Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Philippines	4 days ......	Congrats Daren and Gretchen. Happy wedding and best wishes!	magdasal	Male	Philippines	2011-12-08 16:03:00
Philippines	Things you found strange about the Philippines	Hehehehe, ah, the memories... 1) The size of the malls...I was simply blown away by these things. Seems like you could fit 3 or 4 average American malls in one of these monsters. Ayala in Cebu is one of the largest, prettiest malls I've ever seen in the world. 2) The rules of the road (or lack of them). Like someone said, traffic in the Philippines moves like a school of fish. 3) Related to #2 above...the number of gory traffic accidents. Where my wife lives, near the Buda highway in Mindanao, I'm pretty sure there was one major, gory accident along that stretch of highway a day...sometimes several. Probably has something to do with all the motorcycles and cars on that road at night with no lights whatsoever. 4) The presence of rice at every, single, meal. 5) How hard the rice farmers work there and how little money they make for that rough, hot work. 6) Flying virtually anywhere in the Philippines for about $40 a passenger. 7) How cool it gets at night where my wifes family lives...it was almost cold. Raging heat during the day though, but no surprise there. 8) The dozens of fees and forms required to do anything 'official' in the Philippines...like get married. 9) The size of the families...my wife has seven brothers and this isnt' considered particularly large in her part of the country. 10) The numbers of other 'family' who stay directly connected. During our wedding, half of the 300 guests at the reception were relatives...living close by. Gawd, I could write these all night... Edited by magdasal, 23 July 2011 - 07:27 PM.	magdasal	Male	Philippines	2011-07-23 19:26:00
Philippines	tracking visa at 2GO..	Always wondered what that package looked like...thanks for posting! And congratulations	magdasal	Male	Philippines	2011-07-02 10:12:00
Philippines	How much money does she send home every month?	Wife's family are pretty poor...hard working, provincial rice farmers, who have struggled their entire lives.  We send over a bit and wife's income more than covers the cost, but we were sending the same amount monthly before she got a job.  Bottom line is that the money we send gives them a modest lift in their lifestyle.  Both parents should be retired, but her father, who is 80 years old this year, still gets up at 4:30 AM every morning and heads to his rice fields.  I've never felt that money was being wasted and we're both happy we can help them.	magdasal	Male	Philippines	2013-09-02 20:04:00
Philippines	smart not really good in philippines	Well, you are limited...Globe?  And if they suck, you are out of luck.	magdasal	Male	Philippines	2013-09-23 20:54:00
Philippines	NBI clearance and police certificate from singapore	Hello Vj members especially to those who were trying to get PC from Singapore.I just want to share my experience since I've been through this hassle of providing this document to the embassy. I had been there in Singapore working for almost 6 years before too,and to complete our documents processing we need to provide a PC to those places we've been of at least 6 months above.At first during my processing this one gives me head ache, because I live in the province far from everything and with out internet connection.I did try to gather every pieces of the documents we need in preparation for the interview and Singapore PC is one of the difficult to obtain. I did try to obtain Singapore PC also but to no avail till I gave up and decided to just print the page in their website saying they will no longer issue a PC to those non citizen in case they the interviewer will ask me during my interview. To my surprised the console didn't even bother to asked me about the Singapore PC. That's my experience I don't know the others and I had been here in the US for 7 months.	magdasal	Male	Philippines	2012-03-28 08:18:00
Philippines	Driving in Philippines. Have you done it with car rental ?	Maybe it varies province by province, but you're absolutely nuts to drive in Mindanao.  Seriously, people use the roads for all kinds of non-travel related purposes that will make you wish you had never thought of driving there.  And if any 'incidents' occur and you happen to be involved...well, you'll be lucky to get out just draining your life savings.  My advice is to never, ever, never, never drive anything there...really, you are risking it with a bicycle or roller skates.     BTW, if you are nuts, remember that headlights at night are totally optional (i.e. nobody uses them, even on 2 lane roads).  Good luck and I hope you have a rich uncle.	magdasal	Male	Philippines	2013-09-23 20:46:00
