Egyptian K-1 Visa

[eachubb 0]

Hi just curious...if my fiance is in the army in Egypt can I still work on our visa? I dont want to risk doing the visa without him doing his army duty.. seems to sketchy to me. he is in school right now..but, has anyone done this before? Was your fiance able to ask for days off to go to the Embassy for interviews or medical checks? Usually the army duty is about 2 years. I dont want to wait 2 years then start the visa. So please anyone let me know if you have gone through this.

Thanks!

[True Love at Last 15]

Sad to say but you will have to wait. Egypt's rules on this are pretty strict. You could start the process but he cant travel without a release from the Army anyways. They wont give him that until he completes his duty. :-( I hope you get some better advice.

[together4evr 360]

My husband never served. He is 30

And I know 2 other husbands who never served.

I do not know about fiances

and I do not know how some egyptians get out of serving and get the military exempt stamp in their passport.

[shayy17 3]

Hi just curious...if my fiance is in the army in Egypt can I still work on our visa? I dont want to risk doing the visa without him doing his army duty.. seems to sketchy to me. he is in school right now..but, has anyone done this before? Was your fiance able to ask for days off to go to the Embassy for interviews or medical checks? Usually the army duty is about 2 years. I dont want to wait 2 years then start the visa. So please anyone let me know if you have gone through this.

Thanks!

My husband served in the army... people usually serve for either 1 or 3 years... after the initial "45 days" (something like that, most people usually go late so they spend less time, and i heard they made it 2 weeks more recently) they get assigned to a post.. depending on if they have someone they know in the army they get sent to a better post or not... vacation varies depending on where they are.. like maybe 1 week there 1 week at home or 4 days there 3 days at home... i dont know if other places are stricter or not and i think if he asks for a specific day off as long as hes getting along with his superior it could be arranged (again this is the place where my husband was and hes also a doctor i dont know if that makes a difference)... if we're going to assume the process takes about a year then I would have the paper work ready right before he goes in so that by the time hes done the visa hasnt expired (assuming he serves a year, not three)

on the other hand there are also medical exemptions, it could be something as silly as really poor vision, even mild scoliosis, i even know someone who got out of serving because his elbows become bowed when he straightens them all the way or something weird like that lol

(and obviously there are some rules i dont know like if hes an only/elder son and his father is over a certain age, (his brothers are all younger and still in college and his dad is retired/has passed )... and some other rules he probably already knows.....)

good luck..!

Edited March 9, 2012 by shayy17

[Ayman___ 92]

My Husband Didn't Have To Serve. They don't have to serve if there father is retired or if they are married to a foreigner.And my husbands father was retired and he is married to me so he didn't have to go.I really don't know how you can start this petition now because your fiance is already in the army.I wish you good luck. :thumbs:I'm sure someone here has some good answers for you.Take care

Edited March 9, 2012 by AYMAN_RINA

[eachubb 0]

hi all thanks for the replies so fast he actually isnt in the army yet. he is in school right now which has delayed his army duty. also he is not the oldest son/ his father isnt retired or dead. and he has no health problems.. i was hoping he could start his army duty and i could work on our visa while he is in the army but i guess we will have to wait.. someone told me before we could get away with doing the visa while he is in school but i just dont see how it can work if egypt is so strict with the army.. ugh.. frustrating

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

My husband had to serve while we were married. The idea about being married to a foreigner leading to an exemption is a common misconception. I've know plenty of foreign wives, from all over the world, married to Egyptians and their husbands all had to serve between 1-3 years. I used to organize a group online for this but have since closed it since all our husbands completed their military service and there were no new members at the time.

There could be several factors for those whose husband did not have to serve. One is simply the military met their quota for soldiers at the time of their enrollment so they were cut. Another is they were an only son or the provider of the family. Other reasons include medical discharge or paying the bribe to get out.

In your case your fiance can delay his duty and get the "free to leave" paper from the military as long as he is in school and can prove he will be back to complete school. He should not mention US immigration to them. If he has a lot of school left you can apply for the K1 visa now. Once he comes to the States for immgration he should not go back for a visit to Egypt until after he is 30. Otherwise the military will collect him and he will be forced to serve while you are still married. I've seen this happen to a married couple with children here.

But he can make a visit to Egypt before he is 30 if he gets the paperwork in order BEFORE leaving the States. There are two ways. One is he enrolls in a US school and contacts his Embassy in the States to get authorization to visit Egypt and return to the States for continuing education PRIOR to making his trip back to Egypt. There will be some paperwork involved. The second way is he becomes a naturalized US citizen before the age of 30 and travels with that passport too and from Egypt. Then they can not touch him. If he travels on the Egyptian passport they will ask for the "free to leave paperwork" and collect him upon departure at the airport in Egypt.

[together4evr 360]

I have no idea how my husband got a military exempt form. None of the reasons you stated pertain to him.

Also Habibi83's husband and Aly174 (i think) received the military exempt stamp.

My husband has younger and older brothers. His father is alive and well and works. My husband is healthy. Maybe each time he went to the military they did not have a need for him and they gave him 3 years exempt each time till he reached 30 years old?

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

There are other considerations such as their education level and what kind of work they do. If they have enough working in that area then they exempt them from service. The only time I know of that they exempt an Egyptian national for being married to a foreigner is when the foreigner works for their government (as in not Egypt's government but their own country such as the US) and has some pull. I've only known one case like this. Otherwise the Egyptian military doesn't think that the marriage is a threat to their national security. They will however punish the Egyptian national during their mandatory service if they know that they are married to a foreigner. I won't go into detail about what they did to some of our husbands but my advice to others is I wouldn't divulge that information voluntarily once you're inside their system.

