Oksmanoks

11 hours ago, Allthephils said:

Okay, here goes the detailed interview. 

So, his appointment was at 8:40. He got to the embassy around 8:15. He was allowed in but had to wait until it was his time to go. His first stop was window one. He spoke with a Filipina who wasn't very friendly (shocking! i've never encountered an unfriendly Filipino). He said she took a look at his NBI, CENOMAR, and DS-160 and asked if we had pics together. He said he had tons and offered to show her. She didn't want to see them. She then proceeded to ask him questions about me like what is my full name, where do I work, what is my address, etc. She also asked how how we met and how many times I had visited. He was then told to wait and then was called for window three. This is where he spoke to an American gentleman. He said he wasn't rude but you could tell he had a case of the Monday's (which I have almost every day at work ). He asked the same questions and asked for the NBI, CENOMAR, and DS-160. At the end (it only lasted about 10 mins) the consular told him that everything sounded good and asked for his passport and stamped something. He was handed the piece of paper from the embassy that asks you to confirm your address. He was done within 50 minutes. They never asked for updated letter of intent from petitioner, evidence, or the I-134. He said he wasn't nervous at all but was relieved to be done! Heck, I am relieved that it is over. 

 

Looks like we will be able to travel back together on 2/27! POE will be Chicago! 

Congratulations again!

I read a similar story here on visa journey. The lady said that when she went to her interview, the person on the first window was not that friendly. The american on the next window was rude and kept raising his voice cause her fingers were all sweaty and the bio reader couldn't read her fingerprints. Then the consul was nice to her.

So i guess it's safe to say that windows 1 and 2 suck.  Hehe

Glad you guys are gonna be together forever soon! 

3 hours ago, Allthephils said:

T-minus 3 hrs until my love has his interview 😳.

Good luck! *Crossing fingers and toes*

Hope you can share with us how it went.

10 hours ago, Hoosier81 said:

That is awesome! Finally after such a long wait for NOA2's its nice to see things moving fast!

Yeah yeah!  Good luck to you and hope you'll be together with the love of your life soon! <3

9 hours ago, Hoosier81 said:

Whoo hoo NVC just updated to in transit!!! 

 

Ours is ready! My fiance got the email from NVC and forwarded it to me. I checked it on the tracker and it says, Ready!  Wooohoooooo!!!!!  It took only a week!

7 hours ago, KBA said:

Yes he tried doing it online and it told him he had to pick it up at the border...don’t know why.

That seems odd. 

I guess they have a different rule when it comes to entering through the border. 

2 hours ago, KBA said:

He had asked for a I-94 and that’s what got him into secondary and denied at the border...so yeah we don’t have it 

I'm not sure if this will help but you can check his I-94 online. https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/#/history-search 

ust type in the passport number he used to travel to the US and he'd be able to keep track of all his visits. It's got the exact dates on when he visited and when he left the US.  

10 hours ago, John & Rose said:

I will be fine tomorrow. I just need to vent. I really appreciate all the support here. I hope that I can help people as much as the people here have helped me. 

Sending you big hugs from me and my cats!

21 minutes ago, Allthephils said:

You have to pay the visa fee before you can do medical. You don’t have to select an interview date necessarily. I did, which seemed premature at the time, but it looks like we may not have to reschedule. Fingers crossed 🤞.

*Crossing fingers and toes for you! * 

Will schedule and pay for everything next week or 2 weeks from now. Will see how it goes.

Hope you have fun on your visit here this February! Hit Coron, Palawan it's one of my favorite places in the Philippines. Not like i've been to many. Hehe  

3 minutes ago, Paul & Mallory said:

You can go ahead and move on medical requirements. I would wait until you receive the packet from NVC before scheduling an interview - the info you get from them will have some beneficial info. However, it won't be long - NVC received our case on 1/17, and my fiancé (the beneficiary) already has his interview scheduled for 2/22. Do not panic! It's a very sudden overwhelming feeling once you reach this point, we felt the same way. You go from being so idle for so long, to a lot of action all at once. Just remember to take a deep breath every once in a while and take it step by step  It does feel like you're suddenly running out of time - I struggled with that too! Still am, a tiny bit.

 

Yeah! It does feel like that huh? It's a bit overwhelming to say the least. I might try and see if i can book my medical in 2 weeks. Wait until NVC says it's ready and then go ahead with an interview around March 12. Although i think here in the Philippines you might need to schedule an interview appointment first and pay your visa fee until you can proceed with your medical. I'm not sure, i could be wrong. But i'll see what happens in 2 weeks and i'll go from there.  

2 minutes ago, Tony and Tillie said:

We are going to wait until our case status is on "ready". We don't want to end up cancelling an interview schedule just cause we got too panicky. Tony won't be in town until after 2 weeks anyway. I want him to go with me to the interview. I'd feel more at ease with him around.

