mydogatemypurse

1 hour ago, NigeriaorBust said:

  If the mother ever collected public benefits then he owes child support.  They pay out up front but place a judgement against the other parent.  So they will have to do a search to see if he is owning and how much 

Child was born In the Philippines while both Filipino citizen parents were living in the Philippines. Mother moved to US after approx a year after being petitioned by father,she was a teenager. My husband who was also a teenager at the time took care of this baby for several months. 

The interviewer asked if she everattempted to make contact. 

Is is this a larger issue I should be worried about?

We're filing our N400, my husband passed the test, but we just checked online and saw RFE. Yes, I don't know officially what this is for, but we have a pretty good idea.

An issue came up during the interview, my husband had a child with a woman almost 15 years ago, before we met. We wrote that the child is "estranged". That is because after 9 months of my husband caring for this child, the child's mother demanded he return the child. She filed paper work and there was a hearing in court and he immediately surrendered the child. She never asked for support. And no effort was made on anyone's part to communicate with anyone else. All we know is that they currently live in the US now.

According to the Interviewer, they need to research what are the laws in the home country (in this case, the Philippines) and see if child support is due or anything like that. 

Based on my research, child support is due if the mother ASKS. She never did. There are even documents from their hearing declaring that he relinquishes his paternal rights. 

Now again.. I haven't received the RFE yet so I don't know for sure.. but since the interviewer mentioned this I'm trusting my gut. 

I would appreciate any constructive comments or advice or insights from similar situations.. 

Thanks everyone!

You know when your teacher has called all the students, except you, and your sitting there thinking, #######. WHAT DID I DO (OR NOT DO??)... 

That's me.

I never added our info to the list. but i followed along and checked our mail here everyday After more snow this winter and some personal injuries, kind of forgot to check in here and see where everyone was.

Now here we are, husband finished finger prints on March 8th!! NO update on anything since.

So I tried reading along and seeing how everyone checks for an update and seems to manage to nudge things, yet it's may 20th and nothing new on my end.. It's disappointing and kind of annoying. I really wanted to get some travel in this year, but i don't want to schedule until I know this is out of the way. 

Other than searching online with my NBC number (which says "On March 10, 2017, we started the interview scheduling process for your Form N-400, Application for Naturalization , Receipt Number ******.  We will send you an interview notice. Please follow any instructions in the notice.") what can I do at this point? Our field office is Portland OR (which apparently has been packed since the election).

I want to be a good patient person, but seeing other people post that they're done just blew me away... I want to be done so clear away all the (paperwork) clutter I have everywhere... 

Any additional advice would be SO SO appreciated. I feel like there's a step I forgot or something... 

On 2/3/2017 at 6:12 AM, ToRo said:

Hello N-400 February 2017 filers!

Hey everyone! Back here on VJ after around 3 years. We've been here for a little over 3 years and just sent in the N-400 on Feb 2nd.

Overwhelmed by everything happening politically right now, but went for it and hoping things are smooth and quick.

Hubby and I set an appointment for DCF but after printing out, our appointment type is to speak to an immigration officer. Confused ~

"Speak to an officer" is correct. i had the same confusion when i applied.

OK!!!!! I'm caught up on sleep, husband got sick, etc... but we're good now, so I can share...

So, left the house at 5:30, got to the embassy at exactly 6am, walked in, got our number at the window. you show your appointment email thing, and you get a number.

then.. wait, for over an hour, the paper says "numbers are not called in strict numerical order", and like jace5869 said, i started to wonder why... maybe it's a DCF thing??? Other couples and just other people applying on their own, were in and out, moving to the next window, etc... much quicker... and i really just think its because we are DCF and not too many people do that.

So, after over an hour, we get called to a window, its an american guy and all he asks is for my husband's name, dob, etc and they take finger prints. after struggling with the finger prints, (lol) we sit and wait for nearly 30 mins again. (this guy was not scary or strict, he was friendly)

we are called to a new window, and a filipina woman and filipino man ask his name, dob, my name, when/where we mat, when/where we got married, etc.. does he have kids, parents names, have you applied for a visa before.. have you left the country before... etc... she asked for his passport, nbi clearance, marriage cert, birth cert, cenomar, etc...AOS too..they asked if we were aware we needed to pay $230 for the IV fee, I said yes, she gave us a slip, told us to pay upstairs then give the paper back. I paid in pesos (it was 10,100+), then gave them the receipt and then we sat down again. (the woman wasn't too friendly, but the guy was nice)

after another 15-20 mins, we were in front of an american woman now at a new window. she asked similar questions, when/where/how we met, asked about our marriage, etc..we were very casual.. . she asked why my aunt signed my AOS and not my mom, etc... i had all my answers ready and she asked what my plans are when i get there, i told her im gonna take some classes so i can get the necessary certifications to teach in washington. she said it all looks good and we sat down again. (like jace5869, i was not asked for any proof that i will establish/re-establish domicile. I spent a long time preparing all that... but better safe than sorry)

we sat down again, and were called to the windows at the end, (72? or 73?) and he said we were missing one set of finger prints, so we got sent back to the american woman, she apologized, we did the finger prints on his left hand, (as the signature for the online form, DS260) then waited to get called back to the last window, the guy told us we could wait in the mail.. we chose to have it sent to the house, so we just need to wait a while..)

