getting ready to resubmit hardship letter

[sophia73 0]

hello everyone, my name is sophia and obviously im new to this forum. im an american livng in egypt and have been here now for 3 years, my daughter and i. it sux here and i wouldnt recommend coming here. i posted a question here about my hardship letter and any advise i can get on it. i really cant stand living here, and im ready to go home, but with my husband. umm, i guess i should give details about myself also. im 36 years old and i have 2 kids, a son, 18 and a daughter, 14 and a remarkable husband. my daughter lives here with us but my son does not, and i miss him so much it hurts. so anyways, this is about me, i look forward to meeting new people on here and maybe sharing some experiences, right now i have a question and need some advice, we recently recieved a letter from the embassy in athens regarding our application and hardship letter. i rewrote the hardship letter and now would like some input on it, here it is, it may long but i would really appreciate it if you could read it and let me know how it sounds. thank you

to whom it may concern,

i write this letter in the continuence of a previous letter i submitted in april, i will word this so the person reading this will have an exact detail of the hardship my daughter Marsella and i face everyday. the hardships her and i have faced for the past 3 years. the education my daughter has lost, the family and close friends we have been torn apart from, living in an area that no american lives, where i am not allowed to practice my religion, and where everyone is anti-christian and anti-american. living in a country where women have no rights, no freedom, no opinion, i will give you examples of situations that i have encountered, the lifestyles my daughter and i are faced to live.

i came to egypt in 2007, with my daughter who was 12 at the time, i thought while i was getting ready to arrive, things were going to be easy. that life would be simple, my daughter would go to school and meet new people, learn about a new culture, and continue on with her education. i had seen images on t.v, and what i saw was beautiful, the people looked friendly, a completely differant picture as to what i see now. i saw egypt through rose colored glasses, because the man that i married and the family he comes from, were and are nothing like i see in the streets. when i got to the area which i would now call home, i wanted to pack up my daughter, and my stuff, and head back to the airport. the area was filled with garbage, unnourished cats, dilapidated buildings, and even though it was 4 a.m people were still awake, all eyes were on me and my daughter, i had never felt so uncomfortable and out of place in my life, but i have always considered my self a strong person, so i figured i would be able to get through this. the apartment i live in is small, with chipped paint on the walls, the ceiling ready to crumble down, very unsafe for my daughter and i, who knows how much lead poisoning we have been exposed to. my husband has tried in vain to make the apartment as livable as can be, but with the lack of money, thier is only so much he can do. i have included pictures of the area that i live in and the apartment, which you will or may not notice does not even have a refrigerator which leads me to my next hardship, money and the lack of it.

my plan once i got here was to find an appropriate school for my daughter to attend, at that time she would have entered into 6th grade. {enclosed is copy of her transfer slip from 2006, the last year she attended school-i.e 1} all the foriegn schools here have a fee of about 15,000 anerican dollars, which rounds out to 75,000 egyptian pounds, and i only make 200 pounds a week as nanny. {i have included copies of the schools and there prices-i.e 1} so beings i couldnt afford any of the schools and there was no way to put her into the public schools because she doesnt speak arabic, an education wouldnt have done her any good there. i figured i would home school her, { also included are examples of the homeschooling i have tried to do with my daughter- i.e 1} but that also has turned out to be the impossible, i have no idea what they are teaching in america, and the things she should be learning, i dont understand. you also have to purchase the homeschooling materials, and not only do i not have the money for that, i dont trust the postal system here i have had things sent to me from america, and half of the stuff in the package has been stolen by the workers, anyways, my daughter now should be entering into the 9th grade, graduating from 8th,{included is a copy from her myspace page about her various friends that have graduation ceremonies i.e 1} attending school dances, hanging out with her peers, with people she can talk to and relate to, she should be hanging out at the mall, experiencing her first boyfriend, her first kiss, her first heartbreak, god forbid. but no, she sits on the computer, day after day, doing her myspace, envying the friends she did have back in the states, or crying in her room, writing her poetry, or reminincing about her past and the things she has missed out on. it breaks my heart that she has had to live like this, instead of being a normal teenager in america, my daughter has gone from being an out going vibrant, sunny 14 year old, to a sad, sullen, depressed, angry, loner. all her friends have had graduation ceremonies, {i.e 1} and all the other things i have mentioned above. she cant make friends because they dont relate to her, or they dont speak the language, and even regardless of all that, we have tried to make the best of it.

