shadesandbalcony

hi just want to update and thank you guys who helped us throughout our journey here. our visa was approved last week feb14 and were just waiting for it to be delivered / pick up. i will give you guys my summary of our interview experience since some of you already know the step by step procedure with interview

my husband and i got at the embassy around 6am for our 630 schedule we fell in line just like some of the applicants tho we noticed that some applicants who were with their usc fiances and husbands skip the first line outside the embassy. we just noticed it and i think my husband is the only american in line. still we opted to stay and be patient. after all we already waited for this to happen for months now so no need to rush.

we got in for security checks and then the giving of numbers then dropping of appointment letter. the first time our number flashed, i was asked to write my address on the ds form that we submitted to nvc. didnt know i put n/a there. so after that my husband and i thought good thing we didnt got rfe for that. then our number flashed again for finger printing. then after a while our num flashed for the filipino pre screener. my husband went with me but the pre screener didnt see him right away so she was surprised when my husband appeared in the window with me. she already asked for my name and then she asked my husband if he is the petitioner and he said yes. the nice filipina lady asked me when we met how we met how long we are married i said almost a year this march and then she asked if i have been in another country and i said yes and she said where so i answered thailand, hk, sg, india, dubai and she said did you stay there for over 6months (or a year not sure exactly i already forgot) and i said no just for vacation. during this time she asked me to write my contact num and email in the same ds form that i wrote the address earlier. gah i dont know why i put n/a on those. then she asked me to sign the second part of ds form. she also asked me if we were previously married with diff persons. i said no i havent been married before. and even my husband this is his first marriage then asked if we have kids and i said no both me and my husband dont have kids. then she asked me if i brought evidences like pictures of us money remittances i said no money remittance just gift delivery receipt and pictures and i showed it to her i asked her if i need to take it out of clearbook or she wants to see it outside the window while i flip it she said just take it and show it to the us consul if she asks for it. by the way the whole time we were talking shes taking down notes. she then smiled and said just wait for your number to be called again we said thanks and greeted her happy valentines day she smiled and greeted us back.

we waited for some more and then our number flashed again for the us consul. we took the oath and she gave me the white booklet re domestic violence (not sure) and asks if i have questions and i said no. so she proceeded asked my name and she asked my husband what he does and then shes looking on docs and got the tax transcript and asked my husband about it i was trying to help my husband coz she said shes confused with my husbands income last 2011 and were not sure what shes confused about so i said its also written in aos form shes asking how much my husband earned that year and im trying to remember so said its written in aos form she said shes looking for tax transcript and she said anything can be written in the form. so i got quiet and she told my husband to explain the lines etc for the income i was quiet coz im not familiar with tax stuff in the states but im listening she gave a paper from tax transcript where the income is written and she encircled it with red ballpen my husband and i were clueless with her question so i was helping him then the consul said shes confused coz my husband didnt submitted w2s my husband said he doesnt have it coz he is self employed. by this time my husband is still looking at the paper and the consul asked me same questions the pre screener asked me how we met when we met if ive been to another countries how many times my husband visited i said 4 times and hes been here for 4 months from the last visit. shes looking at my nbi clearance and then she crossed out a paper and then talked to my husband again and got the paper back asked my husband again about his income and my husband just said thats my income in that line and then she gathered all the documents and told us in a hurry manner that "okay your visa is approved just wait for your name to be called for further instructions" so we said thank you and greeted her happy valentines day this time she smiled coz the whole time she wasnt smiling. then we sat and were like smiling but not talking.

then my name was called in window 72 and the guy just asked for my name and petitioners name and thats it gave me back the appointment letter and said its all okay just wait for my visa to be delivered. i said i opted for pick up how will i know if its already there he said someone from the courier will text me i asked how many days he said no time frame but it will be soon. i said thank you. around past 10am we were inside our car and talking about what happened and smiling the whole time. by the way they didnt return any documents to us even the evidences we submitted in nvc like pictures and emails. but i think its all there coz i can see my folder while the pre screener and us consul were interviewing us. is that okay,

lastly i would like to thank all the people here in vj who helped us to get through this process. saylin, dwheels, darnell, hank, tahoma, apple21, tintinandmike, pigmonk and if i forgot some people i apologize. thank you so much! you guys have no idea how you help people here and how huge your replies and insights are to them. thank you guys!

hi VJ!

i had my medical last 2 weeks ago and the scar was still visible so i underwent Sputum Test. I told them that i had a TB History and that was caused my scar but i already had treatment last 2011.

my question is do i have to say yes to the question in one of the DS Forms " Have you ever been afflicted with a communicable disease of public health significance.......?"

