top_secret

Nothing here yet. It seems clear that the G-1145 failed. I double checked that it was included, filled correctly and nothing went to spam or anything. Since they charged my credit card I suppose it really doesn't matter and hopefully I should get a letter next week but it's annoying that we are in the dark over a USCIS failure. I have seen that complaint many times with paper I-130's that got IOE numbers and were scanned into the system. It never seemed to cause anyone any problems with their case but it seems to be a known phenomenon with cases scanned by USCIS. I wish we could do an online filing as I'm confident I could make PDF's that are much easier and more coherent to review than a big stack of scanned pages.

I just double checked on mine with a freshly downloaded I-130A. Anything typed into Part 1, 3.a 3.b and 3.c instantly auto fills Part 7, 1.a 1.b and 1.c. Thus those fields are not writable otherwise because they are only auto filled. I'm using Acrobat full version but Acrobat Reader should definitely work the same. Whatever the reason, the it's the failure of the autofill function that is why the fields are unwritable. https://get.adobe.com/reader/ edit to add. I should have been more specific about which 3.a 3.b and 3.c. It gets its values from whatever is imputed in Part 1, 3.a 3.b and 3.c on page 1.

You are probably using something other than Adobe Acrobat Reader to fill the form. When opened in Adobe Acrobat Reader those fields automatically populate with whatever you answered in 3.a 3.b 3.c. Most likely whatever pdf viewer you are using is not compatible with that pdf function.

Did you have an USCIS Online Account Number in question 9. on the I-751 itself? I had assumed whether that was answered or not would be the difference between it automatically showing up in myUSCIS or having to wait for the mailed access code.

Well, while everyone else already has their cases showing up in myUSCIS and giving status updates, we are still waiting for the text or e-mail with our case number. They charged my card late Tuesday night so I know all should be well. But the success of the of the G-1145 E-notifications is starting to look a little more dubious. I'm guessing those of you who are already seeing it in myUSCIS must of already had an online access code from your previous paper filings?

I guess from CFO's perspective, if the Philippine Government doesn't recognize your marriage, how could they possibly complain that you did not file a Report of Marriage? I think it's a non issue. They would probably want to see some relationship evidence for a holder of an immigrant visa with an overseas partner and I bet a marriage certificate would work great for that. As far as I know you dont stand much chance on the phone. CFO changes all the rules like every other week but the screen captures from the recent post below are the most current rules I've seen. Which says you have to e-mail them to cancel an existing appointment and schedule a new one online once you have the actual visa. If the website is completely down (403 Forbidden error) it is probably because they geo-block US IP addresses so you have to access it from the Philippines or use a vpn to appear like you are in some non-US country. https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/807795-please-clear-up-my-confusion-is-the-k-1-visa-an-immigrant-or-a-non-immigrant-visa/

Well in that case it's impossible for you to file a report of marriage so you got your explanation for CFO. Similar cases I heard of went trough CFO trouble free.

Before you submit you can and should review the filled pdf I-130 it creates from your answers to the online questions. If anything in the actual filled pdf I-130 differs from what it should be on a paper I-130, it's best to go back and review what ever question fills that particular answer and change it until the filled pdf I-130 matches what a paper one would be.

GCP only They no longer accept anyone without an actual visa in their passport. CFO is going to give her trouble about the lack of a Report of Marriage. CFO a Philippine Government agency and the Philippine government says a Filipino citizen married overseas is required to register the marriage with Philippine Embassy or Consulate that has consular jurisdiction over wherever the marriage took place. For an Australian Marriage it woud be the https://philembassy.org.au/consular/civil-registry/report-of-marriage or one of the Philippine Consulates in Australia depending where you got married in Australia. CFO is going to try to enforce that. The US Embassy has nothing to do with it. If the passport is in the US Embassy now, waiting for a visa then obviously she would not have a Report of Marriage completed in time for CFO in which case the best she can do is go in what she has, maybe beg and plead a bit and promise she is working on it with Philippine Embassy in Australia... but they said it's going to take 6 months and her flight is next week..... It would be up to the CFO counselor how much trouble they will give her over the issue but usually people in that situation do make it through anyways. There are some couples who could never register a marriage with the Philippine government like same sex or if they have a valid overseas divorce that is recognized by the US but not the Philippines and they still make it through CFO. But yea. CFO is going to raise the issue of no Report of Marriage.

