biggish data

Hi Magdasal,

My wife went to her bank BPI and had them make one up for her but it took them about 3 hours I think. She had to leave and go back and pick it up.

Wish you luck friend.

Meb5

Heh, at least we know how to get that! Thank you so much. I'll give wife a head's up about a potentially long wait too.

Garryrose, James and Cynthia, meb5, Johnny5, ery...everyone who replied. Fantastic information! Thank you all so much for helping me out here. There are several options I can see now. You guys have really taken a load off my mind here. Again, thank you so much.

magdasal

Male

Philippines

2011-01-09 09:39:00

Our attorney just sent our documents to the NVC without the police certificate for Hong Kong and when the NVC sent the letter saying we needed the certificate. We used the request from NVC as he official letter. Hong Kong just sent my wife the receipt for the payment and the certificate should be at the embassy in about a week now.

Thanks meb5! Yep, that is the mysterious letter from NVC I'd been hearing about, but could never really identify. So, I think I get it now...NVC will send you a letter since you didn't include the HK police certificate that has your wife's name on it and requests you provide the certificate? You just send that to the HK police with your package? I assume it's not an RFE then, since they've traveled this road before and just seem to know, based on the info in your form, that you will need this letter.

BTW, how did you get the draft to pay the fee in HK dollars that can be drawn on an HK bank? That's another head scratcher for me.

Thanks again for info!

magdasal

Male

Philippines

2011-01-08 21:53:00

Ok, i went thru the same ordeal. Here is how to get it. The only difference was that i needed a police clearance from japan and the Japanese embassy in Manila needed a letter from Us Embassy.
Email Us Embassy in Manila, make sure you provide them with NVC MNL case number and explain your situation. they will email you back in a few days with an attachment that you can print and take to Chinese Embassy in Makati and they should accept it. Since she is in Mindanao, i would call Chinese Embassy first before going there and read them the contents of the letter to make sure they will accept it. It worked for me so give it a shot. Good luck.
http://manila.usemba...contact-us.html

Thanks for the information JOHNNY5. I may have to get the wife to call the Chinese Embassy. Hong Kong procedures seem markedly different though. The Chinese Embassy seems to not be involved in the process at all and the instructions don't list that as an option. Every thing has to go thru their headquarters in Hong Kong. Here is what they say in their instructions:

4. All applications must contain the following documents:

a) A completed application form .

b) A photocopy of his or her Hong Kong Identity Card / valid Travel Document.

c) A photocopy of a letter from the relevant Consulate / Immigration Authority / Government Authority, which contains his or her name and clearly indicates that the production of the Certificate is required.

d) A photocopy of the documents proving his or her relationship with the Principal Applicant for the application if the said letter does not contain his or her own name.

e) A full set of his or her fingerprints taken and certified by a recognized police or law enforcement agency where he or she presently resides. Certification of the fingerprints must clearly state:

i. The name and rank of the person taking the fingerprints

ii. The full name of the police or law enforcement agency with their official chop, and

iii. The date and place taken

Fingerprints submitted that do not clearly show certification are not acceptable. Fingerprints taken by the applicants themselves, a legal representative or private / commercial agency are also unacceptable.

f) A bank draft to the amount of HK$169 per person, made payable to "The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region". The draft must be payable in Hong Kong. A personal cheque in Hong Kong dollar which is issued and authorized by any licenced banks in Hong Kong is also acceptable.

That's the part that is getting to me. Either way, your point about contacting USEM by e-mail may be the ticket here! So, we'll just e-mail them with the requirements from HK and see if they can attach a letter. Appreciate the information!

magdasal

Male

Philippines

2011-01-08 20:44:00

hello, is your wife in manila now?
i think she can go to HK embassy and try to request from there.
i knew someone that had to get a police clearance but its in the middle east and since she was already in manila she had to go to their embassy to request it.
not very sure how it works for HK but its worth a try. if not im sure they can provide her some useful info on how to obtain it. goodluck

Good point ERY, thanks for the reply. Actually, wife is in Mindanao...so that would be a special trip just to do that. If all else fails though, I guess we do have that option. Nice to know there is a fallback plan. Cheers!

magdasal

Male

Philippines

2011-01-08 17:41:00

Hi Folks,

Well, things are starting to roll for our NVC processing and wife and I are both still collecting what we need. The one thing that still has us both confused is the HK police clearance requirements. Wife worked there for 2 years before we got married, so we need one. HK police web site says they need an official letter from the US Govt, with wife's name on it, saying that the US requires the police certificate to process my wife's visa. Does anybody know which letter this is?

