ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
Middle East and North AfricaRiots in Egypt?
Been reading about food shortages & the resulting riots in Egypt in the news lately. Everyone's s.o.'s okay?
CaladanMaleCanada2008-04-09 16:11:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresPhone Company with Call Records
If you're calling from the U.S., 10-10-987, 1, and then the number works really for calling Canada. $0.03 a minute and each monthly statement on your regular bill details the numbers called and their locations.
CaladanMaleCanada2006-03-27 20:27:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresAssets Question on Affadavit of Support
I have a master's degree -- I'm not going to end up on food stamps. But that settles it. I won't be able to find a co-sponsor then. The only people I could ask are my parents, and they wouldn't co-sign for a car because it might make them liable. "I guess it's just not meant to be!" chirps my mom.

I guess that's it. No point in applying just to get denied. I'm ridiculously upset at the moment, but I suppose this is premature. We've discussed marriage, we're not even engaged, so no ###### point.
CaladanMaleCanada2006-03-27 23:01:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresAssets Question on Affadavit of Support
No chance a bank or loan guarantee would work?

What does this legally bind a cosponsor to, anyway?
CaladanMaleCanada2006-03-27 22:28:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresAssets Question on Affadavit of Support
Thanks. Unfortunate. I hope I can convince a college friend; parents would love nothing more than for me to break up. (I think they are still of the mindset that if I have a boyfriend, I won't pass eighth grade. Ah, parents.)
CaladanMaleCanada2006-03-27 19:45:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresAssets Question on Affadavit of Support
Hi! I'm new! My boyfriend is Canadian and if all goes well we'll start on the K-1 this summer.


But, I have a concern and a question. I'm a graduate student, and I make about $16,000 a year via teaching. (It may be slightly higher this summer with summer teaching.) So as you can see, I'm hovering right around the 125% threshold, probably nudged slightly over with the summer bonus.


I do have a considerable amount in personal savings, however, and on the I-134, there is a line for that. So my first question is, do personal savings factor in their decision? It seems pretty obvious to me that if my salary scrapes us by and my savings are enough for another year of living, we'd be an okay risk, but I am unsure of the criteria used by USCIS. Anyone been through this?

Second, does a co-sponsor have to be a blood relation? Despite the fact that my boyfriend and I have been together for three years, my parents have an in-born resistance to givin' the 'govmint' any information, so chances are, if I can't do this on my own, I won't be able to rely on them. (Kind of heartbreaking.) I have some friends whom I might be able to talk into it if I cry, but... does a co-sponsor have to be a relation of the petitioner?

Thanks for your help!
CaladanMaleCanada2006-03-27 19:32:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresNEED PEOPLES OPINION
:D
CaladanMaleCanada2006-06-13 21:41:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresNEED PEOPLES OPINION
But there's no indiscretion, given that speaking truth in a public newspaper is totally legit. It would be prudent to be polite and scrupulosly honest, but seriously, if they were to deny it, you go back to the press and embarass Homeland Security some more! Viva la First Amendment!

"The squeaky wheel gets the grease", by the way, means "those who make noise get their needs met."
CaladanMaleCanada2006-06-13 21:32:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresNEED PEOPLES OPINION
Way to go! Power of the press to speak 'move your ###' to power!
CaladanMaleCanada2006-06-13 21:20:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresCNN.com is now carrying Bill's AP story!
Well done! I was discussing this with my mother and she was saying 'Where do you hear about these laws?' and now I can tell her to read CNN!
CaladanMaleCanada2006-06-14 07:42:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresMore Ambiguity, The New I-129F, WHAT About the Mandatory Beneficiary Disclosures?

exception - of a "cultural" nature...???

So, those sites that cater to the foreign culture of ____________ (insert: Eastern Europe, South America, Asia, or be even more specific) are exempt? The fact that I searched for a mate of a certain "culture" exempts us from this quicksand of a law?

Legalities are largely about being "precise", and providing people with clear parameters and protections. It is about splitting hairs. The drafters of IMBRA (IMO) failed terribly in their efforts to provide a law that gives clear direction that a court can enforce without hesitation. Nobody knows what is intended! No wonder the agency has had difficulty for so long...