Philippines	Where's your hometown?	Hi my home town is Quezon Bukidnon,but live in barangay name Palacapao near over view a 20 minutes motorcycle or bus ride to Quezon.My hubby lives in Greenville, SC. Just arrived here 2 months ago.	magdasal	Male	Philippines	2011-10-26 07:36:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Over - Whelming sense of jealousy!!	Just thought I would post to ask if anybody else gets the over- whelming sense of jealousy from other couples? My good friend has just announced she is pregnant and I am so happy for her but also i look at them both and they are so happy and im jealous that they get to be together and that i dont even get to see my OH on a regular basis. Everytime I see a couple wandering together, or having dinner together, I just wasnt to shout at them do u know how lucky you are!! I also have that horrible jealousy feeling. Today is also the day that I was due to move to NY on a year traineeship programme, i pulled out as the K1 was a longer term investment and the trainee programme I would of been subject too a home residency agreement. Looking at all my class mates leaving at the airport to go and be there and I am still stuck here. What an emotional roller-coaster this stuff is!! It's a tough road, for sure. Only 2 things to consider on the 'plus' side here...1) Over the course of your happy lives together, this will be a short blip in the timeline and 2) Having to wait and be apart like this will make your time together that much sweeter. The day you get approved will be one of the greatest high moments of your life...and most people don't get to experience that. Also, during the ups and downs of your married life, you can look back on this and remember what it was like to be apart from your special one...and it is good to have that. Good luck and your time will come sooner than you think.	magdasal	Male	Philippines	2010-09-06 17:32:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	did i get NOA1?	You should get an official looking document from USCIS in 7 to 10 days...a form I-797, which you should hold on to...it's the official version of the e-mail you received. Congrats and good luck!	magdasal	Male	Philippines	2010-09-23 17:38:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Hell after NOA2	Uh...I think you hurt her very badly with the way you handled Valentines. It's not about you getting gifts...it's about her. Why did you even bring up the gift from her to you? And the first time you mentioned it, it was pretty clear that the topic of her giving you a gift was depressing her. But you persisted then to question why her gift did not arrive, when you already knew she had attempted to send one to you..the shop confirmed it. I really think you blew it right there. Long distance relationships require extra special care. I don't think you got that message until now.	magdasal	Male	Philippines	2011-02-25 22:00:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Useless NOA2	I am purposely not withdrawing my I-129f so it can go down in the computers as a failed K-1. Hopefully this will haunt her for several years and prevent her from striking again until she is too old for any man to want to bother with her. Actually, I think that hurts you more than it does her. Abandoning a petition isn't looked upon as a positive in the eyes of the USCIS, I don't think. Look, if it's really over, just shut it all down on your end too. It makes for smoother sailing once your are over this difficult time (and I know this is a rough ride!). But you know you will meet the right one some day in the not-to-distant future. So just start paving the way for her now...even though you don't have any idea who she is yet. You (and she) will be glad you did.	magdasal	Male	Philippines	2011-04-13 19:51:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	how accurate are VJ timeline approximations	It's just an average of everybody who's bothered to input the information, so it can't say much about any given individual case. It's most useful for detecting periodic trends and is a reasonable indicator of how quickly certain service centers are processing visas. There is no way it's going to be accurate to a given day...if it says 7/4, I would consider getting it any time in July to have been a pretty good prediction. I will say, I think Texas Service Center is a bit of a wild card, based on it's history over the past year. Very hard to predict how things move there. Good luck and stay positive It will happen for you.	magdasal	Male	Philippines	2011-07-04 12:17:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	AFTER INTERVIEW	Well, I guess we are in the same boat. We knew there would be a delay in our visa because, at the time of the interview, we were still waiting on my wife's HK police certificate. But we know that the HK mailed the certificate a day after the interview...2 weeks ago...and still nothing. Hang in there, but we know how you feel. You aren't the only one.	magdasal	Male	Philippines	2011-07-22 18:32:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	I'm an Igor's List Addict	Yep, Igor's list is just one of many very, very cool things about VJ...what a great place this is for those of us who have to endure (or have endured ) this process.	