Ihavequestions

Filing a tax return as married, filing separately is perfectly legal and and appropriate, particularly as there is no "it's complicated" filing status - and it requires the social security number of the spouse. Not only that, but as someone else said earlier in this thread, spouses are not dependents for tax purposes. For veteran's benefits? I don't know. But, it could very well be that there is no "separated" option and veterans are either married or not with no in-between. That doesn't mean he's done anything criminal or underhanded. He could have just answered honestly. Someone who knows more could speak to that.
Meanwhile, going online and registering with a bank from abroad, accessing bank account information, changing a marital status from "separated" to "married", then cleaning out the balance? I don't know if there are legal penalties for that. That's another something that someone else who knows more could help you with, particularly if either the other account holder or the bank had a problem with it and, I don't know, filed a fraud claim or something, which may have happened because the account was closed. Who knows. It's possible.
As for your re-entry into the United States - it's a long shot. Working, going to school, having a life in another country for five years typically means someone lives in that country. Ailing parents and deceased pets aren't going to go very far in terms of reasons to stay out of the U.S.

Backstory: Divorced from an Egyptian and live in Egypt because I like it.
Where is he from?
Has he been to university? If so, what's his degree?
Why can't he practice his English with any of the bazillion English speakers in Egypt?
Does he have a job? If so, what does he do and how much does he earn?

OP, I looked at your post history; you married a professional immigrant. There's no telling how long his new job will last, so he's holding onto you to keep the opportunity to go to the US open. 
 
Pull the affidavit of support and file for a divorce, and do it NOW.
 
(p.s. It's not his mother working the second wife angle, it's him either letting you know what to expect or he's already got one.)

OP, I looked at your post history; you married a professional immigrant. There's no telling how long his new job will last, so he's holding onto you to keep the opportunity to go to the US open. 
 
Pull the affidavit of support and file for a divorce, and do it NOW.
 
(p.s. It's not his mother working the second wife angle, it's him either letting you know what to expect or he's already got one.)

I second Egypt. The value of the Egyptian pound (EGP/LE) to the dollar makes tourism a great - not good, GREAT - deal financially. A lovely hotel room can be had for $25 (USD) per night. Transportation is reasonable; the train from Alexandria to Cairo, first class, is around $2.50, one way, per person. And I agree, Egyptian food is really, really good. As for English speakers, English is Egypt's second language and most people know some. In the tourist areas, English is a must.
 
So come and visit!
 
(Did I mention we have Uber, too?)

Because it's not a problem within the US embassies/consulates. Fraudulent passports are a thriving industry. This article is eye-opening:  http://www.politico.eu/article/europes-fake-forged-stolen-passport-epidemic-visa-free-travel-rights. Also, not every country issues biometric passports, which emboldens the fraudulent passport industry. 
 
To stay on topic, the issue is vetting. How can the US - or any other government - properly and, more importantly, assure safety within the US border, when there's a possibility the person trying to gain entry is traveling with forged documents. 

Because it's not a problem within the US embassies/consulates. Fraudulent passports are a thriving industry. This article is eye-opening:  http://www.politico.eu/article/europes-fake-forged-stolen-passport-epidemic-visa-free-travel-rights. Also, not every country issues biometric passports, which emboldens the fraudulent passport industry. 
 
To stay on topic, the issue is vetting. How can the US - or any other government - properly and, more importantly, assure safety within the US border, when there's a possibility the person trying to gain entry is traveling with forged documents. 

The "bad guys" have been printing fraudulent passports for a long time. How does the US government "make sure" when the passport is fake, or when a country is so war-torn official records don't exist anymore?

The "bad guys" have been printing fraudulent passports for a long time. How does the US government "make sure" when the passport is fake, or when a country is so war-torn official records don't exist anymore?

In theory, yes. In practice, it's not likely. The seven countries, with the exception of Iran, are countries in conflict (read: war, civil or other) or safe havens for bad buys - and Egypt most certainly is not either of those. Besides, Egypt is an anti-bad guy partner.

