Murphy'sBoy

3 hours ago, yganreddy said:

Bio reuse on 8/7,  along with every one, Interview letter on Jan 6th, it all depends on you local office.

My wife was scheduled for biometrics Mar 7 and then the ASC closed due to Covid. I emailed USCIS several times and made a few phone calls to them up until Sep 2020 but gave up after that until I emailed again last weekend. This week we got a Bio reuse notification (but they're keeping the money we paid for new Bio), then this morning got a notification saying an interview had been scheduled but not when. The notice also said expected wait time 6 months, hence my screen name 😒

In that case, I gotta ask: who do you think `they´ are in the context of this thread?

I think the Baptists built the mosque in question.

What exactly is that expectation you are referring to?

Oh nothing. I just made that up

Oddly enough I don't have a problem with that since the embassy is in their country.

I wouldn't either if they didn't expect us to cater to them here too.

Maybe they should have rescheduled Ramadhan.

Not sure why people recommend PAL. My experience has been that they are ALWAYS more expensive. Just yesterday I looked up a comparison for a friend o/w 2pax SFO - MNL May 16. CheapoAir using EVA was $225 cheaper than the quote he had from PAL and $275 cheaper if he moved his departure 2 days.

If I understand correctly, you are the USC and your wife has not yet landed in the US as an immigrant.

I don't believe she would have to file an FBAR for the 2014 tax year as she wasn't in the US in 2014, i.e. wasn't a resident yet.

However, I do not know whether filing jointly affects the need for it.

And indeed, the filing deadline is June 30 for an FBAR.

Thanks for the reply, and you are correct. I emailed and received a reply from IRS and should have updated here.

We are filing joint so she is subject to IRS requirements even though she's never been to the US.

I am a USC living in the Philippines. My wife and I were married in Oct 2014. I intend to file married filing jointly. My wife does not yet have a SSN or TIN. My wife's visa has been approved and we are going to the US around Jun 1.

As I understand it a USC gets an automatic 2 month extension if living out of the country on April 15. Is this correct?

My wife had a bank account in the Philippines during 2014 but I'm unsure if we need to file an FBAR for that since it was an individual account and she was not a USC. Do we need to report that? If we DO need to report that as I understand it has to be reported by June 30 for the previous calendar year. Is that correct?

Thanks!

I have a dual sim phone Smart/Globe .. sometimes one of them works lol

Nothing wrong with the occasional well organized sex party... But I'm married now

Mr. Murphy may I know the content of the email?and for how long did you wait for the visa to arrive?thanks!!

The visa arrived one week after I sent them the NBI and passport .. which I sent the day after I got the email

I got all nervous reading about tears and open envelopes because my wife's has the corner cut off of it. Not a sealed envelope imo, but I guess that's normal?

Also I only wanted to make a slit large enough in the plastic to get her passport out but there were some other papers along with the envelope so I had to make the slit big enough to get those out.

Hi! Mr.Murphy...I also have the same problem with my NBI. I was ask to submit my NBI with my uncorrected name last March 19 when I was interviewed in Manila USEM. The releasing officer told me to wait for the instructions via email on how to proceed next. It has been 11 days, but i haven't received any email from them. I also emailed them but did not received any reply. I also tried calling but still I got the same reply. In the case of your wife, how did you received the instructions? Did you wait for the email? Or did you just go to the 2go office and mail the said document without the instructions. Please help me. Your insight will be much valued. Thank you.

They finally emailed the 221g about 3 weeks after the interview. If you check your status online and the date changes you'll probably get the email a day or two after that.

I just looked to be sure .. My wife's interview was Feb 12 and they sent the 221g email Mar 4. The lady at the releasing window told us we'd get the email the same day as the interview but we didn't. That's why I was stressing .. and then there was a problem with 2Go and delivery

All is well now.

What I would do is what you should have done when the relationship turned serious. Sit down with her and have a long talk about finances and helping family members so that you're both on the same page. It's a whole lot easier to set the rules before the game starts though

My wife and I have never had a money or family support issue, so it's worked well for me.

