Misis O

Hi, I want to share my experience in case someone can benefit out of this. I'm thankful to those who shared their experiences with the medical & interview at the USE. The information and tips are very helpful which made my experience as hassle free as possible. Shared my review also in my Timeline (can't edit the grammatical errors though 😜) 
 
▪️US EMBASSY INTERVIEW▪️
June 27, 2019 6:45am
 
Arrived at the US embassy with my daughter at around 6:20am. I saw the guards asking people with 7am appointments to line up. There were a handful of inquisitive vendors who were actually helpful & reminded that mobile phones & chargers are not allowed inside. They were hoping I'll pay them to safekeep my gadgets. Didn't need to cos I left my phone at home. 
I went right to the front with my daughter & was directed by the guard to line at the counter where they check applicants' DS160 (first page only) and passports which they placed in a plastic, bio page at the bottom. The staff asked me to do the same with my daughter's passport. Then asked me to go to line 3 which was quite long. 
Note: Always have your DS160 on hand since they ask for it at every stage. 
 
At line 3 the staff put a sticker with a barcode on my DS160 form before we can proceed to security check. 
Notes: 
- The code starts with a letter which will dictate in what section you will be seated once you enter the building. 
- Make sure you don't bring any mobile device, gadget, charger, food or drink to avoid any hassle and delay at the security check 
- For your convenience, it is advisable to place your documents in a transparent envelope so you can easily see where everything is and get it out when needed. 
 
From security check we proceeded to go inside the embassy. Once you enter, there's another security check  after which you can look for the section (the letter on the sticker on your DS160) where you should be seated to await your turn in prescreening. A staff will advise when your row of seats can stand in line for the prescreening counters. While seated, it would be best to prepare your passport properly placed inside the plastic, your DS160 form, original PSA issued birth certificate, cenomar & NBI clearance. 
 
~Prescreening Interview: Counter 39 ~ 
The Filipino interviewer asked for my DS160 & our passports. Then she asked for the original copies of my birth certificate, cenomar, NBI clearance and medical exam result from SLEC. 
She asked me to state my full name and date of birth. Then she proceeded to read the information on the following which I just had to confirm by answering yes or no:
* My daughter's name and birth date
* Name of my petitioner
* Petitioner's home address
* Petitioner's date of birth 
* How did we meet?
* If he was previously marred & how many 
* If I was previously married
* If I was married to my daughter's father
* Petitioner's work & where
* If I work
* Have I traveled abroad? Where? 
* When was the last time we saw each other?
She then stated my complete home address & mobile number & advised me not to change it to make sure I receive communication from the embassy. She also confirmed that I brought our photos together. No questions for my daughter. 

She then instructed me to proceed to finger scanning counter where the line was again long, around 35 people in line, so we were asked to be seated. If you are near your turn you have to be vigilant so others who don't know any better won't skip the line to get ahead of you & you can tell them to go to the end of the line. 
 
At the finger scanner, the American lady asked for my DS160 form then instructed me to place the 4 fingers of each hand together and press them firmly on the scanner, then both thumbs together. After this, we proceeded to the long line for the interview by the CO. 
 
~ Final Interview: Consular Officer inside the room (pretty American woman) ~  
I can't recall the number of the counter but we were lucky to get the room which afforded some privacy, and we got to have seats unlike the others who just stood in front of the counter. 
 
CO asked my daughter and I to raise our right hands and swear to tell the truth, etc. She said hi to my daughter who just smiled and waved hello. The CO asked me to state my full name, date of birth, my daughter's name & date of birth. She turned to my daughter and asked, "Is she really your mother?" We all laughed a bit, and she quipped, "Just checking." 
 
Questions asked in no particular order:
* Name of my petitioner
* Petitioner's age & date of birth 
* How did we meet? 
* Who introduced us to each other? (asked me to elaborate a bit on this) 
* In what state he lived
* Where he worked & what he did for a living
* How old we both were 
* How many times he visited?
* When was the last time we were together?
* How come it was that long since then? (he last visited Aug 2018 but I told her he will be arriving in July 2019 ) CO said, "That's nice." 
* Has he ever been married before? Divorced? How many times?
* What’s the name of his ex wife? 
* If he had any kids? How many & their ages
* How long were they married? 
* Have I been married before? 
 
The CO did not ask for any supporting documents. She said all our papers seem to be in order, handed me the pamphlets and discussed what are those about. She told me to wait for my visa after 2-4 weeks.
 
She advised me to make sure I register my address via the website or by calling the call center. Hopefully I get my passport and visa in 4 weeks or less.
 
The whole appointment process took a lot of patience, and I was sleepy while waiting & got quite thirsty since I'm used to frequently drinking water. Anyway I just waited until we exited the building to buy bottled water at the only vendor at the embassy. Proceeds of the purchase (45 pesos which was expensive) go to charity. We exited the building at around 8:30am.
 
I consider myself blessed to get a nice CO who interviewed us. The advice I would give to those preparing for their interview is make sure all your documents are in order (PSA issued birth certificate, cenomar & NBI clearance) & have the other documents on hand in case they ask to see them (affidavit of support, photos together, etc).
 
Special thanks to @Hank, @Greenbaumfor answering all my questions & to @apple21 for the advice! 