We were out of there by 10.

I dont think im forgetting anything..

What I can say, is that I noticed that some people got questioned really aggressively. and the questions were really in depth, (When did your mom arrive in the us, what does she do, how much does she make, etc...) i wasn't asked anything intense.. and they were very nice. all the stories people say about "she was strict, not smiling, so scary.." didn't happen to us.

Good luck to everyone applying in the next couple weeks!!! I've gotten and sent messages and wish you all the best! It really isn't hard or stressful. You don't have anything to hide, or worry about, etc... So relax and enjoy this milestone of a day!!!!!

Approved!!!!!

I will share my story later this week!!! (We are still so tired from all the late nights getting ready...)

Thank you everyone!!!!

Good luck to everyone here!!

I have a question, I just don't want to make a mistake on my forms...

on my form (I have 2, one from the joint sponsor, and one is mine...) on the first page, i put my name, and then I am the petitioner.....

then below, i type in my husbands name.... then it says mailing address...

my question is, will I use our address here in the Philippines, or the address where we intend to stay in the US?

Hello everyone. We filed our I-130 and until now we are not receiving any approval. Can I have the number you guys used to call the US Embassy as well as the extension number? Thanks alot

Just keep using ext 2224 and ask if its been approved... if they say not yet, you can follow up by asking, is there a problem with my paperwork? that might make them actually check...

They will eventually tell you you've been approved, but they probably won't have the case # right away.

As for the case number, I called and pressed 7 for Visa matters, then pressed 2 for immigrant Visas...

Then I told the woman "Hi. I'm trying to get an update on my husbands petition, etc etc... It was approved on etc etc etc..... "

Some people were like "spell the name," Then they'd check and say "Sorry, its not in the system". and Id be like "Ok. bye." LOL

Some people are more accommodating and they will help, just try and find a person more patient on the phone who will actually check for you. When they say "you only applied this month, and it takes 30-90 days, etc etc etc so you should keep waiting," just be like "ok thank you" and hang up. Try again later/tomorrow and wait for another person to answer the phone. LOL

(Particularly, there's one grumpy sounding guy who didnt even wanna check..)

Also..

I had about 30 pictures organized from our first date in feb 2004, to a family dinner in may 2013

I had 4 letters (affidavits). 2 filipino friends, 2 american friends. None were notarized.

My letters were not notarized. But i had bank statements and paperwork from our cars and our motorcycles and scooters. Everything purchased and registered in our names.

If you dont have paperwork with both names, start now. Open an account in a bank, put a couple thousand pesos in and add a couple thousand every 2 weeks and after 2 months its a an account that you can have a print out for to add to your evidence.

hi, i read your post, but i need to ask did you make appointment for your i-130 file? i will start my process in or around this Dec. But i dont know what to do, can i just walk in to the embassy or do i have to make appointment just to file the i-130? i have tried to make an appoint online but they want my wifes A# and case#. im lost cause i havent started the process. pls help me with some good answers thanks

Leave those fields blank when you fill up the form online. I was confused because when you print it out it says "Purpose: To speak with someone" or something.. and I was like.. umm.. this make no mention of a visa application..? But don't worry, it's right one.

CALLED TODAY: APPROVED!!!!!!

I was told it was approved on Sept 17. She didn't have the case number though, so I need to make more phone calls!

YES!!!!!!!!!! =)

Were you able to file the petition? If so, what types of evidence did you need for proof of residency?

Had to resched again for Monday (Sept 9) and yesterday we got it in. It was such a good feeling to get that taken care of and pay for it.

my proof of residency included college transcripts and certificates of employment for the jobs I have had over the last couple years. (I moved here as a teenager, so I have plenty of paperwork)

I wanna start calling but I know I'll sound crazy saying "hi.. I submitted yesterday...are we approved??"

When did you start calling?

Did you get to file your petition? If you did - did you try calling and find out if you're approved yet?

Rescheduled for tomorrow (friday) due to some work obligations. But im awake now because i am so excited i cant sleep! Hahaha... been printing and typing and thinking about things all day...

congrats on your approval!!!! Thats wonderful!!

Can you share an overview of your time line? Like when did you first submit, when did you hear from them, etc??

Can you share an overview of your time line? Like when did you first submit, when did you hear from them, etc??

Wow! Ive got my fingers crossed for both of us!!

Really? Quicker over the summer? Hmm.. I will still think positively... i'd really love to start the new year in the US.

My husband will file on aug 30 (friday). Your email is very helpful. I really appreciate that you shared your experience. Lets keep in touch!!

I am the USC. My husband and i will be going to the USE on fri aug 30 to get a start on this whole thing. Anyone. Is this the previously mentioned "slow time"?

I know its a long shot, but im thinking positively... and hoping that we could start the new year in the US.

OMG! So inspiring! My husband and I are planning to get this done... I'd love to have our stuff submitted within the week...??? (Wishful thinking)

The fact you got this done so quickly pushes me to sit down and fill out everything and assemble. I'm so overwhelmed...

was just about to ask a similar question.. Also filing from the Philippines Florence... Thanks!