
top_secret
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Everything posted by top_secret
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Name change AFTER Green Card?
top_secret replied to Zin-Zin's topic in Moving to the US and Your New Life In America
I 'think' they would have changed my wifes name if she had a US issued marriage certificate. I 'think' the reason they refused to change her name with a foreign issued marriage certificate unless she changed her green card first, was they want USCIS to be the ones to evaluate and decide if the foreign marriage is legal for name change purposes. -
Name change AFTER Green Card?
top_secret replied to Zin-Zin's topic in Moving to the US and Your New Life In America
What was it you had from the US Embassy????? My wife was refused changing her name with Social Security using our Costa Rica marriage certificate. They told he she has to change her green card first. The Costa Rica marriage certificate is obviously Spanish but we have a certified English translation. I was not there and am not sure how well my wife was prepared to argue with them so I would certainly be interested in hearing the experiences of others with foreign marriage certificates. -
Help: NVC Rejected Illegible Philippine birth certificate
top_secret replied to Tinskee's topic in Philippines
If her or her family can go down to the LCRO they might be able to get a legible copy from them and have them endorse a new copy through to PSA. The LCRO copy is not valid for immigration by itself but at least one person here got them to accept an illegible PSA copy accompanied by a legible LCRO copy. -
Help: NVC Rejected Illegible Philippine birth certificate
top_secret replied to Tinskee's topic in Philippines
Is it the best possible scan of the paper document you have from from PSA? The old handwritten part may be what it is but is the modern PSA seal and security features on the paper the best possible scan and is it from a crisp brand new copy from PSA. You can order another one from PSA and try your luck. If it is "almost" legible you could try playing around with contrast and darkness with your scan. Some people have had success getting a copy from the Local Civil Record Office (LCRO) and submitting it as reference along with the PSA copy. If it is truly illegible and there is nothing that can be done to fix it then the final resolution would be to go to the LCRO and have them re-endorse a legible copy to PSA. It would be initiated at the LCRO and there is a nominal fee. Plus pay the expedite fee. -
DS-260 Confirmation Page printout
top_secret replied to Gaiden79's topic in IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures
You just log into CEAC and click the "IV APPLICATION" tab. Click "view" and then "review" and go through to the end and you get your confirmation page and all the options for printing. It has the option to e-mail you a pdf too. It's still there and available from my wifes completed 2 1/2 years ago. -
Expired K1 visa and I485 receipt notice should be fine. I think these days any actual illegal aliens would look to those checkpoints as an opportunity to expedite their free EAD rather than any risk of being detained or deported. We enjoy driving around the Southern California and Arizona deserts and encounter a number of those checkpoints with some regularity. We never had any problems with them and they have always been perfectly polite. Anecdotally, since some time last year I have not personally encountered a single one of them that was manned. Even ones that I usually would have expected to be manned are closed. So at least for us in SoCal and Arizona they seem to be on some sort of hiatus.
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USEM CR1/IR1 Interview Documents CENOMAR PSA AoM
top_secret replied to Jason and May's topic in Philippines
You order a CENOMAR from PSA. If PSA has you recorded as single you will receive a CENOMAR. If PSA has you recorded as married you will receive an Advisory on Marriages. Whatever you receive from PSA is what the embassy wants to see. -
It won't affect the K1 at all. We submitted evidence highlighting our trip to Europe, including the visa and matching passport stamps, as relationship evidence with our spousal petition. Your fiancées previous B2 denial won't affect the K1 either. She must declare it honestly on the DS160 but they won't ask questions about it and if anyone did ask, she was "denied due to insufficient ties to her home countries". That's the same reason everyone is denied B2 visas. They gave her a slip of paper that said so. No need to elaborate further. Just a note on the Schengen visa. Denmark has the second to highest denial rate for Schengen visa applications in the Philippines. The only Schengen country with a higher denial rate for Filipino passports is Finland. Before we were married my wife applied twice for Schengen visas. She was denied by France so we went embassy shopping and after some research discovered the Netherlands is traditionally the most generous with Schengen visas in the Philippines. She was approved by the Netherlands a few months after the France denial. Also, be aware that the Schengen visa process is a fairly arduous, paperwork intensive effort for Filipino passports. It can be done. We did it. But Schengen visas are not easy with a Filipino passport.
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It will also have your spouse's name, and marriage is a legally valid reason for taking your spouse's surname in the US. But the passport you bring the day of your interview is what really determines the name that goes on your visa, green card and social security card. So you would mainly want to look at what the requirements are for changing the name on your passport in your country.
