G&Mhk

DFA Manila, Philippines. You'll have to pay extra though. That is what I think they called Express Priority.

But I did use a travel agency to help me. They are the one who set an appointment for me and I just went there for my personal appearance and get my photo taken.

It cost me 2000.00 pesos. i just don't know how much you would pay if you didn't go through a travel agency maybe cheaper but the travel agency made it hassle free for me. It was worth paying the fee.

Okay. Thanks. Looks likely that my wife will renew it in Manila when she goes home in January.

Hi! I got my passport renewal in 10 business days. Just make sure you have all the necessary documents in hand to save you time.

I hope you'll find the link useful.

http://passport.com.ph/info/requirements/for/renewal

Thanks. Where did you renew it in 10 business days? US, PH, or elsewhere?

That's a tough one. There is always the opportunity to reschedule the interview for a later date .... and then get her passport renewed before the interview. Find out how long it will take to renew her passport and if they schedule the interview before that, then ask to be rescheduled.

After worrying about this yesterday, I got a "case status" email from NVC which makes me think that the interview will be in June so -- fingers crossed -- visa in late June/early July. Email from US consulate here makes it sound like even if the passport is less than 6 months the visa can be processed (just not for same 6-month time-frame as otherwise).

Philippines consulate here offers NO expedited service, though they sounded helpful, and time-frame for renewal was 2 months (!).

So needless to say we are going to use this current passport and hope we get everything done with US consulate here before mid-July.

My wife will just have to renew her PH passport in PH in January (she was already planning a trip home then anyway).

Thanks for answers everyone.

I really think you should try to get a new Phillipines passport as soon as possible. She will need it if she plans to travel at all outside the country before she naturalizes and gets a US passport. If she returns to PH to renew her passport, she will have to stay there until she has the passport in hand. The green card by itself is not sufficient as a travel document.

Also, I have read that the embassy won't put the visa in a passport with less than 6 months of validity. If that's the case, the fact that her passport expires in January could mean a delay in getting the visa at all.

Thanks.

This is a mess! So if we go to renew now and the US consulate here schedules the interview then what?

once my wife goes to the US and then visits the PH, she can renew her PH passport, right? The US Visa she is going to get is just to enter the US, right? The green card she gets in the mail is what will enable her to re-enter the US, even with a new PH passport w/o the original US Visa sticker she is going to get here?

Hi,

My wife and I live in HK. One week ago the case was complete at the NVC and presumably it is now on its way to the US consulate here. My wife's passport expires in January 2015.

According to the US consulate's general email to me: as long as my wife has her medical exam before the last 6 months on her Philippines passport, everything is okay.

So assuming that happens, my wife gets the visa to travel to the US. Which means that she must travel before the last 6 months on her passport? (I know that she has to use the US visa within 6 months of it being issued.)

My next question is what happens then to her Philippines passport? According to the website of the PH consulate in DC, they will not renew PH passports for nationals in the US if the national is on the path to US residence (green card).

So my wife goes to the US before the end of the year, then visits PH before January 2015 and renews her PH passport there?

Then what does she use to re-enter the US? JUST her green card?

I'm very confused and now it's probably too late to renew the PH passport here in HK.

Thanks.

I am a bit confused at the moment. I am a USC in HK and I am processing my wife's visa.

Today I got a familar NVC Checklist via email.

The first two pages are familiar. Then i read this:

I got a checklist from the NVC today. I think I can figure out the corrections to make -- said my income did not match my tax return even though I am using my mom as a co-sponsor.

It's a bit confusing as to how to read this thing, really.

But my big question is this: It has my mother's name wrong in the examples from her paperwork. What do I do?

It has a quote from the paperwork and in the quote her middle name is misspelled in a big way.

oh man - if you drop off the request at the drop box there,

supposedly they will mail it anywhere to any HKG address.

If it was done face to face - I dunno - folk have reported weird stuff during that face to face meetup.

for NVC Doc Intake - if you are MISSING a police clearance report, it's best to mention it in the cover letter, then ask for a waiver, have that PCC sent to HKG IV Unit directly with the HKG casefile # somehow written on the outside of the envelope , stating in the coverletter to NVC that the PCC will be sent directly from HKG Police Office to HKG IV.

