ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
USCIS Service CentersNOA2 Vermont
Wow!!!..Received an email from USCIS this morning. Our I-129f petition has been approved. 52 days since NOA1 and 56 days since I put the package in the mail. What a big surprise! Looks like Vermont is picking up the speed. Good luck to everyone else. I wasn't expecting this for another 4 weeks or so...
jean?billMalePhilippines2010-06-18 08:45:00
Asia: East and PacificTaiwan Police clearance
Does anyone know the best way to contact Taiwan regarding a Police clearance certificate? Jean's app was fedexed to them and signed for on 6/21/10. Our interview schedule has been moved ahead quite a bit and the last thing we are waiting for is the PCC. We've called and never seem to get anything but a recording in Chinese which neither of us understands.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.
jean?billMalePhilippines2010-06-25 05:48:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionTaiwan Police Certification
Thanks so much for all your info...someone is feeling much calmer and happier now!
jean?billMalePhilippines2010-06-13 06:22:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionTaiwan Police Certification
My fiancee is working on getting her police cert from Taiwan. She has not lived there since 2007 and has since lost her alien residency card. We found one Taiwan app that only asks for passport info while another app asks for both passport and arc info. Does anyone know if the arc is an absolute neccessity in obtaing a police cert from Taiwan. At this point we're not even sure what is the official app. Thanks for any help.
jean?billMalePhilippines2010-06-12 08:19:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionDS-160
The DS-160 does not apply to any K type visas, at least in Manila. The DOS website, under the FAQ's, also states that the DS-160 is not to be used for K type visas. I assume this to be true for all embassies, but who knows. I specifically asked the call center person about the DS-160 when i scheduled Jean's interview and was told that USEM does not accept it for K visas and it is not needed for payment at BDO. Whether that information gets relayed to BDO or not is another question. I'll post something 7/16 when she goes to Cebu to pay.
jean?billMalePhilippines2010-07-07 10:57:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionDS-160
We got our confirmation email last week and there is nothing about the DS-160. We have no plans to fill it out either. she'll be paying next week. Told her to take the embassy letter with directions and the confirmation email along with her whole package and id's etc. We'll see what happens.
jean?billMalePhilippines2010-07-07 05:36:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionAppointment letter before scheduling interview?
Congrats! Now the fun really begins...
jean?billMalePhilippines2010-07-12 16:00:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionAppointment letter before scheduling interview?
No you don't. I called the embassy a week after NVC said they had sent our package. I wasn't expecting to be able to set a date and was only hoping to find out if the package was received. Based on advice gotten on VJ, when the call center staffer asked if the beneficiary had received notice to schedule the interview, I replied yes even though she had not. Was very surprised when the next response was when would we like to schedule the interview and were given a range of dates.

Good luck!
jean?billMalePhilippines2010-07-07 17:48:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionDS-!60
After you get NOA2 and NVC approves and sends to USEM Manila, you or your fiance should get an email from them stating that you are now ready to schedule an interview and provides you with this link http://manila.usemba...ov/wwwfk1en.pdf We never got this email as i started calling USEM a week after NVC sent it to Manila and set the interview before we got notice to do so. Its recommended to do medical exam at least a week before the interview. You can pay for interview anytime after you schedule it and get the interview confirmation email. There is a wealth of info in the menus at the top specifically on this subject and the search bar is very good also. If you haven't already, check the Philippine forum and portal. the k1 flowchart under guides is very helpful too.

Good luck!
jean?billMalePhilippines2010-07-17 06:38:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionDS-!60

thank for the response, so dosent she need the print out of where she finished the DS-160 so she can pay for medical and visa. or what does she need to take to banco de oro so she can pay for medical and visa.



You pay for the medical at SLMC. As for the interview payment at BDO, they are only "supposed" to require the interview confirmation email you get from USEM. Some seem to want more and others, like where Jean paid at SM mall in Cebu City, said they didn't need anything other than a picture ID.
jean?billMalePhilippines2010-07-16 21:32:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionDS-!60

USEM Manila does not use DS-160. You must fill out the DS156, DS156k, and DS157.



