Preparing for the benficiary's arrival

[msheesha 548]

Also, want to say that there were a couple of things I did to prepare that weren't worth it in the long run. I ordered the soccer channels on cable so that he'd have that to watch. I also ordered another cable box and dvr so we'd each have a tv to watch and didn't have to interfere with each other.

Turns out, American tv doesn't interest him, and he watches soccer on the internet.

So, that was unnecesary.

There were a couple of other things that I'm blanking on now that hopefully I'll think of later and add.

Just as a funny aside - one of my friends who is an ESL instructor was telling my husband he should watch American tv for increased language skills, etc. Husband was like "have you watched American tv?" He's not a fan.

Edited March 17, 2011 by msheesha

[sandinista! 1,816]

my husband kept himself busy in the days before he got his ead by hanging out with my brother while he was at work. (they now work together, at my family's business). my brother does deliveries as part of his job, so he got an introduction to all kinds of places in the city, and customers he would be working with in the future, and it gave him something to do while i was at school all day. now he can find his way around the city better than i can.

[moroccogirlny 100]

You can add your husband on to your major credit cards as an authorized user. I added my husband on and now he has a very good credit score. We only use his card for groceries.

[msheesha 548]

For anyone who is making another trip to Morocco before their fiance/spouse gets here, you can get your state's drivers' manual/permit preparation books so they can start studying while still waiting for visa.

Looking back, that would have been a smart move.

[UmmSqueakster 54]

Also, want to say that there were a couple of things I did to prepare that weren't worth it in the long run. I ordered the soccer channels on cable so that he'd have that to watch. I also ordered another cable box and dvr so we'd each have a tv to watch and didn't have to interfere with each other.

Turns out, American tv doesn't interest him, and he watches soccer on the internet.

So, that was unnecesary.

There were a couple of other things that I'm blanking on now that hopefully I'll think of later and add.

The internet is a marvelous thing We just have very basic cable, like the cheapest you can get with just the major networks and PBS. If AbuS wants to see anything MENA-ish, he can find it online. He's found places to watch al-Ahly, and on youtube has hit the motherload. There are tons of egyptian plays there, as well as many of the egyptian political talk shows. There are websites that stream egyptian movies. And, there's always al-Jazeera that streams live, and has recordings of shows both on youtube and on their website.

Just as a funny aside - one of my friends who is an ESL instructor was telling my husband he should watch American tv for increased language skills, etc. Husband was like "have you watched American tv?" He's not a fan.

On a related note, I read somewhere that having subtitles on the TV helps with english comprehension. Turns out I'm the only one who watches american television, and now I can't watch it without subtitles. Whenever I go to my parents' house, I have to turn it on and they're like

[msheesha 548]

I agree UmmSqueakster - he finds everything MENA related on the internet. I think he should watch Al Jazeera in English though to help with the language/accent, etc. But, I also know that if I lived in Morocco, and someone said I should watch Moroccan tv, I could possibly want to shoot myself!

[~ Karima ~ 0]

Have you tried to apply for a Indv Tax ID # (ITIN)? I was able to add my husband as an authorized user to a couple credit cards, before he was here or my spouse.

Another thing, depending on where you live, gather information on your bus/train system like routes and times. That way even if he cannot drive, he still has public transportation access to get out of the house.

[Crossed_fingers 128]

Thanks all for the tips, I appreciate it! I'm on the brink of making the switch from a heavy TV package to basic (or even nothing??? baby steps. baby steps. baby steps.) cable and then just using the internet for most of my TV addictions anyway. Cable is just soooo expensive!!

I'm going to look into whether I can add my fiance to my credit cards while he's still overseas. We're planning a wedding right now, so when I try to add him he'll be overseas without an SSN, but he'll be my spouse. From what I understand we probably won't be able to open a joint account anywhere until he gets here, but I'll still do a little digging and I'll report back if I find a bank that will do it and doesn't seem to be operated out of some sketchy guy's basement. I would just as soon get some of this stuff taken care of while he's still over there to give me something to do....it helps me with the apart time if I can focus on marking things off a "to do" list....and may even make the mountain of paperwork and bureaucratic stuff I'm sure we'll have to deal with after he gets here just a tiny little bit less daunting. I'll come back and post if and when I get more specific information about what financial things can and can't be done before the spouse's arrival.

Karima, thank you for that tip! I didn't see it until after I hit "post."

I just saw a post from the other day on a different thread, not in MENA, that had info on getting the ITIN. I'll try to look for that info later and post it here so it's in one not-to-be-deleted place.

[UmmSqueakster 54]

We had issues adding AbuS to my bank account. I believe we tried to do it the day after he arrived, and they initially refused, as he didn't have sufficient ID. He had his Egyptian passport, his US issued visa and his Egyptian ID card. They accepted the passport, but not the visa, as it was in the same book. I tried to argue that they were issues by 2 different governments and should be considered 2 forms of ID, but they weren't buying it. They wouldn't take his Egyptian ID card as it was in arabic. If they had had someone who spoke arabic on the staff, they said they may have taken it, but alas, that didn't work.

We were preparing to leave, all dejected, when the banker whispered to us that they would take a Sam's club ID, so why not try that. So off to Sam's Club we went to get a membership. Poor Sam's Club employee, trying to figure out how to use his Egyptian passport as ID. They'd obviously never encountered anyone wanting to use a passport as ID, let alone a foreign passport.

And once we got that, we went back and added him to my account.

[Crossed_fingers 128]

Here's a link to a helpful VJ thread on filing taxes jointly while your non-USC spouse is still living abroad. http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/294258-instructions-for-filing-taxes-with-spouse-outside-of-the-country/

The top of page 6 has a helpful summary of two of the most broadly useful posts in the thread, IMO, though it's all worthwhile reading for anyone interested in jointly filing taxes while still living apart.

[sachinky 465]

That's weird, I had no issues opening two bank accounts in NY with my Indian passport, the student visa inside it and my college ID. I didn't even have a SSN at that point.

[msheesha 548]

We didn't even try to open a bank account without the SS#. I had called the bank we use previously and they said it's a no go without ss#. I've heard others able to do it and figured it varies from bank to bank.

[Crossed_fingers 128]

Has anyone opened a joint bank account in the beneficiary's home country? I was thinking that might be a possible way to cut down on currency conversion or ATM fees when I visit, but I haven't looked into it. I remember hearing on another forum that it is surprisingly hard to open an account in Morocco as a foreigner, but I don't remember offhand if being the spouse of a Moroccan made it easier. If I dig up that information I'll post here so it's all in one place for anyone else who might be interested some day.

[kristen_maroc 126]

I believe that in order to open an account in Morocco, you have to have a Carte de Sejour. You can get one of these by being married to a Moroccan, but it's a process that takes awhile and you have to go through a lot of bureaucracy to get there.

[Jenn! 918]

Watching Italian TV with closed captioning on helped me with my language skills as much as anything did.

When DH arrived he didn't speak any English at all. He used to watch Jerry Springer, I think because it's pretty easy to grasp what's going on without understanding the language. I would not recommend Jerry Springer as an ESL learning tool, however.