Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	AP TRACKER	I called the DOS on Monday, but I waited until Tuesday to email the embassy as we have a four day weekend for Easter here in the UK. To their credit, the embassy replied within 30 min but they just confirmed I was in 'additional AP, which is mandatory and cannot be waived....Please be assured that as soon as the review is complete, you will be contacted'. Who knows, you could still be right, but they're not encouraging are they? At least they replied quickly though, especially as their acknowledgement emails state that status checks for anything less than 90 days will not be answered. You just never know what to expect when dealing with officialdom anywhere! It's terrible isn't it! And you don't fit the 'profile' for AP, so it's doubly terrible for you. The embassy tells me that it's in Washington and as soon as Washington responds they'll issue the visa. 'Washington' says it's not with the USCIS or the NVC, but at another agency that doesn't give updates (FBI? CIA?) who knows! Usually we get a few approvals by now - wonder what's happening this month?!	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-04-08 06:34:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	AP TRACKER	Just called the DOS for my weekly update. Got a very nice lady, but all she could tell me was that I was still in AP, and she implied that it was at the embassy level. According to the email the embassy sent I'm in mandatory AP, ie name checks, and when I asked the lady, she refused to confirm or deny whether it was name checks or the 'other' AP. The only good thing she was able to tell me was that the last date-stamp was 'end of March', not even a specific date As Queeny mentioned in her thread, I do think that we should have some idea, if not the precise details, of why we're in AP, instead of being in limbo like this. I think every country has a duty and responsibilty to take immigration seriously, whether it's the validity of a marriage, possible abuse, or of course security...but please, let me know why my fellow citizens at the same embassy get their passport back the next day, and I'm still waiting six weeks later!! I called for my weekly update yesterday to the DOS and the woman told me that usually there are no date-stamps when the case is in AP: they show when the case was put into AP and then they don't show an update until the visa has been issued. So perhaps you're out if someone's touched your file!	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-04-07 03:27:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	AP TRACKER	Hello, I was about to eat my dinner but it hit me that i hadnt checked the website. So before i ate, i quickly checked online and this is what it says: Tuesday, March 30, 2010 Submit Passport(s) to Embassy We are pleased to inform you that processing of your application for immigration to the United States has reached the point where we request that you submit your passport(s) to prepare for visa issuance. You or another trusted person may bring your passports to the Embassy in *** any Sunday at 10 a.m., excluding holidays. In most cases, the visa will be ready for pick-up on the following Thursday at 2 p.m. Embassy staff will provide further details when you drop off your passport(s). Does this mean, she just has to submit the passport? What is the next step? I hope there is no more AP. That's exciting news! How long have you been in AP? Hopefully it's a sign that there are more to come. Congratulations to you and your wife!	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-03-31 03:49:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	AP TRACKER	Hi Everyone. I have posted here before, but not for a long time. Basically, we had our interview on Nov 2, 2009. My husband and I have been waiting for AP to finish on his K3 visa. they told us at the interview we are approved and that the officer believes our intentions to going to USA are for the best. So, we call the Embassy and DOS often. The first week of March, we called the DOS and they told us the Embassy was trying to contact my husband since Feb 24th. But, my husband called the embassy after that date, and I had called DOS two days before and no one ever told us they were trying to contact us. They even verified the phone number. My husband always has his phone on and never ever got any phone calls from the embassy. They could have Emailed us too, but they didn't. They say they have been trying to call, but as I have seen, they tell this to a lot of people, but they never actually get the call. So, they wanted documents proving my domicile in the USA since I had been in Pakistan with my husband for 11 months. So I sent them the documents, and they said they received them and were working on it. A few days later, my husband called, and they told him his AP was finished, and Final Review was also finished and now they are just "Working on the case" that day, but the man couldn't tell him what was being done or whether it was approved or not. He said that within 8-10 days he should hear a result. So, about a week later, he called back, and they said "Still Processing" but he explained what the man had told him the previous week and they said "oh, yeah yeah, that's still whats happening". And that's all they would tell him. When we submitted the domicile documents, we asked if he could send his