Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Middle East and North Africa	Something special for allousa!	I have something special for allousa. Does anybody wanna guess what it is?	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-15 02:01:00
Middle East and North Africa	US Citizen wanting to marry Egyptian	Ginger Snaps, Just so you know....this is a long process with plenty of waiting. First, make sure you know your love well, and you are both ready to wait this out. As far as the paperwork required, I contacted my local US Representatives office, and there is a lady there that deals with nothing but immigration issues. She has helped me obtain all the paperwork I needed, and she explained the things I did not understand. But it all takes time and money. Ahmed and I have been in the process of a fiancee visa since June of 2006. He has had his interview in Cairo, and we are waiting the administrative review process. There is a website the government sponsors that details all the information you will need to apply. Try www.uscis.gov and look under fiance visas. You can obtain all the information and costs as well as the forms you need from this site. I hope I pointed you in the right direction. And, when you file for the fiance visa you have to show proof that you have met your fiance in the past 2 years. So, that would be a good excuse to fly to Egypt! (if you haven't been here already)	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-16 12:36:00
Middle East and North Africa	Moroccan Health Question	I have often cooked with my MIL while visiting and one thing that I did notice is that she would use the same knife that she cut up meat to cut veggies with too. I'm pretty fanatical about rinsing cutting boards and knifes and stuff after using them to cut meat. I have always heard that alot of bacteria can be spread that way. And naturally if one person in the house gets a cold...most everyone else seems to get it. I've always told my husband that it's not because of the cold but because they are all eating off of the same plate, using the same cloth napkin to wipe their hands with and so on. But, as many of us know, it's a waste of time to go against their superstitions. They are in deep! I have seen that too. The chicken/meat is cut up on the same board as everything else. I can't do that. And, here, the kids sneeze into their hands or sneeze all over the computer or the remote control. Then, everybody else touches it. This is how the germs start their body-rocking!!!!	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-13 13:29:00
Middle East and North Africa	Moroccan Health Question	Yeah. Those things definitely get embedded in the sons' heads. My husband sounds like her MiniMe repeating all of the things that she says! It's so cute. I have tried to show him online that colds are cause by germs. It does no good.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-12 21:43:00
Middle East and North Africa	Moroccan Health Question	I just started cracking up by reading the subject of this post - I didn't even have to read on to know what you were gonna say! Yes, I've encountered this theory many times. According to a Moroccan doctor, it was also the cause of my allergies while there! The main thing I've heard though is you shouldn't drink cold water when you're very hot, like you've been outside in the sun or something like that. But don't get me started on Moroccans and their obsession with avoiding coldness of any sort (cold feet, taking too many baths, sleeping with two thick blankets in the summer, cold bones, etc.). It's basically the cause of every known human illness! It's so funny that this thread was started today, and my husband's little brother saw me drinking some water that I had put into the freezer and he told me "No!Nicole, dah wawa!" Translation: in his Arabic, wawa= wag3ak= hurt you!!! Also, my MIL blames every sickness, sneeze, cough, etc. on the cold air. If you sleep under the window, if you use the fan, if you sleep with the A/C on, if you don't tuck your shirt into your pants while you sleep, if you kick the covers off during the night, if you walk around without shibshib you will be sick! Along those same lines, she believes that drinking cinnamon in milk will aleviate menstrual cramps. It might, I don't know. I drank it, but didn't notice a difference. She thinks that dogs' saliva causes trouble during pregnancy. Going outside with wet hair (even in 100 degree weather) or sleeping with wet hair will make you sick. There are a lot of those health related beliefs in MENA countries. I know there are more, but I can't think of any.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-12 18:24:00
Middle East and North Africa	Superstitions	A few my husband has mentioned are the jinns (which i cannot wrap my head around at all), if ur booty is uncovered while you sleep you will have bad dreams, cold to hot = get very sick which is FL is hard not to do! A few food items I have been told on various occasions are "good for men". I thin I have had him explain jinns to me 6 or 7 times now, I cant get why they would ever want to live in our bathrooms. Why cant they build there own alternate homes? A few my husband has mentioned are the jinns (which i cannot wrap my head around at all), if ur booty is uncovered while you sleep you will have bad dreams, cold to hot = get very sick which is FL is hard not to do! A few food items I have been told on various occasions are "good for men". I thin I have had him explain jinns to me 6 or 7 times now, I cant get why they would ever want to live in our bathrooms. Why cant they build there own alternate homes? does he believe that they can marry humans? that's what i heard.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-16 12:22:00
