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Recently my Egyptian boyfriend of 2 years was arrested and will be deported within 90 days. I got the best lawyer for immigration but there was no hope and he will not be able to come back to America until after 10 years, even if I want to get married to him. I am now willing to move to Egypt to be with him but I have no idea what I have to do. I am an American woman, I wanted to know if being a christian could put me in danger. I also wanted to know how I would get a VISA once I got there. Also I am 18 years old, any information to prepare me for my journey would be very helpful. Thank you.
Posts: 31 | From: West Chester, Pa, 19380 | Registered: Oct 2005
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You can obtain a renewable, 30-day tourist visa on arrival at Cairo International Airport for a fee of USD 15. You can extend the visa at the Mogamma building in downtown Cairo.
The biggest challenge will be the culture shock, this could be a very rewarding experience but first you would need to gain an in-depth understanding of Egyptian culture and religion (it's pretty obvious from the question re: being a Christian that your knowledge is fairly limited). Rules governing relationships between men & women are very different from what you are used to at home. Is your boyfriend serious about your relationship? In Egypt this would mean that he marries you & supports his family financially (living together as boyfriend/girlfriend is not an option in Egypt). Are you ready for that? You are very young to face such big decisions, I am sure you would have dreams of your own such as studying, traveling etc. Anyways, I wish you the best of luck with your decision.
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you are so right Ann , 18 yers old still so young to make such a decision , think twice before you come to Egypt to rescue your bf !!!! i dont know your bf in person but i have been to the states twice most egyptians working and living in the states are after work permits and that stuff my advice stay in the states and you ll find another egyptian or arab or maybe mexican guy lookn for an american partner Posts: 1123 | Registered: Oct 2005
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quote:Originally posted by JA1023: Recently my Egyptian boyfriend of 2 years was arrested and will be deported within 90 days. I got the best lawyer for immigration but there was no hope and he will not be able to come back to America until after 10 years, even if I want to get married to him. I am now willing to move to Egypt to be with him but I have no idea what I have to do. I am an American woman, I wanted to know if being a christian could put me in danger. I also wanted to know how I would get a VISA once I got there. Also I am 18 years old, any information to prepare me for my journey would be very helpful. Thank you.
you're fine to go as a christian, there are many christians in egypt.
however, I must ask, how old is he and you have been seeing him since you were 16 years old?? wow. Trust me honey, and I am an American girl too, what you want at 18 and what you will want in 10 years will be completely different....I hope you don't make big decisions you will regret and hate later on. Good luck.
Posts: 1706 | From: Dallas, Texas, USA | Registered: Nov 2004
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quote:Originally posted by JA1023: Recently my Egyptian boyfriend of 2 years was arrested and will be deported within 90 days. I got the best lawyer for immigration but there was no hope and he will not be able to come back to America until after 10 years, even if I want to get married to him. I am now willing to move to Egypt to be with him but I have no idea what I have to do. I am an American woman, I wanted to know if being a christian could put me in danger. I also wanted to know how I would get a VISA once I got there. Also I am 18 years old, any information to prepare me for my journey would be very helpful. Thank you.
Hmm lots of questions spring to mind first. Such as how are you going to live? Where are you going to live? At his house as his girlfriend - don't think so. You will not be able to live with your boyfriend unless you are married. Does his family know about you? How old is he? Is he going to be able to give you money and support you while you look for a job. Do you speak any Arabic? Do you know how much you will earn? What can you do? You could be earning less than two dollars a day. Are you prepared for that? Do you like Middle Eastern food. what are your clothes like? If they don't cover you up in the right places you will have to buy new different ones. Can you afford it? Can you drive? Can you afford taxis - You can take a bus but I wouldn't recommend some of the buses for young american females. Are you blonde with blues eyes by any chance? Do you like being looked at all the time?
By all means try it but I advise you do these 3 things for when you are there:
1). Have an open return ticket or readily available cash and documents to pay for a flight home quickly for whatever reason. This is crucial. You must have the means to get out as well as get in.
2). Have enough cash to support yourself for a month without the help of your boyfriend (and don't give it to your boyfriend)
3) Make sure your family know where you are and can contact you and register with the US embassy. This could be needed for all sorts of reasons - a medical emergency for example.