"Cultural" nature, to my understanding (by reading the next clause), means something like in your or your fianceée's culture, marriages are arranged without the couple having met. IMBRA doesn't wish to burden, say, a registered matchmaker in Afghanistan or India, or somewhere where arranged marriage is common and everyone involved is aware of the risks and is practiced at avoiding them.

While the law isn't precise it's pretty clear that 'I like Asian girls' or 'I wanted a Russian bride' or "Man, Canadian carpenters are hot!' isn't what the law means by 'cultural' reasons. Where the IMBRA law is ambiguous is on the 'otherwise facilitate communication'; it's drawn broad so a site can't just change its masthead, or say 'we didn't provide *direct* contact information' and get around a law. But in one sense, laws don't mean anything until judges decide what they mean, and that doesn't happen without a challenge (like someone arguing that the NYT message board is a marriage broker.)

There's a lot of fear-mongering going around, and the fact is, until a court challenge or a USCIS directive, pretty much anyone's opinion is as good as another and those of us going through it soon get to be guinea pigs.

So, if you used a site purporting to find you a bride of a certain culture, IMBRA's probably going to call that a marriage broker, and not one for cultural reasons. So-called 'mail-order brides' are exactly what this law is targetting. But, depending on how the payment for the site was structured, the second clause of the law may indicate that your site isn't one of the ones targetted. This is just my read on it, and I'm not a lawyer (but it seems the lawyer don't have much of a clue now anyway.)
CaladanMaleCanada2006-06-14 07:37:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresMore Ambiguity, The New I-129F, WHAT About the Mandatory Beneficiary Disclosures?
Haha! I don't think we'll go so far as an in-game wedding (we're sort of just a boring long distance couple these days), but ya gotta root for any couple where the guy is called Mighty Thud.
CaladanMaleCanada2006-06-13 22:08:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresMore Ambiguity, The New I-129F, WHAT About the Mandatory Beneficiary Disclosures?
Mephys, I love your pics! My boyfriend and I met through an online text-based game in 2002. We became a couple, however, when we met in person in 2004, by my lights.

The game was free, and not a dating site. I will be checking 'no' in that box. They wanna make the argument that a game mostly populated by 14-year-old Romanian hackers is a dating site, they can make it. Hell, they can make the argument that using g-mail is, too, as it facilitates communication.

But imma not gonna do it for 'em.

What someone needs to do is accuse the New York Times or a well-known weblog as
being a marriage broker. That will get the law amended right quick.
CaladanMaleCanada2006-06-13 20:50:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresEngagement ring
My boyfriend gave me a small diamond ring for my birthday last year. It's not an engagement ring, but it looks sort of like one and I wear it on that finger. I just put it in my pocket when I go through Canadian customs. And when they ask: 'yes, it's summer vacation, I'm visiting my boyfriend and his family before the new school year gets underway.' Never had any problems. (Granted, this was to Canada, but still.)

As I'm accumulating more and more passport stamps, this time I'll be bringing the lease (signed two days before my trip) and my teaching assignment letter for the new school year.
CaladanMaleCanada2006-06-19 16:05:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresWE GOT OUR VISA!
Congratulations!
CaladanMaleCanada2006-06-20 16:19:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresDUTCH FIANCE.. Does he have to come in on a K1 visa?
aussiewench is correct, as I understand it.

You could get married on a visit without being fraudulent, because the problem is with the intent to *immigrate* when he entered, not marriage per se. If you were, say, to get married, and then he left and you applied for a K-3, you'd be technically fine.

But, here's the thing. As I understand your question, you're wondering if he can just come here and get married and stay with you and your child without running foul of the law. And that's a no -- it would be entering with intent to immigrate.

And here's the second thing. I suspect most of the 'intent' thing is for a situation like this: I am in school, I meet a student here on a student visa, we date through college and marry, and then we go through the green card process. When he entered on the visa *he hadn't even met me yet*, so there can't be fraud. (A friend just did this with her Romanian husband.)

