US Immigration from Philippines

After the interview, the visa took about 2 weeks to arrive. We sent the picture of the visa to the CFO rep because we did that before the interview and proof of payment. She sent us an email of the temp certificate and said the real sticker would arrive by mail. After seven days, it still hadn't arrived. It shipped from metro Manila to metro Manila. It shouldn't have taken that long. I don't even think they sent it.

I had booked both our tickets through Japan Airlines because I was in Manila with my wife. We both downloaded the Traze app and filled in our info. We arrived at Terminal 1 at 5:45 AM, but they wouldn't let people enter until 6:30 AM. The guard asked for our Covid test before entering the airport, but we said we were going to the States. No test is required for now. We never had to show anyone the Traze QR code (even though they claim it is mandatory). Also, BoI requires that all departing Filipinos fill out a Travel Declaration form that says they are aware of the risks. I didn't have to fill that out. My wife paid the travel tax, but I didn't have to do that. At the JAL luggage counter, she showed the employee her temp CFO certificate and her passport, and she got her boarding pass. Going through immigration was easy. There were hardly any other passengers in line. We left on time, and when we landed in Narita, they made the people entering Japan get off first. The flight was about 80% full. The rest of the transit passengers got off and walked down this corridor to do a final security check. They just check for scissors or knives. Once through, we stayed at the gate for an hour before we boarded. It seemed like 80% of the airports shops were closed.

We departed Narita on time and except for the crying kids in the row in front of us, the flight was great. It was only 50% full. They fed us from MNL->NRT and then twice from NRT->LAX. It was good food with some H agen-Dazs as a bonus! You had to wear your face mask on the plane except for when eating. At least they didn't require the plastic face shield too.

LAX airport was a ghost town. Usually, there are Automated Passport Control Kiosks that you can walk up to and enter your info. All 50 of them were shut down. They made all passengers go to 1 area. We walked to the immigration officer's booth, he looked confused about her IR-1 visa, made a phone call, and then stamped her passport. Total time was 5 min. His only question was verifying the mailing address for the green card, and then he said, "Welcome to the USA." We got our bags and left.

Has anyone received a biometric appointment for the Indianapolis office recently? I don't seem to see a lot of information/people going to that office and would like to understand what the timeline is for them.

Good Day to everyone, I received my acceptance notice last March 14,2020 (Chicago Area) for N400 US citizenship application. However, I have not received any updates for my Biometric schedule, It has been 10 months. I know that they have delays but how long do we usually wait nowadays for a biometric appointment. If anyone can share their experience and updates, I would appreciate it. Thank you in advance.

New thread

In another thread I had mentioned that we had our passport stolen on a bus after the K1 interview. Our original plan was to go to the US on January 15th but because of this situation this has been delayed. I have extended my stay in Manila until Feb 19th to help facilitate getting this new visa/passport/CFO certificate asap. The visa expire date is February 22nd so there is not much time. I wrote to USEM last week with a summary of our situation, an expected timeline etc and surprisingly they responded within 12 hours and told me that they will need the new passport. However they did not answer my questions in the email.

We are currently having the new passport sent via Victoryliner from Tuguegarao as its the fastest way to get it to Manila (VL does not take passports but we have made it look like documents) as we need this passport overnight.

I have two questions if someone with previous experience can help answer:

1) I asked the Embassy about a new DS-160 for the new passport number, details etc. From research, it appears I cannot update this and that the Embassy would have to update this in their system. Is this correct? When I go to our DS-160 its impossible for me to edit it now as its already been submitted a long time ago.

2) For those that have done the CFO during the pandemic, how long did it take to receive the certificate from the date you sent the documents to them. We have already done the CFO by phone, sent all the documents via email, but will have to send a copy of the new passport and visa to them. From the point on sending, how many days did it take to receive the documents you needed?

Thank you.