Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
USCIS Service Centers	processing time updates	I don't think it ever changed. I dont think they are at 5 months and I am getting more upset by the week. NOA1 8/29/11. Now, there are plenty of people from September getting theirs but not sure why. I am done with the waiting already !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11 Yes, it did change within the last day or so. It previously said August 2nd instead of 5 months.	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-03-20 13:03:00
USCIS Service Centers	Calculate the Expected Timeline between NOA1 & NOA2	Hi Rock -- My priority date is Feb 7th, being process by Vermont center and my country is Guyana. I'm the USC petitioner. The other timeline only shows California (which doesn't help me). thanks in advance. If you're referring to Igor's List, just click on the drop down menu and select the Vermont Service Center, click the Submit button, and you'll see your info Edited by Mark&Fatima, 02 April 2012 - 03:14 AM.	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-04-02 03:13:00
USCIS Service Centers	THAT WAC........NUMBER AT USCIS??	Mine is not the same.	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-04-02 14:34:00
USCIS Service Centers	processing times	I don't really understand what the OP is complaining about. It's like walking into a bank and seeing a long line. You're at the back of that line right? Would you really expect to be dealt with before all of those other people, you know, the ones that have already been standing in line for 20 minutes? It just makes no sense to me. You got in line and others are ahead of you...that's life.	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-03-23 15:25:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	October 2011 - I-130 Filers	I called NVC again today. They said they received it on April 16th, but no assigned number yet... Like every step of this process, it's hurry up and wait!	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-04-19 17:34:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	October 2011 - I-130 Filers	Have you heard from NVC yet?..Or you're still waiting? Not yet, I called Friday (which was the 15th working day since NOA2). All the lady at NVC said was that they're a little behind right now. I'll keep trying every couple of days and post something here when I'm in their system.	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-04-15 06:04:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	October 2011 - I-130 Filers	Approved!!!! on a Saturday, while i was on the golf course.... I think it's a perfect spring Saturday!!!! So happy! Congrats! It's a great feeling to finally get it	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-04-14 18:43:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	October 2011 - I-130 Filers	Approved Congrats!	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-04-11 16:53:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	October 2011 - I-130 Filers	My hubby just received our hard copy. It just says that our case will be forwarded to NVC and to wait 30 days before calling. Do you guys have yours already? Also, have you started calling NVC yet? I got my hard copy over two weeks ago and yes, I've called a few times already. When I called yesterday they said that I should wait 15 working days (from the time the NOA2 was issued) before expecting it to be in their system. Like most people here...I'm not waiting!	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-04-10 11:22:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	October 2011 - I-130 Filers	Just got our approvals! NOA1 October 4, 2011, and NOA2 April 5, 2012.. 184 long days! Now off to NVC.. for some more waiting! That's great to hear...congrats!!	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-04-07 00:41:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	October 2011 - I-130 Filers	hi Mark&Fatima..... I had the same experience the last week...... ....Unfortunately, that was not what I was looking for.....but seems we are around the corner to see real email with NOA2 ...... After all of that today...I just got the email saying that our NOA2 has been approved! On to the next step we go!	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-03-26 23:55:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	October 2011 - I-130 Filers	Great to hear some of us October filers are getting NOA2! Silly me...when I logged onto the USCIS site today it asked me to change my password, so I did. A short while later I checked my email and got excited when I saw that I got one from USCIS...but then I noticed they were simply letting me know I changed my password hahaha grrrrr hurry up!!!!	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-03-26 13:12:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	October 2011 Filers	Hi! I just want to ask if you guys got married in the Philippines or in the US. My husband and I got married in California but we haven't reported our marriage here in the Philippines. Is it ok that I used my married name in the I-130 even if all my ID and passport are under my maiden name? Sorry for the late reply. We were married in the Philippines. About using your maiden name, I'm not too sure but I think it should be ok. Maybe someone else has more experience with this topic here than I do and can answer this better for you.	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2011-11-21 12:08:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	October 2011 Filers	Everybody received their NoA1 in about 7 days or less. Chicago lockbox received my package october 20th. Today made it 7th day, iam hoping I receive the text message in the evening. I'm being so impatient. 2 days ago I called moneygram office to ensure the money was cashed by immigration and I was told it has not been cashed yet. I was a bit worried. My wife used money order and included it clipped with the papers. Is anybody used money order too? Yes, I used a money order and it was no problem. Patience is the most difficult part of this process I'm learning!	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2011-10-27 07:43:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	October 2011 Filers	*** Update: Received NOA2 message 25 Oct 11! Rey11, Wow that NOA2 was so fast! Did you expedite your case or are you just one of the lucky ones that the rest of us get to be jealous towards?	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2011-10-26 17:06:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	October 2011 Filers	I sent ours on October 14th. Excited to get the process started!	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2011-10-16 18:42:00
