Mike&Lin

I assume they also considered that the need to file the I-130 and I-485 is going to cost $1490 total and they essentially tossed the original $340 fee for the I-129F in the fire.

Congrats! Do share, what's the secret please?

There really isn't a secret. Right or wrong USCIS appears to be expediting most Philippine petitions because of the typhoon(s) that have hit the region in the past year. Even for folks that were unaffected by the typhoon, petitions are being expedited. It seems that a lot of the adjudicators are just looking at the nationality without looking at where exactly the beneficiary lives.

How can I find out the main reason? Out of the all the questions they asked, the only one my fiancé tripped up on was the last time I came to see him. He said August, and then corrected himself and said it was February/March. Which even I couldn't remember, but she didn't ask me that. The only evidence they looked at were photos. Even thought I told them we had a ton more. Including messages from 2011 when we first started. But they did not want to see them.

Maybe it's just me, but this is a pretty important detail and would send red flags flying all over if it were me. Being in a long distance relationship it's pretty easy to remember exact dates that you last saw your SO especially if it's only once or twice a year. To stumble on a different of 6 or 7 months is very significant. Keep in mind these guys only have the information you provided and any background check info. If the answers given in the interview don't match what's in the submitted documentation it's a big problem.

Congrats!

It's ok...I will be happy to explain. A major typhoon struck the Philippines last October or November (sorry not sure of the exact date) that displaced thousands of residents from their homes due to the destruction. USCIS began expediting the petitions from that country in order to reduce the period of time they would have to endure the hardships as a result. To this day, even new filers are being expedited for that reason. Not all Philippine filers were expedited due to their location in the country (not being affected by the storm) but most were and are still being expedited. Even people that were not affected at all were expedited.

So when you see TSC filers get a quick approval (anything under 90 days or so), it will typically be from the Philippines and they were expedited. This is a different category all together and doesn't fall under normal TSC processing.

Hope that helps .

And this is exactly why I was a bit shocked to be approved in 22 days. My fiancée lives in Singapore, her home is in northern Luzon well away from the region affected by that typhoon. I had my fingers crossed that we'd see a quick approval but was not counting on it.

Just received an email and text message from USCIS. "On August 6, 2014, we mailed you a notice that we have approved this I129F PETITION FOR FIANCE(E)." Totally shocked and elated. My birthday is tomorrow and all I can say is thanks for the gift USCIS!!! 22 days NOA1 to NOA2

My NOA1 was issued July 15. I just received the email and text for NOA2 15 minutes ago!!!!!!! My birthday is tomorrow so I would say that it's one hell of the birthday gift from the USCIS!

My wonderful fiancée is from Vigan City, Ilocos Sur. She is currently working in Singapore. I am an Air Force brat born in Panama Canal Zone currently living in Richardson, Texas (outside Dallas).

Yes, just file with her current address. It doesn't really matter where she lives just as long as she has a valid passport from her home country. My fiancée is from the Philippines but lives and works in Singapore. That's how we filed. Once the petition is approved it will go to the embassy in Singapore and that's where she will interview.

You will surrender your passport at the interview so they can insert the visa so you won't be able to travel until they return it.

That's the problem, I did answer your question. Nobody can tell you what YOUR RFE requires. Each case is different.

You don't have to be an I-130 filer or even received an RFE to understand the each RFE is dependent on specific information lacking in an individual petition. You will know exactly what is needed when you receive the notice that USCIS mailed to you.

Keep in mind that nothing is certain in this process and you could run also run into an unexpected delay that pushes you past your intended wedding date. It has been stated many times here, don't make any firm plans (no deposits, no invitations, etc) until the visa has been issued.

Write up the form, email it to her so she can print it out and sign it. Wire her funds to send it back express mail and you should have it in about a week. I had to do this with my fiancée in Singapore.

