wendy&tamer

I agree with everyone else...I think it will help the process.

Congratulations....I cant wait to see how the interview goes for you. I know you are excited and nervous, but relax and just be yourself and always honest and genuine. I am so happy the embassy is moving forward again.

Best wishes

wendy and tamer

My ex husband was on the tax years I had to include (3). What I did was: type a letter explaining that John was my ex-husband and when were divorced (just so they knew his income shouldnt be included in my income). I know it should have been obvious since I was married to Tamer but I kept it simple with the explanation to whomever was reviewing my documents. I didnt include my child support, but I made enough without it. I would guess that you could include it, if you need to boost the income requirement. I hope this helps or gives you an idea on how to handle it.

I called the NVC on Wed to get an update since its been one month since my info was mailed to them, they told me they received all my info and to call back next week Friday then everything should be complete. So today I receive an email from them stating they are missing my 2009 tax return and my most recent pay stub. I know for a fact everything was sent to them by my lawyer. So then I email my lawyer and get an auto replied message stating shes out of the office until the 11th of April! OMG!!! Really!!! Guess I have no choice but to remail everything AGAIN. I cant imagine I have to wait another month for this! I thought we made it through the worst of the waiting but this is turning into as long of a wait as the USCIS was.

Dont forget the lawyers are not perfect either and some times lose things or forgot to add the documents....so try not to be frustrated ( I know that is hard when you pay someone else to make it easier on you). Just mail the things yourself so you are not sitting there waiting on the lawyer to get off their "vacation". Good luck

Just send them the info they are missing not the entire packet. They were pretty quick on mine once they got the missing documents (stupid me forgot the passport style photos for my husband). I hope that will get yours moving again. Dont wait on the lawyer to send the papers (you can do that yourself). Good luck and hope the embassy is back in swing of things.

Tamer and I used Western Union and never had any issues. He sent me some when I needed it and he had it and vice versa. We kept the receipts to show so-mingling of finances....not sure it helped but we saved the receipts. It was never a huge amount of money. He actually sent me money to cover the cost of passports for my children. I would recommend Western Union to anyone sending to Egypt. Not sure how that will work now, if they are back up and running normally.

Unlikely they will issue one in Dubai. Since you are married, I do not think a visitor visa will be a possiblity. If it did work that way then Im sure most of us would have done that while processing our CR1. We would have loved for our spouse to stay with us for a few months while in limbo.

Good luck and I hope the embassy opens soon....too many are stuck in this situation right now and I pray it will start

moving for you all.

Hopefully things will start to workout more for you when you get a job and a car. It helps to be able to get out of the house. I pray things get better for you. Tamer has adjusted great here. Being stuck inside can be hard, it was difficult for Tamer but when he got his job he started feeling he was helping the household. Good luck

Our story is much like yours...we had a long relationship and much documentation and did great. From start to finish in Cairo (cr1) was 8months. We didnt file immediately after marriage due to some financial issues. I think your age closeness is better and easier than larger gaps. But as you know each case is different. I do believe the CR1 is better because they can work as soon as they get here and get ssn and greencard, rather than the wait for k1 and adjustment. Just my opinion though. Good luck and I pray the embassy will get opened soon and start processing those waiting and waiting. Best wishes and enjoy your trip in May ( I hope you can marry then).

Trust me Amber when you are able to say: he will be here on a certain date all this other stuff wont matter anymore...keep your head up sweetie. I hate all of you are having to wait with no word..they should at least send our apology emails..giving some hope or idea of when they might open back up. If it passes that date then send out something saying its been postponed. Sorry and I hope you all will get some news soon.

