Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	USEM MNL close on Mar.4,7,8, 2011	I called the USEM MNL this afternoon to check if they have my case updated in their system since the DHL tracking says it was received last Feb.28. Ok I am a bit excited and it was just a couple of days since it was receive but I cant help it. the long wait and now it is in Manila..I just want the whole process to be finished and be with my fiance. So anyway, the lady that I spoke to said they it would take 2-3 weeks before they can update those that was received because they are transferring to a new building. I was told to call them again after 2-3 weeks (Unbelievable!!!) and I was also told to wait for the mail that will be sent to my address but if my case was updated in their system I can book my interview even though the mail from USEM is not yet received. I am just sharing this info to those who are also waiting for their case to be updated in the USEM MNL. I do hope it would not take 3 weeks for them to update it in their system. I am thinking of calling them again on March 10, 2011. What do you think? Coincidence but my fiance and I were able to track our case and it was also received at the US Embassy on February 28 at 3:49pm because we were informed by the NVC that they sent our case to USEM on February 24... I called this afternoon to inquire if they entered it to their system but the lady said to just wait for the notification for me to be eligible to set my interview date and because yeah they are moving to the new building and will be close until March 8... I'll try calling them again tom...Good luck to us!	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2011-03-02 09:17:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Case not yet in system...how long?	There's nothing to worry about here. It can easily take two or three weeks from the time your physical case file leaves the NVC until the Embassy receives it and enters it into their system. You will be able to schedule an interview only after the Embassy enters your physical case file into their system. Just keep trying every day to make an appointment. One day soon, it will magically happen.	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2011-04-28 10:04:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Is this a routine response?	Hi to everyone!!!!!! We just had our K-1 petition approval on April 26th and got our NOA2 in the mail April 30th. Now that we got approved and our petition was sent to NVC what is next? I would like to ask some questions about how to set up your medical and Interview appointment. My fiance will be applying for visa in U.S Embassy, Manila Philippines Thanks in advance and I appreciate all facts and experience you share Questions: What is Packet 3 and 4? To those who went to this stage how did you set up your medical and interview appt? (for Philippines K-1 applicant) Do we have to pay the visa fee before we can schedule a medical and interview date? Thank you again for your answers and thoughts!! this thread has been a great help!http://www.visajourn...69#entry4448669	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2011-05-02 00:10:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Is this a routine response?	To the OP: The below might be the sequel to the letter you got yesterday since we seem to have the same NVC and USEM receipt dates. Sounds promising but don't count on it yet. The 2nd paragraph seems to be an admission that the eligibility letter sent thru mail is really superfluous. No need for that white lie come interview time (Their call center agents have to be better briefed though. One of them still insists that I should wait for that confounded letter.) "We received the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)-approved visa petition (I-129F) from the State Department's National Visa Center (NVC) on April 28, 2011, and notified you in writing that you are eligible to be scheduled for a visa interview at the Embassy. You need not wait for the hard copy of our letter and may now visit this website: http://www.ustraveldocs.com/ph or contact the Embassy’s Visa Information and Appointment Service at (632) 982-5555 or (632) 902-8930 to schedule a visa interview date. The Visa Information and Appointment Service is open from 6:00 a.m. ....." Sounds like an eligibility letter...and yes! some did not receive the hard copy of the said letter when they got the same email and proceed to pay the visa fee, get their interview date and medical. It wouldn't be asked in the interview anyway. You need it tho for the medical exam:)	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2011-05-02 00:03:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Is this a routine response?	Our I-129F petition was approved April 6, received by NVC April 11, and sent on to Manila April 13. Until now I have been unable to schedule an interview online, as I keep getting the error message "case type number invalid". Others here have said that means the case has not been uploaded into the embassy system. I emailed the USEM to inquire, and this is the reply I got: We received the electronic file from the State Department's National Visa Center (NVC) today April 28, 2011, and should receive the U.S. Immigration Service-approved visa petition (Form I-129F) shortly. As soon as we receive the I-129F petition from NVC, you will be notified in writing regarding the interview scheduling. Is this a routine response? I was not aware that there was an electronic as a well as a paper file. And it seems to me quite a long delay if they have not received the petition itself from NVC if it had left on April 13 (2 weeks ago now). Has anyone had a similar response / experience? we got the same email on the day it was supposed to be received by the USEM, and got 2 of the same emails receiving our case file electronically on 2 different dates . I called everyday until they told me that they finally found it!(sigh!)after 12 working days (excluding the days the Embassy was closed bec of the move to a new building)so this is not new... Good luck!	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2011-04-28 09:26:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussion	Visa Interview @ Manila	I have quite similar case... I was interviewed before Holy Week and I was also required to submit another cenomar and birth certificate just because the CO saw an annotation in my birth certificate, correcting my middle name. The CO wants a cenomar and NBI with my wrongly spelled middle name and yes, one of the options is to go to NSO Pasay but you can also order it online like I did and the USEM will pick it up in the NSO. NBI with aka will take only 3 days if your fiancee's name got a "hit". So don't worry, I think it would only take a week or two if your fiancee would start getting the required documents.	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2011-04-25 03:50:00
