Vizcayana

Online Application.

Make follow-up calls.

Im in Seattle!

I did the same thing!

I sent the documents on October 30 and got an email saying they accepted and sent me a notice through mail yesterday (Nov.11). Your's was a bit faster than I.

Now I will be waiting.....and waiting anxiously.

Thnk you

My certified mail receipt showed a stamped that uscis received it on April 18.

Im just freaking out coz i've seen April filers getting their NOA or any kind of response from uscis in less than a week.

What number did you call?

Im going to give them a ring first thing in the morning.

I believed i sent my packet of application with the payment in money order on the 2nd week of april but as of now I have not received any NOA yet.

What should I do?

Its been a month since i got here in the US.

I never had any problem riding the plane although it was my firstime. I thought Im gona get dizzy or something but since it was a big plane I experienced less turbulence and the weather was fine and it was really cool inside. I sat by the window to see while it took off Manila and landed San Francisco.

I travelled by myself, there's no one to comfort me when I puke so I hang on tight, calmed myself and chatted with my seatmates who were very nice to me. I chewed gum too and enjoyed watching movies (i watched 4 movies throughout the trip) to remove the anxiety feeling.

All I remember now was the pilot giving his warmest welcome while announcing the plane will land in 30 minutes....

When I went to my interview, they didnt ask it but I have it on hand.

CENOMAR will prove that if you guys are married, it will show in there her name and her status as married to you and the date of marriage. An evidence that your marriage was registered.

Once you submitted it, just try to call the embassy and in some cases it will only take 2 weeks and u get the visa. Im pretty sure it got approved, they already took her passport.

that's right, my husband booked me a flight today manila-san francisco BOEING craft. He did it online on www.mangotours.com, it's expensive $930 direct flight, tax included.

And I emailed my scanned passport and visa plus the CFO sticker.

oh i see... thanks then..

i just really dont get why do they have to put something like that even the seminar which I actually find non-sense.

well, thats government's new procedure so if i dont want any trouble on my trip, i need to obey the rule..

can i patch in?

i am done with the seminar long time ago when I changed my passport name.

now Im going to get my passport with visa on it ready for the thing called sticker that CFO will give, do I have to pay another 400? just for the sticker? i have this green paper thing they gave before which I paid 400 at the CFO, they just have to stick it on my passport?will that cost me another money?

wow I got an overwhelming congratulation greetings.

thank you so much!

and yep today I called 2GO and check their website at the same time. my visa is in transit.. yahooooooooooooo!!!

I might get it tomorrow and despedida on saturday and fly fly next week.

I just cant wait to see my husband and meet my in-laws in person for the first time..

that's what I exactly felt last april when our case was completed and now its history, next week I might fly to US.

in few days you will get your interview date, just hang in there and watch out your inbox, they will email you. for the meantime, be ready with the documents you need to present at the embassy, you will never know what would they ask from you. I brought bunch of documents and the consular only ask for our pictures

good luck

this post made me emotional for few minutes

I'll be leaving the Philippines to unite with my husband in California ---in Reedley Fresno.

it made me emotional for reason that its really sad to leave the big family behind and adjust to a new different life in a foreign land and later on we will call that HOME.

We Filipinas are tipically born with strong personally and ladies here will agree to that but of course our partners in life are the key factor to help us adapt ourselves to a new environment.

It takes two to tango as they say.

Hopefully I can get myself adjusted soon. My husband already knew what I need and yea its a big rice cooker the number one.

Price of delivery is included in the application fee now.

agree!

and when u go check it online, use your NVC case number as the tracking number. I just did that and it worked!

My fiancee was told there was no fee for shipping is this true?

yup that was true. it's free. i guess that was part of the fees u paid before..

i just hang up with the agent and she told me my passport with visa is in transit. my interview was june 3.

i am so happy..!

but the problem theres no 2go branch in my town, they have to drop my package at the nearest branch which is 2 hours away from here.

2 options: i could wait till friday and they will deliver it or have a 2-hour trip going to the branch and get it from there tomorrow. and I cant wait till friday!

calling on the phone was much easier just be patient while waiting and there's an agent who would assist. that what I did..

My wife had her interview on June 1. Today I tracked the visa on the 2go website, and it is on the noon cebu pacific flight to Butuan city.

Hi there, how did you track it? I had my interview June 3 and they never gave out tracking number.

Hopefully I can get my visa within this week...

good thing your wife got hers..and for sure, shes coming over there not later than nextweek..

thank you!

do u have any idea when will I get the passport with visa and that mysterious brown envelope?

June 3 was one of my happiest days because I just got approved!

It's been 10 months of waiting since the first day my hubby filed the petition till we got approved.

Now All I have to do is wait for the stamped passport to arrive at my house, but the question is, how long do I have to wait.

I noticed at the embassy that they dont give exact dates as to when they deliver it, no tracking numbers or anything to keep track to the most awaited document of my life.

And since I am writing this post I will share my experience.

One week before my interview, I was all set and so excited for the big day to come but things happened unexpectedly. I got sick and sent to the hospital. Urinary infection, acute gastro interitis and amoebiasis pulled me to bed for 5 days. I thought I will never gona make it at the interview but I forced myself and signed a waiver at the hospital. It's now or never. So I got out of the hospital one day before the interview. We rented a van to take us at the embassy, we travelled 7 hours and I got dropped off at the embassy at 6:15AM.

There's already a long line when I got there, and believe me they are all for 6:30AM appointment. I suggest be early when your big day comes or else you will end up waiting another half an hour waiting in line in order to get through. No drinks, No electronic gadgets, bring pen (black ink) and make sure you had your breakfast. And also, NO candies. I seen bunch of candies piled at the guard's stand.

