Tony and Tillie

23 minutes ago, Lotts said:

Said goodbye to my oldest and closest friends last night. Had my last roast dinner with them, had a laugh in the pub... Then cried as they each wished me luck. Saying goodbye to my best friend last was heartbreaking. Lost. My. Sh!t.

 

Ed, my cat, has just this second been picked up and is on her way to the cattery for her preflight pampering. 

 

I'm sat at home alone. It's empty... I fly out tomorrow. I'm scared, happy, crying... And cursing at how bad my grey hair and my roots are! Should probably go reapply the purple and turquoise so I actually look like the photos I provided 😂

 

This part is nearly over. 😐 How amazing, yet utterly bewildered this all is.

 

Seriously, go hug your friends and family, if you still can!

All the best to you on your POE. I fly out tomorrow too, and we're both June 30 NOA1.  

Last week, I've said my "see you in January 2020" to family and good friends. It was bittersweet. Sad to leave them but excited to come home to my soon-to-be husband. I can't believe we are going to deal with USCIS again in a few weeks. 

31 minutes ago, John & Rose said:

Yes. I know she will go along with what I say no matter what she feels. Right now I am leaning for CR-1. I want her family to be there when she gets married. I want her to be my wife. I want to visit my wife and not my fiancée. I know she wants to share her wedding with her family. I love them all. If we got married here it would be with 5 friends and my 2 kids. There are 22 of her family on a beach in Batangas right now for her sister’s birthday. I want her to share that moment with her family. 

I'm sure Rose would love that, so go for it. A wedding on the beach is nice too. 

3 hours ago, John & Rose said:

Now I have a question for those more familiar with the Filipino culture.  I keep looking towards another K-1 but I wonder if Rose and the kids would feel more confident with a CR-1.  I will marry her in a heartbeat no doubt.  I wonder if culturally that would be the better route.  Will she feel better if we are married and take a little longer to be together or is being together quicker the better solution.  Culturally they are quite different and all I want is to make her feel better and more confident.  She won't answer me when I ask her but she knows I was leaning towards K-1.  She just does the "I will do whatever you feel is best"...

 

I know that she will be nervous until the next K-1 interview because we were blindsided with the refusal.  I just want to give her and the kids the life they deserve and I want to do what is best in their eyes.  I want them to know that I am with them forever.  I can do either but if they will feel better if we are married right away than I will be on the next plane.

 

Any thoughts?

Hey John, it's Tillie here. I'm sorry to hear about how your application turned out, but it's good to know that you are moving on.

If Tony & I were in your situation, I'd choose CR-1, at this stage. Yes, it will take longer than K-1 but we've already proven that time and distance won't keep us from loving and supporting each other. We've survived and nurtured each other while in a long distance relationship for almost 3 years, what other hurdles can we not overcome together? At this point, I would feel more secured knowing that we are married while we go through the process of finally being physically together. Plus, going through another interview in a different circumstance (from K-1 to CR-1) would be a huge relief. The stress and pressure will definitely be lesser.

I wish you all the best in what ever you and Rose decide on. Be persistent in keeping her involved in the decision process. Filipino women are used to being submissive to their man because that's our culture - the man of the house has the final say, most of the time. Do not accept the "what ever you think is best" answer. I'm pretty sure she thinks and feels differently.

Good luck to you both. Hang in there.

6 hours ago, George & Roth said:

Hope the rest of you join me with the AOSholes soon! Hurry up!

We will, in a few weeks. But that would put us on the May 2018 filers. Will keep a close watch of the April thread, though.

@Martin3517

Call NVC 2 weeks after your NOA2 approval date. It took us 16 days to get the NVC case# or MCN. Your fiance can call them too. The process goes pretty quick after NOA2, for PH beneficiaries.

6 hours ago, Knoka said:

Does anyone know how long it takes to get your visa from the US embassy in the Philippines? I praying within 9 days, or do you get it the same day. any info would be helpful. Thanks again and luck to all who are still waiting. My Rose's interview is April 16  hoping to fly her into the states by the 26. Hopeful I'm not jumping the gun.

At the end of the interview, the CO said visa delivery will take 1-2 weeks. I got mine after 6 days. Just make sure you have all the documents they need at the embassy - cenomar, birth certificate, NBI clearance and police clearance from other countries, if applicable. Oh, and the petitioner's divorce decree if previously married.

6 hours ago, John & Rose said:

Manila actually allows the USC in with the beneficiaries. I may not get into the actual interview but I will be there in the Embassy with them. Rose is very nervous about it. I should help with some of those nerves. I was more concerned about the medical and that all went well. 

The interview with the American CO is easy peazy. I was more nervous at the pre-screening with the Filipino CO. They will try to throw you off with one question which they ask at least 3 times. They pretend they see something in their records and ask you about it. But then again, if the relationship is bona fide, what sort of question can you not answer confidently.

10 hours ago, Paul & Mallory said:

A new month means I can now say Paul will be home next month!! Even though we went almost a year not seeing one another, these two months feel like an ETERNITY. I have a hard time with patience as it is, lol

 

It's nice to also be able to say there are no more holidays we have to spend apart, now that Easter has come and gone.

 

Anyone else with a POE in May?

Me, right here. We had to move our POE from March to April and now to May cause of Tony's very unpredictable work schedule. He's in Alaska probably in the middle of the Bering Sea, and won't be back in WA 'til April 29th. My flight is on May 1st.

9 hours ago, John & Rose said:

I will do the DS-160 (or three of them) tonight.  I send money for Rose to pay the visa fee and sent her the receipts to use.  How many passport photos do they really need?  

 

How long after receiving the MNL# before it heads to the Embassy?

