Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Philippines	Approved with very quick interviews	Thanks guys...another update....finally I can now track my case # from 2Go...visa inbound...woohooo!!!	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-07 02:58:00
Philippines	Approved with very quick interviews	Thanks to you guys in the VJ community for sharing their experiences, it really helped in the preparation especially with the documents and the mindset....	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-05 17:36:00
Philippines	Approved with very quick interviews	Guys..believe it or not...my status on the CEAC site shows ISSUED...whoah...	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-05 05:44:00
Philippines	Approved with very quick interviews	A lil background about my case and ourselves wife is a USC and we have a year old baby also a USC. Met wifey personally through a family friend in 2003. Got married in June 2011, that time wife was an LPR. She got preggers after a month and gave birth to our daughter in Jan in NYC minus me. She was naturalized on June 2012 then filed the petition the following month. In the periods of 2008-2011, I applied for a tourist visa 4 times, 2 attempts for personal reasons, 2attempts were due to work. Only the third attempt was successful and the last attempt obviously was not. Hookay on with the timeframe... 6:00 AM - Lined up with the 6:15 AM appointment folks 6:30 AM - Filipina embassy employee tore off 1 and took a part of my appointment letter and took my passport then placed it in a ziploc bag then gave back to me the bagged passport with the remaining pages of my appointment. 7:00 AM - Got in the compound and lined up to get my queue number (bear in mind they call them in random) 7:45 AM - Was called for finger prints 9:00 AM - Called for the initial interview with a filipino cosul..an old dude asked the ff. Questions in Tagalog.. 1. So your wife, ______ petitioned you? 2. What's does she do? Ahhh so she is a Physical Therapist? 3. Address in NYC is the same? 4. How did she migrate? 5. Did you have any international trips? 6. Did you go the US (took my old passport with the used and expired tourist visa) Asks me to sign the DS 230 and put my mobile # along with my gradeschool and highschool details like year attended and school. Told me please show your photos to the american consul for your final interview and please take your seat and wait for your number to be called again then wished me luck it was over in 2-3 minutes. (didnt ask for any evidences like photos and etc) While waiting I overhead part of the interview of a guy who has a similar case to mine by a female consul. "Help me understand why it took you this long to get married? I really need an explanation" in a stern voice. I was like thinking "oh #######"...suddenly the jitters came back 10:15 Called to my final interview by a male caucasian Consul who asked fory left hand fingerprints and instructed me to tge oath. He was emotionless and has a pokerface 1. Who is your petitioner 2. Where does she live? (almost messed up here) 3. Do you have children? 4. Where is your kid now? 5. What was the purpose of your previous trip to the US 6. Child's birthday 10 second pause and said the magic words "Okay your visa is appproved" . It was over in 2-3 minutes. I thanked the guy and still he has that pokerface lol...I never felt sooo relieved that I forgot I was hungry then I was like "damn! he never asked any photos and etc from me" NOTE: It would be a good idea to eat before going to the embassy. My appointment was 6:15 but I ate a mcmuffun and a hashbrown before heading there and yet it was growling after the initial interview 10:45 Called to a window by a filipino dude who said all your dox are complete and go to the window for 2Go for your delivery address I went back to Casa Bocobo grinning ear to ear...I forfeited my free breakfast with the hotel since 10AM was their cutoff...heck was too happy and I just let it go. Broke the news to my wife by pretending it got denied lol... Edited by Cha n Nel, 05 August 2013 - 03:36 AM.	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-05 03:32:00
Philippines	How i met my American guy... future love of my life	Congrats...it's truly amazing at times that love comes unexpectedly.... Hi all!!!   Just want to break the GOOD NEWS!!! Visa approved!!!!    To God be the glory! Before we went there! The victory has been already proclaimed.   Review coming up... stay tuned....	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-08 05:38:00
Philippines	Do you really have to bring these thing again to the interview?	Although nvc noted all our documents are complete. I brought all originals of birth, cenomar/cemar, marriage certificate, nbi, and photocopies of them. I only had photocopies or scans of my wife's irs transcript, certificate of employment. Facetime screenshots, photos before wedding, wedding and after wedding with our kid. I was not asked for other documents in the interview except the appointment letter. But mind you, it's better to be prepared than to be delayed.	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-13 22:02:00
