VicDEH

I am on lunch break so I can check back in. I asked my district colleague and yes, you would still register your kids whenever you get here--even within the last week of of school and they could even start that week if you and the school felt it was appropriate. Obviously you may have other pressing issues during the first few days to tend to, but register the kids as soon as you can. Good luck!

My Dad was a Special Education teacher for 30 years.  I learned it was a very under resourced and under appreciated position.  Not only having to deal with the learning in the classroom, but many students had very complex and difficult family situations.  When we arrived in February this year, for the last 3 months of the school year I had my son in one of the English Language programs and I think it helped speed of the assimilation process.  Although I could have fluent English conversations with him, it was the more technical terms related to science, math, etc which is where I think he most benefited.  Also, helped with his reading which I felt he was behind at.  As others have stated, the younger the child, the more their brains are like sponges and can pick up the nuances of another language very quickly. 

My now 17 year step daughter was 7 when we first met.  She only knew a tiny bit of English.  10 years later, her technical knowledge of English grammar is much better than mine, and she is very fluent.  She is always asking me what some new words mean, and they are usually fairly complicated words.
 
@Stevephoto I am going to send you a PM about my step-daughter.  Maybe you have some advice.

We just started her in 3rd grade November 1st.  Less than a week after she arrived in the US.  I don't think it could have possibly gone any smoother or easier and has been an absolute success so far.  She had been doing online classes and "modules" for the last year and a half in the Philippines, so it was her first return to a classroom with other students since March of 2020.  She LOVES going to the new school.  Every day she is going on and on about how much she likes her teacher and all her classmates.  Enrollment here in California was very easy.  A few weeks before she arrived, I went poking around the school district’s web site and they have all the enrolment online so I just filled up the forms online.  I uploaded scans of fairly minimal amounts of required paperwork like my cable TV bill to prove I am resident and such.  Nothing related to immigration was requested.  Someone from the district called me back and they were mainly concerned with if she would need extra help in English and if her vaccinations were complete.  The six vaccination shots she got at Saint Luke’s are barely enough to get her in the door but if that is all a child has, they will be due for about 3 more rounds of multiple shots over the coming months.  Fortunately, her mom located her baby book while packing for the US and daughter was current on everything except one varicella shot in two months.  Locating any and all immunization records that may exist in the Philippines is very important.  At least in California.  They are serious about vaccinations.
 
We told them we think her English is good enough and she should be 100% in ordinary classes.  Since in our opinion if she needs extra help or not, the fastest and most effective method to get her English up to speed is surround her with a bunch of English-speaking peers at the earliest age possible.  Kids learn language fast and easy.  If she has any challenges with language, it's best to face them head-on and immediately.  In just the first 2 weeks I have noticed her English has really improved allot.  Probably not that she learned that much in just 2 weeks but she is very noticeably much more confident about what she already knew.  She is very quickly becoming much more talkative in English.  It's actually a bit remarkable.  I'm feeling pretty sure at this point that language will be a non-issue.  Also, the school assigned her to the same classroom as the only other Filipino student her age in the entire school.  So, there is at least one Tagalog speaker present.
 
The school here didn't have much interest at all in her Philippine school records and just placed her in 3rd grade based on her age and because we said she was a third-grade student.  I don't think having her Form 137 from the Philippines or her grades would have made the slightest difference in her placement here, for better or for worse.   She completed her last week of Philippine online classes to finish out the reporting period there and presumably will still receive grades for that but I don't think that is important to the local school district.   She doesn't seem to be having any difficulty with the curriculum so far.  

Overall, her transition to US school so far has been more successful than we ever could have imagined.  I just hope it keeps up over the long term.  I have never seen a kid so excited and happy about going to school in the morning.  I don't know if they are teaching her anything academically but I can very clearly see a HUGE positive change in her personality.  In my opinion it is best to get them fully into their future school environment as quickly and completely as early as possible.  No matter what kind of issues or challenges they may encounter, it will be easier to deal with now, at the earliest age possible, than dragging it out until they are older. 
 
Plus, the whole online "modules" schooling currently taking place in the Philippines is just a terrible situation for kids.  There is really no where to go but up by getting them back into a classroom situation.
 

No issues with transferring mid year.  Try to get their school records from the school over there. As long as you can show residency you'll be able to register them. The only issue we ran into is what grade would they enter as their grade level in the Philippines was not transferrable. We ended up putting them in with their age group, which worked out well in the end. Trouble the first year with American English comprehension (they knew English prior to coming over but comprehension in the classroom was difficult) but they have been A honor roll since.

