Natashas_eyes

We had talked about this awhile back but I just spent 30 minutes sifting through old posts and can't find the thread it was in! Anyway those of you that were interested please PM me I'd like to update you! Also any non-Muslims that are interested in learning more about Islam this might pertain to you too. Thanks!

I am very interested as well.

I already have a ticket to Morocco this December; I have been looking into getting a ticket from Casablanca on January 2nd to return to the USA. The prices on Royal Air Morocco seem to be pretty fixed... they have not changed prices in the last month that I have been looking. The problem is I would have to get a ticket from JFK to MCI, in Kansas City. The tickets from JFK to MCI seem to be higher than usual.

Anyone have any ideas... do you think tickets will go down closer to December, its obviously close to a BIG holiday for us Christians, but didn't think it would affect international travel. I traveled this summer and got a round trip from MCI to Casablanca, Morocco for under $500. But don't remember when I purchased the ticket.

I also worry about waiting too long and the tickets are WAY too expensive.

Shoot me your ideas! Thanks!

I just purchased tickets to leave in two weeks. I am not sure if this will help, some say purchase on a Tues/Thurs, one thing I noticed, the prices seem lower early in the morning and they raise as the day goes on. I would love to be able to flight roundtrip for under $500, that would be a blessing.

Good luck.

Check with local hospitals as well. It is often they need translators and most of the time it is a three way call. My aunt works from home teaching English to French students online. I am sorry I don't have more information regarding that, but she doesn't even speak French, lol

Thanks guys for your answers. I always wanted to work as a freelance translator but i thought that it'll be hard since i'm not certified.

I'll check the colleges/universities near by. Good idea!!

Wow, this is great. I didn't know they had this festival. I am in Indiana and would love to attend, but it looks as though I will have to wait until next year. Are there other festivals besides this one?

Thanks

ote name='Turia' date='Jul 19 2009, 03:49 PM' post='3131225']

Ok everyone, Arab World Fest is upon us soon. August 7, 8, and 9th in Milwaukee at the Summerfest grounds.

Our plan is to go on that Saturday and hopefully we will get a number of people to meet up with us. Star dragon and her husband plan on meeting at my house (and whoever else) and I will pack my van full to go to Milwaukee!

There is lots of food, music, hookah to be enjoyed. Camel rides are there. They have belly dance lessons, henna, and games for kids.

Check out the website www.arabworldfest.com.

I look forward to meeting more of you if you can come!

Hi~~

I have previously posted this under another thread but was hoping to get a wider response by starting a new topic.

I was trying to be patient thinking everything is normal, but as time is going by, and I am researching more and more, I am getting more and more worried. Although Rida was not denied, he's been placed in AP. The questions he was asked were things like....What is my sister's profession? Do I cook or do I eat out a lot? What is the name of my church? Asked him questions about my exhusband. Although he knew the answers to most of the questions, they were not ones he was expecting. They never asked about us a couple like how we met etc etc etc or about my parents.

He completed his interview on May 14th...had to bring one additional document on May 18 and I emailed Casa right away with no response, tried calling, emailed again and then I contacted my senator May 20th, (she actually has placed an inquiry on my behalf.) Last night I placed an email to her office asking if maybe she could request that a senior consulor review our case. I know that I am being impatient, but I am worried by this line of questioning and am concerned that our case may be in jeopardy. And also am doing whatever I can to prevent a possible return of our application to the US.

I am travelling to Morocco July 7th to August 11th and wonder additionally if anyone has any advice on something I may be able to do while I am there to help this situation. I hope and pray that maybe he can return home with me at that time, but have a feeling we may be in for quite a wait!

Please help with any advice you can possibly provide.

Thanks so much!