As for the gifts my wife and I aren't big on giving each other gifts. Both of us would prefer a card telling the other how important and appreciated they are. Good gifts come from the heart not the wallet .. at least imo

Another thing to consider and I haven't heard others mention it .. They asked my wife when was the last time she had sex. Because it was recent they told her that unless I went in and signed a paper saying I was unable to have kids she'd have to go back in 2 weeks for testing.

You think I'm stupid for not realising it, the truth is, I'm just being nice by telling you.

No, I don't think you're stupid. I think you've "adapted to the culture" lol I've been here almost 2 years and believe me I know that you're just trying to save me frustration. But I believe that because no one here is ever willing to hold anyone accountable, no one is ever going to be accountable .. hence my quote.

I feel that 2Go was paid for something (service) that they didn't deliver .. no pun intended.

Nope. It doesn't pay to complain. In the grand scheme of things it's not going to make a difference. Save your breath and move on. It sucks but nothing will happen if you complain. 2Go is the best they have. You could have phil post!! :-)

2Go was supposed to deliver my wife's visa yesterday, Saturday. They sent both my wife and I texts saying it would be delivered and that she had to be here to receive it or have an authorization letter and her ID if she wasn't going to be here. So we changed our plans and waited all day for a delivery that never came. Finally at 6:15pm I got a text saying no delivery where we live in a decent size municipality. I was furious! According to the tracking info all was well and at 10:24am it was "out for delivery". The delivery location is correct and it was supposed to be door to door service.

So now I guess we wait until Monday and make the 35 minute drive into town to pick it up. A few weeks ago I made sure that they would deliver to our house. We waited around all day for nothing. I think the local 2Go just decided they didn't WANT to deliver here. Is there any recourse such as someone at the embassy to make a complaint to?

6 months, living there on something other than a tourist visa.

hth !

Incorrect

Been here over a year and still iffy about drinking from the faucet even with a Brita filter. Is it all in my head that the water has weird taste? lol

Imo tap water in the US is not created equal as far as taste goes. Some is horrible and some is good. However I would say that probably all of it is safe to drink. I've been in the Philippines going on 2 years now and have not had tap water .. nor will I ever.

If you managed to park the car (without hitting anything) in less than 5 attempts, then you are better than 90% of them I see here daily on Negros Oriental.

Sounds like a good plan to me. Let us know how it worked out.

My wife and I went pre dawn and I waited with her until she got inside. As it turned out they kicked her loose at 11am and told her to come back the next day. I'd rather do two late days instead of two predawn days

Checking out the embassy is a good plan too. Talk to the guard to see how it works so there's less anxiety the next morning.

Not a theory. And yes I know it states a year in the instructions letter. It is something that has been reported back many times, many have received a 221g for NBI or CENOMAR being over 6 months old.

I sent a copy of the instructions with the "within one year" thing highlighted just in case. It may not have done any good to argue but we would have. It's still beyond me how they could make up a verbal rule that contradicts their own written rule .. things like that are one of my pet peeves. And I can tell you with 100% certainty that they did not question my wife's NBI for being over 6 months. Maybe it varies from interviewer to interviewer?

There is much written in VJ about 221g for breaking the 6 month thing. We went through the DOT process and knew folks who wanted to test going to the USEM interview with 6+ month old docs ... they were delayed with 221g.

I agree, the instructions and USEM should state the 6 month limit.

I had heard the 6 month thing before from my visa "service" (hahaha). Last month my wife went to the interview with a 6 month and one week old NBI. Nothing was said about the age of it, only that it would not be accepted because it was in my wife's maiden name. Seems that was another of several things my visa "service" "overlooked".

I just can't come to terms with them not accepting what they asked for in the instructions.

Some wait on getting the CENOMAR and NBI until after they pass medical. Reason being that if they have to do the 8 month TB process at SLEC then the two documents will be dated greater than 6 months previous if they are bought ahead of time.

USEM requires those two documents to be dated within 6 months of the interview and most likely will result in 221g delay if dated beyond 6 months old.

I'm not sure where this 6 month theory came from because the instructions say within the last year.