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At every point where USCIS, NVC or the embassy asks your name, they will follow up by asking ALL names you have ever used. As long as your documents match one of "ALL names" it is fine. They know people change their names during marriage. It is not the slightest problem. You could change at any time during the whole process up until the day of your interview. The name on the passport you bring to your interview is the only one that really matters because it will go on your visa, green card, social security card and from those, all the new documents spawned during immigration to the US. So it is highly preferable that it is the name you really want to use. If you are married and choose to change to your spouses surname, filling the I-130 is as good a place as any to start using that name. You can change your passport later as long as it's changed before your interview..
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Approved at interview but CEAC has not been changed
top_secret replied to Swafford25's topic in Philippines
It's more an issue were you might rightfully be annoyed rather than worried. It's probably something simple like they randomly chose to verify some document with PSA. Which would of course get verified according to Filipino time. If the embassy asks for anything respond immediately. Otherwise it is probably all good and will resolve on its own before long. Even though it seems really long. -
FILIPINA DIVORCED IN USA BUT NOT RECOGNIZED IN PH
top_secret replied to maryaaaa's topic in Philippines
On NBI Clearances the embassy is very strict about all possible name combinations being covered. They are not strict about marital status on the NBI Clearance since they rely on different documents to determine that. Your former husband's surname should suffice for including your former married name. Having it as an AKA is double extra good above and beyond what you need but certainly can't hurt. -
FILIPINA DIVORCED IN USA BUT NOT RECOGNIZED IN PH
top_secret replied to maryaaaa's topic in Philippines
The US will accept the divorce decree without it being recognized in the Philippines. If the Philippines still considers you married then your NBI Clearances will stay as married. US Embassy Manila is known to accept incorrect marital status on a NBI Clearance with concrete proof of why it incorrect. IE, divorce decree. Your former husband's surname on your NBI Clearance seemingly completes the list of possible name combinations you may have, so if there are no corrections, annotations, or any other alternate names on any of your documents you shouldn't need an AKA. The embassies website is not quite clear on why an AKA might be required. The example above seems fine as is. The embassy will also accept your Advisory on Marriages incorrectly showing you as married in combination with the US divorce decree. They know about that marriage but they still want to see that there are no other marriages they don't know about. CFO might or might not give you a hard time about it. But the worst they can do hassle you or make up some extra requirements. In the end they still have to let you go. -
To very specifically answer the direct question.. If the children are not Filipino citizens then I am pretty sure their visa status will be directly the same as their foreigner parent or guardian. The Philippines does not have a student visa category for minors that is separate from their parent. Almost anything to do with a non Filipino citizen minor will be dependent on the patent's status. I do not believe children would need anything more than a valid extended tourist visa to attend a private school at the parents expense but I would verify that with the school.
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I have formally been yelled at by a Filipino immigration officer for going through the Filipino line with my wife. We were very affirmatively sent away to the back of the foreigner line. I suspect we just encountered a BI agent with a bad attitude and we probably would have been wrong no matter what we did. But at least for us, it seemed to set a president that we should use the foreigner line together so that's what we have done since with no further issues. Your mileage may vary.
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Approved at interview but CEAC has not been changed
top_secret replied to Swafford25's topic in Philippines
I would not worry. It's still well within the range of "normal". Every time the date updates it means someone at the embassy did something so it at least proves they have not forgot about you. Most of the time cases in Manila get issued within a day or two of a successful interview, but but sometimes seemingly normal looking cases take up to two weeks for no outwardly apparent reason. It will be "issued" soon. -
No problems issuing the visas or traveling. AOS I 'think' people have had mixed experiences. I heard of one case where they were asked to repeat the entire medical in the US because they couldn't find a Civil Surgeon in their area who would sign off on only the vaccination by itself. I didn't hear the resolution on that case if they actually really had to do it. I saw one case where they got a RFE for proof of vaccination. In any case it is not any kind of show stopper but it could still come up.
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SSN: Will It Be Too Problematic To Remove First Name?
top_secret replied to Howy's topic in Social Security Numbers
After you marry you can take your spouse's last name if you choose to. Some states would also allow you to change your middle name according to Philippine customs. Some states would not allow you to change your middle name. So it depends on the state for middle names. I don't think there are any circumstances where you can change your first name by marriage. It would require a legal name change by the laws of whatever state you are living in. -
For IR2 and other immigrant categories I believe Saint Luke's is now issuing blanket waivers due to unavailability of vaccine and that more or less settles the issue once and for all as far as immigration is concerned. You step son should be fine. What's different for K1 and K2 is Saint Luke's can kick the can down the road so the visa gets issued and the applicant can come to the US, but vaccination requirements for adjustment of status is a separate issue.
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Many couples choose to do an online marriage and then later have a renewal of vows religious ceremony in the Philippines to provide a big event for family and friends to witness and celebrate the marriage. It can be a big church wedding like affair but if already married online it cannot be a second formal civil marriage. It would be HUGE mess for immigration purposes too. Worst case is the embassy could make you annul the second illegal marriage before they would issue a visa, which would take years and cost lots money in the Philippines.