dj1206

Sorry to reply to my own post, but I don't have an Edit option for the original...in the event there is an RFE for more information from you folks , such as are we getting married in the Philippines?....we are NOT doing a legal marriage ceremony in Philippines due to the Fiancé Visa process. We are still in discussions about doing a non-legal binding service in the Phils, but that may or may not get turned into an Engagement/Goodbye party.

Maybe I should write the answer on my forehead..............."I DON"T FREAKIN KNOW......STOP ASKING ME!!!"

Yes, it's an annoying question. Ever since I told people at the hospital where I work and the church where I attend that I'm engaged, I've been asked this question. And mind you, this isn't just 20-30 people...try a couple hundred. Including people who've forgotten what you told them a week ago...so the conversation has to be straightened out all over again! I got asked more annoying questions by a few other people who've tried to pry, but I won't go into those. But back to the original question, over time that question does dissipate as people finally understand that it will take a while. I told most everybody in my most recent spiel, "I submitted the paperwork to get her here, and also after conversations with Jacki, it appears she will be here around January of next year." So now most people get that...but there are always stragglers who haven't heard the details. But one thing I've learned is, answer as politely and as methodically as you can...because most of the people who ask are only asking because they care...sure, some are gossipers, but treat everyone as if they genuinely care about your situation. Perhaps you can give them something to do, too...pray for you and your fiancé's application and visa process to go by speedily. Bug them and ask them if they've been praying for you. The time apart from your loved one isn't easy on you as it is...and everyone needs true, sincere prayer from others.

God bless-

I've read on several web sites, and this question has probably been asked here before, too, but I've been told that the "Pre-marriage seminar" that must be attended by the bride and groom prior to marriage really only applies to Catholics in the Philippines. My fiancé was "born Catholic" but before Jacki was 16, she and her family left the Catholic church and started attending an Evangelical Protestant church and have done so ever since. I also, for the record, am not Catholic. My question is basically this: is there anyone out there with or who is a Filipina fiancé/wife AND who is Protestant, and were you not required to attend the pre-marriage seminar?

I read that both parties generally have to attend, but if our case gets to the Manila embassy by mid-summer, I still would not be able to travel to the Philippines again for this 10-day thing. And when I go there to bring Jacki home hopefully early next year, we won't have time to deal with a 10-day seminar in Manila...we'll both be in her hometown saying goodbye to friends and family.

Aloha kakou,

Do CSC processing times seem to be picking up spped, or am I a cruel victim of wishful thinking??

Bill and Joan

You must be the victim of wishful thinking. My estimated approval date went from April 24th to May 4th in the last week. Could be many factors but who knows. I'll be wishful thinking right next to you. Ken

I'm a March filer even though I mailed the petition in on 26Feb. When I submitted my petition, and got my NOA1, I updated my timeline and it gave a date of June 10 for possible adjudication. This went as low as June 09, but now it's up to June 14. This is a weighted average of all users' experiences with this center, and many folks on here guess or estimate their NOA2's in their timelines, so I imagine when reality sets in, this causes them to change their dates which then causes the expectation date to go to a later date. We haven't had a touch since the date the check first hit my bank, 3/9, so if you were to ask me, I'd say things have gotten slower at CSC. But that's just me.

Yes, it's never the same. As what my fiance told me, there's a dimension missing when it's you're both not together in person. I truly understand how you feel as all couples here in VJ also do. The waiting will all be worth it ...I'm so glad I joined this site because I know I'm not alone...It makes me feel better eventhough it's frustrating.

Is there anyway to speed up this process? I have been home 4 days and miss her so much. I cant sleep and all I think about is her. We have been talking on the phone and text messageing but its not the same.

That is right, Jacki. Certain dimensions "seem" gone right now, but deep down in both of our hearts, we should both know and always remember during this time of separation that we still love each other and will be together soon. We're still here, we're still each other...and we still love each other. And we've got two weeks in May together in the Phils again, so let's make the most of that time together. I enjoy being with you and am so glad you came into my life. You'll be here soon...but not soon enough Come on USCIS...touch us again, already!!!!

David

Hi folks.