HKG Police Office sending off to NVC Directly, IMO, will be a big waste of time.

as to the cover letter - most folk write one, detailing (like a TOC) what's included with the IV Set. A simple, added paragraph in the cover letter detailing that the PCC/HKG will be sent to the IV Unit, asking for the waiver at NVC - usually works. We've read some bits about it not working with other casefiles though, but we've also read about it working for HKG.

as to the PI PCC, if'n she has it already, I say send it - it's one less thing to get hassled about at NVC.

Thank you for the helpful reply. I just now saw it. Okay. So that's how I'll proceed then. Sounds logical and like it will save a lot of time for everyone involved.

We've done the 864 and 260 (online) and paid the fees. We applied for my wife's police clearance 2 weeks ago and the paperwork says it will be sent to either the immigration authority in the U.S. -- presumably NVC? -- or the U.S. consulate here.

Well, if our papers are still at the NVC, what happens if the police clearance goes to the consulate? I have to send it to the NVC just for them to send to U.S. consulate here?

And if that police clearance can go direct to consulate, can we just bring Philippines police clearance there to the consulate?

Trying to avoid another month gathering papers just to send to NVC who are just going to send to consulate here.

Anyone go through this spouse visa process yet in HK?

Thanks.

Thanks for the replies. Yes, I know the AOS and IV are separate. Will send my AOS in the next day or two. For the IV, your list helps but still feel like the consulate checklist should be clearer.

I am going to include a letter saying the medical and police will be brought to the interview.

How to get the documents required in Hong Kong:

http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/fees/reciprocity-by-country/HK.html#docs

Looks like you obtain the police certificate and then send it yourself to the NVC. The NVC will make sure all the documents sent to them go to the consulate.

But that contradicts what is in the doc in my link.

I read everything on Visajourney.com about what to send with the 864. And I was almost ready to send that stuff until now.

I never expected to get a bill for the IV packet before they had my 864 packet. So now it's like what the hell do I do?

If I have to get that stuff first, it's going to delay my process by months -- got to wait to get doctor's appointment and then wait for results.

Besides the fact that the instructions say the results will be sent on my behalf -- I won't have that stuff to mail to the NVC anyway.

I need help from someone in HK who knows this or has done it from here.

Thanks for the replies.

I will be ready to submit my 864 in a day or two. Then I will pay the IV fee (already paid the other fees up to that).

In this document it says that the police results will be sent directly to the consulate or NVC.

http://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/pk%203%20supplements/HNK%20-%20Hong%20Kong

This links seems to imply that the documents are brought to the interview.

http://hongkong.usconsulate.gov/iv_checklist.html

So what do I submit with the 864 this week!?!

Totally confused.

Hi,

I am in Hong Kong with my wife. I paid the Affidavit of Support fee and am assembling my 864 packet -- had some tax issues of my own to resolve -- then I just got the IV bill. So I will pay that and then what?

Do I mail the 864 files (I have a joint sponsor) and the IV stuff or what?

I have the checklist of things that the US consulate in HK wants (doctor's exam, police clearance, etc.) but I was under the assumption that those were things to bring to the interview here. Am I meant to mail ALL of that now?

I don't see how that's even possible as the police clearance and doctor's exam results will be mailed directly to the consulate here.

Very, very confused at this moment.

Thanks for your help.

Okay so if your parents file their taxes jointly you have two options. The parent who makes more sends an I-864 and the parent who makes less sends an I-864A. They will need to send proof of their US citizenship or LPR status and also their tax return transcript and any proof of their current income (aka pay stubs and/or employer letter) and/or assets. The other option if they file jointly is the parent who makes the most and if they can sponsor on their own to send a copy of their W2 as well to show their section of the income in the home.

If they file separately then whomever makes enough to joint sponsor sends the I-864 with their own tax transcript, proof of USC or LPR status, and proof of current employment (and/or assets.)

They can mail this themselves to the NVC as long as your bar coded cover sheet is on top of their paperwork. You may also want to mail your AOS documentation to your parents to have them mail everything together to the NVC. Of course they could send it to you first but that seems unnecessarily expensive. Because your address is in HK you will want to include all the proof of your US domicile in your AOS package.

Thank you. So I guess the answer to the question on whether I need a cosponsor is yes. I thought all the paperwork had to be sent together? They can send it themselves?

I am a USC in HK with my wife. I just paid the $88 fee and am preparing the 864 form. My job here will more or less end when I leave but they will employ me in some capacity -- on a contract basis or something -- when I get back to the US.

