Dogwood_Poet

Isn't a pap smear what you get in your underwear?

No I think that's a POOP smear!

Just remember to give yourself enough time in Manila before ya'll leave to attend the CFO seminar and have the visa stamped.

She has already attended the CFO seminar, they required her to attend before she could get her passport, so she only has to go to Cebu so they can stamp her passport once they deliver the visa, so I guess she can leave as soon as the interview is over.

I know sometimes I get reading all the posts and start worrying if I have done everything right or forgot something, and have to go away for a couple of days to relax a bit!

Is just me or is it a part of having to rely on someone in an office half a world away who has power over you and your spouse's happiness?

But Kathlene and I are on the downhill slope! DS-230 and I-864 are turned in and hopefully they will be on their way to Manila in the next couple of weeks!

Just wondering, would it make that much of a difference if Kathlene goes back to her family outside of Cagayan de Oro after her interview, or stay in Manila until she gets her visa in hand?

It will be a few weeks after she gets her visa before I will be able to fly in so we can return to the USA together, so I thought it would be best for her to spent the last few weeks with her family, since it will be a year or so before we can return for a visit.

I just didn't know how much it would delay the delivery having to have it delivered to another island.

Nahigugma ako nimo - Visayan/Cebuano

My gwapa asawa taught me to say:

"Ako gugma ikaw"

She is from outside of Cageyan de Oro City.

She also likes it when I call her my "Palangga tika" (Sweetheart)

I am mailing a copy of the w-7 and Kathlene's passport info with my KY state taxes. I think that will work as well.

(I hope so, I plan to use my tax refund to pay the expenses of her trip to Manila for her interview! )

. . . or does the fact that a 'celebrity' can go almost anywhere in the world with a 'laundry list' and pick up a child and return home in just a few days is just a LITTLE annoying?

I have friends who have waited two or three years to get a child they want to adopt and have to jump through about a million hoops to get approved!

Of course the fact that my wife and I started filling out papers to be together last August and we STILL have another four or five months to go doesn't have anything to do with me being upset!

Sorry, just had to vent a bit!

I carried my mother's wedding band with me to the Philippines for Kathlene and then I bought my band there so her ring is from America and my ring is from the Philippines.

(at least I thought it was a cute idea!)

Thanks for the help guys!

I knew there were fees for the K-3, I just wanted to be sure there wasn't anything I missed on her CR1.

I keep having nightmares that Kathlene gets to Manila and there is something I missed!

Can someone help me? Or point me to the right thread/website.

I may just be confused about what my visa application fee covers, but I would appreciate any help!

I am sorry if I have missed this, but could someone clear this up for me.

What fees will my wife have to pay when she goes to her interview? She will have her interview in Manila.

I know she has to pay for the medical, and she will have to pay for delivery of her visa after the interview. Did I read correctly in that the fees I sent to the NVC covers the visa or does it just cover the application and there is another fee for the visa itself?

Is there another fee she will have to pay besides the visa application fee I have already sent the NVC?

I am just confused, because I read about going to a bank to pay fees before the interview.

We are just turning in the application to the NVC, so I know we still have a few months until she gets her interview.

Thanks again for everyones help and advice!

(Now if I can just keep my brain from turning into mush after reading all these government forms and 'easy-to-understand' instructions!)

In Kentucky & Tennessee, two states that I have lived in, refusal to submit to testing is considered the same as failing the test, the offender will be charged the same as a DUI.

If I send copies of paychecks, letters from my employer and major contractor I do most of my independent work with, W-2s and 1099s showing gross over the 125% line for the past several years, should I be OK?

I have close to a five year history with both my employer and the company I do most of my contract work with, so they should be able to see I am gainfully employed and my income is rising from year to year.

Also, what I am most worried about, if they do not approve Kathlene's visa due to my income, do I have another chance to get approved or do we have to start back at square one?

I know we probably will not have a problem, but I guess I am nervous about making sure we do everything right!

