Grant PDX

At the time there were few international flights from Cebu and most of what I could see, if not all, were cargo flights.  It doesn't mean there weren't any, I just couldn't find any.  We'd booked Delta/Korean Air so we were limited to them, so I may not have seen everything possible, but I looking for anything I could find.  She's been stuck there for 3 months on what was supposed to be a much shorter trip.

My wife (filipina, passport in maiden name, US green card in married name) and i just flew back from Mexico 5 days ago and Canada a few months ago.  Both airline tickets were in married name.  Each crossing she showed passport (maiden name) green card (married name) and boarding pass (married name) with no issues.  She wasn't asked any questions about the name.  They looked at both IDs each time and passed her through.  The difference is the Philippines where she is traveling in 10 days.  Her ticket is issued in the maiden name, as we believe the Philippines would likely have issues with the naming.  She has yet to be asked for (although she does carry) her marriage certificate and other IDs (all in married name).
 
Based on that experience, I think either married or maiden name wouldn't cause an issue.  YMMV.
 

Congrats for the speedy process.  After your first attempt, good to see this one go quickly.

You are limited to 2 fiance visa petitions in your lifetime, after that it requires a waiver.  I just had my 4th petition approved (one of them never made to visa issuance as I cancelled it between petition approval and arriving at the foreign consulate).  My fiance now is scheduled to interview next Tuesday.  My first foreign spouse wasn't a scam, we have 2 children together and were married 5 years when she decided it wasn't what she wanted.  I currently have custody of the kids but she's very much a part of their (our) life.  My second foreign fiance, after nearly a year online and 15 days together admitted she had another boyfriend, only after she get pregnant by him - petition approved but cancelled.  Third foreign fiance happened while I was still emotionally ransacked by the second.  We were a horrible fit, realized it after getting married (ok, in fairness, there were signs prior to marriage, I was just blind to them).  Not saying she was a scammer but ultimately our relationship (me) couldn't withstand her dishonesty and jealousy.  Fourth fiance was a friend long ago.  We became friends, lost contact when we both had marriages that fell apart eventually, reconnected and realized we could be more than friends so we decided to venture down this path, yet again.  I wouldn't do this again with someone who wasn't already a friend first.  It's too hard when you can't tell what is what because during the "dating" period everyone wears a mask.
 
Side note, my sister and her husband lived together for 3 years prior to marriage.  Both at different times have commented to me how much things changed after marriage.  They both felt the other changed significantly, even after a 5 year relationship with 3 years living together.  Sometimes marriages fail not because of scams, but because things change, people change.
 
Yes, I do believe there are scammers.  Yes, America is perceived by many as the land of milk and honey.  Many of us (primarily those from 3rd world countries, not necessarily western Europe and other wealthy countries) would fight to get here if we weren't already here, yet we judge others who do.  Whether a person is from the USA, Africa, Asia, or anywhere else money has an allure and people are attracted to it.  It doesn't mean they're a scammer.  Wealth is power, generally people are attracted to power.  People almost universally would prefer more money over less money.  It's when they lie, cheat, and steal that it's an issue.  Just because someone is from Thailand, Philippines, Ethiopia, or Sudan doesn't make them dishonest.  Just because someone is from the USA, Canada, the UK or Japan doesn't make them honest.  Good and bad can be found anywhere.  Unfortunately the money difference causes a lot of problems, but desire for money doesn't make someone bad; lying, cheating and stealing do.
 
My $.02.

You are limited to 2 fiance visa petitions in your lifetime, after that it requires a waiver.  I just had my 4th petition approved (one of them never made to visa issuance as I cancelled it between petition approval and arriving at the foreign consulate).  My fiance now is scheduled to interview next Tuesday.  My first foreign spouse wasn't a scam, we have 2 children together and were married 5 years when she decided it wasn't what she wanted.  I currently have custody of the kids but she's very much a part of their (our) life.  My second foreign fiance, after nearly a year online and 15 days together admitted she had another boyfriend, only after she get pregnant by him - petition approved but cancelled.  Third foreign fiance happened while I was still emotionally ransacked by the second.  We were a horrible fit, realized it after getting married (ok, in fairness, there were signs prior to marriage, I was just blind to them).  Not saying she was a scammer but ultimately our relationship (me) couldn't withstand her dishonesty and jealousy.  Fourth fiance was a friend long ago.  We became friends, lost contact when we both had marriages that fell apart eventually, reconnected and realized we could be more than friends so we decided to venture down this path, yet again.  I wouldn't do this again with someone who wasn't already a friend first.  It's too hard when you can't tell what is what because during the "dating" period everyone wears a mask.
 
Side note, my sister and her husband lived together for 3 years prior to marriage.  Both at different times have commented to me how much things changed after marriage.  They both felt the other changed significantly, even after a 5 year relationship with 3 years living together.  Sometimes marriages fail not because of scams, but because things change, people change.
 
Yes, I do believe there are scammers.  Yes, America is perceived by many as the land of milk and honey.  Many of us (primarily those from 3rd world countries, not necessarily western Europe and other wealthy countries) would fight to get here if we weren't already here, yet we judge others who do.  Whether a person is from the USA, Africa, Asia, or anywhere else money has an allure and people are attracted to it.  It doesn't mean they're a scammer.  Wealth is power, generally people are attracted to power.  People almost universally would prefer more money over less money.  It's when they lie, cheat, and steal that it's an issue.  Just because someone is from Thailand, Philippines, Ethiopia, or Sudan doesn't make them dishonest.  Just because someone is from the USA, Canada, the UK or Japan doesn't make them honest.  Good and bad can be found anywhere.  Unfortunately the money difference causes a lot of problems, but desire for money doesn't make someone bad; lying, cheating and stealing do.
 
My $.02.

