brittaniquec_Chic

hi,

that's a good thing! i think i'll just do the same thing that you had done. did you call the ST. Luke's Medical Center immediately right after you had known that your petition is already at the embassy? thanks for the info.

ciao,

tam

No prob!

I didn't call right away, I think I waited 2 weeks before I did start contacting them.

If ok with JoelandAnalyn, I'm ok for sillygirl to come and join. What do you think, J&A? The more the merrier!

I mailed off today to my fiance the support docs for our new K1 application. If all goes well, he should be able to mail the complete package to USCIS by Tuesday next week. Our faces should be familiar to the USCIS by now hehe. Hope the face recognition merits instant approval

In the meantime, I'm temporarily signing off. I'm flying to Boracay with my parents tomorrow (yes, rainy season, seaweeds, jellyfish and all!). Rather than sulk and grieve, I'm spending quality time with family and will try to coax the sun to come out :energetic: In a way, I'm the sun covered by a cloud of sadness with my sunrays trying to come out inspite of the rain. Hmm, I'm waxing poetic now. Corny at trying hard naman ang dating haha!

For those of you planning a trip to Boracay or other holiday destinations in the Philipines, get the PALakbayan Supersaver package. For Bora, it only costs P5,600/person (inclusions: roundtrip airfare on PAL, 2 nights hotel accom, transfers from Kalibo-Caticlan-Boracay and back, daily breakfast) and that includes all the taxes ~ fuel tax, security tax, aviation fuel surcharge, VAT, etc. If not for the taxes, the package costs only P2,865. Don't you just hate taxes!

Talk to you all next week! Have a happy weekend.

PW

Enjoy!!!!

Boracay is always good in any type of weather .

hi folks,

i'm just kind of curious whether the US Embassy in Manila sends the Packet 3 to the beneficiary using the ORDINARY postal mail or a COURIER service. as far as i've read in some posts here, there are beneficiaries who were not able to receive their packets. they had to call the St. Luke's Medical Center for these said packets. do you think the beneficiaries or petitioners are given an option to choose how the packet 3 would be sent?

thanks for future replies.

regards,

tam

Hi Tam,

The US Embassy only sends packet 4 and they use "DELBROS" in delivering it. You have an option if you want to pick-up your packet in st. Lukes or just wait until it will be delivered. As for me, I did call the st. Lukes using this number 521-8647 / 521-0020 and told them that I want to pick-up my packet there. I did pick it up there, but I also received my packet through DELBROS so I have 2 packets in my hand .

P.S.

The st. Lukes that I'm referring to, is the ermita branch not the one in Q.C.

You also need tons of patience when your calling the number of st. lukes .

hi all,

i just would like to know if the beneficiary will be given a notice that the approved petition has arrived from the NVC or the beneficiary will be notified through snail mail by the US Embassy in Manila?

regards,

tam

Hi Tamara,

My fiance did receive an email from NVC stating that they forwarded our case to Embassy Manila. Also, I did email (NVCInquiry@state.gov) the NVC and ask them the status of our case too and I got a response the next day.

With regards to US Embassy Manila, they will not email or contact you in any way just for the sake of informing you that your case has arrived. They will just send you mail once you have an appt. date, this mail is the packet 4(consists of intructions on what to do and DS156, DS157, DS156K and appointment letter). The packet 4 usually arrives one month before the interview date.

Hi! Have another question that I hope you guys can help me out with.

My fiance and I are planning to have a church wedding here in the Phils on April 2008. Looking at the timelines, I know it will be very risky to plan it for that date and expect to get the greencard before that date.

However, I read about Advance Parole which allows you to travel even without the greencard and we are considering using that for me to be able to come home for the April wedding. The processing time for that is almost half for the processing time for the AOS (based on VJ timelines).

Is advance parole advisable for me? What are the pros and cons in travelling here using that?

All input will be highly appreciated, especially from folks who used Advance parole.

Hi Silly,

Regarding your inquiries with Advance Parole. Below is an excerpt from this link

Please note that a re-entry permit does not guarantee admission into the U.S. Aliens with re-entry permits are still subject to the inspection process at the port of entry. It is also important to note that travel outside of the U.S for more than one year will under most circumstances break the continuous residence requirement for later naturalization purposes. Travel for over 6 months may break the continuous residence requirement. See Section 316 (B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Based on what I've read from Advance Parole articles, travelling outside of the US without holding your green card is too risky and may have severe consequences. I think you need to contact an immigration attorney or an immigrant assistance organizations before making any travelling plans outside US.

