Daryll and Janine

Fiance is traveling here to the US today, I hope people here will not forget to complete their CFO Seminar before leaving the Philippines because a lot were refused their flight this morning apparently due to not having the CFO sticker. I'm glad I saw this only a week or two before the interview. I bought her ticket online through vayama and hopefully she'll be here soon!

That CFO really is MANDATORY. SMEF-COW is not a bad place from her experience.

I hope nobody here got refused for that reason (no CFO) this morning since there was apparently a lot.

Good luck! Less things overlooked = less delays =

I went through Air Force basic training @ Lackland AFB, TX, just last year. Off the top of my head... It's not incredibly difficult honestly, it is possible to get "recycled" and stay their for longer, or washed out. 10% or less do, usually from saying they want out, saying they'll commit suicide, doing something mentally strange or aggressive (like punching the floor & breaking your hand). They will give you an Early Separation Discharge on reasons of Failure to Adapt (to military lifestyle).

AF secret, you can't be recycled in the first 3 weeks, as much as they threaten you with it.

They tell you the military's basic training is mind games. In the marines, it physically sucks, bad, all the time. In the Air Force, they can really, REALLY break you down. I've never seen so many grown men cry. They attack your family, kids, race, anything legal. They'll tell you that your father is worthless your mother is a #######, they had a useless child that should've never been born and that your kids have the worst father/mother in existence. You hear this everyday and you start to believe it. They'll crack on age but that's not nearly as annoying as hearing someone knock on your family and not be able to say anything about it.

It's only a stress test. After that, the AFSC tech school training is much easier, just a lot of powerpoint/hands on learning, memorizing regulations & publications, & a ton of fairly easy multiple choice tests.

The 'REAL' Air Force, or permanent party, especially ANG & Reserves... Of course it depends on your job, BUT some days you feel so relaxed and laid back it feels wrong. It's like any regular civilian job at that point. If I could do it again I would go back and do ANG or Reserves to finish college. But now I'm seeing my job is as easy as it gets (Enlisted aviator).

It's not for everyone, it's not even for a majority of people. Deployments (mostly AD), random recalls, doing petty low rank janitor duties, and there's a lot of scary statistics on Marriage rates & sexual assault pertaining to females that would really make me research this a lot if it was my wife.

But in the end on most days the hardest part of the job for me is staying awake through 10hr straight powerpoint days, and waking up on time for work after flying late night the day before.

Any Air Force, Coast Guard, Most National Guard & Reserve, Most US Public Health Services, Some Navy, Some Army, and a slight few Marines jobs are just all gravy these days. More benefits than I can count on two hands. Thanks for your service, and if she does also, what a strong woman!

Congratulations! :dance: I hope you receive your visa soon!!

I used a pack of assorted binder clips & paper clips from office depot to organize everything and keep separate types of material distinguished. I'm sure they have enough problems to deal with petitions without me putting the holes in the wrong place/the wrong width apart

Have sex?

Congrats! Hope you're enjoying this crucial step in the process! Filing for AOS that is

Hey, I've smoked too, and I got into the military fine Honesty is the best policy!

Congratulations!!

Ditto, all my forms for the US Embassy in the Philippines were single sheet. 1-sided. multiple pages. They would like 2 copies of each.

Good luck on your fiance's interview!!

Thanks everyone for the congrats :D

Here are all the questions they asked her at the final visa interview after the filipino pre-interview:

What's the name of your petitioner?

Where did you meet him? - Dating website

Why did you join that website? - To find a husband (not the best answer )

Why you looking for a husband online, why not in the Philippines?

What does he do for a living? - Military

Does he have any brothers or sisters?

What are their names?

Are you willing to marry him in 90 days? - Yes

"Congratulations you're approved, just go sit down and wait for your number"

They will ask for pictures of you together & everything you have, but will only probably look at the minimum forms I-134, DS-156, DS-156K, DS-157, a few paychecks.

Both the interviewers were pretty nice and it all went well according to my fiance. They didn't really hassle her at all about the red flags even though I was stressing a lot about those near the end. I'm sure you'll be fine! I am very happy to have been granted the visa based on only being together for 1 week, totaling 6 months of relationship time. I wish I could have had more time with her, but I was unfortunately in a squeeze for time. I provided plenty of different kinds of evidence, and the photos showed me with her & her family. Of course I had hundreds of pages of chat logs, but I figured that was overkill. Good luck on your journey!!

That's great to hear! Enjoy your future marriage and your honeymoon in NYC Things in Manhattan are definitely overpriced, careful or you might spend more there than on your wedding

Long/short doesn't matter much just give them numbers, dates, names, country names.

Give the embassy hard facts to compare to when they ask your fiance "How did you meet him", no need to list what you've included, it is most likely already on your cover page.

This will not pose a problem as long as you are still able to provide your most current Income Tax Return; as well as at least a few paystubs from this new job showing you make enough money to be above 125% poverty line mark. I don't see that money you owe posing a problem unless you don't pay it in a timely manner and end up with a collections agency on you

Thanks to the help of all the VJ members and the guides posted here my fiance's visa is finally approved with no problems and thankfully without the use of a lawyer! I hope this valuable resource is always around to help others like me to be reunited with the ones they love

I still have a long journey ahead of me and I hope to be a part of this community for a long time. Good luck to us all, and thanks again Visa Journey!