I've searched the forums for hours and read a lot of seemingly contradictory things about this. In one case I read that the letter HK needs comes in a package sent by NVC after they have forwarded the package to the consulate. In another thread, I read that the NVC needs the police certificate to complete the case in the first place, so it must be provided before you even get the letter that says that you need it (I think that's what they were saying). In another case, I read that the wife has to go to the US Embassy (Manila in this case) and get a letter from the embassy stating this requirement.

Anyway, does anybody have some light to shed on this? I would really appreciate it.

magdasal

Male

Philippines

2011-01-08 17:04:00

Tax returns for i864

If a person submits their own returns, does Immigration crosscheck it with the IRS?

It would be safe to assume they do. How often they check that, nobody but the NVC knows, but I'm sure they do it in some (if not all) cases and I'm sure it would be easy. I would assume that any returns that don't check out with the IRS would be a source of trouble during the visa process (and maybe the IRS audit process).

magdasal

Male

Philippines

2011-04-01 18:23:00

Wait for papers from NVC?

I already paid AOS and IV fees, and they're showing up as "PAID". I have printed out both cover pages. Now I'm waiting for my wife to correct her passport and to get her PCC. Is NVC going to send some documents to my address or should I just mail I-864 and DS-230 with the required documents when I'm ready? I have I-864 and DS-230 already filled out and signed.

Don't wait on the NVC to send you forms...send the I-864 and DS-230 as soon as they are ready.

magdasal

Male

Philippines

2011-04-02 18:47:00

NVC AVR says they sent me a letter about missing docs

Thanks again Darnell :thumbs:

Actually, about 1 hour after I got off the phone with them, the checklist showed up in my e-mail. I don't know if that's a coincidence or the phone call nudged them a bit.

Either way, now I have to deal with this stupid mistake I made on my taxes that caused this RFE in the first place.

magdasal

Male

Philippines

2011-04-15 06:27:00

NVC AVR says they sent me a letter about missing docs

suggest, instead, you get a Human™ at NVC, when you call in again, inquire for casefile status.

Hi Darnell...I just got off the phone with them. I got an odd answer to my question. They said they've generated the checklist letter, but it has not been sent yet (7 days, they've been holding it). The Tier 1 then said that I am to give them 20 days from the time they received the I-864 docs for them to finish reviewing it, then they will e-mail the checklist letter to me. The Tier1 also did not give me any specifics about the checklist letter (RFE, I assume), even though I asked him directly. He just dodged the question entirely.

This sounds very, very strange (and hence, worrying). Anybody had this happen before or know what it means? They've been deliberately sitting on the checklist letter for 7 days now.

magdasal

Male

Philippines

2011-04-14 17:05:00

NVC AVR says they sent me a letter about missing docs

Hi Folks,

Quick background. I sent in the DS-230 2 months ago because it was ready to go before I had all of the docs for my I-864. 2 weeks after I sent the DS-230, I got a 'Checklist E-mail' from NVC telling me they were missing my I-864...they sent a PDF attachment that contained a notice that they were missing my I-864 and a bar code coversheet. Of course, I knew this was missing, since I was still pulling the I-864 package together.

I finally got all I needed for the I-864 and sent it in at the end of March. For about a week, the AVR didn't update...it just kept saying that they had sent me a checklist letter back in early March (the one I got via e-mail) and they were waiting on my I-864.

Yesterday, I make my daily call to the NVC AVR system and it has the same message (missing or incomplete financial support docs) except this time it said they mailed me a checklist letter on April 7th. I assume it is being sent via snail mail, since I haven't gotten any e-mail from them for a while.

Any idea why they switched from e-mail to snail mail? I'd love to know what is missing from my package, but now I'm stuck for probably a week waiting on the letter.

Edited by magdasal, 09 April 2011 - 07:27 PM.

magdasal

Male

Philippines

2011-04-09 19:24:00

can the NVC refuse to make an appointment?

it's taking a while for them to send my packet to the consulate. It was received by them march 3rd and the guy at the NVC that answered my call said it was still in review.