Maybe i should just do the same...We should do the medical and interview together! That'll be fun!  Or maybe awkward...i don't know. Haha I'll be doing it alone since my love won't be here until it's time to head to the US. Can't believe i'll be back doing my interview again after 11 years...Last time i had my tourist visa interview was way back in 2007...A lot of things have changed for sure so i'm feeling pretty nervous. 

1 minute ago, Allthephils said:

We weren't in a hurry until we realized that my fiance' could possibly fly back with me during my trip to visit in Feb. I booked it before NOA 2. It's starting to look more and more doable each day!! : ) 

Well that's something to look forward to. I would like to leave soon as well but i have a rugby tournament coming up this March and they don't want me to leave until we're done with it and i still have work until april and my grandma's birthday in July. But i think i might need to try and finish my medical and interview before May since the NOA 2 approval will expire in 4 months. So yeah...I will need to hurry up in a sense that i can't afford to do the extension...

11 minutes ago, Tony and Tillie said:

Geez! Tony and I are both freaking out. We thought we got 8 more weeks of wait after NOA2, not 16 days. Things are moving way too fast we can barely keep up!

I don't even know what to do! I have our case number already but now i don't know if i should pay my visa fee, schedule an interview, and do medical or just keep waiting until NVC sends paperwork and says it's ready before doing everything else. I'm panicking inside my head but we're not even in a hurry to do all these things. I feel like we're running out of time and cramming but in reality, we're not. I should take some chill pill and cuddle with my cats...

1 minute ago, Allthephils said:

I have an email from NVC where I inquired about our petition. The interview is scheduled for Feb 5. We may have to postpone because NVC hasn't sent our case but there was still plenty of availability for the rest of the month. 

Thanks for the info.

I guess i'll ask my Fiance to email NVC so we can get it out of the way. We're actually not in a hurry as we're thinking of just heading there in July after my grandma's birthday but it might not hurt to finish the medical and interview and CFO early. 

2 hours ago, Allthephils said:

My fiancé is currently attending medical. 🙌🏼

Do you have to bring the letter from NVC with case number to book a medical appointment? I'm confused 'cause on the St. Luke's website, it says Letter with Case number. Is that the NOA 2 or the NVC. 

Also, when's the earliest date you got for the interview?

I have this same problem as well. I have 3 cats at home (Philippines) but i would like to take one of my cats with me when i go to the US. My concern is that the travel might be too harsh on him since i can't fly direct from Manila to Denver. Will have to go through Japan and Seattle/LAX. I've read a story about one person flying her cat in cargo and the cat died. So now I don't really know what to do. I can leave him home with my family but he chases my oldest cat all the time and he's probably not gonna stop doing that.

7 hours ago, gibbersome said:

Congrats! That's super quick! 

Thanks! It sure was! Surprisingly.

22 minutes ago, John & Rose said:

$428 rt tickets Chicago - Manila....hmmmmm

That's a steal! Go for it! You deserve it!

58 minutes ago, Kristi&Luigi said:

How many of the received can we assume are not updated online cases? 

We're one of those people that haven't gotten any update online or the app. We got our NOA 2 dated 1/9 in the mail. 

24 minutes ago, Naes said:

Oh every country has its perks when entering.

 

they were just being cautious  also surprised probably that a Turkish coming in from Japan hehe (it weirdos or everyone) 

 

i asked them which "where" they want me to tell  them cause I haven't been to Turkey for 4 years 😂

Haha yeah true. It's just weird that they had to ask how many people live where you came from. I mean i don't think immigration officers in the US will ask how many people live in the Philippines. It's just kinda dumb. Haha

1 minute ago, Naes said:

It is so scary for me too but everytime America goes extremely smooth because they're so shocked that me as a Turkish coming from Japan.

 

philippines though was the hardest entry I ever did! And the most ridiculous questions I've ever been asked... such as how many people live in where I come from....

Really? Well, I apologize for the inconvenience you had to go through. I don't even know where they get their questions from. 

3 minutes ago, kas634 said:

Oh whoops, I was talking about the all-around immigration system, like to work and get LPR, not just the border patrol officers..

 

My bad!

No worries. I get what you mean. I have friends that have Australian husbands but they just chose to stay here in the Philippines and not get Australian citizenship because of all the process they had to go through. 

13 minutes ago, John & Rose said:

I feel the same an I am an American citizen!  I'm fine in any country and I feel nervous in the US!  It really is strange.

I guess it's because they all look so intimidating. They really scare me. I hope i don't poop my pants during my POE. 

3 minutes ago, kas634 said:

My cousin is currently in Australia and can't work whatsoever, I was shocked to find out how tough they are! Watching Cheapest Weddings also shed some light on that, too. 

 

From my experience, Canada has one of the better/easier immigration systems. The only thing keeping me here is my career, but we've already thoroughly researching their process for when we plan to move up to Canada. Never looked into any of the European systems, though

I had a different experience going through Sydney and Darwin. They were a lot stricter in Sydney, mainly because it's a busier city. The one in Darwin just asked me if i brought a bunch of food from the Philippines.