Middle East and North Africa	Monday thread	Moh's appt. was at 8am (was told to be there by 7:45am). He didn't get out of the embassy until about 11am. It really depends on when they call your name. The interview only takes minutes but they schedule a bunch of them all at the same time. Really no way to tell how long you'll be in there, unfortunately. Good luck to you guys and hopefully you'll get called first. Happy Monday does anyone know how long it normally takes from the time you get into the embassy to the time the interview is over and you can leave? They told Usama to be there at 7:30am and the interview is scheduled at 8am. Anychance they'll actually take him on time so we can be on our merry way? They schedule everyone's appointment at 8 and tell everyone to arrive 15 minutes early. The trick is to arrive early and be one of the first people in line. The line for the immigrant visas is formed against the guardrail thingy (non-immigrant visa line is against the wall). Basically, you go inside and take a number. So, the quicker you get inside and grab a number, the faster you will have your interview. Our first interview for filing the I-130 petition took forever! We were there from 7:45 until about 12:30 or 1. For the visa interview, we decided to arrive early and wait for the embassy to open. Waiting outside for about 45 minutes will save you hours on the inside!!!! We arrived at about 7am, stood outside and drank pepsi and smoked cigs. It was boring, but once we got inside, our number was 9!!! We were out of there by 9:45. (When we got there at 7, we were the first ones in line, but we lined up at the wrong place!! Then when the embassy started to open up, they told us where to stand, and about 5 or 10 people were in front of us. That's why I mentioned there are 2 lines, side by side. Make sure you stand in the one closest to the street)	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-16 10:45:00
Middle East and North Africa	Non muslims in a Muslim Country..	I asked if I needed to cover, and DH said that it wasn't necessary. (I think it went more along the lines of "Are you out of your everloving mind?? You will never cover your head!") Why??? Because conservative dress in Egypt is considered the most appropriate dress for non-muslims. I know there are some non-muslims who cover. I have seen some older Christian ladies and the women from Upper Egypt wear scarves, but they don't cover all of their hair. It's kind of like a wrap/scarf loosely thrown over their heads. I didn't understand why DH seemed upset about me asking this question until I talked with my MIL and some other family members. They have been discriminated against a lot for being Christian and they aren't mad about it (not from what I gathered), but they look at it as a cross that you may have to bear. They are aware that they will get critisism and nasty remarks. That's just how it is, they tell me. Everyone has a story to tell. Examples: MIL's head was not covered and she was on microbus and some guy standing next to her called her the sh....... word. He said it loud enough to embarass her and make her feel like sh!t (not to mention scared - she weighs all of 100 pounds) and when she got home, she was almost crying. Also, one of her co-workers brought her son to work and MIL bent down to say hi and shake his hand or give him a hug and the boy told her not to touch him. She said why, and he said because I hate you. You wear a cross on your necklace. So....... even if it's just out of loyalty to my MIL, I would never want to cover myself here. If she can put up with looks, remarks, etc., so can I. But, if I was ever in a country like KSA where it could be required of me, I would have to do it.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-17 00:08:00
Middle East and North Africa	Tuesday thread	okay... example on my day.. SO now... I am very very tired... SO i give in and walk to Dunkin BlowNuts and get an Iced Coffee... I tell the girl what I want.. She pivets around and whispers something to the other girl.. then turns back and was like "anything else?" Ahhhhhhhhhh.. NO? looking at her with my eyebrows raised do I have something in my teeth?? snot hanging out my nose?? what......! then I take my coffee.. walking back to work.. and I see this lady standing at the bus stop.. she walks out towards me.. "Are you muslim?" (mind you.. I'm in a full length skirt, long tunic top and Hijab wrapped around my head) "Um... Yes?" "Oh.. From where in the world??" "Here.. America" "Mmmm" then she turns around back towards the bus is Fing TOOL written on my forehead??? Is there a full moon coming??? #######... nevermind that I think something crawled up my husbands A$$ last night and cant find its way out.. That sucks! Can I make you feel better? Hus: What's so funny? Me: She made me laugh talking about her husband. Hus: Let me see. OMG , what's in his AZZZZZZ?????!!! Me: Nothing, honey. It's an expression. Hus: How did it get there? Did she put it there? Me: Why would she do that?? Hus: I don't know. She was mad. It looks like she's angry. (because of exploding emoticon - hahahha) Me: No, babe. It's just an expression. It means he is in a bad mood. You know, like if something was in your azz, you would feel all grouchy. That's what it means. Got it? Hus: Oh. Whatever. *gives me a weird look like - you better never do that to me* HAAAAHAHHAAA	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-17 13:23:00
Middle East and North Africa	happy hump day	Ya doodle, ya doodle! Here is a song for you (and everybody else)! Video here:	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-18 17:18:00
