rouguewave

Just a short note to check in and post a summary of recent events. I was over in Philippines for the holidays, arriving Dec 20 and just departing Jan 5. During that time honey ko and I were able to process all required medical exams (her and 3 kids), we had the interview on Jan 4 at which point they were approved for the Visas.

Everything went reasonably smoothly, although there are some stories and notes to post on the forum when I've recovered from the Jet Lag. She told me yesterday (last night) that she has picked up ALL the visas and was getting the requisite CFO stamps in all the passports. We've already got tickets purchased for flights for them to come over to the US this weekend. She has packed up the house and has moved to temporary quarters in Manila to wait for that, while the kids are saying a farewell to the ex and his family.

By this sunday (1/13) they should be arriving here, where I'm ready to receive them and we're all excited to get started on the next parts of our respective lives and journey's.

More to post later, but for now I wanted to post this and say a huge THANK YOU to all who participate in this forum for the contributions you make to make the journey a little more tolerable. Thanks.

But with all the things you have to do before the wedding, believe me, you will lose weight! :lol: It happened to two of my girlfriends! So no worries

The other day I found two white hairs on my head..... :lol:

Mirla,

I am sure that you mean things like picking wedding halls, bands, dresses, flowers, and stuff like that. I'm sure you didn't mean OTHER things, which of course will wait for the honeymoon.

ps: Honey ko's bday is Dec 22nd too. That's part of the reason I'm headed over there next week.

Question: What is the ban for an overstayed visa waiver program? A friend from Germany overstayed in the US almost two years ago and she wants to attend her cousin's wedding....She asked me if there is any ban but I don't know anything about it........

This post has been edited by MKCT: Today, 12:15 AM

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"Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions." Albert Einstein.

05/09/07 --- NOA1

05/15/07 --- Touch

10/24/07 --- Case assigned!

10/31/07 --- Touch

11/01/07 --- RFE

11/02/07 --- Touch

11/05/07 --- Got RFE on the mail

11/09/07 --- RFE sent back to VSC

12/06/07 --- Waited enough time to RESEND our RFE

12/07/07 --- RFE received at VSC and signed by Novak....

12/10/07 --- Case received and resumed

12/11/07 --- Touched

12/12/07 --- Touched

12/13/07 --- Touched

12/14/07 --- Touched

Mirla?!?!? What's going on over there?

You've been touched 4 times in 4 days?

Maybe Patrick is closer than you've been telling.

You may want to look here: http://www.visajourney.com/examples/Form-I-134.pdf

Zee,

Can you tell me where the motivation comes from for the example? I see nothing in the K1 or I-134 instructions that indicate the question isn't valid for K1 applicants. Thanks for the response.

I'm very curious how folks responded to this question on the I-134 (Affidavit of Support). I'm assuming its not an issue of saying "I Intend" versus "I Do Not Attend", so I will be surprised if there are many poll responses that select the negative.

For me, its "of course I intend to support my fiance, later wife, and children". Seems like a no brainer to me. But its the text part I'm more curious about. So, I'm interested to hear how others filled that space. The instructions say:

If you check "intend," indicate the exact nature and duration of the contributions. For example, if you intend to furnish room and board, state for how long and, if money, state the amount in U.S. doallrs and state whether it is to be given in a lump sum, weekly or monthly, and for how long.

I've been sent here to cordially invite you all to this other thread......

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=97411

Maybe we can have just a single Jan USEM Interview thread, if we really try. :-D

Seems we've got a lot of independent Jan USEM Interview threads. (this is third I looked at)

Why don't we all meet here?

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...t&p=1351904

No offense, but do we really want to have 2 of these threads running simultaneously?

Just a thought. You can see the other here.....

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...t&p=1351904

Hi,

Just a note to check in here. We're already on the list with out Dec 27th medical and Jan 4th interview. We're planning to try for an early medical if the stars and schedules align properly. I'll be over in Philippines to accompany honey ko around on all the activities. If you see a big kano being led by a little filipina and 3 kids, that's me.

