Casablanca Consulate review and personal thoughts

[zaytoona 8]

Hi Everyone,

I would like to thank everyone again for all the support. I am just happy that this process is nearly over with. As most of you know, my fiance had his interview on April 13th and was approved without AP. I have a few thoughts about this. First, take a look at my review below:

Interview from April 13th

My fiance's was supposed to arrive at the consulate between 7:45am and 8:00am although of course, he was 10 minutes late. So typical of him. As soon as he arrived, he showed the security personnel his documents which granted him entry. He walked in and waited 15 minutes before the cashier was available collect his appointment letter. The cashier then instructed my fiance to sit down and wait before collecting the visa payment and his completed "DS" forms from packet 3. It took 30 minutes before the cashier called him back. My fiance sat back down again and 45 minutes later, a Moroccan man called my fiance to approach up to a window. The Moroccan man informed him that he had to re-take his passport/visa photos because he was wearing his glasses in them. The man told my fiance to go out around the corner to a Kodak shop where he could take quick passport photographs. My fiance did so and his photos were available immediately. He then brought them back to the man and he told my fiance to sit down and wait until his name is called. After an hour, a Moroccan-American (Presumably) woman called him to another window. She was typing a message into her computer system while she was excused to speak to the consulates new chief consular. My fiance said he looked very young. The woman came back and apologized for stepping away and my fiance replied with "No problem. You're welcome, Madam." She smiled and laughed. She asked for my fiance's translated papers, medical exam, and mobile number. She asked my fiance to sit down and wait and it wasn't until another 30 minutes later than he was finally interviewed.

The interviewer that called him up to the window was a a young, thing, blonde woman with green eyes. My fiance said she looked very young, maybe in her mid to late 20's. She said "Hello, how are you ?" and he said "I am fine, how are you?" she said "Good, thank you." My fiance then said "You're welcome." At this point my fiance told me that she was the nicest interviewer our of all the K-1/CR-1 visas that day. All the other 12 cases were denied and my fiance overheard the other interviewers that were treating the other Moroccan men harshly. So, the interview continues...

She asked my fiance to place his left finger on some security machine and he then removed his hand. She then gave him a paper and told him to write my name and sign underneath it. So of course, he wrote my name. She then asked the following questions:

How did you meet your fiancee?

What do you two have in common?

Why did you fall in love with her?

Did you talk to other Americans online?

When you talk to your fiancee, what do you talk about?

Does she have siblings like sisters or brothers?

Is her brother married?

What is his job?

What does your fiancee do for a living?

Does she go to school? Is she a student?

What does she do for her company?

Is your fiancee Muslim?

Did she convert?

What year did she convert?

So, was she Muslim before you met her?

Are you only interested in marrying a Muslim woman?

What made her decide to convert?

How did you know she was Muslim?

Does she have a family she lives with?

Does she live with her parents?

How old was your fiancee when her parents divorced?

have you talked to her parents?

Have you talked to her parents in person?

What does your fiance go to school for? Is she going for her masters?

Did she finish school?

Did you go to college?

Where is your father?

Do you live on your own?

Where is your mother?

What kind of work would you like to do in the US?

What is your occupation here?

My fiance told me that he had answered all the questions correctly and he was very passionate about all that he told the interviewer.

The interviewer then pulled out a small green ticket with a number on it. She then said "So I am going to issue you a visa to the US and it's only going to take few days to get along with the ministry. We will call you when its ready."

My fiance then smiled and said "Thank you" and she smiled and said "Congratulations!" My fiance then asked her if she needed the proof (emails, photos, phone bills, etc.) and she exclaimed "No, I believe you!"

My fiance then walked out with a huge smile!

The end

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

As I mentioned, he was 1 of 13 Moroccan men who was there on either a K-1 or CR-1 Visa and my fiance was the only one approved. My fiance spoke with all the men there and he found that they all had 3 things in common:

Their English was very poor.

They were marrying women that were significantly older than them.

They appeared to be of a lower socioeconomic status.

My fiance even met a man in there who had tried multiple times to receive a K-1 Visa.

After my fiance's experience, I now understand how popular Visa fraud is in Morocco.

Thank you for reading my review. Please feel free to let me know what you think!

Edited April 15, 2010 by zaytoona

[bahisgirl 11]

Zaytoona,

Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us. This information is so very helpful. I am really glad your fiance was able to also point out some of the commonalities of the others who were denied that day. Congratulations again, and thank you. This actually helps me to feel a bit better as my fiance and I get further along in this process.

Jackie

[sachinky 465]

Your OP actually confirms my belief that no matter what consulate it is, if your case is strong and you appear to have several factors in common (age, education, language, social status) -- then you should have no problems.

Congratulations to you both!

Edited April 15, 2010 by sachinky

[treehugger 23]

Hi Everyone,

I would like to thank everyone again for all the support. I am just happy that this process is nearly over with. As most of you know, my fiance had his interview on April 13th and was approved without AP.