(Sorry to be such a worry wart!)

When a joint sponsor signs an I-864, what is he agreeing to?

If I understand correctly, they are only responsible if my wife accepts any government assistance before she becomes a citizen.

My brother's friends have told him it would make him responsible for ANY financial problems we might have, not just government assistance. He thinks if we got sued for any reason or defaulted on a loan, he would be responsible for that as well. That is not how I read the instructions, I wanted to make sure I am correct.

He also sees the 10-year clause and is worried what would happen if my wife could not become a citizen after the three years is up.

I do have someone else who is considering being a joint sponsor, but I wanted to clear up what they would be agreeing to before I talked to him again.

Thanks to everyone for their help! I have found so many answers to my questions here as my wife and I work through this maze of paper called 'immigration'!

Thanks, I am negotiating a raise that would bring my salaried job over the line, plus I have copies of check stubs from the past several years to verify my income, so I will just have to rely on those.

My former sponsor's friends have told him he is at risk for ANYTHING my wife does, not just any government support payments. I do not read the guidelines for joint sponsorship that way. But he thinks if we default on a debt or get sued he is responsible for those as well. And he is looking at the 10-year clause, not the fact that Kathlene can become a citizen in three years.

I agree that I think they are counting gross income, I just was getting a joint sponsor to hedge my bets, so to speak, so I guess I will just go it alone and hope my proof of steady employment and slowly rising income will make the cut.

And if I get the raise before her interview, I will send proof of that as well.

As for another joint sponsor, I do not see that happening without causing a MAJOR family rift. So we will proceed on our own for now.

Sorry if this question has been answered elsewhere, but are the poverty guidelines based on your gross income or adjusted gross you report on your taxes?

I gross over the 125% mark by a few thousand, but part of my income is from self-employment, so after my business deductions I am under the 125% line. My gross income has been steady over the past several years, so will that make a difference as well? I have letters from my employer and from the main company I contract with verifying my current income as well

I had a joint-sponsor, but his friends have talked him out of it, saying he is risking everything he owns for the next 10 years, so I am going to have to go it alone.

Thanks for everyones advice, these boards have been a great help!

I wonder if it would be OK to go ahead and send them a copy of our 2006 tax form, w-2s, 1099s and all, even though they will get it before we file with the IRS. I know it would not be 'official' and I would go ahead and send in 2005 as well, but maybe it would give them an idea of my present income.

Or should I just include copies of 2006 w-2s and 1099 and that will be good enough. Maybe I worry too much as my joint-sponsor makes very good money as a chemist and is way over the 125% income level.

I may go ahead with the ITIN forms and send them to Kathlene with the completed tax form so we can go ahead and get that done and maybe the refund will come in time to help cover travel expenses.

Or perhaps me thinks too much!

OK, looks like I will just file an extension and wait until she gets here. By the time I send her the forms for the ITIN, I get them back, the IRS generates the ITIN, I send Kathlene a copy of the tax form for her to sign, she mails it back to me, it is looking a LOT like summertime!

Hey, maybe when she DOES get her and I file then, we can use the refund for a short honeymoon!

BTW, the IRS guy said I COULDN'T file for an ITIN since she was getting a SSN when she arrives here in the US, so he was wrong pretty much all the way around!

OK, so I guess it is true, you can't trust the IRS's own help line! I spent nearly 30 minutes on hold and waiting while they checked and researched forms and they told me I could file separately without her SSN.

Oh well, I guess I will still wait and send in copies of my 2006 w-2s and 1099s to show I gross over the 125% level.

I asked the guy three times if it mattered my wife did not have a SSN and he said he was sure I could file without it. He also said I could not file for a tax ID number since she is eligible for a SSN once she gets here.

I can always go back to my original plan and just file an extension until she gets her in the Summer. ( I just could use the refund to help pay her expenses!)

