FredAndSandy

My wife renewed her Philippines passport about 6 months ago. When she did they wouldn't let her keep her middle name on her passport and instead changed it to her maiden name. Her green card has her original middle name on it. We are planning a trip to the Philippines in a few months. Will this cause a 'problem when we return?

Just wanted to add my information so you might know a little more about this. My NOA1 was October 1, 2012. I received the same alien registration number notification in the middle of December. We got very excited, but nothing happened. We received our NOA2 on April 18, 2012. This was within our normal timeline. I recall other people filing the same time I did that received the notification, but still only received their NOA2 around the same time as me.

It's my opinion that this notification is only when the alien registration number is assigned and that's it. There were a few cases that received their NOA2 early, but it was very rare. It's nice to see that your paperwork has been looked at. But, I wouldn't get your hopes up that you'll get an early NOA2. Hope this information helps! Good luck!

The boxes on DS-156 that need the word none (if, of course, you have no information to put there) - 20, 21, 34

DS-157 - 9, 12, 13,

I found out that the DS-156 is the most important to have entirely correct. Since it is filled out electronically, you MUST have it perfect. Right now we are waiting for the embassy visa department to release our receipt number so we can schedule another appointment. I'm on the verge of just paying for a new receipt number so that we can get another interview sooner. I have read a few places that it takes a month or so for them to release that number. Which, in my opinion, is completely ridiculous. But, if $240 means we don't have to pay for another medical interview (her current one will expire by then) and a hotel room for a week in Manila (along with food), then it might be worth it.

Just an update on this. I called the embassy and now they're telling me that the appointment is frozen and being escalated. I cannot set a new appointment date until I receive an email. They cannot tell me how long that is going to take and when I requested to speak to a supervisor they were in a meeting. I'm going to call back in an hour, but this is becoming increasingly frustrating.

So, my fiancee went to the embassy in Manila this morning and after handing paperwork to the person at the counter, she was told she failed to put the word "none" in a few of the boxes on her DS-156 and DS-157 forms. She asked if she could hand-write in the word and was told, no she could not do that. She was then told that she would have to reschedule her interview after correcting the paperwork. While this in itself seems pretty ridiculous, my question is do we have to pay for another interview? I attempted to reschedule the interview online after her initial appointment expired. The online system would not accept the receipt number for payment and I could not reschedule the interview. I am planning on calling them when they open, but does anyone have any experience or knowledge with this? It seems to me that since she never even got to the interview portion that the payment should still be valid. Any information is helpful, thank you.

Good luck to you and your fiancee. we felt the same way, every day hoping for something to happen....

it can't be long now, I'm sure it's coming just hang in there and try to stay positive (I know it can be difficult). The feeling you get when that case status has finally changed is overwhelming (I cried lol)

Anyway, good luck!

Well, it happened. 15 minutes ago to be exact. Wow, you sure were right, the feeling you get... So it's official, noa2 exactly 199 days after noa1, one day shy of the 200 club. Wow, I'm still in shock and disbelief. I hope this is good news for everyone else. VSC is moving on the October K-1s. Yay!

196 days for us. It feels like forever and I hope every day that we hear something, anything. I knew from the beginning this was going to be extremely tough and that I would have to have patience. It would be better if I knew SOMEONE was working on our paperwork or there was some kind of update. Getting on the USCIS website and seeing the same thing every day doesn't help at all.

4 more days and we hit the 200 mark. I hate being apart from my fiancee and I know it's extremely hard for her too. We're both trying to cope. We talk every day on skype and try our best to be upbeat. I can tell this is really wearing us down emotionally.

Just had to type this out to someone who can relate to how we feel. Someone tell me it gets better, please

Same thing here. October 15 date for alien number change. NOA 1 on October 1. Anyone know what is going on?

Sent the I-129F in on Sept 5th (after hours, so really 9/6) and after a couple of long weeks I finally received the NOA1 at midnight last night (although it was dated 9/21). It's at the CSC, so hopefully we'll get lucky and have the NOA2 by the end of the year!

I was just about to post that I hadn't received my NOA1 yet after it being received a week ago. Knowing that it took yours two weeks gives me hope that it's going to the CSC!

We got delivery notification at 2:56. It's all up to our friends at USCIS now.

Ours was at 12:13pm. Here's to hoping we get California!

Ours should arrive in Texas tomorrow. Christmas sounds awfully optimistic. Maybe Valentine's Day.

Christmas would be amazing, but I'm with you. Probably won't be until after the new year. I just checked the usps tracking and it says that a notice has been left. Just waiting for the update that they picked up the package!

We're in the same boat. I mailed ours on Monday for arrival Wednesday too. Last site I visited before coming here this morning was the USPS tracking page...it's moved out of the county, but still in the state.

Well, good luck!! Hopefully this goes quicker than we expect it to.

Welcome to the forum.

BTW, you sent your petition to the Lewisville TX lockbox facility, not the Texas Service Center. The Texas Service Center does not process I-129F petitions The lockbox facility sorts and then sends the petitions to either the Vermont Service Center (EAC), or the California Service Center (WAC). When you get your I-797c (NOA1) receipt, the number prefix EAC or WAC will indicate the service center that will process your petition. Putting the correct service center in your timeline will result in your VJ statistics being more meaningful.

Good luck on your visa journey.

I know, I've tried to change that, but it keeps reverting back to Texas Service Center. As soon as I find out which service center we get, I'll make the change on my timeline!

Sent off the packet for the K-1 visa today! USPS says it should arrive at the Dallas lockbox on the 19th. Wish us luck!

You can use your passport. It had to be valid for at least a 5 year period when it was issued. You have an unexpired passport that was valid for 10 years when it was issued. That is all you need.

I notice you put Texas Service Center in your profile. Only California and Vermont process I-129F petitions. You will be sending your petition to the Dallas lockbox, which is an intake facility and not the Texas Service Center. When you get your NOA1 receipt notice, it will tell you which service center yours was sent to from the lockbox. Updating your profile with the proper information helps get more accurate statistics and dates of when petitions will be processed.

Ah, ok didn't know that about the service centers. Just assumed since I'm in Texas. Thanks, I'll change that when I find out which service center I'm going through. And thanks for the information on the passport!

my fiance just sent a photocopy of all the pages of his passport and we had no issues about it

Excellent! Thanks so much for the info!

I was reading the requirements for the I-129f and it says that I need my birth certificate (I'm the US citizen). I can't find it and have ordered a new one, but it takes forever and I want to get this package sent. The other option is "a copy of ALL pages of the US Citizen's passport issued with a validity of at least 5 years." Does this mean that when it was issued it had to be valid for at least 5 years or that it is now valid for 5 years. My passport was issued in 2005 and expires in 2015. It's validity is 10 years, but as of right now it is only valid for 3 more. I'm so confused. Can someone explain this to me?

Thank you so much!

Well, just starting out this fun bit of government paperwork and have a few questions. We're in the middle of getting everything filled out and signed and stressing over whether we're doing it right or not. So, my questions:

- On the I-129f, question 18, I was able to fit the information in the box on the form. How detailed should I be about that information? Such as dates, locations, etc. Should I go ahead and be super-detailed and attach an additional sheet?

- The G-325a form has an expiration date at the top of August 31, 2012. If I don't get the packet sent before then, will we have to fill out new ones?

- I can't fit some of the information (addresses) in the boxes on both forms. Is there a way to adjust font size (and if so, should I)? Or am I stuck hand writing that information in?

I think that's about it. Trying to make sure everything is perfect on this thing! Thanks in advance for the replies! I'm so glad I found this site.