TandD

Actually, they can waive the 3 year residency requirement if it is a step parent adoption. I don't know what the process entails beyond this, but you do not need to be a resident for three years to adopt your stepchild.

U.S. citizens residing in the Philippines who are interested in adopting a Filipino child through the Philippine Courts must meet the following conditions pursuant to Philippine adoption law:

•Be resident in the Philippines for at least three years prior to the filing of the adoption petition and maintain such residence until the adoption decree is entered by the Philippine court.

•Possess a certification of legal capacity to adopt issued by the appropriate government agency from your state of residence.

The Philippines government may waive these requirements in the following cases:

•A former Filipino citizen who seeks to adopt a relative within the fourth degree of consanguinity, as defined under Philippines law; or

•A person who seeks to adopt the legitimate son/daughter of his/her Filipino spouse

We're going through the Manila embassy, but wanted to let you know, that my fiance also interviewed in September (14th). He said it all went well, but at the end they stated they just had to check one thing with his daughter's birth certificate (even though we weren't petitioning her at the time). Well, phone call after phone call, and e-mail after e-mail, I kept getting the same response "it's under Administrative Review". Seriously, it was the worst 4 1/2 months of my life. FINALLY, on the morning of January 31st, I received an e-mail that said he was approved! It makes me crazy that they took so long to "review" the case, but there is nothing you can do (except keep calling and e-mailing). No real advice, except to hang in there (and be pesky with them). Hope you get your approval soon. My Fiance will be here on Thursday.

Well, after being in AP/AR (whatever it is officially called) for 4 1/2 months, my fiance FINALLY received his Visa last week. He will be flying on March 4th!!!! It has been a VERY VERY long journey, and although it isn't quite complete (we will be bringing his daughter out in a few months), I'm so happy to have this stage over (the waiting was EXCRUTIATING).

I'm sure we are going to have a fight ahead of us to bring his daughter here, as that is why we were in AP/AR to begin with (discrepency with her birth certificate), but we will cross that bridge when we get there.

Come on March 4th....hurry up and get here!!!!!!

I have had really good response from e-mailing the embassy. I e-mail before I go to bed, and usually have a response the next morning. Granted, the responses never say much, but at least they are responding to me. My response this morning said: "we are in receipt of the requested verification from the Philippine civil registry. The case has been referred to a consular officer for review. Once the review is completed we will notify the applicant". (again, we were waiting on the birth certificate for his daughter, who is a K2 to follow).

Not much info, but at least I know they now have the document they have been waiting on. Who knows though how long the "review" from the consular will take. It's been 4 weeks now since my fiance's interview (Sept 14th). UGH! So very frustrating. The e-mail address I use is: IVManilaReplies@state.gov. You need to make sure the subject line is the beneficiary's last name, first name, MNL number, and type of Visa (K1 for us).

Good luck to all of us in AP. Please post when ever you get information/updates. It sadly enough helps with my obsession over my own case.

We're on AP. My fiance's interview was Sept 14th, and at the end, the CO told him everything was good, but that she needed to check on a document, but to wait for the Visa in the mail. Being nervous, my fiance didn't ask what was needed. He was NOT given any white paper.

He told me he was approved, but they needed to check on something. Knowing that this isn't how it is usually done, I asked him if he got a white slip of paper because it sounds like we are in AP. He insisted that he thought he was approved.

I knew this wasn't quite right, so I e-mailed the embassy and sure enough, the embassy is requesting a birth certificate for my fiance's daughter. They were not requesting he submit it, but they were ordering it themselves. They insist they told him this and that he got the 221g form. My fiance insists they said no such thing and did not receive any other paperwork (the 221g form). I tend to believe him, because he HAD his daughter's birth certificate with him, the lady at the first window took it, but gave it back, and the CO never asked for it again. Had they told him what they needed, he would have reminded them that he had it with him.

I e-mailed the embassy again last week to get an update,and they said it can take anywhere from 3-4 weeks to get the documents. They would then make a decision once they received it. Very frustrating that we have to wait another month (or more) for something he had with him. Even more frustrating that there is no set timeline and we really have no idea how long we will have to wait. I will e-mail the embassy next week for another update if we don't hear anything.

I'm a female petitioner!!!! Not filipina though. Yes, we are definitely in the minority.

We've received our NOA2, and now just need to pay for the Visa's and schedule the interview appointment. We would have this done now, but my fiance decided to wait until we got NOA2 before he applied for his and his daughters passport. Well, guess what? It is taking MONTHS to get a passport (he didn't realize this). SO, now we are in a big waiting game. It will take about two months to get the passports (we're trying to get them expedited), and then at least a month from that to get an interview appointment. I'm so disappointed. I was hoping they would be home this summer, but it is looking more like Sept/Oct. Oh well.

My fiance has a 5 year old daughter that will be coming with him, so it will be interesting to see how his interview goes at the embassy, when it's usually the mothers bringing their children.