but the people here make it impossible and intolerable to do. the first week i was here, my husband took me out to show me the city, the three of us were driving and i decided to smoke a cigarette, a truck full of ignorant men pulled up beside us, saw me smoking, and proceeded to throw water at me. and for what? cuz i was smoking?? another time while in cairo, my husband and i had went to the egyptian museum, there i saw so many foreigners that i felt comfortable enough to remove my sweater, and just be in the pretty sundress i had on. We left the museum, and about a mile down the road, we were confronted by men screaming and yelling in arabic, i had never been so terrified in my life, they had blocked of the road with their so called motorcycles and wouldnt let us pass, there were no tourist police to help me, and what could my husband do? i put my sweater back on and begged my husband to take my home. i have been traumatized ever since and it took me a very long time to leave my house. im not able to be myself, nor is my daughter, we are force to live in seclusion, because we are afraid of the people and the men. {included are copies of statements i found about the harassment women encounter day after real life statements of women who come to egypt and dont want to ever come back. -i.e 2} i rarely look out my window or leave my area because i am afraid of what will happen to us, there are no police that will come to this area, and if they do they are beating someone up. my daughter and i once witnessed a police officer, one that is assigned to serve and protect the community, beat up on a young boy about the age of 17. we watched in horror from our window, and knew that nobody would help us if we were in trouble. {included also are copies of the corruption and the brutality used against the people here-i.e 3} we have watched from our window, people fight in the street with knives and broken bottles, sometimes with cheaply made swords. the places we do go to, the store, etc...... we have to deal with the sexual harassment of the disgusting men,{i.e 2, copies of statements about the sexual harassment} they say rude gross things in arabic, and look at you, with either a look of lust, or contempt, im afraid of my daughter being kidnapped by the men who stare at her, because here there is no age limit for marriage, i mean shes a little girl for Gods sake, and im afraid to leave her with anybody. i fear for our lives every day, egypt is not the safe place i thought it would be, im afraid for myself and my daughter, because we are american and catholic,{ copies included of persecution for being christian-i.e 3} there are no safe places for us to go and just hang out, there are no free parks, or swimming pools, everything here costs a fortune, or you have to belong to a club. we cant even buy the things we used to take for granted in america. milk, cereal, even toilet paper half the time, theres no money as i mentioned, i make 200 pounds a week, 800 a month in order to help my husband take care of our needs, and my daughter. my husband provides what he can, but things here are not cheap. i cannot even afford to take my daughter for an eyes exam, or to purchase her the glasses she so desperately needs, even the charity doctors expect money up front, and since we are americans, they think we have the money and they end up over charging us. and the people where i live dont understand because of the low standards that they live by, or are used to. {included are the poverty conditions of egypt and the high price of items that we need everyday, teh copies arent that great but it gives you an idea of what we pay for, meat, personal items, etc. i.e 4} all i want to do is leave egypt with my family, i miss my son so much the pain is unbearable, i had to leave him with his father because he refused to come with me, my daughter didnt have the same choice, as he did, cuz all she has is my husband and i. but day after day, i think about him and i miss him, and now he needs his mother, he was 15 when i left, and he is now 18. my daughter and son are very close, and she misses him just as much. i want and need my family back together, the 4 of us, eslam, marsella, seth and i. this is my family. {i have sent you pictures of my my son, marsella and i, pictures of my family.} we have been here now for three years, my depression is worsening, my blood pressure is high, and my state of mind is deteriorating, i feel like i can no longer function normally in this country. i have included boxes of the anti depressants that i take, i have included pictures of my apartment, the area i live in, and pictures of my kids and various other documents pertaining to my situation. . Please consider your answer after you read this, give us a chance to go back to the way we were, give us back to my son, our family and friends, and take us back to reality. i swore to my husband before i came here, that i would follow him to hell and back, as long as i knew that we would be together, and now i feel as if i have reached my hell. thank you for your time and patience while reading this.

sincerely, sophia lillian flores-aly

Enclosed are documents verifing my situation, pictures, reports of the sexual harassment, education fees, and other misc things that pertain to my hardship.

[gogo 6]

First, try to correct some of the spelling and grammar. This has to be an official letter to the immigration department. Also, do you have additional evidence to prove the statements in your letter? They want to see your strongest arguments first, then going down to your weakest.

Have you tried looking at Visajourney's "Hardship" section?