Are you sure you are not in Administrative Processing? That's kind of what it sounds like.

magdasal

Male

Philippines

2011-05-08 10:09:00

NVC Phone Message

Hello nmercedes! How are you old friend?

Well, when you say "When I call the automated message system at the NVC, they say that we are missing information or they need more documentation." which evidence did they mention?

If it was financial evidence, it means there is some little thing wrong with your I-864...it happened to me.

If it was something else, they are probably referring to the DS-230.

Either way..don't worry. It takes up to 7 days (how long it took me) to recieve the letter in the e-mail (they don't actually send it snail mail).

The reason it takes so long is because they are looking at the rest of your package to see if it is ok. That way, they can send you only one Checklist Letter in the same e-mail. If everything is ok, then after 7 days, you should receive the e-mail from them and know what they need. I hope your experience was better than mine...calling the NVC for clarification about what they sent me only confused me more. I'm hoping it will be obvious for you.

Don't panic...just read it when you get it and send what they want.

God Bless.

magdasal

Male

Philippines

2011-05-19 20:18:00

Trouble obtaining Tax Year 2010 Transcript?

I have a quick question: Did you hear from NVC that "Oh, we contacted your embassy and they couldn't do anything for the month of June.". Also something like "We only contact the local embassy after 2nd week of a month". These are what I heard and was told that they would contact me only when they set up an interview. As the local embassy cannot do anything for the month of June, NVC will contact them again on June (of course after 14th, that's what they meant I guess) and set up the date. I am guessing the date will be at least a month an a half later. So should I assume end of July or Early August? How did that work for you? Can you please shed some light, details would be much appreciated.

Thanks

No I didn't hear that...they just said they would let me know and 2 weeks after case closed, they did and I got an early July appointment. Remember, though, every embassy is different. Short answer here, since I don't want to hijack the OP's thread.

magdasal

Male

Philippines

2011-05-28 08:17:00

Trouble obtaining Tax Year 2010 Transcript?

I just got my 2010 tax transcripts in the mail...ordered them 8 days ago via fax.

magdasal

Male

Philippines

2011-05-27 16:49:00

NVC Mailed petition to wron consulate

Good lord!

I would get on the phone with NVC right away. Did you file a change of address with the NVC when she moved back to the Philippines? Either way, I think the NVC will be able to advise you on the proper actions to take. I don't think they case can be directly transferred from HK to Manila.

magdasal

Male

Philippines

2011-07-02 16:04:00

NVC-missing information

That's perfectly normal...I'd give them a week then check back.

magdasal

Male

Philippines

2011-07-19 18:52:00

SIF--and something for others to avoid

We all wait for that day that we get the red SIF message--and that was just a few minutes ago, but I want to tell you about our wait at NVC so others can avoid oour problem.

It all started when we didn't file 2010 taxes, whhich is no problem at all so long as you submit the IRS automatic extension form--which we did. But we went one srep further which temporarily messed up everything--we also sent our preliminary 2010 tax forms because we thought it would provide additional evidence of our financials, and that's where the problems started.

The original reviewer didn't understand that the 2010 taxes had never been filed, and insisted through an RFE that they had to be used rather than 2009 on Line 25. We talked to a supervisor who said no problem, and sent them back for review a second time and the second reviewer made the same error.

So the next time around we asked for a supervisor to call us with our package in hand, and after a two minute conersation last night at almost midnight, he told us everythig would be complete by next Wednesday, and the SIF was here when I signed on this mornig.

And he said there was no reason to have sent the preliminary 2010 taxes--Boy, do I agree with that. So, instead of getting through NVC in a coupel of weeks, it was closer to five, but we are alive and hope that our little tiny problem can be avoided by others.

Alls well that ends well...congratulations :dance:

magdasal

Male

Philippines

2011-07-29 05:54:00

NBI Clearance or Police Clearance

Hi all,

I am a spouse of a U.S. Citizen and I submitted my NBI clearance to NVC because I read from the forums that an NBI clearance is required in lieu of a locally issued police clearance. Honestly, the NBI clearance looks "more official" than a police clearance you get from a local police station. However, I got a letter back from NVC stating that I should submit a police clearance. Which is which? And should I get a police clearance then for all the places I lived in the Philippines?

Thanks for any reply!