Coming over to a fiancée where you have a child isn't going to look good. "We've been together three years and we have a kid and we're engaged and it just so happened we spontaneously got married"? Much harder sell, and not worth the risk.
CaladanMaleCanada2006-06-22 12:00:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresFinding humor in the immigration process
Oh, I hear ya. My boyfriend's from the Edmonton area, and his town reminds me of my hometown, and sometimes it's like 'DUDE, I can get there with a driver's license and my birth certificate, and shop at many of the same stores how does this count as another country again? :)

Most of the Canadian board is bush and unpatrolled, but I guess they figure the coyotes will eat troublemakers.
CaladanMaleCanada2006-06-22 13:26:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresWhat do you do about a meeting with no proof?
Thank you all for your helpful replies!
CaladanMaleCanada2006-06-28 20:53:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresWhat do you do about a meeting with no proof?
Thanks. I just wasn't certain if they should be mentioned or skipped over.

We're very lucky for the consulate interview in that the boy made me a memories album about six months ago when I was complaining how we never had 'real' dates, and as it turned out, he'd saved every pair of movie tickets, museum passes, etc and compiled it in a book with pictures from our vacations. But that's certainly a long way off.
CaladanMaleCanada2006-06-28 13:57:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresWhat do you do about a meeting with no proof?
Question about 'proof of meeting' for the 1-129F:

The boy and I have been together since March of 2004, and between the two of us we probably have about 10 visits, all told. We're probably getting engaged in August and then starting the process in September.

We don't, however, have primary evidence for half of those trips -- an engagement wasn't immediately on our minds, so the primary evidence I have starts in July of 2005 (passport stamps) and March of this year (no entry stamp (don't ask -- Edmonton airport at midnight with 500 other people), but an exit stamp, plus boarding passes receipts.), plus my upcoming visit in August (where we'll document everything, of course).

So, clearly, we have enough primary evidence of meeting, and we have loads of secondary evidence with pictures and things. I can probably even dig up secondary itineraries & credit card bills for those flights. Not worried about that.

But my question is what to do about the meetings where we have no primary or secondary evidence (our first one and a few of his trips here.) or just limited secondary evidence. I don't want to leave out the meetings because they're pretty important to give the sense of the nature of our relationship. But will it be confusing to mention that say, I flew there in 2004 but as I a) entered with my birth certificate and driver's license and B) didn't save my boarding pass and c) we took pictures of the scenery in Banff and Jasper, not of us together, I am including neither primary nor secondary evidence for this trip?

Did anyone else have a similar situation?
CaladanMaleCanada2006-06-28 13:13:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresK-1 / I-129F evidence of relationship
A rule of thumb:

The purpose of the I-129F is to prove you've met within the past two years and intend to marry. So you need primary evidence (things verified by external sources like banks or governments, like passport stamps and receipts) and some secondary evidence (things that help sketch a picture of the relationship, like pictures and e-mails), but you're not trying to do more than jump the first hurdle.

At the interview, you're proving not just that you've met, but that you're a serious couple. That's the time for more secondary evidence.

The RFE thread has lots of information about how and why people received RFEs. It seems that nothing definitive can be said, since a lot depends on who gets your case, but rough guidelines aren't that hard to guess at.
CaladanMaleCanada2006-07-04 13:09:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresTouches may be bad
But as I understand it, it isn't *quite* an update. *Update* sort of implies progress, or new information, and touches seem to happen, well, whenever the document is touched. My suspicion is that touched is more or less for their records than ours; so if something gets lost they can say okay, NOA1 received, and then it's touched on date XYZ, here's where it might have been misfiled.

If they changed it to 'update' we'd get a lot of 'It says UPDATED but my status hasn't changed!' posts.
CaladanMaleCanada2006-07-05 12:50:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresTouches may be bad
I may be wrong, but a 'touch' just means.. someone looked at your file. It's pretty much an automatic update and doesn't imply that your application is scrutinized more carefully or that they're fishing for mistakes.

It may mean something as dumb as they told the summer intern to move stack A from room B to room C.
CaladanMaleCanada2006-07-05 11:49:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresCanceling our k1 visa
Very sorry to hear of your bad news. Hang in there.
CaladanMaleCanada2006-07-12 18:29:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresI'm so angry I just want to fight!!!
You're quite right on that. Ideally, yes. Two identical cases with different NOA1s and perfect RFEs would get processed at the same time. But every case is different, and no one knows the details, so the assumption is simply 'it's unfair, they're processed first.'

It would make it much easier if people could *know* that they were in security checks or whatever's slowing it down.

