KokiLulu

Al hamdulilah! We have a valid interview date I hope! We finally sent our packet 3 docs to the embassy on December 22. We never received the packet 3 email and too much time was passing by so we decided just to send everything. On December 27 I noticed my CGI account was different. Instead of giving me an "record not found" message when I would enter my case # to schedule an interview, it automatically pulled up the case #, then it would take me to step 8 which I hadn't seen before. So it looked as though my case was ready to schedule and interview however this time I received a "no appointment available at this time" message. On December 28 I received an email from the elusive CairoIV saying my case is ready to schedule and interview online. But still everytime I checked the CGI account, no appointments were available. I figured the embassy might post some nee available appointments after the holidays were over and sure enough this morning I found 1 appointment date...March 1. I won't be completely happy for at least 24 hours until I am 100% sure the appointment won't be cancelled the next day but I am pretty sure this is it this time!

kokiluli, i think u must send packet 3 now, dont wait more, you told me before that they send it to the wrong email , dont worry about this anymore, i know someone sent packet 3 to them , and they did not receive anything in the email , dont wait more, because i think it is risky if your petition will expire and you did not send packet 3 to the embassy

Dza, I sent all of the documents via Fed Ex to my fiance on Thursday and they should arrive to Cairo today or tomorrow. Then he will send the documents to the embassy via Aramex. Which address should we use to send to the Embassy?. The letter from NVC gives one address and the DS160 confirmation page has another address. Also, should we be sending anything other what is listed on the packet 3 list? Like is there a cover letter or something that identifies the package so it gets to the correct department in the embassy?

I would also like to know how to extend. Our k-1 petition expires 12/28 and we havent even returned the aramex docs yet because we never received packet 3. With the way they say and do ine thing with one person and another thing with another person i'd be afraid to risk not extending. What did you mean when you said "would've helped with the first" ?

How long did it take everyone to receive the email with packet 3 after NVC sent their Petition to Cairo? My approved 129f Petition was sent to Cairo in September and we still have not received a packet 3 email. Our case status has shown "ready" since October 1. We went ahead and completed the DS 160 and paid the fee at CIB bank but still no packet 3 email. I sent and inquiry on the account page and the reply referred me to another email for immigrant visas. That email referred me to a Q and A list to try to answer my question. There I found yet another email address that I have sent 2 emails to and haven't gotten any reply. Any suggestions on what I can do to get packet 3? What is the correct email address for inquiries on K-1 visas and what is the normal wait time for a response? I am getting very anxious because I don't think I can send Packet 3 until they first send me the email. And the wait time for the interview doesn't begin until packet 3 is received by the embassy correct? Has this happened to anyone here? What did you do to get them to send packet 3? Thanks!

In america you must first obtain a marriage license at the court. Then it is your choice who will marry you. A judge can marry you at the court, a minister or priest can marry you at church, or an imam can marry you In the masjid.

The imam will sign the marriage license and that will make your marriage official with the US government. Each state is a little different in their laws, and the amount of time it takes to get a license may vary. In my state, Maryland, a license is issued the same say it is applied for but you must waite 2 days to use it. I am not sure if the Imam can perform a wedding without the license to be halal and then you can marry in the court for it to be legal. You should ask the Imam at the masjid where you plan to marry. I have the same question because my fiance will live in my home from arrival so we need an islamic marriage fast to be halal.

But the question is "Have you ever been a drug addict?" Which is different from consuming recreationally, yes?

That is an excellent point. You must pay close attention to the question being asked. Are you a drug addict. If someone uses marijuana or hashish recreationally does that make them an addict? If someone drinks recreationally does that make them an alcoholic. If the question were have you ever been an alcoholic...you wouldn't say yes just because you have a couple of beers on the weekend. So is someone an addict because they smoke occasionally? If the answer is no, then it is not a lie to say no. If the question says "have you ever done illegal drugs" then that is another story.

Immigration does not view marriage as a stronger case than a fiance. They are equal in immigration's eyes because there is high fraud in both cases. It's just as easy to get married for a greencard as it is to do the fiance visa so immigration is equally hard on marriage cases as they are on fiance cases. The fiance visa is about 6 months faster than going the marriage route

Lol yeah sounds like one big swinger party. I could be incorrect but seem Eqypt is more liberal than Morocco. In Morocco men generally keep with men and Women with Women. From the traveling I've done and from the time that I've spent there, I have never seen mixed interaction except for tourists. Lol. I almost got arrested for kissing my husband and one time I was stopped by being out after dark with my brother-in-law.