Maya

You or your spouse need to call the NVC and verify what they are asking for. As far as I know, the NBI clearance covers you no matter where you lived in the Philippines. Several things may be happening here...1) NVC lost your NBI...2) NBI is expired (only good for 1 year) 3) NVC lags...that is, they don't always acknowlege the documents you send and need to be reminded that you sent them and they have them 4) The NVC has gotten your case mixed up and think you are applying from a county other than the Philippines.

Bottom line...call and confirm with them what is going on...then you can decide what to do next.

magdasal

Male

Philippines

2011-07-08 21:52:00

NVC Automated Messages

Thank you "magdasal" "

So should I assume that the AOS (with I-864) and IV (with DS-230) with other supporting documents are waiting in the mail room as both were delivered to and received by NVC? I mean that's what the FedEx tracking number states!!! In that case, I have to wait for the turn when they will open my packets, review them, and decide to either send for RFE or approve it?

Any average timeline for this to happen (from the day it went to the mailroom vs RFE/Approval? Also one more thing, I sent the AOS and IV package seperately. I've seen few sending it together, but as the bill was generated and paid sequentially, I took "First come, first serve" approach. I hope that's not a big of a deal?

Don't thank me yet...I didn't catch the second half of your sentences where you said the packages we're already sent and received by NVC...so now I can give you a better answer, having read the second half of the sentences :bonk:

.

The AVR has never acknowledged receipt of anything I've sent to NVC. It's only updated for very selective events. In fact, my AVR message is still talks about an RFE they sent out over a month ago, and I just got a SIF.

You are fine sending in the packages separately too...though that may trigger another confusing (and irrelevant) AVR message about not receiving the I-864, if they happen to open the DS-230 package first...it's not a very tight system.

As far as a timeline goes, a good ballpark would be between 14 and 21 days...but YMMV.

Best of luck and hope it goes speedy for you.

Edited by magdasal, 15 May 2011 - 05:42 PM.

magdasal

Male

Philippines

2011-05-15 17:41:00

NVC Automated Messages

Can someone please tell me what is this status message means?

"A packet of information and documents was generated on ........ will be sent within the next few weeks. Please follow the instructions carefully and return the information to the address provided. If 6 weeks has passed and ..........."

Now I am done with DS3032 and got the confirmation as a choice of agent via email from NVC.
I have paid (status = PAID) and sent the AOS documents (and were received by NVC as FedEx delivered it 2 weeks ago).
I have paid (status = PAID) and sent the IV documents (and were received by NVC as FedEx delivered it a week ago).

Should I hear something else? I am bit unclear about the status. Any suggestions?

AVR is slow to update and sometimes confusing. About the only other update you can expect to hear from now until you leave NVC is if they generate an RFE (or Checklist Letter as the NVC calls it) or that your case is complete.

Given what you accomplished to this point, they are just waiting to receive your I-864 and DS-230 as soon as you can send them in.

magdasal

Male

Philippines

2011-05-15 16:25:00

Singapore Police Certificate of Conduct

APPROVED!!! My fiancee and I have been texting back and forth, and I wanted to let everyone know that she was just approved for her visa about an hour ago. I'm very happy right now and you all will be fine. Like I said up top regarding Singapore, she just took with here the email and the notice from Singapore's website. Time to celebrate!...but first I should get to bed.

Oh man, congrats!!! :dance:

Thanks for blazing the Singapore Police Clearance trail for us as well...I'm not sure you are the first to get approved after the policy, but you are the first to let us know! A great big THANK YOU!

Best wishes to your and your wife...very happy for both of you!

magdasal

Male

Philippines

2011-03-26 16:50:00

Singapore Police Certificate of Conduct

Thanks for your reply, John. I have sent out some emails to both the US Embassy in Manila, as well as the US State Department, similar to what you email them. I'm not sure if I'll hear back from them though. Last week I was able to contact the Embassy and surprisingly I was able to speak with a woman about this situation. She put me on hold to try to find out the answer for me. Disapponintingly, when she came back on the line, she only gave me a "recommendation," which was for my fiance to try to obtain some sort of employment certificate with her employers in Singapore, since obtaining a Statutory Declaration would be too time consuming and costly, at this stage in the game. I wish these people, who work for the Embassy, would actually know what they're supposed to know, because a "recommendation" is not a "requirement." It's all so frustrating.