Edited March 9, 2012 by ॐ

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

Hi just curious...if my fiance is in the army in Egypt can I still work on our visa? I dont want to risk doing the visa without him doing his army duty.. seems to sketchy to me. he is in school right now..but, has anyone done this before? Was your fiance able to ask for days off to go to the Embassy for interviews or medical checks? Usually the army duty is about 2 years. I dont want to wait 2 years then start the visa. So please anyone let me know if you have gone through this.

Thanks!

Wait. I just re-read your post. Your fiance is in the army but is also in school? It can't be both so which is it? He can delay military serivce if he is in school unless he doing the officer training. If he is doing the officer training then this is an entirely different situation and he is planning a career in military. Officer training lasts 90 days, instead of the 45 days for general "lockdown" or bootcamp as we call it, and his service is for 3 years and goes from there depending on which branch he'll serve in. They definatly have rules about officers marrying foreign spouses and that can't happen. Upon discovery it will lead to expulsion and possibly military detention. I've known guys in the military who marry a foreign spouse in secret and wait their service out but never an officer planning to marry.

My advice is plan a life in Egypt. There is AUC which you can register for and attend if you're still thinking about school or in school. It's expensive but affordable if you go the exchange student route with your own University in the States. They offer discounts for accepted students whose tuition is lower in the States. You'll have to let us know how it goes for him trying to get out of military service to marry a foreigner as an officer. This is a first for me.

Edited March 9, 2012 by ॐ

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

I have more information to add.

If he is in school getting a military degree there are two paths. The working officer and the reserve officer.

The working officer is their man after the completion of the degree and they won't allow him to travel during his school. They can get two types of degrees. One is the basic four year military degree where they study war, ect. The other is a five year military degree. It consists of the basic four year military degree while taking additional classes for an engineering degree. They are career military.

The reserve officer is also known as a "service officer". They are called to duty like a soldier and given a rank while they serve for three years. They have the 90 day boot camp and they attend "the college for the service officers" for 180 days. After their service they are released but called whenever they are needed.

I was told that to marry they have to get permission from the military and this is for an Egyptian wife even.

I am really curious about your fiances situation and what you know from him exactly.

Edited March 9, 2012 by ॐ

[eachubb 0]

I have more information to add.

If he is in school getting a military degree there are two paths. The working officer and the reserve officer.

The working officer is their man after the completion of the degree and they won't allow him to travel during his school. They can get two types of degrees. One is the basic four year military degree where they study war, ect. The other is a five year military degree. It consists of the basic four year military degree while taking additional classes for an engineering degree. They are career military.

The reserve officer is also known as a "service officer". They are called to duty like a soldier and given a rank while they serve for three years. They have the 90 day boot camp and they attend "the college for the service officers" for 180 days. After their service they are released but called whenever they are needed.

I was told that to marry they have to get permission from the military and this is for an Egyptian wife even.

I am really curious about your fiances situation and what you know from him exactly.

Hi, thanks for the replies i really appreciate it everyone and im sorry there is a confusion.. no he is not in the army at all. Currently he is in school for accounting. im curious how we can get a "free to leave" paper from the military while he is in school. Someone has mentioned that to me before but what can he say to the school and army?

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

Hi, thanks for the replies i really appreciate it everyone and im sorry there is a confusion.. no he is not in the army at all. Currently he is in school for accounting. im curious how we can get a "free to leave" paper from the military while he is in school. Someone has mentioned that to me before but what can he say to the school and army?

It doesn't sound like military school so he doesn't have to say anything to them about leaving. As for the army he will have to go to their office and request "the free to leave paper". He'll have to show that he's in school and plans to return. The reasons vary for making the trip so I can't tell you what he should say. There are several members on here that have done what you're asking about and have been successful. Some of them don't post as often anymore. I will leave it to them to reveal themselves and speak here about it or contact you privately if they haven't already.

[nyc_alex 3]

hey there,

he is exempt if he is the only son (even if he has sisters) but if he has a brother he must go into the military-

the other exemption is that sometimes since Egypt is currently not at war (hope not) and we have a huge army as it is - they exempt certain years from having to go into military duty. So let say he is born year 87 or w/e than that year maybe exempt but i thats up to them so maybe his year gets lucky

good luck

p.s. also for stupid medical reasons too as mentioned above- like having flat feet lol (true story)

Edited March 10, 2012 by nyc_alex

[**The Dude** 7]

so cute...no he cant take days off the service, the army doesnt work this way...here is the situation, he can get exempted -even during school- IF he is the oldest son while the father either has passed away or over 60 or if the only male with no other brother in those cases he can file for exemption...u can file for him but at the NVC point they will ask for his military service situation...either way he cant simply leave the country because Egypt has this nice lil law -that ppl finds out about the hard way!- which u cant travel outside the country as long as u r student during the school months which r normally September thro may, so that leaves u guys with only three months of summer & the two weeks winter break..n sure he can travel with visitor visa because u cant file for immigrant visa...yeah also he absolutely SHOULD NOT leave school and turn him self for service even if u guys r married thinkin he might get exempted because if he dropped out of school he will be taken 100% n also will have to serve two years in this case...but if he finished school the chances of him gettin exempted will increase greatly to over 60%. yeah just a word for the ppl out there that talked about this exact topic over n over before -which i'll address it more comprehensively in a separate topic-..being married to someone from a non arab country DOES exempt u from service to over 90% of ppl that file...the problem here if u dropped out of school or u were have to turn ur self in before marriage n u skipped ur turn that wat does the damage to ur case n they will take u in immediately even if u fall under other categories that get exempted normally...i know such a hassle but consider that as ur 1st test to ur relationship if its really strong enough to go thro this..the reason here i kept mentioning percentages is simply because with filing papers stuff can always go wrong and u end being the exception that proves the rule.

over & out