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=316

for one, you don't write "cuz this, cuz that".. that's not professional =(

Edited June 30, 2009 by gogo

[tenderheartusa79 14]

First off I'm so sorry to hear your very sad story .

I don't know what to say . but sadly its your husband fault .

it seems like you guys live in very very bad,poor, and sucks neighborhood .which is not safe not clean for anyone not just for an American .

He should not let you live in that bad neighborhood .sadly he showed you the bad face of Egypt .

Talking about schools i have been in the American school and i know how much expensive it is .

I'm so sorry for your daughter . she should be happy teenager now not sad,mad girl .

I hope that things will work out good for you .

Good luck and my best wishes for you .

[Ning 619]

hello everyone, my name is sophia and obviously im new to this forum. im an american livng in egypt and have been here now for 3 years, my daughter and i. it sux here and i wouldnt recommend coming here. i posted a question here about my hardship letter and any advise i can get on it. i really cant stand living here, and im ready to go home, but with my husband. umm, i guess i should give details about myself also. im 36 years old and i have 2 kids, a son, 18 and a daughter, 14 and a remarkable husband. my daughter lives here with us but my son does not, and i miss him so much it hurts. so anyways, this is about me, i look forward to meeting new people on here and maybe sharing some experiences, right now i have a question and need some advice, we recently recieved a letter from the embassy in athens regarding our application and hardship letter. i rewrote the hardship letter and now would like some input on it, here it is, it may long but i would really appreciate it if you could read it and let me know how it sounds. thank you

to whom it may concern,

i write this letter in the continuence of a previous letter i submitted in april, i will word this so the person reading this will have an exact detail of the hardship my daughter Marsella and i face everyday. the hardships her and i have faced for the past 3 years. the education my daughter has lost, the family and close friends we have been torn apart from, living in an area that no american lives, where i am not allowed to practice my religion, and where everyone is anti-christian and anti-american. living in a country where women have no rights, no freedom, no opinion, i will give you examples of situations that i have encountered, the lifestyles my daughter and i are faced to live.

i came to egypt in 2007, with my daughter who was 12 at the time, i thought while i was getting ready to arrive, things were going to be easy. that life would be simple, my daughter would go to school and meet new people, learn about a new culture, and continue on with her education. i had seen images on t.v, and what i saw was beautiful, the people looked friendly, a completely differant picture as to what i see now. i saw egypt through rose colored glasses, because the man that i married and the family he comes from, were and are nothing like i see in the streets. when i got to the area which i would now call home, i wanted to pack up my daughter, and my stuff, and head back to the airport. the area was filled with garbage, unnourished cats, dilapidated buildings, and even though it was 4 a.m people were still awake, all eyes were on me and my daughter, i had never felt so uncomfortable and out of place in my life, but i have always considered my self a strong person, so i figured i would be able to get through this. the apartment i live in is small, with chipped paint on the walls, the ceiling ready to crumble down, very unsafe for my daughter and i, who knows how much lead poisoning we have been exposed to. my husband has tried in vain to make the apartment as livable as can be, but with the lack of money, thier is only so much he can do. i have included pictures of the area that i live in and the apartment, which you will or may not notice does not even have a refrigerator which leads me to my next hardship, money and the lack of it.

my plan once i got here was to find an appropriate school for my daughter to attend, at that time she would have entered into 6th grade. {enclosed is copy of her transfer slip from 2006, the last year she attended school-i.e 1} all the foriegn schools here have a fee of about 15,000 anerican dollars, which rounds out to 75,000 egyptian pounds, and i only make 200 pounds a week as nanny. {i have included copies of the schools and there prices-i.e 1} so beings i couldnt afford any of the schools and there was no way to put her into the public schools because she doesnt speak arabic, an education wouldnt have done her any good there. i figured i would home school her, { also included are examples of the homeschooling i have tried to do with my daughter- i.e 1} but that also has turned out to be the impossible, i have no idea what they are teaching in america, and the things she should be learning, i dont understand. you also have to purchase the homeschooling materials, and not only do i not have the money for that, i dont trust the postal system here i have had things sent to me from america, and half of the stuff in the package has been stolen by the workers, anyways, my daughter now should be entering into the 9th grade, graduating from 8th,{included is a copy from her myspace page about her various friends that have graduation ceremonies i.e 1} attending school dances, hanging out with her peers, with people she can talk to and relate to, she should be hanging out at the mall, experiencing her first boyfriend, her first kiss, her first heartbreak, god forbid. but no, she sits on the computer, day after day, doing her myspace, envying the friends she did have back in the states, or crying in her room, writing her poetry, or reminincing about her past and the things she has missed out on. it breaks my heart that she has had to live like this, instead of being a normal teenager in america, my daughter has gone from being an out going vibrant, sunny 14 year old, to a sad, sullen, depressed, angry, loner. all her friends have had graduation ceremonies, {i.e 1} and all the other things i have mentioned above. she cant make friends because they dont relate to her, or they dont speak the language, and even regardless of all that, we have tried to make the best of it.