Yes, better safe and having them all rather than finding out you need one at the interview. My fiancée will need to get them from Philippines, Hong Kong and Singapore, we've already talked about that. We just have to wait for NOA2 and the embassy to get the petition and send out the checklist before she can request them (at least the HK and SGP certs)

While the guides are good, they are only a rough guide. You really need to review the documentation at both travel.state.gov and uscis.gov as well. From http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/immigrate/types/family/fiance-k-1.html#6

• Police certificates from your present country of residence and all countries where you have lived for six months or more since age 16 (Police certificates are also required for accompanying children age 16 or older)

I had just filed for divorce from my wife of 21 years after dealing with her alcoholism for 15 years. I met my fiancée on an online dating site in Nov 2013. I had made contact with several ladies on my own and chatted with several of them. My fiancée's profile never actually showed up in my matches. It did on hers and she made the first contact. After reviewing seeing her message and reviewing her profile something just clicked inside and told me I needed to get to know her better. I started chatting with her every day usually morning and night. Within a couple days we had our first telephone conversation. We continued to talk pretty much anytime we were free. It was late January when we both realized we had something really great between us. Her job in Singapore made it a little difficult to try to schedule a time to meet I guess it was February when we knew she would have vacation in the summer and March when she decided she would stay in Singapore and not travel home to the Philippines. I immediately made arrangements for a trip the last week of June. While waiting for June to come we just continued chatting and talking several hours a day, becoming closer and closer. Finally it was time for my trip. After 24 hours traveling I finally saw her for real the first time at the airport. It was such a great feeling and I knew I had chosen wisely. We spent the entire week together. I proposed to her midweek at the Gardens By The Bay, at the Supertree Grove. Of course it was really hard to end that week. As soon as I arrived back in the states I completed the petition and had to get her to send me a few things that I hadn't even thought about while I was there. I filed about a week after returning from my trip so now we're just waiting. We probably won't see each other again until she has the visa. I had already scheduled a trip to Japan with my daughters at Christmas and she will be visiting her family at home in the Phils at Christmas. I think I really have found my soul mate. She is such a wonderful lady and I have hit my own jackpot like many others here.

So I just looked this up and I feel like I'm losing my mind because EVERY single news source that reported this has the same EXACT story, word for word. It's like it was just copied and pasted numerous times. I find that EXTREMELY strange.

I also didn't see this in NY Times or CNN, ie the bigger more reputable sources. I don't go to Fox news. I don't mean to spread conspiracy theories here but is it possible this is just a BS excuse for all the delays?

Not strange at all. In a world where news agencies will pull anything off the internet, not bother to verify it's veracity, then go ahead and publish. Of course they're going to copy and paste stories.

Completed and signed G-325A for her, Letter of Intent to Marry signed by her and a US spec passport photo.

These are of course the things I didn't have taken care of when I left my visit with my fiancée in Singapore so I had to have her mail them to me.

Live and learn

Keep in mind that the system will let you fill and save progress on the DS-160. You can get all of the pertinent information entered ahead of time then once you get the NOA2 you can pull it back up, make sure nothing needs to be updated/corrected then it can be submitted.

Involving an immigration lawyer doesn't always mean there's a discrimination. I don't think someone was discriminating against my family for 10 yrs but i do believe that if an immigration lawyer was involved, the process would have gone faster whether visa approved or denied.

If an immigration lawyer has no baring on a case, there wouldn't be that specialty.

With that been said, I hope someone (higher at USCIS) would pick a phone or send an email to get some lazy folks at the TSC to get to work cause they are getting paid for doing nothing.

You're mistaken if you believe an immigration attorney is going to be able to speed up the process. They're in business to make money by helping people file that do not have the time or inclination to complete the process themselves. They make the filing process easier but they really can't speed it up. A good attorney will also make sure that your filing is 100% correct before it is submitted to minimize or eliminate RFEs. Ultimately your petition ends up in the same pile with all the rest.

Ah gotcha. Many lately have noticed the same issue with ARN change notices coming much later than usual. As busy and backlogged as TSC is right now, it would not surprise me if they are not bothering with online updates in many cases but the actual change probably took place. Several people are receiving NOA2's in the mail without ever seeing a change online also.

If after a couple more weeks, you still see no ARN change notice, you can always call them just to make sure nothing is wrong and give you peace of mind.

This is interesting. I received NOA1 on July 15, then early the 16th I received the text that the ARN was changed, also on the 15th.

It is either a clerical error on their part or there is an error in your documentation. Review your copies of all your petition forms and make sure that you did not unintentionally enter a name in one of the previous spouse lines. Their response makes me believe that there is something in your petition that suggests the beneficiary was previously married.

Regular USPS mail the only type of mailing that will get to a PO Box.

Express Mail and other couriers need a physical address.

Ultimately they both end up in the same place.

I'm not holding my breath but keeping my fingers crossed that they'll continue expediting Philippines. 50 - 60 day turn from NOA1 to NOA2 would be a fantastic birthday gift for my fiancée's Sept birthday