14 months and counting

[crazyinEgypt 0]

I started this K-1 process almost 14 months ago and I am completely at my wits end now. Although I do love it here in Egypt, I want to go home. I'm tired of being stared at when I walk down the street and I'm tired of the cat calls. There are even a few places here that's convinced I am Danish and won't let me in!

We can't get answers from ANYONE now to tell us when my fiance might receive his visa. We have even considered dropping the K-1 completely and DCF. A friend of my fiance just did that with a U.S citizen and it took 4 months start to finish. I know we've come a long way in the K-1 so I'm not sure if it will be worth it. If we only knew how long we would be on AR!!!

Another question, my fiance is a very educated man and recently we were told that his educational background will be checked out as well. Has anyone heard of this? He has a co-worker that told him this therefore he is thinking that is why some get their visas sooner than others, because they have no educational background. Just curious.

[pbgirl 1]

Wow, I am sorry to hear about your experience with this whole process so far. 14 months is too long of a time to wait around for the K-1. Sounds like it would almost be better to marry and then DCF (do you know the rules for Egypt DCF?).

Hope it works out soon.

[MaryandMian 1]

I know exactly how you feel we are married and in the same boat. We are stuck in AP and they are saying no way to determine when they will finish the checks. Hang in there.

If you drop the K1 and restart the DCF means you might be waiting longer than letting the AR finish. It would be starting from the very beginning and the security checks that were in place will be cancelled and have to reordered.

Yes, they will check his education, his job, his family and all. We had a field investigator come to my husband's home. There are many various checks that they do for each visa applicant.

Just a few to name

1. Condor check starts when thy submit the DS-157

2. NCIC check

3. Chamelon means his name had a hit that must be overcome.

4. Donkey

5. Eagle is a technology check.

6. Bear

7. Horse

8. Pegasus

And they can perform the Lexis Nexis on both the USC and the visa applicant.

Wish I could tell you a time limit or something to ease your mind. But I am in the same boat and pray for patience and understanding every day.

Mary

[crazyinEgypt 0]

I know exactly how you feel we are married and in the same boat. We are stuck in AP and they are saying no way to determine when they will finish the checks. Hang in there.

If you drop the K1 and restart the DCF means you might be waiting longer than letting the AR finish. It would be starting from the very beginning and the security checks that were in place will be cancelled and have to reordered.

Yes, they will check his education, his job, his family and all. We had a field investigator come to my husband's home. There are many various checks that they do for each visa applicant.

Just a few to name

1. Condor check starts when thy submit the DS-157

2. NCIC check

3. Chamelon means his name had a hit that must be overcome.

4. Donkey

5. Eagle is a technology check.

6. Bear

7. Horse

8. Pegasus

And they can perform the Lexis Nexis on both the USC and the visa applicant.

Wish I could tell you a time limit or something to ease your mind. But I am in the same boat and pray for patience and understanding every day.

Mary

Wow! Thanks Mary. I didn't realize all the checks they have to go through. Can you tell me I can go about looking up that info on the web? Everytime I put a search in I get tons of things I don't want to look at.

[MaryandMian 1]

http://foia.state.gov/masterdocs/09FAM/09G0500.PDF

http://www.wolfsdorf.com/articles/Consular...ng_20050524.htm

Last one is the Lexis check and I found out about it after a girl from Pak and her hubby saw their files and it was run on her as well. It is long credit check that is used in the banking and credit bureaus and law enforcement or sensitve jobs.

http://www.occ.treas.gov/corpbook/occforms...me%20check'

My PC died and had to be replaced and I lost all the sites. This is just a few that I have been able to locate again.

Mary

[crazyinEgypt 0]

OH MY! I have been reading all over these checks and the more I read, the more my stomach hurts! Do they do these checks at the same time???? Or do one, then the next and so on? I'm curious to know if ANYTHING has been done with my fiances case since the Egyptian government had him being dead!!! Geez, I wanna barf now.