I would think very seriously about it first. Let your boyfriend go back to Egypt and see whether you really can't live without him. And think about just going for a visit not to live. It is a tough place and very, very different. You could have a great adventure - and then again....
Posts: 106 | From: London, England | Registered: Aug 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Snoozin: What was he arrested for?
Not to be a pain, but why was he arrested? As far as I know...INS isn't very good at going around picking up illegal aliens...they usually are detained after being stopped for another possible crime.
Posts: 8794 | From: 01-20-09 The End of an Error | Registered: Dec 2004
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I can understand why you would all think he is using me, but I believe he is not. Our relationship is significantly different. If he was using me, what could he use me for in Egypt, why would he ask me to go? He is a very good looking man and would have no trouble at all finding a girl in Egypt. Also I took offense to the comment about how there are a lot of different immigrants for me, that is not what I am about. I did not mean for this to happen but it did, and now I love him very much. Are all egyptian men the same, is there no hope for this one? He was stopped for one of his headlights being out and when they looked up his name it came up as he had outstanding warrants. Anyways when he got to the station they realized it was the wrong guy, so after that the INS took him, and left me here alone. I'm not going to lie I am a beautiful girl, and would have no trouble getting another guy, thats not what this is about. I would never go with another egyptian after this, my next man, if there is one, will be american for sure. But, thank you so much everyone for your responses they will be very helpful.
Posts: 31 | From: West Chester, Pa, 19380 | Registered: Oct 2005
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If your boyfriend is located in Cairo you could become a nanny for an American or other foreign family and you could also take up college classes at the American University or some other place (I am not sure how your finances look like).
This time you spend there will give you a pretty much good idea of his country, culture and if you really want to spend possibly the next 10 years of your life there. I think that's the critical point here and who knows he would might never return to your home country.
I totally can understand how you feel about him, talk to your parents about your plans and if you decide you want to spend some time in Egypt make sure upon arrival you have already a job (au pair employment would be great because you get lodging and food offered by your guest family and they might even pay for your airplane ticket if you agree to stay there for 12 months and work for them).
Before travelling get more informed about your guest country, costums, dress code etc. You will also experience the huge culture shock as others pointed out. And Egypt is totally different than the States but not impossible to take - many expats living there. There is a big American community inside Cairo, many of them worship at an American church.
Again, please totally include your parents into the decisionmaking and that they approve of your boyfriend. Take it step by step and go and see the place where he's from. You might come to conclusion that this is not what you want. If you decide differently then so be it as long as you are happy and you are safe. Don't even think about marriage at this young age, enjoy your youth, you will be able to travel and see some different places.
Good luck!
[This message has been edited by Tigerlily (edited 08 October 2005).]
Posts: 30135 | From: The owner of this website killed ES....... | Registered: Feb 2004
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Dear Freind, Im appreciating ur honest and faithful to ur boy freind and u have to know that here in egypt there is no difference between religion between people we have freinds christians and we live with them and we like them and love them donot worry Egypt is a safe country and its ok for u to live
quote:Originally posted by JA1023: Recently my Egyptian boyfriend of 2 years was arrested and will be deported within 90 days. I got the best lawyer for immigration but there was no hope and he will not be able to come back to America until after 10 years, even if I want to get married to him. I am now willing to move to Egypt to be with him but I have no idea what I have to do. I am an American woman, I wanted to know if being a christian could put me in danger. I also wanted to know how I would get a VISA once I got there. Also I am 18 years old, any information to prepare me for my journey would be very helpful. Thank you.
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For the visa its easy when ur in re entering egypt in the airport u cnpay 10$ and take visa for 90 days and u can extend it after u come to egypt as u wish
any help just mail me at mohkhamis@yahoo.com
quote:Originally posted by JA1023: Recently my Egyptian boyfriend of 2 years was arrested and will be deported within 90 days. I got the best lawyer for immigration but there was no hope and he will not be able to come back to America until after 10 years, even if I want to get married to him. I am now willing to move to Egypt to be with him but I have no idea what I have to do. I am an American woman, I wanted to know if being a christian could put me in danger. I also wanted to know how I would get a VISA once I got there. Also I am 18 years old, any information to prepare me for my journey would be very helpful. Thank you.
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