I got approved last week for ead and ap and did not do biometrics as it was scheduled the day after all offices closed due to covid. I do not have a card yet but approval notices arrived today outlining the card will be sent seperately

They are looking at the paperwork but nothing will be approved until biometrics are done. ASCs are opening on July 13th I think, so you will still wait a bit for biometrics.

Let me see the order first. It behooves me how H-4 is allowed to join H-1 with in weeks but a spouse of LPR has to sit out due to the 60 day ban in place if they reside outside the country.  H-1 has been abused big time already and H-4 EAD does directly compete jobs of american citizens so to speak where there is no criteria to get an H-4 EAD and only criteria is to be married to an H-1 and piggyback on  their spouses I-140. One with an H-4 EAD can go stock shelves at Target and Walmart any day. 

Hi just to share, I had a long wait for any feedback from USCIS & had an RFE
 
Date my application was received by USCIS: December 9, 2019
Date package was sent back: January 9, 2020
Date received in the mail: anywhere between January 13 to 15 (I didn't check our mailbox because it was snowing lol)
Date application was re-sent to USCIS: January 17
 
Another round of waiting for me.... although I hope I did everything right this time

I just saw the letter for the fingerprints, in the informed delivery of the USPS, and yours will also arrive soon

Sent my package out December 17th. NOA date was January 2nd and I received the biometrics letter in the mail today, the appointment is the 29th!

They FINALLY ran our card this evening. I’ve never been so happy to have money taken from my account. 🙌🏻
Thanks everyone for all the encouragement when things were looking bleak! 

Today is 31 days since they received our application. I am physically sick. If they don’t run our credit card today, I don’t know what to even do. 

I’m in the same situation as you. My application delivered on 12/10/19. Still have not received NOA1 yet. 

I agree it's  coming!

Ahh hi there! I would not stress too too much sometimes it takes while, but it's  bound to come it has to. Just a little bit longer.  I would say next week since it's  back to normal schedule for USCIS. Don't  worry you're good!

I'm so sorry you are having this issue.  As you can see by this thread several of us are/were.  It took us the entire 30 days to receive our NO1 for the AOS, and when the hard copy came it has his name spelled wrong 😕   We also have to resubmit the i765 cuz we stupidly left the last 3 pages off but of course we can't even do that until they send us the correctly NO1 with his name spelled right.   Have hope!  It's comin!  (hopefully in the next few days!

Your post gives me hope! Our package was delivered 12/6 and we’re still waiting for them to run our card. 

Sent my package on the 15th of November through USPS arrived Chicago on the 17th and still no NOA1. I have called USCIS a gazillion times and they still don't have any information about my application. I was asked to send a mail to the lockbox. I have done that and I haven't gotten any response. I'm  frustrated 😤. I'm wondering if I should file another application

I feel ya.  We mailed on Nov.29, signiture confirmation of receipt Dec.2.  So far no NO1, no check cashed.  We called the USCIS # last night and they have no record of our package in the system.  I feel like STORY OF MY LIFE ya know?  Any and all suggestions or stories from others in similar situations would be appreciated as moral is becoming low.....
 
That being said, congratulations to everyone for whom this process is going smoothly  

No text or email but today my credit card was charged for $1225. I mailed everything on December 18th.   Still waiting on Social Security which I applied on December 13th.

Congratulations & best wishes! 💐♥️

Congratulations & best wishes! 💐♥️

Fiancee arrived  on August 30th, this first portion of the Visa journey is now officially over as the K1 is no longer  any good. Can't  say it been fun, but I can say it's  been a long  ride. Here's  to the next portion of the journey. Getting married on September 12th.

Wedding pics! Well pic but still works. 
@Greenbaum as promised! 😁😁😁

Sorry I have been sooooo busy settling in here.... ohh and this happened
 

I totally agree on the scammers, "dragon ladies" .. women that pursue a foreigner as a way to get a green card and a better life.  Those types of women are still there, and I know of a fair number of men that got scammed, and had their hearts broken when the Filipina "ditches him" the moment she has gotten what she wants.    <<< But this is true of many countries.<   But I know many, many more couples that have great marriages and very happy lives.    And I know thousands of couples married to Filipinas.
 
The Philippines was listed as a "high fraud" country for years, (quality ink jet printers don't ya know), not sure it is anymore, haven't checked.  The fraud issue was relating to phony documents; a variety of official documents.  Over the years the Philippine government itself has taken major steps to make fraudulent documents much more difficult to create.   Even to this day the embassy is very watchful with documents and they are very quick to demand new documents and have them delivered directly from the government entity.
 
I believe the embassy has gotten very good at spotting the "dragon ladies"     And for those in real relationships the embassy has gotten very good at spotty those too.   I was there with my wife for the complete visa process in the Philippines .. it was a great experience and I will say -   The U.S. Embassy in Manila is not a difficult embassy for those that have genuine relationships and provide all the required documents.
 
But if your documents are not lined up  like little ducks in a row .. watch out.   And if they think the relationship is not genuine .. they will drop the big hammer.    I saw that during the time we were at the embassy as well.
 
 
 
 

Hang in there @Sarge2155
You & Aida are near the finish line... Thanks for the insights! Your patience is admirable 

Oh my! This is my daughter right now. Hahahaha! Sorry was randomly browsing topics and read your comment. We're on the same boat!