Crossed_fingers

I'd feel perfectly safe returning to Morocco. It's a long, long way from ISIS....

I'm not sure I understood, did you mean you and your boyfriend have not yet Skyped, or did you mean you and his mother have only talked on the phone and through messenger so far?

Either way, one observation or piece of advice.....the start of a new romance isn't supposed to feel the way you're describing. This is supposed to be the giddy, butterfly phase, not the doubt and second-guessing phase. That should perhaps tell you something.

I agree with other comments. It would be very helpful to know what you sent in previously and what exactly besides the joint account you were told made them doubt the relationship. Without that information, the responses will have to be general shots in the dark that may or may not be helpful to your situation. Regardless, good luck.

NY-BX,

You kind of missed this the point, the only requirement is that they both have is to meet once within a 2 year period, naturally the more they meet the better it is at the interview, meeting the family isn't a requirement for filing a K1 petition, but it does help the process. The OP has expressed that there might be issues because of Religion issues with his parents that they might not approve of this relationship, which is understandable. This is something the OP needs to work on, convincing the parents to accept his choice of her as a partner in his life. They only need 1 Photo Op with his family to make it clear, but the question is her safety in Egypt if she travels there, regardless of what they think of the relationship!

Chris&Angel, you kind of missed this point, the ultimate goal here is not to get the rubber stamp from USCIS because the couple demonstrated the bare minimum legal requirement of a meeting within the last 2 years, but to actually get a visa from a suspicious CO at a very high fraud consulate. NY-BX has a good handle on the MENA-specific challenges that are present in this situation.

I just had to reply and say how disgustingly rude some people are on here. I saw your questions and didn't think about FRAUD or anything like that at all. Sorry people are so rude Romet.

Something tells me you don't think like a CO.

People are not denied based on personal opinions or whims of consulars or any such nonsense. Not understanding the process, or having very little actual knowledge of the process seems to often fuel that absurd conclusion, but that doesn't make it true. People's real red flags are often embarrassing though, and personal, and it's a whole lot easier to pin blame on consulars than aspects of one's own personal life, or the lives of friends and family. If anything, throughout MENA, even though a couple consulates are some of the most difficult in the world, overall they seem to err on the side of giving a visa in the most absurd of circumstances, rather than denying them. They're far more generous, forgiving, and understanding than they're given credit for here.

I couldn't agree with this more. You can see the phenomenon so often when a couple with red flags is denied, and somewhere in the recap is their surprise that they would get denied when others with red flags were approved. The consulates are difficult in the sense that the fraud is high and so there are a ton of denials, but I don't at all think they're difficult because the CO's are mean or petty or capricious.

I think one issue is that people tend to focus on the quantity of their evidence rather than the quality. Like, "We submitted 300 pictures, 200 pages of chats, hundreds of emails...but they denied us anyway, the CO must have been having a bad day or just not have liked my husband." But what does the evidence show? Were the 300 photos taken in the course of 1 week's visit? Is there something suspicious in the demeanor or absence of the beneficiary's family members? Is there awkward body language or facial expressions on the couple? Do the 200 pages of chat show meaningful chemistry, or do they reinforce the CO's suspicion that there's a language barrier, that the couple's communications are superficial, that the beneficiary is just feeding the petitioner canned compliments, or whatever? I'm not saying these examples are the situation here, but it's rarely helpful when a couple lists the pounds or inches or pages of evidence they submitted when no one else can see what is revealed on those pages. In addition, even if the evidence is high quality, it may not speak to the specific red flags the CO wants to see addressed. Sometimes minor red flags can be overcome just by showing happy photos and lots of face time, other times it might be more useful to address certain red flags directly with a statement from the couple.

Those are just some general thoughts from what I've seen in MENAland over and over through the years. I suspect here the CO's were caught up with the introduction through friends, age of the petitioner, quick courtship, and language barrier. I do hope you get concrete information about the denial. That seems hard to come by and I think that's terrible....couples have a right to know specifics, IMHO, to have a fair chance to dispute them. But at least as an outsider who has read a few of the OP's prior posts here, that's the direction I would focus on unless told otherwise.

I'm not sure why you would assume people are being hard on the OP when they are obviously trying to help him and give advice about what areas of his case require addressing. Just reassuring him there are no problems where there may be problems in the eyes of the Cairo consulate isn't doing him any favors.

