ReedLeed

It's been quite a ride, as I"m sure just about everyone here experiences. 

I contacted the embassy, and spoke to 3 different reps who clarified what was going on. My daughter's CRBA and passport were approved. But they were put on hold. Apparently there was a State Department guideline sent out that put a hold on issuing the docs for any children born on or after June 12, 2017. My daughter's exact birthday. A little too coincidental, but again I spoke with two reps and one "Examiner" who all gave me the same story. I couldn't corroborate this with any official statements on the State Dept or Embassy websites, so it made me quite nervous.

I contacted my Congressman's office, filled out the release form, and requested a letter/endorsement to see if we could get the docs released. At this point I was sweating it because my fiancee's visa has already been valid for over a month. 

Then my fiancee received a call yesterday from the Embassy. The Examiner advised us that the hold has been released and that our baby's Passport and CRBA is on its way!!! It's been a wild and bizarre and meticulous and stressful ride so far, and I know there's lots more to do, but it just feels great knowing the Passport is on its way. I don't want to get ahead of myself, and I'll try to contain my excitement until it's in hand. But quite a relief when it felt at times like every step becomes two more steps. 

On 7/15/2017 at 6:37 AM, jtona said:

If you only leave with her US passport the. YES, you will need to got Philippine immigration and get/pay for exit clearance...otherwise upon departure it is possible they will charge you "overstay" fees.

 

it is much easier and cheaper if you have the time to get her Philippine passport...and when leaving just present BOTH passports and you should be ok....

 

I just got my daughters  CRBA and US passport and already have her Philippine passport which we got when she was 4 months old,..and was told by immigration that this is the route to go ..

Congrats again! Thanks for the help in this thread and others. And thanks to everyone here for compiling all of this super helpful knowledge.

So our CRBA interview was yesterday. Everything went well, they basically took only our photos, forms and notarized passport copies and even gave back the binder of photocopies we sent in prior to the interview. 

But at the end, the American interviewer said they would hold our application for a little bit. She said she'd try to see how long and left for a few minutes. Then she came back and said she wasn't sure exactly how long it would be. We weren't given an RFE or anything. Only told that it wouldn't affect our daughter's citizenship and to just wait. She didn't say anything about being approved, and definitely didn't say anything about a DNA test. She did make a comment about looking at our materials 

I'm really not sure what to think about this. Has anyone out there had anything similar? She gave my fiancee a business card with American Citizen Services Unit contact info (including their very limited inquiry hours). 

I will try the email on the card. Is there a way to check the status of a CRBA?

Seems like the answer to any question during this process is often just wait!

Thanks for the pointers! We really really really appreciate it! It's a pretty stressful process, and it's great to talk to someone who succeeded recently at it!

Well even though we had pages and pages of pictures, some with dates and times, I went through and screenshotted a bunch of iPhone pics and printed a few pages of that. We also have a number of plane tickets from traveling together both before and after she was pregnant. 

It's so great that you weren't asked for the DNA test. I won't be able to be there with her for the interview and I'm very worried about that. But I think our application is pretty sound and definitely comprehensive. We're really hoping we aren't told to get the test and it's great to know that it doesn't always happen. Did they ever mention it to you or anything? And do you think sending in the pics after the interview slowed down the issuing any?

Thanks so much for the help!

Hi jtona, I'm so happy for you three! We are applying for our CRBA and have our interview coming up. Can I just ask about your situation? We are engaged but not yet married, and she already has her K1. We're of course worried about having to do the blood test. Did you have to do it? We spent a lot of time putting together our application materials and it's very comprehensive. So I'm hoping we can get issued the CRBA/passport soon after the interview, and I'm just looking for some examples of folks who didn't get the DNA test for my own peace of mind haha.

Congrats again! 