You are limited to 2 fiance visa petitions in your lifetime, after that it requires a waiver.  I just had my 4th petition approved (one of them never made to visa issuance as I cancelled it between petition approval and arriving at the foreign consulate).  My fiance now is scheduled to interview next Tuesday.  My first foreign spouse wasn't a scam, we have 2 children together and were married 5 years when she decided it wasn't what she wanted.  I currently have custody of the kids but she's very much a part of their (our) life.  My second foreign fiance, after nearly a year online and 15 days together admitted she had another boyfriend, only after she get pregnant by him - petition approved but cancelled.  Third foreign fiance happened while I was still emotionally ransacked by the second.  We were a horrible fit, realized it after getting married (ok, in fairness, there were signs prior to marriage, I was just blind to them).  Not saying she was a scammer but ultimately our relationship (me) couldn't withstand her dishonesty and jealousy.  Fourth fiance was a friend long ago.  We became friends, lost contact when we both had marriages that fell apart eventually, reconnected and realized we could be more than friends so we decided to venture down this path, yet again.  I wouldn't do this again with someone who wasn't already a friend first.  It's too hard when you can't tell what is what because during the "dating" period everyone wears a mask.
 
Side note, my sister and her husband lived together for 3 years prior to marriage.  Both at different times have commented to me how much things changed after marriage.  They both felt the other changed significantly, even after a 5 year relationship with 3 years living together.  Sometimes marriages fail not because of scams, but because things change, people change.
 
Yes, I do believe there are scammers.  Yes, America is perceived by many as the land of milk and honey.  Many of us (primarily those from 3rd world countries, not necessarily western Europe and other wealthy countries) would fight to get here if we weren't already here, yet we judge others who do.  Whether a person is from the USA, Africa, Asia, or anywhere else money has an allure and people are attracted to it.  It doesn't mean they're a scammer.  Wealth is power, generally people are attracted to power.  People almost universally would prefer more money over less money.  It's when they lie, cheat, and steal that it's an issue.  Just because someone is from Thailand, Philippines, Ethiopia, or Sudan doesn't make them dishonest.  Just because someone is from the USA, Canada, the UK or Japan doesn't make them honest.  Good and bad can be found anywhere.  Unfortunately the money difference causes a lot of problems, but desire for money doesn't make someone bad; lying, cheating and stealing do.
 
My $.02.

Our visa process was more complex than most, so I thought I'd share my experience.  Feel free to ask questions, I'll give any advice I can if you happen to have a complex process as well.  Even with the complexity our it was pretty much straightforward and most delays were caused by us, not the process.
 
This was my 4th K-1 petition.  The 1st and 3rd are now in America following divorces.  The 2nd never completed the process, but the petition was approved.  This one and the last required waivers.  The 3rd happened prior to the application change so it required a separate written petition.  This one didn't but I updated my previous and sent it with my petition anyway to give an expanded explanation of my situation.
 
My fiance was previously married to a Mexican citizen with a Green Card living in the USA (we think, I've spoken with him and his story is always changing, so we don't really know the situation).  They were married in the Philippines a few years ago.  He came back to the US an essentially deserted her (why someone makes the effort to go to the Philippines and marry, then returns home and deserts their wife, I have no idea, but there it is).  At some point their relationship was "officially" over as he no longer responded to her except for messages to leave him and his girlfriend alone and stop bothering them.... When we began our relationship they'd been over for quite awhile but still married.  I helped him file for divorce.  Once they were divorced, 2 days after receiving the official documents, we applied for a K-1 visa.
 
So we had me with multiple petitions, her with a Philippines marriage and no recognition filed yet in the Philippines (still haven't, may or may not eventually).  Also, having been through this before, I believe I tend to submit a pretty "thin" petition.  I didn't submit an extra paper telling how we met, I just used the space provided to describe the in-person meeting.  I submitted no chats.  I submitted 3 or 4 pictures all on 1 sheet of regular office paper.  I didn't photocopy my entire passport.  Rather, I submitted main page and pages with entry/exit stamps.  I submitted a copy of BC for citizenship proof.  I did submit boarding passes and hotel receipts showing both names.  I'd only visited once prior to the petition (although I was there again while waiting NOA2.  So a relatively light petition.  No front-loading.  Know your embassy, YMMV.
 
With all of those complexities, our petition was approved in normal times compared to others on VJ, maybe a little faster than average.  No issues with medical, although she went prior to having received anything from the embassy, so she had to push to get it done.  The only issues we had were two: she didn't realize she needed to order her NBI with AKA her married name, so it had to be reordered and likely delayed us 2 weeks; the CFO wouldn't issue her certificate until they saw her visa.  The CFO said this was due to our case being complex and since she was still married in Phils they wanted confirmation she'd get the visa before giving her the certificate.  Also they wanted more detailed copies of my divorce papers.  In previous processes and the petition side they were good with the "Divorce Certificates" but this time the CFO wanted full decrees (5-10 pages).  I didn't have those so I had to order them and email her copies.  I was able to get them to her within 10 days, so by the time she had her interview she had them in hand.  She even went back to the CFO to show those, hoping she'd at least get the certificate prior to the visa arrival.  The same CFO agent demanded the visa before issuing the certificate.  She received the visa yesterday, made one more trip to Manila today to go to the CFO, and got the certificate and stamp (a 13 hour round trip ordeal).
 
Long story short, she has the visa, the stamp, and a plane ticket to fly here next Tuesday.
 
If anyone has questions about a filipina fiance situation where the fiance is still married in the Philippines I can answer.  Also, if someone is concerned about multiple filings I can shed some light maybe.  If anyone prefers to troll or criticize my past without knowing the situation, I'm good with that too.
 
Have a wonderful journey, and best of luck to everyone!

I don't have any shame about any of it  I know my situation.  I know the path that got me here.  I'm proud of my marriages but not proud of my divorces.  In every instance I went in with good intentions and there are very few decisions I would go back and change (my most recent before my current fiance is one I would change, and I saw the writing on the wall, but tried to "do the right thing" and be hopeful and got bit).
 
Relationships fail. The visa process added to the difficulties of any relationship compounds problems.  IMO you never really know a person, and people change along the way.  The process of spending so many months waiting, most of them not together, skews a little from how "normal" relationships work (whatever "normal" means).
 