magdasal	Male	Philippines	2011-07-29 18:21:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Is it ok to call	Heh, very timely topic...I just e-mailed the embassy to ask if they'd received my wife's HK Police Clearance...should be there any day now. Got an e-mail reply in a few hours. In so many words they said "no, and we'll tell your wife anything we need to say...Buh bye".	magdasal	Male	Philippines	2011-07-17 23:04:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	k1 visa under administrative review	My Fiancee called USEM through Visa Section to verify the status and that was the time we found out that we are under Admin Review. The while he was here in Manila he was the one calling the embassy but still the answer are the same. It's frustrating coz we really dont know the reason and the embassy dont want to disclose the reasons why so it makes us so bothered and frustrated. Anyway, all we have to do i think but to wait for it. It's frustrating. If your case is relatively straightforward, I doubt this is anything other than a routine, random AR. They do that with a certain percentage of visas. It's just a random sample, thorough QA check to ensure their procedures are tight and nothing is getting by them. I'm betting you'll get by this soon...just hang in there.	magdasal	Male	Philippines	2012-09-25 21:09:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Received Appointment Date in less than 1 business day!!!!!!	Where did you go to get the DHL confirmation? And did you already pay the visa fee?  We sent our DS230 in two weeks ago and haven't heard anything yet.	Tranquility23	Not Telling	Jamaica	2013-08-06 00:37:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Another step forward	Thank you both for your great advice. I will do that!!	Tranquility23	Not Telling	Jamaica	2013-08-26 23:53:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Another step forward	Hello all my lovely VJ'rs. So me and my fiance have finally made another small step forward toward being together. It has been a hassle.  I was going to give you guys an update of what we have had to go thru so far to get to this point.          NOA2 recieved May 24th.... woo hoo.      Jamaican Embassy revieved our petition around beginning of July... so they say...      My fiance and I sent numerous emails starting the end of june trying to find out info about our petition since we had not recieved any information with no responce from embassy except that Packet 3 would be sent to my fiance and the grand old automated response saying that our email will have a response within 5 buisines days.  (such bologna). By mid July we were getting desperate and scared. We were able to contact some lovely VJ members who gave us a direction to head in and great advice. We began getting the forms from packet 3 online, filled them out and sent the required ones back to the embassy via email compleated with a request to have packet 3 emailed to us as well as an interview date.         We called DOS who told us that packet 3 was send to us on June 29th but they have not recived our DS-230 form.         Finally we recieved an email from the embassy on August 5... that was BLANK..... but I got a name at the bottom so I sent a reply stating that I was very appreciative of the email however very confused as the body of the email was blank.    On August 9th I recived another email that stated have your fiance call this number... and make an appointment to come pick up packet 3.  My fiance was more than willing to go to Kingston to pick up the packet... which was something we had requested a MONTH ago. He was actually excided to get this news... I was kinda pissed off. I felt like we were taking a huge leap backwards since we had filled everything out from packet 3 we only needed the forms for the medical. We called and got an appointment for August 19th at 1:30 to pick up packet 3.    August 19th fiance went to Kingston to pick up packet 3 and also hand dropped of forms required for packet 4.    August 23 called DOS and we now have an appointment set for Sept 24th.. ... thank the Lord. Still waiting for Packet 4 to come... going to email the embassy to see if they can email us the letter.    I hope this all isn't to confusing. I know our story is probably very unusual, maybe we did something wrong I dont know, but hopefully the next steps will go much faster. We need a blessing. We were really hoping for a late October wedding... at this point i'm not sure that's going to happen since it's taking everyone so long to get thier visa's. I'd like to say thank you to everyone on Visa Journey for your support and invaluable knowledge. We could not have gotten so far without you. MUCH LOVE!!	