married.

Concerning his previous wife, he asked about how it could be that he was friends with me and married to someone else. My fiancé explained that both of us knew about the other (my relationship was not romantic at that point), and I was providing input regarding their business plan. Additionally, we only communicated until the business issues were resolved. Then communication ceased and resumed once his marriage was dissolved (her decision). The former wife had planned to move to Egypt then decided she didn't want to move or be married, so the interviewer wanted to know why all of a sudden he wanted to move to America. My fiancé explained that we haven't fully decided that we will spend our lives in the US, but the best decision for us now is for him to move here. Our plans might change, but we are determined to start our lives together here.

There were more questions, but because the interviewer was truly convinced our relationship was authentic, they were specific to our lives. In the end, he stated that the only lacking component was he still felt we were married. He told my fiancé he'd be going to the Department of Justice to determine if his divorce was recorded, and if he had no marriage on file. If that turned out to be the case they would, "go forward with our visa". It would be a few weeks before we would know. My fiancé tried to hand him the original divorce decree, but the interviewer told him he can't trust it as those can be bought anywhere in the city.

As a side note: one thing my fiancé forgot to do was to highlight some paperwork that would determine our "not married" status. We traveled last year and this year to places in Egypt. By law, an Egyptian man is not allowed to stay in the same room with a woman to whom he is not married. We had receipts for our hotel stay with two rooms last year 2012 and reservations for our two rooms this year as well (I was arriving three days after his interview and we then took the trip). We know it only proves that we had purchased two separate rooms, but we felt it would help with the case. We debated what to do about that, and in the end we sent the receipts via DHL the day he interviewed. The good outweighed the bad when we debated if we should send them. In our cover letter we stated that they already had a copy of the receipt from 2012 (so they wouldn't think we just generated a fake receipt).

At any rate, we determined the name of our interviewer (written at the bottom of the paid receipt), and we now smile and ask ourselves "What would D do?" Interviewer told fiancé after fiancé called me a girl that he was actually marrying a woman. So, when we talk about each other my fiancé says, "Now woman, according to DP, I think we should go to the Mall of Arabia." I am sure an interviewer has never been referred to as much as we affectionately refer to him. He was tough. We are grateful for him working diligently to do his job, and we just hope through his diligence he determines we do indeed qualify for a visa.
By the way, we were approved on February 4. It was very hard, and my fiance had to stand up for his ideas and thoughts. We are looking forward to his arrival May 2.

Hello, and welcome. I am engaged to an Egyptian, but he still lives in Egypt. This is a long process, so it will be nice that your husband is in the states with you. I hope you'll find lots of great information here to help along the way!

Best wishes for your new journey.

Don't ever regret giving love to any creature in this Universe. The Universe will take care of how he received your love. Stay blessed!

Why did it even reach to this point before knowing who he really is, study the peeps you are around before making big decisions like this, sorry it had to go this way though.

Congratulations! May you find great joy...and immense relief...being together finally!

Hello, and welcome. I am engaged to an Egyptian, but he still lives in Egypt. This is a long process, so it will be nice that your husband is in the states with you. I hope you'll find lots of great information here to help along the way!

I don't have that problem (red hair, hazel eyes), but on the way home from Egypt all the flight attendants started talking to me in German. Apparently, I look German. Unfortunately, I have no gift for the German language.
At any rate, I'd suggest looking through all the information you sent to the Embassy. See if there is anything written in it that can be construed in a different way than it was intended. If so, that's where I would formulate my questions for "grilling". I didn't think my story was that crazy until it was spoken from someone trying to understand it through simply reading information about us. The top intro to a question was, "Now follow my thinking on this..."
There were things I submitted, and I thought, "Yeah, this will show how we were friends (back in 2009)." From my perspective and from remembering that time in our friendship, the words supported that friendship. From the officer's perspective, however, it looked suspect. It just goes to show that when we text or email, truly the intentions, inflections, and feelings aren't always transmitted in the way they were intended. Vocal inflections and body language really do help to explain things more fully. If only I'd have videoed those moments instead of sending in the transcripts... Instead, my fiancé was sitting on the other side of a glass wall providing our interpretation of the words written on those papers many years ago.
When I read through your information (and trying to think like an officer), I thought I might ask about a few things in particular...timing of your meeting/separation/divorce (that was big in our interview). If it is customary in the community where he lives (the officer was very familiarized with my fiancé's community) for people to have an engagement party, but you didn't, the officer might push some questions there (our questions included things that we did that didn't jive with coming from a traditional family--like traveling to Europe together). How many times have you met? If not more than once in person, they might ask why you didn't visit more often? (That happened with a man who interviewed the week before my fiancé--he and his fiancé had only met once). With my fiancé's seemingly great answers , the officer continued to push particular questions to see if the answers would change. He pushed the themes of traditional families and chronological order of events. In everything, my fiancé was honest, but it is still daunting to be in front of an officer who is trying to get to the bottom of your life in less than 30 minutes, and you're not only trying to share the answer, but you're trying to share it calmly--even if you feel nervous and frustrated due to the approach of the questioner.
I suspect all will be well with you, and your fiancé will come through with flying colors.
I took off the day from work when he interviewed because I had a great worry, but you know...after he told me all about his interview and gave me the questions coupled with his answers and emotions at those moments, I felt a sense of peace. It was our story told as eloquently as my fiancé could tell it under the circumstances. I was so proud of him and even more glad we were done with the interview.