Middle East and North Africa	7aram or not??	Indeed! What interesting people one can meet on the net Personally, Monnik, I'd have your husband delete her from his contact list and forget this whole thing happened. You really don't want to get involved with ppl like this. Who knows if she's even being honest about anything she says. She may just be a teenager messing around with ppl online. About the Egyptian she's supposedly engaged to...there are a million of this kind of scum in chatrooms all over the net. I wouldn't get involved any further, if I were you. About marriage to a mentally challenged person being haram...I don't think it's haram if the other party is entering the marriage with good intentions. If they truly love and want to care for the mentally challenged individual then I don't see anything wrong with it. Yeah. You're right. We did delete her. We wanted to help her understand more about Egyptian culture and maybe help her realize that he was a jerk, but she was not having it. After the talk about her brother, she became more annoying than anything else. I just wondered if it would be 7aram or not. Especially since I worry about my husband's little brother. I think about his future and I know how much importance Egyptians place on finding a wife and making a family. I just wanted to get a broader perspective on how people see these things.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-17 13:09:00
Middle East and North Africa	7aram or not??	So, about a week or two ago, some girl adds DH onto her Skype list and he accepted her. Which is no big deal. It happens every day. He has about 800 contacts. He doesn't reject anybody. hehehee So, this girl adds him and starts talking to him and telling him that she has a boyfriend who lives in Cairo, she loves Egypt, she is 18 (I think), she wants to move to Egypt and marry him, have 7 kids, and yada yada yada. So, she makes a call to our computer and he accepts it. Well, when she starts talking, I notice that something is different about her voice. I thought that she might be drunk or sleepy, so I didn't think much about it. She talked to us a couple more times and each time we would ask her questions about her school, family, pets, etc. She said that she is in the remedial classes at her high school and that she will graduate next year. She said she is in special classes and that people make fun of her at school because she is a slow learner. She called us again and her voice was the same. She slurs a little bit, and she makes a lot of random comments. But, otherwise, she is pretty normal. - let me stop - Actually, she is not so normal. I don't wanna judge her mental state because she may just be a silly teenager. But she was talking about doing the deed with her brother and she said she was 6 weeks pregnant, and the baby was kicking??!?!?!?? She told us that had about 50 guys from Egypt that she talks to online. She looks for Egypt in people's profiles because her best friend is Egyptian/American. Just a lot of crazy silly stuff. Lies mainly. But it's got me thinking. My question is this: Is it 7aram for someone to marry a mentally challenged person? I am pretty sure that this guy is using this girl. Maybe he doesn't even know that she has a learning disability or whatever. She copied and pasted some of their conversations and let us read them. His English sucks . He may not even realize how strange their conversations look to someone else who might read them. According to the conversation- He loves her (even though they met about 3 weeks before), he wants to marry her, and every 5 seconds he is asking her to take her clothes off. Is it against any belief to marry someone schizophrenic? Are there any rules or guidelines about these kinds of things. I have been wondering about this because DH's brother was born with a lot of complicated medical problems. And, they have basically said that he will never get married. They said that his mom will have to take care of him for the rest of her life. What if someone wanted to marry him? I asked. What if he was in love? They seemed pretty sure it would never happen, but if it did, they said it would be OK. What do you guys say?	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-17 01:05:00
Middle East and North Africa	Interview	He said that the fees are normally paid from the US when doing a K-3 visa, but that the consular can make his own decision during the interview. ok that sentence makes no sense whatsoever. ####### do they make it up as they go along???? Apparently. They are puppet-trained to not give you a direct answer. They always have to follow every statement with some kind of "the only way to know about your specific case is to send an email to the consular" disclaimer!!!	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-18 11:31:00
Middle East and North Africa	Interview	Well, I called the embassy and it's no surprise that they sound confused. He said that the fees are normally paid from the US when doing a K-3 visa, but that the consular can make his own decision during the interview. He said that the maximum amount you would have to pay on the day of your interview is: $380 for visa app $85 for fingerprints 48 LE for DHL prepayment BONUS ROUND: (plus, any other fees associated with additional forms that the consular may request) On the bright side, the least amount you would have to pay is $0. They could issue the visa on the spot. Do you know what I found out? Nothing. Is there any rhyme or reason to the way that Cairo answers questions? Absofrickinlutely not! Can Cairo answer a single question without telling you to send the consular an email? No. Do you know what this means? You may not know anything for sure until you get there. I hope, for your sake, that they don't ask you for it. But, I would make sure to bring enough cash that you could pay it if you had to. Good Luck and enjoy your stay whether it's in Cairo or Alex.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-18 03:00:00
