Getting to America

Fahad and Jabbar are best friend. They met in a mosque in Connecticut. Fadad, a Sunni, never discusses religion, and didn't know Jabbar was a Shiite, he just knew he wanted him to come to the UAE for a visit.

Fahad wasn't sure how to get Jabbar here, so he asked Farook, who promised to take care of everything. Farook told Fahad that the fees for a visa were €400, which Fahad paid. Farook then issued a visit visa from his own company, which is illegal, since Jabbar wasn't coming for a job interview. Farook warned them that the visa was only good for 60 days. After 50 days, they gave the visa (and another €100) to Farook who got them a 30 day extension. So, 86 days after Farook handed them the visa, Jabbar tried to return to the US. He was pulled out of line by the immigration officials. Fahad was worried, but no one would tell him what was happening. Frantic, Fahad remained at the airport for three hours, asking what had happened to Jabbar, to no avail.

The next day, Jabbar called from the US to say that the visa had, in fact, expired, and he'd been fined about €60. Once he paid the fine, they let him go to the boarding area. It had only taken a few minutes.

For some reason, Farook had kept the visa for a week before giving it to Fahad, and neither Fahad nor Jabbar had actually looked at the expiration date on the visa.

But at least they had a very nice visit for 86 days.