Brit

VJers;

My fiance' is currently waiting for the packet to arrive. She will need a police clearance from Japan. I had her call the U.S. Embassy to request a letter from them to send the Japanese Embassy requesting said clearance. She got nowhere with them, and yes we have a case number which was given. I'm wondering if this request letter comes in the packet, or when are we supposed to obtain the letter? The Japanese won't issue the clearance without a request from the U.S. Embassy, and they(US Embassy) had told us we couldn't get that until we had a case number. Has anyone recently had to get the clearance from Japan for their Filipina fiance'? Was the request letter in the packet? How long did it take to get the clearance from Japan? Thanks for any and all help. Mike

The packet includes instructions with all the documents you need to prepare before the interview but does not include any formal certificate nor request letter from the US Embassy. You might want to call the US Embassy to ask for a formal letter.

I'm so sorry to hear that PW.

I'm sure God have greater plans for you and your fiance, and when you finally see the big picture will be happy to hear it.

Thanks for all the help you provided to us.

God Bless. Keep holding on.

Being in LOVE is always worth the fight.

So can we or can't we open the plastic?

You can open the plastic but not the brown envelope.

ok spoke to yove she states that the brown enevolope is cut by the embassy but only a few inches to show that there is paperwork in it

Thanks DANOCO. I did call the embassy yesterday to clarify this and you're right it was really cut purposely to check if the documents inside match the passport number.

Thanks again..

I've received my visa yesterday.

Though, I just want to confirm/clarify something.

The visa package is wrapped in a clear plastic (inside are purposely cut brown envelope, some documents outside the brown envelope, instruction for CFO and my passport). There's an instruction that says I should not open the visa package because it will be opened upon entry in US and if not followed will cause some difficulty and delays. My understanding to this is I can open the plastic but not the brown envelope and one more thing the brown envelope was cut purposely, so that adds to my confusion bec there's also instruction that I should not open it.... Help! Please shed the clouds

I can't afford to make mistakes now so I'm asking folks out there who have been through this process....

Sorry if we're off-topic but someone else might be also in the same situation.

Look what you started Uling, you opened a can of worms!!!

My sister now is asking me why suddenly I'm getting interested with her annulment case and she's saying that I'm just going to get married and I'm already analyzing those things .

Brit,

It is my understanding that whoever performs a marriage ceremony is duty-bound by law to register the marriage to the LCR. The duty to report the marriage does not rest on the couple who married but on the celebrator like the judge, the priest, the minister, etc.

I can safely assume that somewhere in the NSO records, your sister's church wedding exists. The parish that married them would have reported it to the LCR. To make sure, sis should check with NSO by ordering a copy of the marriage certificate.

But then again, even if the church MC exists, it doesn't matter anymore since the civil aspect has been taken care of.

PW

You explained it very well.

My sister told me that my grandmother talked to the priest and asked him not to register it anymore (priest happens to be a close friend of my grandmother) – maybe my grandmother had foreseen the future of the EX-couple . The church wedding was done because of my grandmother and my mother’s request only.

Brit,

I married the same guy twice in civil rites. I could have annulled the two marriages in one stroke of the judge's pen but I forgot about the first one!

Your sister's case is different. Following the separation of Church and State principle, if the civil marriage is already annulled, she is legally free to marry as far as the civil law of the US and the Philippines are concerned.

She will not, however, be allowed to marry in church if she does not annul her church wedding. But as far as civil law is concerned, she is free as a bird.

PW

Oh oks.

I called her and asked her about it. She told me that the only marriage they registered was the civil.

So officialy and legally she's single .

Thanks for answering my question.

PW - By far, you have the most complicated looking case that I have seen. NOA2, Interview, Annulment, Annulment, Cert of Finanlity, Manila Hall annotation... If it's not too personal, can you explain what your case is about and why it appears to have a lot of extra activity? It looks really confusing to me, but of course, I'm a novice.

Hehe, it's not as complicated as it looks, Uling To make a long story short, I married my ex-husband twice. The first one was a "secret marriage" when I was underaged (20 years old) which my parents knew nothing about (up to now!). Then I married the ex "officially" for a second time, this time with parental consent.

So seventeen years after marriage no. 2, I filed for annulment which was granted but forgot that I had a first marriage (I know that was dumb of me ). So for all intents and purposes, I still had an existing marriage at the time I was interviewed which the embassy found out. Anyway, the consul was nice. He did not deny my visa outright but gave me a chance to get another annulment for marriage no. 1

I tried to shortcut the process by submitting the court Decision for annulment #2 as soon as the ink was dry but it was no dice to the embassy. I had to go through the whole process until it gets registered at the NSO.

