Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Middle East and North Africa	Thank you Sharon B from Bronx and Aymans girl	I too have a box sitting in the dining room ...I promise to get it out by Friday! Hope you are taking good care of yourself and your little ones. ~Angie	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-08-20 21:41:00
Middle East and North Africa	Guess what..........	Don't let it ruin your joy....maybe you'll be one of the lucky ones....Just be prepared if he isn't, I really wish I had been. Good Luck to you both!	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-08-21 11:20:00
Middle East and North Africa	Guess what..........	Reckon you can smuggle him in your suitcase?	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-08-21 10:22:00
Middle East and North Africa	Guess what..........	Congratulations!	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-08-21 09:56:00
Middle East and North Africa	Questions about AP	Hi everyone! Wow, I thought I got buried! Anyway, there is no news as of yet...I will contact my congressman's office tomorrow, don't know how much good it'll do, but from what I have been told by my mom's friend (who is very political and has helped others in immigration issues), Lebanon is a major refugee point for Iraqis, more specifically rich Iraqis and the US Embassy is completely overwhlemed with them at this point, which could in turn hold us up. I am being patient, as I have been for the over a year since we have filed. As someone mentioned on another thread, I have the patience of a (insert bad word here) Saint now. In other news, I start a new job on Wednesday, I haven't worked in over 5 months. Trip to Lebanon and then coming back to live with my parents so I have help with Malak. It isn't the greatest job, but it'll help keep my mind off things for a while I suppose, though I am going to hate leaving Malak while I go to work all over again. (this time it feels even worse than when my maternity leave was over!). I need some distractions, or else I will worry and cry myself to death (never mind spend every last dime I have going shopping!). Amanda (Sweet_Peach), I PRAY with all my heart Hayz doesn't have to go through AR and he can come home with you. Hopefully since he is Lebanese and not Pali, he won't have to go through it. S and S, thanks for the info about Amman, he will prolly go through there or Praque, but either way, he still has to have the transit visa. Anyway, thanks again for all the answers and advice, it has helped ease my mind that it is just another step. But, I still have hopes of him being here for our daughter's birthday. She really really misses him, and he misses her. Sometimes I wonder if I made the right decision in even going there for them to meet, it is so hard on them both. OK, ok....enough rambling, hope everyone is well and we all have good news very soon! ~Angie	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-08-24 21:39:00
Middle East and North Africa	Questions about AP	Welp, guess if it is standard, there is really nothing else we can do but wait... I am just confused as to why he wasn't told this or given a paper stating this is what was happening....he was given the receipt and could've had the visa by now if he hadn't been honest (theoretically), I'm sure it would've caught up to him eventually though. Just seems like we were all excited and then the name checks and that I even had to fight (and be a B!, which I don't like to do) to just get a simple question answered, maybe the officer didn't really know what he was doing....anyway, thanks for the responses..... Angie Edited by angie & abed, 21 August 2008 - 11:13 AM.	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-08-21 11:11:00
Middle East and North Africa	Questions about AP	Hi! OK, a little background about my hubby's interview and what followed...He had his interview on August 12th 2008 in Beirut, Lebanon, he didn't have a English translation of our marriage certificate (he had an arabic copy), he only had the marriage contract and translation, the officer told him at the beginning of the inteview he would need to bring in the translation and they would give him the receipt to pick up his passport and visa...at the end of a very good interview (officer was nice, talked about how cute our baby is ), the officer took his passport (travel document actually, as he is a Palestinian Refugee born in Lebanon) and gave him the receipt...then my sweet, honest hubby, said, "wait, i thought I needed to bring in the translation" the officer said "oh yeah" and took the receipt back, but kept the passport and told him when he brought it in, they would give him a new receipt. He took in the document on August 14, 2008, and was told, oh you don't need a receipt, we will call you when it is ready to be picked up. I emailed the embassy about him not getting the receipt, they replied not to worry about it, they would call once the visa was printed. So far (a week later), no call. I called the embassy today and was quite demanding on knowing some information ( I wanted to talk to the Ambassador)...they are hell bent on you not ever speaking to anyone in the visa dept, and I actually talked to someone (amazingly enough) who said they are doing additional name checks on him. Now my question is this...he never received a form telling him was having additional name checks and never received a paper for the RFE (he had the receipt IN HIS HAND)....is this a problem? She said it could take a month or longer....I am so stressed (my hair is coming out in clumps!) and I don't know what I should do....should I try calling DOS and see if they know what's going on? I wouldn't be so concerned about another month of waiting, we weren't planning on him coming til the end of Sept anyway, but he has to have an Airport Transit Visa to go through any airport (which takes about a month to process), but he can't even apply for that until he has the travel document, visa and a ticket in his hand....I want him here before our daughter's 1st birthday the end of Oct. And I would like to keep some of my hair, I don't think I'll look very nice bald. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Please. Thanks! Angie PS...please excuse any typos or ramblings.	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-08-21 10:20:00