Everything you said about Morocco is pretty much the same in Egypt. Egypt may be less conservative than Saudi Arabia but a far cry from being as liberal as say Turkey. Men with men and women with women. You cannot get a hotel room without showing your marriage license. Things like that. But this one tourist town is a bit more lax on sticking to the rules because of the huge western population. Many westerner's own vacation properties there which makes "hooking up" with local men easier. It is virtually possible for a local man to stay in a hotel with a woman he is not married to but it can be done in privately owned flats. If you are cought you will be in bog trouble though. And they do have police that go door to door making sure unmarried people aren't shacking up lol

As for cultural misconceptions...my fiance had a ton of them when it comes to how men and women interact with each other. He used to work in a tourist town in Hurghada where there are many westerners...mostly Russian's and Germans's it seems. Apparently many western tourists in hurghada go there looking to "hook up" with the locals. Many women are married and don't care. Some women go there with their husbands and the husband allows the wife to hook up with a local. And many people go there with friends and switch partners. From my fiance's description, it sounds like a hot spot for swingers. So my fiance has the impression that most americans sleep around and cheat on their husbands or they have husbands that allow their wives to sleep around. He thinks friends hook up together regularly. I have told him there are people that do those things here but it is not the majority of the population.

My mother is very opposed to my relationship. She doesn't even know we plan to get married. She is so bothered by the fact i am in a long distant relationship with a muslim. He has tried to say "hi" to her on a couple of occasions and to wish her a merry christmas but she flat out refuses to take the phone stating she has nothing to say to him. She also doesn't know I have converted to Isalm. She knows I was researching and trying to know more about Islam and she assumed I would eventually convert but she doesn't know I actually did it yet. My mother has never really approved of anyone I've dated but then again i've never dated a doctor or someone with tons of money. That would make her happy ad a lark no matter what kind of a personality he had. What really bugs me is she already has her mind made up about my fiance without so much as giving him a chance to say "hello". I don't mind if you dislike a person after meeting them and having an actual reason to dislike them. But don't dislike a person you've never said not 1 word to.

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Funny you should say that. I've heard quite a few people say that as well. Do you worry about his experiences in the US?

I worry about culture shock and the initial adjustment period. I have a friend from NY married to an egyptian and she said the adjustment was difficult and took time and patience. I am not too worried he will be discriminated against. people won't know where he's from or what religion he is from looking at him and I think most will assume he is hispanic since the hispanic population here is huge. I worry about him missing home, his family, and life in Egypt. Women in Egypt are so different than women in America so that will be a big adjustment as well. In Egypt women should not bend down in public, or prop their legs up, or do anything that calls attention to their bodies. But here it's so different. I sent a photo to my fiance of a young mother at my children's pediatrician's office that was sitting in a chair with her leg bent upright at the knee so that her foot was pulled up onto the chair exposing her butt area and she was wearing short shorts. My fiance was shocked because women just don't sit that way in egypt but here people don't think twice about it.

Engagements are not the same in every country and every culture. I work for an immigration attorney and we have many African clients. I have heard the lawyer tell some of our clients it's better not to mention the engagement if a bridal price was mentioned because that is considered a marriage by some and it will raise a red flag to the CO. Then you may be asked to prove the engagement was not in fact a marriage. You might be asked to get a government document showing what constitutes a customary wedding in your country to prove your engagement is not considered a marriage. I do not know anything about Ghana but have seen this advice given to Nigerians. So it is probably wise to ask the opinion of people who have cases in ghana as they would have better country specific advice.

What I am learning about Islam is that culture and religious lines often cross and intertwine. My fiance has been a muslim all of his life and often has his Egyptian culture intertwined with his religion. The Imam at the mosque I attend said it is often easier to learn and practice true Islam here in America where the culture doesn't come into play as much as it does in many African and middle Eastern countries.

