New to MENA Forum

[My Mohammed 2]

Hello Everyone,

I've been around VJ for a while, but just figured out how to get to the MENA forum the other day. I am glad to have found you guys as i've been reading some and I have some questions and hope to find help here. Here goes some questions:

1. For those who have SO in Egypt, please tell me how you send a letter or card and they are sure to get it? I have sent many letters and cards and he has not received one yet. To send it through Fedex will cost me an arm and leg and is too much for just a letter or card. Also, it would look better at the interview to have these, but we are both lost as to what to try next.

This next question is not meant to upset anyone, but I have long wanted someone to talk with, as I have so many questions and i'm feeling alone in this journey. One must be so careful or they offend someone with their words or they ask a simple question and are torn apart by those that don't care what they say to others. Being one to not like trouble, i've kept my questions to myself, but I would really like someone to talk with.

2. If there is someone who has filed for a K-1 for their Fiance in Egypt, who is older than their Fiance, and has gotten their visa or was refused.. would you please send a PM?

Of coarse, any of you are more than welcome to chime in if you feel like it.

[KHPerfectMatch 1]

Hello Everyone,

I've been around VJ for a while, but just figured out how to get to the MENA forum the other day. I am glad to have found you guys as i've been reading some and I have some questions and hope to find help here. Here goes some questions:

1. For those who have SO in Egypt, please tell me how you send a letter or card and they are sure to get it? I have sent many letters and cards and he has not received one yet. To send it through Fedex will cost me an arm and leg and is too much for just a letter or card. Also, it would look better at the interview to have these, but we are both lost as to what to try next.

This next question is not meant to upset anyone, but I have long wanted someone to talk with, as I have so many questions and i'm feeling alone in this journey. One must be so careful or they offend someone with their words or they ask a simple question and are torn apart by those that don't care what they say to others. Being one to not like trouble, i've kept my questions to myself, but I would really like someone to talk with.

2. If there is someone who has filed for a K-1 for their Fiance in Egypt, who is older than their Fiance, and has gotten their visa or was refused.. would you please send a PM?

Of coarse, any of you are more than welcome to chime in if you feel like it.

Ahlan wa Sahlan... Welcome... My Husband just got here on 10/6 from Egypt and I"m older than him... and we NEVER used "snail mail" for correspondence. No need... as you've already discovered it isn't likely to get through... I have a friend who sent a dress once for her neice and it showed up ONE YEAR LATER and had been WORN!!! So forget it unless you use Fed Ex or DHL, and way too expensive!

You can print email, you can print chat logs, you can print phone bills, etc. Ask away, don't be shy... and feel free to PM me if you have a question that you don't want to post... It took us over a year to complete his "journey" so I know how long and hard the road can be...

Best of Luck!

K

[Nothing1234 2]

The mail (USPS) has worked the best for me if you are not in a rush. Typically takes a while but it makes it just fine. FedEx charges them a "duty" when it arrives and so its expensive for me and then for them when it arrives! Crazy...

Hope you are doing well!! PM me anytime...I know how frustrating the wait can be (we all do!!). Best of luck!!

I just read what Karmella said! HAHA...I guess everyone has had different experiences. Maybe location matters...my hubby is from Cairo...but who knows what the logic is behind it.

Edited December 28, 2008 by Nawal

[nunyab 0]

Just wanted to say "hi" and don't worry too much about the "words" that happen here.. Alot of us have grown to be so close to a family we even argue like one. You're always welcome to PM me but my husband is from morocco living/working in Spain so our cases don't have alot in common but always here to help if i can

~Rajaa

[Ahmed N Tina 2]

I also mailed my husband a card when we first started and it never got there. After that I have sent any cards I felt the need to send registered mail. It's a little cheaper than FedEx or DHL, but probably not by much. But they DO get there.

Can't help on the other question as we filed for CR1 and are still in process. Good luck!

[My Mohammed 2]

Thank all of you for the warm welcome. It's going to be nice to be able to talk to others with so much in common with me.

I heard they go through the mail and read what they can and take what they want. This is so sad and as I told, Mohammed.. that would never be done in the U.S. or someones going to prison for a while if caught. He said to just forget the cards and letters and wish for the best. LoL

I have emails, skype calls, skype chats, some phone bills as mostly we talk on skype and an online game where we met daily. I have web cam pics of us and with my daughter. All we do is daily when we talk and he told me last night, "I can't take this no more". I came home last month and won't be able to go back for a very long time. I truly feel i've left my heart in Egypt. I didn't think I would make it through Christmas.. I checked daily for the NOA2, praying for the best Christmas present I could ever receive. All it did was leave me crying more.

[maggieNomar 0]

Welcome. I was like you when I first joined. Afraid to post anything. you should be fine. Most of the trouble makers are gone now, thanks to Ewok. Good luck on your journey.

[merijan 0]

Well my hubby is not from Egypt. But I am ten years older than him, and I have three kids from a prev. marriage. It did not become an issue. But during our change of status interview I was asked why my prev. marriage did not work out. And why I married again. It was ok because I had nothing to hide and he could see how we felt about each other.

