Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Middle East and North Africa	What kinds of gifts should I take?	Despite what your husband says, you should bring something. Or at least, take a lot of stuff you can use that you can leave. So if someone admires something you're using, you can give it to them. and i mean EVERYTHING. they may like your socks, or your toothpaste, or your dental floss, your lotion, your makeup, your earrings, your comb, your bra, ANYTHING goes. IN morocco, people will give you the shirt of their backs if you even compliment them on it. so if you bring things to use and leave, you can be like them, and it will also alleviate the awkwardness of giving people things you're not sure they will like (e.g., I wouldn't feel comfortable bringing makeup for someone as a gift straight -out, cuz who knows if they'd want it. but if you're using it and they're interested, well, then voila!) And I love kids, so I like to have things I can do with kids. SO crayons and coloring books are great, if for nothing else than to pass the time, entertain the kids, and to go a little way to getting to know people. And that brings to mind, that anything you can bring to pass the time while you're sitting in the salon with the family watching Egyptian soap operas and not understanding a darn thing, will be a good thing. it will help you not be bored, and could be a conversation starter. like knitting, needlepoint, maybe even a manicure set. coloring books, paints, who knows. i french braided the entire family's hair one night. Oh, that's another good things, hair bands and pony tail holders, etc. bring tons! that's my extra 2cents! and if you want something simple to give initially, just bring some chocolates. and present them to the mom or the dad. of course, i just thought of something. it is sort of dangerous to start giving away all your stuff. it might be a dangerous precedent. anyhoot.....	dimanuni	Female	Morocco	2009-06-11 20:08:00
Middle East and North Africa	What kinds of gifts should I take?	Depending on your price point, and the wealth of the people you're giving presents to......I was in Morocco and giving gifts to pretty poor people.But I gave the following successfully.... GENERIC: You can buy bags of individually wrapped ghiradelli chocolates for about$3 at target. They look really pretty and expensive, and it's nice that they are individually wrapped as it makes it easier to hand out among the families.... WOMEN LOVE GOLD. You can get cute real gold earrings (dangly ones), necklaces or bracelets at target and other discount stores for between $20-30. The color of gold here is different than in Morocco, it's more yellowy there. I'm not sure about Egypt. I'd advise getting simpler designs. They will love anything gold and can wear it under their hijabs... and while they have knock-off Crocs in Morocco now, they're not as good quality as real crocs. I brought them for friends (men and women) and they loved them. I'd be nervous buying make-up for women, but women didn't wear a lot of make up where I was from. Nice face lotion would be ok. Kids love coloring books and I second the crayon comment. There's nothing like crayola. You can get $1 coloring books at target in the $1 aisle. In fact, most of the things they sell in that aisle are pretty good presents. I like to get presents which are quasi educational, like books, because reading is not really valued (at least in Morocco). Plus, you can color with the kids, and you can translate books into arabic with the kids. Or learn words by pointing at things in the story, and have the kids tell you what it is in Arabic. If you're going to buy clothes for people, just make sure to buy shirts for girls which cover their butt! Really nice socks are good for everyone. MEN: Fleece jackets. Nice flashlights. I dont know about Egypt, but in Morocco, there are terrible street lights. So little hand or keychain flashlights are great. Be sure to give some extra batteries, because our US batteries are better quality, and last longer. I found little keychain/flashlight/sort of pocket knife or pliers things for $5 at a sporting goods store. These are also nice because they're relatively light! good luck and have fun!!	dimanuni	Female	Morocco	2009-06-05 21:56:00
Middle East and North Africa	Mail to Morocco	Hi, I lived in Morocco for three years and have some answers. THere are many states in Morocco, like here. But generally speaking, it won't help that much to write it on the address, unless it's a tiny little town. Sale isn't a small town, it's very well known. So Sale should be fine (See below if you're interested). It's possible they're getting confused by your mentioning the name of the Pepiniere? My advice is to (1) ask your boyfriend to go to the local post office and ask if he can have letters delivered directly there. Maybe you could just address it to the post office. He may be able to get a post office box (they're about $15/year), or maybe he can just pick up the odd letter there, and (2) make sure you send only letters, not packages. I found packages were always opened and sometimes didn't arrive. But thin letters usually did