top_secret

It should not need apostille. The official US requirements are here. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Visa-Reciprocity-and-Civil-Documents-by-Country/Uruguay.html

That is discouraging. Maybe US Embassy Manila recruited a batch of ill-prepared trainees in a classic "government work" attempt to address their ridiculous backlog issue. My only (not really good) thought is that roundtrip airfare from the Philippines TO Qatar is probably about on par with the cost of a repeat medical at Saint Luke's these days. I 'think' that in-person they can get a police certificate in a few days. As a general rule Filipinos can get to the Mideast for very cheap on Cebu Pacific to Dubai and can transit without visa from there to Doha etc. There's Qatar visas and other concern but going to Qatar in person is at least a thought. Just to double check, how was the 221g worded? Did she have actual proof with her that she had not returned to Qatar, like her old passports etc?

What is the status on the USCIS case?? Has it changed to "Case Was Sent To The Department of State"??

I'm quite certain that at the visa interview the consul could care less if a B2 visa applicant has a plane ticket or not. They wouldn't hesitate to deny someone who did have a ticket if that's what they decided. They would probably be more interested in your explanation of how you were paying for the ticket than any ticket itself. If you got the visa you might be asked at the border about how your departure from the US is planned and if you showed them a plane ticket it better be a real one.

The "engagement certificate" as described sounds like a Catholic Betrothal Certificate. If so, I think it's not needed but it's probably not harmful either since it would be clear it was just the churches blessing of the engagement and not any kind of marriage yet. I don't think they are super common in the Philippines but they are not unheard of either. It sounds like you sent a lot more than what you needed to but as long as the basic requirements are in there like proof of meeting, statements that intend to marry within 90 days of entering the US etc., I think it would be ok. Relationship evidence is more for the interview and US Embassy Manila is often cited as being about the easiest embassy there is.

A transcript superseeds a return and is the prefered document so it should be fine. Usually they never ask for a paper one anyway but it's good to still bring. When my wife was interviewed the consul made a remark that makes me think he was viewing what had been submitted to CEAC on his computer in real time during the interview.

I have heard one specific example of that being successfully done by a Philippine passport holder with a Costa Rica "digital nomad" type visa. I think it was on a FB group where I saw that mentioned, but it seemed credible. I'll see if I can find where I saw that. But as Boiler mentioned, it's totally up to the embassy.

The problem is. 10 days to get the passport back from the embassy is a very reasonable estimate and in fact most are getting it even faster than that these days. But, if you polled 20 applicants you could hypothetically find something like 14 who got their passport back in less than a week trouble free, 3 that got a 221g (which at least you do have some control over), and maybe 3 that inexplicably, for no outwardly apparent reason at all, took two to six weeks or even longer and no one knows why. In comparison, although CFO had a total meltdown scheduling around summer 2023 and you may still see a lot of hard feelings online about that episode. They seem to have since to resolved their problems and applicants with actual visas on hand seem to be getting through them almost immediately.

Booking without an actual visa on hand is probably the greater threat. CFO is going fairly smooth for most people lately but totally random delays in visa delivery are a fact of life. As far as booking travel, choose your tolerance for risk and consider what an unexpected delay might cost. But delays from the Embassy are probably a greater threat than CFO.

UCSD is just an application acceptance point. It is the actual US Dept of State Passport Office downtown that can literally get your passport overnight if you have travel in 14 days. https://passportappointment.travel.state.gov/ We will probably book a celebratory trip to Cancun whenever my wife naturalizes so we can take advantage of the overnight service.😁 Checking appointments just now, someone who took their oath today could get an appointment at the passport office Monday morning with delivery of the actual passport Tuesday. San Diego Passport Office has been pretty much wide open lately.

My gut feeling is that the requirement for any divorce decree is some kind of mistranslation that somehow got incorporated into some consulates web pages more recently. When we did ours, it was the Philippine Embassy in Mexico City (they have consular jurisdiction over Costa Rica). Their requirement at the time was for a divorce decree only if civil status was not listed anywhere on the marriage certificate. If the marriage certificate said civil status divorced, that was good. I never sent anything. I'd be tempted to skip it and see what happens. But if ever a bureaucrat asks me for a mountain of paperwork that just requires me to hit "print". I am happy to bury them in all the paper they requested. There is some twisted Philippine government logic to the 4 or 5 copies requirement. I think it's something like original documents and a certified stamped original ROM go back to you, one copy stays with the consulate, one copy goes to DFA in Manila and one copy goes to PSA. (plus possibly one mystory copy, just in case)

So, heres updated statistics now based on 39 self reported cases. Not much has changed on the stats but it's an even larger sample size. Time from filing to interview in San Diego in 2024. Average time: 144 days Median time: 130 days Fastest time: 72 days Slowest time: 245 days # of cases in less than 3 months: 3 # of cases 3 to 4 months: 13 # of cases 4 to 5 months: 9 # of cases 5 to 6 months: 8 # of cases 6 to 7 months: 2 # of cases 7 to 8 months: 4

Right on schedule according to the statistics 😁 Hopefully we are just a few weeks after you. Hmmm. Naturalizing ON Election Day. Maybe a last-ditch push to get out the vote? 😆 Per my research 'most' applicants are getting same day oath at San Diego lately. Not everyone, but your odds seem relatively good of getting a same day oath if your case is straightforward. Also, I have been checking appointment times for San Diego Passport office. They have been pretty much wide open for expedited passport appointments in the short-term immediate future if you have booked travel within 14 days. It should be no issue getting a passport in 2 or 3 days with the added benefit that I think you get to hang on to your Naturalization Certificate if you do an expedited appointment at the Passport Office. You would probably be just fine for Jan 2.