In theory, yes. In practice, it's not likely. The seven countries, with the exception of Iran, are countries in conflict (read: war, civil or other) or safe havens for bad buys - and Egypt most certainly is not either of those. Besides, Egypt is an anti-bad guy partner.

In theory, yes. In practice, it's not likely. The seven countries, with the exception of Iran, are countries in conflict (read: war, civil or other) or safe havens for bad buys - and Egypt most certainly is not either of those. Besides, Egypt is an anti-bad guy partner.

These are all things you should be asking about. Here's why. If he went to an Egyptian home to talk to a family about the possibility of an engagement with their daughter, he would walk in the door knowing he would have to provide answers to those questions. There's no reason he shouldn't give you specific, credible answers, too. FYI, there's no such thing as a "degree in electric" or a "trade school" here. His passport should say what his profession is in the bottom left corner. Look at it and see what it says.
I'm going to go on the wild assumption your guy isn't scammy and you aren't his escape plan, and give you my bits of advice. Take it or leave it, but know it comes from the heart.
Plan a vacation of a lifetime and come to Egypt. Yes, alone. There is nothing - and I do mean nothing - to be afraid of as long as one follows sensible tourist advice that would apply anywhere (don't waive stacks of dollars in the air, etc.). You can either book into a quite decent hotel or rent a fully furnished apartment for less than $10/USD a night. A hotel/apartment will give you some autonomy and independence. Meet this guy and see if you mesh in person. If there's a spark, that's great. If not, hey, you got the vacation of a lifetime. If you have concerns while you're here, there are plenty of foreign women here, so plenty of feet on the ground, to comfort and advise you.
One further note. I see that you said you've always been a bit on the conservative side. In my opinion, the foreign woman/Egyptian man relationships that have been durable and lasting are the relationships with a liberal foreign woman, just because those are the women who let their husbands be themselves. Aside from the 50-year-old-woman/22-year-old-Egyptian obvious train wrecks, the real disasters are the western converts who marry and proceed to take him to school about how he's got his religion all wrong. Egyptians as a whole (yes, this is a wide brush) are much more than their religion. They are also thousands of years of culture, tradition, and family/tribe loyalty/affiliations. If you're considering a long-term relationship, his religion is only one part of a very large parcel.
Good luck and let me know when you're coming!

These are all things you should be asking about. Here's why. If he went to an Egyptian home to talk to a family about the possibility of an engagement with their daughter, he would walk in the door knowing he would have to provide answers to those questions. There's no reason he shouldn't give you specific, credible answers, too. FYI, there's no such thing as a "degree in electric" or a "trade school" here. His passport should say what his profession is in the bottom left corner. Look at it and see what it says.
I'm going to go on the wild assumption your guy isn't scammy and you aren't his escape plan, and give you my bits of advice. Take it or leave it, but know it comes from the heart.
Plan a vacation of a lifetime and come to Egypt. Yes, alone. There is nothing - and I do mean nothing - to be afraid of as long as one follows sensible tourist advice that would apply anywhere (don't waive stacks of dollars in the air, etc.). You can either book into a quite decent hotel or rent a fully furnished apartment for less than $10/USD a night. A hotel/apartment will give you some autonomy and independence. Meet this guy and see if you mesh in person. If there's a spark, that's great. If not, hey, you got the vacation of a lifetime. If you have concerns while you're here, there are plenty of foreign women here, so plenty of feet on the ground, to comfort and advise you.
One further note. I see that you said you've always been a bit on the conservative side. In my opinion, the foreign woman/Egyptian man relationships that have been durable and lasting are the relationships with a liberal foreign woman, just because those are the women who let their husbands be themselves. Aside from the 50-year-old-woman/22-year-old-Egyptian obvious train wrecks, the real disasters are the western converts who marry and proceed to take him to school about how he's got his religion all wrong. Egyptians as a whole (yes, this is a wide brush) are much more than their religion. They are also thousands of years of culture, tradition, and family/tribe loyalty/affiliations. If you're considering a long-term relationship, his religion is only one part of a very large parcel.
Good luck and let me know when you're coming!