Philippines	What cost for simple Filipino wedding in province ?	We got married just last month in Montalban (now Rodriguez) Rizal in a civil wedding. Our total was 8k for the resort (Villa Virginia Resort) and 39k for everything else (50 guests, catering, flowers, cake, make-up, emcee, sound system, invitations, gifts)..so 47k pesos for everything. It took a lot of looking around, comparing prices, and of course negotiating to get that price. Good luck to you!	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2011-08-18 12:10:00
Philippines	MY VISA INTERVIEW EXPERIENCE	Congrats! I smiled as I read your story and am happy for you and your soon-to-be hubby. We're still waiting for our marriage license so we can file our CR-1 and then the looooong wait begins! It seems so far to go but of course it will be worth the wait and effort	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2011-08-24 10:51:00
Philippines	Another tragic story of a Filipina	The entire US embassy operation in the Philippines is an embarrassment. Have you been through the US embassy in Manila? What reasons do you have to call it an "embarrassment"? How does this embassy vary from other US embassies that you've dealt with? Is this based on your own personal experience or is this just a general uninformed statement? Edited by Mark&Fatima, 21 September 2011 - 10:47 AM.	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2011-09-21 10:46:00
Philippines	Finally... she's on her way here	That's great, congrats! Can't wait for that feeling!	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2011-10-03 08:03:00
Philippines	Thank you VJ	It's a lot of hard work and lonely times apart but we all know the end result is very much worth it. Congrats!	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2011-11-03 13:47:00
Philippines	APPROVED VISA IN HAND	Great news, Congrats!	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2011-11-16 08:30:00
Philippines	Package stuck in customs	Update: My wife got a letter today, telling her the package was waiting to be picked up. She did have to pay customs fees of 2300p but that was less than I expected. The box had been opened (I'm guessing for inspection?) and nothing was missing when she got it. She loves the laptop and the kids love the toys and chocolates. Thanks again VJ'ers for all the help!	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2011-11-21 08:34:00
Philippines	Package stuck in customs	Can't you google that? I'm not trying to be rude but that's probably all they'd do. I can't tell you how many times I've had contact numbers for companies that get changed :S Irritating. Yes of course I did my best to find a number online before I even thought about asking here on VJ. The best I could come up with was a Customer Relations Manager's email (that has yet to be responded to a week later) and a telephone number that nobody answers hahaha.	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2011-11-18 13:15:00
Philippines	Package stuck in customs	Did you include insurance? I do for anything like that. I once sent my family in Aus a package for Halloween. Sent it before halloween, arrived just after Thanksgiving. Normally it's 7-10 days. I had reported the loss but they didn't have the forms so I went back a week later and just happened to call mum that day and what do you know, it arrived that day! Oh and it was USPS, not Australia. It was just candy (a gummy head in a jar, a gummy brain and gummy bats) so nothing to stress about. Not really. I'm sorry but I disagree here. There are MANY different countries and asking all USPS staff to keep up with the changes of other countries (as well as here) is a little ridiculous. Their business was to get it out of the country, which they did. The receiving country does the rest. USPS takes liability though which is interesting. I don't expect them to know everything...but how about at least a contact number I could call? That's not being ridiculous at all in my opinion. When I used FedEx a couple of years ago, they had a number I could call to deal with customs. Edited by Mark&Fatima, 18 November 2011 - 01:06 PM.	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2011-11-18 13:05:00
Philippines	Package stuck in customs	Also, I knew that USPS would only deliver the package to Manila and then local mail would do the rest. The reason I'm upset with USPS is their lack of knowing who to call (the lady actually told me "I'm sorry sir, we don't have their number") and it seems they don't really understand the process of how things work in other countries (which they should know even a little about since it's their business).	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2011-11-18 01:51:00
Philippines	Package stuck in customs	Thank you everyone for the replies. I will call them soon and hopefully she will get the package before I go back there in January! BTW, I sent her my old notebook computer, chocolates, pictures, and toys for the kids...total value around $350. I will reply again when I find out something.	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2011-11-18 01:41:00