Melynda

Melynda,

I understand perfectly and I was the same. His interview was on the 14th too. We were in AP on the 18th and I too contacted my Senator. You hear so many horror stories, I just panicked and was afraid something would go wrong. Suddenly our AP went to returned to the US on the 22nd. I still do not know the reason why, I am waiting. It is terrible. Since you are still in Casa, I would assume things are going as planned and he will be called. I was afraid I had angered them with my Senator's contact, but others are doing fine in the process. Now, I wait. I want to file again, but I need the reason first.

Best of luck.

Natasha

WE were in AP and suddenly returned and we do not know why. Instead of waiting, can we simply apply again?

I would agree, but I think it might be a good sign that they mentioned the expiration in the letter.

The problem is that they should be able to call the call center and ask what to expect next, but they aren't trained on returned petitions. When I called about ours they had no idea what I was talking about.

I hope this is a good sign. I would be interested to see what step you were on in the I-130. If it has already made it to the NVC, and they are requesting you to follow the steps I would do it. But this is the tricky part. When it makes it back to the consulate you had better be prepared to give them some sort of proof that is going to address the reason the K-3 was denied. If not you can expect the same thing to happen with the CR1.

Take this very seriously. A denied CR1 is extremely time consuming. If you can figure out what went wrong you can turn this around before it goes there.

Hello VJ family. I have learned so much from this site and in my quest to get my fiance a visa.

I posted earlier that the embassy in dakar senegal returned our I129F petition to USCIS for review and they recommended it be revoked. I have ready many threads were this has happended to others as well. In the process I learned that when a petition is returned it may take uscis 2 to 3 years to look at it. I spoke with a rep from my congressman's office today and she told me i should get married and refile because there is not much she could do.

I guess the real complaint i have is that we were not given a chance at the embassy to rectify or correct the problems. And, according to my research the embassy is suppose to allow the petitioner/beneficiary a chance to submit documents and correct problems before they just send petitions back. Further, it's very frustrating because we don't have any real recourse against them - other than starting all over.

I found a very useful thread in the north african forum with links to the DOS directives to the embassies on how to handle petitions before they are returned and what the legal language is.

let me tell you my plan and please let me know what you think.

In addition to alreadying contacting my congressman (which does not seem or feel very helpful or immediate at this point) I will contact the Ombudsman at uscis, try to file a formal compliant with DOS, contact my senator, and just keep calling uscis daily to check on the status - by the way they have not even received the petition yet - it was sent back on 4/29/09 from dakar in a diplomatic pouch which i'm told can take 2 to 3 months to arrive - what a joke.

also I'm going to senegal in June for about 5 weeks to be with my sweetie and we plan to marry. should i file the I30 afterwards?

thanks for your help and attention - and good luck to everyone in my situation.

***************************************************************************

OMG! We are sooo in the same boat. Our case was sent back April 28th. We were told by the consulant and State department to allow 30 days. Yes, are they on a cruise????? I have contacted my State senator office also. THey contacted Casa and received the official memo via emai. I am waiting on the official letter from USCIS then my senator case worker can start inquiring about our case. I agree with everything you said also. Houcine was not given a reason by his CO of why she was returning. He received a 221G on the 1st interview (he had 3). And on the last she gave him another paper which none of the boxes (reasons for return) were marked. He didnt realize it until he sent it to me and I looked. But we were not given a chance either to submit additional evidence either. We have considered me moving to Morocco and establishing residency for 6 months, marrying and direct filing with the consulant. But thats a BIG STEP. Lets keep this going and get some input. I am desperate for info on how to proceed. I had a fellow VJ er tell me to send a letter of rebuttle along with info on the interview and supporting evidence. But I cant do that until I receive the letter from USCIS. I will probably do that along with what you mentioned.

