top_secret

The US Embassy has advice online here. https://jp.usembassy.gov/services/marriage/marriage-in-japan/ Probably a significant percentage of American marriages that take place in Japan involve service members stationed there. So the Military has information available as well. While it may not all be directly applicable to civilians, probably much of it is the same. https://www.usarj.army.mil/Portals/33/cmdStaffs/sja/doc/Marriage_in_Japan.pdf Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage (LCCM) is a Philippine thing rather than a Japanese thing, however it seems unclear if it gets included under Japanese laws that the the persons marrying must fulfill the legal requirements of whatever country they are citizens of??? The US partner only needs an affidavit notarized by the US Embassy. It seems unclear if an affidavit notarized by the Philippine Embassy or a CENOMAR would suffice for the Filipino partner. Since the Philippine Embassy specifically says they only issue LCCM's to Filipinos who are resident in Japan, maybe it would be most helpful to ask them if they how how it works for non-resident Filipino partners. If the main goal is just to get married, a Utah online marriage could be done while in Japan, and is fully recognized by both the US and the Philippines. That would certainly be much simpler and involve far less bureaucracy if there are no other reasons to go through the Japanese government..

I wouldn't worry about it yet unless there is an immediate need. Recently some notices have been taking 3 + weeks.

Yea. I noticed that after the fact when I followed up on a few timelines. Apparently a glitch in visa journey's timeline feature???? Apparently it's not so clear to search recent I-751 approvals here for NBC. I don't see where USCIS is clear on it either. It seems conventional wisdom is that NBC is a preparation zone for cases that will transfer to local offices for interviews for I-751 or N-400. We are at NBC and N-400 how I see our case eventually settling.

I have heard of people paying agents in Viet Nam to get visa extensions. I think to some extent money can still buy some flexibility of visa privileges in Viet Nam. I have also heard of people doing multiple visa runs with a quick turnaround within a neighboring country. Any reason Viet Nam in particular? Several other countries in the region have easier resident or other longer term visa options. I'm pretty sure in Cambodia you can very easily get one year renewable visas.

We are at NBC too. Looking at recent approvals here is seems they are all over the place but quite a few just a little over a year. https://www.visajourney.com/timeline/liftlist.php?op6=National+Benefits+Center&op1=5&op2=&op3=&op4=1&op5=5%2C9%2C10%2C11%2C12&cfl=0

I believe the "unsolicited evidence" upload section is a new feature for I-751's with IOE case numbers in the last few months as they are moving to electronic processing. We plan to use it to submit new tax transcripts, additional bank statements etc as more evidence naturally accrues during our wait. Since it is apparently a new feature for I-751's there not much actual experience on how it might affect a case positively or negatively, but I'm guessing it is a good thing. As per others, the poorly scanned .tif file of our paper submission is missing most of the the evidence and includes only the photos we sent and a "transaction payment form" they filled out. I thought it was odd that a payment form they filled was included with our photos since it seems logical that any thing they added to our package would go at the front or the back. Not randomly in the middle where the pictures were when we sent them.

Turkish Airlines would be another major airline from the Philippines. Though undertaking such a trip at this time seems not particularly wise unless there were very good reasons and very detailed planning.

CFO used to be a simple little annoyance where emigrants and OFW's had to go down and attend their seminar after they got their visa. In the grand scheme of dealings with Philippine Gobrnment bureaucracies, it was probably rated about a signal 2 at most. During the period of time when the entire nation lost its mind over Chinese-rona-virus, CFO somehow morphed itself into some tyrannical gatekeeper of the nation. It extended itself way beyond anything it was ever intended for. Earlier this year as hysteria subsided and overseas travel resumed en mass, CFO kind of collapsed under their own weight and was thrashing around with no clarity at all what the hell they were even supposed to be doing. People were noticing appointments were scarce, dates were getting pushed way out into the future, Filipino tourists were getting offloaded, the whole thing was melting down. It seems with the most recent developments they are more or less going back to their original mission of being a simple little annoyance where emigrants and OFW's have to go down and attend their seminar after they get their visa. So hopefully things are settling down and getting back to normal so it is going back to being no big deal again. Young teens? As far as I can tell, running down to the store to buy beer, some smokes and a bottle of Empi is generally a task delegated to 5 or 6 year olds.😉

