Matt W

My fiance is in Manila for her K1 US Embassy interview this week. She is with her mom and sister and they went a little early to spend a couple extra days as tourists.
 
They decided to go to Tagatay on Sunday...
 
What are the odds?
 
So they were literally there when it erupted! Craziness!
 
We are lucky she went to Manila early because if she would have flown in Monday to do medical then Tuesday/Wednesday the flight would have been cancelled. She would have missed her US Embassy interview.
 
This is crazy and I feel so bad for those who live in the area that are having their homes and farms destroyed.

My fiance is in Manila for her K1 US Embassy interview this week. She is with her mom and sister and they went a little early to spend a couple extra days as tourists.
 
They decided to go to Tagatay on Sunday...
 
What are the odds?
 
So they were literally there when it erupted! Craziness!
 
We are lucky she went to Manila early because if she would have flown in Monday to do medical then Tuesday/Wednesday the flight would have been cancelled. She would have missed her US Embassy interview.
 
This is crazy and I feel so bad for those who live in the area that are having their homes and farms destroyed.

I feel like we stress about 100 little details on all of these things because we don't know which 1 of the 100 the consular officer will decide is important. The whole process is stressful!

We use WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. I just took a handful of screenshots of various conversations on my phone. I then arranged multiple of those screenshots in a document and printed them. Like when we first met, discussing key events, marriage, etc.
 
We have our interview in a few days. So fingers crossed.
 
 

That not true at all. You can legitimately make $150,000 a year in W2 income from your own business while the business, or some other investment, still loses money on paper. The business can have other investors or is using different tax write-offs, etc. 
 
Now if you are self employed as a plumber or Uber driver, that is probably different. But as an entrepreneur and business owner of a larger business, it's way different.

My case shipped out of NVC on the 10th to Manilla. They received it Friday or over the weekend. Our case status is READY! Appointment in Manilla scheduled for middle of January. They had earlier dates, including 12/26. But with the holidays, it's tricky scheduling.

I think it is confusing when people say the second ready. Because all I ever saw was In Transit and then Ready. I checked all the time and never saw a Ready before in transit. 🤷‍♂️

My case shipped out of NVC on the 10th to Manilla. They received it Friday or over the weekend. Our case status is READY! Appointment in Manilla scheduled for middle of January. They had earlier dates, including 12/26. But with the holidays, it's tricky scheduling.

I think it is confusing when people say the second ready. Because all I ever saw was In Transit and then Ready. I checked all the time and never saw a Ready before in transit. 🤷‍♂️

Hi Greenbaum
 
as mentioned 
 
I have received case No
invoice No
 
DS160 is completed and I now have access to book and pay the fee - however i am still awaiting the oficial notification of case No as well as the package 3 notice from the embassy -
 
is there anything preventing me for making the payment and Associated booking an appointment next month ? 
 
i am still uncertain if i need to upload the DS160 and additional documents - or simply bring them to the Interview ? 

Ok friends, I would love to hear your experiences on interview approval to visa in hand timelines. 
 
I am hoping to go to the Philippines and accompany my fiance to her US Embassy interview in Manila. I would also love to stay with her until she gets the visa in hand to accompany her on the trip to the USA. The problem is the big unknown of how long this time window would or could be.
 
Obviously there is best case and worst case scenario here. I'm just looking for insights on the best case or average case. I am hoping we could do all of this in 2 weeks. Much more than that and I can't really stay there for that long. Then I have to pick to be there for the interview, her trip, or neither.
 
She lives in Cebu City. How does she get her passport back with the visa? My understanding is they deliver it to some shipping pickup point or something like that in Cebu City?
 
Anyone have any idea how long this process takes? Any details or your experience on this would be really helpful.
 
FYIL She is going to do her CFO in advance so she just has to run back by for the final document for it.

So my fiancé only visited me once and now he's planning another trip to be with me for interview. I'm scared that we would get denied for visa for only 2 visits

We completed our DS-160 last night. Working on gathering up all the required documents. My fiance is doing her police background check, etc, etc. Exciting times!

We completed our DS-160 last night. Working on gathering up all the required documents. My fiance is doing her police background check, etc, etc. Exciting times!

We completed our DS-160 last night. Working on gathering up all the required documents. My fiance is doing her police background check, etc, etc. Exciting times!

I received our NOA2 with a date on the mailed paper of like 11/4. I called today on 11/21 the number 1- 603-334-0888 and asked if the NVC had received my case. They had received it and gave me my case number. They said my information would be sent to the US Embassy in Manila shortly. The lady on the phone was very friendly. She told me that she had my email on file and I should receive an email from them once they ship it.
 
I'm exactly sure what to do next but it is my understand that as soon as Manila receives it, we can call to schedule the interview, medical, and CFO. Supposedly appointments in Manila are 3 weeks out. So Maybe we are like 5-8 weeks from our interview? I don't know but it is exciting!

I received our NOA2 with a date on the mailed paper of like 11/4. I called today on 11/21 the number 1- 603-334-0888 and asked if the NVC had received my case. They had received it and gave me my case number. They said my information would be sent to the US Embassy in Manila shortly. The lady on the phone was very friendly. She told me that she had my email on file and I should receive an email from them once they ship it.
 
I'm exactly sure what to do next but it is my understand that as soon as Manila receives it, we can call to schedule the interview, medical, and CFO. Supposedly appointments in Manila are 3 weeks out. So Maybe we are like 5-8 weeks from our interview? I don't know but it is exciting!

I received our NOA2 with a date on the mailed paper of like 11/4. I called today on 11/21 the number 1- 603-334-0888 and asked if the NVC had received my case. They had received it and gave me my case number. They said my information would be sent to the US Embassy in Manila shortly. The lady on the phone was very friendly. She told me that she had my email on file and I should receive an email from them once they ship it.
 
I'm exactly sure what to do next but it is my understand that as soon as Manila receives it, we can call to schedule the interview, medical, and CFO. Supposedly appointments in Manila are 3 weeks out. So Maybe we are like 5-8 weeks from our interview? I don't know but it is exciting!

Excellent updates. Thank you so much!!

So I read the document that was an FAQ but I still have the most important unanswered question: What do I do now????
 
I feel like most obvious question wasn't answered in the FAQ. It makes it sound like I should be calling the NVC every day and tracking shipments?  I don't understand for what real purpose.
 
If I get the NVC case number can I schedule the embassy interview quicker somehow?
 
What should I be doing now, if anything?
 
Thanks to whoever put together the FAQ, but I feel like the most important question wasn't answered. What do I do???

I provided my entry stamp into country and boarding passes for a flight where we were sitting in adjacent seats.  Mission accomplished. 

I used RapidVisa and was very happy with the service.