So finally, I was able to get inside and passed through the metal detector and there's another line inside where you have to show your passport and appointment letter. Here, the lady gave me a priority number. I was asked to drop my appointment letter with the copy of my priority number at window 39. So I went in another door and pass another metal detector. By the way, the door is so heavy that I needed to wait for a big guy to push it for me coz i am so sickly that i couldnt even push their heavy door.

After dropping my appointment letter at the window 39, I was asked to sit down and watch for my priority number to be flashed on the LED screen. Me and other immigrants were waiting on the chairs provided. It took 20 minutes before my number was flashed. A nice Japanese lady assisted me on the biometrics or finger printing at window 34. I was so nervous that I have to repeat the biometrics two times since the first one didnt seem to register on the computer. You have to really pressed hard.

and then i was asked to sit again and wait....

While waiting, I had a chit chat with some immigrants. I waited another 30 minutes before my number was flashed. It's the preliminary interview. A Filipino guy asked me questions such as:

1. who is my petitioner?

2. how is he related to me?

3. what does he do in life?

4. when and how did we meet?

He asked if I have pictures with him so I showed him bunch of wedding pictures and other screenshots. I scan through it and smiled, nodded and gave me back some documents we submitted me before. He made me sign something which I am pretty sure the DS230 Part II.

Afterwhich he said, okay, go back to your sit and watch for your number again. I said thank you.

I know that the next round will be the final interview with the consular officer and that made me so uneasy on my chair. Thanks to the couples who made me feel better, cris and her husband. The white guy kept on joking on me that I will get denied but I am so positive I am not.

That was the longest wait I ever did in my life. It took more than an hour before my number appeared on the screen. I almost thought they might have lost my paper somewhere and totally forgot it. Or they might have mistakenly put my paper on the trash instead on the waiting list. Some people who are behind me were already called and done with their interview and they left the embassy with beaming smiles which add up to my anxiety.

Anyway, so after more than an hour wait, finally 6033 appeared to the screen and I was asked to go to window 61. It was a caucasian who did my final interview. He asked me to raised my right hand and swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth, so I did. He asked me the same questions the Filipino guy asked earlier. I confidently answered everything. I was so focused, I didnt want any stutters because the guy might think I am lying or something. He asked what does my husband do, if he stays with his parents, if he ever been married and I said he was never been married. He asked when do I plan to go to the US and I said as long as I get the visa and he smiled, nodded and scanned the papers. He asked for the pictures I showed earlier so I slipped it in. He was smiling at the pictures and I jumped for joy when he said, okay your visa is approved!!

and I said... OH MY GOD THANK YOU THANK YOU SO MUCH!

All my sickness were washed away and in an instant I was strong. I was asked to go to window 72 to fill up a form (2go) delivery form and submit it to window 39. I attempted asking the lady how long before they deliver and she said no dates in particular just wait. and so I said okay and happily left the embassy and headed to Chowking where my family are waiting.

Retyping my response...

Food preference varies per person. You could start by asking your fiance favorite meals. Learn to cook those dishes. But, you should still continue cooking your favorite meal.

My hubby was an expat in the Philippines for several years. He never tried any filipino food.

Btw, i dont really cook before i got married. The internet becomes my most useful source of recipe.

And being a filipina, rice is a normal thing with me. I always incorporate rice in our meal.

Now, if you would ask him to choose between potatoes and rice for a side dish, he would get rice.

thank you.

I actually started my husband what does he like and he said he will eat anything I cook for him.

My husband is not a good cook and so am I.

Me too, internet is one of the most useful source of info in terms of cooking, actually I started making mashed potato yesterday and i got the recipe from the internet, my family members didn't like it that much but when I told my hubby I cooked mashed potato for the first time, he was so happy and he cant wait to taste it when i get to US.

My hubby eats rice too but sometimes just bread..

Its been so hard for me eating filipino food all the time as an American, I can't wait to make my wife eat American food all the time for a while so she gets the same feeling haha. Gets a little depressing after a while you miss your home foods

LOL!

No, it will never be a problem. Getting a passport, you will just have to establish your identity and your citizenship as Filipino.

NBI clearance and NSO birth certificate are what you need.

On my birth certificate, my mom's name was completely different to hers because when they filed me, my mom didnt know her real name yet. It was just lately when she has a totally different name on her birth certificate. and look, i have my passport, no hassles so ur good to go.

yes, its no use calling them because they set interview base on the date of completion and the availability of slot.

don't worry just keep on checking your inbox and you will likely to receive an email, when you get an email call NVC to reverify the schedule.

Some people's post here said they keep bugging NVC for their interview and they say it actually work, but I doubt it, maybe they bugged NVC for 2 weeks till they receive interview date and assumed that it was because they called NVC.

so just keep hanging...

you touched on one. the major problem is tastes. Get recipes from your husband. Learn his style and what he likes. Sloppy joe is meat plus sauce, the sauce is ketchup based, but from there varies. (easiest is a can of manwich sauce, or a jar of sloppy joe sauce) There are many different versions of the same meal. Meatloaf is one great example. Ground meat is the base, but the additives can change: crackers or oatmeal, eggs, onions, green pepper, salt, pepper, cinnamon, Worcestershire sauce, nutmeg, allspice, ketchup, BBQ sauce, cloves, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, fennel, cook in a pan with or without water, the styles can vastly vary.....................................

Just ask your hubby for recipes, or his sister, or his mom, or his aunts, or grandmothers, Be willing to try new things with him, but also have a backup plan in case the meal does not work well.

Thanks buddy, you just supplied me ample of information. The first thing I did was to save all these responses in my computer so I could check the easiest way of cooking them.