Sorry...forgot to say for K-1/K-2 visas.
jean?billMalePhilippines2010-07-13 05:13:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionDS-!60
USEM Manila does not use DS-160. You must fill out the DS156, DS156k, and DS157.
jean?billMalePhilippines2010-07-13 05:07:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussionnotification from embassy
Sorry...I saw this is for IR-1 not K-1 which my response relates too. Don't know how to delete this.

We didn't wait for them to contact us. One week after NVC notified us that our packet was sent to manila, I called the call center, got a pin and requested an interview. The representative asked if we had received the email notification to set the interview and I just said yes. Apparently, we were in the system because they allowed me to set an interview date. We never did get the email from the embassy stating that they had received our paperwork. If you're going to get anything from them, it will most likely be an email. But why wait? Give it a week after leaving NVC and start calling.

Good luck!

Edited by jean?bill, 29 July 2010 - 08:50 AM.

jean?billMalePhilippines2010-07-29 08:48:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussionds 160
You might want to take a closer look at the Manila Embassy site. The DS-160 does not apply to K-1 visa applicants. K-1 applicants are to continue using the DS-156, DS-156K, and DS-157. The K-1 section of the embassy site refers you to more information on the immigrant visa section. It is in that section that has the caveat that the DS-160 does not apply to K-1 applicants. There's been several other posts recently about this same issue...The link below is still the required documents for the K-1 visa application (with the new fee). Hope this helps.

http://manila.usemba...ov/wwwfk1en.pdf
jean?billMalePhilippines2010-06-19 10:05:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionN-400 Document Question

We were in the same boat and just went with the new edition.  Yes, its much longer in pages but it's almost all just additional yes/no type questions.  There are also additional spaces for more children, prior spouses, etc that added to the overall length.  I'm guessing they added more spaces for sections that applicants traditionally had to add additional pages to complete.

 

As long as you get the form you already completed in before the expiration date, then you shouldn't have any issues but we decided not to risk it.

 

Good luck!


jean?billMalePhilippines2014-02-09 10:34:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 January Filers, 2013

My case is still showing the first step despite the fact I got my green card yesterday lol - that tracking system is a POS biggrin.png

 

 

For this round, we got everything, emails, texts and the USCIS site changed almost daily.  When we did the I-129, my wife was here and it still was on the initial review.

 

We weren't even paying attention other than to look here occasionally for when approvals started occurring, and once again we seemed to be on the positive side of the timeline.  


jean?billMalePhilippines2013-06-22 13:48:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 January Filers, 2013

Hi All , I am new to posting but not new to reading everything , on visajourney. I got my GC in July 2011. I got divorce in January 2013. I sent my I 751 on 01-04-2013 NOA 01-14-2013 fingerprint was for 02-11- 2013 but I went 02-07-2013....As I am reading I see that some people have already received their 10yrs card. The problem that I have, well not really a problem. is that my card will expire on July 17,2013, so what I was thinking January fliers has expired in April, so been mine will expire in July .I guess I might get my 10yrs in September. I stand corrected, two months after your card expire. I know with the USCIS it is on their time but as it is going. Can anyone shine some light on this for me please. Thanks and you can add me too.

 

 

 

Your NOA1 also serves as a one year extension for your 2 year GC.  The first sentence of the I-797, notice of action states that your conditional resident status is extended for a period of one year. 

 

Just curious though, if you got your GC in July, you would not have been able to submit I-751 until 90 days before expiration or approximately April 17.  Did that not create any issues?


jean?billMalePhilippines2013-06-22 13:43:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 January Filers, 2013

Out of curiosity - out of everyone who has so far received their approval:

 

1) how many of you had an interview at the AOS stage; and  

2) how many of you have had children since arriving in the US?