but the people here make it impossible and intolerable to do. the first week i was here, my husband took me out to show me the city, the three of us were driving and i decided to smoke a cigarette, a truck full of ignorant men pulled up beside us, saw me smoking, and proceeded to throw water at me. and for what? cuz i was smoking?? another time while in cairo, my husband and i had went to the egyptian museum, there i saw so many foreigners that i felt comfortable enough to remove my sweater, and just be in the pretty sundress i had on. We left the museum, and about a mile down the road, we were confronted by men screaming and yelling in arabic, i had never been so terrified in my life, they had blocked of the road with their so called motorcycles and wouldnt let us pass, there were no tourist police to help me, and what could my husband do? i put my sweater back on and begged my husband to take my home. i have been traumatized ever since and it took me a very long time to leave my house. im not able to be myself, nor is my daughter, we are force to live in seclusion, because we are afraid of the people and the men. {included are copies of statements i found about the harassment women encounter day after real life statements of women who come to egypt and dont want to ever come back. -i.e 2} i rarely look out my window or leave my area because i am afraid of what will happen to us, there are no police that will come to this area, and if they do they are beating someone up. my daughter and i once witnessed a police officer, one that is assigned to serve and protect the community, beat up on a young boy about the age of 17. we watched in horror from our window, and knew that nobody would help us if we were in trouble. {included also are copies of the corruption and the brutality used against the people here-i.e 3} we have watched from our window, people fight in the street with knives and broken bottles, sometimes with cheaply made swords. the places we do go to, the store, etc...... we have to deal with the sexual harassment of the disgusting men,{i.e 2, copies of statements about the sexual harassment} they say rude gross things in arabic, and look at you, with either a look of lust, or contempt, im afraid of my daughter being kidnapped by the men who stare at her, because here there is no age limit for marriage, i mean shes a little girl for Gods sake, and im afraid to leave her with anybody. i fear for our lives every day, egypt is not the safe place i thought it would be, im afraid for myself and my daughter, because we are american and catholic,{ copies included of persecution for being christian-i.e 3} there are no safe places for us to go and just hang out, there are no free parks, or swimming pools, everything here costs a fortune, or you have to belong to a club. we cant even buy the things we used to take for granted in america. milk, cereal, even toilet paper half the time, theres no money as i mentioned, i make 200 pounds a week, 800 a month in order to help my husband take care of our needs, and my daughter. my husband provides what he can, but things here are not cheap. i cannot even afford to take my daughter for an eyes exam, or to purchase her the glasses she so desperately needs, even the charity doctors expect money up front, and since we are americans, they think we have the money and they end up over charging us. and the people where i live dont understand because of the low standards that they live by, or are used to. {included are the poverty conditions of egypt and the high price of items that we need everyday, teh copies arent that great but it gives you an idea of what we pay for, meat, personal items, etc. i.e 4} all i want to do is leave egypt with my family, i miss my son so much the pain is unbearable, i had to leave him with his father because he refused to come with me, my daughter didnt have the same choice, as he did, cuz all she has is my husband and i. but day after day, i think about him and i miss him, and now he needs his mother, he was 15 when i left, and he is now 18. my daughter and son are very close, and she misses him just as much. i want and need my family back together, the 4 of us, eslam, marsella, seth and i. this is my family. {i have sent you pictures of my my son, marsella and i, pictures of my family.} we have been here now for three years, my depression is worsening, my blood pressure is high, and my state of mind is deteriorating, i feel like i can no longer function normally in this country. i have included boxes of the anti depressants that i take, i have included pictures of my apartment, the area i live in, and pictures of my kids and various other documents pertaining to my situation. . Please consider your answer after you read this, give us a chance to go back to the way we were, give us back to my son, our family and friends, and take us back to reality. i swore to my husband before i came here, that i would follow him to hell and back, as long as i knew that we would be together, and now i feel as if i have reached my hell. thank you for your time and patience while reading this.

sincerely, sophia lillian flores-aly

Enclosed are documents verifing my situation, pictures, reports of the sexual harassment, education fees, and other misc things that pertain to my hardship.

