MANILA, No available OFC slots?? (K1 Visa) PH

[PipeStretcher 5]

Hi everyone, I’m hoping someone who has gone through the process can help clarify a few things for me and my fiance (K-1 visa, Embassy Manila).

1. How can we find out whether an interview date has already been assigned for our case, or when we might expect one?

2. We’ve been checking constantly for OFC (biometrics) appointments, but there haven’t been any available slots. Does anyone know when new OFC appointment slots are usually released?

3. What happens if an interview date gets scheduled, but we still can’t book an OFC appointment because there are no openings? What should we do in that situation?

Any advice or recent experience would really help ,thank you!

[Edward and Jaycel 2,433]

You have to schedule your own interview for the K-1 Visa in Manila so the only way that you would have that scheduled without a biometrics appointment is if you do it yourself.

[PipeStretcher 5]

6 minutes ago, Edward and Jaycel said:

You have to schedule your own interview for the K-1 Visa in Manila so the only way that you would have that scheduled without a biometrics appointment is if you do it yourself.

I am not understanding this? Me and my fiance is trying to get an OFC slot but no slots available still... I heard embassy automatically issues you an interview date through mail/email to my fiance, regardless if I have the OFC scheduled or not. 

[Edward and Jaycel 2,433]

3 minutes ago, PipeStretcher said:

I am not understanding this? Me and my fiance is trying to get an OFC slot but no slots available still... I heard embassy automatically issues you an interview date through mail/email to my fiance, regardless if I have the OFC scheduled or not. 

 

The only interviews that are automatically scheduled are Immigrant Visa interviews and those are scheduled by the NVC before your file is ever shipped to the embassy. The K-1 Fiancé(e) Visa is a non-immigrant visa and you will schedule that interview yourself.

[Edward and Jaycel 2,433]

So to clarify - you will have to schedule BOTH the biometrics appointment and the K-1 Interview appointment yourself.

[PipeStretcher 5]

1 minute ago, Edward and Jaycel said:

So to clarify - you will have to schedule BOTH the biometrics appointment and the K-1 Interview appointment yourself.

So does the K1 Interview slot show up through the USTravelDoc portals after I schedule the biometrics appointment? 

[Edward and Jaycel 2,433]

3 minutes ago, PipeStretcher said:

So does the K1 Interview slot show up through the USTravelDoc portals after I schedule the biometrics appointment? 

 

I know it will show up on the USTravelDoc website but I am not sure in what sequence. We did Jaycel's interview while they were still doing biometrics there at the embassy during the interview

[PipeStretcher 5]

1 hour ago, Edward and Jaycel said:

 

I know it will show up on the USTravelDoc website but I am not sure in what sequence. We did Jaycel's interview while they were still doing biometrics there at the embassy during the interview

Thank you Edward. I appreciate your response.

[J.M. 356]

2 hours ago, PipeStretcher said:

So does the K1 Interview slot show up through the USTravelDoc portals after I schedule the biometrics appointment? 

You will see interview appointment slots immediately after securing a biometrics appointment.  It is important that you schedule both during the same web session.  If you only schedule biometrics but not the interview, the biometrics appointment with be automatically cancelled.

 

Every step from here until you are finished is driven by you.  The Manila embassy will not be scheduling or emailing you anything for K-1.  Not all embassies do things the same way, but for Manila, you make your own appointments for biometrics, interview, and medical.

[PipeStretcher 5]

17 hours ago, J.M. said:

You will see interview appointment slots immediately after securing a biometrics appointment.  It is important that you schedule both during the same web session.  If you only schedule biometrics but not the interview, the biometrics appointment with be automatically cancelled.

 

Every step from here until you are finished is driven by you.  The Manila embassy will not be scheduling or emailing you anything for K-1.  Not all embassies do things the same way, but for Manila, you make your own appointments for biometrics, interview, and medical.

Hi JM, thanks for your response. I managed to secure both slots yesterday!! After virgourously checking every 5 minutes for the past week I was able to secure slots OFC and IV slot 3 days apart !!

[Edward and Jaycel 2,433]

2 minutes ago, PipeStretcher said:

Hi JM, thanks for your response. I managed to secure both slots yesterday!! After virgourously checking every 5 minutes for the past week I was able to secure slots OFC and IV slot 3 days apart !!

 

Great news!! That's one of the most frustrating parts of the K-1 process in Manila. Did you get the medical exam scheduled?

 

Edited 19 hours ago by Edward and Jaycel

[PipeStretcher 5]

9 minutes ago, Edward and Jaycel said:

 

Great news!! That's one of the most frustrating parts of the K-1 process in Manila. Did you get the medical exam scheduled?

 

Yes my fiance immediately scheduled her medical exam for jan 08. I think they raised the medical fee? I paid about $500 US to have her schedule that appoinment

[Edward and Jaycel 2,433]

9 minutes ago, PipeStretcher said:

Yes my fiance immediately scheduled her medical exam for jan 08. I think they raised the medical fee? I paid about $500 US to have her schedule that appointment

 

Good to hear! Yes they raised it just after Jaycel did her exam in August of 2024. The only good thing with the raised fees is that they are now doing the Interferon-Gamma Release Assay test for TB as well as the chest X-Ray so hopefully that reduces the ridiculous number of false positives they had when just relying on the chest X-Ray. Keep us all advised on the process and I would recommend getting your FBI Records Check done soon for the CFO Counseling Session as it also seems that they are requesting that of the petitioner more often than not nowadays.

[PipeStretcher 5]

5 hours ago, Edward and Jaycel said:

 

Good to hear! Yes they raised it just after Jaycel did her exam in August of 2024. The only good thing with the raised fees is that they are now doing the Interferon-Gamma Release Assay test for TB as well as the chest X-Ray so hopefully that reduces the ridiculous number of false positives they had when just relying on the chest X-Ray. Keep us all advised on the process and I would recommend getting your FBI Records Check done soon for the CFO Counseling Session as it also seems that they are requesting that of the petitioner more often than not nowadays.

I told my fiance to arrive at 5am even though she has her appointment scheduled for 12PM to avoid all the foot traffic for each department and get everything done in one day, including vaccines. FBI records as well? Is that a new requirement? I have a clean record I figured they would be able to pull it on their end. 

[J.M. 356]

25 minutes ago, PipeStretcher said:

FBI records as well? Is that a new requirement? I have a clean record I figured they would be able to pull it on their end. 

Starting 6 months or so ago, they started asking for FBI records at CFO and refusing to grant clearance without seeing it first.  It's better to just get it than to get turned away and have to go again.  It's about $50 and is not too complicated to obtain.  You complete a form online, then go to a post office to get fingerprinted.  Results come back the same day usually.  You can digitally send the results to your fiancée.