Here it is. As long as you entered the Philippines together, you'll be fine. If your wife is a naturalized American, she has to bring her old Philippine passport as proof.

http://www.immigration.gov.ph/faqs/visa-inquiry/balikbayan-previlege

Hello, I hope the following Q&A gives you comfort. Three of four lawyers agree that it shouldn't be a problem. It's even better if charges can be reduced.

https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/i-m-going-to-apply-for-citizenship-naturalization--1005993.html

8 minutes ago, maham8 said:

My concern is will we be given a chance to explain and justify during our interview in the embassy. I hope everything goes well. 

My personal opinion -- they'll probably be more interested if USCIS approved you correctly for NIW.

7 minutes ago, goblin said:

It might trigger a question of WHY, but the approved TPS should speak in favor, if asked at all. Showing otherwise a good moral character and that civil and financial records are ok, should be more important.

Yup, for the new form (DS-260), they ask you to explain why you answered YES (e.g., overstays). No such thing back then.

1 hour ago, maham8 said:

I filed EB2-NIW on my own. We are not consulting any lawyer yet. I read at many places that overstaying less than 180 days would not apply the 3 years bar. 

Speaking from personal experience, there was no bar if less than 180 days. This was in 2013 for an EB2-NIW. No questions about it during consular processing. The Application form for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration (DS-230) was simpler then.

Coco8, my last response is actually meant for you re: your last response before mine but silly me, dont know how to add your quote to my response. Or I just should have put your name first. you just mentioned that every job needs a labor certification. They dont. So yes, my last response do not apply to the OP(?). Still have to figure out what OP means.

I already mentioned earlier her options for getting a green card, whether directly or indirectly.

You don't have to have labor certification for a greencard (but you have to for an H1B) if you apply as EB-1A or EB2-NIW.  If under these 2 categories, you can self petition whether or not you have a job offer, or whether your employer will apply for your GC or not. If you're applying as outstanding researcher (EB-1B), you also don't need labor certification either but you must have a job offer (e. g., university).

I forgot... There are exemptions to the 6-year H1B rule but that's another story.

H-1B visa is a stepping stone to permanent residency but there are still a lot of steps before you can even apply and be approved for a GC (e.g., prevailing wage, job being advertised, labor certification etc). GC approval is not guaranteed just because you've been here as an H1B. It's tough to get an H1B visa these days because the available slots get used up very very very quickly in April of each year.

If you do get an H1B visa, you have a maximum of 6 years (each time) to be here in the US and 1 year in your country for another year before you can be here again for a second (or third etc) 6-year H1B. You have to be sponsored for the H1B all the time though.

Your best bet if you want to go the H1B route is to apply to a non profit organization (e.g., universities and colleges) because they're cap exempt. But even that is not as simple as it used to be. However, if you have a MS or PhD degree from a US university, then you can apply for H1B slots that have been set aside but even those get used up pretty quickly.

A more direct route to permanent residency is self-petition without any job offers and you can only do this with EB-1A and EB2-NIW.

I'm sorry to say, it's tough to apply for a employment -based GC. Lots of hurdles to overcome especially after 2008 financial crisis and in this current political climate.

3rd option is...How about Canada? You can check if you even qualify to immigrate over there if there is no job offer (if I'm not mistaken).

My 2 cents worth.

my personal take on this is #2... yes, they're asking if she's been involved in any group, organization, club etc with or without military service.

There is a similar question in the N-400 form but it did say anything about military service. I was going to ask this in a couple of months when I am eligible to submit the N-400. I'm surprised that they're interested in my civic and scientific organizations and that they're asking the purpose of each group.
 

speaking of Cuba travel, this just came in:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/tour-operators-brace-as-trump-us-cuba-travel-regulations-loom_us_5974d280e4b09e5f6ccff465?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009

fyi under "Tourist Visa required" and "Entry, Exit..." (as of June 2017)

https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/country/cuba.html

Tourist travel to Cuba remains prohibited. You must obtain a license from the Department of Treasury or your travel must fall into one of 12 categories of authorized travel. See ENTRY, EXIT & VISA REQUIREMENTS below.

Travel to Cuba is regulated by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Anyone located in the United States, regardless of citizenship and nationality, must comply with these regulations. Individuals seeking to travel to Cuba are not required to obtain licenses from OFAC if their travel is covered by a general license. If travel is not covered by a general license, you must seek OFAC authorization in the form of a specific license. Travelers who fail to comply with regulations may face penalties and criminal prosecution.  See the Department of Treasury webpage. For travel-specific questions, please see 31 C.F.R. 515.560 and OFAC's Frequently Asked Questions.

From what I understand from above is that this also applies to your husband.

fyi from a 2016 post. Still have to see a more recent separate post though.

http://asianjournal.com/immigration/k-1-fiancee-adjusting-status-after-a-separation-or-divorce/

But don't listen to me, just listen to the experienced VJers above. This is for an immigrant visa. I have no idea for K-1.

Sorry if I'm creating more confusion. Just ignore this post then

Hello, speaking from personal experience, here are the steps that I did. Except for the DS-230, I don't know if the other steps changed.

02/05/2013                  USCIS sent approved I-140 to the NVC

03/01/2013                  Case created at NVC

03/05/2013                  NVC requested online payment of $405 immigrant processing fee

03/06/2013                  Paid immigrant processing fee

03/07/2013                  NVC processed immigrant processing fee

03/11/2013                  Form DS-230 and other supporting documents sent to NVC via FEDEX

03/13/2013                  NVC received FEDEX packet

03/25/2013                  NVC completed document review of case

04/01/2013                  Received email from NVC saying that they have received all necessary documents to complete pre-processing of case

05/03/2013                  Received NVC notification of June 21, 2013 interview date at the US Embassy Manila; application packet forwarded to the US Embassy

It's only after these steps that I was able to start my medical since the clinic needs that notification letter from NVC in the first place.

I even changed my interview appointment date to May 20 thinking that that the Embassy should have had my application packet by then.

Went to the Embassy on May 20 but a few minutes after I sat down, I was called to a window. My packet hasn't arrived yet. I thought when NVC said 'forwarded', they meant scanned pdf files. :))). She just gave me the embassy phone number for update inquiries so I ask her if I can call every friday. Three Fridays later, my application packet arrived. It arrived on June 7, so I was still able to have my Interview re-scheduled to June 13.

Hope this helps.

fyi I did consular processing for my EB2-NIW. In my case: Filipino consul (H1B history and forms). wait. American consul (just asked who petitioned, salary). Done. The wait was longer.

It took 1 month for my documents to arrive in Manila from NVC. I was approved by USCIS in Jan 2013 and had my interview at the embassy in June 2013. I was able to move up my interview date online and leave for the US at the end of the month.

category

occupation

who petitioned

H1B history plus approval forms - I didn't bring with me but said never mind, he can check online

how much I was paid

5-10 min