 

I was really surprised that we didn't get an interview as we did not have one at the AOS stage. And I was wondering if the birth of our daughter lead to the easier and faster approval than I was expecting.

 

 

Yes and Yes.


jean?billMalePhilippines2013-06-20 17:56:00
Removing Conditions on Residency General DiscussionI-751 January Filers, 2013

Just thought I would add that we sent our app to VSC in January also and just received email of approval and card production today.  Sorry we didn't get our info added to the list but we're not very active on the site and just located this group a few weeks ago. 

 

Good luck everyone.  maybe VSC is hitting high gear!

 

Now to prepare for N-400 in January...

 


jean?billMalePhilippines2013-06-12 16:42:00
PhilippinesTaiwan can apply for a Police Record Clearance
Sorry to jump in here, but my fiance and I are try to get her cert. She has the app filled out and a copy of her passport. My question is if the ARC is definitely needed? she's not lived in Taiwan since 2007 and has since lost her ARC. She's worried that the ARC is a neccessity and that she may need to get an affadavit of loss before submitting the app and fee. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
jean?billMalePhilippines2010-06-11 22:38:00
PhilippinesNOA1 (WTF??)
If you sent a personal check, see if its been cashed. The case number will be stamped on the back and starts with EAC.....You can then set up an account on the USCIS website and check your status.

Good luck!
jean?billMalePhilippines2010-06-22 13:36:00
PhilippinesNow, where can we get a cheaper ticket

You have to make sure you read the fine print. Kayak prices do not include tax and airport fees...unless they have changed recently. The usual tax and added fees will take that $840 to around $1100.



Nope...That included taxes and fees. Of course all they do is seaarch all the other search engines so you end up purchasing from expedia, orbitz, priceline, etc. Its just easier to search alot of places at once. I got my roundtrip flight from Harrisburg, PA to Cebu in April for $1106 including taxes and fees thru kayak but the actual purchase was thru orbitz.

Even when i do find a flight on kayak, I still search the airline site specifically as sometimes they will have better rates than the online brokers.
jean?billMalePhilippines2010-07-07 15:26:00
PhilippinesNow, where can we get a cheaper ticket
Kayak.com shows flights from Manila to several airports on the east coast for roughly $840. Of course, matching up Jeans one-way ticket with my round trip ticket and then reserving seats together is proving quite the challenge.
jean?billMalePhilippines2010-07-07 13:39:00
PhilippinesNow, where can we get a cheaper ticket
Try kayak.com as well. They are a search engine that searches the other search engine sites like Orbitz, expedia, priceline, etc.

And if you find a great deal let us all know :)
jean?billMalePhilippines2010-07-03 16:52:00
PhilippinesUSCIS Case Status Question
After NOA1, our package wasn't touched again until the NOA2 was approved, which was about 50 days later. We were one of the lucky fast ones though. If you signed up for email and text alert, you will get that as soon as something happens. I had to stop looking at the USCIS site because it was beginning to drive me crazy.

Good luck! And after you get NOA2 things really move fast, so you may want to get started on all the other requiremnets necessary.


jean?billMalePhilippines2010-07-07 08:53:00
PhilippinesCFO Timing Question.
Here is the website for CFO: http://www.cfo.gov.ph/ In the upper left, since you are K-1, you will click on the the "spouses/partners" tab under were it says FOR.

Good luck. We will be doing Jeans CFO in Cebu when I fly over to bring her back. Hope my presence will help in some way. :)
jean?billMalePhilippines2010-07-12 13:43:00
PhilippinesCFO seminar for philippine passport
Agree with 070809. CFO is only needed when your fiancee is approved for her visa and is planning to leave the country. Since she'll have to do a medical exam (only at SLMC in Manila) at least a week before the interview (also only in Manila) she'll have plenty of time to attend the seminar before the interview. This is assuming she will stay in Manila between medical and interview time and not travel back and forth. The only problem is that she will have to return to Manila or Cebu to get the CFO sticker placed in her visa once she physically has the visa, which could be days to several weeks after the interview. She will not be allowed the to leave the Philippines with her visa without the CFO stamp in it.