OP, where in Virginia do you live? Definitely there are "pockets" of places all over the country that are worse than others. I reverted to Islam in January and have been wearing Hijab ever since. I was worried that I would be descriminated against but i have not experienced anything more than people being curious about why I am muslim and where i am from. I live in Silver Spring, MD, about 10 mins from DC. This area is very culturally and religiously diverse so for the most part people are very accepting of one another. There is Lutheran church, Mosque, Greek orthodox church, and Buddhist Temple standing right beside each other on the main road I live off of. I drive for Uber and in the beginning I was afraid the riders would be afraid of me or descriminate against me because of my hijab and because of the Islamophobia that exists among some. But I have not had any problems. Most people have been very kind. Many people are curious and aren't sure how to ask about my situation. They will usually start off by asking where I'm from but I can feel they really want to know how it is that I am muslim. I have had some great conversations with many of my riders about how I came to Islam. Mind you, I stay close to the DC metropolitan area when I drive so I am mostly in Northern Virginia, DC, and Montgomery and PG county, MD. A couple of times i have taken riders from DC to places further south in VA away from the city and I haven't felt as comfortable there. One girl was not being mean or anything but she couldn't get over the fact that I am muslim. She kept saying "I just don't get it, you're white...how are you muslim". More rural areas are less diverse and when something is unknown it is often feared. My family is from a tiny town in Mississippi where there is very little cultural or religious diversion. I went to visit my family with my ex-husband who was hispanic and felt very uncomfortable. People stared at us hard everywhere we went. No one said anything but you could actually feel tension in the air. I don't think I will be visiting Picayune, Mississippi in my hijab anytime soon lol. My fiance has seen the news about Chapel Hill and other islamophobic events and he is concerned for our safety. He is afraid most American's hate muslims and thinks we will have a bad life here. I can only reassure him that is not the case here where I live. There are definitely parts of Maryland and Virginia I wouldn't want to go to alone in my hijab but nowhere close to home. If you don't feel comfortable where you live and moving closer to the city is a possibility for you, go for it!

OP, where in Virginia do you live? Definitely there are "pockets" of places all over the country that are worse than others. I reverted to Islam in January and have been wearing Hijab ever since. I was worried that I would be descriminated against but i have not experienced anything more than people being curious about why I am muslim and where i am from. I live in Silver Spring, MD, about 10 mins from DC. This area is very culturally and religiously diverse so for the most part people are very accepting of one another. There is Lutheran church, Mosque, Greek orthodox church, and Buddhist Temple standing right beside each other on the main road I live off of. I drive for Uber and in the beginning I was afraid the riders would be afraid of me or descriminate against me because of my hijab and because of the Islamophobia that exists among some. But I have not had any problems. Most people have been very kind. Many people are curious and aren't sure how to ask about my situation. They will usually start off by asking where I'm from but I can feel they really want to know how it is that I am muslim. I have had some great conversations with many of my riders about how I came to Islam. Mind you, I stay close to the DC metropolitan area when I drive so I am mostly in Northern Virginia, DC, and Montgomery and PG county, MD. A couple of times i have taken riders from DC to places further south in VA away from the city and I haven't felt as comfortable there. One girl was not being mean or anything but she couldn't get over the fact that I am muslim. She kept saying "I just don't get it, you're white...how are you muslim". More rural areas are less diverse and when something is unknown it is often feared. My family is from a tiny town in Mississippi where there is very little cultural or religious diversion. I went to visit my family with my ex-husband who was hispanic and felt very uncomfortable. People stared at us hard everywhere we went. No one said anything but you could actually feel tension in the air. I don't think I will be visiting Picayune, Mississippi in my hijab anytime soon lol. My fiance has seen the news about Chapel Hill and other islamophobic events and he is concerned for our safety. He is afraid most American's hate muslims and thinks we will have a bad life here. I can only reassure him that is not the case here where I live. There are definitely parts of Maryland and Virginia I wouldn't want to go to alone in my hijab but nowhere close to home. If you don't feel comfortable where you live and moving closer to the city is a possibility for you, go for it!

Here is what we tell the clients to bring to us to respond to an RFE.

1. tax TRANSCRIPTS vs. returns because anyone can draft up a return but a transcript shows your returns were actually filed with the IRS. You can request your transcripts online at IRS.gov or at your local IRS office. Your tax returns are only helpful if you are both listed on the taxes. It doesn't matter if you worked or not, as long as both spouses names are on the return. You can also submit w-2s and 1099s showing you each have the same address on file. Send your 2014 tax return/transcript if you filed them. It may be difficult to get the transcript for 2014 if you just filed recently but some of our clients have gotten them. If you can't get the transcript for 2014, send the return.

