US Immigration from Philippines

I am hoping someone out there can answer my question. I will state it succinctly and then provide some details after.

DO LAWYERS AND CONSULTANTS USE THE SAME PROCESS AS INDIVIDUALS TO SECURE AN APPOINTMENT FOR AN INTERVIEW?

Let me explain...

• My Filipina fiance and I are trying to obtain a K1 visa for her.
• Due to cost, we decided to go the route of doing it all ourselves and not use a lawyer or consulting service.
• We are at the point where we have been prompted to schedule an interview for an appointment.
• For many days now, there are no appointments available.
• The process for getting an interview appointment apparently is to refresh your browser 12 times a day, every 2 hours until it shows an appointment available.
• I have read a lot of forums and this seems to be the way you have to do it.

So, that leads to my question... Are the lawyers and consultants seriously sitting at their computers going through this asinine process to get their clients an appointment? Do they have a back door they use to get the appointment slots?

To say I am frustrated is an understatement. You can walk across the southern border and get a free cell phone, accommodations, paychecks, etc., but it takes buku months if you want to do it legally. Government bureaucracy is maddening.

Thanks.

Has anyone used a online translation service before? I've tried looking but I don't see any reviews and they all look kinda suspect. I'm trying to get my grandmother's death certificate translated from Dutch to English so my mom can get her passport rushed. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

I wanted to provide my analysis of the USCIS activity recently. There has been a significant reduction in case activity starting around mid-June. The average number of cases per week from 04MAR to 10JUN is 1685 per week. The week of Easter and Memorial Day had 20% reduction as you can imagine.

Since 10JUN the number of cases reviewed is 768, greater than 50% reduction. This week (22JUL) look like the lowest number of cases reviewed. So far through Wednesday, the number is 136 reviewed. If I had to guess, I would say summer vacations at USCIS California are to blame. It is nice weather anytime in SOCAL but really nice this time of year. Good for them as everyone needs a vacation. Bad for us that have petitions that need approval.

That part of the state (between LA and SD) is beautiful and the surf must be up. Everyone is at the beach while we are hitting re-fresh every 2.3 seconds to see if our case is approved. Good luck to everyone, especially if you applied in Mar/Apr 2024.

EDIT: Let me also add that the average time NOA1 to NOA2 for VJ members is 64 days for March filers, 54 days for April filers, 39 days for May filers. I filed 13JUN and I am at 41 days today and USCIS has not begun to review cases filed in June. So I suspect June filers to be back up to the 50~70 days again. That is if everyone comes back from vacation sober.

There are a significant number of VJ members so the sample size is significant to approximate the overall population provided the VJ members entered the data correctly and not make any typos.

I searched but did not find a post to my specific question.

What insurance does everyone recommend for my K1 fiance while she is in the US but before we are married? I do not plan to marry her until she experiences a few months of cold weather (Michigan). She is from Philippines and has NEVER experienced snow/cold. She claims she will be fine but I want to see her perform a snow angel, build a snowman and perhaps a few white washes and snowball fights before I am confident she will not bail on me.

I need to get her coverage for the entire 90 days. Does travel insurance have good coverage? I am not sure if Obamacare is available for short term until she gets on my insurance.

Aloha again!

We finally have a move date! We will be boots on the ground in the Philippines towards the end of August! We are applying for health coverage beyond Philhealth but there will be a gap in coverage of about 45 days. Does anyone know of inexpensive short term health care I looked at Allianz and it was very expensive.

Here is our update for those following: we were able to purchase one-way tickets from Philippine Airlines (which I believe is all that is needed with a 13A Visa) if anyone knows something different then please tell us!)

I read a horror story on a different forum about someone getting his ACR card from a 13A obtained in the US. Can someone who has gone through the process let me know what the steps are? My impression was that I just needed to go to the Bureau of Immigration with my passport/visa, application and paid fees. Is there more?

Salamat!