RJandHamid

I would give it until Friday to see if the status changes. If you still don't hear anything, try contacting Aramex directly. I know some others in Morocco have reported that Aramex never contacted them to let them know the visa was ready for them.

Is this to get married in Morocco? If so, she can get the Moroccan background check here: https://casierjudiciaire.justice.gov.ma/Accueil.aspx?culture=en-US Select whatever location is nearest to you for pick up.

All you can do is provide what you do have. Were you asked to provide your initial chat conversations at the interview? That is rather common at the Casablanca consulate. I would provide them with what you have, and maybe include a note explaining why you don't have initial conversations. No one can say whether you will be approved or not after providing the additional documentation, but all you can do is try.

Casablanca is a tough consulate. Though there have been couples with 10+ year age gaps who have had approved K-1 visas. The more prepared you are (a lot of relationship evidence from multiple trips, take the time to get to know one another, take many photos together with family/friends), the more likely you are to have a better outcome. How many times have you met in person?

The marriage page on the consulate website is pretty accurate. I believe the requirement is 4 passport photos. The timeline will vary based on location, how prepared you are, any holidays slowing things down, and just general slow Moroccan office staff... Some people get everything done in under a week, and for others, the same process can take over a month. I suggest having your fiancé ask around and find out what specific documents you need marry in the city he lives in. The more prepared you are, the smoother the process will be. And you don't need to be accompanied by anyone during the process... If you/your fiancé have a Facebook profile, message me and I can give you the names of some groups that are specific to the marriage/visa process in Morocco. It can be a confusing and frustrating process.

Here's what my fiancé (now husband) was asked at his interview in Casablanca: -How and when did you meet your fiancé(e)? When did you first meet in person (if met online)? -How many times have you met in person? -How many times has she been to Morocco? How long did you date before getting engaged? -When did you get engaged (exact date)? -Who proposed and how? -What did they say to the proposal? -When was the last time you saw your fiancé(e)? -Did you have an engagement party? -What do you (beneficiary) do for a living? -What does the petitioner do for a living? -Do you want to have children? -When are you planning on getting married? -Do you have any wedding plans (location, guest info)? -What does your fiancé(e) like (hobbies, favorite book, meal T.V show, ECT.)? -What kinds of things do you enjoy doing together? -What do you and your fiancé(e) have in common? -Have you met or spoken to your fiancé(e)’s children or any other family members? -Where does the petitioner live (state, city)? -What do you love about your fiancé(e)? -What is your fiancé(e)’s name? -How old is your fiancé(e)? -What do you know about your fiancé(e)’s previous relationship (if applicable)? -What faith does your fiancé(e) practice? -What is your faith background? -Has your fiancé(e) ever been convicted of a crime? -Has your family met your fiancé(e)? What do they think of them? -(If using a co-sponsor) Who is your co-sponsor? Why are they willing to sponsor you? How was your fiancé(e) able to afford trips to Morocco if they have a limited income? -What do you plan to do once you arrived in the USA? -Why did you decide to marry in the USA rather than in your country?

My opinion (having gone through the Casablanca consulate with a successful K-1 petition) is that your engagement ceremony does sound rather typical, with the exception of her wearing multiple dresses. I myself did not have an engagement party or ceremony, but it was brought up at our interview, we were asked why we did not have one. And I know plenty of other successful K-1s in Morocco who had the ceremony with milk and dates, henna and all and were still approved. It's a very common cultural practice. Of course every case is different so no one can say for sure what the CO will decide in your case. I also don't think the religion difference is as big a deal as people are making it seem. As long as you are able to explain it at the interview, it's not really something that is likely to cause any immediate denial. Otherwise same sex couples and non Muslim male/Muslim female couples would never get visas through Muslim countries, and I'm sure they do, it's just a somewhat rare scenario. I don't think you should be overly worried about the K-1 visa, I think you have a decent chance. Though it wouldn't hurt to at least research the marriage process in Morocco in case the K-1 is denied for whatever reason.

I do think that 6 visits is a good number. But it's not me you need to convince, it's the consular officer. If you feel like you have a strong case, might as well file as soon as you can.

There really is no "best time" in terms of a calendar date. I would say the best time to file is when you feel like you can present a solid and well prepared case, especially when dealing with the Casablanca consulate. If that means waiting a little longer to file so your partner can make another visit so have more evidence to submit, then maybe not filing right a way is a good idea. Or you could file now assuming you have already made several visits during the K-1 process and then again to get married. As for how long the process takes, that varies too. It will vary depending on the service center processing your case, as well as how quickly things are moving at the NVC and at the consulate once you get to those stages of the process. I want to say that average CR1 processing times are still about 10-14 months from start to finish.

You can complete the DS-160 now. Be aware that K-1 interviews are currently taking around 5-6 months to be scheduled in Casablanca, so you might want to hold off on gathering other documents, as official Moroccan documents (like the court records, singlehood/celibacy certificate and police record) expire within 3 months.

Like others have said, a writ is not something you can successfully do on your own. I used to think that filing a writ was a waste of money, but over the past year I've seen at least 5 cases (in Casablanca) where a visa was issued after a writ was filed. All of them used the same firm, Hacking Law.

Am I understanding correctly that they want to bring back separate filing fees for the I-765 and I-131 when filing concurrently with the I-485? Page 81 of the proposed rule: "DHS proposes to require separate filing fees when filing Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization and Form I-131, Application for Travel Document concurrently with a Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, or after USCIS accepts their Form I-485 and while it is still pending." That would make things even more difficult for those adjusting from K-1 visas (and probably other visa types that I have no knowledge about).

The Casablanca consulate is about 4-6 months behind in scheduling K-1 interviews. I know several people with NVC "Ready" dates in June and July who are still waiting. You can email IVCasablanca@state.gov to try to get a quicker response from them. They will respond to that with an automatic email, until eventually an actual response will arrive. You just have to keep waiting at this point. I know it is frustrating. They will automatically extend the validity of your petition. You can complete the DS-160 now if you want, or you can wait until you have the interview date. It just needs to be completed before the day of the interview.

There isn't really a "time requirement" for domicile. Some things that can help you prove domicile are a US bank account, bills with a US address (maybe a credit card since you probably don't have utility bills due to living abroad). Where did you live before you move to Morocco? Did you rent/lease or live with your parents? If you lived with someone, maybe include a letter from them (again, this will be at the interview stage, not during the initial filing of the documents), copies of something like a bank statement showing that you both have the same address. Overall it will still be up to the consular officer to determine how much or what kind of evidence of domicile they will want to see. As for the financial aspect, both you and your sponsor will need to provide at least the current year of tax transcripts. If you were not required to file taxes, you can include a letter describing why you didn't have to file.

Yes, I would say that 1.5 years is a good average, though it can sometimes be shorter than that. It sounds like at some point before the interview (regardless of which visa path you take), you may need to return to the US to establish domicile. They will want to see that you have a current US address, or a valid driver's license, voting record, just something to prove that you are or have maintained US domicile.