Philippines	CFO Cebu 08.12.13	yes the visa is a sticker attached to the passport, the visa number is found on the lower right and written in red.   Oh thank you..I'll relate this info to my husband...Is the visa the sticker attached to the passport? if so..does is says the visa number on it? My husband is a bit concerned about the package from 2go that said "do not open"..he said it was ripped on the side about an inch or so...maybe because of rough handling. I told him to leave it as it is..so custom wont think that it has been tampered. Thanks again for all your help ..we're almost done with the journey.	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-14 10:58:00
Philippines	CFO Cebu 08.12.13	On my end, I just took out my passport from the packet and left everything else as is. They would need to see the passport and of course the visa in it. You need to photocopy information page of the passport and of course the visa. You will also need to photocopy the Immigrant data summary sheet that is attached to the sealed envelope. DO NOT REMOVE THAT. You can still have the Immigrant data summary sheet photocopied even with the plastic wrapped around the whole packet. Hope that helps.   Hi congrats for attaining your CFO sticker already...my husband still on the process of attaining one..but got a few confusion..and hope you will be able to help us. Just wanna ask about bringing the visa..does it mean bring the whole thing from 2go? my husband said theres like a note that says "do not open" so I wasn't so sure exactly what he needs to photocopy..Please help	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-13 21:31:00
Philippines	CFO Cebu 08.12.13	For Cebu, the addy for the CFO is: 2nd Floor, Causing-Lozada Building, Osmeña Boulevard corner MJ Cuenco Street, Cebu City, Philippines 5:50AM - Arrived to get a priority number. Believe it or not an employee was already there (If you arrive later, you will have to deal with the lady guard and mind you she is not as accomodating). He asked if I had the ff.: 1. Passport and a photocopy of the biometric page 2. Visa and a photocopy of it 3. Birth Certificate and a photocopy of it 4. Marriage Certificate and a photocopy of it 5. 2 valid Ids and and their respective photocopies (they allowed both Id's back to back on the same page) He gave me the priority number and write my name on the log book told me to come back before 8:00 AM 7:45 AM went back after eating breakfast and killed time in Mcdonald's 7:50 AM We were allowed inside the CFO office, lots of chairs and the office is airconditioned (don't bring entourages especially kids, CFO wont like that) 9:00 AM my priority number was called, lady check my documents again and gave me a form to fill up 9:30 AM got called by name by another lady who checked my form if there are missing information 10:30 AM got called by name for picture taking and was asked to come back by 1:00 PM 1:00 PM back at CFO office 1:30 PM got called for the seminar and paid 400php (we were mixed with the immigrants for other countries) 2:30 PM Watched videos 3:30 PM Group counselling with USA and Canadian immigrats 4:45 Interview with the counselor. My interview was more of a casual conversation. How did your wife migrate? What was her course/major ? How come it took her that long to get married ? How come she got her citizenship after 12 years Asked to show photos It was pretty fast and easy. Mind you I think what they were looking for are immigrants who are timid and who don't know their partners well. It is part of their lecture that you have to be confident and assertive . It also helped that I am a callcenter trainer and is exposed to the American style workplace and clients plus I did go to the US back in 2011 for training. 5:00 Got the certificate and sticker It was long day, not to mention I had to attend a company party the night before and only had 2 hours of sleep. Honestly I really thought the CFO thing is a bunch of malarkey and bullcrap of added redtape. But after bunched with immigrants who are not as educated and is also a bit naive and timid...I now come to appreciate its purpose to educate...my only wish is that they made the whole process more efficient.	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-12 10:02:00
Philippines	Nervous Feeling	Yay another new yorker! Heheheh You live in New York? I live like 45 mins away from New York City by train.	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-14 22:49:00
Philippines	Nervous Feeling	That should be the correct attitude anc mindset..."less expectation, les disappointment" or "hope for the best but expect the worst".   Oh we are all having the GREAT ANTICIPATION of getting our VISA sooner.... hehehe...    Reading positive reviews of those who received their visa in 3 business days is inspiring.  But I always tell my Fiance let's not over do it.  My motto has been always "Less expectations, less disappointments".  It would be awesome if we will all be receiving it within a week, however the normal waiting time is 2 weeks or worst more than that!   But let us all claim the Positive Vibes!    .	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-13 22:27:00
Philippines	Nervous Feeling	^^Goodluck. On my end i booked flights after I saw my visa issued on the ceac site. I don't recommend following what I did since so many things can still go horribly wrong...from 2go to cfo and airfares are not cheap to gamble...its just someone wants to book right away and wanted me to fly asap heheh...good thing, everything so far went smoothly. But again I wouldn't really want to take that risk...	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-13 21:49:00
