Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	Student visa violation	So if we file before the 5 year ban expires, which waiver will it be, I-601 or I-212? Or maybe both? I get confused between the 2 and I don't know which one applies to our case. So usually the waiver is filed after the visa interview, correct?	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2011-09-22 12:38:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	Student visa violation	I don't think the 10 year ban applies to me since I was out of status for a few months. In December 2007 the university cancelled my I-20 due to insufficient funds. Then by the end of February ICE came to my house and sent me to a detention center. After I was granted voluntary departure, I left and came back to Lebanon. So if you count from the time my I-20 was cancelled till ICE picked me up, that was 3 months plus a month of detention. So that's less than 180 days and definitely less than a year. So what I'm trying to figure out is whether to wait out the ban or file after we have a baby. I think by the time my wife is due, I'll be close to 4 years being outside of the U.S. Will having a baby help our case? I read that submitting a birth certificate of our child will prove that our marriage is bona fide.	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2011-09-21 01:44:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	Student visa violation	Hi everyone. I need some info and was hoping someone here can help me. I violated my student visa in December 2007 and was detained in February 2008. I went to a court hearing and the immigration judge granted me voluntary departure and left the U.S. in April 2008. So I've been outside the U.S. for 3.5 years. I read online that student visa violators are banned for 5 years. Is this true? My wife is American and we've been married for over 2 years. We're expecting our first child next January/February. We currently live in Beirut, Lebanon. We haven't decided on when to start our paperwork. Since I only have a 1.5 year left, do you think it's better to wait it out and then start filing? If we file soon, which waiver do we file, I-601 or I-212? Any info would be really helpful. Thanks.	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2011-09-20 05:30:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	K-3 Missing your spouse - weekend party...	QUOTE (gaissossi @ Jan 31 2009, 05:36 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Honeyandsweetie @ Jan 31 2009, 05:21 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hi Iam new here and I miss my honey Hey, My honey is from Lebanon too!! What are the dates of your NOA1? Let's keep track! Iam just starting the process, Iam flying there in March to get married.	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2009-01-31 18:57:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	K-3 Missing your spouse - weekend party...	Hi Iam new here and I miss my honey	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2009-01-31 17:21:00
Canada	So Excited to FINALLY be getting married in 3 days!!!!	congrats on your wedding!	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2009-07-05 05:07:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	SHE GOT THE VISA!!!!!!!!!!!! OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!	Congrats!	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2009-09-28 11:00:00
Middle East and North Africa	Cultural differences and Weddings	Does one need actual wedding pictures if you file for a K-3 visa? If we do the courthouse thing will that be enough?	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2009-06-15 11:43:00
Middle East and North Africa	Cultural differences and Weddings	QUOTE (AlHayatZween @ Jun 15 2009, 11:36 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Honeyandsweetie @ Jun 15 2009, 03:29 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Just curious, how do deal with your in-laws..especially the siblings? They are the non-confrontational types who talk behind your back and smile in your face. I have tried to address some cultural misunderstandings but they don't seem to get it. They will not talk to me about any of their issues but rather run and tell their husbands and their husband's tell my fiance. It makes no sense to me...especially when ur trying to have a honest conversation about your feelings. It can be tough sometimes. Do you speak Arabic or do they speak English? Or do you share any common language? No my arabic is rather limited....I am trying to learn the language. My in-laws do speak english but its a little limited	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2009-06-15 10:55:00
Middle East and North Africa	Cultural differences and Weddings	Just curious, how do deal with your in-laws..especially the siblings? They are the non-confrontational types who talk behind your back and smile in your face. I have tried to address some cultural misunderstandings but they don't seem to get it. They will not talk to me about any of their issues but rather run and tell their husbands and their husband's tell my fiance. It makes no sense to me...especially when ur trying to have a honest conversation about your feelings.	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2009-06-15 10:29:00