We need to know where YOUR fiancee stayed in Moscow when she went for HER interview. Everyone here probably knows how expensive rooms in Moscow are, and we need the CHEAPEST! Our budget is so tight right now, it's insane. Albina and Nastia will arrive at Kazanskaya on 4/9, and have their interview on 4/11. Seriously- UNDER $100 American/night.

Thanks everyone!

Tim

Probably am being fecetious (sp??) here, but are there any public camping areas in any of the Moscow parks? If I could camp with my fiancee in or near Manila while waiting for her interview, we would both be very happy. Then again, we both like the outdoors and we haven't gone camping together yet...and of course, that's not for everybody. But perhaps something on the outskirts of Moscow might be cheaper? Does he/she have any long lost uncles, cousins or other relatives he/she could stay with in Moscow?

we had a telephone consultation with Laurel Scott tonight, and she sounds terrific! I've been reading that people have been very pleased with her, but i want to ask a vulgar question: she quoted us a price of $5000 for preparation of our waiver---is that about average for lawyer services? do you get what you pay for (in other words do you get cheap service if you pay cheap money?)? and has anyone outside the US used Laurel; was it difficult having a lawyer so far away?

thanks for any input people might have!

anna

I don't know about the others here on VJ, but I think VJ is a GREAT help that is free of charge. If the main guides don't help you, ask a question in the forums like you have done. Most lawyers are not looking out for you and your interests. They spend little to no time actually on your case. The assembly and preparation of your paperwork is more than likely handled by an underpaid paralegal. The lawyer may have to sign the paid preparer thing on the last page of the I-129F or whatever form you are submitting, but that's probably about the extent of what the lawyer will do for you themselves. In my opinion, you could easily save yourself thousands of dollars just by asking questions on the forums here. We're not lawyers, but we are going through the same process you are going through, so we know what we've done and can possibly help you on your journey.

You have to be legally able to marry WHEN YOU FILE the I 129f. You need to withdraw this petition and then file again when the annulment has gone through.

I see two options. The one above, which is the safest and correct. If you chose that option, you want to withdraw your current petition, preferrably before USCIS approves it. (Where's your timeline?)

Option two is to pursue the annulment but keep your mouth shut about any former marriage unless it is mentioned at the interview. At that point, explain and show documents and hope for the best. If it isn't mentioned you lose no time. The risk with option two is that you start over at square one. The value judgment is yours. You made an honest innocent mistake. You haven't broken any laws. Just make sure you don't compound the problem by getting married before the annulment is completed.

I'm not making a recommendation. It's your call.

The Philippine embassy requires a CENOMAR certificate, which is basically a search through records of recorded marriages in the Philippines since 1949 or so, I think, and this is usually obtained by the embassy through the Philippine NSO, though the fiancée can also obtain a copy for herself. Jacki got one before we filed because we wanted to get everything we could, because we didn't know at first how much stuff we would have to send. I've got an original copy and she has two copies, I think. She's been doing a lot of reading on here, and she found that the embassy usually obtains the CENOMAR during their process. Regarding your paperwork, if you knew she was married before you submitted paperwork and didn't mention it on your I-129F or the G-325A forms, and you don't cancel your petition request upon finding out she was married before and is not legally able to marry (despite the situation you mentioned about her still being married to someone else before you), and the US Govt. is informed by the embassy that she was indeed married before, you could potentially be hit with a perjury charge and/or fines for "lying" on an official government form. I'd play it safe and re-file after her previous marriage is annuled and in the NSO records as being terminated.

Spooky situation - but - if a person had an annullment would that be considered as married? divorced?? or what? I agree if it is considered a marriage its best to refile before its approved as then they are dealing with IMBRA to refile. On the other hand...if there was an anullment and the embassy deals with this...wont there be enough time for the embassy to obtain the CENOMAR cert. because she technically was never "married" nor was she "divorced". She would have been single as she put on the petition.

The I-129F/K1 process is clear that both parties must be "legally free to marry" at the date of filing. While CENOMAR could potentially show the annulment, it could also show dates that indicate she was not free to marry upon submission of the K1 application. According to Jacki, there is little to no divorce in the Phils due to the widespread Catholic traditions of the country. There is only annulment. Governments go by paperwork, not by technicality...so I think things would lean toward this gentleman having to cancel his current application and resubmit.

