finally back from Algeria...

[hollyw 0]

phew!!! it feels like i have been gone forever...

and at the same time, i feel like i only left yesterday. i left Oran on Saturday morning on the special 3 a.m. flight they use to ship all the Algerian vacationers back to France. we actually left on time, which is more than i can say for my paris/boston flight that brought me home yesterday... for those of you that are flying, check with your airlines about new regulations about what you can bring on the plane and how far in ahead you have to check in. i convinced the airline rep at check in to let me bring my carryon bag because i had a lot of breakable stuff in it from Algeria, but they were making a lot of people check their carry ons. they were also doing a full body search right before boarding, jacket off, shoes off, spread em and everything. then they searched the entire contents of people's bags... took away anything they found like water, toothpaste, yogurt, etc. just a warning!! going OUT of the US might not be as bad... but then again, be prepared for when you come back in.

the trip was great... the first day i got there i thought i would be happy to leave when the time came, but i was soooo sad!!! i have traveled a ton, but i have to say that my first day and night in Algeria were a bit of a culture shock. that and the not knowing what would happen with the visa and suddenly really realizing that if the visa didnt work out, my husband was IN Algeria and it would be that much harder to see him. i got over it though and we had a wonderful wonderful time (minus three days of feeling so sick i wanted to die and my husband's mom making me platters and platters of food, insisting that i eat).

our visa appointments went amazingly well.... anyone already married or thinking about marrying an Algerian and starting the immigration process.... DCF!!!!! everyone at the consulate was incredibly nice and, just to recap, they approved our I-130 on the spot and accepted all of supporting documents (affidavit of support, medical report, etc). they did tell us that we had to come back on a sunday to actually file the documents, but they accepted everything we had, they were amazed that we had everything, telling us it usually takes people months to get it all. well, we told him, it had taken months. but now we had everything. we paid the first visa fee and they told us to come back the following sunday.

luckily tickets oran/algiers are not very expensive. we bought our second set of tickets for the following sunday and went back. we got to the consulate two hours early (because of our flight time and we had nothing to do), and they took us right away!! they called my husband up to the window and they already had all the documents and everything, they just asked for his passport and our supporting evidence. we showed them the huge file and photo album we had and they kind of cringed and said "ahhh we really only need a few things..." but they took the whole thing, i think to humor us. they could see that we had been carrying it around for a long time (boston, paris, oran, algiers, oran, algiers). we sat down for about 10 minutes and they called my husband up again and scanned his fingerprints and the officer asked him where he had lived in Paris. they chatted for awhile about some park that the officer knew in Paris and liked. the officer was American, but he talked to my husband only in French, which i thought was really super nice of him because that was the part my husband was most worried about. he asked him to swear that everything we had submitted was the truth and then he said "great! you're done! have a seat and we'll call you back in a few minutes." we sat and waited about five minutes and we were called up the the caisse and paid the fee for the second step and then a new guy starts telling us that we should call the UPS around the corner in ten days and they should have the visa..... that's it?!? we were both standing there like, are you kdding me, but also trying to keep our cool at the same time like "yea yea ok great." we thanked the American officer that had helped us and we were escorted out by the same guard who we had seen the time before and earlier that day. he wished us luck and said he hoped he was seeing us for the last time. everyone on the way out wished us luck and asked if they had taken our passport. we said yes and they said "you're golden!!" or the equivilant in arabic.

we left he consulate completely dumbfounded. That was on the 20th and today is the 29th and my husband will call the UPS office either today or tomorrow to ask if they have his visa. so we'll see!! we havent told anyone that the consulate only told us ten days, in case it takes longer. but i thought i would tell everyone here just cause i'm so excited!! i can finally dance

i know this post is a little long, i just wanted to put some information on here about DCF in Algeria since i am pretty sure that i am one of the first (apart from jpaula). other than the visa, after more than one month away it is both great and so hard to be home. i have so much stuff here i have to get started with, but it is so hard to be away from my husband. the only thing that makes it a little more okay is that he might get his visa soon and then we can just breath a sigh of relief. he will stay in Algeria until the end of Ramadan to be with his family, since he hasn't seen them in about three years. he misses Ramadan in Algeria A LOT. so i said, don't worry about it, the end of October will come soon enough.

ANYWAYS.... i am going to have to catch up on what has been happening around here!!! i have read a few posts and i know that Hachemi has made it to the US, so congratulations Meriem!!!!! i hope the homecoming was everything you hoped it would be and things are settling in nicely. and also congratulations to Sarah and Hicham on your wedding... i hope it went well!!! other than that, i got nothing... but i hope everyone is doing great!!!

Edited August 29, 2006 by hollyw

[Jenn! 918]

I'm so glad that things have gone well for you, Holly! I hope that visa comes through really soon so that he can be ready to jump on a plane to come home to you as soon as Ramadan is over!

[noura 0]

congratulations Holly, and welcome back. It's bittersweet, I'm sure, but the end of October will be here before we all know it!!! Anyhow, again, many congratulations to you!

Noura

[Henia 11]

Welcome Back Holly...

I am glad to hear you are back... I am leaving in 6 days. I will check you on MSN maybe you are on. Hope to hear all about your trip and the DCF interview...

Peace and Blessings

[iceyspots 0]

welcome back holly!! hope hubby can follow you soon!

[samir_shannon 0]

Holly tha tis AWESOME. Samir goes on sunday for his interview and i am hoping everything goes well Congrats on your approval !!!

[Meriem_DZ 37]

Welcome home!!! I am so happy for you, Holly. It is so great that the process was so smooth. It is so wonderful to have Hachemi here with me. It's like all the heartache of separation is starting to be a distant, fading memory. Congratulations on your visa approval

Meriem

Edited August 30, 2006 by Meriem_setif

[Angel7422 0]

Congrats Holly