I make well over the poverty threshold now but I am assuming that the form will make it obvious that I will stop working here when I get home.

My parents are going to fill out an 865 for joint sponsorship. Just one and should they mail it back to me or what?

I am not too worried about domicile as I still use bank accounts and credit cards with my US address and I have paid taxes and voted and have a driver's license and all that.

I feel a bit overwhelmed now and am really, really hopeful that I can get everything done and get home with my wife by April at the latest. Is that even at all realistic?

So called and got through quickly. Operator said the file was received on December 23, two weeks from the day of the NOA2 approval, but it would take 20 working days to get NVC number...so what do I do now? Wait? I can't pay the fees until I have the NVC case number. I'm optimistic that we'll get something in the mail or email before those 20 working days are up. Thanks everyone.

Got our NOA2 in the mail (we are overseas at the moment) for my wife's CR1/IR1 visa. I emailed the NVC to check the status after getting approved on December 7 and this is the email I got today (after the auto-response email):

"Dear Sir/Madam:

The NVC recently received this petition. The appropriate agent
(applicant, petitioner, or attorney) will receive instructions for the
further processing of this petition within 6 to 8 weeks.

M****

National Visa Center
Written Inquiry Unit
Serco Inc, Support Contractor

NVCInquiry@state.gov"

How do we get these instructions? Email? Mail? What? 6 to 8 weeks from now or from the approval date?

I suppose the good thing is that the NVC has the file so somehow it got there after the December 7 approval date at USCIS.

Is there any chance our file is at the consulate since we are overseas or is our file really at the NVC?

Thanks.

I have a unique situation. I work for a HK-based company which has a small office in the U.S. (and they are registered there as well). Whenever my wife's visa is ready, I will be moving home and my company will be creating a version of this job for me to do remotely from the U.S. It's not quite a transfer of the position but it also sort of is that. The pay will be lower but it should be well over the income requirement threshold. Am I going to need a cosponsor?

Checked the status and saw this today. Now what? We never got any mail or email this time -- just 3 separate updates on the site and then this notice today. Does this equal our NOA2? I am in Hong Kong and my wife is from the Philippines if it matters. Thanks. Best wishes to everyone.
Post Decision Activity

On December 7, 2013, we mailed you a notice that we have approved this I130 IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR RELATIVE, FIANCE(E), OR ORPHAN. Please follow any instructions on the notice. If you move before you receive the notice, call customer service at 1-800-375-5283.

when did you get your NOA1?

Are you a May filer?

May filer. Got it via email (nothing else since I'm overseas) on May 20.

Please fill your timeline or mention your priority date so that we know how concerning your update is.

I don't know my priority date. I'll fill out the timeline.

My status on the website changed slightly for a third time since Monday. We are in Hong Kong. Not sure yet where our case is and not sure how to find out at this stage but glad we're being worked on somewhere:

The I130 IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR RELATIVE, FIANCE(E), OR ORPHAN was transferred and is now being processed at a USCIS office. You will be notified by mail when a decision is made, or if the office needs something from you. If you move while this case is pending, please use our Change of Address online tool to update your case with your new address or call our customer service center at 1-800-375-5283.

you got transferred already? I'm also May filer in HK. Hope mine is coming up soon.

I guess so. Transferred as in the I-130 has been accepted and this is our NOA2 OR transferred so that they can finish the I-130? I am a bit confused. "Already"? It's been more than 6 months. Seems like forever. My wife is Filipino if that makes any difference. I heard a rumor of some automatic post-typhoon expediting of all Filipinos anywhere.

My status on the website updated twice. This is the second update:

On November 25, 2013, we transferred your I130, IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR RELATIVE, FIANCE(E), OR ORPHAN, to your local USCIS Office for further processing. The new office has jurisdiction over your case and will send you a decision as soon as processing is complete or you will be notified if further information or action is needed.

We are in Hong Kong. Please tell me that "local" doesn't mean back in the U.S. Should I freak out now?

Okay now it says "On November 25, 2013, we transferred your I130, IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR RELATIVE, FIANCE(E), OR ORPHAN, to your local USCIS Office for further processing. The new office has jurisdiction over your case and will send you a decision as soon as processing is complete or you will be notified if further information or action is needed. If you move, please use our Change of Address online tool to update your case with your new address."

Does that mean it got transferred to a U.S. office 'cause WE ARE IN HONG KONG! And everything on my I-130 said that.