2. Bank statements...even though you already sent some statements up until the end of 2014, send some for 2015. Send a couple, 2 or 3 should be sufficient to show the account is active and being used. You dont need every month. Just a sampling of months throughout the duration of your marriage.

3. A letter from your bank showing the date the account was opened, and the names on the account. The letter alone is not enough. It must be accompanied by the statements showing the usage of the account.

4. Joint bills- electric, water, cable, cell phones, gas, etc...if you are not jointly on the bills, are you an authorized user? If so, try to get something showing you are an authorized user on the account. I think Comcast has a page online that shows the name of the authorized user.

5. Credit cards- either joint statements or something showing you are authorized on each others accounts

6. Insurance policies- life insurance, health insurance, car insurance.. You can send a page or two from the policies showing both your names and the page that shows you or your spouse as the beneficiary of the policy

7. Insurance cards with both names on it

8. Any receipts for purchases made together for anything.

9. Paystubs showing your marital status as Married

10. Something from your jobs showing your spouse as the Emergency Contact

11. If you have step children: something from their schools showing the step parent as an Emergency Contact

12. Hospital bills showing each others names and your address

13. Copies of your drivers licenses or state IDs showing the same address

14. If you don't have a lot of evidence with BOTH of your names on it, you can send bills with only one name but showing you have the same address

15. Send a sonogram report showing the due date for your baby, or doctor report

16. More photos

17. Affidavits from friends, relatives, neighbors, clergy,etc attesting to your marital relationship. The affidavits should be VERY DETAILED and should say how the person knows you, how long they have known you, what they know about your marriage and life together and how they know this information. People have a tendency to write about what a great couple you are and what a great person you are. This is NOT what immigration is looking for. Immigration is looking to see that the affiants have witnessed your life together as husband and wife so it is important for the affiant to share details that show they have been a witness to your ongoing marriage. For example, the affiant should say what they do together with you and your spouse, such as go out to dinner, go to movies, bar b cues, see you in church, visit your home, playdates with each others children. The affidavits should be individualized and different from one another. They must contain the affiants name, status (citizen or permanent reaident) and how they know you or are related to you.

To whom it may concern,

I, Laurie Martin, am a citizen of the USA, and have known _______ for 10 years. We met in college in 2005 and quickly became great friends spending much of our free time together going to baseball games and friend's parties. In 2011_____told me he had met _____and they began dating. We went out together on many occasions to the movies/dinner/etc. In 2013 I attended ______ and _____ wedding. We continue to see each other frequently and get together on special occasions. I go to their home for dinner/ birthday parties/ Christmas, and our children have playdates often. _____and ____are very excited to be expecting their first child to be born in _____....... Etc etc etc

I work as an assistant for an immigration attorney and my job is to review the documents our clients bring in to be sent to USCIS to reapond to their RFE (request for Evidence). Read your RFE letter thoroughly because sometimes there is something CIS is asking for specifically. If they specifically tell you what they need, then that is what you send. If they are not asking for 1 or 2 specific things, they are wanting to see more evidence to show you have a joint life together. DO NOT RESEND what you already sent as suggested by another poster. CIS even states in their RFE not to resend what you already sent. They did not lose your original docs. They want additional docs.

Do you and your uncle file jointly with your spouses? If so, this is probably why they need to fill out the forms as well. I know that is the case if you are filing jointly with your spouse and the total income is being used to qualify but I am unsure about if the same applies when one of the spouses didn't actually earn the income being reported.

Has there been any physical, verbal, or emotional abuse? If so, you can file I-130 for adjustment of status as the abused spouse of a US citizen and the fee is waived. But you must be able to prove you have been abused. You should talk to an immigration attorney before jumping on a plane back home. Many have free initial consultations and can advise you on the best course of action for your situation. You should also talk to a divorce lawyer to see what your rights are and what you are entitled to. You would be entitled to whatever a US citizen is entitled to in the divorce. Being out of status does not take away your spousal rights. If I were you I'd start with the immigration lawyer and go from there.