Congratulations on your fiance's approval

I myself am a British female, born and bred, living in London. My interview was on 22nd February, and lasted three minutes - it was more of a chat than an interview. I was told that my application was approved, and that I'd receive my passport within a few days, possibly a little longer due to the backlog caused by the snow the previous month...Almost three weeks later I still had not got my passport back, and it's now been almost eight weeks since my interview and still nothing. Why? Because I'm in mandatory AP.

So please, don't celebrate just yet!! I'm sure your fiance's interview went as well as it did for the reasons you've already outlined, and I'm not trying to be a wet blanket...but after having packed up my life and booked a ticket to the US,only to find out that I was, and still am, in AP, you can understand why I'm a little cautious, and urge you to be the same. Wishing you all the best

[Berber Mama 5]

I'm a firm believer that they look at everything well before they even interview the benificiary and make their decision. I think the interviews are just a formality.

My husband had the same lady (blonde) and I can't even remember the few questions that she asked (this was in 2007) but I was surprised at how few there were. She didn't even want to see our massive photo album and chat log.

My husband is 3 years older than me and I had visited 2 times before our marriage and 2 times after.

He didn't speak any English (absolutely WALO) but he comes from a wealthier family in Agadir. He has no secondary education. He opened his own business right after completing high school and moved out on his own.

I know that age is not a basis for denial alone as there are couples with large age differences who are approved on the spot and there are couples where the woman is younger who are denied.

His passport was taken and he was given a slip of paper to bring back the next day to pick up his visa. I don't know why some people are issued AP and some aren't. I used to think that name checks were performed in advance for the men who were applying for the CR1 but since then I have seen couples applying for the same visa who get AP.

It's definitely mind boggling......

[Azura 0]

Yes, I'm not sure how things work either. Karim (my fiancee) said his interview went very similarly and told him they would call him to come pick up his passport, and we're 2 weeks in with no phone call still.

[zaytoona 8]

Zaytoona,

Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us. This information is so very helpful. I am really glad your fiance was able to also point out some of the commonalities of the others who were denied that day. Congratulations again, and thank you. This actually helps me to feel a bit better as my fiance and I get further along in this process.

Jackie

You are very welcome!

[zaytoona 8]

I'm a firm believer that they look at everything well before they even interview the benificiary and make their decision. I think the interviews are just a formality.

My husband had the same lady (blonde) and I can't even remember the few questions that she asked (this was in 2007) but I was surprised at how few there were. She didn't even want to see our massive photo album and chat log.

My husband is 3 years older than me and I had visited 2 times before our marriage and 2 times after.

He didn't speak any English (absolutely WALO) but he comes from a wealthier family in Agadir. He has no secondary education. He opened his own business right after completing high school and moved out on his own.

I know that age is not a basis for denial alone as there are couples with large age differences who are approved on the spot and there are couples where the woman is younger who are denied.

His passport was taken and he was given a slip of paper to bring back the next day to pick up his visa. I don't know why some people are issued AP and some aren't. I used to think that name checks were performed in advance for the men who were applying for the CR1 but since then I have seen couples applying for the same visa who get AP.

It's definitely mind boggling......

Hi Berbermama,

It is true that we will never know completely but as human beings, we all have a pretty good intuition on most things. I see a lot of negative reviews here and what I have found is that we do not know the FULL story. Of course there will always be exceptions depending on each individual case.

Congratulations on your fiance's approval

I myself am a British female, born and bred, living in London. My interview was on 22nd February, and lasted three minutes - it was more of a chat than an interview. I was told that my application was approved, and that I'd receive my passport within a few days, possibly a little longer due to the backlog caused by the snow the previous month...Almost three weeks later I still had not got my passport back, and it's now been almost eight weeks since my interview and still nothing. Why? Because I'm in mandatory AP.

So please, don't celebrate just yet!! I'm sure your fiance's interview went as well as it did for the reasons you've already outlined, and I'm not trying to be a wet blanket...but after having packed up my life and booked a ticket to the US,only to find out that I was, and still am, in AP, you can understand why I'm a little cautious, and urge you to be the same. Wishing you all the best

Flight has been booked and my fiance is picking up his visa tomorrow

Your OP actually confirms my belief that no matter what consulate it is, if your case is strong and you appear to have several factors in common (age, education, language, social status) -- then you should have no problems.

Congratulations to you both!

Thank you! You are right, a very strong case with a true and honest relationship will get an approval the majority of the time!

[Angel Eyes Yuseef 5]

Here is my question how does your man know that the others was not approved. After there interviews they are to leave. So the other men must of been waiting for there interviews???? And most of Morocco is of low social economics.

