jpaula

Everyone has a different story and yours will be unique too. The only sensible thing to do, in my mind, is go visit. Try not to play an entire future scenario out in your head. Go with your eyes open and an open mind and enjoy the visit. Meet his family. By all means, do a bunch of research, understand cultural norms and immigration red flags and where you fall on all of it. Don't be naive, but really, no state department report or person on the internet is going to be able to tell you anything about your relationship that you cannot learn better by living it. There are no huge obstacles to getting a tourist visa. Just apply and be patient with a slow Algerian embassy. It will be good practice for the patience you will need should you ever apply for US immigration for him.

For what it is worth, I am Jewish, my husband Muslim and we have been together happily for a decade.

Edited to say that this is by no means an encouragement to go marry him on your first trip.

I will try to PM you later with some logistical info. But, quickly, you will need a visa to visit Algeria and as you are not currently married this will mean a tourist visa for now. IF you were to get married there you could then apply for residency but it is a capricious process, sometimes no problem, sometimes takes forever. It would be very odd and, in my opinion, not safe for a woman--any woman--to live in an apartment alone. There are almost no Americans there and your presence will be known immediately. You'll want to be either in a hotel or with his family. There may be a few ATMs by now but there were none when I was there (2005-2007). A few big hotels take credit cards, otherwise all is cash. You will need to bring it with you or have someone send it via Western Union. Black market foreign x rates are much better than bank rates though, so best to bring USD and exchange on the black market as needed. My best advice as first steps: apply for a tourist visa, go visit. I would not recommend a single American woman live in Algeria alone, nor will it be easy to get the papers to do so. Visit. Take some time.

Trying not to step into the relationship side of this, but do know that it is a place many many people, even educated and employed people, want out of. It is a place many many families want their sons out of. It is also pretty fascinating and you should be all mean go visit and learn as much as you can.

Not on here much, but happy to PM on basic Algeria stuff.

PS Food, products etc will not be what you are used to at Whole Foods. Get rid of expectations and comparisons to US life. Totally different. You'll be fine.

Hmm, I wonder why they moved it from there to MENA. Maybe they were hoping someone could give you information specific to petitions going through Algeria. The wait times do vary by country and I would guess Algeria is below average since fewer applications go through there than, say, India, and annual allotments are by country.

I cannot think of any LPR on the MENA forum who has filed for a spouse, but maybe someone has and can give you a better guess as to time. My only advice is to get as much accurate info as you can, start the process now (file the I-130 and front load it with evidence of your relationship and an explanation of the timing of your marriage), do it right, and be patient.

I just noticed there is a board here on the topic. Maybe ask here:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/112-bringing-family-members-of-permanent-residents-to-america/

The wait time for a spouse of a LPR is significantly longer than for that of a USC. There are annual limits on the number of family visas for LPRs so you have to wait for a space to become available. When I last researched this for a friend several years ago, average wait time was 5 years. It may be different now, but a quick google should give you current data. Many people are still waiting by the time their spouse becomes a US citizen at which time they change their petition. Though in your case, as your husband cannot get his citizenship for almost 5 years, it is probably best to start the process now.

As noted, you should be prepared to show evidence about your relationship and explain why you were not mentioned on his lottery application and were married very shortly after he got his green card.

Having listened to much incorrect visa advice in Algeria, from lawyers, well-intentioned friends and family etc I really encourage you to do your own research and, if you want legal advice, have your husband talk to a lawyer in the US. And please, please, please, even if someone knows someone who did (fill in the blank) and got a tourist visa while married or got the visa in a very short time, take it with a grain of salt and just focus on doing your own process correctly. If you are honest on a tourist visa--as you MUST be--and state that you are married to an LPR, you will not get a tourist visa. So, do this right and prepare for a long wait. Don't listen to anyone who tells you there are shortcuts.

Maybe we could leave American men out of it, too.

I'd take what a lot of MENA guys say to American woman about MENA women with a huge, huge block of salt.

Thank you.

Well, I just wrote and then managed to delete, a long post. So, I'll just say a quick hello and add that it is nice to see old names. I have been mainly a lurker since around 2005. Our visa journey was much different than most here. In fact, when I found this forum I just assumed everyone would have a story similar to ours, having met and married in the US, hit an (ahem...) immigration snag and moved to MENA to apply for an I-601 waiver. I was amazed to learn that women (for the most part) were meeting MENA men on line and filing for them. So, despite the fact that we have immigration long behind us and that I rarely have anything to contribute here, I cannot help but peek in from time to time both to see if anyone is going through Algiers or filing a waiver and also out of totally nosy curiosity about how these relationships work, or don't. Apologies for the nosy part, but really, it remains fascinating to me. I wish everyone well and must say that, as a pretty quiet observer for years, I see this forum, despite a whole lot of crazy, as a sharp, supportive community for most people and seeing old members stick around is testament to that.