passport, and they said yes. We confirmed thsi twice. Then, he called yesterday to the embassy and they told him that yes the AP Was over, and the Final Review Was over.. but then they put him BACK into AP. Zaheer asked them why and explained the situation that he had been told, and the man said "No, its completely normal, this happens sir." then he called my husband a liar and told him that no one from their office would ever tell him it will take 8-10 days since they don't know what the outcome will be. So... now we don't know what to do. We are just so annoyed. I left Pakistan in December because I was 7 months pregnant and I needed to be back here before my domicile was up. So, I just had my baby last week, and I am missing my husband so much. I had to go through with the c-section by myself. Now I am recovering and caring for the baby by myself. At least I have a place to stay with my parents. But, its so hard without my husband and for him to have not been there to see his baby for the first time. It is hard. Please pray for us. Thank you for any comments that anyone might have regarding this. take care. Allah Hafiz. ~Tara I'm sorry to hear that you've had to give birth without your husband there to support you! It's terrible what we go through with this visa situation. It looks like you and I have similar timelines, you're about a month ahead. Perhaps they realized during AP that they needed that extra bit of information to continue their process. Think of it this way: you've already gone through 4 1/2 months, how much longer could it be?! And you have a great new addition to the family to take your mind off the process. Keep positive, it will come soon. Best wishes for your family.	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-03-29 09:48:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	AP TRACKER	I did some data mining of the spreadsheet. In a world where we all get told that each case varies and there are no firm averages, this at least gave me something to look at. I could probably do better with throwing out the outliers and, of course the summaries are only as accurate as the data that is provided. But...if my pivot tables are correct: 68% of cases (or 68 cases) have been issued their visas. The average time from interview to visa in hand was 181 days for males and 72 days for females 25% of us (or 24 cases) are still under AP, with an average time elapsed since interview of 177 days for males and 89 days for females 6% of us have the unfortunate case reaffirmed status and are removed from the days outstanding calculations K1 visas seem to take the longest, followed by K3's, and CR-1's - about 50 days difference between K1 and CR-1 Unfortunately there aren't enough instances to really accurately describe the AP timeframe for most countries, but on average Egypt takes 100 days, Morocco 131, India 138, Pakistan 243, and unknown countries are about 46 days.	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-03-24 14:09:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	AP TRACKER	Please could you add us to the AP Tracker... Applicant: Male Country: Algeria Embassy: France Date of Interview: 12/09/09	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-03-24 13:21:00
Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)	AP TRACKER	After almost 10 months of AP, we received the visa today! I will hold off too much dancing until that man walks out of that airport door into my arms. Baj congratulations, that's wonderful news - what a relief for you!	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-02-03 04:32:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures	I-130 and I-129 approved same day	My situation is as follows. My wife is from Mexico. We were married in Veracruz, Mexico on August 19th, 2009. After a honeymoon and a few weeks together I returned to the United States and began filing the paperwork for the K3 visa, because I was told that it was faster. I received NOA1 for both the I-130 and I-129 very quickly and then we were waiting until I received the email/text message saying that both cases had been approved on January 22, 2010 yay ... anyway, I am expecting to receive the actual NOA2 in the mail any day, but I have a few questions. I have heard from some that we should just pursue the I-130 since they were both approved, but we really want my wife to be here quicker because she is pregnant and it would be best for her to be here with me as soon as possible. Will I have the choice to pursue the K3 even though the I-130 is already approved as well? What would be the difference in total time if we pursue the I-130 compared to the K3? It just seems like there is always something new that comes up to make the process even more confusing. Anyway, any advice/information would be greatly appreciated. I understand that if we do the K3 we will have to adjust status when she gets here and go through all of that, but it would be worth it to get her here even a couple of months sooner. Thanks in advance!! Daniel and Charbel  copy.jpg   259.93KB   4 downloads Can't speak to the quickness of it, I'm still going through the process (filed 23 April and just waiting to finish administrative processing after our consular interview on 9 December. But I can give you a hint: don't pay all the fees for the I-130 - I lost about $700 this way. You just need to have a I-130 filed/in process and then go with the I-129F instructions. When you get the letter that says the I-129F has been forwarded to the Embassy for processing, then start ignoring the communications on I-130. The two cases become one later down the road. Follow the instructions from the Mexican embassy. As your case is for immigration of a Female and not considered a 'T' country, you shouldn't have to deal with the extra waiting of administrative processing (background checks). Once you have your interview at the embassy should just be a few days. Hope this helps!	