[MaryandMian 1]

I know that some checks take a long time and that if they order lots of them some can expire before all of them complete. Then they are reordered. I read and study so much on this and I have not found any reasoning on how they order these checks. I just know that if you have to submit all ten fingerprints at your interview you have already had a hit on the Chamelon check.

[Together4ever 1]

I know that some checks take a long time and that if they order lots of them some can expire before all of them complete. Then they are reordered. I read and study so much on this and I have not found any reasoning on how they order these checks. I just know that if you have to submit all ten fingerprints at your interview you have already had a hit on the Chamelon check.

If they don't give all 10 fingerprints, does it mean a shorter AR?

[MaryandMian 1]

Jean I really cannot say. My husband only gave his index fingers. I just know if they have to submit the whole set of prints that they had a hit in the system and that must be ruled out before they can go any further with the checks.

[Together4ever 1]

I started this K-1 process almost 14 months ago and I am completely at my wits end now. Although I do love it here in Egypt, I want to go home. I'm tired of being stared at when I walk down the street and I'm tired of the cat calls. There are even a few places here that's convinced I am Danish and won't let me in!

We can't get answers from ANYONE now to tell us when my fiance might receive his visa. We have even considered dropping the K-1 completely and DCF. A friend of my fiance just did that with a U.S citizen and it took 4 months start to finish. I know we've come a long way in the K-1 so I'm not sure if it will be worth it. If we only knew how long we would be on AR!!!

Another question, my fiance is a very educated man and recently we were told that his educational background will be checked out as well. Has anyone heard of this? He has a co-worker that told him this therefore he is thinking that is why some get their visas sooner than others, because they have no educational background. Just curious.

I couldn't advise you much on what to do about waiting out the K1 vs doing something different, but I do know about what living in Egypt is like. I know about the prejudices and how hard life can be there. Yes, there are aspects you fall in love with and they will stay with you forever. Other things you want to forget. Egypt can be hard on someone from the West and very draining. But if it does bolster you abit, you are with your lovely. You can see him and touch him every day. I know about the homesickness. I know about your yearnings to get back on familiar turf. I also know how much I miss Mohammed after these 10 months and how much we suffer being away from each other.

It's a tough call, but count the blessings of the love you have. Time has a way of sorting everything out, and I guess if you think about it, every day you are that much closer to a conclusion.

[Veiled Princess 1]

I started this K-1 process almost 14 months ago and I am completely at my wits end now. Although I do love it here in Egypt, I want to go home. I'm tired of being stared at when I walk down the street and I'm tired of the cat calls. There are even a few places here that's convinced I am Danish and won't let me in!

I'm sorry you're having such a bad time there. When I was in Cairo with my husband I didn't have that problem... being Native American and fully covered except my face and hands in public I just sort of blended in until someone started talking to me in Arabic (which happened all day every day every place we went LOL). Then when my husband would turn around and start translating in English they would look at me weird. He would explain I was American and my Arabic wasn't great (and I don't get the Egyptian slang) and they would just be like "Oh Mashallah!". One lady started yelling in Arabic to my husband and he busted a gut laughing.. he told me she said... "what??? they don't wear hijab and abaya in America! You're lying!!" Mashallah she was so cute! Once we convinced her that I really was American and really was muslimah and really did dress like this at home she kept talking to me like a radio she told me how much she loved me and how happy she was to meet me etc etc etc. Actually everyone I met was always really nice except one man at the pyramids who seemed to think that all Americans were lazy and IF I walked out to the pyramids I would be whining on the way back down LOL he got right in my face and started talking to me from a very close proximity until my husband almost hit him LOL. My over protective habibi . The only thing I absolutely hated about Egypt and made me want to leave so badly was the air there. What's up with that???? I could barely breathe. I almost started wearing a veil because it affected not only my breathing but the skin on my face as well!!! Other than that I had a lovely time and met the most wonderful people and would go back anytime... maybe to a different city though.. maybe the air is better elsewhere?

Anyway, good luck and inshallah you'll be outta there soon