Since I will be getting all my W-2s and 1099s next week I am going to go ahead and wait to file the I-864. 2006 will be my first full year as a salaried employee, so I will have a MUCH higher adjusted income then the past few years when I have been filing as self-employed on all my income. (my main company I have been contracting with put me on the payroll in late 2005) The IRS told me I can file as married filing separately now, then when Kathlene gets her SSN I can file an amended return.

So this will put my adjusted gross income right at the 125% level, but I think I am going to go ahead and let my brother file as joint-sponsor since he does not mind and that would cover all my bases if they wonder about my lower adjusted income on my self-employed years.

Does this sound like the way to go since I think I have some leeway as to getting the AOS in?

My wife is just now getting her passport and I have just sent her the DS-230 forms she needs to fill out while they process my IV fee. So I am looking at a few weeks before I receive everything back from the Philippines and from the NVC as well.

I agree, I think they accept it without question if the beneficiary takes the CFO after the visa has been placed in the passport.

But what some of you have missed is Kathlene DOESN'T HAVE HER PASSPORT YET ! ! !

Her old passport is expired, so she needs a new one for when she finally gets her visa!

That is why she needs to take the CFO now so she doesn't have to wait for her passport once her interview is scheduled. She cannot get her passport until she has completed the CFO seminar.

From SMEF-COW's website:

Counseling Requirements for Filipino Spouses and Other Partners of Foreign Nationals

Two (2) valid identification cards with photograph (i.e. passport, driver’s license, NBI Clearance, SSS or GSIS ID, company ID, professional license card);

Duly completed Guidance and Counseling form (available at CFO or SMEF-COW);

If married, certified true copy and photocopy of Marriage Contract on Security Paper from the National Statistics Office (NSO), or the Local Civil Registry Offices (LCRO); or original and photocopy of Report of Marriage duly authenticated by the Philippine Embassy/consulate (if married abroad);

Other documents (i.e. divorce or separation papers, photographs, parental consent, letters, other proofs of identity, civil status, etc.) as may be required by the counselors;

and Payment of P250.00 counseling fee.

I guess my documents fall under 'may be required' At least we have plenty of time to get everything done. I am just frustrated we have to spend the money for another trip to Cebu! She had to spend some of the money I was going to give her for her Christmas shopping on the trip to Cebu for the seminar.

Sounds like the counselors make up some of the requirements as they go along!

And they DID tell her to bring a copy of my passport as well, I may send her a copy of my birth certificate as well, along with anything else I can think of they might ask for!

As for certified copies of my divorce papers, the clerks office at the courthouse stamped them 'certified' at $20 a copy!

My wife just returned from the CFO seminar in Cebu. She did not get her certificate so she can get her passport because she did not have documents from me. (which I didn't see as required on the CFO website)

Now she has to wait for me to send her a certified copy of my divorce papers, my Legal Capacity to Marry certificate, and a copy of my passport, which I know she will need to have for her interview as well, but it is very frustrating that she now has to make a second trip just to show them copies of papers they did not tell her she would need! She had a copy of our marriage certificate, which would not have been issued if I didn't have all that paperwork before we got married!

They did let her complete the seminar and counseling, so all she has to do is to go back to the office and show them my paperwork and then she can get her passport.

Oh well, at least we started all of this with plenty of time before her interview is scheduled!

Sounds like the best bet would be just to file an extension and once she gets here and gets her SSN, then file our taxes. Since she is staying at her family's farm she will not have any income to report.

I am hoping to have her here by mid-2007, so that would still give me a few months to file our return.

I will do some more checking at the IRS site and see if they have any advice as well.

Since the first of the year is almost here, what have some of you done about filing taxes before your spouse gets her/his SSN?

I have thought about just filing single and doing an adjusted return after my wife gets here sometime this spring just so I could get my refund early and also have the latest tax return for her interview. I could also go to the trouble of getting her an ITIN but I don't know if it would be worth it since she should be here sometime mid-Spring.

Or I could just file an extension and wait until she is here. There will be no penalties since I usually get a refund every year.

Thanks to everyone for their advice/tips!