Philippines	It's Finally Done	Congratulations!	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2010-08-17 16:58:00
Philippines	Snail mail question	Usually around two weeks USPS from NC to Manila... longest one was about 2 months...found out it went to Thailand instead of the Philippines! Usually around two weeks USPS from NC to Manila... longest one was about 2 months...found out it went to Thailand instead of the Philippines!	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2010-09-13 19:12:00
Philippines	BABY GIRL NAME PLZZZ	The expecting mother is asking suggestion for baby names... not some unpleasant phenomenon. How about name your child, Ash Hewl good one!	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2010-09-13 20:45:00
Philippines	so emotional	Baton Rouge and Arkansas are not that far away! Tell ur ate to come visit again after the baby is born! Be happy you have family in the States! Hope you are feeling better!	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2010-10-11 18:09:00
Philippines	GOT APPROVED! Yahoo!	Congrats!	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2010-10-04 19:19:00
Philippines	visa approved!	Congrats!	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2010-10-22 20:38:00
Philippines	calling it quits	Wow! Its sad to read this post! All the issues you have brought up should have been discussed prior to asking her to marry you! As a pinoy you should know that "family" is always at the heart of every Filipino! I'm sure that being raised here in the States you have seen its not always a strong point in our culture! Since you are pinoy... I would hope that patience and understanding would have gone a long way to hopefully resolving your issues with your fiancee. When you met your fiancee did you not talk to her father and family? I don't know you Jason, but i can definitely relate to your issues. Having the benefit of hindsight and life experiences... you definitely have made a good decision if you can't trust your significant other when it comes to finances! I think your idea of marriage may be a little skewed though. Marriage is a partnership that is made with promises and compromises. You have to understand your partner and the only way to really do that is to talk. I'm not sure if you speak Tagalog but if you had a hard time talking to your ex then that may have been part of the problem. Just reading this post it sounds like you never really got to know your fiancee. You have the right to send her packing since you don't trust her...better to end the relationship... than end up hating each other later. Hopefully you both will learn from the experience and come out better in the end. God Bless!	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2010-10-24 20:41:00
Philippines	awaiting k1 interview and uncertain what we must do to get it scheduled	then all stopped, dead in the water, like an aircraft carrier with all but one mmr dead and the rudder stuck in a hard right turn. hahaha! sounds like you know a little bit abour being a snipe! MMCS(SW/AW)(Ret) here! I believe you have to schedule the interview with the USEM...	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2010-10-24 21:26:00
Philippines	Learning my fiancee 's culture	The Very Funny English Language English, unless you grew up with its eccentricities, can be a rather difficult and confusing language to learn. The rule is that the rule doesn't always rule. You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which an alarm goes off by going on. Why is it that whether you sit down or sit up, the results are the same? It is only in the English language that people recite at a play and play at a recital. When the stars are out, they are visible, When the lights are out, they are invisible. If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? How can 'A Slim Chance' and 'A Fat Chance' be the same? How can 'You're so cool' and 'You're not so hot' be different? Why are 'A wise man' and 'A wise guy' opposites? Although the masculine pronouns are he, his and him, we must be grateful for small mercies of the language that the feminine pronouns after 'She' don't become 'Shis' and 'Shim'. The bandage was wound around the wound. I did not object to the object. The insurance was invalid for the invalid. Boxing rings are square. A guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig. The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert. There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. The farm was used to produce produce. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France. If brother becomes Brethren, why doesn't mother become Methren? If tooth becomes teeth, why doesn't booth become beeth? If one goose becomes two geese, why doesn't one moose become two meese? If I speak of a foot and you show me your feet, And I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet? How come Writers write but Fingers don't fing? And Grocers don't groce and Hammers don't ham? A box in the plural becomes boxes. But an Ox in the plural never becomes oxes. (It becomes Oxen). A lone mouse can transform into a whole set of mice, But it's impossible for a single house to become a whole block of hice. (It becomes houses). It's not ridiculous, but entirely sensible to ship by truck and send cargo by ship. We are a strange lot to have noses that run and feet that smell. How come you never hear of a combobulated, gruntled, ruly, or peccable person? Shouldn't there be a shorter word for "monosyllable"? If you take an Oriental person and spin him around several times, does he become disoriented? If people from Poland are called "Poles," why aren't people from Holland called "Holes? If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, doesn't it follow that electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged, models deposed, tree surgeons debarked, and dry cleaners depressed? The human race has been running for a great many centuries now - but we're not tired yet. "I am" is reportedly the shortest sentence in the English language. Could it be that "I do" is the longest sentence? So good luck people with our multi-cultural, multi-language marriages. Awesome! I love it!	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2010-09-13 20:16:00