Backstory: Divorced from an Egyptian and live in Egypt because I like it.
Where is he from?
Has he been to university? If so, what's his degree?
Why can't he practice his English with any of the bazillion English speakers in Egypt?
Does he have a job? If so, what does he do and how much does he earn?

Backstory: Divorced from an Egyptian and live in Egypt because I like it.
Where is he from?
Has he been to university? If so, what's his degree?
Why can't he practice his English with any of the bazillion English speakers in Egypt?
Does he have a job? If so, what does he do and how much does he earn?

Stop blaming the Embassy. Stop emailing the Embassy. Leave your Congressman out of it.
Why? Because it's not the Embassy and your Congressman can't do anything - not one thing - to move your AP along.
Why?
Because AP is done at the local level, by locals. That's right! Local. Meaning, if the beneficiary's name is run through all of those databases and there's a match, further investigation is required. Any involvement with the legal system is investigated. If the beneficiary was a witness to a crime, it's investigated. That investigation requires a local (yes, an Egyptian!) to find the motivation to get up out of that comfy chair, dig through that dusty stack of files, and give the Embassy the information they're asking for. It's particularly challenging in cases where bright lights got the good idea to burn court houses and police stations where paper records are stored.
All you can do is wait.
OmSama, can you ask for an expedite? Do you know?

So, let me get this straight. You were here (and so was/is your brother), married in October, filed papers in November, with an abusive (you suspect, although you work for child protective services, you aren't sure what abuse is), jealous, psychopathic drinker who, for some reason, expects you to contribute to the household expenses - which is what normal married people do. To make matters worse, she doesn't appreciate mom tossing her $2,000 to straighten out her finances. Is mom here, too?
Why don't you just get a divorce and get your residency?

It's bigger than that. The money in that account came from a lump sum Veterans benefit pay-out. Veterans benefits are protected from seizure - by federal law - and are not considered a marital asset.
She had no right to touch it.

Wow. You're pretty arrogant and nasty to people who are trying to help you.
A bit of advice about this group: that attitude doesn't go over well. Unless you want to continue to flounder on your own, you might want to change your tune.

I don't know. I don't know your ex or what he would do. However, I do know - as I have said - you CANNOT take the children out of the country without his permission. You will be stopped at the airport. Sure, you will be free to board the plane, however the children will not and it won't matter whether they have a visa to enter the U.S. or not. They're Egyptian. That's the only citizenship they have. Their father is Egyptian. He is Muslim. Egyptian Family Law gives him rights and he is free to avail himself of those rights, whether that's refusing to sign, taking the children into his custody, or even filing a court case prohibiting their travel outside of Egypt. He has to give express written consent for those children to travel. There's no way around it.
Again, get a lawyer.

Obtaining a passport is not the same as giving permission to travel and you cannot take the children out of the country without his permission.
You are going to want a document that clearly states he is aware of your intentions to take the children out of the country for immigration purposes, and that he agrees to it.
Then you're going to have to hope he doesn't get stupid - right up until the plane departs.
This is not something you want to do yourself. Get a lawyer.

You have to do it where you live and have residency.
You don't want to try and divorce in Egypt. It's quick and easy for men, but it can take years for a woman.

A friend of mine - Pakistani, arranged marriage - left her medical career to stay home and raise children. After about 20 years, her doctor husband thought he would trade her in for a younger version. He came into court waving his marriage contract. The judge asked if his wife signed that she agreed he could have girlfriends. Of course she didn't. The result? He was taken to the cleaners.

Exactly. There's no "bad mood" or "didn't like beneficiary" box to check. There has to be a solid reason. These files, as with all government work, is reviewed and audited and real people have to answer for the decisions they make.
The inability to communicate in a common language would be a relationship issue, so I can see how it would be an issue at an interview.