It varies. Mine took 6 days at the NVC, then 4 days from "in transit" to "ready". Some cases are processed quicker than others and yours could be one of those. I believe Manila cases are processed electronically, at least that's what the NVC told Tillie.

Each of them would need to submit 4 passport photos at the medical. One of which will be used for the visa so they don't need to submit photos at the embassy inteview.

2 hours ago, John & Rose said:

Look what I am getting today!!!!  Holy $#it... This is going to be the longest day EVER!!!!

OMG! Congratulations! This is great news!

Things move fast after NOA2 especially for Philippine beneficiaries. POE in April, when you visit, is not impossible. So happy for you.

1 hour ago, daleguthery said:

Yes

Did she opt to have it picked up at the 2GO branch at the Mall of Asia? It's usually fast if it's delivered there because it's very close to the embassy. The closer the pick up location is to the embassy, the faster it gets to you. My pick up location is farther so I guess I won't get mine 'til next week. I had my interview last Feb 27th.

1 hour ago, MK Watch said:

Wow that was fast! Mine is stuck in "Issued" since Thursday. I chose to pick it up at 2GO Megamall. Did you choose MOA?

2 hours ago, MK Watch said:

And then after 2 days i received an email about the status of my passport and visa..

Hey, thanks for sharing. I had my interview last Tuesday too. My schedule was 6:40am and I waited at section C too. Just curious about the email you got cause I did not receive any. Although my visa status on the ceac website says "Issued". Did the email tell you the same thing?

33 minutes ago, SM2017 said:

I was just wondering. Does it have to be office hours for them to actually receive our petitions? Or when you say electronic, it can be anytime of the day and once the system gets it our status on the CEAC website automatically changes to ready? lol

I'm not so sure about that but I would think they still do it during office hours. #1 Because our case was in transit on a Friday MNL, did not change over the weekend, then updated to ready on a Monday.

#2 Those whose cases were in transit on a weekday were updated to ready in less than 24 hours.

If the embassy does not observe the Chinese New Year holiday today, your case may get updated to ready today too.

19 minutes ago, SM2017 said:

yeah! I'm comparing it to your timeline so I think we'll have it early next week.

 

Getting all my documents ready while waiting. Got my NSO BC yesterday, now I'm waiting for the CENOMAR.

 

I didn't know that it takes longer than the BC and it's delivered separately. I got so confused yesterday when I just got one envelope from 2Go yesterday.

Yeah I got both yesterday but they came in two separate deliveries and couriers. 

19 minutes ago, SM2017 said:

It was "at NVC" for 6 days (Including weekends).

 

It changed to "in Transit" Just yesterday.

 

So hopefully today, or sometime next week it would be "Ready"

Monday or Tuesday for sure. The embassy in Manila does it electronically so it will be pretty quick.

22 minutes ago, SM2017 said:

Thanks @Tony and Tillie!!!

 

I'm hoping that our NVC status will change to ready soon!

How long has it been? Ours took 8 days at the NVC then 4 days from "In Transit" to "Ready" cause it crossed the weekends.

3 hours ago, John & Rose said:

I have just received another email response to one of my inquiries.  This time they say that I am assigned to an adjudicator and is "under review" but cannot estimate when it will be completed.  At least it is something different from the other responses.  I'm not sure if I believe it but I am going to take it as good news.

I got a good feeling about that email. The long, excruciating wait will soon come to an end. Finally! 

59 minutes ago, SM2017 said:

Guys, quick question. For PH, Do I need both GCP and PDOS or just GCP?

Just GCP. Because CFO does not consider a K-1 visa as an immigrant visa. PDOS is for immigrant visa holders.

1 hour ago, SM2017 said:

But this sign tho.

 

 

But there was really no part where they asked for the DS-160 number, and I crossed checked it with my DS-160, and in that form they only asked for the USCIS number and nothing about the NVC number. (I'm guessing it depends if you're applying for a non-immigrant or immigrant visa. I really hope I'm right.)

 

There's really no field to put in the DS-160 code. I had a problem with that yesterday when I booked my appointment cause the confirmation showed my old DS-160 from a B2 visa application. I called customer support 02 956 8500-02 and they were able to change it in less than 2 minutes.

1 hour ago, Lotts said:

At home, sick*

1 hour ago, jemonline said:

This is exactly what mine looks like!! 😱😜😬

You guys are getting some good news in the mail! Congratulations!!! That's your NOA2!

6 hours ago, SM2017 said:

Thanks @Tony and Tillie and @Naes!

 

So just paid the fee,  I'm trying to go through my DS-160, in the first part where it's asking for the Surname, should I include my Middle Name too? (And I just ticked "Does not Apply" for the "Full Name in Native Alphabet" and "National Identification Number")

I hope I'm doing this right.

 

Just put the surname that shows in your passport. For the vaccination, you can tick "yes".

5 hours ago, SM2017 said:

Thanks @Naes!!!

 

I know I can Google this but I just want to make sure ... Question ...

 

What do I need for the Interview? (Based from experience.)

 

Here is what I know so far:

 

* My Birth Certificate.

* NBI Clearance.

* CENOMAR.

* Passport.

* Affidavit Support (I-134).

* Most Recent Federal Income Tax Return Form 1040.

* Certification of Employment.

*  Sponsor’s 3 months most recent Pay Stubs/Slips.

* Three (3) 2×2 Colored Visa Photos.

* Evidence of Relationship.

* SLEC Medical Exam Results.

 

(Stephen haven't filed his Tax for this year yet, his gonna do it before it's due, so can we use last year's? lol)

 

 

 

 

That's pretty much it, plus your DS-160, MRV receipt and interview appointment confirmation. And evidence of ONGOING relationship.