45 minutes ago, iamdegie said:

12 days is not so bad...it will be over quickly i'm sure. all the best to you and to your family. =)

Well that's 12 days until we can start the CRBA/pasaporte process ;).  But hopefully that goes smoothly. I'm a legit citizen, we have a legit relationship and our daughter is legit mine, but I'm still nervous about being approved! Hopefully we're only a couple quick months away from being together for good and having a good story to tell. I'll be happy to be the one giving advice here then!

5 hours ago, Palawan1 said:

Yes, exit clearance fee is for when a foreigner leaves the country. Philippine passport costs $25.

Not bad, I might just have to get her the PH passport then. Would we otherwise have to get a clearance ahead of time from NBI just like my fiancée? Plenty of aspects to research and I'm glad for this forum because there isn't a single great resource for this info otherwise. 

6 hours ago, iamdegie said:

oh good to hear you got the early endorsement! 12 days is way way better than waiting 6 months - 1 year! wish you all the best and hope it all works out and your fiancee and daughter can be with you soon! =)

Hey thanks so much! Yeah it's gonna be hard to leave them. My whole world changed once we had our daughter and I don't want to miss a second of it. But I know many folks here have had it even harder so I feel bad complaining. 

I took the endorsement to the PSA in Sta. Mesa and sure enough was quoted 12 biz days for the birth certificate. So that's great and of course it would be awesome to speed it up yet but I'm happy it went from a year to a few weeks. Now to work on the rest of the CRBA requirements. 

37 minutes ago, Palawan1 said:

I will be submitting our CRBA documents to US Embassy in the next few days. It should take about 6 weeks to receive her CRBA and US passport. Getting the Philippines passport will eliminate the exit clearance fee that would be charged if she would only have her US passport. 

I haven't read enough about this part of the process yet. Is this clearance fee like an NBI clearance? I've heard our daughter will need a clearance to leave, even at just a couple months old. If the PH passport is cheap and doesn't interfere with her US entry/citizenship maybe it's worth having anyway. 

3 hours ago, Palawan1 said:

It took us 2 months and 1 week to receive our newborn's PSA birth certificate. When you go to the civil registrar, you need to specify that you are seeking an advanced endorsement. After receiving her birth certificate, we went to DFA and got her Philippine passport in 1 week...walk-in, no appointment necessary. 

Not too bad. Did you only get the Philippines passport or also a US one? Not sure the Phils passport would help us since she'd need a visa anyway and she's not eligible for one as a USC. Too bad the US passport isn't that quick and easy. 

1 hour ago, iamdegie said:

yes, this was a very good thing to do. i may have even saved you more than a couple of weeks even!

 

the document itself has not changed. it still the same format and paper but just with the PSA logo now instead of the NSO one before.

 

sorry wouldn't be able to say if this will be accepted for the crba application.

 

but what i can tell you is that the civil registrar can indeed obtain this PSA birth certificate for you. the civil registrar itself does not issue this PSA birth certificate, they also have to go to the PSA and request it from there on your behalf. they basically act as your intermediary to the national PSA (versus you doing all the legwork yourself ie either logging in to the website online or physically going to a PSA office to request the birth certificate yourself). to be honest, getting the birth certificate online is probably less hassle and faster assuming that your daughter's details have already been logged into the national PSA database. if it hasn't been logged yet, then the civil registrar's request for the birth certificate will either return a no record or will be put on hold pending receipt of your daughter's details.

 

anyway, fingers crossed for you. maybe the Philippines has changed in this regard and the transmittal to the national PSA is faster now?! all the best with this and hope it all works out in a timely manner. do report back if you can later for others to learn as well! =)

Well instead of leaving this to my fiancée to juggle, we're spending my last day here running papers around Manila. I decided to not wait for Friday to pickup the SECPA at the registrar. So we stopped back just to ask a third time. Should t be much of a surprise that we got another, new answer, even tho some of the people we talked to were the same.