fine. also (3) the post office has a flat rate letter (I think under $30) which was express and trackable. I sent Ahmed one and it got there in less than a week. AND i was able to track it online for free! On a little side note, until about 2005, Morocco didn't use zip codes very regularly. So it used to be that you'd address a letter by reference to the nearest big city. LIke my town, Ait Ourir, which is 45 min outside of Marrakech, was addressed "Ait Ourir par Marrakech" which meant "Ait Ourir by Marrakech". ANd that was even though Ait OUrir was in the state of El Haouz, and Marrakech had its own state. Even today, the post office gets confused when you write the proper zip code. But all that is beside the point. Sale is a huge city. There's no way they should be getting confused. Although, now that I think about it, maybe Bettana is a little town or village near Sale, and if you saw people writing it, they were doing what we used to do in Ait Ourir. But with the correct zip code, it shouldn't be a problem. I just looked up Bettana, it looks like it's an arrondisement (or quarter/neighborhood/precinct, whatever) of Sale. Anyway, sorry for going on and on! good luck and I hope this all helps a little.	dimanuni	Female	Morocco	2009-07-05 00:56:00
Middle East and North Africa	Translating Docs here in the US	I think his license is in Arabic and French, right? Usually Moroccan documents are in both languages. So you don't need to find an Arabic translator, just a French one. That might be easier to find.	dimanuni	Female	Morocco	2009-07-26 20:53:00
Middle East and North Africa	What's the best way to book a flight for hubby??	Kayak.com is great. it actually searches all the airlines and consolidators' website, and finds the cheapest tix. What I really liked about it was that on the left, there's a line which says something like "layover airports". You can click on that and then uncheck the airports you don't want to go through. i really liked it because i didn't really want Ahmed to have to go through Europe. I was afraid he might get hassle in another airport because he doesn't have a visa for that country (even though technically he shouldn't need one, as he's only in transit). I wanted a direct flight. Kayak referred me to Orbitz, where I bought. I wish I'd known people had flown through Rome with no problem. I'd found a great and cheaper flight on Al Italia, but chickened out and bought the direct Casa-NY. WHen I flew from Casa with a transit in Europe, they always checked our passports as we got off the plane. I just didn't want Ahmed to have to deal with that. But anyway, for sure go to Kayak.com before you buy. and, you should have no problem buying a ticket originating in another country from here. Good luck and congratulations!	dimanuni	Female	Morocco	2009-07-26 21:55:00
Middle East and North Africa	Affidavit of Support	We didnt' have to show it. In fact, I had emailed the consulate before Ahmed's interview and they replied definitively that it was not required. I had Ahmed print out the email just in case they did ask. You should email them and ask! That way you won't have to prepare the forms if they don't want it.	dimanuni	Female	Morocco	2009-07-26 20:49:00
Middle East and North Africa	I need more education on halal foods	My family is the same, they cook with pork products ALL the time. I moved back here from Morocco (after 3 years there) only 6 weeks ago and I'm shocked at how much pork my family eats. I love a piece of bacon or ham as much as the next guy, but my mom will put salt pork in green beans! WHY?? Totally unnecessary, but God love her. I keep telling my mom she'll have to try and be more careful when Ahmed gets over here. Luckily I was a vegetarian for 15 years before moving to Morocco, so my family is already aware of issues about cooking with meat. I'd tell your family that you're both eating vegetarian, so ask if they could just be careful when cooking the non-meat parts of a meal so you can avoid hidden meat. You could even start that with them before he gets here. To give you time to work it out. Also, I think you're supposed to say "Bismillah" before you eat anything. Even halal meat. In Morocco, pepole would say it whenever they started anything, got in a car for a trip, ate, began to watch a show, everything. Everything is in the name of God! = ) Thellau f raskum (take care of yourselves!) Rebecca	dimanuni	Female	Morocco	2009-02-11 12:53:00
Middle East and North Africa	I need more education on halal foods	Good question, I'm curious to hear what Muslims who've moved here have done. I have a Kurdish-Muslim friend here, married to an American who converted. They told me they buy halal when they can, avoid red meat at home (but will buy a hamburger when they're out at a restaurant), obviously never buy pork, but otherwise try not to freak out about it. I'm trying to prepare my fiance by telling him that things will be different here. I'm hoping he'll try to adapt and not be too stringent. You can't be 100% perfect all the time. I don't think God expects that! I plan on eating vegetarian a lot, and chicken. Also, a lot of food is marked kosher (with the Kosher "U" symbol). Muslims I've talked to here say they'll happily eat that, as the rules for slaughtering the animals are similar. In fact kosher is stricter. Oh and another thing, you can find out which items have pork products in them by looking for kosher and vegetarian foods. Most strict vegetarians won't eat marshmallows because of the gelatin (although who knows if it's pig gelatin? hmmm) I hope that helps a little! And I'm looking forward to hearing other people's experiences! Good luck! Rebecca Edited by dimanuni, 10 February 2009 - 09:50 PM.	dimanuni	Female	Morocco	2009-02-10 21:48:00