Good luck on your journey.

It took one full week for my hard copy RFE to reach me by mail. BY far one of the longest weeks of my life. Luckily though, once I sent everything back, I had my NOA2 within a week of them receiving the info. I'm sure you'll have yours in the next day or so.

Following on from the RFE we received, the necessary information was sent to Vermont and we now have a RESPONSE REVIEW,where it is stated this can take up to another 60 days before we receive a decision. It is now almost 7 months since our NOA1, are we really looking at the possibility of another 2 months of waiting.

I got an RFE, and received my NOA2 exactly one week after mailing my paperwork back to them. It depends on what your RFE was, but they are USUALLY pretty quick once they get back what they requested. Good luck. I'm betting you will have it within a week.

Thank you so much. That is exactly the information I was looking for. I'm gonna have to get on his case to get his daughter's passport ASAP!

Thanks again.

Hi All,

My fiance will be eligible to pay for his Visa soon (just waiting on NVC to send paperwork to Manila). From what I have read, a passport is needed to pay for the Visa. My fiance has his passport, however he is just now applying for a passport for his daughter.

Can he go ahead and pay for his visa fee, and thereby be able to schedule his interview appointment, and then just pay for his daughter's visa fee when she has her passport in hand? When you make the interview appointment does it just ask for the K1 applicants info, or does it also ask for any K2's.

It could take a couple of weeks to get his daughter's passport, and so I was just curious if he could speed things up a bit by just paying for his and getting scheduled for the interview, and then taking care of her visa payment when her passport comes.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Tania

hi every one i just want ask about when i sent RFE to the USCIS

HOW MUCH TIME IT TAKES TO GET NOA2?

BECOUSE I'M SO DISAPPOINTED

USCIS says 60 days, HOWEVER, I received e-mail RFE notice on April 1st, hardcopy got to me April 7th, I sent my response April 8th, USCIS signed for my response (I sent it registered mail so I could track it) on April 10th, their website said they received it April 13th and were reviewing it, and I got approved on April 14th (although, their website wasn't updated until April 18th). I think depending on WHAT the RFE was, the turnaround time can be VERY quick. Good luck. I think very rarely do people have to wait the 60 days.

Definitely disappointing to get the RFE. I got one too on April 1st, but like you, I was just happy that someone was looking at my case. The good news is that it only took USCIS (California) two days to approve our petition (NOA2)once we sent in what they needed. For us, it was that they needed the entire divorce decree with the judges signature, not the one page divorce certificate I got from the county clerk.

Good luck. I hope the RFE is something simple. Hardest part is waiting for the darn hard copy to come in the mail!

I got my RFE notice last week, and the hard copy yesterday. They need my ENTIRE divorce papers, not just the divorce certificate that I got from the county. I sent it off today, and hope to get our NOA2 SOON!

It was such a long week from April 1st when we got the e-mail notice until the hardcopy came, telling us what we needed. Pure torture. Good luck. And like the others said, hopefully it is something simple and you can get your NOA2 soon.

Thank you both for your quick replies. That answers my question, and I will tell my fiance that yes, he will need to bring her to the interview with him.

Thanks again.

I've heard conflicting information. Does the Manila Embassy require children who are a applying for a k2 to show up at the interview with the k1 applicant? I've heard definitely yes, no, and only if they are 14 years or older.

If they are required to show up, what types of questions might they be asked? My fiance's daughter is only 4 years old, but is SUPER SUPER shy, and will more than likely be hiding in the crook of his arm the entire time. Plus, she hardly speaks any English.

Anyone with young children at the interview, can you share how it went?

Thanks

I think it all depends on who is manning the customs station. On my last trip, we had dried fish, and even told the customs agent. They scanned our bags, and sent us on our way....with our fish. The official rule is probably NO, but seems that some of us have gotten away with it (even while being up front with the customs agent).

Illegitimate children are under the custody of the mother. If your fiance wishes to secure a visa for his daughter, he will need to secure Travel Clearance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). On their FAQ section:

Thank you. This type of information is what I was looking for. I will have my fiance contact DSWD to obtain the Travel Clearance.

Thanks again.

Hi,

I seem to be a bit outnumbered. Wanting to know if there are any Female Petitioners on here, marrying a Filipino? My fiance has a child. He was never married to the mother, but has had full custody of her since she was one (she is now almost 5). There is no custody agreement, but the mother will sign a letter stating it's ok for her to come to the US.

Are single fathers under more scrutiny regarding his paternal rights? Do you think they will question the child's paternity? He has her birth certificate listing him as the father, but it was only recently registered? What kind of back up documentation do you think they will request?

I'm just trying to get an idea so we can start collecting any needed documents now. We're very close to receiving our NOA2 (hopefully) as we are approaching the 5 month mark.

Thanks for any and all help/advise. Would especially love to hear from other female petitioners.