Here are some really good Filipino-centric websites on Japanese visa applications. https://www.thepoortraveler.net/2013/11/japan-visa-requirements-manila-philippines/ https://iamaileen.com/japan-visa-philippines/

Sorry I didn't get back to it. It's been the most hectic week ever here. I would start with Japan. They have more clearly defined sponsorship and somehow for us they just seemed easier. Plus once she has a Japan visa it lends greater credibility for Korea. Japan has all the paperwork online. https://www.ph.emb-japan.go.jp/itpr_en/00_000035.html These are these only travel agencies accredited by the Japanese Embassy to handle Filipino tourist visa applications. They are who you deal with, not the embassy. https://www.ph.emb-japan.go.jp/itpr_ja/00_000253.html Theres the application https://www.ph.emb-japan.go.jp/files/100475146.pdf Japanese example. They are fussy. https://www.ph.emb-japan.go.jp/files/100365623.pdf Complete this letter of guarantee. https://www.ph.emb-japan.go.jp/files/100365626.pdf You need an itinerary. Keep it simple. You have no obligation to follow it. Make it for a 4 or 5 day trip. They will generally grant Filipino first time applicants a 15 day single entry visa no matter what you request. They give longer stays and multiple entries on subsequent applications. https://www.ph.emb-japan.go.jp/files/100365634.pdf We did do a cover letter directly addressing shortcomings in my wifes application (we weren't married at the time)

I do not want to claim any expertise on the issue or even any real knowledge. Just to address a possible issue that I see. By my (incomplete) understanding of Philippine law, an illegitimate child is under the sole custody of the mother, and if the mother passed, or for any other reason could not fulfill custodial responsibilities then the grandparents automatically gain custody. AFIK there is no way the father of an illegitimate child automatically gains custody without some additional legal process. I do not know what real world implications that raises or if a simple lack of objections by the grandparents is adequate. But it seems at minimum it would at least require formal consent of the grandparents.???

US green card holders who are flying an itinerary to or from the US are exempt from South Korean visa requirements for up to 30 days. https://overseas.mofa.go.kr/us-losangeles-en/wpge/m_4397/contents.do

It took us 22 days to receive the actual biometric appointment letters in the last mail delivery before the actual appointment. So yours may still be coming. But we were pretty certain they would have taken the printed online notice at the ASC if they didn't come.

My wife got both Japanese and Korean visas before we were married. It is not simple but those are both very achievable visas for Filipino passports. I think with an American husband she will have no problems. Both countries only accept visa applications through designated travel agencies in the Philippines. You do not deal directly with the embassy and there are no interviews. It's mainly just a big huge paperwork exercise. Japan would generally start a a Filipino with a 15 day single entry visa. Korea a 30 day single entry visa. They may issue multiple entry visas and longer visits on subsequent trips. When I'm in my office tomorrow I'll see if any of the paperwork we submitted would be useful as templates. Japan wants a detailed trip itinerary etc. Also beware. Japanese apparently really hate American sized paper. 🤣 Everything must be strictly A4 size paper.

Others in this thread have had just totally random wait times for notices. I don't think anyone got them all at the same time. Times are varying wildly from just a few days to nearly a month for no obvious reasons. Also, although online it says all our letters were sent the same day, our extension and online code were actually mailed from Southern California and the biometrics notice was mailed from Kentucky a week later. All with Missouri return addresses. Unless there is an immediate need I wouldn't count any September letters missing just yet.

Then maybe we can win the lottery again like our 48 day I-130 approvals.😁🤣😂 Or maybe that was where luck ran out. I hope they realize that if they are trying to artificially improve their processing time statistics they could get double the statistic manipulating impact by approving a CR1 CR2 case early.

That's the same as my wifes case. It changed to actively reviewing later the same day as her biometrics appointment. I have a feeling actively reviewing is where it will stay for a very long time.

