LonelyGringo21

I think this is the right response!  👏👏👏👏👏to all who posted responses.

We need to keep them from congratulating themselves for ignoring us.

You have to make them uncomfortable. 

You don't have to let them post this ####### without a response. 

If we could "ratio" them, it would change things.

I said I would do this, so here it is.  I've copied the text and pasted it into this post.  I'm also attaching the word document of it (Word 97 because it's .doc).

Please make sure you personalize these.  It isn't meant to be sent as-is.

1 to YOUR representative in the U.S. House ("congressman")

1 to EACH of your TWO senators ("senator")

Feel free to cc the embassy 😉 (Dearest MaryKay...)

I just hope it helps get something going for us.  This site has been so important to me: understanding the process, making choices, my mental health, all of it.  I want to help where I can, too.

pth

--------------------------

Greetings, ______________:

I am a U.S. Citizen/LPR/Immigrant.  I am trying to bring my wife/child/mom/stranger who promised candy to America.

Unlike many others, I am working within the boundaries of the U.S. system, including the USCIS, the State Department, and the U.S. Embassy in Manila.  We have navigated the first two, and we await an appointment from the Embassy for our final interview.

We thought that we were coming to the end of the process, and we began making plans for arrival in our heads.  Unfortunately, it has been __________ months/weeks/minutes since the National Visa Center has approved us for an appointment.  I’m not talking about the date of the interview; we haven’t even gotten word of when it will be.

Things get more complicated. 

I spend time on a website, Visa Journey.  It’s a Facebook-like site for those working through the immigration process.  Since I had heard back from (my congressman), I posted how long we were expected to wait.  Immediately, people began posting their dates.  They are all different, even though we are all waiting for the same step.

The U.S. Embassy in Manila is quite proud of the way it has trimmed the backlog of non-immigrant visas from a two-year queue to only a few months.  It seems they have done this by disregarding all immigrant visa appointment.  One person noted that NOT ONE VISA JOURNEY MEMBER HAS POSTED AN INTERVIEW DATE in six months.  It seems that nobody on the site has seen this before.

Tourism is important.  Visits are important.  But we are trying to build families here, and we are stuck in an eternal queue if they ignore the process.

It would be very supportive and helpful if you would encourage the Embassy to begin its work on immigrant visas.  Also, many of us would like to know how this decision was made (and by whom).  If there is something you need from me to do these things, please let me know.

As always, I remain grateful for the assistance you have provided in the past.  I remain hopeful that our family is united soon.  Please help.

Sincerely,

YOUR NAME HERE

Congress U.S. Embassy Manila.doc

6 hours ago, top_secret said:

Just noticed that it's now been more six months since any VJ member has reported a CR1/IR1 interview at US Embassy Manilla.  Previously you would frequently see multiple approvals a month reported here from the Philippines.  I doubt you could find any more than a two or three month gap in reported Philippines approvals in the entire history of this board.

 

https://www.visajourney.com/timeline/k1list.php?op6=All&op66=All&op7=Philippines&op1=3&op2=&dfile=No&op3=5&op4=1

I'm going to draft an email this weekend.  It will be addressed to my congressman (bless his heart).  Sending it to my senators, too.

I'll post what I wrote, and maybe it can help us get the word out to lawmakers.  

Just trying to help.  Sooooooooooooooooooooooo frustrating...

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news (for some of you, anyway).

BUT

My congressman is the Speaker of the House now.  His office reached out to me with a communication from the NVC.  This may help people with mental timelines and expectations:

As of DEC-2023, the NVC is scheduling IV interview appointments for the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in MANILA, PHILIPPINES for Immediate Relative applicants that were documentarily complete on or before JUL-2022.                  

Ugh...       

Right there with you.

Case completed almost 50 days ago.

Embassy site for re-scheduling appointments is about 10 days out.

There is a number you can call, but they don't tell you anything new.  Also, we were told to send an email to the NVC, which got a "use the form" reply.

Good times.

I absolutely LOVE the VJ timelines I get every Sunday.  They teach me how I have no idea what's coming next.