Rachel

We are in the same boat as well. Flew through USCIS, interview went well, was told we will call and less than a week later, we were returned. No warning, no contact, no 221g, nothing. Moving to Morocco is something we have discussed as well. If I tried to just go there to marry, it would take a month or more and I would lose my job anyway. I have written both Senators, my Congressman, FOIA and I even sent an email to President Obama asking for a review of DOS and the friction between them and USCIS. I don't want to file a new i-129f until I know what the issue is and of course, no one can tell me yet. ~Natasha

Thank you for this information, however, he was never given a 221G, he was told he would be called and then less than a week later, it was returned "based on a recommendation from the adjudicating officer and there is no appeal possible at this point. My Senator received the same response from his inquiry. We weren't told anything, we were waiting on a phone call. The interview went well, we had everything we needed.

Something seems to change, odd. Emails and phone calls haven't given me an answer and USCIS told me they cannot help until they receive the pouch.

However, when noting my concern regarding his I-797 (k1 Visa by the way) he said that wouldn't be a problem. He kept telling me we have not been denied, it sounded like a second review.

Should ask my senator to inquire further?

Thanks

Reposting this for a friend in need...gotta figure out how to get this placed at the top as a guide!

Here is what is happens when a petition is returned:

• 221(g) is issued to beneficiary at conclusion of the interview stating the application and/or petition is being returned to the United States.
• Petition is returned to the United States by the interviewing consulate for "further review" in what is called a diplomatic pouch.
• Returned petition is received by the NVC. It is reviewed and entered into the fraud database by fraud management.
• Returned petition is sent to the local service center where the petition was originally filed.
• Local service center receives returned petition.
• Local service center who processed the original petition sends a notice of receipt to the petitioner.
• Local service center reviews the returned petition and consular officer notes on the case.
• Local service center then sends either a NOID (Notice of Intent to Deny) or NOIR (Notice of Intent to Revoke) to the petitioner also asking for more proof of the relationship, many cases have specific consular objections to rebut.
• Petitioner is given 30-60 days from date of NOIR/NOID (depending on the service center) to respond with additional evidence of the relationship or other specific evidence. The timeframe to respond will be provided in the letter.
• Local service center receives evidence...if in the timeframe given (30-60 days) the case is reviewed and either reaffirmed or denied.
• If the petition is denied the local service center sends the petitioner an 'official' denial letter. This can be be appealed if the denial letter states such.
• If the petition is reaffirmed the local service center sends the petitioner an official notice of reaffirmation.
• Local service center sends the reaffirmed petition AND its evidence provided in the rebuttal directly to the consulate along with a recommendation to issue a visa.
• Consulate notifies the beneficiary of a new interview date.
• Beneficiary has interview for the reaffirmed petition and the visa is either issued, or the case in placed in Administrative Processing which after cleared a visa is issued, or worst case scenario it is denied via 221(g) and returned again to the USCIS.

What can you do immediately when faced with this issue:

• Immediately have the beneficiary send a scanned copy of the 221(g) issued.
• Contact the consulate directly (immediately) and attempt to have the petition reviewed by the senior consular before it is returned.
• If you are unable to get through to the consulate on the phone, contact them via email, and if you're mail has a "read verification" use it.
• Contact your congressman/senator, get them involved immediately. You will need to sign a release form giving them permission to make an inquiry on your behalf.
• Provide your congressman/senator with as much information as possible about your case, the interview, and the result.
• If your congressman/senator is top notch, they will not just send an email or letter to the consulate, they will call on the phone and try to get the petition reviewed again before it is sent back.
• If they are not successful, they can request the diplomatic pouch number the petition is being returned in. This number will allow you to track the petition until it is received by the local service center.

If you do not know who your congressman/senator is, use the following links to find out who represents your area:

• US Congressional Representatives (By State)
• US Senators (By State)

If the petition is returned, you are in for a wait. The diplomatic pouch the petition is returned in is sent from embassy to embassy picking up other returned petitions along the way. It could take up to 2 or 3 months for it to be received by fraud management at the NVC...then the NVC has the petition for about 1 month before sending it to the local service center where it was originally filed. One thing to also know is that returned petitions do not take priority...they are reviewed in the order they are received...that is after new petitions have been processed.