The Philippine annulment process is a long, tedious process that would have the petitioner going back and forth between the court, the Local Civil Registry of the city where annulment case was filed, the Civil Registry of the city where the marriage took place, and finally the NSO office. I had to register the annulment with these various offices and final stop is the NSO.

I'm in the final stage now, tomorrow the NSO will release my annotated marriage contract then on Wednesday, I will submit this to the embassy.

I can almost see the finish line now, it's so near and yet so far. But I am patient that's why I am called....

PatientlyWaiting

p.s.

Hey Kismet, looking forward to your announcement of NOA2 so we can add you to the list!

Just a quick question.

My sister just got her approved annulment last April 2006, but she got married twice with the same guy(one thru civil and the other thru church) so based on your story my sister is not legally free to marry yet!? unless she filed for another annulment!?

P.S.

Kinda off-topic but can't help myself to ask the question

I did

Case Number Not Found on Appointment List

I think if you really wanted to know more about your case, just try calling embassy call center it is more accurate. I did check my case number from that link and still shows that my Case Number Not Found on Appointment List which is not true because I just finished my interview last week .

Excerpt from the US embassy website

--

1-909-101-7878

for callers from within the Philippines

Calls made to this number cost 53 Philippine Pesos per minute, plus applicable provincial charges. This number is for subscribers of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company and Smart telephone touchtone landlines with national/international distance dialing feature.

or

1-888-877-9888

for callers from within the United States mainland only

When calling this number, please have the credit card, either Visa or MasterCard (expiration date and security code are required), and the postal code of the billing address of the credit card ready.

The card will be charged $18 per transaction. After the card is approved, a nonrefundable personal identification number (PIN) will be given. The PIN may be used to call this number back just one more time, which will allow the caller to speak to an operator, at no charge.

Hi guys,

How many days does it takes them to deliver your visa? I am within metro manila.

Thanks!

I have read elsewhere that you should answer no to the questions about work and school in the U.S. because those might be reasons for the consular to think that you are trying to use the fiancee visa as a means to get to the U.S. The consular might think you should be applying for a work or student visa instead of a fiancee visa.

Anyone's thoughts?

Goodman - I also thought the same and I could have sworn that I also read that somewhere, which is why we answered no to both questions and NONE in the boxes. Don't they seem like trick questions because of the wording "Do you INTEND…" However the DS-156 is the Nonimmigrant Visa Application and I'm betting (have not research this yet... just my presumption) that all the nonimmigrant categories complete this form. Therefore those who are coming on work visas and for school more than likely complete this form. In my simple mind, the intent of the K1 is to marry and it should be left as such, which is why we are afforded the option of applying for an EAD. This is a good question for a skilled immigration lawyer.

Hmmm... Well, if they will think that we will just use our US citizen fiancé as a tool to go to US then that's where the EVIDENCE OF GENUINE ENGAGEMENT will come to the picture. For me, as long as your honest with your answer and can justify it very well I don’t think there will be a quandary with that. We are already in generation X, and most of us now wants to work and use our brains in a very prolific manner .

Like in my case, I answered "YES, no definite employer yet" but the consul didn't bother to ask me about it.

Just my two cents .

hi everyone, just want to ask if it's ok to ask for monthly support from your fiance or just wait for him to send voluntarily? or just wait for him to realize it's a responsibility or is it a responsibility really for a fiance to give monthly support? - aix

what!?

In the first place, when did it become a responsibity? Second, why are you expecting him to send you money? is that your reason why you are in such relationship, financial support!?

Now, Kick your butt out of the house and start working

Brit,

You are one diligent lady! The "most missed-out questions" would be a great help to all those still going through the process. For question# 26, I answered "permanently".

Other questions some fiancees have difficulty answering are:

(I also posted my answers)

"what is the purpose of your visit?" - to marry my fiancee (for my kid's DS, I answered "to join my mother who is marrying her American fiancee")

"do you intend to work in the US?" - yes, but after I secure my EAD

"name of employer" - I don't know yet

"do you intend to study in the US" - I answered no for myself and yes for my son

"name of school" - N/A for myself and "I don't know yet" for my son

These questions may seem simple but can be frustrating to answer sometimes. To those who need help answering the forms, please feel free to ask so you don't have to fall in line over and over again at the embassy.

Thanks PW

Below are my version for the questions above:

"what is the purpose of your visit?" - to marry my fiancee and live a life together.