THANKS ROUGUEWAVE.WERE DID YOU GET THE NAME?I AM A CAPTAIN ON A BOAT IN THE GULF OF MEXICO.IF YOU ARE GOING OVER THERE FOR THE INTERVIEW YOU COULD TRY USING BOOKINGWIZ.COM MOBISSIMO TRAVEL IT SAVED ME ALMOST FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS ON MY FLIGHT

I work with computers and there is a company that makes software named that. I always thought it was a cool sounding name.

ROUGUEWAVE......you and I both have the same NOA2 dates.

Can you tell me what number you called, and what info that you had to give them.

I sure hope that we are there with you all also.

GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE HERE.......... :energetic: :energetic: :energetic:

To get info from the NVC, I called 603-334-0700. Press 1, then 5 to talk with an employee.

If all operators are busy, you might get cycled back into top menu, or popped out to an exit msg.

I called late (11:30pm) Eastern time, as they are on-duty until Midnite and seem less busy then.

Be prepared to give USCIS Rec't number, beneficiary name & Date of Birth (for verification).

I asked if they had rec'd the application. If so, what was the date of receipt (at NVC) and case number.

I also asked if they'd sent it to the embassy yet. 1st time I called, they said they hadn't and they told me when to call back to check again. They were very nice.

When I called the US Embassy Manila, I called +63(2) 301-2000 ext 5184

I had to provide the Case # (from NVC) and also verify beneficiary. I asked if they had rec'd package, if the Packet had been sent to beneficiary.

Hope this helps.

I just called 888 877 9888

They asked me for my CC info and said that a pin# will be $18, is this the number and route that you all have been going to get info??

Thanks

I did this first and got connected to a call center. It was hard to understand them and the connection was poor. I also got the sense they were a commercial call center, not USEM employees. After that, I called the embassy directly.

It was an $18 education.

can somebody tell me what i need to do to have my timeline show when i put a new post on here.

Most people are entering their timelines into their Signatures, in addition to the Timeline database. That way, people reading the forums, comments, and threads can see at a quick glance what the person's situation is. To enter anything into your signature, do the following....

Touch "My Assistant" on the Light Blue menu bar at the top of the screen.

Select "Edit Forums Signature" from the pop up menu.

The text box that opens can be filled with anything (mostly) you want. Its HTML friendly, so if you speak that language you can get really fancy. If not, just simple text is fine. Each time you press "Update my Signature" it will display what you input in the upper section and return you to the editing box in the lower section. When you're done, just select another menu option.

Play around with it a little and see if you can get the hang of it.

Sweet. Using your little DHL trick I have learned that my package is being delivered to the embassy as I write this...

Congratulations!!! Don't tell Byron you called it "my little DHL trick" or he'll come back here and start screaming again.

http://manila.usembassy.gov/wwwh3219.html

On the very last paragraph of the link above, there is also the verification of the petitioner's whereabouts. Is this a new policy aside from NSO verification we will pay at Metrobank?

Guys I need to repost it to get more opinions.

No offense, but if you read the paragraph it starts with "If the consular officer needs verification...". That means its not always going to happen and will be at the officer's discretion. I suspect this is because there are occasions that they suspect some form of fraud is occuring (e.g. the petitioner is dead) or perhaps question where the petitioner is (e.g. NOT in US).

This doesn't appear to be a requirement, just something that might be asked on occasion.

With all the folks on here who seemed to have luck calling the embassy, I did the same and was told both the Medical date scheduled (12/27) and the Interview date scheduled (01/04/08).

They also said the sent the packate out to honey ko on Friday, Dec 7 and that it should be there in the next day or so. I'm waiting for confirmation that it arrived.

Has the other parent signed a release to allow the children to come to the US? If not the K-2 will be denied.

Jasman,

If you know this factually and can produce it, I'd appreciate the specific web reference. Otherwise, the speculation is more harmful than helpful.

The annulment decree declares "Custody of the minor children of petitioner [honey ko] and respondent is hereby awarded to petitioner subject to respondent's visitation rights."

