seanchua

We received the text at about 5pm that the visa is ready for pickup at 2go. Thank God. I'm hoping everyone else's visa will be coming through soon. Think positive.

I've read a ton of posts about tracking Philippines 2go shipments and there's no straight answer on which number to use for tracking (beneficiary passport number, case ID, ds160 confirmation number, or "uid"). I've had 5 windows open with each number in it and I just saw a hit on the UID.

I discovered the UID buried in the Embassy appointment letter under "MRV Fee Payments". There's a ton of numbers there but try both numbers under the barcode on the appointment letter. I saw ours left the Philippines embassy an hour or two ago

Further clarification: My UID is an 8 digit number.

Hope this helps. So close...

Pinedo! I probably wouldn't have checked CEAC again today if I had not seen your message. Mine is issued also! Thank you for checking and updating! Wow, I'm excited. I hope we both can have our visas in hand next week so we can see our loves. Thank you for updating quickly tonight.

It looks like Philippines (maybe other locations) are WAY behind on updating CEAC. I have a status updated date of Jul 1 for my issued status. Now we just wait for our text from 2Go.

Happy 4th everyone. I hope everyone receives good news soon. I'll update again once we receive the text.

I have never been so happy to see.... Trying hard to sleep, but so happy to see our visa status just change to:

Administrative Processing

!!!

My status has been "Ready" since June 17. Today I finally see a small change... I have a K2 visa also and when I clicked on the K2 on the "Ready" screen, the status date for the K2 changed to June 30. Maybe our file is finally hitting active status.. I hope so.

I'm sorry to hear tayurshu. The good news is that maybe they are still working overtime to clear out the backlog so maybe it will get processed even sooner than if there wasn't a backlog? Keep thinking positive and this will all be over for us soon

This is more user friendly. I guess I used up all my edits on my last post.

A new update was posted. 2/3 world volume up and running, 39 posts.

Snippet

Technological Systems Issue

Edited for the list of posts that are connected now. Manila is back online!

*Connected Posts 1. Paris 11. Mumbai 21. Hermosillo 31. Guayaquil 2. Monterrey 12. New Delhi 22. Karachi 32. London 3. Ciudad Juarez 13. Sao Paolo 23. Seoul 33. Brasilia 4. Guangzhou 14. Chennai 24. Lima 34. Moscow 5. Beijing 15. Manila 25. Santo Domingo 35. San Salvador 6. Shanghai 16. Bogota 26. Kingston 36. Quito 7. Tijuana 17. Buenos Aires 27. Shenyang 37. Ho Chi Minh 8. Nuevo Laredo 18. Rio de Janeiro 28. Chengdu 38. Hanoi 9. Mexico City 19. Tel Aviv 29. DPT 39. Kyiv 10. Guadalajara 20. Merida 30. Lagos

I think we're all thinking that, Tayurshu. Our status changed to "Ready - please check the status in 2 business days." on June 17. The case creation date changed to June 17 and it has a heading of "non-immigrant visa" now also. I know our passport is just sitting there waiting for it's visa to be printed. She interviewed in April but needed a DNA test.. Embassy finally double clicked on the results and requested her passport at the end of May, and now this.. I feel like we're on step 298 of 300 haha. But we're all so close. I'll post immediately when my status changes... Good luck everyone, try to sleep tonight..

The embassy finally double clicked on the DNA results and, I assume, approved the visa. My Fiance got a text today to send her passport 2Go to the embassy. I'm hoping they stamp the passports and my love will be with me in 2-3 weeks. Anyone have experience with the Embassy requesting passports after a DNA test or RFE of some sort? Are we approved? No official word, but I assume everything is good or they wouldn't have asked for the passport, right? I'm cautiously ecstatic

Embassy interview was yesterday. I believe we're approved on everything contingent on a DNA test between my fiance and her son. The embassy needed proof that her son (K2) was really her son. A DNA test is requested. I hadn't read anything about the potential for a DNA test so both my love and I are pretty crushed that we now have to wait another 30-60 days to order the test from the US, send it to the Philippines and wait for the Embassy to review the test.

Does anyone have any experience with this? I already have the DNA test kits ordered and soon enroute to the Manila Embassy. Any other way to make the process go smoother?

Thank you!

My love also completed her Medical yesterday. She said overall, it wasn't a terrible experience, just a lot of waiting. She also said that her observation was that many of the children were failing the TB skin test. It doesn't sound like it is incredibly reliable, but important to note if you have a child going through the medical exam. The positive skin test means that a sputum test is required.