I think you're right...the whole process is frustrating. Sometimes you feel like you get ahead and other times you just feel like you are spinning your wheels. In August of 2012, I thought we'd be having our interview in time for my fiancé to join me for the summer of 2013. Unfortunately, our NOA2 didn't arrive until late April 2013. Somehow, after we turned in our paperwork for packet 3, I expected to be interviewed in February 2014. I was tracking interviews of others, and it seemed to fit my expectations. My fiancé and I were totally shocked when we saw our case number on the website in December. Really, I thought it was wrong.
If we get approved (AP is the worst part of the process IMO), it will be almost two years since we began the petition when he finally arrives. I had consulted a lawyer before we began the process, and she told me a year was average. Back then, I thought that was forever and a day. Oh, to be just a year would be lovely!
I hope you'll get your interviews at the beginning of February, and things will be speedy and quick for you. It's so tough to wait for this process.

Here are my two cents on red flags..
Let's separate two important things here - what a "red flag" is, and what it is not.
A red flag is a metaphor used for peculiarities in a particular case. By peculiarity I mean something that might make a USCIS adjudicator, or consular officer decide to look a little closer at the case. Since this is a K-1 thread, I'm only going to discuss marriage based cases. To understand why your case might stand out, it really pays to look at your case from an outsider's perspective, rather than seeing it from your own biased view. I do not mean to offend anyone by saying biased, but let's face it, we are all all biased towards our own case because that is the only case we are not seeing from an outsider's point of view. No matter what evidence you have, no immigration officer will ever feel what you feel. They can only see the facts as they are presented to them.
An immigration/consular officer's job is to make a subjective opinion, often in a very short amount of time, based on the facts presented before them. Marriage based cases differ from other cases in that they are not presented with firm evidence such as a birth certificate or DNA to show a family relationship. Rather, they are presented with a certain set of (somewhat relevant) facts and evidence on which to make the decision of whether a legitimate family relationship exists. These officers generally go through multiple cases on any given work day. Naturally, certain things will stand out more than others. That's the essence of what a "flag" is - something in your case stands out from the other cases in the pile.
What makes the flag red is when the peculiarity, the thing that stands out, actually makes your case either seem less probable, or, that the flag is in the form of a motive for why the person would potentially want to marry someone whom they do not love.
A red flag is not an automatic denial. No one can be denied a visa because of a red flag. A visa denial comes from a complete package of evidence and facts weighed up against one another. A red flag is not an immigration officer's bias against you or your spouse, it is not an attack so to speak against you. It is simply a fact that makes your case stand out, and in the eyes of the immigration officer, makes your case differ from the norm, thus prompting any experienced officer to take an extra look. Keep in mind also that what might be a red flag to a consular officer in Morocco, might not even be worth a second look to a consular officer in the Philippines. This is due to certain facts being common in one country, while it might be socially unacceptable in another.
Here are some common red flags:
1. A large age gap.
I see this one a lot, and there is a multitude of good reasons why immigration officers take a second look at some cases. This one also depends, as all other red flags, on the country and culture in question. A prime example: For example, a relationship where a 50 year old American male marries a 25 year old female from the Philippines. While the age difference is 25 years, most of these cases are approved, and I wouldn't even consider the age gap a red flag. However, if twisting it around and applying to another country, it makes a huge difference. A second scenario: A 50 year old American woman marries a 25 year old Moroccan man. This is absolutely a red flag, not because the consular officers are biased, but because it is simply very uncommon to see in Morocco.
2. Vast ethnic, religious or cultural differences.
Again, there is nothing illegal under US law about about interracial or inter-cultural marriage. It is socially acceptable in most places in the US, and for the most part, an interracial marriage will not be a red flag at all. However, to use an example: An American new-age hippie marries a practicing religious orthodox from a strictly religious culture. While completely legal, it raises questions as to the bona fide nature of the marriage because it is uncommon, maybe even socially unacceptable in the beneficiary's culture. So the consular officer's question will be "why is this person marrying someone who might actually get him/her disowned by their family?"
3. The beneficiary is from a high-fraud country.
This is guilt by association. Some consulates see a lot of attempted fraud. Some consulates see very little. If you are an immigration officer at a consulate where attempted fraud is a frequent occurrence, you will naturally be more suspicious.
4. The couple got engaged/married after a very short time of meeting.
It is uncommon in the US for couples to get married within weeks or even months of meeting one another. Why? Because marriage is a lifelong commitment, and two people generally aren't expected to know each other well enough to make a lifelong commitment after a very short time. In addition, it is easy for fraudsters and scammers to set up a fake marriage, but it is difficult to forge a scam to last a significant amount of time.
5. The couple have only met in person once, or on very limited occasions.
While the USCIS and State Dept are aware that online relationships are more common today than before, couples are still expected to have spent some time physically together before committing to a lifetime together. It is uncommon in the US to marry someone you have only met once, so the USCIS and State Dept views it as unlikely that an international couple would do the same. However, they are mindful that international travel can be difficult for some. The thing to keep in mind here is that you aren't trying to show then how hard it is to visit - you are trying to show that a bona fide marriage exists.
6. The beneficiary sends money to the petitioner.
I see plenty of people asking "should I show that I send my American husband/wife money?" - The answer is, only if you want the US State Dept. to believe that you are paying them for a green card. While it is normal to support your spouse here and there, this only looks good if you're helping out with shared expenses.
7. The beneficiary is in removal proceedings (for AOS cases).
A major red flag in an adjustment of status case is where the beneficiary is in removal proceedings, especially if the marriage itself happened after removal proceedings were initiated. The first thing on the USCIS' mind will be that the marriage is just a last ditch effort to stay in the country.
8. Substantial language barriers.
Very rarely will you be able to convince a USCIS or consular officer that you are in a bona fide relationship or marriage if you cannot communicate in a common language, be it English, Swahili or sign language. You are expected to be able to communicate with the person you are engaged or married to.
As I stated earlier. None of these alone are grounds for a denial, but the more individual red flags, the higher the burden of proof is. Also, these aren't "set" factors that will end your case up in some list, they are just factors that will make your case stand out from the norm. Certain factors, such as age difference, may be a huge red flag in some countries, but might not even stand out in others. To figure out of your case has any red flags, be honest and look at your case from an outsider's perspective - Is your case somehow abnormal? If you are the beneficiary, is your case abnormal in your country/culture? If you are the petitioner, would the average Joe look at your case and think "how did that happen?" Don't be biased and overly defensive about your case, because the best way to defend your marriage is to know what you're up against.