Philippines	Package stuck in customs	Back on October 1st I sent a package from Portland, Oregon USA to my wife in Montalban, Rizal, PI. I sent it using USPS and was told it would reach her in 6-10 business days. Well...here is it 47 days later and according to USPS, the package reached customs in Manila on November 4th. It's almost been 2 weeks since and I still haven't heard anything from USPS or customs. Any ideas who I can call or what I have to do? Believe it or not, USPS said they didn't have a number I could call in the Philippines to get more information. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! (By the way...never again will I use USPS to send packages to PI!) Edited by Mark&Fatima, 17 November 2011 - 06:04 PM.	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2011-11-17 18:03:00
Philippines	Friends reactions	After reading some of the replies here I am so very thankful that I have encountered nothing negative. My Father, brother, friends, co-workers, and my kids from my first marriage are all very happy for us and look forward to meeting her...especially my 12 year old twin daughters!	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2011-11-21 09:16:00
Philippines	wedding photos	Congratulations Gretchen & Darren, I hope your marriage is filled with love and happiness. Good luck in your future together	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2011-12-27 15:21:00
Philippines	sorry, this call is not permitted	I've used www.americacalls.us for over a year now. They sent my wife a sim card that she put in her phone. I call a local number here and it rings to her phone. It works well and the sound quality is usually great, using my cell, or a landline. It's $45 a month for unlimited calls. It does only work one-way though...she can't call me. When she wants me to call, she just sends me a text first. Edited by Mark&Fatima, 15 January 2012 - 04:04 PM.	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-01-15 16:02:00
Philippines	Smiles and Excitement Tonight!!	Great news....congrats!	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-02-08 08:56:00
Philippines	What's the Best Way to Call Philippines	I've been using www.americacalls.us for the last year and a half. They sent my wife a phone sim, that she put in her cell phone. I call a local number here in the U.S. and it rings to her phone, no internet required. It's $45 a month for unlimited minutes. I've been satisfied with the sound quality and the couple of times that I had a problem there was always a live person in customer service to assist me quickly. Edited by Mark&Fatima, 13 February 2012 - 09:19 AM.	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-02-13 09:17:00
Philippines	how to bring my spouse to the USA	Since you're a US citizen living overseas for more than six months, couldn't you go the DCF (Direct Consular Filing) route? I really don't know much about it since we're doing a CR-1 visa, but you might want to see if that's an option for you. From what I know, it is MUCH faster! Good luck	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-02-12 16:05:00
Philippines	INTERVIEW HELP!	hi guys.. i have this big problem, i already recieve the letter from nvc that i can now schedule my interview... but the problem is, i know this sounds stupid, but i cant talk english fluently.. and im afraid that im not able to answer all the questions on the interview properly... i would like to ask if they offer some english translator so i could express more myself using tagalog on the date of interview? im nervous person specially when it comes to question and answer even if i know the answers... pls help... BAKA HINDI NA KO MAKAPAG SALITA PAG TINANONG NA AKO HEHE?? THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! ?? I don't know if it's policy, but I've read other people's interview reports and they have said the interviewer asked them if they would like to have the interview in Tagalog or English.	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-03-22 20:39:00
Philippines	Pinay Friend Locations	I live in Beaverton too. I'm sure my wife would love to meet some Pinays once she moves here (hopefully in the next few months). Many of the people on my friend list are also from the Portland area.	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-03-24 17:18:00
Philippines	First Trip to Fiancee's Province	@Hank_Amy - haha that's funny! The first time I went to see my wife (then fiancee), I asked if she wanted me to bring her anything. I expected her to ask for perfume, makeup, or clothes, but no...it was Hershey's Kisses and Hershey's Nuggets! I also bought a big bag of 300 lollipops. When I got there I got the candy out from my suitcase. My wife immediately took the chocolate and hid it in her freezer and said the kids could have the lollipops I now realize my Grandpa was telling the truth when he talked about giving chocolates to impress the girls overseas in WWII...Good job Grandpa Edited by Mark&Fatima, 30 March 2012 - 02:30 PM.	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-03-30 14:22:00
Philippines	NBI - last name	Yeah, that's right Hank. When she first told me they put my last name I thought it was an error, but now I understand it. She did go back and have them correct her birthday though.	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-04-03 08:52:00
Philippines	NBI - last name	Ah ok, I understand now. I just got off the phone with her and she said the same thing...it has all those names on there. I told her to double check this time and make sure everything is correct before walking away. Thanks for the help!	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-04-02 22:54:00
Philippines	NBI - last name	My wife just got back from getting her NBI papers. She noticed that they put my last name as her last name, but on all of her other ID and paperwork so far (including passport, marriage license, I-130) we used her maiden name. Will this be a problem? Do I need to contact anyone or should she go back and get a new NBI? Also...they put the wrong birthday! What do we need to do about that? (sorry if this is the wrong forum) Any help is greatly appreciated	Mark&Fatima	Not Telling	Philippines	2012-04-02 22:00:00