You have to be legally able to marry WHEN YOU FILE the I 129f. You need to withdraw this petition and then file again when the annulment has gone through.

I see two options. The one above, which is the safest and correct. If you chose that option, you want to withdraw your current petition, preferrably before USCIS approves it. (Where's your timeline?)

Option two is to pursue the annulment but keep your mouth shut about any former marriage unless it is mentioned at the interview. At that point, explain and show documents and hope for the best. If it isn't mentioned you lose no time. The risk with option two is that you start over at square one. The value judgment is yours. You made an honest innocent mistake. You haven't broken any laws. Just make sure you don't compound the problem by getting married before the annulment is completed.

I'm not making a recommendation. It's your call.

The Philippine embassy requires a CENOMAR certificate, which is basically a search through records of recorded marriages in the Philippines since 1949 or so, I think, and this is usually obtained by the embassy through the Philippine NSO, though the fiancée can also obtain a copy for herself. Jacki got one before we filed because we wanted to get everything we could, because we didn't know at first how much stuff we would have to send. I've got an original copy and she has two copies, I think. She's been doing a lot of reading on here, and she found that the embassy usually obtains the CENOMAR during their process. Regarding your paperwork, if you knew she was married before you submitted paperwork and didn't mention it on your I-129F or the G-325A forms, and you don't cancel your petition request upon finding out she was married before and is not legally able to marry (despite the situation you mentioned about her still being married to someone else before you), and the US Govt. is informed by the embassy that she was indeed married before, you could potentially be hit with a perjury charge and/or fines for "lying" on an official government form. I'd play it safe and re-file after her previous marriage is annuled and in the NSO records as being terminated.

Since this is a government agency and our monies are going toward supporting them, shouldn't they at least be responsible to tell us 1) what their current caseload is, numerically, and 2) how many persons they have processing each type of form/application? Yeah, the "latest date of application" thing helps, but it doesn't give us hard numbers to go by. I see the Sept. 12 or so date on the USCIS update, but in reality it tells me very little. What if the apps from that date are ones that have been held over due to RFE's, but they're actually working on applications from say mid-December, too? One would think they'd report their earliest dated application for K1, not the latest date they've started working on...

Location has everything to do with my original question. One of my subquestions/comments was why couldn't I just forward all of my stuff to CA, and not wait a week for TSC to forward it to CA. I mailed my petition with the hope that I could be among the ranks of Feb. filers...as in Feb. 27 or Feb. 28, but my NOA date is 3/6 because of the week delay!That's one week less that me and Jacki will get to be together!

Another "why" question, which can probably be answered due to $$ issues, is why can't they implement a web-based system that gives us exact status updates on our application, as in a History of actions to-date and where the app is currently located. If it's going to off-site storage, why can't they indicate that to us via the CRIS web site/email notifications? If Joe Smith is reviewing page 1 of my G-325 form and Sally Smith is reviewing Jackis' G-325 form, why can't I be informed of that? After all, there should be accountability there, and it should be transparent to the customer, in my opinion. The last update on their web site for me is from 3/9, three days before I received NOA1 in the mail...nothing since. I would have much better peace of mind knowing where it is during this 10 day hiatus of updates. Some people have had touches on their app 7-10 days after the check is cashed. Last touch on mine was two days after mine was cashed, before payment cleared my bank!

I'm a very hands-on person, and maybe I just want to be too hands on with this paperwork process...but me and my fiancee are apart right now...and as I'm sure is the case with most everybody else in this waiting limbo, we want to be together...badly!

I don't know if I'm "jealous" of the Vermont folks, but if the USCIS wants to make it "fair" that applications are processed/approved in the order received, you would think there wouldn't be a huge disparity between processing times at the CSC versus the VSC. 2.5 to 3 months versus 2 weeks for a couple of recent posters who filed at VSC. Ridiculous!