Staying together is awesome, wish I had a relationship already that went the distance.  Happiness and sanity are more important than forcing something bad to work, just for the sake of avoiding the shame of divorce.
 
For folks going through it multiple times, or with someone who was previously married, I think it's important to know it's possible, and hold your head up.  Most of the people doing a second (or third or...) filing are good people that ran into problems.  Is it my fault for falling in love easily? Maybe, but I can say I never fell out of love, just circumstances were too difficult to stay together.  I still am committed to my previous wives' happiness.  And without going into reasons for the divorces, most divorces have fault on both sides, and sometimes can't be made to work right.
 
If you are in a position that you feel uncomfortable about (multiple filing, for example) don't feel ashamed (unless you're a #######).  And still feel free to ask for help.

Our visa process was more complex than most, so I thought I'd share my experience.  Feel free to ask questions, I'll give any advice I can if you happen to have a complex process as well.  Even with the complexity our it was pretty much straightforward and most delays were caused by us, not the process.
 
This was my 4th K-1 petition.  The 1st and 3rd are now in America following divorces.  The 2nd never completed the process, but the petition was approved.  This one and the last required waivers.  The 3rd happened prior to the application change so it required a separate written petition.  This one didn't but I updated my previous and sent it with my petition anyway to give an expanded explanation of my situation.
 
My fiance was previously married to a Mexican citizen with a Green Card living in the USA (we think, I've spoken with him and his story is always changing, so we don't really know the situation).  They were married in the Philippines a few years ago.  He came back to the US an essentially deserted her (why someone makes the effort to go to the Philippines and marry, then returns home and deserts their wife, I have no idea, but there it is).  At some point their relationship was "officially" over as he no longer responded to her except for messages to leave him and his girlfriend alone and stop bothering them.... When we began our relationship they'd been over for quite awhile but still married.  I helped him file for divorce.  Once they were divorced, 2 days after receiving the official documents, we applied for a K-1 visa.
 
So we had me with multiple petitions, her with a Philippines marriage and no recognition filed yet in the Philippines (still haven't, may or may not eventually).  Also, having been through this before, I believe I tend to submit a pretty "thin" petition.  I didn't submit an extra paper telling how we met, I just used the space provided to describe the in-person meeting.  I submitted no chats.  I submitted 3 or 4 pictures all on 1 sheet of regular office paper.  I didn't photocopy my entire passport.  Rather, I submitted main page and pages with entry/exit stamps.  I submitted a copy of BC for citizenship proof.  I did submit boarding passes and hotel receipts showing both names.  I'd only visited once prior to the petition (although I was there again while waiting NOA2.  So a relatively light petition.  No front-loading.  Know your embassy, YMMV.
 
With all of those complexities, our petition was approved in normal times compared to others on VJ, maybe a little faster than average.  No issues with medical, although she went prior to having received anything from the embassy, so she had to push to get it done.  The only issues we had were two: she didn't realize she needed to order her NBI with AKA her married name, so it had to be reordered and likely delayed us 2 weeks; the CFO wouldn't issue her certificate until they saw her visa.  The CFO said this was due to our case being complex and since she was still married in Phils they wanted confirmation she'd get the visa before giving her the certificate.  Also they wanted more detailed copies of my divorce papers.  In previous processes and the petition side they were good with the "Divorce Certificates" but this time the CFO wanted full decrees (5-10 pages).  I didn't have those so I had to order them and email her copies.  I was able to get them to her within 10 days, so by the time she had her interview she had them in hand.  She even went back to the CFO to show those, hoping she'd at least get the certificate prior to the visa arrival.  The same CFO agent demanded the visa before issuing the certificate.  She received the visa yesterday, made one more trip to Manila today to go to the CFO, and got the certificate and stamp (a 13 hour round trip ordeal).
 
Long story short, she has the visa, the stamp, and a plane ticket to fly here next Tuesday.
 
If anyone has questions about a filipina fiance situation where the fiance is still married in the Philippines I can answer.  Also, if someone is concerned about multiple filings I can shed some light maybe.  If anyone prefers to troll or criticize my past without knowing the situation, I'm good with that too.
 
Have a wonderful journey, and best of luck to everyone!

Our visa process was more complex than most, so I thought I'd share my experience.  Feel free to ask questions, I'll give any advice I can if you happen to have a complex process as well.  Even with the complexity our it was pretty much straightforward and most delays were caused by us, not the process.
 
This was my 4th K-1 petition.  The 1st and 3rd are now in America following divorces.  The 2nd never completed the process, but the petition was approved.  This one and the last required waivers.  The 3rd happened prior to the application change so it required a separate written petition.  This one didn't but I updated my previous and sent it with my petition anyway to give an expanded explanation of my situation.
 
My fiance was previously married to a Mexican citizen with a Green Card living in the USA (we think, I've spoken with him and his story is always changing, so we don't really know the situation).  They were married in the Philippines a few years ago.  He came back to the US an essentially deserted her (why someone makes the effort to go to the Philippines and marry, then returns home and deserts their wife, I have no idea, but there it is).  At some point their relationship was "officially" over as he no longer responded to her except for messages to leave him and his girlfriend alone and stop bothering them.... When we began our relationship they'd been over for quite awhile but still married.  I helped him file for divorce.  Once they were divorced, 2 days after receiving the official documents, we applied for a K-1 visa.
 
So we had me with multiple petitions, her with a Philippines marriage and no recognition filed yet in the Philippines (still haven't, may or may not eventually).  Also, having been through this before, I believe I tend to submit a pretty "thin" petition.  I didn't submit an extra paper telling how we met, I just used the space provided to describe the in-person meeting.  I submitted no chats.  I submitted 3 or 4 pictures all on 1 sheet of regular office paper.  I didn't photocopy my entire passport.  Rather, I submitted main page and pages with entry/exit stamps.  I submitted a copy of BC for citizenship proof.  I did submit boarding passes and hotel receipts showing both names.  I'd only visited once prior to the petition (although I was there again while waiting NOA2.  So a relatively light petition.  No front-loading.  Know your embassy, YMMV.
 