Middle East and North Africa	Interview	We're doing the K-3. Maybe this is for the CR1 ? Thanks but don't stay up to make the call on my account. I can have him call tomorrow. I'm going to bed now. I sooo hope this isn't right 'cause if it is then I guess we can kiss the trip to Alex goodbye and just stay in Cairo. Doesn't matter too much but I was looking forward to it. http://cairo.usembas...ar/cons-fee.htm The fee is for processing immigrant visas through the Cairo embassy. Here is the link. And, I'm up already. I have to wake up my MIL at 9am for work. It's not a big deal. I wouldn't want you to spend any more time worrying about it than you already have. Your husband should speak with them in Arabic also to make sure that you guys understand everything. And, I will post any news *good or otherwise* here for you to look at later. Gnight	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-17 23:15:00
Middle East and North Africa	Interview	Please don't freak out on me. I promise I will call them as soon as they open. It's a local call for me. And, also, you are filing a different type of visa than I am. But, I thought that this visa fee was the same for every immigrant. How much were the fees you paid before? Because we paid the petition filing fee of $190, and that was the only other fee we have paid to USCIS. Anybody else know if they had to pay the $380 for a K visa? So far we paid $190 for the I129F, $190 for the I130, $100 for the visa to the CIB, the medical exam fee, DHL fees for them to send the pkt 4. Well, I will call them in 1 more hour. You are doing the K-3 or K-1? The 129 and 130 are petition fees. So, that wouldn't cover the visa fee. I'm not sure about the $100 to CIB is for the visa I thought only the DV and the tourist visa people had to pay that. But, that might just be my ignorance. The $380 is associated with the stinking D-230 form or whatever form that is. The one that processes their immigrant visa and alien registration. I would tell you to send the consular an email, but they take too frickin long to answer.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-17 23:04:00
Middle East and North Africa	Interview	Please don't freak out on me. I promise I will call them as soon as they open. It's a local call for me. And, also, you are filing a different type of visa than I am. But, I thought that this visa fee was the same for every immigrant. How much were the fees you paid before? Because we paid the petition filing fee of $190, and that was the only other fee we have paid to USCIS. Anybody else know if they had to pay the $380 for a K visa?	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-17 22:52:00
Middle East and North Africa	Interview	How much money will he need at the interview and what is the money for? Is it just to pay for DHL to deliver his passport back to him? We had to paid $380 for the visa application, and then 48 LE paid to DHL to send him the passport. $380??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Holy ####### this is NOT good. I don't think he can come up with that kind of money right now. That is the fee for the visa application. Unless you have already paid it, you will be asked to pay it the day of the interview. They won't issue the visa without it. From the packet instructions: Consular Fees The fee for filing a petition is $190 The fee for processing an immigrant visa application is $380 The fees should be paid in cash on the appointment date. Checks, money orders, and credit cards are unacceptable methods of payment. Maybe you can still attend the interview??? I'm not sure. You might want to call and make sure. The embassy opens in another hour and 20 minutes here. I can call and ask them what to do if you don't have the money on the day of the interview. If you want. Was the $380 a total surprise? Or did you know about it from the beginning and you forgot about it?	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-17 22:42:00
Middle East and North Africa	Interview	I'm working on making him stop embellishing things...for example the other night I quizzed him: me: "how old is your wife?" him: "*sigh* if you were to look into her eyes and watch how she acts you would think she was in her 20's" me: " sir, how old is your wife?" him: " to me she is but a young angel" me: "SIR, HOW OLD IS YOUR WIFE??????????" him: "age does not matter to me" me: "DENIED..........NEXT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" has anyone who has seen My Cousin Vinnie remember when the judge asked for a guilty or not-guilty plea when Vinnie first started to talk and he went on and on and on and on and the judge kept fuming???????????????????????? OMG, that sounds exactly like my husband. He did the same thing. Except when I would ask questions like "When did you meet your wife?" He would say, "Well, I met her online on August 1st 2005 at 9:45 pm and 35 seconds. But, I met her in person on November 1, 2006 at 4am even though her flight was supposed to arrive at 1:30am." #######? Not to mention he invited the consular officer to dinner with us the day of the petition interview. This was because they asked him what foods he liked to eat. I could never get him to be serious during the practice interview. He was always saying something silly and off the subject. I totally understand.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-17 22:07:00