Usually adding a beneficiary to an account does not require a SS# or ITIN. If they do not owe and are not paying or filing returns for US Taxes they would not need a US Individual Taxpayer Identification Number so I don't think there is any way they could get one.

Some have long speculated that profit is often not the direct motive but rather laundering large amounts of ill-gotten or untaxed Pesos into stacks of more desirable hard currency is the greater goal. Otherwise, you can see the spread between their buy and sell rates and calculate their potential profit on the exchange. To me the risk vs reward never seemed to add up either.

ROM is a Philippine government thing. US Embassy Manila could literally care less if you file a ROM. It is not required at all for US Immigration. It has nothing to do with getting the visa, but if your wife intends to take your name she needs a ROM to change her name on her Philippine passport. It is not required for her to take your name, but if she wants to and does it in the Philippines it costs $25 for the ROM, 900 pesos for a new passport and the green card automatically comes with the desired name. If she waits to change her name until she gets to the US it costs $415 and can take a year to change a green card once it has been issued. CFO will give her a hard time about not filing a ROM and may hassle her but eventually they still have to let her go. CENOMAR/AOM is only required for the petitioner if the are dual citizen of former Filipino who lived in the Philippines more than 1 year as an adult. CENOMAR or AOM is always required for the beneficiary but if you dont file a ROM and therefore she gets an CENOMAR stating she is not married, instead of an AOM, it is ok but whatever document PSA issues, the beneficiary needs it.

USCIS has included biometrics fees in the cost of the the I-751 since April 1, 2024. The total fee is $750. You can use the fee calculator here to double check what you should pay. https://www.uscis.gov/feecalculator Minor children are included on the I-751 of the parent. It is only one form. Just resubmit the package with the correct $750 fee.

In the past it was possible to complete CFO without an actual visa on hand. Historical posts may be referring to that. Currently, CFO seems quite strict that an applicant must have an actual physical visa on hand to schedule CFO. The upside is that there no longer seems to be any problems getting CFO scheduled in the short term immediate future once someone does actually have a visa.

It seems the local Costco here in Southern California has jumped on the Christmas in September bandwagon. Perhaps Filipino management?😄 The gigantic display of Christmas items is already occupying the prime floor space in the front of the store.

A trip to Iran would also add a red flag on her passport and travel history that could definitely draw unwanted scrutiny later on. It could lead to denials programs like Global Entry, problems on security clearances, secondary inspections at later entries, etc. I'd vote for meeting in Turkey or maybe Georgia.

You can also submit an online inquiry here https://ph.usembassy.gov/visas/immigrant-visa-inquiry-form/ . What does her case status show on CEAC?? You mention your mother had an interview a year ago and had a "high volume of 221g requests". Were all the 221g's responded to in a timely manner and have you remained in contact with the embassy over the last year?

To me the greatest vaguary remains, the "3 years of marital union before applying" requirement. I have seen a relative handful of cases denied for not meeting that particular requirement, despite the 90 day window, and many many more that were approved. I have looked for the actual text of the law, rule or policy of the "90 Day rule" that would exactly apply to the "3 years of marital union" requirement and have not found an explanation to my full understanding so far.

Without delving into politics, I 'think' that was somewhat common 4+ years ago and the actual examples you heard of may not be recent.

It's USCIS who issues Green Cards. NVC or even the Embassy has no authority over whether a Green Card is CR1 or IR1.

Unless you have a lot of experience driving in third world conditions I concur driving is a bad idea. I drive there myself so I can't tell anyone not to do it but at least be very certain you know what you are getting into. There are NO traffic controls in most places. Not a stop light not a stop sign, no lines on the roads, have to cut across four lanes of bumper to bumper traffic to get where you are going, etc etc. Parking is usually a big problem. Grab, trikes and taxies are incredibly cheap. Grab is phone app based similar to Uber or Lyft. Some airports have a Grab kiosk in the arrivals area that would call one for you but I'm not sure about CDO. You should place a high priority on having working mobile data. Either roaming on a US plan or you can get cheap prepaid eSims in advance or if you phone won't support eSims they have free(ish) SIM cards at the airport. Get Grab set up and the acct verified, credit card approved all while still in the US. Honestly, for a late night arrival on a first ever trip to the Philippines, at least check with your hotel how much it costs to have a driver waiting for you with a sign in arrivals. It will probably cost twice what a Grab would charge but is probably still ridiculously cheap and provides piece of mind and lowers stress. Be careful making tight schedules. The Philippines is a "tight schedule averse environment". A night time arrival at CDO is almost guaranteed to be significantly delayed. The two hour layover in Manila is doable but still a little risky if the arrival and departure is all in Terminal 3. It could be almost impossible if there is a terminal change and separate tickets.