Experiences with the Consulate in Casablanca

[kristen_maroc 126]

I have a friend who got a K1 visa within 6 months. They applied 5/10; he was in the US by 11/10/

She was working in Morocco at the time, they met, dated, fell in love, got engaged. I think they had been together in person for 1-2 years.

They're "equally attractive" (whatever that means)

Same basic age

She speaks close to fluent Darija, his English is perfect

He was working for an American company in Morocco

They didn't meet online.

Oh, yeah. And their interview apparently took about 3-4 minutes. As I recall it was in English, they asked him:

How did you meet?

How did you learn such good English?

What do you plan on doing in the States?

That was all.

[rek pooh 0]

Ucf Chari - you most likely will face very few hurdles. It is MUCH easier for women to get a visa from Casablanca than a man. Also you are both from the same culture - those cases tend to be much more likely to be approved.

Why do you say it's easier for a woman? I keep hearing that but was unable to get much information/perspective about it.

[bahisgirl 11]

Sorry to hear about your denial. As Sarah said, there is very little rhyme or reason with the Casablanca consulate. I do believe that in most cases they have decided to approve or deny before you come in. To help, here is the background on my case. My now husband was interviewed by being asked the same questions over and over again, as if they were looking for a slip, but he maintained his cool. The frustrating part for us is when he left, they did not give him an answer but kept his passport. I am sure they just wanted to comb throught his documents looking for a reason to deny. In the end, they called him one week later to pickup his visa. I feel lucky because we got off easy by Casablanca standards. We did have a couple red flags, only one visit and he has a sister and brother-in-law in the states.

Our history:

Met online - 12/2008

My only visit to Morocco - 5/9/2009-5/23 (only 2 weeks)

Filed K1 Visa - 1/2010

Interview - 7/2010

Got my husband here - 10/2010

Age difference - he is 2 years older

We did have a backup plan to get married if we were denied, but luckily that wasn't necessary. In the end we are now suffering through the AOS process and the trials of finding a job. This process is definitely not for the faint of heart, but I can't imagine my life without that crazy man. Don't give up, fight like hell to be together. Good luck.

Jackie

[MrsAmera 41]

Why do you say it's easier for a woman? I keep hearing that but was unable to get much information/perspective about it.

Men from Middle Eastern/North African countries are subjected to much higher levels of scrutiny (ie potential terrorism) whereas women are not. This is a post from awhile ago but as far as I know the procedures are still in place. http://www.murthy.com/news/UDarab.html

[blessedblessed 1]

Hey, all!

Abdelhay just had his interview yesterday and I just wrote a description of his experience. I thought I added it to my timeline, but I'm not sure how to do that now! The review can be found in the Moroccan portal under "Consulate Reviews" though. Let me know if you guys have any additional questions! Good luck to everyone!!

Jessica

[Gugusitolindo 32]

Hey, all!

Abdelhay just had his interview yesterday and I just wrote a description of his experience. I thought I added it to my timeline, but I'm not sure how to do that now! The review can be found in the Moroccan portal under "Consulate Reviews" though. Let me know if you guys have any additional questions! Good luck to everyone!!

Jessica

Jessica, great detail to your story on the experience in the Moroccan Consulate. I wanted to answer your questions you asked regarding front loading.

I did front load our application with the same information your SO took the day of the interview. So all the evidence was at the consulate before the interview was set for my husband. That is what front loading means, send all the evidence and financial documents with the original application.

Congrats again! Wish they would call him soon, and you could reunite with your love one.!

[rek pooh 0]

I have a question...my understanding is that one can choose for the interview to be in French, English, or Arabic. Do you think it is considered a red flag if the beneficiary asks to conduct the interview in a language other than English? Also are there specific days that the consulate conducts interviews (for example, the first Tuesday of each month)? I'm trying to guesstimate when ours will be insha'Allah. NVC said it was sent to the consulate on 3/03 masha'Allah.

[msheesha 548]

If you speak the same language the beneficiary asks to be interviewed in, it's not a red flag. But, you need some kind of proof that you and she communicate in that language.

For example, if you are a fluent Darija or French speaker and you and the beneficiary communicate in either of those languages, it's no problem that she has the interview in that language.

In contrast, if you speak only English and the beneficiary asks to have the interview in Darija or French, it will be a red flag b/c the consulate will not believe you communicate to a sufficient level that you are prepared to marry.

[Sofiyya 1,687]

My husband had a 5 minute interview and got his visa the next day, no AP. They didn't want to see the little bit of evidence or the financials he brought for them either. I'm convinced that they had already decided to approve him, so the interview was just a formality. We had a lot of similarities re culture, languages, religion, ethnicity, but I'm not sure how much of that they knew beyond what they asked on the forms. Yet, we also had some red flags - huge age gap, tremendous earnings gap, notable education gap, but they asked nothing about any of those. I've been a government bureaucrat and legal interrogator, so I framed our case and advised my husband re how to behave at the consulate based on my training and experience. He did very well, alhamdulillah. I received lots of compliments on the neatness and clarity of our submissions throughout the process. One said they were the best she'd ever seen. That probably helped, too. If you make their work easier, you get better results.

[sandinista! 1,816]

Men from Middle Eastern/North African countries are subjected to much higher levels of scrutiny (ie potential terrorism) whereas women are not. This is a post from awhile ago but as far as I know the procedures are still in place. http://www.murthy.com/news/UDarab.html

Is that an issue that comes up prior to uscis approval and consulate approval? (I love that autocorrect tries to switch "uscis" to "hacks". How appropriate)

Additionally, big gender gaps exist in regards to fraud. Not

to say women in mena countries don't defraud US petitioners, of course some do. But not in the same numbers seen for male benificiaries, for sure.

But, without knowing details of someone's case, it's probably not a good idea to tell someone their case will fly through the visa process, no problemo, just because the petitioner is a Moroccan guy, and beneficiary a Moroccan female. Sometimes problems exist, even in that case, that may need addressing. No one's home free at that consulate. No one.

Edited March 9, 2011 by sandinista!

[{ Puretaqwa } 0]

+ my interview was very eassy and short

+ the American interviewer was so nice ( the young man ), he asked me how i met my husband , is he a muslim ? how he become a muslim and when , who is the cosponsor and he asked me if i have family in the US , he asked me to see my wedding' album

+ they needed no extra papers , they gave me back the extra and original papers

+ i got the visa after after 2 days

[rek pooh 0]

+ my interview was very eassy and short

+ the American interviewer was so nice ( the young man ), he asked me how i met my husband , is he a muslim ? how he become a muslim and when , who is the cosponsor and he asked me if i have family in the US , he asked me to see my wedding' album

+ they needed no extra papers , they gave me back the extra and original papers

+ i got the visa after after 2 days

Alhamdulillah and congratulations :]