"do you intend to work in the US?" - yes

"name of employer" - don't have definite employer yet

"do you intend to study in the US" - yes (i'm planning to take masters)

"name of school" - no definite school yet

I did miss this part in the DS-156K form, in the very bottom part there's an instruction saying that "DO"

I don't know what happend and it was cut out anyway, here's the full post.

Brit,

You are one diligent lady! The "most missed-out questions" would be a great help to all those still going through the process. For question# 26, I answered "permanently".

Other questions some fiancees have difficulty answering are:

(I also posted my answers)

"what is the purpose of your visit?" - to marry my fiancee (for my kid's DS, I answered "to join my mother who is marrying her American fiancee")

"do you intend to work in the US?" - yes, but after I secure my EAD

"name of employer" - I don't know yet

"do you intend to study in the US" - I answered no for myself and yes for my son

"name of school" - N/A for myself and "I don't know yet" for my son

These questions may seem simple but can be frustrating to answer sometimes. To those who need help answering the forms, please feel free to ask so you don't have to fall in line over and over again at the embassy.

Brit,

You are one diligent lady! The "most missed-out questions" would be a great help to all those still going through the process. For question# 26, I answered "permanently".

Other questions some fiancees have difficulty answering are:

(I also posted my answers)

"what is the purpose of your visit?" - to marry my fiancee (for my kid's DS, I answered "to join my mother who is marrying her American fiancee")

"do you intend to work in the US?" - yes, but after I secure my EAD

"name of employer" - I don't know yet

"do you intend to study in the US" - I answered no for myself and yes for my son

"name of school" - N/A for myself and "I don't know yet" for my son

These questions may seem simple but can be frustrating to answer sometimes. To those who need help answering the forms, please feel free to ask so you don't have to fall in line over and over again at the embassy.

Thanks PW

Below are my version for the questions above:

"what is the purpose of your visit?" - to marry my fiancee and live a life together.

"do you intend to work in the US?" - yes

"name of employer" - don't have definite employer yet

"do you intend to study in the US" - yes (i'm planning to take masters)

"name of school" - no definite school yet

I did miss this part in the DS-156K form, in the very bottom part there's an instruction saying that "DO NOT WRITE BELOW THIS LINE" but the lady instructed me to write down my fiance name.

I hereby certify that I am legally free to marry and intend to marry [b]John Smith, a U.S. Citizen, within 90 days of my admission into the US.[/b]

But aside from that part leave everything blank.

* Bdw, Make sure that every question is answered. Don’t leave anything blank. If the answer to the question is none, put none. If you think that the question is not applicable to you, put n/a.

Hope this helps.

Thanks and FYI.

Note: If you notice something that doesn't sound right, please feel free to correct me.

When do they take your passport? At the pre-screening? i didn't see it there.

Passport is submitted to St. Lukes during your fiancées medical exam. They(St. Lukes) will be the one who will forward your fiancées passport together with her medical result to the Embassy.

Paying DEBROS means that everything is OK

Not always true. People have been put on AR after being told they were approved and after paying Delbros. In my case, I was given the pink slip and also told to pay Delbros even if I'm on AR.

Updated to congratulate Brittanique and rustyash! Congratulations on your approval Waiting to hear from djcess.

Thanks for the correction PW.

When I was there I noticed that most of the fiancées did miss-out some questions, so they were asked to complete their forms and need to fall in line again:

Attached are the most miss-out questions in DS-156, DS-157 and DS-156K

* Bdw, Make sure that every question is answered. Don’t leave anything blank. If the answer to the question is none, put none. If you think that the question is not applicable to you, put n/a.

Hope this helps.

Thanks and FYI.

Note: If you notice something that doesn't sound right, please feel free to correct me.

guidelines.doc

Hi Tamara.

You might be interested to post your question in Manila Embassy Interview Topic. You can acquire lot of infos there during the process of your k1.

Thanks and FYI

I had my interview today 8/9/06.................... WE ARE APPROVED!!!!!!!!

Congrats to you and brittaniquec_Chic! I hope we all have the same result.

I have a question for either of you: did they ask about where your finance worked? Did they question that at all?

Congrats Rusty_ash!!

I think throwing of questions is case to case basis, they will depend their questions from the documents you submitted during the pre-screening. They are reading the emails and snail letters you submitted thoroughly and some questions were based from there.

The consul did ask me where is he working because that's where I met my fiance. Maybe, he's just checking the connecting points between us .

Later I will post some pointers in filling up the DS156, DS157 and DS156-K.

GREAT! Congratulations!!!!