Depending on what phone you have, it might (or might not) be able to use an eSIM concurrently with a physical SIM so you can have calls on one network and data on another. Another possibility is renting pocket wifi at the airport and returning it when you leave.

Personally, I would place the highest of all priorities on having mobile data. Both for Grab and if you just need to look stuff up since it's an unfamiliar place or if you need to message anyone. I would not rely on WiFi. Most of the western oriented restaurants and hotels do have WiFi for their customers but you would generally have to ask for the password. You can pick up tourist SIM cards at kiosks in the arrival hall in both Bangkok and Siem Reap airports for $6-$10 that provide data for a week, or longer for more if you need it. They will even set it up your phone for you. It's cheap and super easy. I'm not sure if they have any that roam in both countries but in the past I have used DTac in Thailand and Smart in Cambodia. The Grab app is really like the greatest thing ever for South East Asia. Like Uber or Lyft it removes all guesswork and uncertainty about getting around and is also cashless so no possibility of dispute or negotiation on pricing. As long as you can find your destination in a search or pick it off the map you will get there even if the driver can not speak or understand a word of English.

I can confirm seeing recent detailed firsthand accounts of petitioners not being allowed in the embassy when their fiancées or spouses were interviewed. They were most certainly turned away. Didn't make it past the first checkpoint.

We were there two weeks ago. I had my wife, 10 y/o stepdaughter and 78 y/o mom with us. I been there quite a few times over 20 years, my wife has been with me twice before. First time for my mom and daughter. Most hotels have free pickup by tuk-tuk at the airport. If that's the case and the guy who picks you up seems likeable enough, I’m sure you can hire him through the hotel to drive you around to the temples for next to nothing. They have what they call the "Small Circuit" and the "Grand Circuit". What you described it the Small Circuit. Angkor Wat, Bayon, Ta Prohm plus some smaller sites. "Grand Circuit" covers much of the rest. If you want an actual guide to walk you through the temples, like 50 of them will swamp you at Angkor Wat offering guide services. I think they are licensed but I'm a self-guided type of guy so never actually tried a guide there before. They all speak English and they have someone in their ranks who speaks about any other language you can think of. Most of the tuk-tuks are ok but now they have the phone app "Grab" which is like Uber or Lyft for tuk-tuks. So, you pick your destination of a map, it tells you the price and which guy will show up. Also, for Thailand and much of SE Asia. Install the app "Grab" on your phone. It's a game changer in Thailand and Cambodia since often half the problem is just being able to intelligibly tell the driver where you want to go. Not everyone speaks English but it's wide spread anyplace you would probably go. I never needed a translation app. Many Cambodians try to learn English and they have classes on TV and radio sometimes. We stay kind of near (but not on) Pub Street. It's loud at night but the area has everything foreigner orientated and easy. As far as crime? I don't think it's bad. I think Cambodians in general do not tolerate street crime so I think a robbery or something would only be in dark quiet places where no one is around. Scams and pickpockets? Yes. Use ordinary vigilance and common sense. Water and ice. Obviously drink bottled water. Probably any restaurant that obviously caters to foreigners would be fine whatever ice or water they serve you. I've never had trouble with ice from the local’s places but I've seen how they break up the giant blocks so I wouldn't recommend it to others. Money, they are very picky about $20's $50's and $100's. Chrisp, and no tears. Not even a tiny tear. $1's and $5 they aren’t so fussy about. US Dollars are universally accepted and interchangeable with Cambodian Riel at 4000 Riel to $1. Paying your visa on arrival at the airport they will ask you to pay in Thai Baht. The official price in Baht is way more expensive than the price in Dollars. That's an age-old scam but sure as anything they still tried it this time. Just say you have no Thai Baht, only Dollars. I just made it through there with a 78-year-old and a 10-year-old so pretty much anyone could do it. I consider it a relatively ‘easy' destination.

We flew EVA Air Manila-Taipei-Amsterdam. That was a very good way to go. Almost all the airlines flying from the Philippines to Europe have visa free transit for Filipino passports. Before we were married my wife previously got a Schengen Visa. We discovered there are big differences in visa approval/denial rates for Filipinos amongst different Schengen countries, and the Netherlands is by far the most "Filipino friendly" and not surprisingly the most popular embassy to apply with a Filipino passport. (lowest denial rate, most multiple entry visas, highest total number of Schengen visas for Filipino passports)

Well they successfully charged my card at 11:56PM last night so I suppose I have to call that September 12 (by 4 minutes). Not sure if it's some automated billing process that runs overnight or if they have a night shift. No SMS or e-mail yet but maybe later today or at least 'soon'. The charge cleared as "Merchant: USCIS (PHOENIX LOCKBOX Amount: $765.00" 9/6/2023 -- I-751 packet mailed by USPS Priority Mail. 9/8/2023 -- Packet received by Phoenix lock box. Tracking said "Delivered, Individual Picked Up at Postal Facility". 9/12/2023 -- Credit card charged.

