Marriage in Morocco...

[MDSMIF 0]

How long it takes to get married in Morocco?

The reason I ask is because I have read many posts here. Some get approved, some denied, while others just linger praying for the moment that addtion processing or review is completed. I think maybe my fiance visa will end in endless review.

We have only known each other for a short time. But we are muslim and her family is very tradiotional. So engagement happened ofter knowing her for two months. I filed k-1 with a lawyer assistance then I found this website. Would you believe the first post I read was about the young lady who had her visa denied because of length of time knowing her fiance.

If this happened to us, then I will move there and marry her. I am only trying to guess how long I have to live alone while we wait for marriage. Even if I have to I will live there. It does not matter to me. So again, my question is how long it takes to get married in Morocco?

Thanks in advance.

[mybackpages 0]

I did research into this myself and while it depends on how well you can manuver the Morccan bueaucracy, on average 3-4 weeks and a lot of running around (well depending again on where your fiancee lives). There are a few posters here who did marry in Morocco so I'm sure they will come along and give you a more personal experience.

Donlt worry so much about the fiance visa. A good estimate is is anywhere from 4-6 months. What will slow you down is problems with the file at CSC or Security checks after the interview, but you could have these filing for the spousal visa.

[mybackpages 0]

I also wanted to add- try not to compare your case to any other case here. Many of the details about couples going through here are never revealed on this board so its sometimes difficult to know why a case was denied or how it is/is not similar to our own case.

A short engagement is a red ** because it is a common characteristic of fradulent marriages, but you can not be denied because of a red flag. The red flag triggers a closer look at your case by the consulate. The best you can do is be prepared to show that your relationship is legitimate- paperwork in order, prepared for the interview, and armed with the info on how to turn around a denial before it leaves for USCIS.

Best of luck to you

[morocco4ever 63]

I also wanted to add- try not to compare your case to any other case here. Many of the details about couples going through here are never revealed on this board so its sometimes difficult to know why a case was denied or how it is/is not similar to our own case.

A short engagement is a red ** because it is a common characteristic of fradulent marriages, but you can not be denied because of a red flag. The red flag triggers a closer look at your case by the consulate. The best you can do is be prepared to show that your relationship is legitimate- paperwork in order, prepared for the interview, and armed with the info on how to turn around a denial before it leaves for USCIS.

Best of luck to you

This is good advice, but I have seen time and time again where the applicant isn't allowed to show their evidence. Sadly if the consulate believes the marriage is fraudulent they aren't the ones that are going to take a closer look, but rather send the petition back to the CIS, which is very time consumming.

Before you decide anything, what exactly did your lawyer do with the initial I-129f filing? If he addressed the short time you have known each other, and any other red flags that you may have, and this petition is approved, then you should be fine. If these were not addressed first then it might be in your best interest to get married and cancel the petition, but make sure it is cancelled before it reaches the consulate. Then when filing the I-130 and the I-129f make sure you address all of the red flags. If it is approved with knowledge of the red flags then the consulate won't be able to send it back for those reasons. It is possible, however, that they find something you didn't think about. Before you make any decisions you need to be sure it is the right choice.

That being said, I was married in Morocco. It took 2 weeks and 1 day, but we had to hire a lawyer to speed up the process because my time there was only 2 weeks 5 days.

[Visa4habibi! 0]

In general it takes at least 3 weeks, unless you hire a lawyer or know somebody in police over there. To say 'LOT OF RUNNING' is to say the least!

Every office in Morocco has a 3 hour break, so if you didn't get to finish what you've started in one office - you have to come back after lunch. There's a lot of paperwork involved too and money. Plus you have to get about eight papers from here: like police background check, divorce papers, etc, etc.

If you need a list, I could provide you with a link.

Good luck and wish you a lot of patence, you'll need it!

T.