Why on earth is somebody who lives on the East Coast of the USA, North Carolina to be exact, required to send their paperwork to Texas, which then forwards application to California, wasting one week of time, and which is known to take an inordinate amount of time to approve applications. Vermont is a heck of a lot closer to NC than even Texas (I think), not to mention much quicker than CA. Why California, and why couldn't I just have bypassed Texas altogether since they don't process the stuff there anyway? That would have made me a February filer if it had been straight next-day aired to CA...now I'm thrown in with March 6th crowd (no offense to other March 6thers). OK, I feel better now.

I agree with previous posters. I spoke with an immigration lawyer's office back in June, after me and Jacki got engaged. They wouldn't answer any of my questions, not even how much they would charge!!! They also wouldn't guarantee that the case would get approved. They wanted $1000 upfront, but the way the lady talked, it sounded like they would milk it for as much money as they can get, upwards of multiple thousands. Not being a financially rich type of person, and with a wedding to pay for after the K1 goes through, it didn't sound very economical to me to go through a lawyer, who like others have said, has a more vested interest in your money than in the success of your case. In December when I was with Jacki in the Philippines celebrating Christmas with her family, her cousin's American fiancé told us to check out this site, and then it might be easier on us and we could do it without burning money up with a lawyer. Jacki visited/joined here before I did, and we really got going around mid-January on our paperwork. We started with her forms, letters and what all she would need to send to me, and after I got those in the mail from her in February, I did mine. If I hadn't taken bereavement leave from work when my dad died, I'd probably still be fighting to assemble the packet today. What I ended up with looked more professional than anything a lawyer could dream of putting together, so that gave me a sense of accomplishment. And Jacki was proud of me, too, which means a lot to me. Her love and support has helped to sustain me, even in my lowest points.

Anyway, I recommend no lawyer, but if you can't do it after the enormous help this site is, and you can afford astronomical lawyer fees, go for a lawer.

in some cultures, you marry the whole family, brother.

Do you get to have sex with the whole family?

If the relationship you have with your wife is all about sex, then perhaps you should rethink the reasons why you married her in the first place. She more than likely didn't leave her family only to have sex with you in the guise of marriage. If you don't at least extend an offer to help her family in the event of a legitimate, real need, what if your wife were to cut off sex from you? You don't have to send thousands of dollars a month...$100 goes a long way in a place like the Philippines.

Helping is all well and good, but not when you don't have it to give. That's just crazy.

If my fiancée, Jacki, came from a poor family with many young mouths to feed still, I would look at the situation like this: We would be living in a nice new house here, as I am living alone in right now, with a new car, and a semi-fair job to pay all of our bills. There in the Philippines, the situation could be a family, in abject poverty, with little money coming in (think $10/day), who live in a cardboard box on the streets, in unsanitary conditions, no airconditioning, no refrigerator, no toilet, no medical care, few if any nice clothes (talking about general tshirts, shorts, shoes here...not suits and dress shirts/pants), etc., and a possible diet of leftovers (from more fortunate folks) or long spoiled fruits to be shared between two parents and three to eight children. This is not the situation with Jacki's family, by a long shot, but it very well could be with any other Filipino fiancée or wife's family. Just think about it. We here in America live like kings, even if we think we are poor or are barely making ends meet. Next time you want to chew out your wife for a desire to send family to a family who may very well need the money more than you do, think about that. Go without Aircon for a month...it's cooler in most parts of USA in summer than it is in Philippines, trust me!!! Just be open to communication and be open to compromise. Maybe one day her family may thank you in ways that you never dreamed possible.

David

ya but LisaD is talkin about when you can actually afford to help the SO's relatives... sure if u have some extra cash yea why not.. but when there's barely enough money to pay bills, rent, mortgage, whatever, are you gonna sacrifice a whole week's meals, or something like that, in order to send money to ur SO's country?