I read the DSWD website about travel permits and saw the issue of watchlist. I believe the annulment decree covers the custody issue, but not sure how "subject to respondent's visitation rights" would be interpreted.

As I said in the original post "I'm hoping there are others on the forum who have brought children over with potential hostile ex-family that might be willing to share their experiences (public or PM me). We have taken all the necessary steps for the Visa process and the kids will attend the Medical and Interview. We don't expect any problems from USEM."

ps to Credzba: Yes, we can try that too but one way he can cause trouble is by refusing to do that until we're ready to board the plane. I'm trying to determine what (if any) others may have experienced.

Holy cow! The package sent to The Philippines is 51 lbs!

Yep,

That's because we who want to bring in filipina's have to do a lot of convincing to get them to part with their Philippine Treasures (filipinas).

For fiancee'

DS156-k and DS-156

for kiddos

DS-156 and (if a male child over the age of ?) DS-157

hope that helps

Tracy

LOL - you do have to laugh when you see that they say "paperwork reduction act" yet all of the forms we have to fill in (and get copies of etc..)...

I believe this is INCORRECT, and I'm not sure what difference the gender of the child is.

Fiance will require DS-156, DS-156K, and DS-157. See http://philippines.usembassy.gov/wwwhivk1.html

Children will require DS-156, and DS-157.

According to the US Embassy Manila website: http://philippines.usembassy.gov/wwwhniv1.html

"All nonimmigrant visa applicants, except diplomatic (A), official (G), personal employees of A and G visa holders (A-3 and G-5), certain U.S. Government sponsored exchange visitors (J), and certain NAFTA treaty nationals (TN) and treaty dependents (TD), must pay the machine-readable visa application fee equal to $100 U.S. dollars.

This fee can only be paid at designated branches of Citibank or Bank of the Philippine Islands. It must be paid in Philippine currency at the American government exchange rate prevailing on the day of payment. The bank will provide a receipt and DS-157 Form where payment is machine-validated by check-rite."

In other words, make sure you pay the fee for the fiance and ALL children too and are provided a DS-157 form to bring to the embassy.

Are there any filipina's out there who have had to bring children (derivitive K2 from K1) while leaving with hostile ex-family situation?

Honey ko has children that we will bring with her (derivitive K2 from K1). Some days her ex is fine with this, saying "its good for kids to go and have opportunity". Other days he threatens to make trouble for their departure.

I'm hoping there are others on the forum who have brought children over with potential hostile ex-family that might be willing to share their experiences (public or PM me). We have taken all the necessary steps for the Visa process and the kids will attend the Medical and Interview. We don't expect any problems from USEM.

Right now, honey ko has physical custody of 2, while the 3rd child lives with ex's mom. I am confident that we can manage the situation, but as things progress she becomes more nervous. Sharings from other filipina's about bringing their children over with them would help.

we just got our approval on dec 7th. are interviews scheduled upon arrival of hardcopy or electronic? im wondering if we will make the latest cut

Congrats to you!! To answer your question, no, interviews are scheduled regardless if you get the hard copy of the notice from NVC. Snail mail is the hard proof that in fact the case is moving on. Since you have a case number, you can call the Embassy in Manila to see when they receive the packet and ask for interview dates if they have already scheduled them. I believe the US Embassy in Manila schedules the interviews and relays this info to NVC and Department of State. Now, Ive been tracking the schedules online at the USE Manila website, and currently Ive only gotten 2 interview schedules for MNL2007819XXX, which the interview date at the Embassy is Jan 9, 2008. They haven't scheduled anyone after that or at least not updated the website for inquiring for the past 3 weeks.

What phone number are you using to call the embassy in Manila? All I can find on the website is the call center number, which I tried ($18.00 cost) and they aren't very helpful. I think they are using a Philippine call center, which would be both appropriate and ironic. I'd prefer to just call overseas if I could and talk with a live person in the Embassy.

The only other numbers I've got are for NVC and the DoS here in Washington, DC. They only seem to have the information about when the package was sent and can't even confirm that it was received.