Philippines	Any Fil-Am Couples groups in Philadelphia area?	Not too sure about Philly... but there are lots of Pinoys/Pinays in NJ and NYC area! Lots of chances for good Filipino cooking! I heard they even have a Jollibee and Red Ribbon in the NJ/NYC area!	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2010-12-28 21:13:00
Philippines	GOT MY VISA TODAY!	Congrats!	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2011-01-15 10:06:00
Philippines	Anyone experiencing this?	YM has been a great way of keeping the lines of communication open! Skype is also great as well as YM videochats! Connections are usually slow but anything is better than nothing! Believe me I know... spent 24 years in the Navy! waiting for the "mail bouy" sucked! Internet email and YM is AWESOME!	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2011-01-18 16:39:00
Philippines	We got our petition approved but........cenomar	First of all, annulment is not the same as nullity of marriage. In annulment, a marriage is legal and is valid but this can be made invalid in certain cases. In nullity of marriage, the marriage is void from the very beginning when a person gets married knowing he or she still has a valid marriage with someone else, that's bigamous and you can go to jail!I hope you have a good lawyer working on your case, it could be faster than annulment but there is no precise or definite duration of this kind of proceeding and it depends on the complexity of the case. Darnell is right tho to "go slow with the USEM". In fairness to your fiancee, she must be really in good faith to tell you that she's free to marry because of the void marriage. Give it time, just be honest on the real situation in the interview if you decide to continue with the K1. More importantly, Pinay Wife has given you options (and the advantages) should you decide to continue with the K1 or choose the spousal visa instead. Good luck!...Libby Edited by gerrynlibby, 07 February 2011 - 11:02 AM.	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2011-02-07 11:00:00
Philippines	Please help, problems with phone	You can signup for Yahoo YM! You can set up ur mobile so you can IM as much as you want. (Just make sure you have the appropriate plan for ur phone!) My Blackberry has an unlimited data plan and my fiancee has a similar plan for the Blackberry I left her. Good luck!	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2011-02-24 20:08:00
Philippines	How was it the first time you meet him/her personally?	It was magical!!! when I picked him up at the airport, i was too shy to say anything. I just hold his arm and smiled at him, he laughed and hugged me so tight!	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2011-02-18 09:15:00
Philippines	How to pay for K1 visa online?	If you mean paying for your interview, here's the link http://www.ustraveld...entoptions.html	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2011-03-07 22:23:00
Philippines	tip for chest x-ray...	now here's a reason to drink milk... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKQf2AP-V3I	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2011-03-08 17:55:00
Philippines	Scheduling Problems with USEM	As of this morning, they finally found the physical case file I was informed that they will upload it today and to set my interview schedule tomorrow afternoon!	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2011-03-21 23:33:00
Philippines	Scheduling Problems with USEM	Hi Tahoma! I already did numbers 1-3... the last time I talked to Ms. Castro in the USEM inquiry line, she made a call to the unit in charge of uploading the cases, and i was told they will double check the box! In fairness, she made several follow ups on our behalf as well as the call center. She would say, it's only electronically sent.. the physical file is not there yet but the NVC emailed Gerry and was informed that the case was forwarded on February 24, 2011 and he even called the NVC to make sure of the date it was sent and the operator told him it should be there by now! I'm calling the Immigrant Visa Unit on monday, maybe you're right about number 4.. Thanks Tahoma! you've been a great help here in VJ especially to Filipinos! Mabuhay!	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2011-03-19 01:50:00
Philippines	Scheduling Problems with USEM	Hi VJ members! I was wondering if anyone was having issues with scheduling an interview appointment with USEM? NVC sent our K-1 package to Manila February 24th and they received it February 28th. My Fiancee tried to call to set up an interview appointment but was told the package wasn't uploaded yet. (No problem wait a few days and try again!) She waited a few days and called again to try to set up an appointment but by that time they were moving the Immigrant Visa Unit to their new building! She tried to call after the move and they still had not uploaded the package. I tried calling them the other day and they still cannot find the case in the system... I was told to let Liberty know she had to wait for the Letter of Eligibility! I have read the threads for the last 8 months and this is kinda new... from past experiences some vj members say that they never got a letter from USEM! So I guess I am asking if anyone has heard of a new policy for scheduling interview appointments? The website for scheduling appointments now has a warning about scheduling appointments that are not returning visas? (something about if you schedule the appointment and its not the proper visa you will be turned away at USEM...) Any thoughts or suggestions? Salamat po!	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2011-03-18 22:32:00