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-01-27 05:26:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	The Blonde Lady gets a gold star.......We're APPROVED!!!!	fantastic news! when's his flight???	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-01-28 16:30:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Houssain did it! Visa In Hand!	Houssain has the Visa, in his passport, in his hands! Alhamdulillah! Allahu Akbar! I am so relieved, I cried when he told me. It almost didn’t happen. The consulate was supposed to have the visa ready this past Friday, but they lost some forms, so Friday was spent with him taking new forms to the consulate. They told us it would be ready Monday, then I called Monday and they said it will be ready Tuesday. I called Tuesday, and they said it will be printed Tuesday. Well, they actually printed it this morning (Wednesday) and called Houssain. They told him to come pick it up tomorrow (Thursday). He can’t, because he has to work. So, he mad rushed to the train station to get the next train to Casablanca and be there about 3:45. (Keep in mind, he had to be there before 4:00 to pick up the visa today.) Well, the train was delayed due to some issue, and he did not arrive in Casablanca until after 4:00 (oh no!) He grabbed a taxi and ran to the consulate! (he told me “I was running like a thief, like I stole something!” LOL) The security guard told him “sorry, they’re done for the day” and would not let Houssain inside. Houssain went to the window, and saw a man that recognized Houssain from last week. (Houssain and this guy actually got into a heated discussion last week, and this guy actually told Houssain “Do you want the visa or not?”, but that’s another story) So, Houssain asked this guy “PLEASE PLEASE let me have the visa today. The train was supposed to be here on time, but it was late.” Houssain showed the guy the train ticket as proof. The man said some snippy remark about being late, but he gave Houssain the Visa and the paperwork for his point of entry when he gets to New York! Alhamdulillah! (may Allah bless that rude little man!) So, tomorrow my honey goes back to work after his holiday, and we start the process of planning his trip. I know he has to work for the next month, before he can leave his job. So, we are probably looking at sometime in the 1st/2nd week of March for his arrival, insha’allah. It would be so awesome if we could be married on March 20th, which is the first day of Spring (kind of symbolic of new beginnings). I wish the best to everyone, as always. Jennifer your story made me cry! what emotion in your writing (and compassion from the embassy guy). congratulations to you both and best wishes for your life together.	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-02-04 05:11:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	WE DID IT!! VISA IN HAND! GO MOROCCO!!	that makes 3 MENA's approved today! great news and enjoy every moment of your time together!	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-02-03 04:59:00
Middle East and North Africa	AP Tracker for MENA	Many thanks for your responses!	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-01-22 05:37:00
Middle East and North Africa	AP Tracker for MENA	Hello All - reading through the posts trying to decipher an average AP time for MENA K3 applicants. I realize no two cases are alike, but perhaps we could do some metrics around the average? We're in AP for 42 days now - Algerian male citizen, but processing at the Paris embassy.	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-01-21 13:23:00
Middle East and North Africa	Just heard from the Congressman's Office!!	Not sure what's going on - I know the case has been sent back to the Embassy from the Department of State but we still have heard nothing. How long does it take them to process and send it to us now? I thought AP was the last step? They of course will not reply to my emails and do not answer the phone or respond to voicemails. Very frustrated! Anyone have an estimate of time from AP approved in US to visa in hand?	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-01-27 05:18:00
Middle East and North Africa	Just heard from the Congressman's Office!!	Thanks for your kind wishes, and for validating what I suspect: AP complete. Hoping we hear this week! There's also some kind of Chamber of Commerce meeting here in Paris this week where the new Chief of Immigration at the US Embassy will be speaking - I'm planning to go and plead my personal case, but maybe won't have to!	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-01-24 04:42:00