CFO holds all the cards on whether your fiancée can leave the Philippines or not with a K1 visa. You have to play their game according to whatever rules they make up. There is no way around it. It's one of those situations where the easy way past them is to just put on a big fake smile and compliantly do whatever they say you have to do.

CFO has been undergoing all kinds of wild spastic gyrations and completely rewriting all the rules like every two weeks lately but they usually somehow work things out in time to travel. Even if rather inelegantly. I think as of like the last two weeks they are now saying they will strictly only schedule appointments for those with actual visa on hand. I don’t know if you can still at least pre-register without a visa yet. Who knows what the rules will be by November, but it is highly predictable that the rules then will be different from the rules now. Because their webserver backend API is "some lady at a desk" you have to hit their server at EXACTLY 7:00AM Monday thru Thursday. Whatever sign up slots are allocated for the day will be snapped up in minutes and they do not work nights or weekends. The FBI report or fingerprints are not needed. They only ever asked something like that for someone traveling to meet an overseas sponsor for the first time or something. They would never ask that from a normal K1 case unless they had some kind of specific suspicion. CFO will probably only want scans of her passport, visa, CENOMAR, and your passport. They might ask for some relationship evidence like pictures, your divorce decree if previously married and maybe your ACR card and visa or extensions if you have been living together in the Philippines. Every once and a while they throw in some oddball made up requirement but it's usually pretty straightforward for a K1 or CR/IR-1 case.

I used to do that. Then about 15 years ago in a hotel in Indonesia I plugged in a cheapo charger that promptly detonated in my hand. Miraculously, other than some soot marks on my fingers, there were no ill effects to me, but it blew the circuit breaker for like half the rooms on my side of the hall. (who knew they had circuit breakers in Indonesia?) So I called the lady at the front desk who who spoke very little English, but more than anyone who was there at night. I somehow communicated the power was out and about 15 minutes later two "repairmen" showed up at my room with a flashlight and a ladder. They did not speak a word of English and despite my best efforts I was not able to communicate to them to just go turn the circuit breaker back on and everything would be fine. I 'think' they associated the blown circuit breaker with some recurrent problem with the air-conditioning(??), since they started climbing in the ventilation duct in the roof of my hotel room. After 5 minutes or so, the guy up in the ventilation duct yelled something to the other guy who then disappeared down the hall and presumably finally flipped the circuit breaker since everything came back on. The guy climbed out of the duct in the roof and the two of them were all smiles having heroically solved the no power situation. After they left I checked the label on that charger and sure enough it was like the only charger that was NOT dual voltage. Ever since then I do check the labels.🤣

Wow, that was fast for USCIS to acknowledge it. I guess we are a day behind you. Mailed Wed, delivered Fri.

I have read accounts of people actually being denied entry to Costa Rica and returned to the US, or not being boarded for their flight there over an extension letter. The Costa Rican Embassy is also quite specific that they do not accept extension letters and that persons from countries that normally require a visa still need to get one if their physical green card is expired and they have an extension letter. http://www.costarica-embassy.org/index.php?q=node/24

My $8 Walmart coffee maker is clearly labeled that it requires 120 60 Hz so it does NOT work on 240V 50 Hz. My $8 Walmart coffee maker would also not work with the step down transformer suggested by the OP since the coffee maker is labeled that it requires 700W and the Amazon ad says that step down transformer is only rated for 250W. An example of something that might be best to leave in the US and buy new in the Philippines if needed.

USPS tracking says they already delivered it in Phoenix today.

Be sure to double check you clicked the red "Submit Documents" button and the documents are tagged as "submitted" rather than just "uploaded".

Most AC powered gadgets and gizmos these days have a label on them somewhere which removes the guesswork. If it says 100-240V or 110-220V you are good to go with no adapter. I have encountered some sockets in the Philippines that physically won't accommodate the wide prong on a polarized plug.

LBC is totally awesome if there is a US branch near you. Sending documents from San Diego to North Luzon was $12 and took 5 days total with full tracking.