Philippines	AFTER THE LONG WAIT FOR US..	Congratulations Mark&Tina! Told you! VSC would be faster this time!	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2011-03-29 22:04:00
Philippines	INTERVIEW PASSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!	Congrats!	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2011-04-04 16:49:00
Philippines	Success	Congrats!	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2011-04-13 19:54:00
Philippines	hard time on scheduling online	Hi! you can try it again later.. i tried scheduling online too (last month) but it wouldn't go thru because the month of March was already full! so i called this numbers 9028930/9825555 and made the call center finish the scheduling for me.	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2011-04-15 05:16:00
Philippines	NOA2 question	congratulations!	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2011-04-28 10:15:00
Philippines	CENOMAR problem	Your friend's fiancee is now legitimated. The effect in the Birth Certificate would be that her original family name as appearing in the said document shall not be erased or deleted, but in the space provided for remarks shall be written “Legitimated by Subsequent Marriage” indicating the family name which she shall bear by virtue of the legitimation. It wouldn't take 10 years to amend a birth certificate or legitimize a child born out of wedlock. It will only be a notification to the Office of the Local Civil Registrar of the subsequent marriage of her parents. From then on, she can use her father's surname..	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2011-04-25 03:18:00
Philippines	Issue with NSO	It would really depend on the local civil registrar where she's at because a friend of mine who filed in the province (Isabela) they have some cut off days in forwarding all petitions in NSO Manila..It would be around 2 weeks after they filed it in NSO then the papers would be send back to the province with its correction of the birth certificate. Tell your fiancee to make a follow-up on her petition to the LCR (as to when it was sent to NSO Manila) so she can make an estimate on when will she get her corrected birth certificate. You're almost there! :thumbs:Good luck on her medical and interview! btw.. a Certificate of Finality is a decision in the petition for Correction of Clerical Error which has become final and executory... it will then be forwarded to NSO Manila and send back to the province with its correction.	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2011-05-01 23:43:00
Philippines	Issue with NSO	Ah okay... Certificate of Finality, these are words I recognize! She told me the other day that she received a certificate of finality issued on April 25, 2011. And she said something about it saying that the decision on her petition has become final and executory. I had no idea what that meant. So how does this work from here? Because I'm not sure if I understand it the way my fiance is explaining it. It sounds like the LCR has this certificate of finality also. So they have to send it to NSO Administration in Manila first, correct? And then SOMETHING will happen there. And from there they send some final documentation to NSO in Dumaguete. Am I right? It seems like it's being sent around in circles... But your post makes it seem like we're almost there! So if she has this certificate now, how soon do you think she might get her corrected birth certificate? It would really depend on the local civil registrar where she's at because a friend of mine who filed in the province (Isabela) they have some cut off days in forwarding all petitions in NSO Manila..It would be around 2 weeks after they filed it in NSO then the papers would be send back to the province with its correction of the birth certificate. Tell your fiancee to make a follow-up on her petition to the LCR (as to when it was sent to NSO Manila) so she can make an estimate on when will she get her corrected birth certificate. You're almost there!	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2011-05-01 23:31:00
Philippines	Issue with NSO	How can SO MANY people have this issue with errors on their Birth Certificates? I almost have to wonder if it is something that is being done deliberately so that people, when they realize the error, will have to come back and PAY for the corrections to be made. It seems like it's not a bad income producing, job creating industry: Purposely fill in inaccuracies on Birth and Marriage certificates on a good percentage of births and marriages. Then charge them $300 to $400 a pop to get the document fixed. Hmm... It's either the hospital staff's error in typing it or the parents didn't check what was written in the birth record before they sign it and forwarded to the local civil registrar. I got mine corrected in less than a month in Manila City Hall! and it only costs less than $100!:)I got the Certificate of Finality myself and submitted it to NSO Edsa, that way it could be faster and I got the corrected BC after a few days or a week... Edited by gerrynlibby, 01 May 2011 - 10:14 PM.	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2011-05-01 22:09:00
Philippines	any April interviews?	Liberty is getting ready for her interview now! Hopefully we will have great news in a few hours!	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2011-04-13 16:13:00
Philippines	She will be here in 1 day.	Great news!!! Congratulations and best wishes!	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2011-05-02 00:19:00
Philippines	school	The thing to worry about is whether the child will forget how to speak Tagalog. yeah this is so true! I wish I had learned Tagalog when I was younger! I do understand most of my mom and dads dialect though!(pangasinan)	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2011-05-02 21:03:00
Philippines	While Waiting For NOA1 and NOA2	Congrats on ur NOA1! Patience is a virtue for this step in the journey!!! Keep communication lines open with ur SO! Good luck and speedy journey!	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2011-02-23 19:57:00
Philippines	waiting for pacquiao vs mosley fight	GO MANNY!	Retscpo	Male	Philippines	2011-05-07 19:54:00