Middle East and North Africa	Please help... All people who went through consulate at Casablanca, Morocco	My fiance had his interview April 29. Prior to the interview, I emailed the consulate to ask what financial information was needed. I was worried because I'm a recently returned peace corps volunteer and hadn't, at the time of the interview, started work (although I did have a job). I told them all that in the email, and they responded that they didn't require any financial information. I sent him some, just in case, but they didn't look at it. I'd advise you email them and ask (but don't disclose that you're worried about not meeting any guidelines). If they respond as they did to me, you can have him print out the email and take it with him. I would also send him the co-sponsor info you have, so that he's covered if they do ask. Good luck!!	dimanuni	Female	Morocco	2009-10-09 21:32:00
Middle East and North Africa	Aid al-Adha - Sacrificing Sheep in US?	Thanks a lot guys. Those are some great ideas. I really like the idea of Islamic Relief. So maybe we'll do that, and then also, insha allah, get together with some other Moroccans in Omaha (Bouchra!!) and eat delicious Moroccan food. We're having our wedding celebration on December 5, so we're also going to investigate getting the sheep from the butcher and giving it to the reception place so the guy can make BBQ out of it! Insha allah! Thanks again! Rebecca and Ahmed	dimanuni	Female	Morocco	2009-10-15 19:49:00
Middle East and North Africa	Aid al-Adha - Sacrificing Sheep in US?	Hi, my fiance arrived last week and all is going swimmingly, lhumdullah. Now we're thinking about how we do the Aid al-Adha sheep sacrifice here in the US? Ahmed went to the mosque for the first time today, and I'm sure over time he'll figure it out from the locals, but I'm curious what the MENA group's experience has been with this? Do you guys buy your own sheep and sacrifice it? Do you find some guy at the mosque who has a farm and then pay him to sacrifice and clean and cut up the sheep and deliver it to you in tidy little packages? (That's my dream, I dread the idea of cleaning miles of sheep intestine). Do you just send money back to the home country and they buy a sheep and give it to the poor?? How much do any of these options cost? Thanks!! Rebecca	dimanuni	Female	Morocco	2009-10-09 21:50:00
Middle East and North Africa	question about Khadija zirari	I thought you were going from Casa to Rabat. I'm not sure! Can't you call the doctor and ask which stop is better, Casa Voyageurs or Casa port?? Edited by dimanuni, 20 March 2010 - 02:05 PM.	dimanuni	Female	Morocco	2010-03-20 14:03:00
Middle East and North Africa	plz help ,,CasaPort or Casa Voyagers	I'd listen to berber mama!	dimanuni	Female	Morocco	2010-03-24 19:32:00
Middle East and North Africa	plz help ,,CasaPort or Casa Voyagers	My husband says that the doctors are all within a 30 minute walk of the consulate, which is nearer to Casa Port. So that's my guess. Good luck!	dimanuni	Female	Morocco	2010-03-23 19:51:00
Middle East and North Africa	AP at Casa	Usually it means you're good on the consulate level. But they have to send it to the US just for background purposes. It can take anywhere from a couple of weeks to three months. We got ours in two months. They don't recommend you call until 90 days. I told myself I'd call after 60 days and then he got the call on the 60th day. So I think you should just sit back and not worry until a copule of months pass. I have friends in the foreign service and they say the consulates have nothing to do with this step. So just wait!! Good luck!	dimanuni	Female	Morocco	2010-06-09 19:39:00
Middle East and North Africa	WE GOT IT!!!!	bsahuraha! we got the same notice yesterday! hooray!	dimanuni	Female	Morocco	2010-07-13 16:49:00
Middle East and North Africa	DELTA SAYS MOROCCO IS PART OF EUROPE?!!!	We ran into the same thing out of Omaha last November. My husband flew a few weeks before me, Omaha to NY to Casa. Delta then RAM. When he flew, I argued I had checked online and it was 2 bags. She let him fly with two. For my flight, I printed out the Delta page which clearly says "Europe 1 bag" and "africa or all other (i can't remember which) 2 bags". You only get the list of countries if you click on Europe. Now why would I click on Europe? Delta doesn't just get to readjust the continents because they wish to. I was totally prepared to argue that there is no way I could have known they considered Morocco Europe. But she let it go anyway. Unfortunately, on the way back, we flew Air France through Paris so i figured I'd just pay. Not to mention, arguing with Moroccans at Mohammed V airport at 5 am is the last thing I want to do, not to mention guaranteed to be ineffective. So my advice is to print up the Delta page and then ask them why in the world would you click on Europe? There is NO WAY they can argue that you should have. We all took geography in Jr. Hi!	dimanuni	Female	Morocco	2011-04-03 13:15:00
