Together4ever

Ohhhhh my Goddddd Shonnie. I am just stunned to hear your news. I can't believe they could string you along for more than 2 years of hell just to do this. I don't even know what to say.

I know you feel just numb right now. But I also know that you are amazingly strong. Once you gather yourself after this awful blow, please turn to Kiya and Chiquita for their help. They know this drill frontways and backwards. They will have excellent advice on what to do next.

I am so very sorry this is happening to you. Thoughts and prayers with you and Javed.

-MK

I talked to Kiya today. I am now on Desert Rose. I think worse than the Revocation is javeds response to me. He is being cold and is blowing me off. dayum this is weird - I dont normally

post my feelings on VJ- not like this

You and Javed have been through alot, so it isn't surprising that he is withdrawing...its a man thing.

When my husband and I first got denied I contemplated divorcing him. Not because I didn't love him but because I did. I felt it was the kindest way to let him move on with his life. Then he told me that maybe we should split because he has caused this grief, and that I shouldn't have to live alone like this. But neither of us could walk away, and now that he is here I am so glad we didn't. Strange how we both were thinking about what would make the other happy, but the truth is that what we both needed to be happy was each other.

Give him a little space, he'll come around. Don't give up the fight.

Even though we didn't face a denial, we did face a loooooooooooong AP/AR and we too had this "parting of the ways" discussion at one time when we both felt like nothing would ever come of his visa. Didn't happen. We hung in there because truth was we didn't want to be apart. I think a lot of this is normal considering the immense pressures people going through this process face. We are all here for you Shon.

Congratulations to you both!

Shon, I want to say you and Javed are in my prayers tightly. I can only begin to imagine the toll this must be taking not only on you, but on Javed too. I know his coldness is hard to take right now when you need him the most emotionally, but I'm sure as others have said he's feeling very beaten down. Every person has a limit before they just have to shut down for awhile to regroup. Months back before Moh travelled, he went through a personal crisis situation in Egypt and he did the same thing to me. It was crushing. But you're a strong woman and you'll get through this. Please message anytime you need to vent or talk.

Welcome to VJ. When we applied for our K1 we had also had many "red flags"... divorce, age difference, both Muslim, differing cultures, etc. and we addressed those things openly and honestly. Some folks here don't agree with that approach but I think it helped us along with providing all the proof we could muster of the validity of our relationship. I agree that your circumstances are not an automatic denial at all. Your fiance will, most likely, encounter extensive background checks so it may take a little more time then you're prepared for. You have a wonderful resource here to plan your next step and to ensure you are prepared for each bend in this road. I wish you good luck!

Thanks, Jean!

Yeah my Mo is a bottomless pit. He's a junk food junky. Going grocery shopping with him is like going with my kids. He wants Doritos, Cheetos, candy, cookies, etc. I brought Combos with me to Egypt so he wanted some of those, too. He's enjoyed everything I've cooked except for stir fry. He ate the rice and picked out the chicken then said, forgive me habibity but Chinese food sucks. LOL!

It's so great having him here. It seems like all that time apart vanished as soon as he arrived. The boys love him. I'm so relieved about that.

We've been working on driving (frightening!). He wants to drive an automatic like a stick. He drives with both feet and is heavy on the brakes. He is getting better with practice though.

We went through the same thing with the grocery shopping. Now he has calmed down to just chips and salsa as a weekly "must have". He packed on a few pounds in the last 5 months.

LOL!

Cute, Jean

My Mo had me up at the crack of dawn his first few days here. Waking me up at 4am asking, what do you think about eating? What do you think about going back to sleep is more like it!

Happy Monday!

Wow has it been 12 days already? I'm actually happy to be back to work. Laying around the house just isn't for me.

Hey! Great to see you posting again! So how's the new life going? The "how about food" thing just wasted me... I can relate. Moh wakes up and the first thing out of his mouth is "I'm hungry."

Happy Monday (I think)! Another week off and running. May is almost half over. I can't believe how time flies by.

Ok doodle, here you go...

We were watching tv last night and the dog was flirting with Moh to play with him so Moh jumped up, announced he was going to make a mummy and raced out of the room... dog hot on his heals. He races back into the room with his long winter scarf waving behind him and the dog (part terrier) frantically jumping and snapping at the trailing end of the scarf behind him. They both flop on the couch next to me and Moh begins the task of attempting to wrap a wriggling dog in his scarf. The dog is absolutely over-joyed which came as a huge shock to me. I was thinking the poor thing was going to freak out. So Moh manages to roll the dog up in his scarf and Mason goes tearing around the living room like a mad man bringing every toy he can find to Moh to throw for him and they played until the guy downstairs started banging on the ceiling. I would feel bad but this is the same guy who keeps us awake every Sunday and Wednesday nights until 4:30 am with his kareokee and television.

Hello/Salaam...

This may sound stupid to some, but hopefully others will understand our concern.

I am an American (born and raised) and my husband is Egyptian...we currently live in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia where my husband works. My husband is an Arab Muslim, I am also a Muslim (wear hijab)...

With all of the current problems in the world I have a huge fear that my husband's visa will be denied simply because of his ethnicity and our religion. I know legally they "can't" do that, yet I also know there are many ways that they can find problems and reasons to deny anyones application if they wish to. We are really at their mercy.