i just dont want to lie but am little afraid also if this will be a hindrance of my K1 Visa...

i need your comments. Thank you!

hi miss after reading your post i immediately checked again the ds 230 form that i supposed you are talking about. then i saw the part regarding to the communicable disease thing that you quoted. i was worried too coz i know i checked all the NO in those questions since it doesnt apply to me. but i also had history of tb (sputum from private hospital negative but still treated for precautionary measures) and i read it. if the question is the only part that you quoted i mean sure say yes but thats not the only question they asked. its a long one saying if its not treated or you dont have supporting papers to prove the treatment. im not sure with the exact question verbatim but thats my understanding. so in my opinion you can answer no. we got case complete so i think i did the right thing.

we really have to be honest all the time. specially when filling out forms but we also need to read carefully and understand each questions thoroughly. goodluck on your journey and God bless!

thanks for the replies guys! so basically same photo specifications like in nvc? just want to get suggestions for my husband's aos evidences since he doesnt have pay stubs coz he owns the business. how can he prove his current income (2012) (his business is operational during summer) since he hasnt filed the 2012 tax yet.

and an update, we called st lukes earlier and my sputum culture is negative! yay! just need to go there next week for physical exam (again) and vaccines

thank you guys and God bless!

hi everyone! my interview sched is next week and im trying to prepare documents that i will be needing. by the way im still waiting for my culture results on feb 6 but they wanted me to call on feb 11. might call them this week for the results. i just have few inquiries regarding needed requirements for the interview.

first, i was reading posts here about reasons for getting an ap for cr1 visa and most of what i read says coz they havent paid the verification fee to delbros. but the thing is these posts are way back 2008. just wondering if this fee is still applicable until now coz i was trying to find newer post related to this but cant find any.

secondly, i still have my nbi clearance which i got last nov for nvc (got several copies) this is still valid for the interview right? and for married filipina women, may i ask how is your name written there? for example, the maiden name is juana lopez cruz then she got married and it changed to juana cruz moore. so how should it appear in the clearance with the "de" and "y" should it be like "cruz de moore, juana y lopez" ?

third, the photo needed for the interview is 2x2 right? is this the same with what we submitted in nvc stage with in terms of specification? coz an ordinary 2x2 is different from us visa 2x2 right? and can i still use the photos which we submitted in nvc that was taken last november since i got copies? or newer ones are needed?

fourth, my husband owns a business so he is self employed. during nvc, we submitted his last 3 years tax transcript (2009 2010 2011) a local newspaper article about the business and an llc cert of the business. we are over poverty lines so theres no problem with that but do you think we submitted enough? and what else do we need for the interview to support our application? do i still need to bring copies of his tax transcripts with me during the interview? my husband is here in manila now so he will be with me during the interview.

lastly, what documents do i need for the interview?

thank you all and God bless!

hi! its the 3rd day of my 6th week sputum culture and until now theres no call from slec. (which is great!) but still im very paranoid. in what percentage am i to be negative? what week do they usually call for positive culture results? thanks and God bless!

cenomar and cemar are kinda the same but not so. haha i know confusing but here's my explanation, before we got married i got my cenomar for our marriage license. its easy coz all you have to say to the nso office is you need your cenomar since youre single. then through my reading here i found out that we also need cemar and im like well thats really needed coz thats CErtificateofMARriage or marriage certificate just like birth cert etc (thats what i thought) then read again and found out its different and my dilemma that time is what will i ask the nso people coz that time i thought if i say certicate of marriage they will give me the same stuff i have. so i went there asked the girl from nso satellite office that i will get certificate of marriage and she gave me the form for marriage cert that i already have. so i told her that i need the cemar one the one that states and list my marriage (im just married once btw with my husband ) and she gave me a cenomar form to fill up. and im like mam im married im not getting cenomar. and she said i know its the same form to fill out. if youre single it will state that you have no record of marriage (hence cenomar ) and if youre married it will state and list your marriage. and she said the term with a number like 5 something (sorry i forgot) like marriage advisory or advisory on marriages. something like that. haha! and thats a big "Aha! that is that!" for me! haha

well i got my cemar last oct but when i read it my mom's middle maiden name has a small typo (my fault coz thats how i wrote it in the form) i forgot to put letter i in between her middle maiden name (its like its supposed to be for example "dierro" and i wrote "derro") owell. i did the same thing on my cenomar before for my marriage license and the local civil registrar asked for the corrected cenomar. i wasnt gonna get a new corrected cemar but im worried that they will compare it with my birth and marriage certs. any thoughts? and do you guys have an idea how many days a cemar get delivered when you request it online? coz when you go personally to nso it will take 10days. im in manila by the way. thanks and God bless!