With all of those complexities, our petition was approved in normal times compared to others on VJ, maybe a little faster than average.  No issues with medical, although she went prior to having received anything from the embassy, so she had to push to get it done.  The only issues we had were two: she didn't realize she needed to order her NBI with AKA her married name, so it had to be reordered and likely delayed us 2 weeks; the CFO wouldn't issue her certificate until they saw her visa.  The CFO said this was due to our case being complex and since she was still married in Phils they wanted confirmation she'd get the visa before giving her the certificate.  Also they wanted more detailed copies of my divorce papers.  In previous processes and the petition side they were good with the "Divorce Certificates" but this time the CFO wanted full decrees (5-10 pages).  I didn't have those so I had to order them and email her copies.  I was able to get them to her within 10 days, so by the time she had her interview she had them in hand.  She even went back to the CFO to show those, hoping she'd at least get the certificate prior to the visa arrival.  The same CFO agent demanded the visa before issuing the certificate.  She received the visa yesterday, made one more trip to Manila today to go to the CFO, and got the certificate and stamp (a 13 hour round trip ordeal).
 
Long story short, she has the visa, the stamp, and a plane ticket to fly here next Tuesday.
 
If anyone has questions about a filipina fiance situation where the fiance is still married in the Philippines I can answer.  Also, if someone is concerned about multiple filings I can shed some light maybe.  If anyone prefers to troll or criticize my past without knowing the situation, I'm good with that too.
 
Have a wonderful journey, and best of luck to everyone!

Our visa process was more complex than most, so I thought I'd share my experience.  Feel free to ask questions, I'll give any advice I can if you happen to have a complex process as well.  Even with the complexity our it was pretty much straightforward and most delays were caused by us, not the process.
 
This was my 4th K-1 petition.  The 1st and 3rd are now in America following divorces.  The 2nd never completed the process, but the petition was approved.  This one and the last required waivers.  The 3rd happened prior to the application change so it required a separate written petition.  This one didn't but I updated my previous and sent it with my petition anyway to give an expanded explanation of my situation.
 
My fiance was previously married to a Mexican citizen with a Green Card living in the USA (we think, I've spoken with him and his story is always changing, so we don't really know the situation).  They were married in the Philippines a few years ago.  He came back to the US an essentially deserted her (why someone makes the effort to go to the Philippines and marry, then returns home and deserts their wife, I have no idea, but there it is).  At some point their relationship was "officially" over as he no longer responded to her except for messages to leave him and his girlfriend alone and stop bothering them.... When we began our relationship they'd been over for quite awhile but still married.  I helped him file for divorce.  Once they were divorced, 2 days after receiving the official documents, we applied for a K-1 visa.
 
So we had me with multiple petitions, her with a Philippines marriage and no recognition filed yet in the Philippines (still haven't, may or may not eventually).  Also, having been through this before, I believe I tend to submit a pretty "thin" petition.  I didn't submit an extra paper telling how we met, I just used the space provided to describe the in-person meeting.  I submitted no chats.  I submitted 3 or 4 pictures all on 1 sheet of regular office paper.  I didn't photocopy my entire passport.  Rather, I submitted main page and pages with entry/exit stamps.  I submitted a copy of BC for citizenship proof.  I did submit boarding passes and hotel receipts showing both names.  I'd only visited once prior to the petition (although I was there again while waiting NOA2.  So a relatively light petition.  No front-loading.  Know your embassy, YMMV.
 
With all of those complexities, our petition was approved in normal times compared to others on VJ, maybe a little faster than average.  No issues with medical, although she went prior to having received anything from the embassy, so she had to push to get it done.  The only issues we had were two: she didn't realize she needed to order her NBI with AKA her married name, so it had to be reordered and likely delayed us 2 weeks; the CFO wouldn't issue her certificate until they saw her visa.  The CFO said this was due to our case being complex and since she was still married in Phils they wanted confirmation she'd get the visa before giving her the certificate.  Also they wanted more detailed copies of my divorce papers.  In previous processes and the petition side they were good with the "Divorce Certificates" but this time the CFO wanted full decrees (5-10 pages).  I didn't have those so I had to order them and email her copies.  I was able to get them to her within 10 days, so by the time she had her interview she had them in hand.  She even went back to the CFO to show those, hoping she'd at least get the certificate prior to the visa arrival.  The same CFO agent demanded the visa before issuing the certificate.  She received the visa yesterday, made one more trip to Manila today to go to the CFO, and got the certificate and stamp (a 13 hour round trip ordeal).
 
Long story short, she has the visa, the stamp, and a plane ticket to fly here next Tuesday.
 
If anyone has questions about a filipina fiance situation where the fiance is still married in the Philippines I can answer.  Also, if someone is concerned about multiple filings I can shed some light maybe.  If anyone prefers to troll or criticize my past without knowing the situation, I'm good with that too.
 
Have a wonderful journey, and best of luck to everyone!

Our visa process was more complex than most, so I thought I'd share my experience.  Feel free to ask questions, I'll give any advice I can if you happen to have a complex process as well.  Even with the complexity our it was pretty much straightforward and most delays were caused by us, not the process.
 
This was my 4th K-1 petition.  The 1st and 3rd are now in America following divorces.  The 2nd never completed the process, but the petition was approved.  This one and the last required waivers.  The 3rd happened prior to the application change so it required a separate written petition.  This one didn't but I updated my previous and sent it with my petition anyway to give an expanded explanation of my situation.
 
My fiance was previously married to a Mexican citizen with a Green Card living in the USA (we think, I've spoken with him and his story is always changing, so we don't really know the situation).  They were married in the Philippines a few years ago.  He came back to the US an essentially deserted her (why someone makes the effort to go to the Philippines and marry, then returns home and deserts their wife, I have no idea, but there it is).  At some point their relationship was "officially" over as he no longer responded to her except for messages to leave him and his girlfriend alone and stop bothering them.... When we began our relationship they'd been over for quite awhile but still married.  I helped him file for divorce.  Once they were divorced, 2 days after receiving the official documents, we applied for a K-1 visa.
 
