US Immigration from Philippines

My wife has been waiting almost two years for her removal of conditions application to be processed. She needs to renew her Wisconsin driver's license by Tuesday and according to the Wisconsin DMV website non citizens must provide one of the following documents as proof of legal residence for a non REAL ID compliant license:

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Non-commercial driver license, instruction permit or ID card Proof of legal status for non-REAL ID compliant cards

Everything from the REAL ID list above or:

• Valid foreign passport with appropriate immigration documents, which shall include or be accompanied by federal form I-94, arrival and departure record. NOTE: The appropriate immigration documents determine legal presence, not the passport itself
• Valid Temporary Resident ID card (federal form I-688)
• Valid refugee travel document (federal form I-571)
• Notice of Action (federal form I-797). Document must provide conclusive proof of legal presence and be accompanied by other supporting documentation
• TWIC Card Transportation Worker Identification Credential (issued by the Department of Homeland Security/Transportation Security Administration)
• Reception and placement program assurance form (refugee version) with an I-94 arrival and departure record
• Documentary proof specified in s.343.14(2)(es), Wis. Stats, that is approved by the federal authority:

1. 1. Valid foreign passport containing a valid non-immigrant visa & I-94, arrival and departure record
   2. Valid foreign passport containing an expired non-immigrant visa & I-94, arrival and departure record
   3. Pending or approved application for asylum in the United States
   4. Valid re-entry into the United States in refugee status I-327 or I-571
   5. Pending or approved application for temporary protected status in the United States
   6. Approved deferred action status (including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program) or a pending application for adjustment of status to legal permanent resident status or conditional resident status

Looking at the requirements for a REAL ID compliant license my wife doesn't have any of the required documents. Here is the list of required documents:

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Non-commercial driver license, instruction permit or ID card Proof of legal status for REAL ID compliant cards

• Valid U.S. passport or passport card
• U.S. State or local government issued Certificate of Birth. (Wisconsin will not accept Puerto Rican birth certificates issued before July 1, 2010, in line with Puerto Rico s law as of October 30, 2010. More information available at pr.gov)
• If you obtained U.S citizenship through the adoption process (Child Citizenship Act of 2000), and you do not possess a valid U.S. passport, you may provide evidence of U.S. citizenship with the following documents (please note that a Certification of Birth Facts is not an acceptable document):
  • Proof of finalized adoption and,
  • Foreign passport from your country of birth (valid or expired), which may include the temporary I-551 stamp or,
  • I-551 permanent resident card from the time that you entered the U.S.
• Consular report of birth abroad
• Valid I-551, permanent resident card (issued by the Department of Homeland Security/U.S. citizenship and immigration services). Non-expiring I-551 (issued 1977-1989) cards are acceptable
• U.S. Certificate of Naturalization (federal form N-550)
• Certificate of U.S. Citizenship (federal form N-560)
• Unexpired foreign passport with a valid unexpired U.S. visa affixed accompanied by the approved I-94 form documenting the applicants most recent admittance into the U.S. (Note: If you recently entered the U.S. and were not issued a paper I-94 form, visit cbp.gov/I94 to print your electronic I-94 before applying for immigration or public benefits, such as a driver license, identification card or a Social Security number.)
• Unexpired Employment Authorization Document (federal form I-688B or I-766) which is successfully verified through the DHS/USCIS Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements Program (SAVE)

So the only documents my wife has from either one of those lists is an expired green card (which makes it invalid according to the list) and an expired I-797 letter. Notice in regards to the I-797 letter it says the following:

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Notice of Action (federal form I-797). Document must provide conclusive proof of legal presence and be accompanied by other supporting documentation

A few questions about that. Is an expired I-797 valid for this purpose? What do they mean by "must provide conclusive proof of legal presence"? Also what supporting documentation must accompany it? Are they referring to her expired green card? As of right now we would be okay simply getting a non REAL ID compliant license and then deal with the REAL ID part of it later. However I am unsure we even have the correct documentation to do that.

I remember when we went to get my wife's learners permit the nightmare we went through. She hadn't received her green card yet so following the advice from someone I spoke to on the phone at USCIS we attempted to use the visa stamp in her passport as proof of legal residence. The DMV would not accept it and demanded an I-94 instead which my wife was never issued. I called CBP and USCIS which both told me my wife could not be issued an I-94 and that her visa stamp should serve as proof of legal residence for the purposes of obtaining a driver's license. Still the DMV refused to accept it. I argued back and forth with the DMV employee for over two hours and finally got him to call his higher ups in Madison. They confirmed for him that my wife's visa stamp was acceptable. I tell you that to illustrate how uneducated the DMV employees are on this issue and to show the issues we might face renewing my wife's license.

What do you guys think? Will they accept an expired I-797? What else should we bring? If they don't accept the I-797 what does my wife need to prove legal residence and how does she get it in a timely manner? Beyond that what does my wife need to get a REAL ID compliant license? Also we plan on visiting my wife's family in the Philippines next year (hopefully) and while I would hope she has her new green card by then if she doesn't what does she need to reenter the US when we return? Bonus question kind of unrelated to this. Should my wife be applying for naturalization now or should she wait until ROC is completed?

So over 2 years ago I sponsored my wife. After my senator intervened the nvc got the us embassy Manila to agree to expedite her interview. That was 3 days ago. Any clue.....when I might expect an interview? Thanks

So I filed for my wife's IR spousal in September 2018. It has bee at the NVC for like 10 months. I finally called my senator a couple weeks ago and his office got the NVC to convince the US Embassy in Manila to expedite her interview. What does this mean in real terms? Is the Embassy processing, now, ANY interviews at all?

I did get an odd email from the NVC saying "we had to cancel your interview dure to unforeseen situations and we will reschedule." That was sent BEFORE it was to be expedited.

Just looking to when we might get an interview.

Thanks

Greetings!

My wife is going to the Philippine Consulate to renew her passport. Our question is, on the application it asks for the address. Should she put our address here in the US or her address in the Philippines. By the way, we are still waiting on the Green Card, does this matter?

Thank you in advance

JVG

Finally, an official news source: https://www.rappler.com/nation/philippines-lifts-ban-non-essential-outbound-travel-october-21-2020?fbclid=IwAR2tW7tw77PkyymvEW0lI0OK_KvKxjP7Nl4zq_xXdjCNwdvCA0u3dR90h_E

Will still be a hassle to quarantine and pay for another COVID test after return to the Philippines, but at least it's some good news.