Middle East and North Africa	Cultural differences and Weddings	If he would have overstayed his visa by 180 days then he would have a three year ban, his violation was less than 6 months so he can return.	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2009-06-15 10:17:00
Middle East and North Africa	Cultural differences and Weddings	Yeah, I dont know when he will be able to come back to the states so that we can have the wedding of our dreams...Iam just wondering when that will be. He had voluntary departure from the US last year (he only overstayed by 1 month and so far he's been denied a student visa twice) ...Iam sure it will take almost two years before he can come home. It just sucks.... Edited by Honeyandsweetie, 15 June 2009 - 09:58 AM.	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2009-06-15 09:57:00
Middle East and North Africa	Cultural differences and Weddings	I don't hate the Lebanese culture, its just that is been hell and I have seen alot of ugly in this culture. There is alot that has gone on behind the scenes that made me dislike his family especially his siblings.	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2009-06-15 09:43:00
Middle East and North Africa	Cultural differences and Weddings	I don't know if this is in the right place...Anyway, I am new here at VJ and Iam engaged to a lebanese guy. Right now Iam in lebanon and we are trying to get married here but its a long process. Anyway, we finally received my certificate of no marriage records from Florida today and now we have to plan our wedding. We didn't plan it before because the government kept requesting documents and stalling the marriage process and so far its been three months of waiting. Ok, here is the problem we cannot have a small wedding here because people here see it as an insult if you don't invite them to the wedding and so far we have counted 75+ people and 90% of them I do not even know. We have to invite all of his aunts and uncles, their children and if they have kids their children...which is crazy. Weddings here are not about the bride and groom but rather the family and to socialize....My family cannot afford the $1500+ to get here so no one from my side will be here. Its just a little annoying, I have never wanted a large wedding rather I wanted something small and intimate with family and friends. I have discussed this with his family and they don't seem to understand at all nor care.....all they care about is the family name. Most of these people we will never see again since I will file for him once I return to the states and I don't plan on coming back here these people have put me through enough hell. Its just hard seeing your dreams crushed by other people, I guess. So right now our options are go to the courthouse and get married there (No wedding or party), have a small party with just his family (his siblings don't even want us together, his brother suggested that he marry a lebanese model with blond eyes and blue hair), have a huge wedding and invite all of his family ( I don't even know how we will pay for this) on top of being surrounded by all of these people whom I have never met in my life. Any suggestions would be great	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2009-06-15 09:08:00
Middle East and North Africa	Maids and Nannies in ME	How do you guys feel about nannies raising your children..Its just so foreign to me. I want to watch my kids grow up and I want to be a part of their lives. I feel like alot of these mom's with nannies really miss out.....I see it with my sister-in-laws kids	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2009-06-15 17:32:00
Middle East and North Africa	Maids and Nannies in ME	Iam not sure if this topic has been beat to death..... Maids and nannies here, Iam really not use to the idea of having someone cook, clean and even raise my kids for me. Jw, what are some of your thoughts on nannies and maids?	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2009-06-15 16:43:00
Middle East and North Africa	Monday!!I	good afternoon everyone...I hope everyone has a great week.	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2009-06-22 06:20:00
Middle East and North Africa	Islamic Marriage contract	My fiance is sunni but doesn't practice, he never wanted to have an islamic ceremony but here in lebanon one must marry according to your religion. We were doing some reading about the Mahr here in lebanon it said that Lebanese brides typically ask for high value items or an high amount of money...I guess to ensure that they don't divorce. Has anyone else heard of this? No I don't intend to ask him for a huge amount of money because I wouldn't feel right about it. Iam not sure what his father gave his mother or what his aunts asked for.	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2009-06-22 20:51:00