Algeria has fairly strict currency controls which makes getting money out of the country difficult. That said, his best bet is to go to one of the French banks that operate in the country and ask if it is possible and how best to do it. Simply wiring money out is likely going to be impossible, though.

I know there are many tributes out there, but I found this, in the guise of a review of his new book, particularly good: http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/4515/finding-bayt-across-borders-of-stone

And, happy to know of a new restaurant in the Portland area. We will definitely make it across the river to try it out one day soon.

Perhaps so. However, the doubters could instead claim that the proponents of the new legislation are trying to turn out the vote from the legal family members of those whom the legislation would directly affect.

And, returning to this direct excerpt from the article: "White House officials are resigned to the fact that there will most likely be no progress before the November elections on immigration legislation that President Obama supports that would give legal status to millions of illegal immigrants."

Why would White House officials be "resigned" toward "no progress before the November elections" in favor of "legal status to millions of illegal immigrants" unless they were hoping for votes as a result of the legislation?

Uh, because there is no hope to get it through this Congress and they are hoping for a new Congress after the elections?

Hello, old friend Nice to see you again and I hope all is well. Citizenship for us in 4 months...WOOOHOOO!!!!

What wonderful news! The nice thing about US immigration rules front loading the entire process is that citizenship is the easiest hurdle. After the ones you have been over this is a breeze. Good luck to you and very best wishes to your family.

One correction to my original post. This is technically not a proposed law change but a proposed rule change. For those who follow the nitty gritty of such things, the distinction matters.

The proposed rule change is posted here: http://www.ofr.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2012-00140_PI.pdf

Just read this article: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/07/us/path-to-green-card-for-illegal-immigrant-family-members-of-americans.html?hp

This is a huge possible change for many people and is worth looking into if it pertains to you.

While we are very happily through immigration, I remain frustrated by much of the process, not least the "catch 22" this article describes and this law change could address. So, if any one has additional info, I'd love to hear it.

You can transfer within an airport no problem. I would just issue one small warning about flying through Paris. I once booked through RAM and made sure I connected through CDG so as not to change airports. Then, RAM changed my flight without asking so, two days before departure, I got an e-mail saying my Paris-Casa flight was now departing from Orly. This would, of course, require changing airports and is not possible without a transfer visa (for my husband that is as he was at the time a green card holder but an Algerian citizen). So, I would just be very certain that you get a ticket into and out of CDG, double check, triple check that the Paris-Morocco leg is not out of Orly.

One clarification. the problem at the point of entry is that he would be entering with a non-immigrant visa with an intent to immigrate. If he gets an officer who wants to be strict about it, this can be called fraud.

I know some of this seems silly, but please take it seriously.

The risk is not that they may come to find you for hiding your husband. The risk is that there are several points at which he could be charged with fraud and misrepresentation and thus become ineligible for a visa period. The real problem is that they set up a Catch 22. In order to get a tourist visa you must show your intent to return to your home country. So, if he is honest in that tourist visa application/interview it will be clear to the CO that he does intend to immigrate and he will be denied a visa. If he is not honest and gets the tourist visa, the dishonesty on that application can later have very very bad consequences for his immigrant visa. Then, assuming for a moment that he does get the tourist visa, when he enters the US he will be questioned at entry and if that officer determines that he has an intent to immigrate, they can turn him back and, depending on their mood, give him a misrep charge as well which, again, makes him ineligible to receive any visa ever (without a waiver which is a difficult process). So, if you are willing to try and do not mind throwing some money at it, my only advice is that, yes, there is no harm in trying, but make sure he is extremely honest in the process, even if this means the tourist visa will be denied and also be aware that the CO does not have the final say--he can be turned away at entry with a black mark. I would also warn that the chances of an officer at entry being rather serious about this is quite high given your husband's country of origin.

One quick addition as the OP response seems a little confused on this point. It is not the CO who will tell you what was asked/how answered. Your fiance should tell you that in as much detail as possible so that you can make an educated (important, as others have mentioned, please read the experiences of others going through Casa) guess as to the CO's reasoning.