Great, thats super helpful. We will do this process this week while waiting for the visa and see what happens.  

All exiting emigrates are required to attend CFO.    Depending on age.   Your step-daughter would attend peer counseling after she has visa in hand  (however they are handling this right now) then will receive the sticker in the passport.
 
 
All other immigrant visas must attend PDOS.  This included IR/CR-2 and K-2.

Must have Visa In Hand before scheduling the seminar or to register to get the sticker.

CFO-PDOS:  http://cfo.gov.ph/filipinos-leaving-the-country-with-immigrant-visa/

Adults:  Those 60 and above need only register to get the sticker.  

Derivatives:  Children above 12 years of age must attend PDOS, those younger only need to be registered to get the sticker.  

Ages 13-19 will attend PDOS Peer Consoling.
 
https://www.visaconnection-philippines.com/cfo.html  (some items have changed during the lockdown so be sure to read the CFO website updates, link is on this website)
 
 

That unwritten rule of 6 months validity also irks me. I just hope they'd be more direct about it. Thank you so much for the links you provided.
 
Yes, every name that appears on her birth certificate. AKA name can be written as full name so you can use "Jackie O Kennedy" for example, as the AKA.
 
She's 17.
 
So frustrating, right? They have been doing this for soooo long and yet none of them seem to know what to do.
 
Thank you so much everyone! You have all been very helpful! We just got back from the NBI and secured our clearances with AKAs. The documents do have the term "AKA" explicitly written on them. I almost had a meltdown because I had to go back and forth the 3rd floor (biometrics) and 1st floor (releasing) because they didn't know what to do with my daughter's clearance. We already secured one for her last month but didn't have the AKA. So, I had to redo the request (i.e., pay again) then she did the biometrics again. The guy at the biometrics asked us to go to the releasing section to have the revised printed. At the releasing, the lady told me it's not yet ready and it has to be tagged. She said she didn't know who should tag it so she asked me to go back to the biometrics section. At the biometrics section, the guy FINALLY gave clear instructions. At the releasing, I had to go to the courtesy lane first to have it tagged. I was asked to wait 5 minutes and was then instructed to go to the releasing window to have it printed. What astounded me was the lady at the releasing window didn't know that tagging is done at the section about 30 feet away from her own!
 
That was quite a workout! 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 

Just curious if anyone on the board has experience with the Manila embassy's mailing of visas. My wife and stepdaughter have their interviews on November 13th, and I'm curious how long it usually takes for the Manila embassy to mail passports back to the province with the visa.

Hello,
 
Just going to let you know fiance received an expedite for her K1 out of Manila.  Not sure if its from the emails I sent them a month ago with no response, but her interview is scheduled for December 3rd.  Not sure if it was because I wrote complaining about my son missing the school year or not, hes not part of the K1.  No one is allowed to attend the interviews except the applicant.  
 
I finally got all of the papers today for myself to apply for a Philippine visa and as long as I get that, Ill still fly back on the 26th of November. 

Just sharing my timeline. Our expedite request was approved on Sept. 3 and I completed my medical exam on September 15. I then emailed the embassy on Sept 22. I got a response on Oct 1 re my interview appointment scheduled Nov 6. 
 
hope this helps! 

Effective  October 5, 2020, we will begin offering limited non-emergency Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) and passport services at the U.S. Embassy in Manila and limited passport services at the U.S. Consular Agency in Cebu, by appointment only.
This is at least some good news for some of us.

Talked to a gentlemen at the NVC late yesterday evening. He took the time to explain the cancelation email and the process. Being our case was ready at the NVC and we were in line for an interview, once the case was removed from the system, it generate the cancelation notice. He wasn't sure why the case was still there but he said give it a few more days and if there has been no change to contact the NVC again. He was very nice and gave great detail on everything I asked. This morning at 6am I received an email from the NVC that our case is now "In Transit" to the embassy. Great News!!!

I will send my wife and son this week or next then if this is the case. Thank you for the post

That's a bunch of nonsense. They processed over 100 spousal visas last month. https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Statistics/Immigrant-Statistics/MonthlyIVIssuances/AUGUST 2020 - IV Issuances by Post and Visa Class.pdf
 
What she didn't tell you is that they are only doing expedited cases now. Since you are approved, don't listen to her. Look at the timelines on this website. People in Manila are having interviews and getting approved every week. 