Recently when my husband went to renew his visitors visa for our summer vacation the interviewer at the American Embassy asked him many questions that I consider offensive. After seeing that I was wearing a hijab in my passport picture he asked if my husband had "forced" me to be a Muslim and was extremely happy to learn that I had been a Muslim long before I met my husband...he also asked if we met online and made some kind of remark about people meeting online as an "easy ticket to America"...

Although they renewed his visitors visa that experience has left us worried about how we will be viewed while applying for immigration.

It's really a horrible feeling to always have to be on the defensive...constantly being stopped in the airport is one thing, but having our entire future ruined because group guilt is being assigned to innocent people is really an intolerable thought. It always seems that officials are waiting for us to say "no, don't worry...we're not terrorists"...My husband is a gentle, brilliant, amazing human being who would be an asset to any society and it really hurts me to see him treated like a criminal simply because of his race and our religion...*sigh*

Does anyone have any thoughts or advice on this matter?

Thanks again,

Emily

My now-husband came on a K1 visa. We met on the internet, he is younger then I am, and we are both Muslim. After a rather long AP/AR they granted his visa. As long as you prove validity of your marriage you shouldn't have any concerns.

My husband is presently "mummifying" the dog....

Shon, I'm praying like crazy this is finally it for you two.

Awwww. Kittens are so cute! Doodle if you're out there I have another anecdote for you. I asked Moh over the phone what it was exactly that he found was wrong with the vacuum. There was a pause. Now I have learned that this pause usually speaks volumes. Finally he said "Well, it had a lot of those plastic Walmart bags in it." .....................!!!......................... (I had taken the thing apart myself and found NOTHING so where they were crammed is beyond me and how they got there.... sdkjfa;sdkfj;asdkjf) I said, "Uh. Ok. Mohammed?" ... and he promptly changed the subject. lol

What is it with Arab men and vacuums??

Oh lordy lordy lordy, if Moh saw you refer to him (indirectly, of course) as an Arab he would blow a hemi! Ha ha... Do you have a vacuum story too?

There never seems to be an end. He's just an imp. What can I say?

Awwww. Kittens are so cute! Doodle if you're out there I have another anecdote for you. I asked Moh over the phone what it was exactly that he found was wrong with the vacuum. There was a pause. Now I have learned that this pause usually speaks volumes. Finally he said "Well, it had a lot of those plastic Walmart bags in it." .....................!!!......................... (I had taken the thing apart myself and found NOTHING so where they were crammed is beyond me and how they got there.... sdkjfa;sdkfj;asdkjf) I said, "Uh. Ok. Mohammed?" ... and he promptly changed the subject. lol

Oh my gosh... I just talked to Moh. The man has not only fixed the vacuum cleaner (which was fast becoming an issue... I need to clean!!) but he cleaned the apartment AND already has dinner ready and waiting. I guess there really is an upside to waiting for the EAD to come. I just wish he wasn't so bored. What more could a gal ask for? Going home to dinner and clean house to start the weekend. WOOT. He's a keeper.

me be here - but standing by with buckets, the missouri river is flooding

We're going help sand bag tomorrow. Gosh....it's like a major deja vu from 1993. I'm praying it doesn't get as bad as it did then.

I was thinking about that too Amy. I was still in Nebraska in 1993 and no one could travel anywhere east because of all the water.

I'm also feeling pretty frisky this Friday. I love Fridays. The endless of the possibilities of the weekend are still an anticipation and Monday feels forever away.

Congratulations to you both! Your AP will breeze by faster then you think. Then you'll be scrambling to ready yourself for your reunion!

Congratulations Amy and Khallid!!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations Mark and Salwa. Another new chapter to your lives!

This should have been entitled "The Thread Not To Read While Eating Lunch" or I should have been more intelligent in my choice of reading material. lol

The wildest thing I ate was goat.

I hope congratulations are in order and look forward to hearing about your husband's experience!

A ho-hum day. I love my husband. The end.

Just snuck in to see if there was any word too. Has anyone heard?

I think that "awake" concept is subjective... in my case anyway. The lights are on but nobody's home. Its very tempting to crawl under my desk and go to sleep. Life seems to finally be calming and down and settling into a rhythm. Now instead of 2 of us there are 3. We take the little dog everywhere and Moh just loves him. He's been busy training him. Its a good way for him to kill time waiting for his EAD. I sure hope it comes this month. We are kind of starting to miss that extra paycheck. Hope everyone has a great day.

Jean,

I had to laugh at your post about the dog. When Omar first came he was not crazy about a dog in the house. I had told him about her and he had even seen her on the camera, but something about a dog IN THE HOUSE was weird for him. Now they are like pals. the dog goes for walks with him, and sits in the kitchen doorway waiting for her food. She won't even eat the dog food anymore...no no she's too high class for that. She wants his moroccan food. She even goes to Omar over my son I said son, you best learn to cook moroccan cuisine or risk losing your dog to the newbie.

I am having the same issues with Moh! I beg and plead "please please please don't feed the dog people food." Pfft. That dog eats better then I do. He makes him an egg every day. Yesterday they were smacking it up over chicken. He shares whatever he's eating and when I give him the look he sticks his tongue out at me so I guess Mason is doomed to become another finicky obese dog.

Shhhhhhh...