Good luck to you.

I peek in here from time to time and am happy to see some old names pop up. I was never a particularly active VJ member only because our case was so different from most here, but I have been hanging out in the background since 2005. We have now been together for 9 years, married for 7. We are through all the immigration hoops at last, with his US passport in hand last year. Like momof(2!) immigration took up a lot of our early years, but we are very happy, together, and raising a wonderful daughter. I love seeing the long-termers. May there be many more!

Thank you. Through immigration, I very rarely come on VJ anymore, but have been checking here in hopes of hearing info on Tunisia and am also surprised not to find any. Could you link to the other sites you refer to?

Also, the Warden's Message sounds like for the moment they are evacuating embassy family members but not embassy staff. Many embassies operate as unaccompanied posts (Algeria did for a while) without it effecting consular or other services. Still, it goes without saying that anyone going through Tunisia should check.

Not what the 14th amendment says - it says anyone here is equal. Citizen/non citizen. Thats how washington gun laws prohibiting LPR's were overturned last year.

I think you are referring to the Equal Protection Clause. This does guarantee equal protection (from the states), but not full constitutional rights, to LPRs and anyone else in their jurisdiction. There are many rights reserved only for citizens, the most obvious being the right to vote which, in a system of representative government, is pretty important. Contradicting a strongly held principle of American government and one of our founding myths, you are taxed w/o representation.

I think the most obvious example of how differently the two groups are treated is that LPRs who commit a crime are deportable. I would assume this will not be a problem for anyone here, but it does show that no matter how long you have been a legal resident your continued residency remains a privilege and not a right.

Another benefit of US citizenship for those from non VWP countries is that visa requirements for other countries follow citizenship rather than residency. So, my spouse, pre-citizenship, required a visa to travel to most countries (Mexico and Canada are exceptions as they let you in with a Green Card).

The downsides to citizenship as far as I can see are the double taxation issue if you live outside the US and make enough money to fall into that category, the possibility of being drafted if the draft is ever reinstated, and laws in some countries that forbid dual citizenship, making you choose. Then again, I know plenty of people, all European, who have lived most of their adult lives here with a Green Card and, voting aside, are no different than citizens.

My guess is that this discussion is very different depending on where one is from. If you hold citizenship from a country that affords you few rights, those granted to residents here may not be enough to make you feel secure.

LPRs have fewer constitutional rights than citizens.

Hi everyone! I just had my citizenship test/interview last April 22 @ 630 Sansome in SF, CA and i passed.I just need to wait for the oath taking sched.My question is, Can i do a private oath taking done by a Magistrate Judge?I mentioned to her that i just took my us citizenship exam last week and i passed and that i just have to be sworn in.She states they used to do that here in Masonic,Sf and i told her its now done in Oakland.She wants me to ask if she can do it herself coz she's definitely sure she can.I just need to ask and verify first,(i just dont know, whom i should ask and call) just to be sure.Anything that can speed up my Naturalization process, i'm willing to do it, as long as it can be done. And if not, then I'm willing to wait. Any response and comment is greatly appreciated.Thank you!

I would call USCIS and ask. We tried to have a federal judge do it (as my husband was changing his name and thus needed to go before a judge), but USCIS told me that the judge cannot actually administer the oath. The judge is there to change the name and a USCIS representative has to administer the oath. So, we had to wait for a scheduled naturalization ceremony. But, cases may vary and it is worth asking.

He has in a previous post that he was not deported....

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/250678-went-to-embassy/

He stated that he was not deported for drugs. He said he was deported in 1997 for overstaying a visitors visa. Rereading everything, I think he received a 10 year bar and that 10 years have since passed so he should be eligible without a waiver. If the woman at the consulate has confirmed this (and realized he had no drug charge against him) it should not be that difficult to fix. If there really is no there no other problem--and no waiver needed--what is stopping them from being able to issue the visa? I think it is worth posting on the waiver forum to see if there is anyone else who has successfully corrected a mistake like this on the part of the Consulate and what the procedure was.

I think the confusion was what he was deported for, not that he was not deported.

by the way she is leaving in August but she said she will do her best to get things done and she said she is sending a new paper to us saying that they ar looking into our case so its better than the other paper i got saying i was deported for dugs....................

Samer,

If you were deported I am confused as to why no one has ever told you you need a waiver. Am I missing something? It would seem, at the very least, that you need a waiver for the deportation and, depending on how long you overstayed your visa and how long ago it was, perhaps for that as well.