Yeah I think you're right about them sending them in chunks I remember them telling me about that when I called once. I just googled Oklahoma State Senators and it came up with the 2 republicans and their contact information; it's per-state. Then just ask about their constituent services concerning the Department of State, National Visa Center. They'll look into it and get back to you most likely

Took me 27 days, around 25 I called a senator and they may have sped things up, I was in a time crunch

Keep contact with the NVCresearch team and if you manage to get ahold of the NVC supervisors they can check via your last name or SSN if the case has even been processed at all in/since the shipping section. The NVC's been really backlogged lately

Consuls are very keen with poverty guidelines. if your latest tax return which is last year (2011) they would know you didn't reach 125% of the poverty guideline. they of course will ask for the recent pay stubs which reach the poverty guideline. i don't know cause, they surely ask for the latest tax return (2011) and they would look into it. if the years 2010, 2009 were the one not reaching the poverty guideline, there is a possibility they would overlook it. but last year... that's the one they will ask along with the affidavit of support, employer's certification, recent pay stubs. if i were you, i'll submit along with my affidavit of support, a co-sponsor's affidavit of support. just to be on the safer side. this is just my personal opinion.

Thanks, I might try to do that, it is my most recent tax return that is short. I'll get a co-sponsor ready in case they request additional documents, but hopefully with employment verification letters (Statement of Military Service, Letter from commander, enlistment contract) & the 12 most recent official paychecks (LES) they will have hard legal evidence of sufficient income. I'm not sure I can get a co-sponsor in time, but you're right, I feel like that's my only option too if they don't want to believe anything but the 2011 tax return.

Thanks for all the replies I also included a letter of intent for my fiance.

Does anyone think either of the red flags could cause a problem?

Congrats & thanks for the info!! My fiance looked over it all and organized her forms a little better based on what you've wrote

Congrats! My case is still not there at NVC yet its been 31days now and same answer I was getting from USCIS about the 90 day thingy. Was yours 27 business days or was it including weekends?

Mine was 27 day including weekends (about 19 business days). Maybe calling the congressman made them find it 2 days later, but it's hard to say

My fiancee (K-1 Visa) has her interview at the US Embassy in Manila, Philippines on June 8th, this Friday, listed below is everything she is bringing with her to the embassy, if anyone has any suggests or notices any huge mistakes/things missing, PLEASE comment Of course I really want her to get approved and I will consider near anything at this point to have her with me

Required docs in bold

-BPI interview payment receipt

-DS-156, DS-156K, DS-157

-Her original birth certificate

-Current CENOMAR (<1 week)

-NBI dated April 18

-Online appointment registration paper

-Passport

-10~ Photos of us together & with her family

-Engagement ring (will leave wedding ring at home)

-Letter from my mother welcoming her to our family

-Letters from her parents stating knowledge of her engagement

-Letter from me, intent to marry

-I-134, 1040, W-2s, Last 12 Paychecks

-Emails from me, Facebook correspondence & photos/comments from other users on our engagement

-Receipts from money transfers to her

-6 Passport photos

-Skype chat logs previous couple months

Red flags that I'm worried about:

-Physically only spent 1 week together physically (all allowed during current military training). Been together 6 months

-Last years tax returns shows less than 125% poverty line as I was only working 8 months that year. Years prior to that I have either not made enough or was claimed as a dependent on parents taxes (I am 20).

The medical exam is completed and the NVC sent the case the 25th of May. Thanks for all your help Visa Journey members, and good luck to you all in your future dealing with paperwork via the US Government!

This has been frustrating me a lot too, as I was told 15 business days by the NVC for a long time then after that had passed I was told 30 by them. Approaching the 30 day mark I was being told by USCIS to wait 90 days. I asked them what would change by then. I got a canned answer. So At the 24-day in mark I talked to supervisors of both USCIS and the NVC, who advised me to contact the senator as I told them I was worried as this was a time sensitive case.

Emailing your approval notice to NVCresearch@state.gov will cause them to contact the USCIS on your behalf about your petition location.

Calling the senator will cause him to contact the NVC and he'll dig deeper to find where the case is. Finally today, my case has been received by the NVC & assigned a case # after 27 days, whether or not the additional steps helped I'm not sure, but it was worth the calls. They seem really backed up lately.

Same boat, my I-129F was approved April 26th. Still not received by the NVC even after an expedite. It seems an absurd waiting time just to forward the package to the next step, or for them even to receive it from the Vermont Service Center! But hopefully they will get it together soon out there, they seem to be backed up a bit or something. It's very unfortunate each day I wait an unknown length I will spend more time in the desert than with my future wife once she is here. Try not to worry, I doubt they've lost it, thinking about it more will make you frustrated and the time will seem longer. I wish I knew more to tell you, but all I get is the canned "thats the average time for the NVC to receive your case" every call too.

If you found him sexting after you'd already told him you're not going to be with him then the point is moot, otherwise, he was not serious in the first place, then I wouldn't expect anyone to live with someone they weren't happy with for the rest of their life. It just seems some put the point of no return at arrival, when they've just left everything they've ever known, and others put it at 90 days, after that person has already likely adapted to the new life and done away with a lot of the old. Either way it sucks all around and I'm sorry to hear this happened to you, but I'm almost just as sorry to hear what happened to him