So we had me with multiple petitions, her with a Philippines marriage and no recognition filed yet in the Philippines (still haven't, may or may not eventually).  Also, having been through this before, I believe I tend to submit a pretty "thin" petition.  I didn't submit an extra paper telling how we met, I just used the space provided to describe the in-person meeting.  I submitted no chats.  I submitted 3 or 4 pictures all on 1 sheet of regular office paper.  I didn't photocopy my entire passport.  Rather, I submitted main page and pages with entry/exit stamps.  I submitted a copy of BC for citizenship proof.  I did submit boarding passes and hotel receipts showing both names.  I'd only visited once prior to the petition (although I was there again while waiting NOA2.  So a relatively light petition.  No front-loading.  Know your embassy, YMMV.
 
With all of those complexities, our petition was approved in normal times compared to others on VJ, maybe a little faster than average.  No issues with medical, although she went prior to having received anything from the embassy, so she had to push to get it done.  The only issues we had were two: she didn't realize she needed to order her NBI with AKA her married name, so it had to be reordered and likely delayed us 2 weeks; the CFO wouldn't issue her certificate until they saw her visa.  The CFO said this was due to our case being complex and since she was still married in Phils they wanted confirmation she'd get the visa before giving her the certificate.  Also they wanted more detailed copies of my divorce papers.  In previous processes and the petition side they were good with the "Divorce Certificates" but this time the CFO wanted full decrees (5-10 pages).  I didn't have those so I had to order them and email her copies.  I was able to get them to her within 10 days, so by the time she had her interview she had them in hand.  She even went back to the CFO to show those, hoping she'd at least get the certificate prior to the visa arrival.  The same CFO agent demanded the visa before issuing the certificate.  She received the visa yesterday, made one more trip to Manila today to go to the CFO, and got the certificate and stamp (a 13 hour round trip ordeal).
 
Long story short, she has the visa, the stamp, and a plane ticket to fly here next Tuesday.
 
If anyone has questions about a filipina fiance situation where the fiance is still married in the Philippines I can answer.  Also, if someone is concerned about multiple filings I can shed some light maybe.  If anyone prefers to troll or criticize my past without knowing the situation, I'm good with that too.
 
Have a wonderful journey, and best of luck to everyone!

My fiance emailed me the passport pic and I printed it at Walgreens to ensure it had standard passport pic formatting and paper.  I had hers printed and they took mine at the same time.  As long as your fiance's is high quality enough, there's no real difference.

You are limited to 2 fiance visa petitions in your lifetime, after that it requires a waiver.  I just had my 4th petition approved (one of them never made to visa issuance as I cancelled it between petition approval and arriving at the foreign consulate).  My fiance now is scheduled to interview next Tuesday.  My first foreign spouse wasn't a scam, we have 2 children together and were married 5 years when she decided it wasn't what she wanted.  I currently have custody of the kids but she's very much a part of their (our) life.  My second foreign fiance, after nearly a year online and 15 days together admitted she had another boyfriend, only after she get pregnant by him - petition approved but cancelled.  Third foreign fiance happened while I was still emotionally ransacked by the second.  We were a horrible fit, realized it after getting married (ok, in fairness, there were signs prior to marriage, I was just blind to them).  Not saying she was a scammer but ultimately our relationship (me) couldn't withstand her dishonesty and jealousy.  Fourth fiance was a friend long ago.  We became friends, lost contact when we both had marriages that fell apart eventually, reconnected and realized we could be more than friends so we decided to venture down this path, yet again.  I wouldn't do this again with someone who wasn't already a friend first.  It's too hard when you can't tell what is what because during the "dating" period everyone wears a mask.
 
Side note, my sister and her husband lived together for 3 years prior to marriage.  Both at different times have commented to me how much things changed after marriage.  They both felt the other changed significantly, even after a 5 year relationship with 3 years living together.  Sometimes marriages fail not because of scams, but because things change, people change.
 
Yes, I do believe there are scammers.  Yes, America is perceived by many as the land of milk and honey.  Many of us (primarily those from 3rd world countries, not necessarily western Europe and other wealthy countries) would fight to get here if we weren't already here, yet we judge others who do.  Whether a person is from the USA, Africa, Asia, or anywhere else money has an allure and people are attracted to it.  It doesn't mean they're a scammer.  Wealth is power, generally people are attracted to power.  People almost universally would prefer more money over less money.  It's when they lie, cheat, and steal that it's an issue.  Just because someone is from Thailand, Philippines, Ethiopia, or Sudan doesn't make them dishonest.  Just because someone is from the USA, Canada, the UK or Japan doesn't make them honest.  Good and bad can be found anywhere.  Unfortunately the money difference causes a lot of problems, but desire for money doesn't make someone bad; lying, cheating and stealing do.
 
My $.02.

Hellooooo Berries!!!!!
 
as mentioned before, WE ARE APPROVED!!!
 
4 hours after the name updated I was woken up by lovely @Swissmiss82 (whom I swore at for a good minute as I finally fell asleep at 2:30 🤣🤣 then I saw who it was but couldn’t wake up, then she sent me a screenshot of my approval. I advise anyone to have one of these @Swissmiss82 in hand cause she knew before my email came )
 
Now about the “name was updated” as my other dear @emekus94 said, normally “name was updated” is a correction on the petition about name or address or such.  However, when they were doing May I was really in to research on some of the updates that people has no idea why. One was name was updated (never expected to get one) I confirmed this theory of name updated 99% turns to approval with quite a lot of members here so yayyyy.
 
my case only got name update on 4/5 4am but with the date of 4/4 on the new site, and the approval came on the old site.
 
wow can’t believe I’m writing this!
 
received date: Sept 15
submitted: Sept 18
noa 2: April 5
 
I deleted the app so I’m not sure but I think I’m on day 204? from the received date. 
 
