Need Visa help. From Egypt to U.S.

[Cynthia_Marie12]

Hello all.
I need some advice for my <3 that lives in Egypt. He wants to come to the U.S. but needs help with the visa and or immigration process. Is anyone familiar with the steps. We are both pretty much at a loss for this. Please we really need some help. We both care about each other a lot and would love to be together. This distance thing is really difficult. Any advice also on how to keep him motivated and encouraged. Please help.
Thank you.

[kittyo9]

A great place to start is looking at the US Department of State webpage itself. They detail all the different kinds of visas that your SO can apply for and the circumstances under which they may be awarded. There are many different ways to come to the US, but many of them can be difficult to obtain.

Another great place to look is visajourney. These are all people who are going through the process of obtaining visas, both for immigration and for non-immigration. You can ask questions there about the visas you are interested in and people who have had experience with obtaining these visas will be able to answer you.

As for any advice we can offer you, we need to know first... do you want your SO to move here permanently, or are you looking for a way for him to visit for now? These are very different processes, with very different results depending on the country your SO lives in (in this case, Egypt).

[Cynthia_Marie12]

Thank you kittyo9,
I appreciate your help and I will relay the information to him asap.
I do want him to move here permanently. But I wish there was a way that
I could get him here sooner. He seems to be so discouraged at the moment. And I don't know how to lift his spirits.
I just hate all this red tape and the mess it is for people to travel. But, I suppose some things are
necessary.
So I pose these new questions to the community: How do I encourage someone who feels that getting out of there to come see me is almost impossible and is taking a long time? and also: Does anyone know the steps for applying for a visa if they live in Egypt?
Thank you in advance to everyone. I think I've found a good man and I'm so afraid of losing him. I'm not getting any younger and I'd hate to waste anymore time away from him. Honestly it's been so long that I've felt this way about someone that I just wish there was someone who could please help us.
Thank you. Blessed be. :-)

[mllebamako]

Getting visas really depends on your SO's situation. I don't want to discourage you, but getting a visitor visa would probably be really hard for him (unless he has a steady job and some US Embassy connections). Is he a student? If so, he could work on applying to university in the US and get a student visa. A work visa would be difficult to get unless he is highly skilled and can find a US company that wants him. After that, the other option is a fiance visa, but I see that you haven't met in person yet, so that is out.

Honestly, it is really hard for citizens of non-VWP (visa waiver program) countries to get US visas. I suggest that YOU go to him. It'll definitely save you the hassle of visas (you can get a renewable 30-day visa at the airport on arrival) and then you will have met in person so if you decide to apply for the fiance visa for the US later, you will have fulfilled this requirement.

[Cynthia_Marie12]

Thank you mllebamko,
Yes, I am aware that getting a visa will be very difficult. But, I will not let a little difficulty deter him or I. Nothing in life worth having is ever easy. His situation is this: He is a copy editor for a large firm in Egypt. He is in one of the top positions there. It is a steady job and no, he doesn't have friends in the U.S. Embassy. He's just a simple, good man. From what I've learned it's more difficult immigrate to the U.S. than it is to just get a visitor's visa. Unfortunately, I can not go to him. It's not safe for me. Being that I'm a woman and travelling to a country that's in a bit of a turmoil at the moment. And to be blunt, I'm afraid for my safety if I go. Not from him hurting me, no. Just that I've seen some pretty hairy stories of mistreatment of women.
But either way, I thank you for your suggestions and will consider them.
Cordially,
C.S.

[kittyo9]

Getting visas really depends on your SO's situation. I don't want to discourage you, but getting a visitor visa would probably be really hard for him (unless he has a steady job and some US Embassy connections). Is he a student? If so, he could work on applying to university in the US and get a student visa. A work visa would be difficult to get unless he is highly skilled and can find a US company that wants him. After that, the other option is a fiance visa, but I see that you haven't met in person yet, so that is out.

Honestly, it is really hard for citizens of non-VWP (visa waiver program) countries to get US visas. I suggest that YOU go to him. It'll definitely save you the hassle of visas (you can get a renewable 30-day visa at the airport on arrival) and then you will have met in person so if you decide to apply for the fiance visa for the US later, you will have fulfilled this requirement.