Well, I just returned from my job...found the building. It's a lovely building and looks sparkling new. For those of you who have gone to the street view and seen the ITT building, the Immigration building is the other half of the same building. There are signs all over the parking lot which say,
"US Government Leased Property
No Trespassing or Soliciting
TOW AWAY ZONE
This property is closed to the public
Employee Parking Only".
I'm not so sure how that works with ITT being the same building...maybe they make them park in another lot.

Well, I suppose --seeing as it's for the VJ team--I'd be able to stop by the area. I've eaten at that Cheesecake Factory just around the corner, so I'm pretty sure I could find it. Give me till the weekend, and I'll do my best.

Thanks for the good wishes. I would love the Embassy to take your perspective on processing the visas, but I guess I'm perfecting that skill of patience.
I'm excited about the new job...night goggles--I should get a boat too. With all this rain we are having, I might be able to paddle to 119th.

Well, I just returned from my job...found the building. It's a lovely building and looks sparkling new. For those of you who have gone to the street view and seen the ITT building, the Immigration building is the other half of the same building. There are signs all over the parking lot which say,
"US Government Leased Property
No Trespassing or Soliciting
TOW AWAY ZONE
This property is closed to the public
Employee Parking Only".
I'm not so sure how that works with ITT being the same building...maybe they make them park in another lot.

Well, I suppose --seeing as it's for the VJ team--I'd be able to stop by the area. I've eaten at that Cheesecake Factory just around the corner, so I'm pretty sure I could find it. Give me till the weekend, and I'll do my best.

I do believe that there are some people who are working there now, so maybe they haven't begun sending a huge volume of files there. I will tell you that Overland Park and Kansas City are so close to one another--probably less than 20 minutes, depending on traffic. With the government shutting down for a couple weeks, pretty much everything slowed to a stop. Employees who were transferring to other offices in different states were delayed that transfer until the government opened again (info from friend). So, now that the government is up and running again, I'm sure they will be working on getting the office fully staffed. Hopefully for all of you things will go quickly. I'm waiting on the Cairo embassy, and she told me they were so backed up there my fiancé's interview might not even occur by spring (sigh).
As for being a stalker for you guys, I'm thinking that might be a fun side job! I'm always interested in honing my stealth-like skills .