I think uzy is a troll, too, because it's reading like one.
CaladanMaleCanada2006-07-22 12:08:00
Middle East and North AfricaI gotta say Thanks to you all
dee, you can know yourself that whatever comes of this, YOU gave it YOUR best shot. This wasn't your failure. (F)

visa4habibi, since you quoted me and then flipped out, there's a difference between 'i'm feeling homesick and frustrated because I can't figure out how the mail system works in this country' and 'i'm going through her underwear drawer because I think she's a lesbian, frightening her kids and being emotionally abusive and still demanding sex.'

There's always adjustment issues, but 'culture shock' isn't a blank cheque to be an abusive a$shole. I'm sorry if that shocks you or makes you think that everyone else is kicking out their husbands at the slightest difficulty, but there you go.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-09 22:08:00
Middle East and North AfricaI gotta say Thanks to you all

I'm sorry for two things: what's happening to you and for not being able to read everything and find out what is going on. My two cents: you worked hard and waited for him to come over, right? Now it's not the best time for him - so called 'cultural shock' which I've experienced first hand! It's HUGE, girl! I bet you have no idea!

I'm not defending him or his behavior, but you have to understand that adjusting for two people of the same upbringing and from the same neighborhood would be not so easy! I'm sure if you talk to him somewhere away from home in a calm manner and try to explain things that bother you and how you want things to be for all of you would be better than arguing. I am not saying that I know MENA men very good or understand them too much, but they can be stubborn, also very emotional and hot-headed! And they like to feel like they are 'the boss'. It's up to you if you want to learn how to get what you want and how to keep him happy, totally up to you!

I could go on, but you don't need a lecture, girl. Just a little patience and time. Maybe some time alone with him so he wouldn't get jealous of your kids. And lots of talking on both sides when you're both calm. Hope this helps!

One more thing, maybe you should ask him nicely to do a few hard jobs around the house to keep him busy if he didn't start that by himself - he'll feel more useful and would have less time for looking for trouble.

Good luck, inshallah things will get better!
(((hugs)))
Tanya


There is a big difference between culture shock and being abusive.

I can say that I never experienced anything like Dee's husband is doing and my husband moved here from Morocco.

His behavior should not be chalked up to "culture shock". He is doing nothing to help Dee or her children whatsoever. He is only concerned with his "career". Why should she give him time and be so patient?


Even if it were culture shock... this is the United States of America. We don't legally abuse our spouses here nor tolerate making excuses for it.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-07 22:46:00
Middle East and North AfricaI gotta say Thanks to you all
Adjustment is one thing but abuse is bullshit. If there's abuse, it's time, dee. We're all here for you. (F)
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-06 21:22:00
Middle East and North AfricaMENA distractions as therapy

This thread was certainly a distraction. There were sweets and handsome men galore! Nice therapy! :thumbs:

Thank you all for the support here. I am starting to feel the reality of my situation as I make plans and talk of the future. I don't want to go out, I sit in the house and stare at walls most of the time. I know I have to start living again, just don't when is the proper time. :help: Is it too soon to do things? I just don't know. If I go out and have fun, will it seem like I wasn't committed to my marriage? Can I go out? Man, this is hard. I haven't heard his voice in over a month, I don't think he's coming back.

Jackie (F)


We're not living in Gone With the Wind where you have to wear widow's weeds for a year. :) Going out and having fun and enjoying your own life is not a bad thing. No need to try to date, obviously, that's not what I mean, but there's no reason to isolate yourself. Coffee, comedy clubs, whatever floats your boat.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-17 18:41:00
Middle East and North AfricaMENA distractions as therapy
I got a new piercing today. I now have a little crystal in my nose. :)
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-11 20:42:00
Middle East and North AfricaMENA distractions as therapy
One Sayed, coming up....


Posted Image
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-11 16:59:00
Middle East and North AfricaWe were involved in a wreck this morning.
Oh my. Glad you two are okay. rose.gif
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-22 08:43:00
Middle East and North AfricaMORNING MENA - ITS TUESDAY
QUOTE (amira_ordonia @ Aug 28 2007, 07:09 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (Caladan @ Aug 28 2007, 03:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (amira_ordonia @ Aug 28 2007, 05:48 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (Caladan @ Aug 28 2007, 02:41 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Pretty much any soup would work. There's nothing magical about the cabbage.



