US Immigration from Philippines

Hello!

First off, a quick summary of our situation:

• We are currently both in the Philippines (Metro Manila).
• We got married via Utah County's Zoom Ceremony, as we wanted to have the certificate from the US
• We are waiting for the certified marriage certificates, but we have the digital version required for the Spousal Visa
• Now, we're trying to figure out the order of operations and steps required

The next step is to either file the Spousal Visa or the Report of Marriage at the San Fransisco Consulate. I've heard mixed things about how long the SF Consulate takes, and I've heard varying timelines for the Spousal Visa. I'm concerned that the Spousal Visa could be done before the Report of Marriage is complete and we wouldn't be able to do the CFO in time. So that'd be my first question -- should I just bite the bullet and submit the Spousal Visa application ahead of the ROM while we wait for the Apostille copy of the Marriage Certificate?

Aside from this, there are many things about the ROM itself that are confusing for someone in my situation:

1. The ROM requires the application to be notarized, with the virtual wedding requiring both spouse signatures to be notarized respectively.
2. If we are both currently in the Philippines, is it acceptable by the consulate that all notarizations on the documents are done in the Philippines, or would I have to go to the US to do all of this? I'm hoping this isn't the case as it seems rather unnecessary.
3. The requirement of a Cashier's Check or Postal Money Order as well as self-addressed Priority Mail envelope is also a hurdle if I'm in the Philippines. I could have my parents do this portion of it, or I could go the DFA route below:
4. The possibility to do all of this through the DFA would eliminate the cashier's check / postal money order as well as the envelope is intriguing, but my understanding is that this just slows the process down as the DFA sends the document to the SF Consulate ANYWAYS and reroutes it back to Manila
5. I've read conflicting information about the CENOMAR document - is this necessary? We are already married and my wife has no previous marriage.
6. I've read conflicting stories about the ROM itself -- does the CFO process require the PSA certified copy of the ROM, or will the initial copy we receive from the consulate be sufficient?
7. I have also watched some videos on YouTube (I know, not the most official sources, but there aren't many options) stating that Utah Zoom ceremonies require an extra letter NOTARIZED IN THE US stating that the Filipino citizen was not in the US at the time of the ceremony and held no US Visa - is this true? If it is, can it be notarized in the Philippines?
8. If we do go forward with the visa ahead of the ROM, would there be an issue getting the CFO stamp if we still hadn't received the certified copy / initial copy of the ROM from the consulate?

So, we're juggling some options here as well as just being overall confused about the ROM process. I know there are a ton of questions here, but from all my exploration on this forum, there's only been one or two cases similar to mine, and there are no further updates on those threads unfortunately (and they don't answer most of the questions we have), as seen in this thread as an example:

Any thoughts, information would be super helpful and appreciated. I'm going to be emailing the consulate itself, but as with a lot of PH government institutions, I don't expect much help there. I'd prefer to do everything here so that I don't have to spend more time apart from my spouse.

Thank you in advance!

I am deeply concerned after reading the replies to this. I m a US Citizen, born in the USA. I am living in the Philippines now for three years, 31 months with my Filipina wife who I married on July 10, 2020. She has 2 children, ages 6 & 8. We plan to go to the States when approved.

I filed One I-130 and one I-130A on June 30, 2021 which was Approved on May 13, 2022. We paid the NVC fees on May 17, 2022, the same day we received the notification from the NVC. My Wife then completed her DS-260 and I completed my I-864 showing a family of 4 and listing my wife and 2 children and we uploaded them on June 10, 2022. Their current Status is Submitted.

My concern is in a response to another question it stated that An I-130 for each child (my step children) and separate fee must be filed for each child. As I stated above I only filed one I-130 and one I-130A listing my wife s 2 children (my step children) in every space asked.

if I was supposed to file 3 forms, one for each, what do I do know since my I-130/I-130A are already approved??? Thanks in advance for your help.

My family is coming over to visit soon. And I'm very confused about this "requirement."

Do they need the COVID travel insurance at all? From Philippines to US, direct flight via PAL.

I'm hearing it's a requirement to depart.. then a requirement to enter US.. so confusing help!

So I took my daughter and wife to local SSA branch yesterday. They allowed me to file app for daughter with her crba document. They said my wife needs a i94. I explained she entered on a ir1 visa and immigrant visa holders don't get a i94 but they insisted she should of received one.

At this point I am a bit lost. Do I have to wait for green card in mail before I can apply for her SSN?

Process of filing petition for spouse