Middle East and North Africa	What goods to bring back to morocco from U.S.?	My husband and I just went back to Morocco in November and here's what we took: - bought nice fleeces and timex watches (from jc penney, if you get coupons, you can easily get nice watches for about $25) for the adult brothers. I've learned to shop for fleeces and things throughout the year so I can get them cheaper -for the ladies, my 18 year sister in law coveted my cloth vera bradley purse, it's like a small messenger bag. (reminding me not to ever take anything of my own over there that I want to keep!). I also brought a bunch of little soaps and sample shampoos, lotions, toothpastes, which went over like gangbusters (to my surprise). We also too hersheys kisses and little gift bags and gave more extended family (aunt's family, for example) a little gift bag of candy and samples. - i got my MIL Sofft brand mules from TJ Max. She LOVED THEM. she started wearing them in the kitchen, everywhere, because they were more comfortable than her regular shoes or slippers. Women there always where slip on shoes, (whether they wear heels or not depends on the person, but in my hubby's home town, most of the streets are a mixture of rocks and dirt, so a slight wedge is the best bet). - i also usually get those little ghiradelli chocolates that come in the foil bags. they have them at target for about $3. you can't buy too many of these. people will be so flattered if you bring them one when you eat at their house. and since each chocolate is individually wrapped, everyone in the family can have one piece and feel like they have something special because it's so prettily wrapped. The biggest issue will be how much you can carry and how much you can get through customs. my husband and i split up everything so he was carrying male stuff and me womens. GOOD LUCK and have fun!	dimanuni	Female	Morocco	2011-02-07 20:51:00
Middle East and North Africa	Moroccan MENA members!!!	Name: Rebecca Where are you From: Omaha, Nebraska SO's Name: Ahmed Where they are from in Morocco: Zagora, but now living in Ait Ourir, near Marrakech Anything else you want to add: Why is everyone's signficant other named "tarik?" ha ha	dimanuni	Female	Morocco	2009-04-19 00:33:00
Middle East and North Africa	Registering a US marriage in Morocco	Hi guys, just curious, why do you want to register the marriage in Morocco? My fiance is coming Oct 1, and we'll be married in November. What's the advantage of registering with the Moroccan consulate? What does it have to do with having a kid?? Sorry for my ignorance! Oh, and l3id mubarek! Thanks!	dimanuni	Female	Morocco	2009-09-19 23:03:00
Middle East and North Africa	High school transcripts from Morocco	does your husband have the baccalaureate? Ahmed has a certificate saying he got the bac. That's like the diploma. It's really difficult, because like 60% of people in morocco who finish high school don't actually pass the test to get the bac. so it's possible your fiance finished high school but didn't actually "graduate" or achieve the bac. i'm not sure how a community college will look at that. it really sucks, because in the US, we say you've graduated HS if you successfully finish all your classes, and THEN, if you want to go to college, usually you take the SAT or the ACT. whereas in Morocco, it's the bac which allows you to enter college. and the govt tries to limit the number of people who are eligible (maybe cuz the public universities are free), so they don't let that many people pass the bac. so when we americans see that someone didn't get the bac, we think they didn't finish hs. which isn't true. you'll have to check if he has the bac. if not, it would be good for him to have his transcripts, and I'm sure you could talk a community college into accepting that in lieu of a bac. sorry if that's more info than you wanted. good luck. i plan on ahmed going to community college asap when he gets here!	dimanuni	Female	Morocco	2009-05-17 13:09:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	case complete	Hi, to start with, you should go to both the Embassy Info and Reviews: Embassy/USCIS sections on this website. Links are on every page, I think, click above, just under the photos of the smiling couples! You can look up Morocco and the Casa consulate there. And please please please give us a review of what happens. We're hoping to get a NOA2 in the next couple of months, so we'd appreciate any information you can give! Hope this helps and good luck!	dimanuni	Female	Morocco	2009-02-01 23:44:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	I-130 Petition question please	I think it's fine to put the US address. It's only a mailing address. You may want to show evidence at the interview of living