Listen to this nice piece of noose I got from doing my weekley call to the USE.. They now need a P 650 fee paid at the metro bank ASAP After paing that fee they need me to send a text to Delbro International showing I made the deposit.

this is the info she gave me:

go to any metro bank and deposit php 650

Account # 7-151-51420-7

Account name : Delbros International Logistics INC

Get two deposit slipps one for the bank and one to keep

after that is done you will need to send a text ,message in all capital letters to:

TN # 0917-5555-313

USE-MNL case number - first, last, middle name-(branch name)-(dat of deposit)-(time of deposit)-php650

Example of date 7 dec 07 day month year

She said people that already have interview dates don't need to do this

You happen to know what the extra fee is for?

Thanks to Cadman76 for pointing this out to me, its not an extra fee but a required process which Delbros does, they verify that your beneficiary in the Philippines has a valid birth certificate and is sent to NSO for verification. Its actually stated on the USEM website http://manila.usembassy.gov/wwwh3219.html the 6th bullet from the bottom of the page and has a link to http://manila.usembassy.gov/wwwfdelb.pdf describing what Tim posted.

My fiance has children who we are processing to bring with her as K2 derivatives. Does anyone know if the 650 php fee has to be paid for fiance and EACH child?

Please don't just quote me from the referenced page. I read it and it says "The cost of the document verification is P650 per applicant.". It just seems strange to me that they would want "document verification" for derivative (children) applications. I'm hoping someone who's been through this will reply with their experience. Thanks.

I know....not that I remember....hahaha!

Julez, thanks for the "RFE" advice!!! And thank God Pat didn't send it this morning!!!!!

I know Rae...there was nothing to worry about....but that's me....I worry about everything!!! I couldn't even focus on what I was doing before...I just kept think about the RFE in BIG LETTERS

Oh NO, Mirla!!!!!

Did you remember to tell him to write it in RED ink? What if he uses BLUE ink? I think I read somewhere around here that VSC takes the ones written in BLUE ink and just flushes them down the toilet.

Okay guys help me out here!

I just got off the phone with NVC, and the woman told me our case had been forwarded to London already!

...What now?!

How can I track it? Can I even track it?

It is difficult to track without DHL's tracking number. However, it normally takes around 3 business days to get to the embassy. Forget NVC now and start calling DOS at 202-663-1225 x1, x0. They will be able to tell you if your package has been received at the embassy. Call them once a day until they receive it.

Actually, for those who wish to try tracking, I'll point you to this thread that was posted several days ago.....

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=98172

You know folks, you ought to get out and mingle a little. There is lots of interesting stuff out there.

So if i wanted to see the packages that were shipped on the 3rd december, i would search using this reference: EXP 03 DEC 2007A???

It comes back saying that no shipments are found

Im confused!

Nope. Dec 3 would be your starting point. You can move forward or backward from there. First thing you need to know is the date your application was shipped from NVC. If you call them, they will usually tell you. All you need is a confident date when it shipped from their facility.

Then if you access the DHL website, select Track by Reference, and enter that date in the form 'EXP 03 DEC 2007A'. Just like you, when I entered Dec 3, it said No shipments found. But when I changed the date to 'EXP 04 DEC 2007A' then I saw that this reference was used on a whole BUNCH of packages that left on Dec 5. I'm guessing they use the Reference number for internal tracking purposes. If NVC did tell you Dec 3, then I don't know what to say. This is not a solid method for exactly tracking YOUR visa on its journey I'm suggesting here. It depends on the truth (from NVC), beauracracy, and procedures (deduced from NVC) as well as IT (thanks to DHL).

So, you need to call NVC and ask them when it shipped. If they say "Dec 5" or "Dec 4" then you're probably in the batch that just left and its on its way to your favorite embassy. If they don't tell you it shipped, or they don't tell you when it shipped then you won't be able to track it. Even if they DO tell you when it shipped, there is no guarentee here. Like I said in the beginning, this isn't an exact science.

HAVE YOU EVER HEARD A NEW YORKER THAT'S NOT LOUD?????????

Nope, including my aunt and cousins from the West side.

That's why I live in Virginia, so I can hear New Yorkers at a normal volume.