Middle East and North Africa	How do I convince my MENA man??	Hi Rajaa, Just as a little info on how you can both gets things you want....the interview in Casa and the residency (just in case). The 129F is good for 4 months, but can be extended. Once you receive the notice, it takes about a month to get to the embassy and them to contact you (in our case anyway), once that is done, you get everything together and then let them know you are ready, then the interview is scheduled. I know you want to be with him asap, we all want that for ourselves. But, if he lets them know it is taking a little longer to get the papers requested together, the consulate CAN extended the petition and he could have the interview in January. Just a thought, and of course this is only for the K-3, the CR1/IR1 only depends on when you can get the papers to NVC and they haven't even received your petition for that yet (they *STILL* haven't gotten ours from March 12, 2008...it was lost or they are holding it). Just my thoughts on this, I wish you the best in whatever you both decide. ~Angie	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-08-26 10:12:00
Middle East and North Africa	Destination: AP	OH! And, it may not be that big a deal about the misspelling....when the translator translated my name from our marriage certificate, he jacked it all up, spelled it 3 different ways...and ours was fine. Maybe you should email the embassy and ask them if it would be OK....of course you may not get a straight answer, seems like they go all around my question most of the time, but nevertheless, email them and see. Good Luck! Angie	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-09-03 10:08:00
Middle East and North Africa	Destination: AP	Try to get him to get another copy of the birth record right away and then immediately go to any translator to have it translated and then certified. It *IS* possible to get it done before the interview, but he is going to HAVE to do it right away. The certificate may take a day or two to get, I can ask Abed how long it'll take, maybe he knows, and I know the translation and certification is about 2 days time. Unless the owner of the shop dies, like in our case, then it might take 4 days and a bit of freaking out! Don't worry, just make his booty get to moving!! I'll prolly text you this too just in case you don't see it right away. Have a good/safe trip! Tell Beirut HI! from us. HUGS, Angie	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-09-03 10:02:00
Middle East and North Africa	Tuesday Thread	Angie--Present!	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-09-02 23:45:00
Middle East and North Africa	Tuesday Thread	Morning everyone. Too grouchy to say more. I don't sleep well anymore, and Malak likes to wake up at the butt crack of dawn. Have a great day!	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-09-02 07:28:00
Middle East and North Africa	Wednesday-Hump Day!!!	Morning everyone!	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-09-03 09:55:00
Middle East and North Africa	USA Bound in T-31 days!	Congratulations!	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-09-02 10:16:00
Middle East and North Africa	Thursday!	Good afternoon (here in the eastern time zone anyway)! Hope everyone is having a great day! Edited by angie & abed, 04 September 2008 - 11:07 AM.	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-09-04 11:07:00
Middle East and North Africa	Caturday!!!!!!!	Happy Saturday! mmmm....margaritas....	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-09-06 09:10:00
Middle East and North Africa	Happy Birthday Nawal!!!	Happy Birthday! Hope you are enjoying your new TV!	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-09-11 11:07:00
Middle East and North Africa	Happy Friday !!!!!!	Happy Friday everyone! Tasha, that really sucks. There was a thread on medicals being lost somewhere, and it seems I remember them saying maybe 3/4 of the time they are simply misplaced, or the rep overlooks them. Maybe you should try to call them again and make them look a little harder. Just a thought. Nice and cloudy/rainy here in good old Kentucky today. I hate Kentucky. ~Angie	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-09-12 09:54:00
Middle East and North Africa	Today was the day......	Congratulations! Maybe Abed and Hayz can be flight buddies ....I can only imagine Abed taking his first flight, all by his lonesome....*shudders* Nita is NEXT from Beyrouth!	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-09-12 23:32:00
Middle East and North Africa	Visa in hand!	Thank you all sooooo much! It still seems surreal to me....Nita, I know how you are feeling....you are the next one from Lebanon! And just a little over two weeks! Amanda, glad things went over without a hitch....though I am a little jealous! But I can't be too jealous since he got his today too. I am still praying from the bottom of my heart for much more happy news for everyone waiting! Angie	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-09-12 23:26:00
Middle East and North Africa	Visa in hand!	Abed got his passport back today with his visa in it! He texted me at 3 am saying he got "the call", then called me 3 times before I finally woke up at 4 am, then I couldn't go back to sleep, still nervous, but happy and excited. I'm going to be so dead at work tonight! Only 1 month in AP....thank God! Now to figure when we can get him here! Much love and prayers for everyone still waiting. ~Angie	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-09-12 09:49:00