As I said in my earlier comment, the first question that comes to mind is whether you would have pursued a relationship with a married, 16 year older Egyptian woman with children, and if not, what made your fiancée different from the outset when you first got to know each other online.

Let me ask it this way, would you have pursued or accepted the advances of a separated but still married Egyptian woman, particularly a 16 year older Egyptian woman with kids? If not, what made you open to entering into the relationship with an American woman? It does sound like your relationship has some of the typical fraud warning signs. Personally, I don't think the solution is to seek typical answers so much as to really think about why your individual relationship is different from the typical pattern, why you started this relationship with good intentions, and why you're planning on continuing this relationship long term.

Your response is wrong, the interview letter will clearly state ir1 or cr1 based on length of marriage.

Sure, if a couple is already past the 2 yr mark at the date of the interview letter, it may be updated accordingly. The point, however, is that the receipt of the 2 year versus 10 year green card will be determined at POE.

My husband and I were not married for 2 years when he interviewed. Our 2 year anniversary occurred after his interview and before his entry on US soil, where his CR-1 visa (issued as such at the time of interview) was immediately converted to an IR-1 by the officer who processed his entry into the US, and he received a 10 year unconditional green card in the mail shortly after. I researched this and we did it ourselves. It's the point of entry, not the interview.

Only solution is that you reschedule your spuose's interview after your 2 years marriage anniversary (3/8/2015) and if he passes the interview, he will get IR1 visa which allows him to get 10yrs GC once he gets to the US. I don't know about possibility of rescheduling the interview though.

That's not correct. The date that matters for CR-1 versus IR-1 is not the date of the interview but rather the date of POE. No need to reschedule an interview if the visa will last long enough to pick flights after the 2nd anniversary.

Come to think of it, maybe we did get our translator's name from a consulate list. I just remember his English was subpar. Kauthar Idrissi or something like that....terrible....

Most people I know who got married in Morocco, including me, just used a state police record and did not bother with the FBI record. It's an "either/or" requirement, not both. An online printout or something that looks similarly unofficial won't cut it, though.

That link for translators didn't work fit me, but I've never heard of any requirement to use a specific consulate-approved translator for the immigration documents. We didn't.

FYI, the sponsorship requirement is 125% of the federal poverty guidelines, and while I believe there is some discretion between 100-125% for K-1 cases, for CR-1's I've never seen personal discretion permitting an income lower than 125%. I have heard of a few instances where the CO required a higher percentage, though.

I suggest if anyone reading this has a personal recommendation for a lawyer, that they respond or PM you with a referral so you may find one that way. Joining groups on Facebook and asking there is another option. If you decide to hire a lawyer, I would make sure that he or she has experience fighting visa denials from MENA countries. It's a very niche area of experience. I know some couples here on VJ have recommended Mark Ellis, though I haven't worked with him personally. The vast majority of lawyers and even immigration lawyers won't know what they're getting into...

Sorry to hear about the tough interview. As I recall, your case had some huge red flags, what with the way you were introduced, short courtship, and language barrier. With that said, it's positive that you at least have another chance to provide additional evidence. I think it would have been wiser to only submit what they requested, however. I hope the chats demonstrate a strong ability to communicate with each other, compatibility, and future goals and so forth. At the end of the day, Cairo appears to approve far more couples than they deny, and that is in your favor. Good luck!

I can't think of any Egyptian denials off the top of my head. Of course, my focus was on Morocco, where there are plenty of denials. It always seemed like in comparison Cairo was a very slow but also permissive/easy consulate that didn't deny based on red flags the way Casablanca does.

We didn't submit any chat records. Those who do usually include a sampling throughout the relationship, the idea being to show a natural evolution, chemistry, more substance than just meaningless canned compliments, etc. Another alternative is to submit logs that don't show the actual conversations but just the dates and times or lengths of the chats, like phone records.

I hear ya. Were there any particular areas of the process you want information about? One piece of advice I have - with the caveat that there are different opinions on this topic and I'm sure others will offer theirs - is to go with quality over quantity when submitting evidence. I've seen so many people submit boxes and pounds and huge stacks of evidence, but IMHO the consulate doesn't need 300 pictures from one visit, and I've seen chat logs get some couples into trouble.