LOL I think there is...maybe its the fact that it makes me not want to eat because its so nasty? laughing.gif laughing.gif laughing.gif I mean if it were cream of broccoli, I'd be alll over it! laughing.gif


By the way...THANK YOU ONE MILLION GAZILLION TIMES for the shampoo tip! That shampoo rocks! I found it at Rite Aid like you said and picked some up, my hair has never been so healthy and bouncy. And you are right, it really helps with slippage. good.gif


smile.gif

I should have probably said 'non-cream based soup.' Get thee some tasty gazpacho!



Yeah I think this soup taste similar to a minestrone without the beans/pasta. I actually think it tastes better cold too. Eat to live...don't live to eat.....I just have to keep telling myself that until I can breathe in my freaking dress. laughing.gif

I bought my dress back in April before he came and it fit just fine. Since he came its like back in college when I gained the freshman 15! Men have such bad eating habits and he is a very bad influence on me. He will constantly say, just one more, just one more.


C.'s a bad influence on me, too. I gained a little weight (~3 lbs) but my bodice fit very tightly. Fortunately, the week before the wedding I was too busy to eat much and I slimmed back down.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-28 23:49:00
Middle East and North AfricaMORNING MENA - ITS TUESDAY
QUOTE (amira_ordonia @ Aug 28 2007, 05:48 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (Caladan @ Aug 28 2007, 02:41 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Pretty much any soup would work. There's nothing magical about the cabbage.



LOL I think there is...maybe its the fact that it makes me not want to eat because its so nasty? laughing.gif laughing.gif laughing.gif I mean if it were cream of broccoli, I'd be alll over it! laughing.gif


By the way...THANK YOU ONE MILLION GAZILLION TIMES for the shampoo tip! That shampoo rocks! I found it at Rite Aid like you said and picked some up, my hair has never been so healthy and bouncy. And you are right, it really helps with slippage. good.gif


smile.gif

I should have probably said 'non-cream based soup.' Get thee some tasty gazpacho!
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-28 17:50:00
Middle East and North AfricaMORNING MENA - ITS TUESDAY
Pretty much any soup would work. There's nothing magical about the cabbage.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-28 16:41:00
Middle East and North AfricaMENA sensitive poll regarding Do or Don't Tell
QUOTE (LisaD @ Aug 20 2007, 12:54 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I'd tell, but have no expectations of the woman believing it. We all see how selectively blind self-delusion can be sometimes!


Yeah, I voted yes, yes, yes, but I wouldn't be hopeful of much coming out of the last 'yes' other than her hating your for speaking bad of her boyfriend or husband. But better that than listening to her two years down the road wondering how she got taken advantage of, or hearing her excitedly making plans about converting and their life together and their future kids knowing he's a dirtbag.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-20 12:10:00
Middle East and North AfricaMENA sensitive poll regarding Do or Don't Tell
I think you'd have a moral obligation to tell. The woman's going to pay how much money and be on the hook for how many years? Cheating's bad enough but when you throw in immigration it's a whole nuther ball of wax.

You'd need conclusive evidence and you'd have to realize that it will cause her a LOT of pain. But better now than once he's here.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-08-20 07:50:00
Middle East and North AfricaInternet Casanova's
I have to admit it would likely depend on how and when I found out. After 20 years of happy marriage, him saying, you know, when I logged on that day, I was just desperate to get out of my situation, never thought I'd find love... that's one thing. You can even imagine it with soft music.

If I imagine it as me confronting him with transcripts of him talking to other girls and him insisting that while it really looks like he's trying to get a green card, he's changed his mind, screw it. It's not just a heartbreaking divorce, it's ten years of being on the hook for that loser. No thanks. Plus, it starts to look like wishful thinking after a while.. maybe he really did grow to love me.... eh. No thanks.