And I wouldn’t do this again even if they give me a million dollars! 
 
I don’t know how everyone is doing it, but during the past week I broke up with my fiancé 10 times at least. Because I wanted to stop the pain one way or another. And I couldn’t go to work for the past 2 days.... so I understand why couples are drained and why some people are not as “strong” (actually this is the wrong word to use)
 
So many people helped me through this hell other than the chocolate puddings that I ate. 
 
Maid of horror:
@Swissmiss82
Gal pals:
@NICK & PAULA @ChuAni @Jaquelly @Thelucybelle @LizM @vocaledge (Dude just ignore the title)
 
I have many more people to thank, but If I start I can’t end. (No seriously it would be the whole page) or some of those nicknames my brain without coffee couldn’t figure out to thank to! (Yer, seriously what was your nickname??)
 
I want to give a brief summary of how this road looked like from my eyes:
-June edition:the one with most drama
-July edition: the one with the most chill
-August: the one that made me go crazy
-September : expediters 
-October : the one who always caught up in someone else’s drama
-November: all k1 goes to california 
-December: mainly validation errors
 
Thank you @Shoegum  
More than anything!!
Thank you @geowrian for the scans and informed delivery and basically saving everyone’s life! You are the anxious persons dream 😁!
 
Let’s hope I never win an oscar cause apparently that speech would not go well...
(I am extremely aware I am forgetting people to thank to....I just started but half the page became people’s names....)

You are limited to 2 fiance visa petitions in your lifetime, after that it requires a waiver.  I just had my 4th petition approved (one of them never made to visa issuance as I cancelled it between petition approval and arriving at the foreign consulate).  My fiance now is scheduled to interview next Tuesday.  My first foreign spouse wasn't a scam, we have 2 children together and were married 5 years when she decided it wasn't what she wanted.  I currently have custody of the kids but she's very much a part of their (our) life.  My second foreign fiance, after nearly a year online and 15 days together admitted she had another boyfriend, only after she get pregnant by him - petition approved but cancelled.  Third foreign fiance happened while I was still emotionally ransacked by the second.  We were a horrible fit, realized it after getting married (ok, in fairness, there were signs prior to marriage, I was just blind to them).  Not saying she was a scammer but ultimately our relationship (me) couldn't withstand her dishonesty and jealousy.  Fourth fiance was a friend long ago.  We became friends, lost contact when we both had marriages that fell apart eventually, reconnected and realized we could be more than friends so we decided to venture down this path, yet again.  I wouldn't do this again with someone who wasn't already a friend first.  It's too hard when you can't tell what is what because during the "dating" period everyone wears a mask.
 
Side note, my sister and her husband lived together for 3 years prior to marriage.  Both at different times have commented to me how much things changed after marriage.  They both felt the other changed significantly, even after a 5 year relationship with 3 years living together.  Sometimes marriages fail not because of scams, but because things change, people change.
 
Yes, I do believe there are scammers.  Yes, America is perceived by many as the land of milk and honey.  Many of us (primarily those from 3rd world countries, not necessarily western Europe and other wealthy countries) would fight to get here if we weren't already here, yet we judge others who do.  Whether a person is from the USA, Africa, Asia, or anywhere else money has an allure and people are attracted to it.  It doesn't mean they're a scammer.  Wealth is power, generally people are attracted to power.  People almost universally would prefer more money over less money.  It's when they lie, cheat, and steal that it's an issue.  Just because someone is from Thailand, Philippines, Ethiopia, or Sudan doesn't make them dishonest.  Just because someone is from the USA, Canada, the UK or Japan doesn't make them honest.  Good and bad can be found anywhere.  Unfortunately the money difference causes a lot of problems, but desire for money doesn't make someone bad; lying, cheating and stealing do.
 
My $.02.

You are limited to 2 fiance visa petitions in your lifetime, after that it requires a waiver.  I just had my 4th petition approved (one of them never made to visa issuance as I cancelled it between petition approval and arriving at the foreign consulate).  My fiance now is scheduled to interview next Tuesday.  My first foreign spouse wasn't a scam, we have 2 children together and were married 5 years when she decided it wasn't what she wanted.  I currently have custody of the kids but she's very much a part of their (our) life.  My second foreign fiance, after nearly a year online and 15 days together admitted she had another boyfriend, only after she get pregnant by him - petition approved but cancelled.  Third foreign fiance happened while I was still emotionally ransacked by the second.  We were a horrible fit, realized it after getting married (ok, in fairness, there were signs prior to marriage, I was just blind to them).  Not saying she was a scammer but ultimately our relationship (me) couldn't withstand her dishonesty and jealousy.  Fourth fiance was a friend long ago.  We became friends, lost contact when we both had marriages that fell apart eventually, reconnected and realized we could be more than friends so we decided to venture down this path, yet again.  I wouldn't do this again with someone who wasn't already a friend first.  It's too hard when you can't tell what is what because during the "dating" period everyone wears a mask.
 
Side note, my sister and her husband lived together for 3 years prior to marriage.  Both at different times have commented to me how much things changed after marriage.  They both felt the other changed significantly, even after a 5 year relationship with 3 years living together.  Sometimes marriages fail not because of scams, but because things change, people change.
 
Yes, I do believe there are scammers.  Yes, America is perceived by many as the land of milk and honey.  Many of us (primarily those from 3rd world countries, not necessarily western Europe and other wealthy countries) would fight to get here if we weren't already here, yet we judge others who do.  Whether a person is from the USA, Africa, Asia, or anywhere else money has an allure and people are attracted to it.  It doesn't mean they're a scammer.  Wealth is power, generally people are attracted to power.  People almost universally would prefer more money over less money.  It's when they lie, cheat, and steal that it's an issue.  Just because someone is from Thailand, Philippines, Ethiopia, or Sudan doesn't make them dishonest.  Just because someone is from the USA, Canada, the UK or Japan doesn't make them honest.  Good and bad can be found anywhere.  Unfortunately the money difference causes a lot of problems, but desire for money doesn't make someone bad; lying, cheating and stealing do.
 