I asked about transmitting the PSA info and if we could do ehow expedite this process to get our PSA birth certificate. This time they said we needed to get the early endorsement, as you say. So we waited for some signatures, talked to a few more people, and got our "registration number and date." Took this to Gia in another office and paid P120. After about an hour wait in her office we got what I assume is the early endorsement. Basically a form letter and receipt that we are taking to the PSA in Santa Mesa. We're literally in the back of a cab as I type. They will be able to get us the PSA BC in 12 days apparently. Much better than a year!

Thanks to everyone for the help. I need to write up the whole experience in detail, while I still remember the many little details. Hopefully we'll finish this all soon and have a story to share.

Our daughter was just born two weeks ago. Following advice I found here, I hand delivered her birth certificate info from the hospital to the civil registrar which saved me a couple weeks, they said. They did say something to me about transmitting the data to PSA, but still quoted me 6 mo.+ the get the "NSO birth certificate." I'm not sure how long this transmission would take, but I'm going back to the US this week and I'm really hoping to be away from my family for the minimum about of time possible, of course. 

Since the NSO recently became the PSA I wasn't sure if this document changed. They were very sure that this "SECPA" was the document I'd need for the US passport, but the only references I really see online are for Philippines passports. 

Since this just refers to the paper, is this document I will receive on the secpa one that will be accepted for the crba application? I suppose this is a question for the USEM but I haven't gotten reliable answers there either. 

Anyway thanks for the info and I'm hoping someone out there has undergone this process recently and can lend some advice. 

So while waiting for our K-1 visa, my fiancee had our daughter in Manila. My fiancee has her visa now, but we are preparing our daughter's paperwork so she can travel on a US passport. 

I'm not exactly clear on some of the details. I was quoted at city hall that it would take 6 mo to a year to get her NSO birth certificate in hand. That seems insane even for the Philippines. Doing the K-1 I've learned to always ask twice because you get two answers and just go with the better one. Well after a lot of questions, fees, and receipts at city hall, I'm waiting to get the SECPA in a couple days. They seem adamant that this is what I need for her US passport application. I asked about everyone I could. I'm not so sure because the embassy is clear about needing the NSO birth certificate, while the folks at city hall are telling me this is the same thing. 

Has anyone done this or can anyone verify this for me? Is the "SECPA" the same as the NSO birth certificate? Does it meet the the requirements for the USEM?

17 hours ago, Hank_ said:

OK.   That email is the 221g.   No issues there.

 

There has been communication between you and the embassy since then that is of a more positive nature -  So you know they have the NBI and finally found the CENOMAR too   .

 

It has only been 11 working day since the embassy received those documents.   A 221g can easily add a couple weeks to the processing, and normal processing can be a couple weeks, so figure from there.

 

I would say all seems to be processing normally ... and suggest more patience.    

 

One day soon you will check CEAC status and it it will show something other than AP ....  

 

 

 

and for sure the edit window is very short.  Not sure why.

 

 

Thanks again for the replies and advice, Hank.

Yes, I'm hoping that even the erroneous emails show that someone somewhere is aware of our visa and working on it. We'll try to be patient for sure. 

Does calling or emailing have any demonstrable effect on anything? I would assume not, and every rep I've talked to only could say the same thing, that it's in AP, that they can't give a timeline and that there's no one else to talk to with any more authority or capability. To be expected for sure. I'd hate to bog down the process, but happy to politely light fires under butts if it helps haha. 

After one call a rep did say our case would be "escalated" and to expect an email response in a few days but nothing ever came. Not sure if that's a real thing or not. The next rep didn't have a record of it I guess. Well, I know we're all here veterans of the waiting game. 

Yikes VJ's edit window is short! Here's a revision to my last comment due to my shabby memory of the interview.

The 2Go agent took the 221g form that my fiancee received after her interview and included it with the documents. Those were sent 5-19 and received 5-22.

We received an email 5-23 asking for additional documents (the CENOMAR again) but immediately received an email recalling the previous one. I called and two different reps advised us to just disregard the email. I just wanted to be sure. The case was touched 5-24 and nothing since. 