I did a cover letter explaining the order of the paperwork and then just jumbo paperclipped it all together. good luck and best wishes

Just thought I should add my two cents worth. My husband is here with me and next week will be our two year anniversary and i couldnt be happier. My MENA man is a well rounded man who loves my kids and my animals. He is what I need in my man and that means from doing the kitchen or cutting the grass...he tries to take care of everything he can. He stands his ground if I want to vent and is a teddy bear when I need that too. He likes to plant trees or wash and fold the clothes. I hope all of you are happy the way your MENA man is no matter which group he falls into. It should only matter that he is the MAN you want him to be and who you feel in love with. MANY BLESSINGS AND MUCH LOVE FOR ALL YOUR HOPES AND DREAMS.....EVERYTHING WORTH HAVING IS WORTH WORKING FOR AND THAT GOES BOTH WAYS.

Life here can be a hard or easy transition depending on the couple for those of you who havent had that journey yet...patience you learned during the process will come in handy later. Again each couple will handle this different.

Love is patient..If you cant tolerate USCIS for a year,Can you be able to tolerate her when you both are together....love is patient...it took you time to know her,to seat down everyday after work to talk to her on your laptop,it took you time to understand her,it took you time to love and trust her and still took you time time to fly half way round to world to meet her,why then is it too hard to wait regardless of how long it took for her to get to you becus true love is patient and can lead you thru when you both are not together.....Love is patient.....Try and keep busy,Talk to her more online,use skype,use webcam...it will help to bring you both together....and reduce the worries...

Cant give up becuz we live for each other.....(L)Love is patient

.

Oscar....great post, I love it...unless we know how to do their job then we dont know. If any of us had to do their job for even a day or week, we would have a better appreciation for what they do and what they have to put up with.

If I did this to a customer where I worked, I would be fired PRONTO!!!!

Being fired from the post office is near impossible and you know it as well as I do.....it takes something like stealing mail, money or hurting someone-or threatening...

But I do not understand why you keep bringing the post office into immigration as an example of how the government works....we are government but an self sufficient organization not on govt funds. What do our policies have to do with immigration. I went through immigration with my husband and we were satisfied even with our waiting time (which wasnt short as some or as long as others). We understand these people have their way and we waited our turn. If their call center is like ours (people not even associated with the organization but just a call center with scripts to read) then you cant blame them for their answer.

No need to tell me the truth? If a postal service customer asked an employee a question and the employee intentionally lied to that postal service customer, that employee would be history. I know because I am a postal employee.

apparently you work for a different kind of post office than I do....some times all we can do is give the best answer we know based on what is in front of us....and if I recall no one person knows all the answers, not even our higher ups but again maybe we work for different govt offices. These people are human just like us and some times have to find the best answer to fit the situation.

We are even some times told what to tell the customer by upper management....and I work on the customer service side of the post office and as a govt employee do the best I can for each customer as their needs are also unique and should be handled according (no cookie cutter answer). You as a regular employee do not have the authority to handle some situations or the power to change it.

Please also remember not to take too much frustration out on the person answering the phone....they are not the ones who make the decisions on how the embassy operates. Its like customer who comes in my office and yell at me and blame me because a carrier left their box open or sent their mail back because they moved and we should know where they moved too....government employees have a limited amount of say so in the office and I mean a very limit say so.....I have encountered many who are truly concerned and would love things to change but policy is policy. They are still working on a skeleton crew to my understanding and hope they will return to full force soon. Due to the most current actions in Egypt are what have stalled these petitions and as things return to some kind of normal, so will the petitions (not that they are speed demons on a regular basis).

Try to keep calm and just keep calling to get an update on operation status....I hope you hear something great soon.

Understandable for sure. When Adam and I were going through the process, after we married I didnt see him again for 13 months later and that was when I went back to Egypt to visit for 2 weeks. Left and then I didnt see him til his visa in hand 4 months after that.

We were in the same boat....it was also 13 months after we married that I got to see Tamer and it was for 2 weeks (my kids got to go this time) and another 4 months till he got his visa in hand. It is a tough process and it also makes us appreciate the time we have together more and you will be estatic when he gets his visa and will be planning his flight here. I pray many of you get answers soon, but I agree these Embassy workers are not the one who decides when they open again and should find a way to pass time (Im sure their life has been stressful enough there through all the chaos). I dont think they really stand around and do nothing, but have to laugh and smile some time...I dont think I would want their job.