Philippines	Visa and Passport	It 2 days for tracking info to appear in 2Go on my case...I'm not sure if this is the standard. I don't know if there are certain "pickup days" for 2Go at USEM....well, congrats and don't worry your visa is on its way. Hi everyone. I've been finding the thread for this issue I have but to no luck, couldn't locate the thread anymore. I just want to know, visa status on CEAC is "Issued" on Aug 13. But when I checked ustraveldocs.com, here's what I got (and still getting): There is no status update available for the passport number submitted. Does this usually happen? What does this mean? I also checked 2GO's website to track my passport, entered the UID number and it was invalid. Been waiting patiently here. Fiance keeps asking me I already have my visa as he wants to book a flight already. Advised him not to do anything just yet. Ugh.	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-14 18:59:00
Philippines	Ferry sinks in Cebu harbor	It's sad especially since this happened near my place. A sad reality with passenger ferries here is that the ships are old and poorly maintained just to maximize profits. Had a nasty exprience of arriving late for almost 8 hours because one engine was damaged and because of the strong currents near the dock the captain couldn't dock without an assist of a tugboat. Unfortunately, the only tugboat in that dock is owned by a rival company whom the captain and perhaps the ship owner is unwilling to pay for the assistance. Captain nearly took 3 hours just to dock the ship after numerous attempts.	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-16 18:04:00
Philippines	Death toll hits 39 in Philippines ferry accident	Some interesting tidbits about the accident... 1. The ferry involved is again is from Sulpicio lines (now renamed Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corp after their operations were suspended following the sinking of one of their biggest passenger ships "Princess of The Stars" in 2008 2. The cargo vessel from 2GO is a former Sulpicio lines ship Sulpicio lines really has some bad juju ever since the Doña Paz (one of the worst maritime accidents in asia that its now notorious of being named as Asia's Titanic)	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-18 17:17:00
Philippines	2Go MOA pick up .... notification?	On my case..I did not get any notification that 2Go picked up my visa at usem or they are about to deliver...the reason why is that 2Go screwed up inputting my mobile number by 1 digit. Only found out about it when I got the package and the receipt....	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-14 19:02:00
Philippines	Being Judge By Other People	It happens...as the saying goes "haters gonna hate"....not worth getting bothered by them...	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-15 21:20:00
Philippines	Share your experience on how you got your visa either for 2GO pick-up or delivery	IR1 Visa Category Cebu City delivery option Aug 5 - Approval at USEM Aug 5 - CEAC shows issued (late afternoon) Aug 7 - MNL case # is showing up on 2GO's tracking (no text confirmation that they already picked it up) Aug 8 - Delivered (again no text confirmation because 2GO screwed up inputting my mobile # by 1 digit)	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-18 17:02:00
Philippines	Is it time to pack my things? CEAC Status - ISSUED	Hang in there...makes me wonder though what's the hold up....For today I can only speculate that it's the weather... I GUESS NOT!....   I believe everything happens for a good REASON .  Until now no VISA.  Just thinking out loud.  If I got my visa last Fri. or Sat. and decided to stay in Manila on Sunday for Monday CFO Seminar. On a brigther side I guess it wasn't the right timing.  Some of the areas in Manila is flooded and according to the news the typhoon might stay until Thursday!   Though it is hard to understand USEM issued VISA for those who had their interview last 12-14 August and according   to our fellow VJ'ers they already received/collected their VISA.      Patience is really being tested!!!   ........ *sigh*   NOTE: I am not complaining just saying out loud lol.......	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-19 02:51:00
Philippines	Is it time to pack my things? CEAC Status - ISSUED	Congrats!...you can taste the visa now lol	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-15 21:13:00
Philippines	Help in Airline Deals	Shelled out $932.00 for my Delta flight on Aug 21 with Expedia booked on Aug 7. The routing are as follows: MNL-NRT-LAX- JFK. They were the lowest at that time considering it was within the same month. EVA had better deals for September but wifey couldn't wait anymore lol	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-24 03:16:00
Philippines	Help in Airline Deals	They can't do this with airline tickets since they don't have control of airline availability and inventory...hotels on the otherhand are a different story There was an issue before with Expedia regarding their partner hotels especially the small ones claiming small hotels are always full therefore forcing the customers to book on more expensive ones. I just don't know if they do this with airlines. Hopefully not. As it's price competition. I Used Vayama and Travelocity when looking for cheap flights though in the end will not use their service and just directly book from The airline itself. Like my ticket, used Travelocity and got a ticket for $900++ only and booked directly using Delta website.	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-20 06:41:00