What you can do in the meantime while you wait:

• Continue contacting the consulate to get an actual reason for the return...not the blanket "validity of relationship" response.
• Stay in contact with your congressman/senator, they can assist you in getting the actual reason for denial.
• Immediately file a Freedom Of Information Act request for the Department of State asking specifically for the consular notes on your returned petition: DOS FOIA
• Immediately file for a Freedom of Information Act request for the USCIS asking for the same specific consular notes on your returned petition: USCIS FOIA
• Continue to document your relationship, emails, letters, phone bills, visits to their country, etc.
• Be ready for the opportunity to rebut the consular findings.
• Contact a good immigration attorney...preferrably one who has experience in returned and denied petitions.

After a period of 6 months or longer has passed and you do not hear anything from the local service center regarding the receipt of your return, or the results of the review, you can contact the CIS Ombudsman. While the Ombudsman cannot make the USCIS reaffirm your returned petition, they can assist when processing times are outside of guidelines

• USCIS OMBUDSMAN

Now, there are some differences between returned fiance petitions and marriage petitions. The K1 is especially at risk due to the expiration of the original approval, many returned K1s are not given the opportunity to rebut, they receive a notice telling them their K1 has expired and may file again at any time...this is why the FOIA is so important. You need to know the exact reason the petition was returned, just filing again is a huge risk if you do not know why the petition was returned in the first place.

While the K3 does have an expiration date also, they are treated more seriously. I have not known anyone who has had a returned K3 not being given the opportunity to rebut. Obviously the CR1 does not expire. Still, it is very important to file the FOIA, not every service center will tell you exactly what the consular office findings or objections to issuing the visa are. Some people are only asked to provide more evidence of their relationship.

~Kiyah~

My husband had his first interview on April 2nd, at which time they kept our correspondence and photos. The consulate did not get back to him until April 21st. They asked him to return for a second interview. I flew there to be with him and to go to his second interview which was on April 27th. They also interviewed me at this time. After the interview, she said that we could go and that they would contact us at a later time. My husband asked if they were refusing us at this time, she said no. He asked if she could tell us when they would contact us and she said no. The only thing she would say was that we were still under review. We are STILL waiting for them to contact us with an answer 15 days later. Can anyone help us and let us know if they have any experience with this sort of thing and what we might expect? As you can understand, we are "on the edge of our seats" awaiting our verdict

In our case, we were only told he would be called and then less than a week later, they returned everything back to USCIS. It is too soon to have details as to why, but both USCIS and the consulate tell us he was approved by both and it basically sounds like the consulate is wanting USCIS to take a second look. They say we have not been denied, but it feels like, lol. We weren't told they returned it until I made an inquiry.

Wishing you good luck

Name: Natasha

Where you're from: Indianapolis, IN

SO's name: Youssef

Where they are from in Morocco: Youssoufia

Anything else you want to add: nervous and excited

He isn't here yet, but pray it will be June/Julu

HEY MENA Family!

I thought we should have a MENA Morocco thread

Let's fill in the info:

Name:

Where you're from:

SO's name:

Where they are from in Morocco:

Anything else you want to add:

Here goes!

Name: Michelle

Where you're from: Delaware, OH

SO's name: Tarik

Where they are from in Morocco: Casablanca

Anything else you want to add: Not really. I'm sure something will come up in this thread

Name: Natasha

Where you're from: Indianapolis, IN

SO's name: Youssef

Where they are from in Morocco: Youssoufia

Anything else you want to add: nervous and excited

I think I have about 8 potential orders....a bit far off from 50 huh... *sigh* lol

I am not certain what kind of cookbook, but love to cook, put me down for one please.

I am like you and it is difficult. He is currently working in Rabat and we haven't talked in almost a week. The interview is coming close and I want him to know the packet will be arriving very soon, but his phone is being repaired.