hi! I hope someone can help me with this.I am the petitioner. My parents just had their medical exam 2 days ago. Yesterday,they have known that my dad passed the medical but hold his immunizations because they have seen something suspicious in my mom`s xray. FYI,my mom never smoke in her entire life so it came out as a shock to all of us- Anyway, my mom needs to come back next week for that 3- day sputum test. We are all devastated-. My question is: can my dad go first, get the immunizations,take the scheduled Feb 4 interview or is he too need to do the sputum culture after my mom will be positive from the culture? Please help me and pls someone enlighten me with this new problem we are facing. Thank you so much.

im sorry i just read your message. i did my medical exam ahead of my interview scheduling thats why i found out that results wont be ready until feb6. i was expecting that i will undergo sputum exam thats why i did my medicals early. in your parents' case, just my opinion (correct me guys if im wrong) the reason they held your dad's immunization is because if your mom's culture will turn out positive, there's a big chance that your dad will have it too since theyre a couple and they have close contact everyday despite your dad's clear xray.

hi! how are you guys doing? just an update, we called nvc this morn and got our interview sched for feb4. since my medicals (sputum) wont be ready until feb6 we called us embassy manila and reschedule it for feb14. the nice lady whom i talked to was very helpful and polite and even sent the appointment confirmation letter right away i just hope I get negative culture results!

by the way we called last week regarding my concern if they (st lukes) called me when my phone was off. and they didnt coz theres no result yet and they both have my correct mobile and landline numbers! yay! haha im just really paranoid! anyway its my 5th week and im not hoping to get a call from st lukes!

hi guys! i know im not active in this thread but I just want you guys to know that we got our interview date (feb4) by calling nvc this morning. our case was completed I think december 21. But my medicals wont be ready until feb6 so we called us embassy here in manila and rescheduled it by feb14 I hope you guys can get your interview dates by this week! God bless us all!

hello everyone! my husband and I called this morning and we already got our interview date! feb 4. we haven't received the email from nvc but we called again and asked if we can reschedule it since my medicals (sputum culture result) will be released by feb6. he said we should call us embassy in manila for rescheduling maybe like 2 days from now so we said thank you. But I was worried that we can't get a feb schedule so we called us embassy here in manila right away and yes! The very nice lady whom I spoke with rescheduled us for feb 14! yay! and she sent the appointment confirmation right away! thank you guys for all the help. just praying that my sputum culture will be negative. this is my 5th week of waiting! God bless us all!

pigmonk, really? same sched as you? do they have history of ptb or they just discovered it? coz me i undergone medication from jan-july 2012 for ptb eventho im negative with skin test and sputum (from a private hospital and this tropical disease facility near makati med) thats why im expecting the result of xray to be like that. and im sure i'll be negative with this sputum test since I was negative before and I did the medication. but still makes me so paranoid! imagine if ever you need to do medication there and like going there everyday is one big hassle

tahoma, haha i know but yeah we need to follow instructions (well me personally) coz i don't want to be much of a problem or you know to be the cause of their irritation ) but yeah we might call them next week. i will let my husband call them since he is here

tintin and mike, haha well you know sometimes the nicest people you will ever encounter are the ones who you never expected to be nice or vice versa

tintin and mike, they have given me a specific date to call them. and if i call way too early they might get irritated or something hehe

bron chase, thats the date they wanted me to call! they said results will be on feb 6 but start calling feb 11. i gave them my landline number too. but you know since it was the holidays were always out. but i always have my mobile phone with me. its just that particular 3 hours that my phone was off but we're home at that time hehe

pigmonk, exactly! haha im kinda scared to call too since its just my third week! ) but i should try so i can have my peace of mind back just want to know from the vj users that got positive culture result if what time slec usually calls.

thanks for your responses! i have we all got negative culture results!

hi guys! happy newyear! im sorry if i haven't updated you regarding my medical exam. well as what i expected i did sputum exam last dec 10-12. got the results dec 17 in the afternoon for smear and it was negative. the doctor asked for my med cert and i provided it. until now haven't heard any calls from slec. (not complaining!) hehe but i got paranoid coz last week (just one day) my mobile was off from 7am-10am and it got me worried coz i read here that one of the vjers thought shes negative until her sched call since she didnt get any call. Apparently slec cant contact her.

