StupidJourney

i wonder why they give arbitrary waiting times to different people???? Is there method to the insanity? gggrrrh

My only guess would be that different CO's give different estimates. Like one will say 6-7 days, but that's really equivalent to another CO saying 7-10 days. I doubt that they're deliberately making a distinction that the second case will take longer to clear. Who knows?

That's a logical explanation. Thanks!

i wonder why they give arbitrary waiting times to different people???? Is there method to the insanity? gggrrrh

I'm just curious if we should listen to the estimates of how long AP lasts. The COs tell people such different times - today for example, they told my fiance 6-7 days, but they told someone else 7-10 days. I know they've told some people 2 weeks, and others 2 months. What's the deal? And have they been accurate in those estimates in the past? Have some people gotten it earlier than the estimate? (yeah right!) and for anyone who got it later than the time estimate they gave you, how much longer was it?

And how would they know ahead of time how long someone's will take - "oh you'll get 10 days," "oh that guy will get two months." I don't get it, unless some of the AP has been done prior to the interview already.

Thanks for any help, and sorry if this is incoherent, I didn't really sleep well last night!

Ok, good night all!

congrats!!!

Good luck!!!

I just wanted to give info about Hamid's interview experience, for people who are waiting.

Get there early. He was the first one there, so he was interviewed first, out of the K1 visas. (They did interviews for tourist visas first though).

I am SO GLAD we reviewed this question: Who is the petitioner? When I first asked him, he didn't know what the word meant, so he was prepared for that. It was the first question.

Know dates! Dates of travel, dates when relationship was begun, when did you meet, etc. Also know dates of fiance/spouse's past relationships too.

He was asked if we plan to stay in the U.S. forever or not.

Have you met the American fiance/spouse's family? Be prepared for an answer if you haven't (my parents plan on going there this summer, so that might have helped even thought hey haven't met yet)

They wanted to know what languages the petitioner spoke.

Also, be prepared to supply information even if they don't ask. For example, when they asked him about my languages, he said, "she speaks Arabic too because she was in the Peace Corps." Even though I put that on my application, the CO acted surprised by that. SO, they might not have known had Hamid not added that info.

Also, his interview lasted 15 minutes or so.

If I get any more info from him, I will add it here!

Wooohooooo Morocco is kickin azz today !!

Congratulations to you both -- wishing you a speedy finish to the ARs and visas in hand very soon !

Can't wait to hear from Angela and Hicham -- may it be a true triple play in Morocco today !

-MK

Hamid talked to Hicham and he was approved as well, will get the visa after standard processing wait time.

Oh, when I asked Hamid for a description of the "laughing" CO, he told me "an American woman." Maybe that means it WASN'T the Asian lady. He did say she "spoke Arabic like you." Which I guess means poorly! The interview was of course in English.

hi everyone,

Spoke with Said about two hours ago and we were approved as well. She told him that he has the standard AP and will be called 7 to 10 days. He had a really nice woman who interviewed him for about 10 minutes and only asked to see all of our pics which she looked at every single one and her and Said were laughing together. She asked my name, work (very specific on that...guess it is because im a social worker and she wanted to know from him what i actually did with people), my brother, where i lived, how many times i visited him, and so far that is what i can remember. he was with his friends and talking up a storm...i'll get exact stuff tonite when i see him online. As for him coming home...im visiting him 12/21 and im looking to bring home on my flight 1/6..whoohoo!! Finally that step is completed...good luck to Angel and Hicham and congratulations out to Liz.

melinda

Congratulations! I'm glad to hear the good news. Interesting that they told you a different time frame, 7-10 days. I wonder why that is? I've heard other people told different time frames too. Any ideas anyone?

Just heard from Hamid about an hour ago. He was approved, with the standard ap/ar. They told him he would be called back in "6 or 7 days." Thought that was a strange quote for the amount of time it would take, considering 6 days would be a Sunday! He said the interview was easy, and the woman laughed and joked during the interview. He said the most difficult question was about my previous relationship (not married).

He said an "old man" who wanted to see his grandkids got denied, and he felt bad for that. He said he would meet with Hicham (of Angela and Hicham) to see how his went.

I'll give more specifics about the interview later today.

Do it in Rabat and devote all your time to it. I agree you can get in done in a month. It took us 3 months, but that was in Beni Mellal and there was lots of bullshit involved. If you do go to a smaller city, be prepared for bribes and waiting and multiple trips of inanity. If you do it in Rabat it should be relatively easy.