This is a rambling disconnected disertation on the woes of living in Egypt. This will not serve the purpose you intend. They live there as well & are aware of the Egyptian way of life. It is so long I doubt it will be read.

I agree with gogo. Try to find better info as to what constitutes " hardship" cases before you write a letter.

[NArocks 13]

So we are to assume that your visa was rejected when you applied? Maybe by also sharing this many other members from the same country can lend a hand. I feel for you but honey for my daughter I would be out of there and apply the hardship letter from here. As far as telling them your hardships over there are you not free to leave??And then apparantly your current husband is not. I would think that by asking here and letting us know how he was refused the visa in the first place would help point you in the right direction.

[gogo 6]

Here's another summary on how/what to write, of course not everything listed here..

=============================

Extreme hardship can be demonstrated in many aspects of your spouse's life such as:

HEALTH - Ongoing or specialized treatment requirements for a physical or mental condition; availability and quality of such treatment in your country, anticipated duration of the treatment; whether a condition is chronic or acute, or long-or short-term.

b. FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS - Future employability; loss due to sale of home or business or termination of a professional practice; decline in standard of living; ability to recoup short-term losses; cost of extraordinary needs such as special education or training for children; cost of care for family members (i.e., elderly and infirm parents).

c. EDUCATION - Loss of opportunity for higher education; lower quality or limited scope of education options; disruption of current program; requirement to be educated in a foreign language or culture with ensuing loss of time for grade; availability of special requirements, such as training programs or internships in specific fields.

d. PERSONAL CONSIDERATIONS - Close relatives in the United States and /or your country; separation from spouse/children; ages of involved parties; length of residence and community ties in the United States.

e. SPECIAL FACTORS - Cultural, language, religious, and ethnic obstacles; valid fears of persecution, physical harm, or injury; social ostracism or stigma; access to social institutions or structures.

f. Any other situation which you feel may help you meet the burden of extreme hardship.

[100% Al Ahly Fan 53]

I am truly sorry for your experience in Egypt. I know many who live in Egypt because I have family there. I can say this is definitely not the norm for expats living in Egypt. What is most concerning is that I can't believe that your husband would have you and your child living in such a place.

I guess I don't understand a few things though. Why didn't you reseach living in Egypt BEFORE moving? Things like where your child would go to school, where you would live, if you would have to work to make ends meet? Sorry, please don't feel the need to answer. I just don't understand how you could live like this for three years.

Anyhow, my son and I were going to move to Egypt in June 2009. My husband and I decided against it because of various reasons. I as a parent can tell you that, I would never take away proper education and more importantly my son's happiness! NEVER. This is part of the reason, I haven't moved to Egypt.

It is hard to be away from your loved one. All of us on this site know this feeling. God-willing the embassy will accept your hardship letter, but I think they will make you go through the same hoops the rest of us have. Is this hardship letter in referrance to a direct consular filing? If so, then perhaps they will expidite it. Although, you will still need to have a affidavit of support...at least I think you would.

I wish you the best. Take care and God bless.

Edited June 30, 2009 by 100% Al Ahly Fan

[Peace be still 6]

Even if your husband can't return to the States with you and your daughter, you still need to return and petition for him later. When you promised your husband you would follow him to hell this should have not included your daughter. I'm thinking that Consulate might frown on the fact that your husband has you and your daughter living in diplorable condition. But the sad fact of the matter is perhaps this is all he could afford. You really should have done RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH but hinesite is 20/20 and the question is are you prepared to leave without your husband?

[jpaula 20]

In order for an I-601 to be approved you have to prove the hardship to you of both:

1) you living in your spouse's country and

2) you living in the US without your spouse.

I think you can do the first if you clean up this letter and make sure you have a lot of documentation for each point. (Make sure to use Sate Department reports--and not just your personal experience--for your points. You have to make a documented, clear, persuasive argument rather than an emotional plea.) That done, you will still need to prove the second point and, as the skepticism of the comments here show, you have not done that. I bet you can, but you will need to really work on this part of the argument in your letter/supporting documentation.