Middle East and North Africa	Just heard from the Congressman's Office!!	My congressman has kindly been following up on the progress of my husband's K3 that was put into AP after our December 9th interview (the vice consule told me that the case had to be send to Washington for further processing, she didn't specify what). I just received an e-mail from the Congressman that the USCIS/DOS told her that the I-129F was sent back to the Paris Embassy and she should contact them. I'm assuming that means we're out of Administrative Processing and we'll receive news this week. Any one have a similar experience? Edited by Meredith_Brahim, 23 January 2010 - 10:35 AM.	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-01-23 10:34:00
Middle East and North Africa	Picking up visa tomorrow...	Fantastic news! Hearing lots of positives today. Congratulations and enjoy your new life together.	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-01-27 08:23:00
Middle East and North Africa	And the AP Continues!	Last week my Congressman advised that the Dept of State told them my case was sent back to the Embassy and to call them - out of AP, right?! Spent a week in bliss waiting patiently to receive the visa. But then got worried - it shouldn't take another week to receive. So I called the Embassy - it's still at the Dept of State, no status change. Must be lost in the mail between US and France. Congressman calls Dept of State again and we get the same old response: the case is still under administrative processing, which takes 60-90 days from the interview and that's only a guide, it could take longer. So irresponsible to give me the wrong information. Now on day 53 of AP	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-01-31 04:10:00
Middle East and North Africa	is there anyone who can help me???	typically it means that a translation needs to be certified by a professional translator. sometimes the consulate posts a list of professionals who are pre-approved by the embassy as acceptible. perhaps check their website?	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-02-04 08:04:00
Middle East and North Africa	VISA ISSUED Alhamduli'illah	wow, hearing lots of good news this week. congratulations to you!	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-02-03 04:38:00
Middle East and North Africa	Keep the Good News Coming...Please!	I was so inspried by everyone's great news in receiving their visas this week - I counted more than 10 from MENA! - that I called the DOS on Friday just hoping we'd made it out of AP (day 58 and, a false confirmation from my congressman). The woman was lovely and said I should call back toward the end of next week, thinking maybe she was hinting to me, but I could be reading too much into it?? She did give me the regular, it takes 60-90 days and that's just a guide, we have seen some take longer. In any case, congratulations to you all, wishing you a wonderful life together. Will be sure to post as soon as we hear something. This site is great!	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-02-07 12:03:00
Middle East and North Africa	Does anyone know if you are denied if they. . .	there's just so much conflicting information. the department of state are issuing press releases about the timing of name checks and that 98% are processed in 30 days and the remaining 2% in 90. we're at 100 and i just called them - same response - still under process, she did tell me this time that it continues to be actively worked on. thanks for your guidance.	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-03-18 09:20:00
Middle East and North Africa	Does anyone know if you are denied if they. . .	truthfully when your case is in AP there is nothing an attorney can do....you just have to wait it out. sara i was afraid of that, but hopeful i see from your timeline you've been through a really really really long journey. but we entered AP around the same time. here's hoping the cases get reviewed soon!	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-03-18 08:14:00
Middle East and North Africa	Does anyone know if you are denied if they. . .	If its been a really really long time (just looked at your timeline and it doesn't seem to be the case), you can request the assistance of a lawyer for a writ of mandamus. It essentially forces a government entity to carry out its function and make a determination without further delay. I haven't heard of this before and am wondering if I should engage an immigration attorney - we're at the final stages of the process, under Administrative Review (FBI name checks) and well past the 'normal timeframe'. Would you know if a 'writ of mandamus' works in that case as well?	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-03-18 06:10:00
Middle East and North Africa	Wednesday	It's our first anniversary on Friday - can't believe a year has gone by already! We're taking a 4-day holiday to celebrate and hope for good news when we return to Paris! Time flies when you're waiting on immigration. Enjoy the weekend everyone.	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-03-31 13:01:00
Middle East and North Africa	Wednesday	Here's hoping for the usual start of month flurry of approvals from the MENA AP pile in the coming days! There's a bunch of us who are hitting our 4 and 5 month (and 1 year) mark...	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-03-31 04:11:00
