US Immigration from Philippines

My wife and I got new phones with new phone numbers (Happy Festivus:-) ) We will only be keeping the old numbers until the end of the month. Is there any point to notifying USCIS about the new numbers. Their success rate for updating new addresses has to be less than 50% judging by what I have read here over the years so updating numbers is probably nil.

****I was able to update on our myUSCIS account. I guess that is better than nothing ;-)****

So, after almost a decade of marriage, my husband (petitioner) wants a divorced. We were married in the Philippines. I am a dual PH and US Citizen. No domestic violence or any type of abuse. We tried marriage counselling, but didn't see to work. My question is, if/when we get a divorce in the US, do I need to go to the Philippines to file the petition to get my divorce acknowledged? How long does it usually take to get that processed, and anyone has an rough estimate how much it would cost?

I am just looking for general idea in case he push through with it.

How long did it take? I just wonder if it is slower now due to Covid.

Hello,

I posted here before regarding switching from K-1 to CR-1. My fianc and I have seriously considered switching at this point and going the Utah County Zoom marriage route (we found out that as a former Filipino, he will be able to come back here in the Philippines thru the Balikbayan program). But being the super cautious and risk-averse persons that we are, we decided to consult an attorney re: switching, and here's what the attorney said: "I don t think it is any faster to switch to a spousal visa because you will need to file a new I-130 petition and that is currently taking CIS 12-18 months to process. We just need to wait for the embassy to process your case."

I checked the USCIS website, specifically at the California Service Center, and under U.S. citizens applying for spouses, it says processing time is "26.5 to 34.5 months." I know this is just an "estimate," but can anyone explain the huge discrepancy in this estimate and the actual time it takes to process cases? Because I've seen several cases here that were getting approved in USCIS in 1-3 months (not expedited). Am I correct that USCIS processes cases by case number and not by country? Is there a way to know what case numbers/dates they are processing currently? This just jolted me a little bit because we were already planning to get married but got scared of the long waiting time at USCIS.

Thanks in advance for all your input.

This is review of wife's AOS visit at the San Francisco office for any members in the Bay Area. Our appointment was for 2:00PM and the guards will not let you in no earlier than 1:45PM. The Security Guards will make ask you if you have any weapons like nail clippers or tweezers. Also if you have any symptoms of Covid or exposed to anyone with Covid.

The next process is to take off your shoes, watches, empty your pockets, take off your coat and go through the metal detector.

You will then proceed to the 2nd floor to check in. Don't expect the Security Guards to be professional or polite. They do this everyday and you're just another person that is stopping them from socializing with the other Security Guards.

After checking in on the second floor, the clerk will tell you what section to sit it, A or B or C. Our appointment was for 2:00PM and we sat down at 1:50PM. Took ten minutes for the security checks and make our way to the 2nd floor.

The Immigration Officer(I.O.) came out and called out names at 2:01PM. The I.O. lead us to his office and sat us down. He was very professional and cordial. After swearing us in to tell the truth, he went overt the I-485 form with my wife. Then he asked how we met and when was the first time we met face to face. The only other question was how we decided to get marry, was it a formal engagement or series of conversion that lead to the marriage.

He also asked to see our original marriage certificate, her and my birth certificates.

The last part was if we have other documents we like to present to show the validity of the marriage. I presented an update of my affidavit of support and proof of marriage documents.

We were given a letter stating we completed the interview process. Now we just have to wait for the results.

The interview was done in 22 minutes. The I.O. escorted us out to the exit door to the waiting area.

It was a simple process and if any members in the Bay Area have questions, I'll do my best to answer them.

It took 15 months to get the interview after mailing the I-485. Others may be faster or longer to get their interview appointment. Not every case is the same.