Middle East and North Africa	Baby Girl Ear Piercing	Even though I think little girls are cute with their ears pierced, I think it is better for the girl to decide on her own, I had mine pierced when I was 7. I don't think I was even ready then! Everyone in Lebanon was pressuring me to have Malak's ears pierced while we were there; mama, sisters, brothers, grandma, aunts....but I won! She is almost 11 months old and her ears are free of holes. She was always rubbing her ears and I just knew she'd rip earrings out, or, like Sara said....rip them out on purpose cause she is so freaking nosey. In our house, it will be a decision she will make for herself when she is old enough.	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-09-21 21:09:00
Middle East and North Africa	It's Thursday! I'll Go First . . .	Happy Thursday! One more day....one more day....yay weekend!	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-09-25 11:02:00
Middle East and North Africa	HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIDGET!!	Happy Birthday! Hope it's a great day and you get your Black Forest cake!	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-09-25 10:55:00
Middle East and North Africa	Interview Date Scheduled	Good Luck! Too bad we can't have a slumber party for you.....	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-08-17 21:38:00
Middle East and North Africa	TUESDAY	Morning everyone! Happy Tuesday! OMG! WHY am I awake right now???	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-09-30 05:03:00
Middle East and North Africa	Wednesday Thread!!!	Happy Wednesday! I wish Malak would call me mama , she calls me "Annie"....no one here calls me mommy, so I guess I'm outta luck til she is a little older and knows I'm mommy to her. She does however say "dadadadadadada" ALL the time, she misses her daddy. Happy Eid and Happy Birthday to the birthday girls! ~Angie	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-10-01 11:03:00
Middle East and North Africa	Who will pop first?	Henia, I am so glad you and baby Youcef are doing well and that you are recovering well! What a nice surprise! He is absolutely gorgeous! Take care of yourself and don't try to do too much. Angie PS...the Placenta receipes make me sick to my stomach! ewwwww...	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-09-26 11:25:00
Middle East and North Africa	Who will pop first?	Henia I am so sorry. I am also praying that you can get someone to admit you so you can have your baby. It is really ridiculous. May God watch over you and your little one. ~Angie	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-09-12 09:44:00
Middle East and North Africa	Who will pop first?	Love the name, Kat! Congrats again to all the newest mommies! ~Angie	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-09-11 23:39:00
Middle East and North Africa	Who will pop first?	Congratulations! Glad you are both healthy! Sorry you had to go through such a difficult labor...and daddy says *he* is tired! Silly man! He should be there with you....Can't wait to hear the name you pick (and see a pic!). You really should ask the nurse to have him in the nursery so you can rest, I know it is hard to have them leave you, but you need to regain your strength. Now....praying Henia is healthy and has her little princess!	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-09-08 11:28:00
Middle East and North Africa	Can I still be a MENA Girl???	Once a MENA Girl....Always a MENA Girl... Good Luck!	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-09-27 21:24:00
Middle East and North Africa	Monday, already?	Morning everyone. Hope you all had a great weekend!	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-10-13 08:01:00
Middle East and North Africa	Happy Hump Day!	Morning everyone! Hope you all have a great Wednesday! I'm trying to avoid cleaning again...so far my plan is a success!	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-10-15 08:49:00
Middle East and North Africa	VISA APPROVED!!	Congratualtions! May there be a very quick reunion!! Sorry I didn't catch you at your party last night, I came by, but I guess you were out working and stuff...I had a good time though! Take care and again....CONGRATS!! ~Angie	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-10-15 08:53:00
Middle East and North Africa	Visa in Hand	Congratulations!! I am so happy for you! Go ahead and clean like a mad woman....I know I did!!	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-10-20 19:52:00
Middle East and North Africa	LEBANON K1 FILER WITH NOA2	I know SweetPeach is helping you, but if you need anything, let us know too. We did the K3...We just had 3 different couples go through Beirut, lucky you! Good luck to you!	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-10-22 06:40:00
Middle East and North Africa	Hump day	Happy Wednesday everyone....It's all downhill from here. Well, except for me, I only work Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays...poor me! Spending time with the fresh off the plane (this past Friday) hubby and (almost) 1 year old daughter ...we've been having tons of fun. I think we've been to Wal-Mart 50 times already! Take care and praying everyone hears good news very very soon! ~Angie	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-10-22 06:37:00
Middle East and North Africa	MY HUSBAND GOT THE CALL!!!	CONGRATULATIONS!!! We are sooooo happy for you!!! Start cleaning!	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-10-31 16:09:00
Middle East and North Africa	Its official	Congratulations! Wishing you many years of joy and happiness!	angie & abed	Female	Lebanon	2008-11-02 19:57:00