My wife went to SLEC today without an interview letter. She showed the NVC expedite approved email with her MNL case number to the guard. No problem. 

Very good.  My expedite approval was from NVCExpedite as well, 10 days ago. But when I called the US Embassy today (using the US line: 730-520-2235), the attendant said there were no interview slots open at all and asked about the reason for my expedite, even though my expedite had already been approved. She said that since I had not received an email from the Embassy yet, that meant they did not have our file (even though CEAC shows it is located at "Manila" and the status is "Ready").  So it is a bit confusing. My wife doesn't want to travel to Manila if an interview isn't possible.

My son's case status  is READY and in manila. I emailed slec on 9/21, and they're respond was, its okay to get the medical exam without interview letter as long as he has a case number and CEAC ready. I also emailed  the embassy for expedite interview appointment, and they're advice is, to get the medical first and email them back when the medical is all done. Goodluck to all of is. 

In our case, I called SLEC and I advised them that I don't have an appointment date/interview letter, but our request for expedited processing was already approved. They allowed me to schedule and proceed with my medical examination , and in place of the interview letter, I was asked to present the email from the NVC regarding the approval of the expedite request.  

My wife sent them an email and this is what SLEC said:
Normally, Visa Interview Letter with case number from the NVC or Visa Appointment Confirmation from the US Embassy with the interview date is presented to us during the medical examination.
 
However it is your discretion to have the medical examination without the appointment letter, for as long as you know your case number and visa preference category.
 
You may also bring the letter that was sent to you by the US Embassy for our reference.
 
 
For other information and requirements needed, kindly visit our website at www.slec.ph    
 
 
Thank you,
 
St. Luke's Medical Center Extension Clinic

@3naD I'm in batangas. I suggest you schedule the medical then email them when it's done. Allow 3 business before you follow up. This is based on my experience. I'm just sharing for others to know. No harm in asking. I've been asking USCIS then NVC then Embassy. They all approved my case. Goodluck. Let me know how it goes.

After receiving 3 RFE's for proof of domicile from NVC, I decided to get my Senator involved and received my DQ about 30 days later for my stepson.   After reading about USEM expediting cases here I decided to try for expedited processing also due to the cost of buying a home and maintaining a separate apartment in the Philippines.  Submitted to NVC on 11 September and just received the approval today for both my wife and stepson.  I was expecting a denial as I did not provide any hard proof for the expedite request and it was sent immediately to the embassy.  I thought I would be asked to submit proof at a separate time.  
 
However, the expedite request came back approved.  I don't know if this was due to the fact that my Senator had stated that he asked that his name be attached to the file as a special interest for him in getting the original DQ and would follow my progress for the next 90 days or the USEM being generous in their granting of expedited processing requests.  Whatever the reason we are thankful and moving ahead.

From the last article I read the USEM is not open and therefore cancelling and not scheduling any appointment until at least 01 August now. It is our understanding that until the embassy reopens that they will not schedule/re-schedule any interview appointments. We are also waiting ours.

You should call NVC and ask them to process them together. Making a note in a USCIS application doesn't sound like it will do the trick.
From what you write it sounds like you haven't filled out the DS-260 for either of them yet. Civil docs upload section becomes available after you complete the DS-260.
I highly recommend that you do some reading on the DOS website where the NVC process is outlined very, very detailed.

Hello from a former lurker.  I decided to post my recent success in hope that it may provide encouragement to someone as many of you posts have for me.  Yesterday I checked my IR2 case status for my stepson as do normal once of week just out of habit.  Low and behold the case was approved on 01 May 2020 despite only being submitted online on 29 Feb 2020.  Then on 02 May 2020 I received and email from NVC advising of case creation already.  This seemed extraordinarily fast as it took my wife case 1 year to get to this stage.  She just got to the NVC stage on 13 Nov 2019 after more than a year at USCIS.  I was delaying her case as I made a mistake and thought my son would be included in her I30 which it wasn't.  I we had decided to wait the year for this approval and rented a house for a year here but two months into our lease both are at NVC.   I was able to pay the fees yesterday for my wife but my son log in indicated that the AOS was paid.  Could this be because it has already been linked to my wife's application or because I am the same petitioner for two separate cases?  Whatever the reason I must say we are extremely happy but shocked.  If only we could cancel our lease now (lol). Thanks for always sharing and keeping our spirits up. Will keep you informed of our progress for here on out.