His parents may come around once they meet you....

No personal counseling here, my comments were all about the process. The Casa consulate used to expressly state on its website that one red flag (among others, such as an older American female/younger Moroccan male, early declarations of love, meeting online, etc.) was a quick courtship, defined as filing in under 1 year of knowing each other. I've seen other couples who didn't have the red flags you'll battle get denied after filing in under 1 year. Again, none of this is to say an approval or a denial is a sure thing. The process isn't exactly transparent. But I think filing after 6 months of chatting + a 2-week visit is a huge risk, however strong the case may otherwise be.

I've known him for about six months now. I'm flying over there on May 6th to spend two weeks.

I don't really know what the deal is with his parents.

This is my first visit to Morocco, so I can't apply for the K1 until I get back

Again, thanks to every body. I can't really see any reason for a denial. .

Please, please, please consider waiting a year and visiting a few more times before you file. I wish you the best, I haven't seen less common religious beliefs be an issue and it's helpful that your SO is older and employed. With that said, I cringe when I read a 13 yr older and post-child-bearing aged woman who has chatted with a Moroccan man for 6 months, never been there, contemplating filing a petition before meeting in person and planning on doing it after 1 quick in-person meet-up, who may not be able to get the loads of happy family photos the Casablanca consulate loves to see, say, "I can't really see any reason for a denial." I'm definitely not saying an approval is impossible but surely you can see a few potential sticky spots, no??

Why send in your NVC docs right away, if you're worried that means he'll get an interview too soon?

Do you have other red flags? How long had you known each other before filing the initial petition? More face time is always good, but I suspect they give more weight to the face time earlier on in the relationship, when the couple was deciding to marry and immigrate. With that said, I can't remember many couples getting through Casa lately with just one meeting, though I suppose stranger things have happened.

A USC tourist can stay in Morocco for 90 days, and then apply at the local police station for a visa to extend the visit an additional 90 days. I don't remember what the visa is called, but the local police I spoke to when applying for mine knew what it was. At the end of the second 90 days, I tried to get another extension, but was told it wouldn't be granted. I went to Spain for 2 days and came back. I was almost refused entry on the flight from Spain, until I showed the check-in agent that I had a return flight back to the US before another 90 days.

If I remember right, my husband had to sponsor me for the visa. I definitely remember having to provide about 20 docs I don't normally travel with, like my birth certificate and wedding license, which we just happened to have because I applied for my visa shortly after my husband got his visa TO the US, and the US Consulate had returned our original docs to him.

Of course, this being Morocco, I'm sure other people have had different experiences. I've heard of some people not being able to get the first visa, and traveling to Ceuta for a day to refresh the 90 day window that way, and I've heard of other people who were able to get extensions without providing paperwork. Who knows. Hope this helps, though.

Congratulations and best wishes!

I have doubts because I read the stories on here about lying spouses while searching for other topics. none of you can lie and say It hasn't crossed your mind or find its way at the back of your head at least once, especially when everyone around you is telling you you're a fool for marrying some one from a foreign country. If it's one place i thought i could go without criticism or judgement, it's here. Marriage is a big life change and I don't want to just jump into it with our being absolutely certain I'm making a good decision, particularly since im marrying someone from a country of high fraud. Furthermore my fiance expressed interest in joining the air force so that he could start working right away, its easy work and why not serve the country he's going to make his new home? The judgement and negativity of the people who are supposed to be supporting others of the same experience, meeting and marrying someone from a foreign country, is really sad and makes question whether its worth anyone's time participating in these forums. . . .

Fwiw, my advice is to hold off on immigration until you've explored and resolved your feeling of doubt or paranoia. Many of us here are married to and petitioned for citizens of high fraud countries, and IMHO it is *not* a given that you have doubts about the validity of your relationship. I don't think that's a natural state of mind for everyone going through the immigration process, and it shouldn't be.

She can travel to be in Morocco with you but she will probably have to wait outside. The Casablanca consulate almost never lets the US citizen spouse inside. I would make the decision based on the relationship - does she want to visit again, would you like her moral support of going to the consulate together and waiting in line together - and not based on whether it will impact the immigration outcome.