That's good news for all of us recent NOA2 folks - you got your interview just over 2 months from NOA2 and breezed through the interview with success! My NOA2 was 8/3/06, so I'm hoping that a little of your good fortune rubs off so that my Lirio can be here well before Christmas (gives us almost 5 months) and if we are real lucky, maybe she'll be here in November!

Again, congrats and best of luck...when do you travel?

Hi daveandLirio,

I'm going to leave my beloved country on Sep 1st.

Just pray for your process and everything will be ok. There's this one girl that I've met, she told me that they just file their case last Mar 2006 and her fiance is not military. I guess everything is getting better .

Let's just hope for the best .

I didn't notice how anxious I was with the interview and miss some few words and letters with my last 2 posts here .

Anyway, been busy with some office stuff but here's some notes to ponder on your interview.

----

• When you reach the embassy, ignore the instructions of the people who are just selling different stuff around the embassy. APPROACH the USE GUARD.

• Make sure that you’re holding your APPOINTMENT LETTER when you approach the guard to avoid delay in the line.

• When you are about to enter the USE bldg and you have electronic gadgets (celfone, laptop, IPOD etc.) with you, turn it off because you will need to surrender these together with an ID. These types of items are not allowed inside the building for safety purposes.

• Follow the blue signage.

• Once you’re inside the bldg, you will ask by the guard to sit on the blue chair.

• After some time the guard will ask you to fall in line by the Ticket booth. You need to prepare your DS156 (2 copies), DS157 (2 copies) and DS156K(1 copy). After giving your documents, the person from the ticket booth will give you STUB with number.

- Do not give you stub number to anyone until you reach the window 36. The assigned number will be your number until the end of the whole process.

• You will back to your blue chair and wait until your number will be called in the QUEUE ELECTRONIC BOARD. You need to pay attention because number is called randomly.

• There will be 5 major steps that you will go through. First, is the finger scanning, pre-screening, interview with the consul and the some further instructions on your visa process (window 36).

o Finger Scanning

- Based on my experience my number wasn’t displayed in the queue board but instead I heard my name being called from the speaker which also announced the window number that I need to go to.

- Make sure that you’re really attentive with what is happening around you.

o Pre-screening

- The pre-screener will ask for the following documents:

>> Birth certificate

>> Evidence of support such as Income Tax Return, Form I-134, Employment Letter and Bank Statement.

>> Emails

>> Snail Mail

>> Phone bill

(She didn’t actually ask me to submit this docs instead I ask her if she wanted to see it. She agreed.)

>> Pictures of us

>> NBI Clearance

- The pre-screener asks me few questions about me and my fiancé. Like how many times did we meet? Who introduced us?

- She did actually asks me about my birth certificate(issued year 1999) why I didn’t get a new one I told her that it’s also an NSO paper and when I applied for a tourist visa last Nov. it wasn’t an issue and she said “I know” (mind you, in a very impolite manner ). I thought that will be a problem but it’s not. In fact, there’s this one girl who wasn’t able to present her birth certificate but was able to pass the interview.

**After 3 hours of prolonging agony my number was finally called by the electronic queue board**

o Interview with the consul I bet this is the part that everyone is so anxious to know

- Anyway, his first question is how long is the relationship? Below are some of the questions that the consul asked me.

• What is the meaning of official girlfriend?

• What is his hobby?

• How many times did we see each other?

• When did he propose?

• What’s my family’s opinion with the relationship?

• What is my sport?

• Can I drive?

- Make sure you also know some of the personal details of your fiance like his sisters/brothers name. His parents name. His work. The company that he's working with.

- Final thing. While he’s attaching the K1-Approved to my files. He keeps on talking asking me how long have been I’m driving, traffic style in manila and then we came to a point we’re discussing some car parts (because I’m a car aficionado). The interview took 15 mins according to the other fiancees waiting outside.

o Window 36, further instructions.

- I just showed her my STUB number. And then she reviewed for a moment my documents. Finally, she grabs a pink slip and told me to pay to DELBROS. Yipeeeee! That was a relief!

o Paying DEBROS means that everything is OK . I can get out of the building and can claim my celfone to call my fiancé about the good news .

Hi all!

Is there anyone here who went to their interview with their fiance? Was he able to sit with you during the interview?

Thanks in advance for any info!

Yes, your fiance can sit with you.

Hi guys.... Praise God!! APPROVED.

I'll the details of the interview once I get home...

For Dean_I_Wait, for you to feel good there's this one fiancee there who forgot her birth certificate and still got a PINK SLIP means APPROVED!