So my question is what time does slec usually calls for positive culture and do they try to call several times? Sorry just worried anyway my results will be on feb. anyone here with same sched as me? thanks and God bless!

hi happy new year to all of you! still waiting for interview sched while waiting for the result of my sputum culture this feb.

how are you guys doing? i was wondering if any of you received the nvc notice yesterday january 3. well i didnt received it personally but it was sent to my husband's email (he's the usc) anyway the subject is nvc notification and the letter itself was addressed to my husband but the body of the letter has my name. like "dear (my name)" its regarding the i-601a something like that. that starting march 4. I know its just a notice but it got me confused since it was just sent to my husband's email and not mine but it has the "dear" part with my name. Are you guys familiar with this?

hi! I was reading about the post regarding taxes and I got confused with our situation. as I mentioned last week we're already case complete and currently waiting for interview date. And im always reading updates here so I'm informed and aware of things.

I have a question too. I'm not familiar with tax procedures and terms that's why it's confusing for me. We got married march 2012 and I think my husband filed his 2011 tax around April 2012 but as single. My question is, should he be filing as married last April 2012 for 2011 tax returns since we got married march 2012 or its okay to file as single since its for 2011 tax returns? (Sorry I really have no idea with taxes) I just thought its all good since we didn't get rfe for aos and we're already case complete. Will I have a problem in embassy coz of it? thank you guys and happy holidays!

hi! just an update! we just called earlier and our case is already complete! yay! she said just wait for the interview date to be scheduled. should i call them for it or just wait for the email regarding the inteview date?

by the way, i already had my med exam 2 weeks ago and as expected i did sputum exam and got my smear result negative. just waiting for 2nd week of feb for culture results.

this is my timeline

noa 1 - around may29

noa 2 - nov 13

got case number around a week after noa2

sent aos nov28

sent iv packet dec 3

case complete dec 21

i would like to thank all the people who helped us accomplished this journey. saylin darnell dwheels and everyone who answered each inquiry that we asked. thank you guys so much! God bless you all!

congrats! when the filipino consul asked for your husband's itr, is that a copy you brought with you? or did the embassy sent you a copy of those documents? sorry for the dumdum question just confused. and did you send evidences (proof of relationship) when you sent your ds230 package? thanks and God bless!

tintin and mike, im already in nvc stage and sent the packages already waiting for a case complete. yes just doing the medicals ahead of time since i have a history of ptb (negative culture results tho)

hank, yes i printed a copy of letter sent by nvc (just page 1) where my case number and iin and beneficiary numbers are indicated. i just put an "estimated" interview date. will they accept it if i will tell the guard that i really dont have the interview date yet and i just put an estimated date coz i cannot register online without it?

hello guys! just an update aos package was delivered to nvc already (checked fedex tracking site) but I haven't called them yet and IV package will arrive 1030am today (tonight for me) at nvc. hoping to get a case complete by next week. just hoping!

hi I went to slec website for online registration and the interview part isnt really necessary (or so as i thought. ) coz it doesnt have an asterisk. Anyway so tried like 3 times to register it without interview date (since I dont have it yet) and it wont get in. So my husband said just put a date and cross it out after printing it and tell the guards in slec that I don't have interview date yet. Is that okay? Will they accept it? thanks and God bless

thanks darnell! that's a big help! i think i will send evidences with my ds230. Do I need to send original evidences like greeting cards, money transfer receipts or a photocopy of those will do? And do I need to certify a photocopy of the biodata page of my passport? or that's just for marriage cert and birth certificates? thanks and God bless!

hi thanks for the reply. i know that during interview you need to bring evidences but I just want to know if cases here in manila needs to frontload with evidences that wil he sent to nvc together with ds230 packet. thanks!

hi thanks for the reply. i know that during interview you need to bring evidences but I just want to know if cases here in manila needs to frontload with evidences that wil he sent to nvc together with ds230 packet. thanks!

hi just wondering if I still need to send additional evidences such as pictures, greeting cards, travel itineraries together with our ds 230 packet. just worried coz we didn't send much evidence on i130 phase. We only included pictures and wedding ring receipt so I was thinking if I need to show more evidences in ds230 packet. just want to know if you guys also did that. And also do I need to certify the photocopy the biodata page of my passport or it only applies in marriage and birth cert? thanks and God bless!

thanks for the reply. checked 5 hours ago and it's already "paid" we can send our packet tomorrow.

i know saylin already answered this but just want to know if you guys sent additional evidences with your ds230. like pictures, greeting cards etc. specially if there are people here from manila im just worried since we didnt send much stuff on our i-130 package just a few pics and receipt of our wedding rings and the venue of our reception that's it. So I was just wondering if I need to send evidences together with my ds230 any replies will help! thank you!

thanks apple21!