My statements apply to LisaD's post, too. As I stated, we live and eat like kings, if you really think about it. We have every restaurant imaginable, and most will fit within our price range, even a good romantic dinner for two out at your fancy steakhouse, or whatever, once or twice a week. That doesn't break the budget... BUT, think about his or her family in the country where they came from. They might be spending ALL that they've got just to feed the parents and two or more young children BREAD CRUMBS...if their family is in need of money to help put decent food on the table, I would not be the one to say no just because I wanted filet mignon at my favorite steak restaurant and she eats a big lobster tail or crab legs or whatever on Friday night. I'm glad my fiancee's family is not poor, but if there was a pressing and legitimate need, I would not want to lose her loyalty to me, her husband, because I/we are selfish and want to live it up here in the USA. Family is very important, especially in the Philippines. It used to be important in America in the days gone by, but now family is just about as gone as most other good old time traditions. And no, I'm not over 60 and being an old timey person...I'm 25, and I believe in family still.

Imagine if the situation were reversed. You are engaged or married to an American and you know what you used to live in, you know what you used to eat, and you get reports from time to time about a food shortage in the family, or a parent is sick and in need of medical care, but can't get any because there is no money left. What would you want to do? You're miles away from them now, married to an American, and perhaps your family used to depend upon you for some of their income. Now what do you do, knowing how you are living now and how your own flesh and blood is living where you used to live. Would you ask your American husband/wife if you could cut back on some things like fancy dinners or a super-cooled air-conditioned house for a few weeks so you can send a little bit of money to your family? Or would you ignore your own family, who raised you from birth till you left to be with your wife/husband?

I hate to sound like an old Sally Struthers commerical from TV, but the person you married very well could have come from similar conditions that you see in those "Help the Needy" ads...perhaps you ignored the ads before, when all you were asked to do was give 30 cents per day. Now you're married to someone who's family came from or lives in similar conditions...does not even her family mean anything to you now???? Think about it...

Helping is all well and good, but not when you don't have it to give. That's just crazy.

If my fiancée, Jacki, came from a poor family with many young mouths to feed still, I would look at the situation like this: We would be living in a nice new house here, as I am living alone in right now, with a new car, and a semi-fair job to pay all of our bills. There in the Philippines, the situation could be a family, in abject poverty, with little money coming in (think $10/day), who live in a cardboard box on the streets, in unsanitary conditions, no airconditioning, no refrigerator, no toilet, no medical care, few if any nice clothes (talking about general tshirts, shorts, shoes here...not suits and dress shirts/pants), etc., and a possible diet of leftovers (from more fortunate folks) or long spoiled fruits to be shared between two parents and three to eight children. This is not the situation with Jacki's family, by a long shot, but it very well could be with any other Filipino fiancée or wife's family. Just think about it. We here in America live like kings, even if we think we are poor or are barely making ends meet. Next time you want to chew out your wife for a desire to send family to a family who may very well need the money more than you do, think about that. Go without Aircon for a month...it's cooler in most parts of USA in summer than it is in Philippines, trust me!!! Just be open to communication and be open to compromise. Maybe one day her family may thank you in ways that you never dreamed possible.

David

Thanks for the clarification! This is good news, at least someone is working on my case- So I guess this is my first "touch"-

Are they a 24/7 operation at the CSC? I always envisioned that type of job to be a 9-5 5-day workday type thing, like many Federal Government jobs of that sort.

As someone mentioned - and to be clear - if you fill out the form on your computer, you just need to fill out the first page and the other 3 fill themselves automatically. Yes, it is filled out in conneciton with "I-129F (Fiance)" (for the K1, spouse if it's K3).

The G325A cannot be saved on your computer (the I-129F can) , but again, the fact that it fills itself out makes it not such a big deal.

And in the grand scheme of this process - filling out a form in quadruplicate is THE LEAST ridiculous part of the process.

I was able to save mine and Jacki's entries on the G-325A forms to my hard drive without a problem. I filled out her information for her, emailed her the saved file, let her review it (she suggested many changes and/or error corrections), and when we finally had it right, she signed them and mailed 'em off to me. By having the pre-filled documents saved, we can use that for our later paperwork after she gets here...with just a few changes. Maybe I had better luck with the G-325A saving thing because I have Adobe Acrobat Professional here instead of the usual Reader software. Dunno.

hello everyone, i just spoke with the u.s.p.s. about why my i-129f was not signed for today...the uscis tcs picks up their mail once a day at 7am...my petition will be picked up en la manana!! or so i was told...