Also important to note- If you have a child that needs a skin test, the results are not given for 2 days. My love went on a Monday and got her and our son's results on Wednesday. Next stop, embassy interview

All-

I wanted to give back to this community and share a helpful tip. My fiance and I fought tooth and nail to get a primary government ID. You can see in my post history. Long story short, we waited months for SSS ID, Voter's ID, and tried to get the BIR ID on several occasions and never received them.

In mid-March, the PHLPost offers a new "International Postal ID" that the DFA will accept. Keep in mind, it is the Philippines and they don't follow any of the posted rules if they don't feel like it, so your mileage may vary, but we were successful in going this route.

The PHLPost Postal ID Facebook page has a bunch of good info. I'm not sure if it's rolled out everywhere, but this should get you started if you need an ID. From applying to receiving the ID it only took us about 10-15 days and all she needed was a birth cert and possibly a few other easily obtainable documents (possibly police clearance or NBI clearance, which you will need for the Visa anyway).

Hope this helps!!!

https://www.facebook.com/newpostalid

Sean

Embassy interview scheduled!! Wow, it's been a whirlwind since my love got her Postal ID. 1 day after she received the postal ID she applied for and was approved for a passport. A few days ago she got her passport. Visa fees are paid, medical pre-registration complete and she's flying to Manila this weekend!

Quick question- Does the embassy keep her passport? Follow up Q- Can she attend CFO without her passport if the embassy takes it but she has photocopies? Like everyone else, I'd like to get her here as soon as possible.

For those of you that just went through this process - How long did it take to receive the Visa? When should I plan to buy a plane ticket?

I'll definitely be posting my experience with the postal ID to help out others in the Philippines forum. Just haven't had a chance yet. If you're reading this and you're still trying to get appropriate IDs, GET THE POSTAL ID!

Postal ID! EDIT to add: https://www.facebook.com/newpostalid?fref=ts

I'll post in the Philippines thread once I confirm for sure, but, finally, we're 99% sure the new "International Postal ID" will be accepted at the DFA. I've asked multiple employees at DFA and they say they accept the new Postal ID. We're waiting for the Postal ID to be printed for us now.

Also, I called the Manila Embassy and asked about extending our NOA2 expiration date. The lady I spoke with said that the "NOA2 expiration auto-renews for 4 more months", so basically the expiration date doesn't matter? I asked her 3 times in 3 different ways including "So if she shows up 1 month after it says it's expired, she can still have a visa interview and be approved?" "Yes sir..."

So, we've been waiting on IDs since December, but it's good to know now that our visa approval isn't in jeopardy because the Philippines can't figure out how to print an ID (which is the problem with 3 IDs we're currently waiting for...)

Wanted to share a quick update. I should know in a week or two if Postal ID is indeed accepted now at DFA, but it's looking very promising.

I've asked 3 different ways about the SSS ID, and currently the best info I have is that the SSS canceled their contract with the current ID Printing Vendor and they haven't found a replacement yet, so my understanding is that they haven't printed a single ID for almost 4 months now...

Update on my situation-

We are still waiting for SSS ID so that my love can even apply for her passport. This is insane. She applied for SSS ID in October and we are told wait 30 days, wait 2 months, wait a few weeks, be patient. Our NOA2 expires in May. I'm praying every day her SSS shows up so we can apply for a passport in Manila (rush, 7 day) and then schedule medical, interview etc. I'm scared our NOA may expire before we finish the process

The DHL trick works great. I just saw my papers land at the Manila sorting facility! I'm praying my love gets her SSS ID or Voters ID very soon so she can get her passport. I'm traveling back out to the Philippines for work soon (I'm very lucky) and I am really hoping before the end of February we can schedule her embassy interview so I can be there with her. We're so excited.

This site has been great. Thanks to all of you posting regular updates as we go through this journey together.

My fiancé called NVC today first thing at 4am Cali time! And we've been lucky enough to be given our case number already.. CEAC is my new stalking website now!

Wow, I woke up and checked this thread first thing for any updates and saw the Ezzface has their case number already and we got our NOA2 on the same day. I decided to call NVC for the first time this morning and, thank God, we now have our case number also! I was told our case is in administrative processing and it hasn't shipped to the embassy yet, but it should ship soon.

Thank you for updating Ezzface!!!