Go to www.immigrate2us.net and post your story/letter there. You will get a lot of good feedback and will also hear more from others who have gone through the waiver process and been adjudicated in Athens.

[Nagishkaw 510]

This is a rambling disconnected disertation on the woes of living in Egypt. This will not serve the purpose you intend. They live there as well & are aware of the Egyptian way of life. It is so long I doubt it will be read.

I agree with gogo. Try to find better info as to what constitutes " hardship" cases before you write a letter.

I concur.

[B&S 0]

All I got to say is I live in Egypt and milk is a dollar. My utility bills with internet is 60 dollars a month. And I do know that if you rent a flat that has nothing in it, it can be pretty cheap like 150 a month, in the bad areas it could be 100 dollars. If you are making 40 dollars a week you can pay the bills and also buy food. It may not be the best life, but its what you make it. When they read that letter, there is all kinds of things that can cross their mind. Please keep in mind to them buyin one dollar milk is cheap, and alot of the food here is cheap as well. You can go to the markets and buy a whole bag of veggies for 2 dollars. You can half one pound of meat for 2 dollars and make kofta with it, the other half make tators and tomoatoes with peppers and onions and add kofta balls. You have 2 meals really cheap. There is tons of things you can make cheap. I even make homemade cakes here for less than 2 dollars. And I make my own bread and flour is a dollar, salt is less than a dollar and you can buy small thing of olive oil for a dollar.I just want you to understand that people with more money being in a cheaper place don't think living is all that horrible. Next thing I would like to add, your daughters home school, you do not need to buy books. You can get online and look up what 9th graders are suppose to know. You can print worksheets out at a cafe for less than a dollar. There is tons of things you can do online. You can give her a test to see where she is at. If you have no internet take her to the cafe let her study stuff and watch her for an hour, take worksheets home for her to do. There is tons of ways to live and make it just wanted to show you some things else people might think of.People stare at me as well I have blue eyes and its normal now. It makes me mad sometimes but you know I got my husband with me and in the end its what he thinks, and I know he will protect me no matter what. So, I think you need to redo the letter in a better way.

[PB&JAM 1]

Try posting your letter on this site, immigrate2us:

http://immigrate2us.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=78

People there are very knowledgeable about waivers and there are many example letters of good (and bad) hardship letters!

[Sailor Moon 2]

your childern have gone through alot during ur 3 years in Egypt u secrifying for ur husband on the well of ur 2 childern ,in one hand the son havent seen his mom and sister for 3 years which breaks my heart and on the other hand ur doughter missed her school and much more not to mention the mesery life u your self is going through, my best advice for u pack up with ur doughter and come home safely and then file for ur husband as many of us here in US waiting for our spouse to get thier visa and join us. you may not like to read my advice but thats what i would have done .

good luck

[Jauque 1]

I have to agree with the other posters, you are at liberty as an american to remove yourself from the situation and I think you are morally obligated to your daughter to do the same thing. It's an unspoken promise in my opinion that when you bring someone into this world you are to protect them "come hell or high water".

I'm almost certain that on the ground of "missing your husband" you would not qualify for a hardship waiver. There is nothing to stop you however from applying through the normal channels. If I was in your shoes I would take myself and my daughter back to safety (well lets be honest I would have done that 3 years ago when the rose colored glasses disappeared), and then begin the process the normal way.

[JeanneVictoria 55]

Sophia, i'm sorry your experience living in Egypt hasn't been what you thought it would be. My husband is from Alexandria and I lived with him for awhile also waiting for our visa. I'm assuming from reading your post that your petition has been denied and is now in Athens, Greece for review. How far along are you in this process? Has it been denied more than once? I see from your post that you have several things going on at once and it has been overwhelming for you now.

I am also Catholic and never did I have any probs there with my religion. Egypt is one country that has many Christians and i've never seen any kind of discrimination against them. I was treated with the utmost respect outside of the apartment (of course there was the staring but it's so common). I don't want to sound disrespectful but you should have really researched your information about Egypt especially if you knew you were going to take your daughter to live there. I'm sure you have tried your best but you yourself made this decision to move to Egypt and I think Athens will also tell you this.

Is there anyway you can send your daughter back to the states while you sort out everything with Athens? Are there any family members who are willing help you or her?

I agree with the posts about streamlining your hardship letter. Athens can be pretty tough on people. I wish you the best. Priority should be trying to get your daughter back with your son. She needs to go to school.