Here's a quick forecast off my Excel sheet.  Our approval date will be sometime between 18 months ago and early 2023. 

Literally, I NEED this reminder every week. 🙂

Lucky Cat, it's possible, but they were uploaded all at the same time.  Appreciate that insight.

Greetings, Journey Folks--

I cannot find an answer to this, so I'm asking you.

Three (3) stepchildren.  Three (3) "Case Approved" on their I-130.  Two (2) were sent to the NVC.

Missing NVC kid is not the only boy, not the youngest/oldest/shortest/tallest.  We received two (2) envelopes today in the mail.

ALL THREE (3) cases were approved, but only two sent off.

Any ideas? Because I'm fresh out on this one.

Thank you in advance for your experiences & expertise!

LG

So, my wife will relinquish her PH citizenship & then re-apply to become a new PH citizen??

This is just...

Ugh. 

That does look tough for K-1 folks.

And it probably includes all those 90-Day Fiancée people, too.

Hi, IJIT--

We filed as Paul & NRA Henley.  Refund check came.  No response on the Tax ID number.  I assume that is because she has a SSN now.  As long as the taxes are current, you'll be fine.  MAKE SURE her names (your names) are exactly the same in birth certificate, marriage cert., CENOMAR, etc..  We blew the interview when her father's first name was different.  ;-(

All good now, though!  Once she's here, she's here.

Hope this helps!

pth

Yes, we go in for our immigration interview on August 7.

Her income is foreign income as a domestic worker in the Philippines.

I appreciate the feedback.

Is there any situation where I would file MFJ?

Thanks for sticking with me on this one!

LG

Greetings from Texas, Y'all--

I need higher levels of wisdom than I am experiencing locally. If I've done something wrong, it wasn't intentional.  Please be kind with your responses. :-)

I have a tax filing extension (until October 15) for my 2017 taxes. I filed my taxes on May 21, 2018. My/our status was Married Filing Jointly. I put all 9s in the ID box, submitted a completed W-7, and attached a certified copy of her passport.

1. My wife is a domestic worker in the Philippines, and she led me to believe all she could give was a letter of employment with her wage rate.  I included a photograph/copy of the letter with my return.

2. The NVC sent us a "soft checklist," saying that I was missing, "A copy of every W-2 form that relates to your 2017 tax returns."  I only had one W-2, so they must mean her wage documentation.

3. Come to find out that after HARD work, she got hold of four pages that show all of her wages in 2017.

4. My 1040EZ is somewhere in the system.  The IRS tool tells me it is being processed and that "Your tax return is still being processed. A refund date will be provided when available."  It's been 7 weeks as of today.

6. Our appointment in Manila is August 7, complete with booked tickets & all. 

Is this a real issue?  I've overpaid, even if Married FIling Single.  I've got 29 days, and I'm completely open and willing to try suggestions.  What should I do next?

Appreciate Y'all,

LG

OK...here's an issue:  my wife has no SSN yet.  She also has no ITIN.  We have just been forwarded to the State Department, so she's "eligible" for a green card.

After answering some survey set, the IRS says this: "An Individual Taxpayer Identification Number cannot be issued because you appear to be eligible for a Social Security Number."

Does anybody have any insight?  I'm at a loss right now.

Thanks!

pth

I needed to hear these things.  I appreciate y'all & hope you/we don't wait much longer!

Hi, y'all!

I filed an I-130 & ended up in Nebraska ("Where Love Goes to Die").  Our packet looks to be reviewed in the next couple of weeks.

I've looked HARD on this site to determine the best course for my wife & her three children (ages 13, 10, 4).  It seems that I should have filed an I-129F to bring her as a fiancee because the "kids are free."

Three children at $535/ea. for the IR/CR 1 process?  Is there another 2-year wait for each of them?

Should I file an I-129F this weekend?  What would be the result, since the I-130 looks to be evaluated soon?

I appreciate this community.  I've lurked for a while now!  Thanks for any help/advice you could offer!

Best,

pth