As for the passport, CFO seminar and stamp is not needed at all.

Good luck!

Edited by jean?bill, 10 July 2010 - 06:30 AM.

jean?billMalePhilippines2010-07-10 06:29:00
PhilippinesK1 Interview pmt at BDO - FYI
I had seen a few threads in the past regarding payment of the interview fee at various BDO branches and some of the paperwork they wanted. I can't seem to find the threads now so i thought i'd post this fyi.

Jean was at SM mall in Cebu City and went to the BDO branch there to pay her fee. She told the bank employee that she did not have her paperwork with her at that time and was told "no problem, we don't need it anyway." They just wanted to see her picture ID. She paid the fee, got the receipts, and will be heading to Manila tomorrow. Maybe they figure no one is going to pay P16K for nothing. Almost sounds logical! :)

Here's one BDO branch that doesn't seem interested in adding to the stress of an already stressful situation. Hope this helps.
jean?billMalePhilippines2010-07-16 13:46:00
PhilippinesPurchasing PI Domestic Airline Tickets Online
I just purchased two tickets for Jean and her mother to fly rountrip to Manila via Cebu Pacific's online site. There were no issues with the airline and the fact that it was a third party purchase. Whether my credit card is floating around somewhere or not, who nows. There was no need to present either the card or a photocopy. On the website, be sure to enter the passengers name(s) where it asks for guests and your name and info for the contact info.

And yes, their prices are very reasonable, especially compared to here. Just makes me wonder how many million dollar plus bonuses we have to subsidize to fly in the US.
jean?billMalePhilippines2010-07-17 13:50:00
PhilippinesInterview appointment

....good day..my petitioner just received mail from nvc indicating case no...and they said they will forward it to the manila embassy..after the manila embassy will receive our case what will they do next..?same with you i also read the post that the manila embassy will no longer send a packet 3?what documents do i expect from the manila embassy to send me..?

any reply will highly appreciated.


They wont send you anything but an email with the link I provided. I called about a week after I knew NVC sent the Package to Manila. I never waited for the email. You will need to download the forms, fill them out, and take them to the interview with you. In fact, we never even got the email. I just called and told them we had and was allowed to set an interview date. There is some very good info to be found in this forum on what is required for Manila, you just need to search for it.

Good luck!
jean?billMalePhilippines2010-07-30 22:50:00
PhilippinesInterview appointment
Right now!....When they ask if you have received your email to set an appointment, just say yes. The email they send is just to tell you that you can schedule an interview and provides this link to a document on their webpage that tells you what you need to prepare for the interview. http://manila.usemba...ov/wwwfk1en.pdf If they dont let you schedule an interview, regardless of how long they tell you wait to call back, call every day until you do.

Good luck!
jean?billMalePhilippines2010-07-30 21:27:00
PhilippinesCFO Seminar - Cebu
Wow...thats kind of scary...Our plans were to do CFO in Cebu also since Jean lives there.

Anyone know if its possible to do CFO in Manila, while she's waiting between medical and interview, and when she gets her visa in Cebu, go to the Cebu office for the sticker?
jean?billMalePhilippines2010-07-10 19:08:00
PhilippinesWhich day of the week is better for traveling?
Try finding the one-way flight you want on the discount sites and then going to the airline directly. I've often gotten a better deal through the airline directly. My last trip to the Phils, I booked a round trip ticket for me on Kayak, using continental and then used the flight numbers to book my fiances one way ticket through continental's online site. Not only did we get seats together, we also got the one-way flight for $200 less than what was advertised on the discount site.