Tranquility23	Not Telling	Jamaica	2013-08-26 00:25:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	K1 Visa: the New Electronic processing	Quick question: Did you find Packet 3 to be of any use? Does it contain information you think we may need for our interview? Also, how long did it take for you to get your Packet 4/ Interview Letter from the Embassy? Did you get packet 4 before or after picking up packet 3? Thanks! From what I can tell since i havne't seen it, its with my fiance in JA is there isn't anything in packet 3 that you can't find online or here on VJ. As for packet 4..... we haven't recieved it yet. I called DOS and got our interview date but we haven't gotten the letter yet via email or snail mail. Im going to email again tonight to see if i can get it that way. They really seem reluctant to help me and my fiance out.... i honestly feel like they have picked us to go through every hoop possible to be together. When others seem to just sail right along. But, it's ok we will do whatever it takes. Ill let you know when/if i get my packet 4.	Tranquility23	Not Telling	Jamaica	2013-08-27 00:31:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	K1 Visa: the New Electronic processing	FYI i tried sending my DS230 via email to the embassy and requesting packet 4 and only got an email response that my fiance had to go to embassy to pick up packet 3. But we finally got that out of the way and our interview date is set for Sept 24th. FINALLY	Tranquility23	Not Telling	Jamaica	2013-08-26 00:48:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Approved... I think	Just heard from my fiance. The interview went well . They said everything looked good, and they kept his passport and told him to look on the website for his visa. But, I somehow forgot to send the W2 forms with all the tax information, so I had to email a scanned copy to the embassy. Does all this mean we for sure have been approved? Or is there still a chance they could say no? I feel so relieved but I'm scared to actually release my breath until he is here with me. I'd like to say thank you to every one here on Visa journey! This website is truly a blessing. Thank you!! Oh,  I'll be doing a review of the embassy as soon as I can squeeze more info from my fiance.	Tranquility23	Not Telling	Jamaica	2013-09-24 14:22:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	CEAC	Thank you so much!! That helps. Now i can stalk the website lol!! Im just so excited.	Tranquility23	Not Telling	Jamaica	2013-09-25 16:06:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	CEAC	I know this is probably a stupid question, but what is the ceac website everyone talks about to check on their visa. The only one i know of is the CSC website where I registered for DHL, and all it says there is there is no waybill number yet... which is expected since we only had our interview yesterday. Thanks!	Tranquility23	Not Telling	Jamaica	2013-09-25 16:00:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Packet 4 finally came!	Im so happy for you!!! Good luck!!	Tranquility23	Not Telling	Jamaica	2013-09-26 22:38:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Appreciating VJ family	Congratulations!!!! I hope we have as much luck as you. ENJOY!!!!	Tranquility23	Not Telling	Jamaica	2013-10-02 22:41:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	READY	Thank you guys so much. Im excited and so happy!!	Tranquility23	Not Telling	Jamaica	2013-10-17 01:07:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	READY	Ok so checked the CEAC website tonight at work and it Says READY!!!    I Cant believe it. It has been 3 weeks and 1 day since his interview. Im trying not to let myself totally relax untill my fiance gets it in his hand. Does anyone know about how long from this point untill we can pick it up?? I wish everyone a speedy journey. Much love to all the VJ family. You all have been my saving grace!!	Tranquility23	Not Telling	Jamaica	2013-10-16 19:42:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Am a little worried.	Thank you guys so much!! I'm getting so excited and am ready to book my flight to go pick my fiance up. We can't wait!!!! I just want to make sure he has the visa in hand first.	Tranquility23	Not Telling	Jamaica	2013-10-17 20:32:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Am a little worried.	Ok so today I checked the CEAC website and it states ISSUED!! WHOOHOO. However, When I check the CSC website where we registered for DHL it says no waybill issued yet. What does that mean? Is something wrong? Please help!!	Tranquility23	Not Telling	Jamaica	2013-10-17 19:09:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	when funds are extracted?	Well looks like i lucked out... USCIS must be watching these forums  ... still have not pulled the funds yet.	DRbound	Male	Dominican Republic	2013-12-19 13:13:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	when funds are extracted?	