Children born from a marriage most certainly aid in proving a bonafide relationship. Especially once the child is born and your husbands name is put on the birth certificate. I work for an immigration attorney and sending the BC's of children born to a couple filing a petition or adjustment of status is a must because of the weight it carries. I do have a friend that filed a for a K-1 fiance visa and was pregnant by her fiance at the time and she claims it had no bearing on the outcome of her approval so I don't know about how it works with K-1s.

Mabrook ya nernag! Great news Masha allah!!

i am the Egyptian girl, i am going to apply for it, and by the way i am too Muslim

my pan is to be completely honest at my interview, i know 95% will have reject but nothing is impossible

i know that Egypt is a high fraud country , but i am thinking maybe they fear males more than females to run away , cuz ofcourse i can not do it, i am already working on my k1 visa, will take my noa1 , even if i can take emails that were sending to my attorney or anything could support i would do this, by the way i even left my job. so now i am without work, my only plan is to be completely honest praying he could feel this honesty of mine and give me the visitor visa , i was thinking to make a trip in august or September, to pay for it and even the flight to anywhere else so i can show him the itinerary and make more sure i am coming back for this trip, i am trying, my fiance's mother she is not well, she wants to meet me and me her, so badly , plus i need to spend time with my fiance, i think this is one of our rights to see our fiance's parents , i am going to use anything to have it and leave the decision in god's hand, i will pray and do what i can do

i am so sad, so depressed truly, my heart hurts me so badly, i feel like i am in a cage , i cant find anyway sooner to be with the person that i love, and even i am stuck like rest of texas fillers in this nightmare, don't know how long i will wait, saying the approval in September, even if its in September so how long after the approval i should wait at least another 2 month, this is truly heartbreak, while seeing other's approvals in weeks , so unfair and so unacceptable, but there is nothing to do but play this waiting game

Asalamu alaykum!

I didn't see your post from the other day but some of the members here mentioned it. I hope you update us to let us know if you are approved for a tourist visa. You and I are almost in the same time frame for the k-1 visa. My priority date is 02/25/15 so really close to yours. Also, i live in Maryland, not too far from Washington D.C. and Virginia. So you will be really near when you come. I will make Duah for you and hope insha allah they approve your visa! Good luck!

I see that you have a number of issues.

There was a very long post a few days back about an Egyptian lady who is going for a B2, hopefully she will come back and up date. A few people questioned the going to see b/f issue without a chaperon, not a problem it seemed?

If it is and he has limited resources where would he stay etc if he got a B or a F?

I hope to see an update from the Egyptian woman. The issue of chaperones and such is more of an issue if I go to Egypt. As a muslim woman i should really not travel alone without family. There aren't really hotels in my fiance's city so I would have to stay in Cairo. Which is about an hour away from where my fiance lives. It would be frowned upon for me to stay in a hotel by myself. If my fiance came here on a visitor or student visa, he could live with some friends of mine.

If he wants a Student Visa the main point is to study. That does not seem to be the case here.

You mentioned the job as showing his tie. The reason he would go home.

$120 a day, or what?

That would be nice! $120/day would go a long way in egypt. Unfortunately, he makes about 1000 LE which is equivalent to less than $150 a month and the government takes money out of that and he's left with about $120 a month.

Thank you all for your input. I was already pretty sure we couldn't get him a tourist or student visa but I wanted to double check. In another forum I saw people suggesting the fiance get a tourist visa to visit the us citizen so I thought maybe there is hope for my fiance to get a visa. We have been together 20 months now and probably have at least 6 more months before he gets the k-1 visa assuming he's approved. I have been to see him twice but can only go 5 days at a time because I have children and work obligations. I just started a new job and probably can't take off for a while. This waiting is excruciating and i am afraid immigration will say we haven't spent enough physical time together. Also, now I am muslim and it is not permitted for us to spend time alone together without being married. I hope 2 times and 10 days is enough. I will probably go there for the interview.

Why would he quit a good job to do some continuing education at a community college in the US?

Are there not evening classes he could do locally.

I'm sure he could find some local English classes but the main point of him coming here as a student would be to be closer to each other. And if he invests in furthering his education, it doesn't make since to spend time and money doing it in egypt if he will be moving here within 6 months. Also his "good" job only makes the equivalent of about $120 so it's really not a great help to us right now.