Recent IR-1 Interviews in Manila

[Dave Knapp 47]

I have been monitoring the timeline postings for the Philippines, and there have been no IR-1, CR -1 visa interviews posted since Nov 13.  Has anyone had an interview recently?  I am trying to determine the length of the delay between DQ and interview for NON- EXPEDITED cases. I don't want to expedite, just to know the current timing.   Thanks in advance.  

[CFS 14]

Hi Dave - I suggest you call the Embassy directly. We had our appointment on Dec. 12, 2022 and this was scheduled in early November 2022 (sadly got a 221G, which we're waiting to resolve - make sure you bring *ORIGINAL* documents to the interview and that these are all uploaded to CEAC before the interview).

 

I was seeing the same thing beforehand when I tried to "Reschedule" - when I called the Embassy, they told me you have to cancel your appointment (we already had an appointment) and schedule a new one. Not sure why but that did work. 

 

Good luck!

[seanmic 0]

On 1/10/2023 at 12:36 PM, CFS said:

Hi Dave - I suggest you call the Embassy directly. We had our appointment on Dec. 12, 2022 and this was scheduled in early November 2022 (sadly got a 221G, which we're waiting to resolve - make sure you bring *ORIGINAL* documents to the interview and that these are all uploaded to CEAC before the interview).

 

I was seeing the same thing beforehand when I tried to "Reschedule" - when I called the Embassy, they told me you have to cancel your appointment (we already had an appointment) and schedule a new one. Not sure why but that did work. 

 

Good luck!

how long did it take between getting the nvc approved and the interview in Manila?
 

I hopefully will get approved in a month or 2 (I applied for the cr1 in March 2022) and then can fill out the nvc. I am just trying to figure a timeline. I might try to fly my wife and son to Mexico for a month to be closer and then they can fly back to the Philippines before the interview assuming the interview is still like 6 months away. 

[CFS 14]

6 hours ago, seanmic said:

how long did it take between getting the nvc approved and the interview in Manila?
 

I hopefully will get approved in a month or 2 (I applied for the cr1 in March 2022) and then can fill out the nvc. I am just trying to figure a timeline. I might try to fly my wife and son to Mexico for a month to be closer and then they can fly back to the Philippines before the interview assuming the interview is still like 6 months away. 

It took 5 months. Our DS-260 got approved on December 2021 and we were notified about the interview appointment scheduling in April 2022. It may have taken this long, though, due to backlogs from the pandemic.

 

One very big piece of advice - do not make assumptions around when you will receive your visa. We re-scheduled my spouse's medical appointment/visa interview date to early October 2022 (due to some previous plans we already had for the summer) and thought it would all be wrapped up by November 2022. It's now the end of January 2023 and things are not resolved. We were unexpectedly delayed multiple times due to:

 

1. Medical exam - when my spouse went for the medical exam, it was a requirement for *all* applicants to get a sputum test for tuberculosis (which added 10 weeks to the timeline as that's how long it takes for the cultures to grow). If you have some sort of pre-existing medical condition, you would also be wise to come with a note from your doctor stating that it is under control and does not pose any challenges (otherwise, you will be asked to return with this in hand)

2. When my spouse went to the visa interview in December 2022, we were asked to upload the latest copy of our tax returns to CEAC since what was approved in the DS-260 pertained to the 2020 tax year and we were at the end of 2022 ( to our credit, we brought in the physical copy of our 2021 tax returns but they wanted this uploaded to CEAC as well and we did not know about this beforehand) and also to provide the *original* copy of the NBI clearance (since we brought a copy by accident). We were issued a 221G letter for this

3. One month later after mailing in the documents above, we found out (through another 221G) that we needed to complete Form DS-5535 (who knows why - maybe because we traveled internationally after the DS-260 got approved and they needed to conduct a background check on this). The wait time for DS-5535 to clear is very long based on what I've heard and I'd be delighted to hear it being wrapped up by end of this year (and will be absolutely floored if it's sooner than that) 

 

Point being - do not make plans in advance of time. This process is rife with delays that you cannot foresee no matter how much research you do online or how many immigration lawyers you consult. Come well-prepared to the interview with *original* copies of all documents. If your NBI clearance is about to expire, get a new one and pre-upload it to CEAC. Make note of whether they would logically ask you for physical copies of your latest tax returns (like in my case above) and pre-upload these documents to CEAC in advance of the interview. Bring a pre-filled out Form DS5535 in case they ask you for it. This is a waiting game and closing every potential opportunity for delay can only help you. 