Edited November 19, 2006 by firelion65

[MDSMIF 0]

I thought about all the potential problems before filing and addressed them the best I could. Also, the lawyer did the same for me also. The only red flag is the time we have known each other. So, I included copies of everything from the beginning including receipt for me joining the website and all communication from day one until 3 day after I returned. Maybe it might be a problem that we did not have an engagement party. It was ramadan and I fast every single day. Partying was not my focus. All of this was addressed though in our letters of intention.

Thx for the responses so far.

[deeshla 0]

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.

[StupidJourney 0]

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.

[maryandatif 0]

I married Atif in Youssoufia [safi--there are 2 towns called Youssoufia, the other is near Casa] in December of 2004. We started the "run-around" on Dec 5th and finally got the approval to marry on Dec 28th. We spent 3 days in Rabat getting the necessary police documents I needed from Morocco and then getting things translated. Atif wanted us to get married in Safi because it would be more comfortable for me, but the Moroccan government had other ideas---they told him we had to get married in his hometown--SO off to Youssoufia we went. AND MORE "RUN-AROUND" being told "come back in the afternoon" going back that afternoon and then being told to come back in the morning, go back the next morning and then being told to come back in the afternoon or "come back tomorrow" I didn't realize that they were "fishing" for $$$ only because Atif went back these multiple times without me, and NEVER told me that's what they were really wanting. OF course it wouldn't have helped any, b/c funds were limited....so we waited.

I wish you the best of luck and much happiness in your upcoming marriage. If you have any ?? please feel free to PM me and either myself or my husband will be glad to assist you.

Mary K.

[kofuku 0]

You can get married in Rabat in a week. My friend did. My husband and I were married in 3 days with help from family. There is a lot of preparation for getting married in Morocco and that can take time...translations, police reports, etc.

Consider this, even if your K-1 is denied, don't be quick to marry. Issues from a K-1 denial that are not addressed at the consulate, will come up again for a CR-1 visa(eg. validity of relationship). It may appear that a short engagement, age differences, different culture/language are the cause for denials, but other factors are considered or not.

Case in pt., my husband is here with me in the US. Although, my friend and I met our husbands at the same time, have the same age differences, culture, etc...her husband is still in Morocco waiting for a reply from the Service Center after Casa refused to issue his visa.

Be prepared for bribes in big cities too.

[morocco4ever 63]

You can get married in Rabat in a week. My friend did. My husband and I were married in 3 days with help from family. There is a lot of preparation for getting married in Morocco and that can take time...translations, police reports, etc.

Consider this, even if your K-1 is denied, don't be quick to marry. Issues from a K-1 denial that are not addressed at the consulate, will come up again for a CR-1 visa(eg. validity of relationship). It may appear that a short engagement, age differences, different culture/language are the cause for denials, but other factors are considered or not.

Case in pt., my husband is here with me in the US. Although, my friend and I met our husbands at the same time, have the same age differences, culture, etc...her husband is still in Morocco waiting for a reply from the Service Center after Casa refused to issue his visa.

Be prepared for bribes in big cities too.

This is true, if the applicant is denied at the consulate level in beliefs of a fraud marriage you will have a long wait, and getting married at that point will be useless. Once you have a denial record you have to work it out before they will even consider another visa application. You stated that your lawyer addressed the short time you have known each other with the I-129F, did they also address that you didn't have an engagement party? If all of the red flags were addressed I would wait it out. If it wasn't you would want to act fast, get married, and cancel the petition before the consulate gets it. If he has a denial at the consulate you will have a long wait. I learned this the hard way, I know. If only I knew then what I know now I would have done things very differently.

[Raevin13 0]

My husband and I were married in Rabat after 9 days. We did have a very good lawyer who pushed everything through quickly. Yes there is MAJOR running around getting papers translated, stamped and photocopied and stamped and photocopied again. We had a friend who had been through the process with other friends so he knew all the steps and shortcuts to make it go quickly. Just be sure you have all the necessary paperwork.

[Private 1]

How long it takes to get married in Morocco?

The reason I ask is because I have read many posts here. Some get approved, some denied, while others just linger praying for the moment that addtion processing or review is completed. I think maybe my fiance visa will end in endless review.