Maybe it's just a matter of patience at this point. But if there are others out there interviewed in May and got a 221g I'd love to know where your progress is. Peace of mind is tough to come by during this process.

55 minutes ago, Hank_ said:

Did you include a copy of the 221g with the documents?

 

The instructions for sending the documents are included with the 221g, as long as you follows those instructions you just need to be patient.

 

Does tracking with 2GO show them delivered?

Hank, thank you very much for your help.

2Go tracking showed the documents delivered on May 22. 

Well I'm getting a bit more concerned. The 2Go guy did not take the email that we had printed and brought along with the documents. There was no specific 221g "form." The email just states:

---

We are unable to complete the processing of your Immigrant Visa application under Section 221(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), as amended, until you present the following documents or complete required action from your end:

FROM APPLICANT(S)

- Certificate of No Record of Marriage (CENOMAR) issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) within the past 12 months for XXXX

CLEARANCES

- National Bureau of Investigations (NBI) Clearance issued within the past 12 months for  XXXX

WHAT TO DO NEXT:

* SUBMISSION OF REQUIRED DOCUMENT(S): Please use the 2GO courier service to return document to the Immigrant Visa Unit. Information on the procedure may be found at http://supplychain.2go.com.ph.  This service is free of charge.

---

Do you think this is causing a delay, or does this conflict with your understanding of the 221g process?

16 hours ago, Hank_ said:

 

What is your CEAC status showing?

 

How were the documents delivered?  By PSA for the CENOMAR?  And the other an NBI (?) delivered directly by NBI?

Sorry, I should've been a little more thorough.

CEAC is in AP, last touched 5-24. Our documents were both sent via 2Go. I've heard talk about them being sent directly by the organizations but both PSA and NBI told us to send them via 2Go even when told it was for a visa, and each time I've called the embassy the phone reps have told us that 2Go is the preferred method, for whatever that's worth I suppose. 

I'd be open to going and getting the docs again and sending them directly if they would agree to it this time. Not sure what to do, and any advice would be...well maybe comforting anyway. 

We had our interview almost a month ago, and as a previous post of mine mentions, we were approved but given a 221g for a cenomar and clearance (even though these were given to the Filipino interviewer). Those documents were delivered a couple weeks ago but there has been no update to our case yet. I'm really hoping the visa gets issued soon. 

Has anyone here had a recent 221g case get issued, or does anyone have an update on the timeframe? I know there's no official timeframe etc., but I'm just hoping someone out there who interviewed in the last couple months has gotten theirs approved recently. Thanks in advance!

Just to follow up, the embassy gave her a stamped cenomar application to submit at the PSA, but the PSA wouldn't accept it and had her fill out a new one. 

Oh thanks for the heads up. Should we have the PSA send the cenomar directly then, instead of taking it to 2GO with the 221g material? Right now we are still waiting for it to process. 

The clearance is actually not that easy for us, since she had a hit the first time and I'm sure will again. 

It was just strange to me that they took these documents yet asked for new ones. But maybe this is getting common? Not sure I totally understand it. 

Hello everyone, and thanks for all the amazing discussion and help. We've been lurking here for the better part of a year as we prepared and now are getting through our K-1 visa process. The help here has been unparalleled, and if you just do your research, the process can be relatively straightforward, or at least somewhat predictable. I'm looking forwrad to updating our profile and giving back to the community.

Having said that, I was surprised when after my fiancee's interview, she was told she was "approved" but then given a 221g, asking her to submit a CENOMAR and NBI Clearance. The thing is, those items were given to the prescreener. Is this standard? Should we have made copies of those documents? I'm just shocked that those were taken but now we have to go through the process of acquiring those documents again. Seems redundant. Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated. I did not attend the interview or I'd have certainly had some more questions on the spot.

*edit: Oh, and the documents were only a few months old at most.