Edited January 24, 2023 by CFS

[NeonParticles 121]

42 minutes ago, CFS said:

It took 5 months. Our DS-260 got approved on December 2021 and we were notified about the interview appointment scheduling in April 2022. It may have taken this long, though, due to backlogs from the pandemic.

 

One very big piece of advice - do not make assumptions around when you will receive your visa. We re-scheduled my spouse's medical appointment/visa interview date to early October 2022 (due to some previous plans we already had for the summer) and thought it would all be wrapped up by November 2022. It's now the end of January 2023 and things are not resolved. We were unexpectedly delayed multiple times due to:

 

1. Medical exam - when my spouse went for the medical exam, it was a requirement for *all* applicants to get a sputum test for tuberculosis (which added 10 weeks to the timeline as that's how long it takes for the cultures to grow). If you have some sort of pre-existing medical condition, you would also be wise to come with a note from your doctor stating that it is under control and does not pose any challenges (otherwise, you will be asked to return with this in hand)

2. When my spouse went to the visa interview in December 2022, we were asked to upload the latest copy of our tax returns to CEAC since what was approved in the DS-260 pertained to the 2020 tax year and we were at the end of 2022 ( to our credit, we brought in the physical copy of our 2021 tax returns but they wanted this uploaded to CEAC as well and we did not know about this beforehand) and also to provide the *original* copy of the NBI clearance (since we brought a copy by accident). We were issued a 221G letter for this

3. One month later after mailing in the documents above, we found out (through another 221G) that we needed to complete Form DS-5535 (who knows why - maybe because we traveled internationally after the DS-260 got approved and they needed to conduct a background check on this). The wait time for DS-5535 to clear is very long based on what I've heard and I'd be delighted to hear it being wrapped up by end of this year (and will be absolutely floored if it's sooner than that) 

 

Point being - do not make plans in advance of time. This process is rife with delays that you cannot foresee no matter how much research you do online or how many immigration lawyers you consult. Come well-prepared to the interview with *original* copies of all documents. If your NBI clearance is about to expire, get a new one and pre-upload it to CEAC. Make note of whether they would logically ask you for physical copies of your latest tax returns (like in my case above) and pre-upload these documents to CEAC in advance of the interview. Bring a pre-filled out Form DS5535 in case they ask you for it. This is a waiting game and closing every potential opportunity for delay can only help you. 

Is this sputum requirement now a permanent thing?  Jeez...

[CFS 14]

14 minutes ago, NeonParticles said:

Is this sputum requirement now a permanent thing?  Jeez...

It was in October 2022 (and I'm hoping it has changed as it's increasingly likely we're going to have to redo the medical exam). Previously (based on the website), it was a requirement only for people with specific pre-existing conditions. 

[top_secret 2,126]

20 minutes ago, NeonParticles said:

Is this sputum requirement now a permanent thing?  Jeez...

Sputum testing is required for applicants that "fail" their chest x-ray looking for TB during their physical at SLEC. If Saint Luke's crack team of x-ray analyzers somewhat dubiously thinks they see a spot or something the applicant gets tagged for sputum testing which wastes allot of time and which more often than not turns out to be nothing.

 

While it certainly is a very real possibility that impacts a significant percentage of applicants, 'most' will make make it through without sputum testing.

[CFS 14]

On 1/24/2023 at 2:27 PM, top_secret said:

Sputum testing is required for applicants that "fail" their chest x-ray looking for TB during their physical at SLEC. If Saint Luke's crack team of x-ray analyzers somewhat dubiously thinks they see a spot or something the applicant gets tagged for sputum testing which wastes allot of time and which more often than not turns out to be nothing.

 

While it certainly is a very real possibility that impacts a significant percentage of applicants, 'most' will make make it through without sputum testing.

Yes, most will. It is a serious waste of time. 

[Jimmyzr1 36]

On 1/26/2023 at 6:22 PM, CFS said:

Yes, most will. It is a serious waste of time. 

But that's how St. Lukes makes a lot more money!

[Chancy 6,233]

8 minutes ago, Jimmyzr1 said:

But that's how St. Lukes makes a lot more money!