Middle East and North Africa	I cant believe it	Hi vj, I cant beleive it people,the embassy here in jordan is Accusing me of something Ihave never did and i would never ever do after all the waiting and reaffirmed my case the embassy here in jordan sent me a shocing letter without even an interview that i cant have my visa cause when i was deported under section 241a b 1 controlled suvstance this is not true it is the same thing when i interviewed in 2008 the CO told me the same thing and i told here no i wasnt deported cause of that and she made me wait 3 hours to check on me through home land security and then she called me back saying that they are sorry they made a mistake with my name but they have to send it back to washington for a name check. they are dirtying my name i had nothing to do with drugs or anything and if its true why the USCIS reaffirmed my case and why the DOS and NVC sent it back again to jordan to issue a visa i called the DOS and they said they dont know anything about it she just said that the american embassy in jordan dont want to issue a visa iam going today with my wife to the american embassy and see whats going on, iam lost here and iam tired and i feel sad i dont know what do. do you have any ideas people please if you do please let me know. Thanks Oh, I'm so sorry for you! And it's absolutely ridiculous that they made the same accusation twice, after proving it incorrect the first time. It sounds to me like you need an attorney. After the amount of time you've waited and the run around you've got, you have a case to appeal for sure.	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-04-07 03:49:00
Middle East and North Africa	Update on 3rd Interview	Wow what a journey, I just want to say I am very proud of my husband he put up a very good fight. You know VJ'ers, I don't want to bad talk a CO, I just hope this will help the next person to not give up and to fight the good fight. You will need to be prepared when you go for the interview and you will probably learn something new from this, I hope. Our first interview was great, my husband went in...interruption-did you guys know that our significant others have to stand while being interviews?...and answered the CO's questions, the CO even made a joke with him but after reading up at Visa Journey we knew that it's best to not indulge in their jokes. So, he smiled and than looked at him as he was being attentative. He asked him questions like: Where did you meet? Where does she work? What city, state does she live ine? The joke was "what country does she live in?" ha ha ha Mr. CO. He asked him what day did she arrive when arrived in Morocco the last time I visited. This was the only question he could not remember. My husband told him it was the first week in October. After the interview was over the CO told Kassim they will call when the visa is ready. They called him the same day and told him to bring his passport, he did. Than they called the following day and told him that he would have a 2nd interview (this is where it got weird) with the ambassador of the US Embassy. He went the following day and it was the same CO who interviewed him. The CO asked him a few questions about me but I think he really couldn't wait to do what he does best. He than asked Kassim if he's had any online relationships to marry for a visa. Kassim told him no, he than proceeded to ask him if he knew, for the sake of discretion I will not say the last name, DOE. Kassim could not recognize the last name and said no. CO-Do you know JANE DOE? and Kassim said I know 2 JANES online. The CO asked for information about both Janes. Kassim told them what he thought they only needed to know and that any kind of relationship he had with them one more than the other was over. The CO was not satisfied and gave him a 221g and it stated Bring all information regarding Janes. After Kassim left the interview, the CO called me at work. I answered the phone I knew something was going on. He asked me If I knew about Kassims online relationships I said yes, I've had relationships in the past and I am ok with that. He asked me if I knew Jane Doe, I said no, he said well Did you know that Kassim was suppose to marry her for a visa. I said that I was not aware of this and that this is something that Kassim would have informed me of. He said do you know about the men in Morocco, I said well I read about stories online of situation that happen to some women but that can happen anywhere. He said well the men in Morocco only want to marry women for visas. I said well me and Kassims story is bit different and that we know each other and I know he loves me and that I love him. I said we have a daughter together and she needs her father. He said I've taken that into consideration and that is why I have not denied your case and Kassim knows what he needs to do. After I spoke to the CO I spoke to Kassim and he was pretty upset. He told me that he doesn't understand what the CO wants he has nothing from these women. I told him to take a breath and lets get through this. He went back to the hotel and we talked over the phone. I told him that we needed to get in touch with the one Jane he had an online relationship with. So, I was able to locate her info and than I called and left a message, finally i just emailed her my info and she immiediately contacted me back. She said that Kassim was a sweet man and that she enjoyed the time with him and that she does not want to get involved. So, I called the CO, yes they transferred me to the CO can you believe it. And we had a long conversation about how we have no information regarding these Brendas and I told him that I spoke to this