Philippines	Help in Airline Deals	try expedia...and make comparisons...Expedia is pretty good considering I train their customer service agents in Cebu before I quit recently to move to the US lol	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-20 05:26:00
Philippines	The big move...Cebu to New York City	yeah that one too lol Go to Shake Shack!	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-25 07:17:00
Philippines	The big move...Cebu to New York City	So far I love it here...hopefully I can do Empire State and re-visit times square before it snows...also wanting to do food trips like Katz Deli and some other burger joints (Yes I'm a burger person) I'm sure you'll adjust pretty well. You'll probably only miss Christmas / New Years in the Philippines since it gets lonely sometimes...not like in the Philippines. haha. Hey at least you get to spend it with your wife & daughter Time to explore the BIG APPLE before you get a job LOL	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-25 07:03:00
Philippines	The big move...Cebu to New York City	I wish it were that simple, but the cost of airfare to fly directly out of Cebu was just too much since I already looked at several fare combos and irineraries. When I bought both tickets around August 7, who would have thought there would be a weather problem around my dates of travel as well. It was really my primary option to fly from Cebu then maybe to Incheon (ICN) or Narita (NRT) or Taipei (TPE) or HOngkong (HKG) then straight to JFK but as I said , airfare was already hovering around $2k for August. Why didn't just fly out of CEBU?	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-25 06:53:00
Philippines	The big move...Cebu to New York City	lol, I don't have any winter clothes yet...believe it or not, it hasn't totally sunk in that I'm here now reunited with my wife and kid... WELCOME TO THE BIG APPLE Glad you made it safely! Lucky you can still go out while it is still warm out! I actually miss living in Queens. Its so convenient to all the stores and restaurants plus you can just hop on a train and you can explore Manhattan & Brooklyn. The subways system can be a little confusing but I am sure you'll master it in no time. haha. You're right in time for winter. Finally you're wife will have someone to shovel the snow. hahaha.	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-24 02:26:00
Philippines	The big move...Cebu to New York City	thank you, good that she is on her way...although it wont be tiring as mine since she doesn't have two connections...I still have fond memories of Sea-Tac airport when I was there for training with Expedia in bellevue in 2011...   Glad you made it ok !!! Welcome to America !!!   I just booked Dahlia's flight...she leaves Manila this Saturday around noon time arriving Seattle Saturday evening...it will be a long day for her also :-)   Cheers,   cjmc	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-22 16:06:00
Philippines	The big move...Cebu to New York City	thank you and yes...we live in Queens...pretty decent place...a fr cry from how it was depicted in Coming to America Congrats! You made it. Im sure your exhausted. Thank you for the updates! Where you gonna be in NY? Queens? Edited by Cha n Nel, 22 August 2013 - 04:02 PM.	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-22 16:02:00
Philippines	The big move...Cebu to New York City	A tip if you dont wanna cough $5.00 for the cart..you may have to go out of the terminal to the parking lot to "hunt" abandoned carts but it is kinda far...	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-22 05:46:00
Philippines	The big move...Cebu to New York City	Thank you. I was too tired to do updates...but here it goes. 1:40 PM PST Took off from LAX for JFK...expect stretches of turbulence... 9:40 PM EST Arrived in JFK Delta terminal 4...if you have huge bags prepare to cough up $5.00 for you to use a cart from the "vendo". The machine accepts $10 and credit cards. Also its hard to find a free wifi spot to communicate and coordinate pick up so you may need to use coins for the payphone. I learned the hard way that it only acceps 5, 10 and 25 cents and what I have are 50 cents ton1.00 coin. Good thing my wife and our daughter found me... whew...was sooo dead tired from this but well worth the experience... Looking forward to hearing you arrived in NY ok....what an exciting time for you......!!!!   Only a few more hours and you will be there.... :-)   Safe travels,   cjmc	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-22 05:42:00
Philippines	The big move...Cebu to New York City	9:30 AM PST Arrived at LAX, long line with immigrations, was directed to the visitors line 10:20 AM PST My turn with an immigrations officer, he asked for purpose of being in the US, he took my visa packet but oddly he didnt take the vaccination sheet from St. Luke's and asked me to sit down 10:50 AM PST Called back again where he took my right pointer finger for fingerprints 11:00 AM PST Officer gave back my passport with a stamp near the visa. Told me my greencard will arrive 3-6 months then directed me to go to baggage claim then go to customs. 11:10 AM PST Cleared customs, officers asked if i have chorizo, chicharon and etc. Bag went into another XRay 11:20 AN PSt dropped my bags off to connection check in counter 11:25 Chillax mode at the gate for my final connection	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-21 13:46:00