thanks for the good luck . I had a surprise withdrawal on my checking account last night which dropped me to too low of funds for the $340 check until early thursday. I am working to get that charge removed then I will be good to go. If i cant get the charge removed, I am wondering how long USCIS will wait in between attempts... say they try it tomorrow and it bounces, will they wait until the next day to try again? Or are they just sitting there trying it three times in a row?	DRbound	Male	Dominican Republic	2013-12-17 07:01:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	when funds are extracted?	That's what I thought. A few days so I better get some dinero in there. I have no problem with the fees, just with budgeting at the moment. Just bought. $420 rt ticket to see her in january, and the costs of moving and changing jobs.i should have planned ahead better! Yes it is rather embarrassing for me ... but I will be fully able to support my wife when that time comes Lord willing. I just wanted to know if the check would likely be cashed before I get paid again for the week wednesday night.	DRbound	Male	Dominican Republic	2013-12-16 22:28:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	when funds are extracted?	silly question, and generally i never have this little amount of money in my account. However, this time i do and would like to know how long others waited after receiving notification that their packet made it to Dallas - until the ETF showed up on their account? My packet made it to the lockbox this afternoon, do i have a couple of days before the check gets cashed or are they generally a little slower?? Ugh i cant believe i am in this predicament, already a problem and the process hasn't even started lol!	DRbound	Male	Dominican Republic	2013-12-16 22:06:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	NOA1 to NOA2 likely duration?	The VJ timeline is an estimate based on the processing times that members before you reported. This is only going to be a small percentage of the total number of applicants that go through USCIS. You'll also see the estimated processing dates on your timeline fluctuate (mine went from 5 months to 3 months in the span of two weeks) depending on the data others report. In the month that I filed, some people were approved in 2 months, and there are a couple who are still waiting for their NOA2 (over 5 months now). So, it can vary, and widely.    In my opinion the VJ estimate is a good indicator, but it's always good to moderate your expectations (i.e. just factor in that it could and very well may take the full 5 months or longer).   Best of luck!   Thanks y'all and fingers are crossed! But i won't hold my breath lol	DRbound	Male	Dominican Republic	2013-12-23 01:17:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	NOA1 to NOA2 likely duration?	Ok, I am a little bit confused. mailed my petition on the 13th (Dec), NOA1 on the 20th... then i started looking for info on how long for the next milestone. As far as i know i am at the TSC. If you look at the reported processing times everything says exactly 5 months. However, am i right in thinking that the words on my timeline here on VJ are more likely to hold true? It says something like one month! that is obviously drastically different, cutting out 4 months of time from the "5 month" reported wait time that i see on the USCIS website.    Am i reading this right? Please excuse my ignorance!   Dylan	DRbound	Male	Dominican Republic	2013-12-23 00:36:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Processing Texas service center	You and me both brutha!	DRbound	Male	Dominican Republic	2014-01-10 21:31:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Processing Texas service center	Actually, Crumulent, I just checked and it does show the type of form! And that's pretty cool! Seems to be a lot of I129f's around mine that were returned for an outdated form.	DRbound	Male	Dominican Republic	2014-01-10 16:39:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	VISA APPROVED IN 2MONS.	thanks   After we got approved we keep annoying through email/ call the NVC for our case number.. and in few days we got it.. right away we do the med and got lucky to have an early interview date... just stay positive   Did you only call NVC or did you call the consulate in Philippines too? I am still in between NOA1 and NOA2, wonder if it would be any good to be a squeaky wheel at this point with USCIS? I would be being overly greedy at this point i think (at least i would feel like i was cutting in line its only been like 19 days since NOA1!) and I'm not sure i could even get through to the TSC regarding my case this early.    I guess one way to look at it though is that annoying them will never get your case rejected, it can only help it along or do nothing!	DRbound	Male	Dominican Republic	2014-01-08 11:19:00