All of the above is what I would say. And, really... that's what we had to do. My SO is from Peru (a non-VWP country... doesn't even qualify for the diversity program!), and we tried twice to get him a B-2 (tourist) visa to come visit me in the states, to no avail, despite him being a full-time student in Peru (with documentation), owning part of his house, and getting paid to do research with one of his professors. Eventually (about a year and a half into dating) I realized that if I didn't go to him, I'd never see him at all, and so, despite protests from my parents about how unsafe it was and how I should be spending my money on better things, I went to him.

Honestly, it's a tough road, and my SO probably feels like yours does. After being denied twice, we're both not very optimistic about his chances of ever being granted a temporary visa. It sucks because a lot of people mess it up by taking advantage of the system and immigrating illegally, which screws honest people like us who try to do it legally over. As things are, I won't see him again until July 2013, and we won't be able to close the distance unless we get engaged or he gets into grad school (preferably the latter... then we can get engaged and married here and not have to worry about him leaving the country after the wedding). The fact of the matter is that you and I, as US citizens, have far more freedom to travel than anyone else does coming to the US. It's not really fair, but that's how it is. Definitely keep going to him as an option if you can.

To re-iterate what mllebamako has said... generally, for non-extraordinary cases, people can move to the US either through the fiancee visa, a spouse visa, or by finding work within the states. Because finding work within the US is very difficult if you don't work for a multi-national company or have a highly sought after skill set, many people end up moving on a fiancee/spouse visa. Obviously this requires that you two get married, either in the US or in Egypt. For the fiancee visa, you need to have met your SO in person within the past two years, which is why going to see your SO is a good option, because you don't need to worry about applying for visitor visas or your SO getting denied. After the fiancee visa, though, you have to either apply for a change of status or apply for a spouse visa... something I'm not well versed on, so I'd leave that to the people at visajourney and those who have gone through it here.

Applying for a visa to the US is basically the same in all countries unless they have the visa waiver program, so a person from any country can tell you what to expect.

[Tooki]

I will say this: Don't believe everything that you see on the news.

And try to get a tourist visa first. I can't imagine what it is like not being from a Western/high-income nation though.

[TwoThree]

It is clear that you two have to meet in person before doing anything drastic, and since it seems very difficult for him to obtain a visa to the US, and that you don't want to go to Egypt (though I have English friends who vacationed in Sharm al Sheikh not too long ago and they weren't molested or anything, but it's up to you and better safe than sorry), how about meeting onneutral ground? Have you considered the UAE, for instance? Dubai is a great touristy destination for people from all over the world, is completely safe, and should be pretty accessible to him.

[mllebamako]

how about meeting onneutral ground? Have you considered the UAE, for instance? Dubai is a great touristy destination for people from all over the world, is completely safe, and should be pretty accessible to him.

I was just going to suggest this. Here you can see which countries he could get into without a visa or with a visa-on-arrival.
If you are really worried about your safety in Egypt- I think meeting him in another country is your best bet.

[Cynthia_Marie12]

I just wanted to say, from the bottom of my heart I thank all the people that have posted and offered help and advice. I hope that this good karma y'all have given comes back to you ten fold in blessings with your SO's.
Thank you again, And if anyone else has more help that they can offer it will be greatly appreciated.
Blessed be. Namaste _/|\_

[LDR]

I have just come back from a 6 week holiday in the Middle East and after spending 3 weeks I'm various parts of Egypt alone and in a small group (and happened to meet my SO there) I can tell you I felt safe at all times.

I was stared at by everyone because I was a solo female traveller for some part of the trip, AND i have fair skin AND red hair (I had no chance at blending in :P) but was never harassed by anyone excepted groped by a small gutsy child who was lucky he ran away fast before I could smack him one lol

I had a few men follow me and try to talk to me when i told them I wanted walk alone, they were all very respectful and apologised to me and went away they are more fascinated because we look different, so don't be too freaked out by all the staring, the women do it also

I was in Cairo when the anti-muslim YouTube video came out in august/september this year and while there were protests in Tahir square and at US embassies,. all i did was avoided the area on the day of the protests and dressed conservatively (long pants and long sleeve blouse) and I was fine.

While the political situation isn't as stable as it is here in Australia or the US, I am sure you will be fine if you use common sense like you would at home. Plus you would NEVER have any issues if you are with your SO if he is egyptian, they are very protective and he would look after you

[TwoThree]

excepted groped by a small gutsy child who was lucky he ran away fast before I could smack him one lol

Happened to me a few times, and I'm a local (though not in Egypt)