Just a thought, but you could try "Ask Emma" live chat and ask if they would look up the receipt number and/or get them to e-mail you the I-797 based on all their info and A numbers. I got them to do that last week for a missing biometrics notice. It's not exactly identical since I did have the receipt number but basically "Ask Emma" live chat verified my identity by quizzing me on a bunch of minor details about the case and then promptly e-mailed the pdf notice I asked for. They may say no but there is no harm in asking.

Having filed I-130's online and just having filed I-751 on paper I would have to say I think online was better in every way. These days it is almost certain that if you submit a paper I-130 it will be scanned and uploaded to ELIS anyways, given an IOE number and processed electronically more or less the same as a purely online filing. So, filing on paper you are often taking an original document. Scanning it into a computer. Printing a copy of the scan on paper, then mailing the paper to a lock box where someone who doesn’t care even slightly as much as you do scans the copies back into a computer. Vs....just scan it and upload it to USCIS. Going through the whole multiple scanning multiple printing exercise very much degrades the quality of what the reviewer sees. The photos I printed and sent in without I-751 are very nice sharp and colorful in the pdf I created. The paper printouts I mailed in were nice. The scan I found in my documents tab in my USCIS account is a HUGE tif file that takes forever just to load up due to its enormous size with very dismal, dark, black and grey pictures where you can barely even make out our faces. I would much rather have any viewer seeing the original pdf which was less than one tenth the file size. On our I-130' I gave all the pdf descriptive file names, set the default view to have a clickable thumbnail index on the left-hand side. I guarantee anything a reviewer wished to see out of many dozens of pages they could find in about 10 seconds. Want to boarding passes? Click "passport_stamps_and_travel__records.pdf" default view has the clickable thumbnail index, they could go straight to the page they want with a single click or go through multiple pages click click click. It has to make their job easier. I actually feel sorry for the reviewer of all the paper pages I sent that they scanned. I had a list of the contents in the cover letter but the reviewer will have a bunch of giant tif files with no descriptive names. I can only imagine they will have to go through over a hundred of poorly scanned pages one by one in multiple files to find anything in particular they are looking for. With the online filing I know EXACTLY what the reviewer is looking at. If I have a question i can log in and double check. With the paper filing I have the original copies of the pages I sent. But I don't really know what they have. Most of what they are actually looking at is not visible to me. What I can see looks terrible. I assume it's all there and they can make it out even with the terrible scanning but how do I know? On my I-751 where i can only see the photos I sent, there is a page they filled out recording the payment along with the photos. Which makes no sense to me since I would think any page they added would go at the start or the end of my packet. The pictures were in the middle. It makes me question if things are even scanned in the order I sent. Probably they are but again I have a question and there is no easy way I can answer it.

For CR/IR spouse and family Visas the medicals are all transmitted electronically. K1 is still old-school.

That's ironic because CFO is constantly telling people not to book their flights until the after their CFO certificate is issued. 🤣

I think they have entirely eliminated paper certificates and stickers. Now it's just an e-mailed pdf. They should give it immediately upon completion and they would be good to go at the airport.

😴 Well, it's near my bedtime anyways. 😁 Put a very strong vote for online from me, but I would have to elaborate tomorrow if I have some free time and am sitting at my desk rather than on this phone.

1. Yes. Many people with IOE case numbers that were scanned from paper submissions see only a tiny portion of what the sent in their online account. For my current I-751 I see ONLY the photos I sent scanned (poorly) into my online account. EVERYTHING else is not there. Apparently that is normal. Prior to paper I-751 cases getting scanned and getting IOE numbers the same situation existed with I-130s that were submitted on paper and received IOE numbers. It is that way 'just because' and cases have been getting approved and no one is getting RFE's over it not being in the online account. So it seems USCIS can still see it on their end even if you can't. 2. The unsolicited evidence in the online account seemed to be helpful or at least not harmful with my IOE I-130. I'm assuming now it would be the same with an IOE I-751.

"Lawfully" is perhaps the most popular. You can use it free without their paid services. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lawfully.lawfully_ai_tracker "Case Tracker for USCIS" is simpler and doesn't need you to create an account or anything so I prefer that one. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.saldous.casetracker I think since a few months ago they have been scanning all I-751 cases into ELIS for processing electronically and giving them IOE numbers. Theoretically it would be "good" but only time will tell. Good luck to all.