Philippines	The big move...Cebu to New York City	Thank you guys...touchdown Narita and now awaiting my connection to LAX... Day 2 4:30 AM Went to NAIA terminal 1 from my cuzin's place in Multinational Village...minimal flooding but my cuz used their SUV just in case of high waters 4:45 AM Arrived at NAIA terminal 1, was stopped by 1st security and wanted to check my checked bagbox. Apparently they were wondering why there were a lot of ziploc bags with figures in them. Told them it's my personal collection of G.I. Joes. Opened thr box and showed them and they waved me off... 5:00 AM got checked in...bags were within the maximum weight. Whew but the lady told me to pay the travel tax then come back to her with the receipt. 5:05: AM Travel tax of 1620.0 paid at the TIEZA counter 5:06 AM Went back to the check in counter to show the receipt 5:10 AM Paid terminal fee 550.00 (before you do this, there is a counter for allied bank to change your pesos to US Dollars, your last chance if you do the early morning flight as the small allied bank counter beyond immigrations was closed at that time...you wont be able to go back out to the travel tax area just to get dollars. 5:15 AM immigrations, you need to show your passport and boarding pass 6:45 AM Boarded my flight 7:40 AM took off from MNL...flight was a bit bumpy... 12:00 touchdown Narita 12:05 PM went through security screening with the Japanese... 12:15 PM at the gate for the flight to LAX... Edited by Cha n Nel, 21 August 2013 - 12:10 AM.	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-21 00:09:00
Philippines	The big move...Cebu to New York City	This is it...I booked a one way flight from CEB to MNL for Aug 20, 5:05 AM - 6:15 AM with Cebu Pacific. Then MNL-NRT-LAX-JFK with Delta on Aug 21, 7:40 AM. Have a small stroller bag and my blue document holder as carry on. While two 20x20x20 balikbayan boxes nearly 50lbs each with an outer cover to make them look like bags as check ins. Aug 20 4:00 AM - Checked In with Cebu Pacific 4:40 AM - Was supposed to board but flight was delayed and new departure time was 5:30 5:30 AM - Departed for MNL 7:35 AM - After circling Manila, flight was sent back to Cebu due to poor weather and floods 8:35 AM - Landed in CEB 8:36 AM - While in the plane CEbu Pacific crew announced that they will wait out and see if the weather would improve in MNL and passengers have the option to deplane and reschedule at a later date within 30 days with no additional cost or wait until 9:35AM for better weather and clearance to fly again to MNL. I opted to wait, since I already coordinated with my former officemates in the callcenter for Expedia that Delta has no advice for flexibility policy to change with no additional cost. 9:35 AM cleared to depart for Manila again 10:00 AM took off 11:00 AM circled manila again and was told we might go back to cebu again because all the parking slots are full. This part was scary since I saw we nearly had a mid air collision plus, turbulence plus little visibility 11:30 AM landed but the turbulencr was really bad, had to wait an additional 15 minutes for a plane to vacate. 11:50 finally deplaned after sitting inside that same plane for nearly 6 hours 12:45 cuzin picked me up, good thing they live near the airport and found some alternate routes to avoid flooded streets... whew...day 1 is already full of drama...I'm hoping my flight to the US tomorrow will push through...so far the rains have let up a bit...	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-20 05:59:00
Philippines	CFO Experience (23 August) & POE in Seattle (24 August)	Cha n Nel, on 26 Aug 2013 - 09:40 AM, said:   I wonder why you're quoting yourself?       lol.... whoopsies I was editing that post...I must have done something that I ended up quoting my own post...lol	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-26 13:10:00
Philippines	CFO Experience (23 August) & POE in Seattle (24 August)	Congrats and welcome to the U.S. of A!  I love Sea-Tac airport.  I wonder if the afro american guy from customs asked you if you have any "Chicharoooon" in a funky accent...lol  Congrats and welcome to the U.S. of A!  I love Sea-Tac airport.  I wonder if the afro american guy from customs asked you if you have any "Chicharoooon" in a funky accent...lol (if he is still there that is heheh)	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-26 12:40:00
Philippines	Hank_ appreciation thread	Thank you as well...your guide really was the standard and helped us too...	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-15 21:14:00
Philippines	22 Aug. Visa collected, 23. Aug. CFO done & 24 off to SeaTac,WA	God Bless and safe travels...	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-24 02:35:00
Philippines	Getting ready for the interview	Pray and it also helps to rehearse the possible questions.  Good luck and God Bless.	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-10 19:49:00
Philippines	Can someone enlighten me.	Congrats...that's a huge monkey off your back. hi dont even wait just go tomorrow. my fiance just got APPROVED! lesson learned any cancellations JUST TAKE A CHANCE!	Cha n Nel	Not Telling	Philippines	2013-08-27 23:38:00