My $.02.

You are limited to 2 fiance visa petitions in your lifetime, after that it requires a waiver.  I just had my 4th petition approved (one of them never made to visa issuance as I cancelled it between petition approval and arriving at the foreign consulate).  My fiance now is scheduled to interview next Tuesday.  My first foreign spouse wasn't a scam, we have 2 children together and were married 5 years when she decided it wasn't what she wanted.  I currently have custody of the kids but she's very much a part of their (our) life.  My second foreign fiance, after nearly a year online and 15 days together admitted she had another boyfriend, only after she get pregnant by him - petition approved but cancelled.  Third foreign fiance happened while I was still emotionally ransacked by the second.  We were a horrible fit, realized it after getting married (ok, in fairness, there were signs prior to marriage, I was just blind to them).  Not saying she was a scammer but ultimately our relationship (me) couldn't withstand her dishonesty and jealousy.  Fourth fiance was a friend long ago.  We became friends, lost contact when we both had marriages that fell apart eventually, reconnected and realized we could be more than friends so we decided to venture down this path, yet again.  I wouldn't do this again with someone who wasn't already a friend first.  It's too hard when you can't tell what is what because during the "dating" period everyone wears a mask.
 
Side note, my sister and her husband lived together for 3 years prior to marriage.  Both at different times have commented to me how much things changed after marriage.  They both felt the other changed significantly, even after a 5 year relationship with 3 years living together.  Sometimes marriages fail not because of scams, but because things change, people change.
 
Yes, I do believe there are scammers.  Yes, America is perceived by many as the land of milk and honey.  Many of us (primarily those from 3rd world countries, not necessarily western Europe and other wealthy countries) would fight to get here if we weren't already here, yet we judge others who do.  Whether a person is from the USA, Africa, Asia, or anywhere else money has an allure and people are attracted to it.  It doesn't mean they're a scammer.  Wealth is power, generally people are attracted to power.  People almost universally would prefer more money over less money.  It's when they lie, cheat, and steal that it's an issue.  Just because someone is from Thailand, Philippines, Ethiopia, or Sudan doesn't make them dishonest.  Just because someone is from the USA, Canada, the UK or Japan doesn't make them honest.  Good and bad can be found anywhere.  Unfortunately the money difference causes a lot of problems, but desire for money doesn't make someone bad; lying, cheating and stealing do.
 
My $.02.

You are limited to 2 fiance visa petitions in your lifetime, after that it requires a waiver.  I just had my 4th petition approved (one of them never made to visa issuance as I cancelled it between petition approval and arriving at the foreign consulate).  My fiance now is scheduled to interview next Tuesday.  My first foreign spouse wasn't a scam, we have 2 children together and were married 5 years when she decided it wasn't what she wanted.  I currently have custody of the kids but she's very much a part of their (our) life.  My second foreign fiance, after nearly a year online and 15 days together admitted she had another boyfriend, only after she get pregnant by him - petition approved but cancelled.  Third foreign fiance happened while I was still emotionally ransacked by the second.  We were a horrible fit, realized it after getting married (ok, in fairness, there were signs prior to marriage, I was just blind to them).  Not saying she was a scammer but ultimately our relationship (me) couldn't withstand her dishonesty and jealousy.  Fourth fiance was a friend long ago.  We became friends, lost contact when we both had marriages that fell apart eventually, reconnected and realized we could be more than friends so we decided to venture down this path, yet again.  I wouldn't do this again with someone who wasn't already a friend first.  It's too hard when you can't tell what is what because during the "dating" period everyone wears a mask.
 
Side note, my sister and her husband lived together for 3 years prior to marriage.  Both at different times have commented to me how much things changed after marriage.  They both felt the other changed significantly, even after a 5 year relationship with 3 years living together.  Sometimes marriages fail not because of scams, but because things change, people change.
 
Yes, I do believe there are scammers.  Yes, America is perceived by many as the land of milk and honey.  Many of us (primarily those from 3rd world countries, not necessarily western Europe and other wealthy countries) would fight to get here if we weren't already here, yet we judge others who do.  Whether a person is from the USA, Africa, Asia, or anywhere else money has an allure and people are attracted to it.  It doesn't mean they're a scammer.  Wealth is power, generally people are attracted to power.  People almost universally would prefer more money over less money.  It's when they lie, cheat, and steal that it's an issue.  Just because someone is from Thailand, Philippines, Ethiopia, or Sudan doesn't make them dishonest.  Just because someone is from the USA, Canada, the UK or Japan doesn't make them honest.  Good and bad can be found anywhere.  Unfortunately the money difference causes a lot of problems, but desire for money doesn't make someone bad; lying, cheating and stealing do.
 
My $.02.

You are limited to 2 fiance visa petitions in your lifetime, after that it requires a waiver.  I just had my 4th petition approved (one of them never made to visa issuance as I cancelled it between petition approval and arriving at the foreign consulate).  My fiance now is scheduled to interview next Tuesday.  My first foreign spouse wasn't a scam, we have 2 children together and were married 5 years when she decided it wasn't what she wanted.  I currently have custody of the kids but she's very much a part of their (our) life.  My second foreign fiance, after nearly a year online and 15 days together admitted she had another boyfriend, only after she get pregnant by him - petition approved but cancelled.  Third foreign fiance happened while I was still emotionally ransacked by the second.  We were a horrible fit, realized it after getting married (ok, in fairness, there were signs prior to marriage, I was just blind to them).  Not saying she was a scammer but ultimately our relationship (me) couldn't withstand her dishonesty and jealousy.  Fourth fiance was a friend long ago.  We became friends, lost contact when we both had marriages that fell apart eventually, reconnected and realized we could be more than friends so we decided to venture down this path, yet again.  I wouldn't do this again with someone who wasn't already a friend first.  It's too hard when you can't tell what is what because during the "dating" period everyone wears a mask.
 