together, although if you were in Morocco for more than 3 months, I think you're illegal there, right? You're required to get a carte de sejour? Not that I think the US consulate cares particularly, but just be aware of that. if you were in Morocco for more than 6 months and had a residency card, it would be good to file directly through the consulate. A friend of mine did that and the whole process was less than 3 months. and I don't think you were supposed to mail it to the lock box anymore. You're supposed to send it to either California or Vermont Visa Center, depending on your home address in the US. good luck	dimanuni	Female	Morocco	2009-06-15 21:43:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Co-Sponsor & 2009 Poverty Lines	Forget where I read this, but "The co-sponsor must have sufficient income on his/her own to qualify under the poverty guidelines, regardless of the petitioner's income. The co-sponsor must also be a US Citizen and at least 21 years old." So in order for a co-sponsor to be legitimate, your income doesn't count. So I guess conceivably, you might be $1 shy of the 125% of poverty guideline (which for household of 2 is around $18,250), and still your co-sponsor would need to completely meet the 125% of poverty guideline for a household of THREE (you, your fiance, and the co-sponsor, plus maybe everyone else in the household). Does that help?	dimanuni	Female	Morocco	2009-02-08 16:30:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Can someone please give me advice	If your household is just two (i.e., you and your fiancee), then yes. Currently the threshold is about $18,250. How big is your family?	dimanuni	Female	Morocco	2009-02-10 22:41:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	evidence of relationship/support	Hi, I think your evidence of being in Morocco is good. I also included evidence that my fiance was in the same town as me. Wanted it to be clear we were actually together all that time. So maybe a school card for him, or something like that? ANd as for the financial information..... those of us who have interviewed in the last few months (at least) weren't required to bring ANY financial info. So don't worry about it for now. You probably have at least 4 months before the interview, and most likely you won't have to provide it even for that. I emailed the consulate before my fiance's interview and they clarified no financial info was needed. Of course, we've been in AP for 40 days now, so maybe there's something I don't know!! ha ha	dimanuni	Female	Morocco	2009-06-09 19:37:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	PHONE BILLS	my fiance found a website he can get on from Morocco at the cyber, and he can text me for free. he was able to print up a log of when he had texted me. I don't think the CO looked at the list, but he did bring it. Perhaps your fiancee could do the same? I can find out the site, if you want.	dimanuni	Female	Morocco	2009-06-15 21:36:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	What if I am not employed but have ssdi income?	When my Ahmed had his interview April 2009, the Casa consulate wasn't asking to see income information. I had emailed them prior to the interview and they said none was required. So I think recently it isn't being required. Did you try emailing them and asking them to explain? They were very helpful over email, I thought. I think it's possible the reason for denial was something else. From my understanding, the CO's job is to try and determine if there's a bona fide relationship and/or it there's any fraud. It's possible that your fiance mistakenly said some things which made the CO suspect he was being fraudulent, or that the relationship isn't valid. There's nothing we can do about that, being here in the US, unfortunately, as we can't be there at the interview. All that being said, did your petition get returned to USCIS? Maybe you should try and contact them. Good luck!	dimanuni	Female	Morocco	2010-01-23 18:32:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	I-864 Tax Returns - I only have 2 years worth	hey charles, i had this same problem!! i lived in wales for almost 2 years when we were applying for my husbands visa, so i only had one year of US taxes to show. i even got from the IRS a paper saying i didn't pay for those 2 years and why and at my hubbys interview that is what gave him the biggest problem (not his DUI!!). it was so dumb! since i could not show 3 years of taxes, i had to get my mom as a co-sponsor. that added on another month apart from my husband, but we finally got approved after they received my cosponsor paperwork. to be safe, i would get your dad to co-sponsor. i don't know if you are with your wife now, but not having the paperwork adds weeks onto the process because they are SOOOOO slow!!! write me if you have more questions!!! bee	justbee	Female	Wales	2009-01-13 12:43:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	864 fee vs. interview payment?	ok good news, sets my mind straight now, thanks alot guys!!	justbee	Female	Wales	2006-10-31 08:31:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	864 fee vs. interview payment?	