Generally, after work, I would speak to him, just the status of everything online, do some things at home, maybe watch a little tv and go to bed. I haven't been able to focus on much of anything. Now I am seeking a new place to live and I think about what I can do to make his arrival here special. I sometimes go with friends, but often times I don't feel like it.

I try to keep my mind busy by researching odd facts or learning something new.

I hope for the best for you and of course, there is always making and meeting new friends and talking like this

~Natasha

I'm having a hard time finding something to do in my free time. I work from 7AM to 3:45 PM as soon as I live work I go to work out for an our than call my wife for an hour or two, thats it. I get boored in the weekend and when I go out with friends I don't feel good about it. like last weekend I went to Myrtle beach for spring break with a lot off college student I enjoyed my time but I felt bad because she wasn't with me. since I got married Everything that I do, I Don't enjoy anymore.

lets share our experiences while we are waiting for our lovers to come to the US.

Open for suggestion from experienced people.

Congratulations!

We received a quick response as well. (02/13/09-03/19/09) The website is still showing pending. I am scrambling to get everything sent because I am afraid the interview will be quick and I/we will not be informed timely.

I understand the NVC will send a letter, but sounds like that isn't fool proof. I attempted to contact them, but I haven't had much luck.

I hope for a smooth and fast process for you.

My fiance is from Morocco.

I sent my I129f application on February 5, 2009 and it was received on February 10, 2009. I just received the visa approval notice in the mail today (it's April 2, 2009). That's only 45 days from receipt to approval - I am impressed. I have noticed that USCIS web site has not been updated and it still says my case is pending. I also did not receive e-mail notification, but that is good. This is going to be one BIG surprise for my fiance when I let her know.

Btw, my fiance is from Malaysia. For those of you waiting for Malaysia visas, there is hope...

My employer, as a rule, does not offer letters. They offer a service where you must call an assigned number with passcode to obtain this information. I doubt the consulate will want to do this. Does it have to be signed by HR or Corporate.

My bank seems put out about this "letter writing" as well. Would a copy of my deposits over the last year, signed and dated by the branch manager with their business card work?

Thanks

Hello Jiskat08,

My-130 is just approved. My wife got new passport with married name.

you did request for correction of beneficiary name. could you please provide detail about this process?

which address I need to send to NVC and what document I need to send?

Please reply as soon as possible.

thank you,

Neostar08

<H1 style="MARGIN: auto 0in">Employment Letter</H1><H2 style="MARGIN: auto 0in">Overview </H2>You need to send a proof of Current Employment or Self Employment for affidavits of support form I-864 or I-134. An employment letter is an official verification of employment given by your employer on the company letter head signed by HR or other corporate person in your company

You may use below template to instruct your employer to generate letter on company letterhead.

1. Letter should be typed on company letterhead.
2. Letter must be dated.
3. Letter must be signed and that person's title must be listed.
4. Letter must include the dates employed.
5. Letter must have wage/hour translated in salary/year.

<H2 style="MARGIN: auto 0in">Letter of Employment </H2>Date: <January 01, 2008>

Re: Employment verification for <petitioner's full name>

To Whom It May Concern:

This letter is to confirm that <petitioner's full name> is employed with us since <employment start date>. <petitioner's full name> is currently working with us as <petitioner's role/title>. His/Her annual salary annual salary is $00,000.00 for year <current year>.

Please feel free to contact us if your office should require further information.

Sincerely,

<authorized person’s signature>

<authorized person’s name>

<authorized person’s designation>

<company name>

Question:

Do I need one of these employment letters for each year of my employment at the place where I work? Since I have been working there since 2006,2007,2008, and now 2009. Or do I just have them state that I have been working there for that many years in one employment letter. In these years I have started out as a barback, busser, maintainance man, janitorial, and 2009 I am a Night Auditor/Front Desk. Do I need to make one per each job position or just empoyment letter with my current job title and current individual income. Can someone give me a reply please on this? I would appreciate it. We are almost on our way!!!!!