online Brenda and that she does to want to be involved. He asked for her phone number, I told him that she specifically said that you could get her information the same way I did, but I gave him the number. He than said that the Men in morocco only want Particularly women from the US and that they go to school just to learn english so that they can pursue these woman. That they even Impregnate woman just to get a visa. He said he asked Kassim why he knows so many women from the US and that Kassim did not give him a valid reason and that if he just said he was just like American women he would have been fine with that. Kassim was never asked that question because the CO had access to his Messenger contact list and Kassim explained where his contacts were from he had one from Columbia, UK and Australia. After consulting our lawyer the lawyer informed us that national security has access to our messenger accounts and that his how the CO received after they run the security checks. So after I told the CO about the phone conversation with Jane he said that he had no information regarding her that all I did was just confirm everything. That he was just going on a hunch and he said that since we don't have any informatino regarding the Janes other than what I just provided him with he will try to contact Jane and will call Kassim for a 3rd interview. Immediately I contacted my US Senator and the Lawyer for some advice. The Senators office immediately contacted the consulate and the Lawyer as well. We just received information back stating the status of our case. But by contacting these offices helps to note your case that you are well involved in these matters as well you should be and have every right to be. Our Lawyer is a Pro Bono Lawyer, God bless her, and really all she could do was note our case and tell us that at the 3rd interview just be forthcoming, tell the CO in a manner of honesty and that's all we have at that point. But Kassim felt that he was forthcoming but said he will go in and fight for his family that he felt the CO was trying to crack some sort of conspiracy wide open. LOL! So, my hubby went to his 3rd interview....boy we prepped and prayed together. Kassim went yesterday to the interview and it was the same CO, he immediately asked for information regarding Jane Doe, Kassim told him, in more detail, about his online relationship with this woman. Told him that he was not sure what the consulate really needed to know about their online relationship that he felt it should be discrete and out of respect for his wife he wanted to lay those things to rest. He said that he wants the CO to ask him about his wife, he said he loves me and my daughter and that he is their at the consulate for us. Than the interview was interrupted, and a woman brought Kassim to a closed room and left there a little bit later the boss of all COs entered the room and explained to Kassim who he was and said that we need to know everything and if you are not ready to tell all we will give you 1 more month. We know that your wife has contacted her senators office and that she has a lawyer. Do you want to come back in 1 month? Kassim said no, I want to finish this today. They brought in another CO to interview him and she asked lots of questions about me and he answered them all. She said "I am going to issue the visa", it will be ready for you tomorrow. But, If I find out you are not with your wife, I will come to the US and take the visa from you. My baby picked up the visa 1 hour and 35 minutes ago and now he's on his way home................ Congratulations, fantastic news! Just shows how you cannot be afraid of authorities. When will he travel to the States?! You must be so relieved. Best of luck to you both!	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-04-09 04:01:00
Middle East and North Africa	Update on interview	It is definitely the norm. There's a whole thread for MENA AP-ers (like me!): AP Tracker You can add your name to the list and experience the joy when someone from the list actually gets their visa after the extended waiting! We've been on there for four months, and visually it helps ease the wait - we're coming up to be one of the older interviews on there who haven't received the visa, so hoping for not too much longer! You can also call the DOS once a week or so to check (1-202-663-1225, hit 1 then 0 to speak to a live person), though they never have details on what's happening and have told me that they don't see updates til the visa is issued, but still makes me feel better. Good luck to you both, you'll be together before you know it!	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-04-11 15:28:00
Middle East and North Africa	Let's give a round of applause for Casablanca!	Congratulations! That's wonderful news, and with no AP - you are so lucky. I hope you have a wonderful life together - best best best wishes for the future.	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-04-13 13:07:00
Middle East and North Africa	Sunday	Despite a rough emotional day for me, my wonderful husband is making us couscous for dinner. Sitting hear listening to it bubble away and inhaling the deep perfumes of cumin, cinnamon, rasll hanoute, and curry sure can change your mood. We'll be stocking up on the authentic couscous spices before emigrating, whenever that may be, to share this, my new favorite dish, with all our friends and family (whom I miss terribly, hence the emotional day). Hope you all are enjoying a wonderful Sunday.	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-04-18 12:48:00
