Hi everyone!
Applying for a J-1 in Jordan (currently located in the UAE though). I keep trying to access the website but it either tells me I'm blocked or puts me in the waiting room for an eternity depending on the browser I use.
Is there a known current technical issue with the website?
Hi everybody,
I am a medical graduate and was recently accepted into a position in the United States, which requires a J-1 visa. I am a Jordanian but reside in the United Arab Emirates.
I was made aware by a few people, including friends and colleagues, that the UAE, specifically the Dubai consular office, is accepting Emergency appointments, and many have interviewed as recently as last week (and probably today, but I didn't ask).
I submitted an emergency appointment request on Friday, and today, I received an email telling me that my request was denied. They didn't provide any reason for the denial, and I am no longer able to submit another request. I attempted to submit a support ticket but was not provided any useful information.
I am wondering if anyone here is applying (or already successfully applied and booked) through the UAE (Dubai or Abu Dhabi) and knows what the reason behind my denial was, and what I need to do to get my request accepted (and be able to submit another one to begin with).
Hey everybody!
I enjoy cooking as a hobby, and have gotten super good at it (at a home cook level) these past few years, however I've largely limited myself to foods within my local cuisine/culture (Arab food, especially levantine).
Recently I've been exploring new cuisines, and have been enjoying French and Italian food quite a bit, but always seem to face the same 2 barriers:
- Wine:
I can't use alcohol in my cooking due to religious purposes. Even if the alcohol cooks off, it's still not permitted. I usually just skip the wine/alcohol step in my cooking and just increase whatever other liquids I'm adding. Some of my friends of different religions who consume alcohol told me that it plays a huge role in the flavour profile and fundamentally changes the flavour of a dish. Now I feel like I'm missing out. I am wondering if there are any good alternatives to wine in cooking that achieve a similar flavour profile? I am thinking of using high quality pomegranate molasses (which I have a ton of) as it has a sweet, slightly sour, slightly bitter flavour, and mixing it into grape juice. I wonder if there are other good alternatives.
- Liquid stock:
A lot of dishes seem to use liquid stock, especially in slow cooked dishes. Unfortunately, the use of premade liquid stock is non-existent in the local cuisine, and store bought liquid stock is quite hard to find and super expensive as a result. Local dishes typically rely on the broth made during the cooking process, with no extra stock being added. My alternative has always been to just add more water to my dishes, but every cookbook and online recipe always talks about how big of a deal adding stock to your food is. I am wondering what a good alternative would be that doesn't involve making my own stock (I am limited on time due to the nature of my work). Would simple stock cubes dissolved in water do that trick? Perhaps with a few upgrades?
I am planning on taking a shot sometime at making a braised short rib with creamy mashed potatoes, as I love slow-cooked recipes. Unfortunately, both of those ingredients show up in the recipe.
Hi everybody.
I am a Jordanian residing in the UAE, attempting to book a J-1 appointment. I think it is also important to clarify here that I had a previous accepted B-1 Visa that used for a conference that is still active (got it in early 2025).
Now onto the actual situation:
I am a medical graduate and researcher, and have recently been accepted into a position in the USA. This requires a J-1 Visa. I reside in the UAE (though I am not from there, I am Jordanian). As you know, with the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, consular visa services are suspended in the UAE as well as in my home country of Jordan. I ended up having to switch my application country, the first time was to Malaysia. Unfortunately, after shifting there and paying my application fee, I found that interview slots are very few and far apart, and was advised by my Malaysian friends to switch to a different location. The popular location for a lot of Arab countries where services were suspended in Turkey, and given that I am very familiar with the place, as well as travel to Turkey being visa-free for Jordanians, it made the most sense, and I submitted another request to change to Turkey.
This is where things started to get messy. I initially scheduled a regular appointment in the consular office in Ankara, and submitted an emergency appointment request, which was accepted. When trying to schedule my emergency appointment, I was being met with an error message that said 'SGA31', and I wasn't able to view the calendar or book anything. I submitted a support ticket explaining the situation, but kept getting responses that just outright didn't answer my questions, and gave me pointless information, such as "emergency appointments are offered at first-come-first-served basis" without at all addressing the error the whole ticker was about. With how long it took them to respond to my tickets, my window to book an emergency appointment had expired. I attempted to cancel and reschedule my regular appointment in hopes of finding something earlier, but was met with the very same 'SGA31' error. At this point, the only solution I found online was to cancel my application as a whole and re-do the application.
I cancelled my application, and started a new application, except this time I was met with an additional step where I had to submit a 'Pre-approval' request, something I didn't have to do in the previous application. I submitted my required documents, and explained in the request the type of position I have been accepted into, which state and institute it is in, and my background as a physician and researcher. A few days later, I was met with a denial of my Pre-approval request, and the only thing I could do on the website was just submitting a new application. I did that, submitted the application, and gave a more detailed explanation in the Pre-approval step. This time the denial was sent not even an hour after. At this point I was desperate and didn't understand what was happening, so I submitted an application again, with a very thorough explanation, and submitted a support ticket alongside it, and STILL I got a denial, and the response I got on the support ticket was once again a bunch of pointless information with no real answer as to what went wrong with my pre-approval request. At this point I truly believe the denials are automated as I submitted another one today, hoping that whoever reviewed my support ticket may have done something about it, but was met with another denial right away.
I am not confused as to what steps I should take. I looked around but couldn't find anyone who went through anything similar. I don't know what I should do here. The entire experience has been miserable and depressing, the website is slow and riddled with bugs, and I am worried about what could potentially be a career ruining obstacle ahead.
If anyone knows what went wrong, how all of this can be fixed, who I can contact, or if anyone experienced anything similar, I am begging you to help me out and guide me, as I truly exhausted all my options.
Utmost gratitude and regards.