Byumommy

Here is a little background.

I am the US citizen. My fiance is a Tunisian citizen, but will be a permanent
resident of Canada anyday now. He is arab muslim, never been married before, holds a
master's degree in math & computer science. And has his own company in Tunisia.

I am 4 yrs his senior. I am a white, christian (though thinking of converting)
american that has been divorced twice before. I live off only $13K/yr in child
support as my sons are still very young.

We met 15 months ago online. Have yet to meet in person, but that will change once he
gets to Canada in a couple of months.

What path should we take? I-130 after marriage? K-1? Does he go through the canadian
consulate or the Tunisian one? I am most worried about the affadavit of support. I
know I could get a family member or friend to co-sponsor him, but that isn't going to
happen as my family isn't thrilled about the relationship.

Can he travel freely to the US with Canadian permanent resident status?

Thanks so much!

Alvena Ferreira

Byumommy wrote:
    > I am the US citizen. My fiance is a Tunisian citizen, but will be a permanent
    > resident of Canada anyday now. He is arab muslim, never been married before, holds
    > a master's degree in math & computer science. And has his own company in Tunisia. I
    > am 4 yrs his senior. I am a white, christian (though thinking of converting)
    > american that has been divorced twice before. I live off only $13K/yr in child
    > support as my sons are still very young. We met 15 months ago online. Have yet to
    > meet in person, but that will change once he gets to Canada in a couple of months.
    > What path should we take? I-130 after marriage? K-1? Does he go through the
    > canadian consulate or the Tunisian one? I am most worried about the affadavit of
    > support. I know I could get a family member or friend to co-sponsor him, but that
    > isn't going to happen as my family isn't thrilled about the relationship. Can he
    > travel freely to the US with Canadian permanent resident status?
    >
You are getting the cart before the horse. FIRST you meet and see if you love him
in person, and THEN you figure out how to get him to the US for marriage (or
marry first).

I urge you to be sure you are making the right move before you make a firm decision
on this relationship. You should consider the implications of how change to muslim
religion may affect your children. I'm not saying it's wrong, I'm saying that it may
be a very large change for them at a critical time in their life. You need to
consider that your FIRST obligation should be to your children and secondly to your
boyfriend/fiance, IMHO. I also urge you to let your children get to know him and see
how they like him before you plunge into a marriage. You have not even met this man
yet, and you have no idea how he and your children will interact!!! I kindly suggest
two giant steps backward and some logical thought. I also suggest that you maintain a
relationship for a bare minimum of 6 months after you meet him in person and see how
you feel at the end of that time before marrying him.

I recommend that you read this page:
http://www.afrol.com/Categories/Wome...isia_women.htm

How much do you know about Tunisia? Notice how women are treated in his country. I
recommend that you travel to his parents and meet them. Spend enough time with them
to notice how your boyfriend's mother is treated. Decide if you want to be treated
that way. I suspect that he will act very similar to his parents. You need to be sure
that this is OK with you.

I also recommend that you read some of the links on this page:
http://www2.apex.net/users/thehydes/books6.html

I am not trying to discourage you. However you are well advised to proceed with
caution, be sure that this is the real thing, and that you are willing to make some
serious lifestyle changes, if this marriage is to succeed. You should also give your
children first consideration, since they are subject to your care.

Of course you are aware that due to his home country's location, your fiance will
receive additional scrutiny by the US State Department and CIA before receiving any
visa to the US.

Alvena

Doc Steen Site: http://www.mindspring.com/~docsteen/...o/visainfo.htm
=========================================
I am not a lawyer and this is not immigration advice. This is my personal opinion,
gleaned from the previous postings of others, and posted for the purpose of
discussion only. If your case is complicated, then you may need an immigration
attorney. Locate an immigration attorney in your area at: http://www.aila.org
=========================================

Mrtravel@Sbcglo

Alvena,

I agree. However, since she lives on 13K in child support, I am wondering how she is
going to visit his parents in Tunisia unless he sends her money. In any case, with 2
divorces behind her and children to take care of, I think she should step very
lightly here. With the cultural and religion differences here, this would be quite a
change. Additionally, there may be some hostility from the many bigots in this
country. I hope she lives in an area of multicultural tolerance.

A conversion to Islam from Christianity is not a minor thing. Of course there are
varying degrees of religion, but she should spend quite a bit of time with him and
his culture before making this decision. I can't imagine making it based on email
conversations. If possible, visit his family and his friends. Also consider the
possibility that he might someday want to return to live in Tunisia and how that
would affect you, the children, and their father.