Thanks for posting this...the response you got from the Embassy stinks on ice. I agree with your assessment too. Seems like State hasn't bothered to get their act together over this issue. They need to make up their minds about this situation and provide some actual guidance rather that making 'recommendations' that really have nothing to do with the question that was asked. How does an 'employment certificate' meet the requirements of a police clearance certificate? It really makes no sense at all. The fact that State doesn't even acknowledge this issue is a problem and is causing a lot of heartburn for those of us in this limbo.

magdasal

Male

Philippines

2011-01-16 12:22:00

Singapore Police Certificate of Conduct

We are in the same boat as all of you guys. Did anybody hear anything definitive yet? My last thoughts were to just send my wife to her interview with a copy of the web site saying Singapore doesn't issue the PCC anymore. Also, she is going to send them an e-mail to a personalized response to take with her. Beyond that, I'm not sure what else we can do.

magdasal

Male

Philippines

2011-01-08 10:07:00

Manila – Additional Requested Documents Received

Manila – Additional Requested Documents Received

Additional documents requested have been received back at visa section.
When I called them on Thursday I received the scripted answer.

Agent - Our notes indicate the consular officer has requested more documents.

Me – Documents send via 2GO in manila on July 17.

Agent – We have not received the documents yet.

Me – The documents were signed for on July 18th by ****

Agent – Ok I see where the documents have been received and have been forwarded to the Consular officer for review.

Me – May I ask how long the review will take?
Agent - We can not determine the length of time it will take to review your case. It depends on the amount of cases being reviewed.

Separate note.

Back on July 12th we found out via phone that additional documents were needed. They said they had mailed her a letter on July 6th but as of today the 23rd. This letter has still not been received. I am so glad we went ahead and went to Manila without the letter and gathered the documents they said they needed.

We only had the hospital death certificate on the first husband and not the NSO as he was Italian citizen.
We did not have an NBI for her under the first married name.

These are the only additional documents they said they needed. So I can not see why this would take two weeks to review and approve or deny or ask something else stupid.

Then will they use 2GO or Air 21 to send the visa to the home address?

Geez...did she ever receive that letter? My wife's mail situation is quite tenuous as she lives in the middle of nowhere in the provinces and checks her mail maybe once every 6 months. We're in AR because her HK police cert wasn't at the embassy at the time of the interview, but they should have gotten it last week and we've heard nothing. I sent them an e-mail last week and they claim they hadn't received the HK police cert, but looking at the response you got from them initially, it sounds like they probably did and didn't even check. I'm worried they may decide they need some other doc in the mean time and we'll find out about it 1 or 2 months later.

magdasal

Male

Philippines

2011-07-23 11:46:00

Manila embassy/ ID

Normally, St. Lukes would keep your passport and forward it to the U.S. Embassy Manila along with your medical results. However, I believe you can ask St. Lukes to return your passport to you after your medical exam since you will need it as ID in order to enter the Embassy for your interview.

Also, don't forget to take your interview appointment printout to the Embassy.

They don't keep it anymore. Changed policy about a month or 6 weeks ago. So, everybody should have it for the interview these days.

magdasal

Male

Philippines

2011-07-06 17:00:00

IS THIS A JOKE? A CIRCUS? OR WHAT?

...was able to talk to an operator at the NVC...she told me that are CASE COMPLETE and are waiting for interview date and then told me to call again by Aug 15, 2o11 for the interview date.....

Wow! Congrats :dance:

This thread went from super sad to super happy in 1 day. Best wishes, you're on your way.

magdasal

Male

Philippines

2011-07-26 17:46:00

police clearance in singapore

I just had my interview at the US embassy in Manila last week and all the staffers I dealt with were aware that Singapore no longer issues the COC. So they did not ask me for one. This may be a case of a localized and non-official briefing.

Thank you for confirming! A lot of people were waiting to hear that and you are one of the first to actually bother confirming it here. Many, many thanks. :thumbs:

magdasal

Male

Philippines

2011-06-26 11:14:00

police clearance in singapore

As of November 2010, Singapore officially no longer issues CNCC's to non-Singapore citizens. The US DOS doesn't seem to understand this yet (or at least, they don't acknowledge it). It's very nerve wracking.

magdasal

Male

Philippines

2011-04-11 21:52:00