I hope things will start moving for those of you waiting....keep the faith.

I have a dear friend from England that just spent 2 weeks there...she left today. She had a great time as usual with her finacee. Just practice normal precautions any time you are in another country. I hope you have a great trip and wish we could go and spend some time with my in-laws. I miss them so much, they are such a wonderful family to belong to. Please take some photos and share when you can. RELAX AND ENJOY.

p.s. To any one needing to mail things to Egypt, the post office just lifted its mailing restrictions. I hope this will be a sign things are starting to settle more for our families and friends there.

Well with the Embassy working with a skeleton crew, it makes it harder for you right now. I hope they will get back up and running soon. What was the outcome of the interview.....did you get AP? Keep us posted but I do know there are a few couples from Egypt in the same situation right now. Try being a good support to each other now. If you need to talk or vent just let me know....

Congrats and I really hope that the Embassy opens back up soon to get the processes moving for those who are ready. Keep us posted and so glad you got great news.....

Tamer took additional evidence to the interview and was never asked for any. Im happy with front loading the I130 and like I said we did well. Its up to you what you are comfortable doing and the outcome for each is different. I am the kind of person that does the "extras" just in case but that is me. RFE only slow you down, so if you can add some things to avoid it I say all the better. The good thing is we got all that evidence back because at the bottom of each letter I send I asked for the stuff back when it was no longer needed...Its a great reminder for us in our later years just what we went through to be together.

Your case will be different than anyone else's. If you are coming from a country that has high fraud then I would send some in the beginning and take more with me for interview. We did both and we prepared no matter what they asked for. Make it easier for you to do this along the way so when and if they ask for it: you will have it ready to go.

On USCIS.gov the I130 instruction page 3 letter J says submit any additional evidence to prove ongoing marital union....that can be shown in many ways.....letters, emails, gifts, photos. So they do tell us but not in so many words and that is what is good about this website and talking to others who have gone through this. We try to help each other during this difficult process. USCIS treats each case different for many reasons: the main one is immigration fraud and countries where this can be an ongoing thing. They try to do a thorough job and look into things that are fishy. If you have nothing to hide then just be patient and honest at all times and things will work out. I wish the best for you and a speedy process.

I think I read the I130 instructions about 25 + times to make sure I didnt miss anything and talked to others going through this or had gone through the process and took any suggestions I could get. It helps I work around many military people who gave some wonderful advice.

We submitted a few days from each month to show the ongoing communications and some hand written letters from both of us and letters we also sent to each others family. I think the main idea is to show ongoing communications between the two of you. It doesnt hurt to send more than not enough. I sent over a 100 pictures and like 30 hand written pages explaining what was going on in the photos. I probably went overboard but we had no issues and it all came about very smooth. Good luck.

In my opinion, go and have a good time. It is always good to keep an eye on your surroundings and if things seem to be tense then leave that area. I think things will be fine. We talk to Tamer's family everyday and things seem to be getting back to normal for the most part. I would love to go now. I took my kids last year and of course people stare but they all welcomed us like we were one of them. I have been many times and love each experience...we had one officer stop us on the way back from Sharm because he said I looked egyptian but my kids did not and he studied our passports (we thought it was funny but thanked him for being thorough and protecting the kids). Best wishes and just check all the flights to make sure they are still on. The airport in Cairo is so much more user friendly since they opened the new addition.

Relax and enjoy your time.

do you really need to send in the W7 form when claiming your non resident wife if she doesnt' work?

my tax preparer said i don't need to send that in for ITIN number.

just confused.

My Tax guy said I didnt have to and I ended up being required to....it caused lots of delays not to get it done. They paid me but adjusted the amount not to include my husband then I had to do lots of running around to get back the amount they took out...in my opinion its just easier to go ahead and do the w7 if you have the time, if not do it without but plan to do an amendment later.