It appears someone (M.S.) signed for mine at 5:06am CST on Feb. 28th!!! Talk about EARLY morning pickups! I wasn't even awake for work on the east coast of the US at that time! Oddly enough, the NOA1 I got today indicates that the application was received on Feb. 27th, a day earlier!! My check still isn't cashed. Do the service centers remain open 24/7 or are they a 5-day workweek 9-5 outfit? I saw some posts from people earlier today regarding touches that were done on Sundays, which are normally a rest day for Government folks.

Yes, make sure it is a money order from USPS . Make it out to Department of Homeland Security.

Mine and Jacki's (jvernz) check didn't do much good in terms of getting a case # for us early. I got the NOA1 in the mail today and the check still hasn't hit my bank account...am kinda glad I was able to find my checkbook and submit a check, because if I were to request images of the cashed money order from the USPS, it would cost I think $10 for them plus it takes forever. At least with online banking and check images, it can be printed for almost free and there's not a long delay in getting access to print them after clearance of the check. Thanks for your responses to Jacki (and myself).

Hi David,

Congrats on getting your NOA1. From what I understand- I think the date box on the site is the most recent date the file has been touched. I'm just guessing. I don't know how to see a list of all touches. I'm also thinking that the March 11 date in my box is only there because that is when I registered with the USCIS online and they sent me an email (I'm sure automated) that I was registered.

Does your date correspond with when you registered online?

Good Luck!

I registered on USCIS today, 3/12, so I guess our application was put "on file" till June or so on the 9th, which was Friday.

Good luck to you and yours, too!

David

Got another question...I sent mine and Jacki's petition to the Texas Service Center...but it appears it got forwarded to the California one (I got my NOA1 from CA address)...I'm sure this is a dumb question, but isn't the Texas one a bit quicker/more efficient at getting these things approved; why was it moved to CA? Should I change the office where I filed our application to in my details here so I can get a more accurate timeline based on California's numbers? It looks like they're still working on August's filings...yikes!!!

Hi David,

Congrats on getting your NOA1. From what I understand- I think the date box on the site is the most recent date the file has been touched. I'm just guessing. I don't know how to see a list of all touches. I'm also thinking that the March 11 date in my box is only there because that is when I registered with the USCIS online and they sent me an email (I'm sure automated) that I was registered.

Does your date correspond with when you registered online?

Good Luck!

I registered on USCIS today, 3/12, so I guess our application was put "on file" till June or so on the 9th, which was Friday.

Good luck to you and yours, too!

David

Congrats, you are on you way

I am one of those compulsive folks, too, who likes to know what's going on when and such. The originator of this post asked the same question I wanted to ask. I've seen folks who have said their applications have been "touched" several times in one day, etc. How do you determine that through the USCIS web site? I got my NOA1 in mail today, with a notice date of March 6. Registered on USCIS site today, and it's showing a last modified date of 3/9/07. Is there a way of seeing the "touch" or update history? Would calling the CSC help any? Also, my check still is not showing as being cashed yet...I was expecting to see it show up in my account before I would get NOA1 in the mail.

Thanks, David

We didn't get one and it is my understanding that if one is required the embassy will order and and won't accept one from the beneficiary.

Interesting...my fiancee sent me an original copy of her CENOMAR, and I'm submitting that with her birth cert. and biographical information...odd that they won't accept it from the beneficiary, but oh well...it'll be in my packet, nonetheless! I don't know if it's required in all foreign countries...I know the Philippines uses them!!!

David

Believe it or not, after the receipts were removed from my "stack," it's still quite thick. Most of what's left are photocopies of letters, cards, and emails. I think Jacki said she read somewhere on here that I should include bank/card statements for the plane tickets and the transactions completed in the Philippines...after reading earlier posts to my initial question, it seems like the inclusion of the statements would be redundant, too. Thoughts?

I'm still pruning my paperwork, consolidating and removing unnecessary pages...

How many cards and letters should I include? We haven't sent a great number of either, but that now makes up the bulk of what's left of the packet now that the receipts are gone.