I think love can evolve over time, and it needn't start with head over heels infatuation. But it has to start somewhere honest, and 'I'll use this woman for a green card because it's not like I really harm an American woman by divorcing her,' ain't honest.
CaladanMaleCanada2007-09-04 00:23:00
Middle East and North AfricaHALAL MEAT YES OR NO ACCORDING TO THE QURAN!
QUOTE (julianna @ Sep 3 2007, 01:29 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (The_dip_sticks @ Sep 2 2007, 07:32 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Hi,

thanks for the response. Actualy as far as pork goes yes its prohibited in Islam and Judaism, in Judaism because the old testement clearly states as does the Quran that it is unclean. It SHOULD also be prohoibited in christianity but the christians argue (it is infact an extremely weak argument with no basis) that pork is allowed because saint Paul had a dream that God made all animals clean. This argument is flawed first of all SAINT Paul, he is supposidly a saint not a prophet, only prophets have direct communication with God hence why they are called prophets, secondly why would God change his words, I thought he is all mighty all knowing, the truth is he NEVER changes his words only HUMANS do. Third if all animals are clean Im yet to find christians eating rat burgers or a dog burger. Fourth Jesus clearly states in matthew 5:17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.

Adiel (Mireys hubby)


Hi,

Firstly it was Peter not Paul with the dream, and as a Christian one would accept the idea that God can speak with whom He wills. Secondly, there are two issues-- Torah or Rabbinical Kosher, and either way it's more than just pork which is prohibited from the animal kingdom, including the shellfish but not excluding other land animals (the shellfish argument is that they are bottom feeders or low on the food chain and therefore unclean.). But back to the first-- the position is God did not change His words-- the point was in reference to sitting and eating with Goyim-- which was Rabbinically considered an unclean act. God was making a point-- He is the one who decided clean and unclean, and if he says somehting is clean it is clean. Christians do not believe God is bound by anything except that which He wills, since we believe he is all-powerful and not subject to rules. At the same time, He tends to be constant and not random smile.gif In addition, rat and dog uncleanliness is Kosher-- but in your example a cutlural taboo not a religious one. Finally, in reference to your quote from Jesus above, He came to fufill the Mosaic code (613 laws total, which is stated that if you break one you are guilty of them all-- so Christians who harp on keeping the 10 commandments but cannot seem to answer why they don't keep the sabbath nor dietary laws need to learn why, as an aside) which is now null and void and replaced by the Christ Covanent, or law of Christ (as opposed to law of Moses). So actually by pointing that out, you have pointed out why teh kosher laws are rendered invalid and why, although I for one am still sticking as close to vegetarian as I can get with a meat-eating husband!


Thanks for adding this... I've read here before that 'Christians just musta wanted to eat pork and changed it LOL!', but the usual interpretation is that Christ was a Big Deal with a Brand New Covenant, and one of the things about the Brand New Covenant was that God was no longer to be considered just the God of the Hebrews, and that meant a lot of the signs of Being God's People (not eating certain things, considering other peoples unclean, the whole priestly intercession) no longer applied. God didn't change God's mind as much as God said 'The old covenant has been fulfilled. The terms of the new covenant are different.'

And this was communicated to Peter in a dream when he was wondering (as were a lot of other early Christians) whether new converts had to become Jews first in order to be Christians. The answer was 'call nothing that God has made unclean', or 'once again, Peter, you may be the rock but goodness you're clueless at times.'
CaladanMaleCanada2007-09-03 14:22:00
Middle East and North AfricaMORE custody paper now needed after interview
QUOTE (Heartland @ Sep 8 2007, 12:04 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Hi all...

After writing two letters, explaining EVERYTHING.... It was accepted. Now we wait for more processing and the visa to be issued... Not sure how long but HOPE SOON

sarah: I think that them being so thorough is a good thing, and I think every single one of us would want the same thing for our kids if we were in that position.

Well Normally I would say yes to that... however. His ex wife had abandoned them both since thier daughter was 3.5 months old. I dont think this woman has any rights. She lives in another country. I think there comes a time when you have to LOOK at the situation and say, Each stituation is totally different. If the bio mom lived in the country and had SOME imput, that is different.... however this is not a case of a child being taken away from the mother, or kidnapped, this is giving a child a mother and sisters again...


Sure, but the consulate doesn't know that his ex-wife has nothing to do with the child and they're certainly not going to take your man's word for it at face value. It's not your guy's fault, but divorces often turn nasty and the children turn into bargaining chips.

It's just not MENA. There have been Canadian couples needing to contact ex-boyfriends and husbands to get permission for the kids to emigrate, or having to present evidence that the other parent has been out of the picture.

It sucks, and I'm glad you two have managed to convince the consulate. smile.gif
CaladanMaleCanada2007-09-08 09:49:00