I just ran into the immigration lady who works in Kansas City, and I asked her about Overland Park. Sorry if someone already posted this I haven't read the above posts...she said Overland Park is not fully operational yet and they are still hiring ISOs. She also mentioned that the government shut down has delayed that hiring process but they may be back on the hiring trail. She didn't know when it would become fully operational.

Overland Park is a large city just outside of KC, MO (more like a suburb), but yes, it is in Kansas. I met a woman who works for immigration, but she only mentioned the downtown office (meaning KC, MO). When I see her again, I'll ask about anything in OP. I live on the Missouri side of Kansas City.

http://www.debatepolitics.com/general-political-discussion/136560-us-embassies-and-consulates-not-american-soil.html
http://dansdigitaldive.com/web/archives/605
"Contrary to popular belief, diplomatic missions do not enjoy full extraterritorial status and are not sovereign territory of the represented state.[5][6] Rather, the premises of diplomatic missions remain under the jurisdiction of the host state while being afforded special privileges (such as immunity from most local laws) by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations."
Okay, so just because I'm curious, I've started to look it up. Including Wikipedia (I know, not the most reliable), and these two sites, it says Embassies are not foreign soil...I'm not trying to quibble. I'm really just trying to find things out. It's the researcher in me...
Honestly, I'm just trying to be thorough in my studies. I hope to be an expert soon.
Capri, the intent is not necessarily to get married at an Embassy. If possible, we might. If it's not acceptable, we won't. My intent is to find out all the information, so we can find middle ground.

http://www.debatepolitics.com/general-political-discussion/136560-us-embassies-and-consulates-not-american-soil.html
http://dansdigitaldive.com/web/archives/605
"Contrary to popular belief, diplomatic missions do not enjoy full extraterritorial status and are not sovereign territory of the represented state.[5][6] Rather, the premises of diplomatic missions remain under the jurisdiction of the host state while being afforded special privileges (such as immunity from most local laws) by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations."
Okay, so just because I'm curious, I've started to look it up. Including Wikipedia (I know, not the most reliable), and these two sites, it says Embassies are not foreign soil...I'm not trying to quibble. I'm really just trying to find things out. It's the researcher in me...
Honestly, I'm just trying to be thorough in my studies. I hope to be an expert soon.
Capri, the intent is not necessarily to get married at an Embassy. If possible, we might. If it's not acceptable, we won't. My intent is to find out all the information, so we can find middle ground.

No, I have a lot of time on my hands right now to start investigating what will and won't work. That is all I'm trying to do is gather information, so we can make an educated decision. Here is my research strategy:
1. Find out if what my fiance is asking about is possible. I will contact the Egyptian Embassy/Egyptian Consulate to determine if what my fiance is saying is actually valid--that we can get married in and Egyptian Consulate/Embassy. I have read that as long as the marriage is done following the requirements of the US, it would be considered a valid marriage in the US. I believe the Consulate/Embassy might even provide the appropriate paperwork that I would need to file with the state where I will be married.
2. After I find out if it is indeed possible for a wedding to take place, I will figure out who I need to contact in the United States to verify that the wedding would indeed be valid. I imagine I have to register my marriage license in the state where I'm married for it to be valid (I've never been married before, but I'm sure I can find out who to call to find out how to file my marriage documents). I can't even apply for AOS from a K-1 if my marriage isn't recognized. So, say my marriage at the Consulate/Embassy isn't recognized. I then have the rest of my 90 days on the K-1 visa to rectify that situation by getting married at a courthouse.
3. Once I determine what is accurate infomation, as well as a feasible plan, I will report my findings to my fiance. At that point we will decide how and where we will marry. We will leave the when up to the American Consulate in Cairo.
As for the man in Juarez, he had a lot of issues I don't have. I have a valid passport (which isn't really applicable in this case). I am applying for a K-1 Visa and waiting for the entire process to be complete before I try to get my foreign fiance into the country (We are not trying to get my fiance inside the borders of the USA by obtaining a shopping visa). My fiance has not received any kind of ban, and I don't think that if we decided to marry at a Consulate/Embassy inside the borders of the United States, where he will legally be allowed to be, he will receive a 5 year ban (I don't believe marrying at a Consulate/Embassy constitutes breaking any laws in the US).
All I'm asking of this forum is, "Does anyone have any experience with this kind of situation?" Gathering research...not trying to do anything more than that.

I'm the petitioner. My fiance filled out the G-325a form with all of his information. About 2 weeks later he found out he would be leaving his employment. I asked the same question on the forum and most responses told me I really only needed to worry about phone number and address changes. He could make those updates on his actual visa application. The powers that be would be able to see what date my original petition was filled out and compare it to the application he will fill out when he actually applies for the visa.