Title says it all. We're (God willing) very close to applying for a Passport. We're still waiting on SSS ID which we should be called about any day. I'm traveling to Manila in a few weeks and will fly my sweetheart to Manila to visit me while I am working. While we're there, would it be faster to apply at the DFA in Manila (like Megamall?) for a passport (for delivery in Manila) or faster to apply in Bacolod or Iloilo and wait for it to get sent there? I am expecting that very close to the time her passport will be ready, I'll already have my MNL Case # and will be ready to schedule medical + interview! NOA2 was approved 1/9. So, in theory, if Manila is faster, she flies to Manila, picks up her passport and then goes to a scheduled medical appointment.

Thoughts?

Oh my God.. I'm so happy. Our K1 Visa was just approved. I received a text just a few minutes ago, 8:20pm or so mountain time on a FRIDAY from USCIS saying that NOA2 will be in the mail. Oh my God.

Hang in there everyone. CSC is moving at warp speed. I hope everyone gets speedy approvals because I want everyone to feel like I feel right now.

We submitted the petition for k1 visa but we haven't got any notification about it....is it a must to receive Notification 1 and Notifications 2??

When did you submit the 129F? Did you include a G-1145 form that tells them to text and email you when they receive it? I mailed my 129F on 12/15 and received the text/email on 12/22. Hard copy arrived 12/27. They gave me about a month before I should call them to report that I didn't receive my hard copy NOA1. If it's been longer than a month, this is the number they gave me: 800-375-5283 .

Hi all,

My fiance is working now to get her passport and we've had a difficult time getting the primary photo ID (such as SSS ID, Voters ID, Driver's ID etc). I met her in a very poor area and works odd jobs like dish washer, waitress and owns a sari-sari store to make ends meet when I met her. Because of this, she's never had a need really for an official ID. We did start the SSS ID process about 2 months ago and they issued it very quickly, but then canceled it and destroyed it because they deemed that the "name was wrong" (Her name is Mary Luz and the ID was produced saying Maryluz). Now we have had to wait almost 2 months now and it is supposed to be ready at the end of January.

So, in case there are more issues with the SSS ID, we also pursued BIR ID after reading you can obtain it in 1 day and a Voter's ID since she had had one before but lost it. She is trying to do all of this in Bacolod City. The Voter's ID has to wait until February because the community will have some sort of 'hearing' to reinstate her Voter's ID. I'm not exactly clear on this one... The problem we have with the BIR ID is that I read the laws and even the "Executive Order" that states everyone is eligible for a BIR ID to "transact with the government". She went to the BIR office and they insisted that she have a "Bank Referral". I called the BIR main office in Manila to inquire because this is stated no where in the laws, and they said that some local offices have different requirements and I have to call the local office directly. (Which is maddening to me). I called the local office and talked to the Director's office and a lady stated that she did indeed need a bank referral and there was no way around it.

Ok, so she goes to many banks and each of them require the SSS ID for her to open a bank account. So we're stuck in this loop and I'm left thinking that the Philippines doesn't understand that it's creating these road blocks for an underprivileged class (poor). They seem to make it very difficult for people to get official documentation and work their way out of poverty (in one way or another).

We also tried to go the route of a driver's license, but she was told that she has to own a car. Again, another road block to someone that's poor. I'm not sure if this one is a law on the books there or not...

I'm semi-ranting here, but it's been frustrating. Anyone have similar issues or a work around for this case? I am in the California Service Center and have my NOA1 hard copy in hand. I don't want getting a passport to hold up the process as the CSC seems to be moving very quickly

Thank you for any input you may have.

Hi all,

Quick update that I received my hard copy NOA1 on Saturday, 12/27 I'll shamelessly rip off someone's signature line so I can include it as a signature in my posts also Very excited to be at CSC and to see that the current processing time is creeping closer to mid December. My love is from a more rural island and she only had one ID so we are working hard to get her an SSS ID so she can get a passport (we have her other documents for DFA/passport office already). Trying to do that in parallel with visa approval. Might have to reschedule or push out some steps, but I think we can get the passport in time and still accommodate a speedy timeline. I'll post in the Philippines forum about trying to get a BIR ID.... Not as easy as everyone says it is...

My timeline for everyone if a signature doesn't post:

Sent I-129F - 12/15/14

Received electronic NOA1 - 12/22/14

Received hardcopy NOA1 - 12/27/14 - Notice Date 12/19/14

Received NOA1 notification! I express mailed my package 12/15 I just received NOA1 text and email 12/22. And...drumroll..... California Service Center!! I'm excited. If you sent your application 12/15, I hope you also get a notification today

I also mailed out our I-129F package Dec 15th. I received confirmation that it arrived 12/17 at 8:40am So excited. I spent months reviewing this site and others to prepare the package. This site has been such a great resource. Looking forward to the next step, NOA1!