Middle East and North Africa	Islamic Marriage contract	I know a few of you have been through the marriage contract ceremony....Just wondering what to expect. We are planning on having the Sheikh over to the house and having a party. So far we are making preparations for the ceremony and we have been checking out prices for flowers, cakes, chocolates.....We want something nice yet simple. Just trying to get some ideas here from those of you who have been through this ceremony. Also I am wondering about the dowry, mahr? I have no idea what ask for and I only have another week or so to figure it out. Edited by Honeyandsweetie, 22 June 2009 - 03:30 PM.	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2009-06-22 15:29:00
Middle East and North Africa	Single martial status	We finally got approved to get married! I can't believe it...now we just need to get the results from the bloodtest	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2009-06-24 05:40:00
Middle East and North Africa	Single martial status	QUOTE (Melly 2 @ Jun 23 2009, 06:23 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> There was a BIG problem with this in Egypt for some time, but they finally started allowing the forms again (single status affidavit). It did cause quite a lot of trouble for anyone from the States wanting to get married to an Egyptian during that time though. I don't think anyone was able to get married at the Ministry of Justice during that time because of it, though I'm not certain. In any case, I'm not sure how things work in Lebanon so I don't think I can offer any advice. Hopefully someone else will be able to give you some good information. ** By the way, which one of you is honey, and which is sweetie? I call him honey and he calls me sweetie Back to the single status affidavit, Iam not sure why they don't accept it here....I really hope that they accept my certificate of no martial record. Tomorrow I will find out if they accept/reject the certificate or if they need more time.	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2009-06-23 14:12:00
Middle East and North Africa	Single martial status	I am not sure if anyone else encountered this, here in lebanon the immigration department would not accept the affidavit of single martial status from the US embassy, they told me that I had to get a legal document from my state that stated that I am single and able to marry. After doing some research I found a certificate from vital stats, basically they do a search from your 18th birthday to present and they search all of the counties in your state. But the form does not say that Iam single rather no martial records where found...I am wondering if this will be enough. Did anyone else encounter such problems in the MENA?	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2009-06-23 05:20:00
Middle East and North Africa	NO AP EGYPT APPROVED!!!! HUMDULLA!!!!!!!!	Wow! Iam so happy for you! No AP...I hope he gets the visa quickly. Take care	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2009-06-24 05:34:00
Middle East and North Africa	Prayers for one of our own	Prayers for those in need Edited by Honeyandsweetie, 24 June 2009 - 05:38 AM.	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2009-06-24 05:37:00
Middle East and North Africa	Sunday in MENA-land	Happy sunday everyone..	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2009-06-28 10:20:00
Middle East and North Africa	Monday	Happy monday! I hope that everyone has a great week	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2009-06-29 05:45:00
Middle East and North Africa	Another MENA Hump Day	Only a couple more days til the weekend!	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2009-07-01 02:58:00
Middle East and North Africa	Getting Married!	So today is the day! Iam trying really hard to just let today happen...but its really hard. Anyway, our wedding is this evening so I have plenty of time to relax and enjoy the day. Thanks for all the congrats! Wish us luck!	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2009-07-04 04:36:00
Middle East and North Africa	Getting Married!	Only a couple more days til the wedding...Iam freaking out because I can't find anyone to do my hair. Iam thinking about trying to do it myself since there aren't many stylist here that can do black hair. Does anyone know of any good do it yourself wedding hair websites? Thanks!	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2009-07-01 02:51:00
Middle East and North Africa	Getting Married!	Thanks everyone for the congrats! Its getting really stressful, i really wish my mil would have taken care of the arrangements but since she is older and can't get around very well. I have a feeling that Iam turning into a bridzella! LOL...maybe this happens to all new brides. Just curious for those of you that are married and you hubby is overseas, how did you file your taxes? I read somewhere that although your husband is a alien for tax purposes you claim them as a resident? If anyone knows more about this please let me know...thanks!	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2009-06-28 05:08:00