Hi Everyone,

I would like to thank everyone again for all the support. I am just happy that this process is nearly over with. As most of you know, my fiance had his interview on April 13th and was approved without AP. I have a few thoughts about this. First, take a look at my review below:

Interview from April 13th

My fiance's was supposed to arrive at the consulate between 7:45am and 8:00am although of course, he was 10 minutes late. So typical of him. As soon as he arrived, he showed the security personnel his documents which granted him entry. He walked in and waited 15 minutes before the cashier was available collect his appointment letter. The cashier then instructed my fiance to sit down and wait before collecting the visa payment and his completed "DS" forms from packet 3. It took 30 minutes before the cashier called him back. My fiance sat back down again and 45 minutes later, a Moroccan man called my fiance to approach up to a window. The Moroccan man informed him that he had to re-take his passport/visa photos because he was wearing his glasses in them. The man told my fiance to go out around the corner to a Kodak shop where he could take quick passport photographs. My fiance did so and his photos were available immediately. He then brought them back to the man and he told my fiance to sit down and wait until his name is called. After an hour, a Moroccan-American (Presumably) woman called him to another window. She was typing a message into her computer system while she was excused to speak to the consulates new chief consular. My fiance said he looked very young. The woman came back and apologized for stepping away and my fiance replied with "No problem. You're welcome, Madam." She smiled and laughed. She asked for my fiance's translated papers, medical exam, and mobile number. She asked my fiance to sit down and wait and it wasn't until another 30 minutes later than he was finally interviewed.

The interviewer that called him up to the window was a a young, thing, blonde woman with green eyes. My fiance said she looked very young, maybe in her mid to late 20's. She said "Hello, how are you ?" and he said "I am fine, how are you?" she said "Good, thank you." My fiance then said "You're welcome." At this point my fiance told me that she was the nicest interviewer our of all the K-1/CR-1 visas that day. All the other 12 cases were denied and my fiance overheard the other interviewers that were treating the other Moroccan men harshly. So, the interview continues...

She asked my fiance to place his left finger on some security machine and he then removed his hand. She then gave him a paper and told him to write my name and sign underneath it. So of course, he wrote my name. She then asked the following questions:

How did you meet your fiancee?

What do you two have in common?

Why did you fall in love with her?

Did you talk to other Americans online?

When you talk to your fiancee, what do you talk about?

Does she have siblings like sisters or brothers?

Is her brother married?

What is his job?

What does your fiancee do for a living?

Does she go to school? Is she a student?

What does she do for her company?

Is your fiancee Muslim?

Did she convert?

What year did she convert?

So, was she Muslim before you met her?

Are you only interested in marrying a Muslim woman?

What made her decide to convert?

How did you know she was Muslim?

Does she have a family she lives with?

Does she live with her parents?

How old was your fiancee when her parents divorced?

have you talked to her parents?

Have you talked to her parents in person?

What does your fiance go to school for? Is she going for her masters?

Did she finish school?

Did you go to college?

Where is your father?

Do you live on your own?

Where is your mother?

What kind of work would you like to do in the US?

What is your occupation here?

My fiance told me that he had answered all the questions correctly and he was very passionate about all that he told the interviewer.

The interviewer then pulled out a small green ticket with a number on it. She then said "So I am going to issue you a visa to the US and it's only going to take few days to get along with the ministry. We will call you when its ready."

My fiance then smiled and said "Thank you" and she smiled and said "Congratulations!" My fiance then asked her if she needed the proof (emails, photos, phone bills, etc.) and she exclaimed "No, I believe you!"

My fiance then walked out with a huge smile!

The end

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

As I mentioned, he was 1 of 13 Moroccan men who was there on either a K-1 or CR-1 Visa and my fiance was the only one approved. My fiance spoke with all the men there and he found that they all had 3 things in common:

Their English was very poor.

They were marrying women that were significantly older than them.

They appeared to be of a lower socioeconomic status.

My fiance even met a man in there who had tried multiple times to receive a K-1 Visa.

After my fiance's experience, I now understand how popular Visa fraud is in Morocco.

Thank you for reading my review. Please feel free to let me know what you think!

[msheesha 548]

I agree that we don't know everyone's stories totally.

It's lovely that Zaytoona is so excited, and this is in no way to start controversy,

but what is presented in this post as factual information about the interviews that

day is not entirely correct. I know; my husband was there that day. We fit into

none of the categories described.

So, with everything on the internet, take it all with a grain of salt, and do the best

you can on your own personal journey.

Peace.

[sachinky 465]

MsSheesha--Was your husband's visa approved?

[zaytoona 8]

I would like to apologize to msheesha for my previous posts. Due to my fiance's inaccurate information, I found that he did not speak to her husband whom was present that day. I would like to re-phrase and rather than say that everyone else was denied I will say that my fiance was the only one approved on the spot.

I hope this cheers everyone up

[msheesha 548]

Thank you Zaytoona. No need to apologize! Our experience and perception was different that day, is all. Wishing you and your fiance much happiness.

Peace.

[zaytoona 8]

Thank you Zaytoona. No need to apologize! Our experience and perception was different that day, is all. Wishing you and your fiance much happiness.

Peace.

Thank you, Sister! If I cannot apologize for you, I will definitely pray for your approval!

God bless.

Zaytoona