Morocco - K1 visa denied - Now what? Help!

[zaytoona 8]

Looking at what people have said on here and other posts we do have things the CO could consider as red flags.

* weak proof of communication

* he is a poor farmer

* I have two kids

* I am overweight. (there is no age difference, we were born in the same year)

* his brother is here in the USA and I actually started talking to his sister-in-law before him.

* maybe number of visits and time. Two visits 14 months apart. 3 weeks and 2.5 weeks each.

Now our task is to strengthen the communication and the proof. It is in God's hands now.

Krista, I believe we have met before...on the RAM flight from Amsterdam to Casablanca in July 2009. Your luggage was lost and I had to translate for you. Can this be the same Krista? If so, what a small world and I am very sorry for your denial. I always wondered what happened to you! If you need anything, please let me know!

[krista_nourdin 0]

msheesha, we do communicate and in English; otherwise I wouldn't be looking at going for a third visit and to get married. I will be the first to admit that his English has much room for improvement as well as his overall communication. That is why I said we will be working on it. Any advice is appreciated.

Zaytoona, if I remember right there wasn't much translating. The guy was very soft spoken and was even speaking English. We were both trying to figure out what he was saying and just had to go to where he was pointing. hahahaha. Thanks again for staying with me until we figured out my luggage did not arrive with me.

[zaytoona 8]

msheesha, we do communicate and in English; otherwise I wouldn't be looking at going for a third visit and to get married. I will be the first to admit that his English has much room for improvement as well as his overall communication. That is why I said we will be working on it. Any advice is appreciated.

Zaytoona, if I remember right there wasn't much translating. The guy was very soft spoken and was even speaking English. We were both trying to figure out what he was saying and just had to go to where he was pointing. hahahaha. Thanks again for staying with me until we figured out my luggage did not arrive with me.

Yeah, between my Egyptian Arabic and few words in Darija, we made it out alive! I am glad everything went well!

[venusfire503 54]

Looking at what people have said on here and other posts we do have things the CO could consider as red flags.

* weak proof of communication

* he is a poor farmer

* I have two kids

* I am overweight. (there is no age difference, we were born in the same year)

* his brother is here in the USA and I actually started talking to his sister-in-law before him.

* maybe number of visits and time. Two visits 14 months apart. 3 weeks and 2.5 weeks each.

Now our task is to strengthen the communication and the proof. It is in God's hands now.

krista,

Do you mean the proof is weak (not much printed out for them), or that the communication itself might be seen as poor? When we were in the visa stage, we had our own little "interlanguage' - a mix of English, a little French, and his version of English. When he first got here, we had a joke that I was his "English to English translator" - he couldn't understand anyone speaking other than me, and most people had difficulty understanding him. That soon changed, though. The point you (or actually he) can make is that YOU TWO understand each other.

Interlanguage is "an emerging linguistic system that has been developed by a learner of a second language (or L2) who has not become fully proficient yet but is approximating the target language: preserving some features of their first language (or L1), or overgeneralizing target language rules in speaking or writing the target language and creating innovations." (I got that from Wikipedia - sorry about the underlines). Basically, that means that someone learning a new language will make that language similiar to their native language in some ways, and also that they will use terms not usually used by native speakers (think of Ziva on NCIS, if you've ever watched some of the older shows when she first started). I learned about this in my Linguistics class (wish I had taken it years ago - it explained so much to me about my husband's English and my difficulties trying to learn Darija!)

Don't know if that will help you or anyone else, but I figure it's worth a shot if they mention something about communication. Who knows? Maybe quoting information from Linguists will convince them. I can't make any guarantees, of course, but if you've already been denied...

Most people in Morocco are poor - but he's working.

How does he feel about kids? Are the two of you planning to have any? (Don't answer me - this is for you two and the consulate) If it's true, tell them he loves children, accepts yours, and you're hoping to have some of your own.

My husband says that in Morocco, being somewhat overweight isn't a bad thing for a woman since most people there are quite thin. I'm overweight, too, and he says I'm perfect. Also, he's gained weight since he got here, and says that even though he doesn't have as much energy as he used to, he prefers being a little overweight to being too thin.

I'm not sure what to say about the brother issue - maybe someone else can help with that one. I don't know if it would help to mention how long the brother has been with his wife (if he came on fiance or spousal visa). I figure if one of my brothers in law go for a fiance or spousal visa, mentioning that my husband is a citizen now and still with me (I know it's not long yet - heehee) could be helpful - it will show that he didn't marry me just for immigration and that might put his brother in a better light. If his brother is a citizen, or even just a permanent resident, that might help - what does everyone else think?

Is there any way you can visit him again? I know it's difficult to get that much time and money (and it's a long enough trip you can't just go for a few days - jet lag alone is a good reason for that), but if you can, that might help. I didn't read all of the posts, but I think I saw something about getting married on the next trip. Ask about that (new post?) - some people say it will help, some say it won't unless you address the reasons for the K-1 denial. Either way, you don't want to chance a spousal visa denial.

Best of luck!

venusfire

[Silverberry1331 25]

I am waiting for him to send me a copy. The problem with going to Morocco is my son is in school and we do not have family in the area that can help. Just 3 hours away. He can't miss school. My available time is in August, during Ramadan. I am assuming that would be a nightmare to try to get married in even 3 weeks then. My next available time? Next June.

In time things will work themselves out. Thanks for all the help!

Dear Krista,

I am so sorry that you are going through this. I want you to know that I was married to my husband Faisal in Morocco on January 10th and I arrived in Morocco on December 27th. Yes, there is a lot of running around that must be done however, with alittle diligence and alot of patience for long lines and such, I think you can get everything together in about 2 1/2 to 3 weeks. True, I can only speak from my experience but I can say it can be done. If you would like to contact me directly about what you need and what to say please feel free. Again so sorry to hear about this for you.

[Lovers4life 50]

On 7/5/2011 at 5:12 PM, Adil & Jeanne said:

Sent email to you telling the exact steps for marriage in Morocco. I will be there from July 16th on for about 90 days if you need help with the process for marriage. It is helpful to have someone (a woman) speaking Arabic with you at the foreign minister as men and women stand in different lines and your financee can not go in with you.

Anyone else needing steps to marry in Morocco, write to me. I married there in March 2010.

PM me please I need info on marrying in  Morocco 

[Ontarkie 14,236]

~~7 yr old thread locked to further comments. Questions are better asked in their own thread.~~