Side note, my sister and her husband lived together for 3 years prior to marriage.  Both at different times have commented to me how much things changed after marriage.  They both felt the other changed significantly, even after a 5 year relationship with 3 years living together.  Sometimes marriages fail not because of scams, but because things change, people change.
 
Yes, I do believe there are scammers.  Yes, America is perceived by many as the land of milk and honey.  Many of us (primarily those from 3rd world countries, not necessarily western Europe and other wealthy countries) would fight to get here if we weren't already here, yet we judge others who do.  Whether a person is from the USA, Africa, Asia, or anywhere else money has an allure and people are attracted to it.  It doesn't mean they're a scammer.  Wealth is power, generally people are attracted to power.  People almost universally would prefer more money over less money.  It's when they lie, cheat, and steal that it's an issue.  Just because someone is from Thailand, Philippines, Ethiopia, or Sudan doesn't make them dishonest.  Just because someone is from the USA, Canada, the UK or Japan doesn't make them honest.  Good and bad can be found anywhere.  Unfortunately the money difference causes a lot of problems, but desire for money doesn't make someone bad; lying, cheating and stealing do.
 
My $.02.

You are limited to 2 fiance visa petitions in your lifetime, after that it requires a waiver.  I just had my 4th petition approved (one of them never made to visa issuance as I cancelled it between petition approval and arriving at the foreign consulate).  My fiance now is scheduled to interview next Tuesday.  My first foreign spouse wasn't a scam, we have 2 children together and were married 5 years when she decided it wasn't what she wanted.  I currently have custody of the kids but she's very much a part of their (our) life.  My second foreign fiance, after nearly a year online and 15 days together admitted she had another boyfriend, only after she get pregnant by him - petition approved but cancelled.  Third foreign fiance happened while I was still emotionally ransacked by the second.  We were a horrible fit, realized it after getting married (ok, in fairness, there were signs prior to marriage, I was just blind to them).  Not saying she was a scammer but ultimately our relationship (me) couldn't withstand her dishonesty and jealousy.  Fourth fiance was a friend long ago.  We became friends, lost contact when we both had marriages that fell apart eventually, reconnected and realized we could be more than friends so we decided to venture down this path, yet again.  I wouldn't do this again with someone who wasn't already a friend first.  It's too hard when you can't tell what is what because during the "dating" period everyone wears a mask.
 
Side note, my sister and her husband lived together for 3 years prior to marriage.  Both at different times have commented to me how much things changed after marriage.  They both felt the other changed significantly, even after a 5 year relationship with 3 years living together.  Sometimes marriages fail not because of scams, but because things change, people change.
 
Yes, I do believe there are scammers.  Yes, America is perceived by many as the land of milk and honey.  Many of us (primarily those from 3rd world countries, not necessarily western Europe and other wealthy countries) would fight to get here if we weren't already here, yet we judge others who do.  Whether a person is from the USA, Africa, Asia, or anywhere else money has an allure and people are attracted to it.  It doesn't mean they're a scammer.  Wealth is power, generally people are attracted to power.  People almost universally would prefer more money over less money.  It's when they lie, cheat, and steal that it's an issue.  Just because someone is from Thailand, Philippines, Ethiopia, or Sudan doesn't make them dishonest.  Just because someone is from the USA, Canada, the UK or Japan doesn't make them honest.  Good and bad can be found anywhere.  Unfortunately the money difference causes a lot of problems, but desire for money doesn't make someone bad; lying, cheating and stealing do.
 
My $.02.

once you have the MNL case number you're good to go.  follow Hank's guide
http://www.visaconnection-philippines.com/k-1-visa-application.html
 

Quick update.  We're a September 7 NOA1. Simple, skeletal petition-no bells and whistles.  Waiver required as this is my 4th petition (long story).  And I do realized it's rather quick.  Apologies to those of you waiting longer.
9/7/17     NOA1
2/28/18   NOA2
3/15/18   NVC Received
3/16/18   Embassy case number assigned
3/19/18   Visa fee paid, DS-160 completed, embassy interview set, medical registration complete
3/20/18   Travel to Manila
3/21-21/18  Medical in Manila, travel home
3/23/18   CFO at Clark (that's the plan, hopefully no issues in Clark) - Philippines only step
4/10/18   Interview
Grace will travel home for 2 weeks for fiesta and farewell.
5/7/18     Target US entry
 
Up through 3/19 is done, travel and hotel are booked for medical so fingers crossed no issues.  Hopefully we'll be done with everything but the interview by this Friday.
 
Best of luck to everyone in their journey.
Grant
 
 

I'd like to thank everyone here, especially Hank and Greenbaum.  The information was amazing.  Rose and the kids interviews are scheduled for April 17 while I will be with them in Manila.  The NOA2 (March 8) took 9 months and 7 days and I could have scheduled the interview as early as April 5 so less than a month from USCIS to interview.  Wow.  I'm blown away.  I am really thankful for all the help.  I hope that someday I can do the same as this process can be confusing and frustrating at times.

Quick update.  We're a September 7 NOA1. Simple, skeletal petition-no bells and whistles.  Waiver required as this is my 4th petition (long story).  And I do realized it's rather quick.  Apologies to those of you waiting longer.
9/7/17     NOA1
2/28/18   NOA2
3/15/18   NVC Received
3/16/18   Embassy case number assigned
3/19/18   Visa fee paid, DS-160 completed, embassy interview set, medical registration complete
3/20/18   Travel to Manila
3/21-21/18  Medical in Manila, travel home
3/23/18   CFO at Clark (that's the plan, hopefully no issues in Clark) - Philippines only step
4/10/18   Interview
Grace will travel home for 2 weeks for fiesta and farewell.
5/7/18     Target US entry
 
Up through 3/19 is done, travel and hotel are booked for medical so fingers crossed no issues.  Hopefully we'll be done with everything but the interview by this Friday.
 
Best of luck to everyone in their journey.
Grant