 

Except that the cost for sputum culture testing is already included in the SLEC medical fee.  I was tagged for sputum testing so I had to show up at SLEC for 5 days total.  I didn't need to pay anything to SLEC over the initial fee that I paid on the 1st day.

 

[Jimmyzr1 36]

17 minutes ago, Chancy said:

 

Except that the cost for sputum culture testing is already included in the SLEC medical fee.  I was tagged for sputum testing so I had to show up at SLEC for 5 days total.  I didn't need to pay anything to SLEC over the initial fee that I paid on the 1st day.

 

Well that's good, at least. I was lucky 12-13 years ago with a fiancé visa, gf didn't get flagged. This time, hoping wife and son make it through though. Neither has had Tb test before.

[Scott12579 10]

On 1/24/2023 at 11:14 AM, CFS said:

It took 5 months. Our DS-260 got approved on December 2021 and we were notified about the interview appointment scheduling in April 2022. It may have taken this long, though, due to backlogs from the pandemic.

 

One very big piece of advice - do not make assumptions around when you will receive your visa. We re-scheduled my spouse's medical appointment/visa interview date to early October 2022 (due to some previous plans we already had for the summer) and thought it would all be wrapped up by November 2022. It's now the end of January 2023 and things are not resolved. We were unexpectedly delayed multiple times due to:

 

1. Medical exam - when my spouse went for the medical exam, it was a requirement for *all* applicants to get a sputum test for tuberculosis (which added 10 weeks to the timeline as that's how long it takes for the cultures to grow). If you have some sort of pre-existing medical condition, you would also be wise to come with a note from your doctor stating that it is under control and does not pose any challenges (otherwise, you will be asked to return with this in hand)

2. When my spouse went to the visa interview in December 2022, we were asked to upload the latest copy of our tax returns to CEAC since what was approved in the DS-260 pertained to the 2020 tax year and we were at the end of 2022 ( to our credit, we brought in the physical copy of our 2021 tax returns but they wanted this uploaded to CEAC as well and we did not know about this beforehand) and also to provide the *original* copy of the NBI clearance (since we brought a copy by accident). We were issued a 221G letter for this

3. One month later after mailing in the documents above, we found out (through another 221G) that we needed to complete Form DS-5535 (who knows why - maybe because we traveled internationally after the DS-260 got approved and they needed to conduct a background check on this). The wait time for DS-5535 to clear is very long based on what I've heard and I'd be delighted to hear it being wrapped up by end of this year (and will be absolutely floored if it's sooner than that) 

 

Point being - do not make plans in advance of time. This process is rife with delays that you cannot foresee no matter how much research you do online or how many immigration lawyers you consult. Come well-prepared to the interview with *original* copies of all documents. If your NBI clearance is about to expire, get a new one and pre-upload it to CEAC. Make note of whether they would logically ask you for physical copies of your latest tax returns (like in my case above) and pre-upload these documents to CEAC in advance of the interview. Bring a pre-filled out Form DS5535 in case they ask you for it. This is a waiting game and closing every potential opportunity for delay can only help you. 

Good advice. We just got delayed for sputum testing. It's not required for all applicants though. Only if they see something on your chest xray. Sure seems like all because they do it to most people because they use cheap xray film..

[Scott12579 10]

On 1/29/2023 at 5:46 PM, Jimmyzr1 said:

Well that's good, at least. I was lucky 12-13 years ago with a fiancé visa, gf didn't get flagged. This time, hoping wife and son make it through though. Neither has had Tb test before.

My wife has never had TB before and just had to do sputum. From the people I know personally every woman that has children had to do sputum testing and the few I know that don't have any kids passed with no sputum. They seem to get most people for it because they use cheap xray film. Serious incompetence over there

[jskibo 588]

18 hours ago, Scott12579 said:

My wife has never had TB before and just had to do sputum. From the people I know personally every woman that has children had to do sputum testing and the few I know that don't have any kids passed with no sputum. They seem to get most people for it because they use cheap xray film. Serious incompetence over there

No Sputum for my wife with kids. 

 

Both parents popped. FIL got though, MIL did treatment then another medical which shockingly required yet another Sputum. Over a year after first medical she had her interview Thursday.  (Of course she took an NBI copy and not original so had to LBC that in yesterday)

 

 

[maEL 4]

For many years now, at least a decade now, they do not use "X-ray Films" anymore.  I don't know of any center/hospital use them nowadays.  Everything is digital now.