i am about to pay my husbands 864 fee which is $380, but ive read that you have to pay more at the time of the interview?? $380 more?? or is it just for the 864 fee? got to start saving!!	justbee	Female	Wales	2006-10-31 07:02:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	embassy returns passport how fast	that sounds good enough! a few more days now and our big day is near. then the end is in sight. thanks!	justbee	Female	Wales	2007-07-02 22:33:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	embassy returns passport how fast	hiya! quick question bout getting your visa after the interview... if my husband gets approved for the visa, can he really pay more to receive it the next day, or does it really take a week to receive it by post? just wanted to clarify if he'll be able to come to the states sooner, than later! thanks, bee	justbee	Female	Wales	2007-07-02 12:35:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	negative marks on police check affecting visa application	hi, i just now have read your reply! wow! so our interview is in 2 days and my husband is freaking out big time, especially since i am not there with him. we are paranoid about his drink driving offense from 10 years ago hindering his visa outcome. i've read we may need a waiver, but i don't know anything about it!! what is this waiver? does he need it for the interview? will he be told to do this waiver only if he is refused?? what are moral turpitude crimes? omigosh, we are totally losing our minds... what did you have to do your waiver for? why were you refused AOS? what is your story, sorry... i have so many questions!!! we're desperate for answers, write soon, bee	justbee	Female	Wales	2007-07-08 17:08:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	negative marks on police check affecting visa application	you should be fine, you will need a waiver, get a good lawyer to prepare your waiver! Its been 7 years.....have to show that he is sober, and paid his dues! hi leslie, what is this waiver we would need? his interview is this wednesday??? will they refuse him and tell him to do this waiver thing??? ahhhh! bee	justbee	Female	Wales	2007-07-08 16:52:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	negative marks on police check affecting visa application	hello, we are in the process of getting my UK husbands CR-1. we just got his police check back and he has a caution and a driving with excess alcohol on it from nearly 7 yrs ago. we are afraid this will hinder his application and don't know if we should proceed with the 864 and paying the $400. does anyone know what exactly will not get you the CR1 visa? what to do???????	justbee	Female	Wales	2006-10-15 07:37:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	conviction/caution didn't matter!!!	hi all! i just wanted to post an update on the progress of my hubby's visa process. his interview was in london on july 11th. and it went absolutely fabulous!!!!! he was asked about his convictions/caution (from 10 yrs ago) and if he'd ever do it again, to which he replied NEVER! and that was IT! the immigration officer sped right thru them as if they were peanuts! they basically approved the visa BUT needed more paperwork from me before they issued it! they needed my 2007 tax return, but since i've lived in the UK for the past few years i hadn't filed. so i received a letter from the IRS stating i did not file and also included my current proof of employment and income, and also proof i was working in the UK for the last year. we hope this will satisfy them and they will return my hubby's passport and visa ASAP, so he can catch the next flight to omaha! thanks for all the help along this tortured path toward freedom to be with the one you love! bee	justbee	Female	Wales	2007-07-17 18:34:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	domicile in U.S.A. while living in U.K.	hi andy, my name is bee, i was in the same boat as you, so i can tell you what i did! i was living in wales with my hubby while sorting out our relocation to the states and his spousal visa. i moved back to the states 2 months ago, while hubby is waiting his interview (next week!!!). but when we started i was in wales, and put the address where i was going to be living, with a friend. plus, i still had my bank of america account which shows i kept my ties to the us. but if you do not have a place to live yet, i would put a parents address or a friend that will let you use their address until you get your own place. hope this helps! if you have ANY other questions, please feel free to write me! good luck, bee	justbee	Female	Wales	2007-07-02 12:47:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	london embassy email	hi! does anyone have an email to contact the embassy re: the return of a visa/passport? we called the number given for visa info and they wouldn't even look up our case number, they just gave us a standard reply. sick of the waiting! bee	justbee	Female	Wales	2007-07-25 21:18:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	Help with tax returns while out of country, and didn't earn enough.	will do! thanks! you helped us out sooooo much!!!	justbee	Female	Wales	2007-08-07 13:35:00