Middle East and North Africa	Getting Married!	Finally after all the trials and tribulations we are finally getting married next saturday! Iam so happy that we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Now the only thing we will have to worry about are the little arrangements for the party/wedding contract signing. Although we are finally getting married i will be at the mercy of my SIL's since they will most likely control all aspects of the event. Iam just suppose to sit and look pretty and I know this will be difficult for me...I like helping out and planning. Anyway, I think the only downer here is that there are no real traditions...you don't wear henna, or wear multiple dresses. Perhaps Lebanon is different from the rest of the middle east in that respect...There is a bigger emphasis on family, socializing and looking good at the wedding. Iam just curious for those of you who had your wedding abroad...I noticed here that the dresses are super expensive even for a simple dress one has to fork out alot of money. I just wanted to know if its like that around the rest of the MENA.	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2009-06-26 17:39:00
Middle East and North Africa	Monday in MENAland	happy monday everyone! Hopefully everyone will have a great week!	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2009-07-06 04:56:00
Middle East and North Africa	Guess its my turn to share my bad news	Please take care of yourself honey, your health is very important. You will be in my prayers...Please take care of yourself.	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2009-07-10 04:08:00
Middle East and North Africa	El-Hamdulilah!!! WE FINALLY GOT OUR VISA!!! =oD	Congrats hon!	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2009-07-20 07:05:00
Middle East and North Africa	Marriage certificate	QUOTE (Sandrila @ Jul 6 2009, 02:39 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I think having it notarized in his country and definitely translated in English by a certified translator btw how did it go? The wedding went wonderfully...I was finally able to upload some of the pictures on VJ.	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2009-07-06 16:12:00
Middle East and North Africa	Marriage certificate	hi everyone, So we got married this weekend and now a new journey begins... For those of you who were married abroad how did you go about certifying your marriage certificate so that it will be a legal document in the states? I was told that marriage certificate would need to be translated, second it needed to be stamped by the department of foreign affairs and department of justice. Iam not sure if I will need to take the certificate to the US embassy and have them notarize it....The embassy's website isn't very helpful.	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2009-07-06 04:48:00
Middle East and North Africa	Does anyone else feel this way?	Thanks you everyone for you positive feedback, So far in the years that I have known my husband there has been no red flags although Iam black, overweight and we are from different cultures. Yes, I have asked him about moving here...He thinks its a good idea but its up to me. Actually my husband will be moving to saudi next month and wants me to join him after he establishes residency. I wanted to ask for those of you who have been married for awhile...Are there any secrets to a lasting marriage? Especially when your from different cultures?	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2009-07-18 05:18:00
Middle East and North Africa	Does anyone else feel this way?	I know that one should trust your instinct...I think about my aunt who was used by a very smooth green card seeker. She asked him repeatly if he was doing it for the gc and he said no. She told him that if he was, she didnt want to have kids involved but he insisted that they have children. Turns out that he divorced his wife in his country, married my aunt and after receiving his 10yr green card, divorces my aunt and then remarries his first wife. My aunt has told me MANY times that foreign men are after gc's and warned me that I was making a huge mistake by marrying a foreigner. Anyway, I feel really bad about all the dishearting cases I read on Vj......perhaps its a good idea to balance the negative cases with positive ones. Are there any couples on VJ that have been married for 4 or more years? Especially MENA couples? Edited by Honeyandsweetie, 17 July 2009 - 08:40 AM.	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2009-07-17 08:37:00
Middle East and North Africa	Does anyone else feel this way?	I was wondering if anyone else feels like this...On VJ there are alot of dishearting stories of men/women being used for a green card. How does one stay positive about their own relationships when there are so many stories of people being used. Even if your spouse has good intentions and may indeed truely love and care about you...how do you resist the urge to question their intentions. I just wanted to know if any of you guys feel the same especially being married to a MENA man.	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2009-07-17 06:28:00
Middle East and North Africa	Why is saying goodbye so hard?	Iam trying to figure out an easy way to say goodbye.....Its so hard, I want to take him home with me but I can't. I can't leave him and Iam in tears everytime I think about it. How do you get through this? Iam leaving my heart on the otherside of the world with him. Please if anyone knows how to cope with this please let me know	Honeyandsweetie	Female	Lebanon	2009-07-20 06:30:00