We have only known each other for a short time. But we are muslim and her family is very tradiotional. So engagement happened ofter knowing her for two months. I filed k-1 with a lawyer assistance then I found this website. Would you believe the first post I read was about the young lady who had her visa denied because of length of time knowing her fiance.

If this happened to us, then I will move there and marry her. I am only trying to guess how long I have to live alone while we wait for marriage. Even if I have to I will live there. It does not matter to me. So again, my question is how long it takes to get married in Morocco?

Thanks in advance.

I am the person you are refering to in your initial post. If you want to talk more about the process then let me. My case is different in the fact that you sound like the male and she is a female. I am the woman and my fiance a male is a Moroccan. I am in the military and I had all my ducks in a row. When you are a man it seems to me to be very easy. If you want my advice I would see what happens, maybe getting married and starting will look good becuase in Islam (my fiacne and I both muslim) a long engagement is not encouraged. Me if I had the time I would get married becuase of my belief and I would deal with the issues of it from there. However, this is me and I am not sure what your beliefs are. This visa process sucks so bad, and I am glad that I was able to share my story and experience. If you want to PM more then this is cool. I would love to share but I stay away from the board.

[Private 1]

I also wanted to add- try not to compare your case to any other case here. Many of the details about couples going through here are never revealed on this board so its sometimes difficult to know why a case was denied or how it is/is not similar to our own case.

A short engagement is a red ** because it is a common characteristic of fradulent marriages, but you can not be denied because of a red flag. The red flag triggers a closer look at your case by the consulate. The best you can do is be prepared to show that your relationship is legitimate- paperwork in order, prepared for the interview, and armed with the info on how to turn around a denial before it leaves for USCIS.

Best of luck to you

This is good advice, but I have seen time and time again where the applicant isn't allowed to show their evidence. Sadly if the consulate believes the marriage is fraudulent they aren't the ones that are going to take a closer look, but rather send the petition back to the CIS, which is very time consumming.

Before you decide anything, what exactly did your lawyer do with the initial I-129f filing? If he addressed the short time you have known each other, and any other red flags that you may have, and this petition is approved, then you should be fine. If these were not addressed first then it might be in your best interest to get married and cancel the petition, but make sure it is cancelled before it reaches the consulate. Then when filing the I-130 and the I-129f make sure you address all of the red flags. If it is approved with knowledge of the red flags then the consulate won't be able to send it back for those reasons. It is possible, however, that they find something you didn't think about. Before you make any decisions you need to be sure it is the right choice.

That being said, I was married in Morocco. It took 2 weeks and 1 day, but we had to hire a lawyer to speed up the process because my time there was only 2 weeks 5 days.

You guys are so smart but from my experience I do not care how much paperwork you have if they have in there mind you are not real then that is it. Too many times people complain about the consulate not reviewing there evidence. I have also seen where the petitioner was at the interview and they got denied. I mention the time that me and my fiance where together and it was approved by USCIS in 15 days and then it got denied for the same reason. They also questioned if I was muslim so if I where you if you are muslim you should include the Shahada certificate. I really believe Casablanca is a fuard consulate and that they are truely screwed up. I took everything that I read and tried to apply it and I was still "returned." I am not sure but I pray that your case is better than mine. This process sucks so bad, and I have totally given up on it. I do not want to keep going about me but I am in the military and I was denied. They do not care about nobody or nothing but there pride.

[MDSMIF 0]

Yes, it was you to whom I was referring. I know that was very hard for you. To answer your question, I am the male petitioning for the female. I submitted a certificate of shahada, we met at a muslim matrimonial site, previous marriage license stating I was married in masjid, and the fact that it was ramadan so we did not have a engagement party.

One other thing, if we get married I will stay in Morocco. I will just travel back to the USA to see my son once every three months. So if I have to wait, then I will wait with what would then be my "wife". We are prepared to do everything.

By the way, she is finishing her last year of law school. I guess I should have asked her before submitting the post. She told me how long it would take and her teachers have no problem helping us expedite this process.

Thanks for all the information.

Salam