I got more flak from all the arab ladies I know here. At our first Eid togehter they loved to "chit chat about us" I heard they where asking who is that young boy I was with LOL.... my hubby looked alot younger because he had let his hair grow a little long. We still joke about it.

[My Mohammed 2]

Well my hubby is not from Egypt. But I am ten years older than him, and I have three kids from a prev. marriage. It did not become an issue. But during our change of status interview I was asked why my prev. marriage did not work out. And why I married again. It was ok because I had nothing to hide and he could see how we felt about each other.

I got more flak from all the arab ladies I know here. At our first Eid togehter they loved to "chit chat about us" I heard they where asking who is that young boy I was with LOL.... my hubby looked alot younger because he had let his hair grow a little long. We still joke about it.

** Thank you for your reply and i'm happy to meet all you and hear your stories.

[tenderheartusa79 14]

Hello Everyone,

I've been around VJ for a while, but just figured out how to get to the MENA forum the other day. I am glad to have found you guys as i've been reading some and I have some questions and hope to find help here. Here goes some questions:

1. For those who have SO in Egypt, please tell me how you send a letter or card and they are sure to get it? I have sent many letters and cards and he has not received one yet. To send it through Fedex will cost me an arm and leg and is too much for just a letter or card. Also, it would look better at the interview to have these, but we are both lost as to what to try next.

This next question is not meant to upset anyone, but I have long wanted someone to talk with, as I have so many questions and i'm feeling alone in this journey. One must be so careful or they offend someone with their words or they ask a simple question and are torn apart by those that don't care what they say to others. Being one to not like trouble, i've kept my questions to myself, but I would really like someone to talk with.

2. If there is someone who has filed for a K-1 for their Fiance in Egypt, who is older than their Fiance, and has gotten their visa or was refused.. would you please send a PM?

Of coarse, any of you are more than welcome to chime in if you feel like it.

Welcome to VJ

1- well i got all the cards that my queen or her mom sent me but she didn't get all the card or letters that i sent her(she just got 2 or 3 from 10 cards) except if i send her a package by express mail .

Fedex or DHL are so expensive ( i was going to send her a gift and they charge me about 300 dollars so the cheaper way is buy her gifts from stores in USA by credit card .

2- well i don't think it will be a problem as much as you have a bonafide andyou can prove its a real relationship as matter of fact most of American women in MENA are older then their Egyptian fiances/husbands and they got their visa without any issue .

feel free to ask any question and feel free to contact me anytime .

i have been reading about that visa process since more than a year ago .

Good luck and my best wishes for you and i hope that you will get the NOA2 soon

[amal 4]

ahlan wa sahlan!!! as stated before, mena is just like a family. We fight together and pull together in time of crisis. I wouldn't trade this disfunctional family for the world!!

The age thing...don't worry about it. Keep records of ur chats (maybe have some extra chats logged when ur playing a game together or something just so u can have them as evidence). Pictures taken online of u all together could be fabricated easily so I don't know if they would accept those or not but hey, it's worth a try. Keep any records of any communication you all have together.

I know you will find great friends here and you'll fit right in We've all got our quirks but that's what makes a great family lol! You are welcome to pm me any time.

again, welcome

amal

[brnidokiegurl 0]

welcome, pull up a chair watch for flying arrows, and wait with the rest of us

[JeanneVictoria 55]

Welcome! My husband is from Alexandria and I had no problems with him receiving my snail mail. The average time to receive it was 7-10 days! I didn't send parcels as the duty would be outrageous for him to pay. So I just took the items with me when I would go to Egypt. If I had documents for him, then I would send them FedEx.

As the others have said...don't worry about the age thing.

Again welcome and good luck with your visa journey!

[ARALB 0]

ahlan! What a crazy thing... see you are not much different than the rest of us. It took me a while to find VJ, and once I did, everything seemed to start falling into place! My case is slightly different than yours.. My hubby is in Jordan, I flew there twice over the summer-2008 and we were married my first trip. June 3, 2008. He is 6 years younger than I am. I have three kiddos from a previous marriage, and was very worried about the reaction of their father, and them! BUt they love my husband and can't wait to meet him in real life! Video/web chats can't actually show all the love one has for another!

I was too hoping for miracles for our case, with a NVC case complete on Dec 3, Thought MAYBE we would get into a Jan interview didn't happen! I spent a lot of time crying on Christmas, for other reasons too, but mostly I missed the love of my life.

Honestly I think the tears are a good thing. It makes you appreciate every second with the one you love! So hang in there, we are all here for ya kiddo! Pm me if you wanna chat.. I actually spent some time in Cairo this summer with my hubby! Not a LONG time, but a few days--I wish we could have stayed there longer! In any case take care and Insha'allah you will be reunited with your habibi soon!--Amy

[Nagishkaw 510]

Welcome to VJ and hello!

There was only one time that my (now) husband did not get a letter I sent him. 0ther than that, we never had a problem and everything I sent was through USPS.

We also have an age gap so as long as you have lots of proofs and patience, you should be fine.