Middle East and North Africa	My Egypt Peeps!	It can take a while - a few months - or be quick - a few weeks. There's a whole thread on how long this takes including a spreadsheet that tracks how long us MENA-peeps are put in AP. Here's hoping it's not long for you both - it's absolute torture!! http://www.visajourn...739-ap-tracker/ Good luck.	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-04-15 05:34:00
Middle East and North Africa	APPROVED!	Congratulations! Another short AP. Best wishes for a wonderful life together! When is he flying to the States?	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-04-20 14:34:00
Middle East and North Africa	Love Words In Arabic !!!	this thread is great - i just tried out my accent and read them to Brahim - and he got them almost instantly! the way i know how to pronounce 'i love you' sounds more like: oh hegbook. between us we know four different languages, but speak french to each other. i'm brushing up on my arabic and sometimes interject silly asides when my husband is speaking to his friends (please forgive my phoentic spelling): 'waaha' - yeah; 'schweeya' - a little bit; '(k)hobs' - bread; 'zeetoon' - olive; and 'oh hegbook' - i love you. they all think it's hysterical.	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-04-18 13:03:00
Middle East and North Africa	221g again	Well, on the bright side, at least they gave you a bloody timeframe! Now you can hang out for 3 months and start the worrying all over again then! Best wishes to you, and for renewed patience in the long journey.	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-04-26 04:41:00
Middle East and North Africa	Only Thursday?	Happy Thursday, at least to me, for those of you that don't have me on facebook. We got our interview for June 9th at 9am in Cairo. Im flying there on the 7th will arrive on the 8th, then do the interview. Then were off to Hurghada for 4 nights, then will go back to Alexandria to visit with the family. Im going to stay for 2 weeks, maybe he will get his visa and will be able to come home with me. Im not holding my breath for that one though. How exciting! Best wishes that he gets the visa while you're there - wouldn't that be wonderful!	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-04-30 07:26:00
Middle East and North Africa	Does this mean we are out of AP??	Sounds very promising! How exciting! I saw a couple of threads that sometimes after submitting the passport, it goes back for just a few weeks of AP, but it's progress. Hope you get the outcome you are hoping for!	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-05-03 10:08:00
Middle East and North Africa	Visa In Hand!!	Hi All - I know many of you are also on the AP thread, but for those of you who are not, Brahim got his visa today after just over 5 months of administrative processing. We are moving to New Jersey on Friday morning and can't wait to start our real life together. Thanks very much for all of your support over the past months!	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-05-11 09:23:00
Middle East and North Africa	The best way to wait	I have a job that lets me work out of our local Paris office. So I do my normal job, and just live in Paris with my husband while we wait out the visa. It's quite expensive to live in France with US credit cards and bank accounts - don't want to think about how much money I've lost just on drawing cash from the cash machine, plus the cost of keeping two homes (one in NJ, one in Paris). Unfortunately, my sejour here is coming to an end in 2 weeks and I have to go back to the States. We're praying we get the visa in time for him to come with me. Hope you can find a way to sort it out - living in Spain for a while would be very cool!	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-04-30 07:14:00
Middle East and North Africa	Hello from the USA!	Just thought I'd give you all an update - we're safe and sound back in the USA! Brahim loves it here so far - we've been invited to all our friends and families' houses and they're fighting over where we go next. Still haven't had just a day to ourselves. The voyage was fine - had a little problem getting out of France with a very racist immigration officer who just sneered at Brahim for being Magrehban and overstaying his visa in France. He wanted us to pay 580 EUR there on the spot = when I handed him my credit card I didn't think he was expecting it and wound up stamping Brahim's passport with no 'fee' and then marking the stamp with pen marks to 'alert' the immigration officers in the US. Haha. Once we got to the US, they were nice as they could be to us, escorted Brahim to the immigration room to process his paperwork. There was a line in there and he waited about an hour, but they didn't ask him any questions at all. He found an Egyptian immigration officer and they chatted. Stressful voyage, but no big issues. Now we're packing up my house (I'm told I have far too many things!) and will be moving on Friday to our new house. Only negative so far is I have a terrible cold from the flight and am not much company. Thanks again for all your support and best wishes for those who still don't have the visa!	Meredith_Brahim	Female	Algeria	2010-05-18 07:03:00