If you're a chronic planner as I am, check some of the Phils airlines like cebu pacific. They have many international flights to HK, Korea and such for less than $100. Then check for airlines flying to US and for special fares. I've done this before and saved alot. Its a hassle to be looking at several airlines and schedules at once but the money saved can be well worth it. Just remember, if you do book flights individually, you will have to pick up luggage and check back in for the next flight, so plan layovers accordingly.
jean?billMalePhilippines2011-06-18 08:51:00
Philippinesair travel

How long ago was that . ??/ I think law is fairly new.


It was September of 2010. We were never asked for any receipts or other docs as mentioned by some.
jean?billMalePhilippines2011-11-07 16:50:00
Philippinesair travel
I used Continental airlines Manila-Hong Kong-New York one way and booked my wife's ticket on their company website. No issues at all.

I've heard the same issues about booking flights from PI and noticed on some non-US carriers that booking one way from PI was not permitted.

I then booked another round trip ticket for me, and knowing her flight number and seat number, I could make the reservation for my return trip so that we could sit together as well.

Edited by jean?bill, 06 November 2011 - 07:02 PM.

jean?billMalePhilippines2011-11-06 19:00:00
PhilippinesAnybody here traveled with their babies? please give me some tips
We're doing the same with a 6 month old in May. Try doing a search for "flying with infants". A lot of good sites with info came up.
jean?billMalePhilippines2012-01-25 17:06:00
PhilippinesNeed help when booking a flight...
we just got back from a month long vacation in the Phils. My husband booked our tickets with my married name on it. We brought our marriage cert just in case. Everything went well and smoothly...:)

Edited by jean?bill, 13 June 2012 - 06:11 AM.

jean?billMalePhilippines2012-06-13 06:07:00
PhilippinesPhilippine passport - change of name

Hi everyone! I need your opinion. I will be visiting the Philippines by October to attend my brother's wedding. I entered US with a K1 visa. However, I have not made a change of name in my Philippine passport so it is still under my maiden name. All of my legal ID's and documents here in the US are under my married name though.

Question #1:
If I book a ticket, should I use my maiden name since my passport is still unchanged?

Use your married name. You should carry a certified copy of your marriage certificate and just a regular copy in case someone wants to keep it. We were there and back in May and no one asked to see it. Same situation as you. Maiden name on passport, greencard in married name and tickets in married name.

Question #2:
They say I will just need to bring my marriage certificate so that when I come back, the US immigration can verify along with my green card and passport. Will it cause delay or problem at the airport coming back?

No problem at all. Immigration will look at both but know that if you entered under K1 that you should be married. They didn't ask for our marriage certificate, I'm guessing because I was with her.

Question #3:
I am in the process of renewing my Removal of Conditions since I entered US with a K1. I have received a letter of extension valid for one year until May 2013. Will this cause delay or problem too?

I can't honestly answer this since my wife is still under the 2 year GC but if you've already submitted your I-751 for ROC and got the extension letter, then you should be ok.

Anyway, anyone of you who have similar experiences please share it here. At least I can make decisions and won't waste time, money, and effort. Thank you!

I would add that the only time my wife was asked for the marriage certificate was when we were leaving Manila. It was actually the airline rep for ANA airlines. No one in immigration whether there or here ever asked.

Enjoy!


fPf_iMc




jean?billMalePhilippines2012-07-09 16:27:00
PhilippinesReceived a package from US Embassy...ok to open?
You won't get the infamous "Brown Envelope" until after the interview and approval. This will have all the immigration documents in it and clearly state on the outside that it is only to be opened by immigration officials at the point of entry. My wife's came in a clear plastic wrapper or envelope that also includes your passport being returned with the visa attached. You can open the clear wrapper and get your passport but don't open or tear the brown envelope in any way.

Good luck! Almost there!
jean?billMalePhilippines2012-08-18 12:54:00
Philippinesfilipinas in pennsylvania
You're near the Wilkes Barre/Scranton area, about an hour northeast of Williamsport. I'm guessing there are plenty around that area as there is a Fil-am store there.
jean?billMalePhilippines2011-10-31 18:19:00