Not sure about Casa -- if it is fast or not.

Be prepared for bribes in big cities too.

Not just the Berbers had the face tattoos. Abdel's family is Arab but his mother and some of his aunt's had them. The only picture of his mother in the house shows the face tattoos, and the very old aunt that was in our pictures of our engagement ceremony had them. I asked him if he was Berber, or if any of his family was, and he specifically said no, they are all Arab. His whole family is not really Muslim, but still keeps closer to the pre-Islam Arabic traditions. They observe Ramadan, but not in the religious sense, just as a holiday.

As for tattoos and piercings on me - I have two piercings in each ear but rarely wear any earrings. I spend a good bit of my day at work on the phone and earrings can get pretty painful when pressed into the skull for a while.

I have 2 tattoos and Abdel's sisters saw them at the Turkish bath. As I said, they aren't really Muslim, so they didn't care at all. He likes them and doesn't care if I want to get more. He says it's my body, I can do as I please.

That's Berber. Families are not always "out of the closet" Berbers. Face tats on women in Morocco are Amazigh. Can you describe the tattoo? Maybe peezey can identify better, since she has been studying this. The pattern will denote tribal affiliation.

Most of Morocco has Amazigh origins though big-city people will resent admitting it or even know the exact heritage of their families. Amazigh-speaking relatives are usually only a few generations removed, but I am amazed at how many Rabatis I met who do not know the Amazigh word for "peace" or even "hello."

I also came across a lot of people who did not want to admit being Amazigh.

That, and this person joined today.

Can we say ......

???

My husband says they are gross and abnormal j/k

He does say they are both haram, with the exception of piercings in the ears.

Would that also apply to the traditional Berber tatoos that women have? I know its less and less these days and always has been berber culture not Islam. Curious.

Good example of how Amazigh culture in Morocco (Berbers) predate Islam. You never see younger women with face tattoos anymore. Someone needs to get out and document these women before this practice completely disappears. It is considered "haram" but is one of those things that is so pervasive as to be uniquely Moroccan "halal."

I agree wholeheartedly about at least documenting and preserving what we have left of Amazigh culture before it disappears completely. There has been a revival in recent years, and the languages are being taught more in schools, but it's sad how some people who are Amazigh turn their backs on their identity. For example, my fiance didn't put Tamazight on the form when it asked for what languages it spoke, as if it's not a "real" language of the same status of Arabic, French, or English.

There are many groups that are devoted to preserving the culture, such as http://www.tamazgha.org/ and http://www.mondeberbere.com/

In Morocco they have these strange tall and skinny blow up santa dolls. and they say "bonne annee" but that's about it. someone in morocco told me that yesterday too, i'm not sure why?

I wanna write something in Arabic too! ummm... what do I know... umm. don't make fun of me, but, here goes nothing:

كوكا كولا ا

بيبسي

oooh, I got another one!

فانتا

I wanna write something in Arabic too! ummm... what do I know... umm. don't make fun of me, but, here goes nothing:

كوكا كولا ا

Ok, there ARE two Liz's right? Because otherwise I'm totally confused.

Oh, and Texas has much better mexican food than CA I'm afraid!

there is no option for NONE.

if you're applying for a visa, then that means your fiance probably hasn't visited the u.s., and how else could you have visited your fiance unless you went to a third country? (also if it's none, then it could fit in the less than one month category, could it not?)

Sonicliz, I noticed you chose St. Patrick's day for your wedding day. What is the significance for you? We have one of the biggest celebrations on that day in the entire US here in Savannah so that just kindof jumped out at me. Just think, if he gets the visa next week you'll have to officially tie the knot a little earlier to beat the 3 month deadline. I hope that won't be too big a disappointment for you.

that's the only saturday in march that was still open for the place we want to have it! (i am actually a little ticked off it will be on st. patrick's day -- my alcoholic family doesn't need another excuse to get drunk!)

we're already planning on getting married sooner. the problem is my dad's still in the military, and he already knows he won't be in town for all of january and february, so we have to have the big ceremony later. but we're going to do be officially married probably in december inchallah! (that is if he's here then!)

thanks mk!

Just curious...

I just finished helping Hamid type up his forms! OMG I can't believe his interview is less than two days away!

hey, don't leave us hanging!!

Very strange indeed.

This paper is standard. You aren't denied. You will just have to wait a while, and they will call you when your visa is ready. Congratulations!