US Immigration from Philippines

Saipan specifically.. Since the chain is a US territory, I'm thinking it would be ok. We're looking for somewhere exotic to go to

and still stay in the US. American Samoa is another possibility. Guam is out. Too military.

Hi all,

I am unsure which forum to post this in so hopefully I chose the right one.

My wife just entered the US on her IR-1 visa from the Philippines a few days ago and I also moved fairly recently too and didn't update my address yet with immigration. On her DS-260 I had selected the option for her to get her social security number right away.

From what I understand the SSA is supposed to mail her ss card to her a few weeks after entering the US and at the point of entry an immigration officer asked my wife her current address and appeared to update it on the spot.

My questions are:

1). Would the address the immigration officer took from my wife be the one the SSA uses to mail her card to her?

Or

2). If that isn't the case then how do we update our current address quickly so it doesn't go to my old address.

Thank you so much!

So I have been doing a lot of research on what it would take to bring my wife's parents to the US and so far I think I have some answers but I also have some questions. What I know is we need to do an I-130 for both of her parents. What I'm wondering is how similar this process is to applying for a spousal visa like we did with my wife. I know we will need basic documents like my wife's naturalization certificate, parents marriage certificate and parents birth certificates (I'm assuming this one). Those are the things I know. Here are my questions:

What other documents that I didn't list will be needed?

Does my wife need to provide proof of income like I did when petitioning for her? If so are the income requirements the same?

What are the fees to file the I-130s? Can this be filed online?

What is the average processing time when filing for a parent? The same as a spousal visa? Slower? Faster?

My wife's brother is 17. If we file before he turns 18 (in December) can he be included with my wife's parents? How does that process work?

Will my wife's parents have to go for an interview? If so can they bring someone along to translate for them as they aren't fluent in English? If my wife's brother was included in the process he is fluent in English if he was allowed to attend the interview. Otherwise would they be allowed to have someone attend to translate for them?

Anyways that's all I have for now. Any help is greatly appreciated.

As the title suggests I have some questions about dual Philippines US citizenship. Our situation has a few variables at play here so I'll lay out all the details then ask my specific questions.

So my wife and step son came to the US on a CR1 visa and since then we had 2 more kids who are 7 years and 18 months old. My wife became a naturalized citizen in December of last year and my step son turned 18 in April meaning he derived citizenship from my wife but we still have to file his N600 (which were starting on this weekend). My wife and I did not file a "report of birth" (think thats what it is called) with the Philippines consulate for our US born children as we were unaware at the time it had to be done before they turned one year old. So our end goal here is for my wife and all the children to have dual citizenship. Here are my questions:

Wife:

I think the process is fairly straightforward for her. Simply submit the requirements on the (Chicago) consulate website and schedule an appointment. Am I missing anything here? Does she need a US passport before applying?

Step son:

As I mentioned we are getting ready to file his N600. Does he qualify to apply for dual citizenship now by just using a US passport or will he need to complete the N600 process first. My understanding is he is already technically a US citizen. He just doesn't have the certificate yet. Can he apply for dual citizenship on my wife's application or will he have to do it separately? The end goal would be to only have to take a trip to Chicago once to complete everything but I don't know if that's possible.

US born children:

It was my understanding that my wife and I were supposed to report their birth to the Philippines consulate before they turned one year old which we failed to do. It was also my understanding we could fill out a form explaining why we didn't do so. I was not sure what a valid reason would be on that form. I thought a "report of birth" was the only way to get their dual citizenship until I saw this on the dual citizenship website for the Chicago consulate:

"Under the principle of derivative citizenship, unmarried children below eighteen (18) years of age, whether legitimate, illegitimate, or adopted, of former Filipino parents who retained/reacquired their Philippine citizenship under this law, may also be deemed Filipino citizens, if they are included in the parent s application for retention/reacquisition of Philippine citizenship."

Does this mean we can simply include them in my wife's dual citizenship application and bypass the "report of birth" process entirely? I'm a bit confused here. Hopefully someone can clear this up for me. If the "report of birth" process is still nessasary some clarification on what I could use as a reason for not reporting them in time would be helpful.

General questions:

We are planning a trip to the Philippines at the end of next year. We are planning on staying for a couple months. Assuming my wife and none of the kids have dual citizenship by then would they all qualify for balikbayan visas? Would I qualify for one via my wife even if she didn't have dual citizenship yet? I assume my wife and step son would qualify based on their former Philippines citizenship.

Anyways those are the questions I have in order to get this process started. I'm sure I'll have more as I dig into it deeper. Any help is greatly appreciated.

So my wife completed the naturalization process back in December and is now a citizen. My step son turned 18 in April so I believe he gained citizenship from my wife as he was 17 at the time she became naturalized. It is my understanding that even though he is a citizen he still needs to file an N600 to get his citizenship certificate. I was not able to find a guide for this process so I have a few questions.

Since he is now 18 he would technically have to be the one filing the N600 correct? But I can still help him with it right?

He can still get a US passport without a naturalization certificate correct? Is it better to get his passport right away or after he completes the N600 process? Or does it not matter?

I have read that he might need a naturalization certificate to enroll in college and/or to apply for financial aid. He is planning on enrolling in tech school next January. How long does the N600 process take and what difficulties might he face enrolling in college before completing the process?

What are all the steps of the N600 process? I know the first step is submit the N600 form along with fees and relevant evidence. After that what happens? Does he need to go for an interview? I have read that sometimes it is required and sometimes it is not. What criteria do they use to determine if an interview is required? What does the interview consist of? Will he have to do the civics test and everything else my wife had to do? Will he have to attend an oath ceremony like my wife did?

As far as fees go it looks like there is a fee waiver if you are low income. How would his income be calculated if he doesn't make much money but lives with my wife and myself? Does he have to count our income or part of it as his or would he qualify for a fee waiver as he doesn't currently earn much money (he just finished high school and just works part time)?

I am sure I will have more questions about the N600 form its self as we sit down and work on it this weekend. But those are the questions I have for now. All answers are appreciated. You people have been the number one source of information as my wife, step son and I have navigated the process of obtaining visas all the way up to naturalization and we wouldn't have been able to do it on our own without this website. I believe this will be the last step in our process (until we look into bringing my in laws to the US).