Middle East and North Africa	Interview	How much money will he need at the interview and what is the money for? Is it just to pay for DHL to deliver his passport back to him? We had to paid $380 for the visa application, and then 48 LE paid to DHL to send him the passport.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-17 22:01:00
Middle East and North Africa	Interview	I'll post this here so hopefully people will answer but I want to confirm that we want to be in the line outside the embassy against the guardrail. Is this the same every single day or do they change it? Would suck to stand there and then find out it's the wrong line. OMG I so wanna puke. The lines are formed side by side. If you get there and the lines are already formed, you can ask to be sure. But, if you are in the front of the line, no worries. You can just jump over. In Egypt, everyone breaks in line and nobody ever says anything. Husband wanted to do that, but I couldn't. Edited by monnik, 16 July 2007 - 12:29 PM.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-16 12:27:00
Middle East and North Africa	Interview	Good luck! JUst a qustion, according to the timeline his interview is on a Sunday? The embassy in Cairo is open Sunday - Thursday. Their weekend is Fri & Sat Best of luck, doodle. Welcome back to the heat.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-16 10:25:00
Mexico, Latin & South America	Driving from US to Mexico?	congratulations on the new car! i have crossed into mexico 4 times by car, and all 4 times we crossed in Laredo (coming from the east coast ) and there were no wait times, or anything. basically, we just paid a $2 toll at the bridge and drove in. we only drove outside of NL twice. we went down to Monterrey & once to Michoacan. when you start to drive out of NL, there is a registration office where you have to go and get the stamp for the car. it was fairly simple. if you have your title, u just fill out a small form and pay $15 or $30 (i cant remember) for the sticker! make sure that u have a credit card cause its cheaper that way. i think if you pay cash, they charge you more. have fun on your road trip and enjoy the food! that was the best part for me **flashback starts----mmmmmm. chilaquiles, coctel de camarones, barbacoa, tacos al carbon ......yummmmm!**	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-05-09 00:25:00
Mexico, Latin & South America	Does anybody here like Brasilian skateboarders?	I met Roberto Dos Anjos once in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Does anyone know who he is? Well, he's kind of famous in CA and Brazil (of course). He was pretty nice. He was there with his wife. I think they both are actors in CA. Just thought I would post that because I am bored.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-17 01:34:00
Mexico, Latin & South America	Brazilian adoption centers	Andrea, I love your website for you and your husband! Your pics are amazing and I really like the look of your site. Did you design it yourself?	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-08-10 01:11:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	US Citizen wanting to marry Egyptian	You might be able to get really good and specific answers if you posted this in the Middle East/North Africa forum. There are Egyptian/American couples there as well as Muslim females who may be able to advise you. As far as the job goes, you don't have to have a very high paying job. You just have to meet the poverty guidelines for the number of people in your household (including your fiance) or have a cosponsor to help you meet the guideline. You can look at those guidelines at the uscis.gov website.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-07-12 21:34:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	PassPort! & Visa?	Mabroukis !!! You know that I'm happy for you. I've lit many candles and said many prayers for you and Adam. (and for me & Mina, too ) I think that it won't be long before you get another call with some good news !!! Love ya girl, ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-12-17 10:10:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	My Husband got His VISA!	Congratulations , TammY !!!! I can only imagine the look on your face when he finally comes into your arms ! I am so happy for the two of you and I wish Adam a safe and uneventful journey ! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2008-01-07 12:23:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	My Husband got His VISA!	Congratulations, Tam !!! I'm so happy for you both.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2008-01-01 07:44:00
Middle East and North Africa	Anyone going to egypt in may?	hi everyone i haven't posted in a long time but really missed reading your post. I am flying to Egypt in may to meet Usama and i am very excited. Is there anyone else who's going please let me know. Anyway talk to you all later. Thanks Cherie congratulations! my hus and i live here in cairo. i have been here since nov 2006. if u need anything while ur here, let us know. if u have any questions about egypt, i am happy to help. i can bet u are soooo nervous! but, anyone who's ever been to egypt will tell you it's lovely and the people are sensational!!!	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-04-28 20:07:00
Middle East and North Africa	Changes you would like to see take place at US Embassy in Cairo?	Fatal illness ???? I was just thinking about people who may get diagnosed with an illness that could shorten their life expectancy. Something that screams URGENCY. Anything along those lines.	monnik	Not Telling	Egypt	2007-05-05 22:53:00