top_secret

Does the apostle cover part of the back? On our Costa Rica marriage certificate it took three scans. Front, back with apostle, and a third scan of the back with the apostle folded out of the way revealing what's underneath.

We have people where I work who commute daily from Tijuana to San Diego and back. It's actually quite common. Like the US, Mexico has no formal exit control. Foreigners in Mexico are supposed to have a FMM and it is your responsibility to go to the IMM office and get one if you arrive by land, but if you stay in the border region no one is going to enforce that and it is mostly ignored. They may check that at the airport departing on international flights, but not at land borders. They also have checkpoints beyond the border regions that may check your FMM. Like in Baja Norte I have never once been checked. Not even at the military checkpoints. But if you drive down as far as Baja Sur there is a good chance they might (or might not) check your FMM. It's really a system of randomness. We visited UK for the first time last year and I guess I just assumed we would encounter passport control on exit there but I was surprised when we didn't. I guess they leave that to the airlines like I-94 in the US.

It's sounds like significantly more than what we submitted and we were approved quickly. I don't think you have any worries.

LBC is certainly cheapest and has extensive logistics on the ground in the Philippines. It would be my first choice. We've had them deliver documents in 4 days before. DHL would be the choice if LBC wasn't an option. We had problems with UPS Express before in the Philippines and would not recommend. No experience with FedEx.

Usually on a certified copy of a divorce decree it's either a raised embossed seal or an ink stamp seal and signature from the court clerk or other official certifying it is a true copy. It's the certification of the copy that must be original. Since you list Honolulu as a locality, there is a LBC office there and that will be the fastest, cheapest, most certain way to get an original document delivered to the Philippines.

Today, 05/19/2025, more false "We have taken action on your case" messages and the "Actively Reviewing" date updated to today. Still nothing under documents tab.

The Embassy could care less about the Report of Marriage. It is not a requirement at all for US immigration purposes. CFO would give you a hard time if you don't have a ROM but they would be happy with just the the "receipt". The Embassy absolutely requires either a CENOMAR or an Advisory on Marriages. You order a CENOMAR from PSA and whichever document they return is what the embassy wants to see. They would accept a CENOMAR that incorrectly lists you as unmarried but they still want to see it.

It would seem almost unbelievable that any country would actually, really, fine a baby born within their borders for an overstay, but Philippines BI has really done that

The issue is, if the child would be treated by Philippine immigration as American or Filipino. Having only a US Passport is fine for entering and leaving the Philippines as a tourist. The child would even get a Balikbayan stamp allowing a one year visit. The problem in the above case is that the US Citizen child born in the Philippines has no Philippine entry stamp in their US Passport and may have accrued a serious overstay if they didn't have a Philippine Passport to show immigration. In the past Philippine immigration has actually fined foreign babies born in the Philippines for overstays. Renewing a Philippine Passport overseas is quite simple and efficient if you are anywhere near a Philippine embassy, consulate, or consular outreach location. Its not required, but also not a bad idea for dual citizens to keep passports for both citizenships.

We had this problem since my wife had a very long address. We opted for extreme abbreviation to make the whole address fit. Her address was something like "Phase 2B, Block 11, Lot 6, Morning Glory subdivision, Barangay San Jose, city, provence, zip code". To make it fit we shortened it down to something like "P2B BK11 L6 MNGLY SD BGY SJOSE, city, provence, zip code". It worked for us. In many countries addressing is an inexact science. In general an overseas beneficiary's address is less critical than US addresses since they they probably won't contact anyone or send anything there anyways. It's probably unlikely they would have an issue with the beneficiary's address and even if they did they would hopefully issue a RFE rather than a rejection.

Looking at it more closely, it seems they do have such a vaccine formulation in Ireland and UK. https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/5581/pil They don't have it in the US and it is not what they generally call DTP. But if that is what he got it seems he does still need Pertussis.

Given that, I would be inclined to think the card is inaccurate. That does not describe DTP vaccine. AFIK there is not any single vaccine formulation that includes those components yet excludes Pertussis. There are formulations that include Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, and also include polio vaccine. I'd see about getting the card corrected by the vaccine provider.

Generally, DTP is given to infants and small children children whereas Tdap is given to teens and adults. Either is just fine for immigration purposes. The P in DTP is Pertussis, not Polio. Capital P because it's a stronger dose for children. So it is a little strange, but otherwise inconsequential that they gave DTP to a 27 year old. It should be no problem.

I don't think the first note is a RFE that would prevent you from becoming documentarily qualified. It's just advisory since your intentions about the children seemed unclear based on your DS-260 answers. If they would reopen the DS-260 fix it, and if not, it is probably not a problem and you could just mention it at your interview.

100% they will reject it for mixing pages from different editions. That is why it was rejected. The rejection notice says "If you submitted I-912, Request for a Fee Waiver, or this form is available for a Fee Exemption, the determination of the Fee Waiver or Exemption has not been made at this time." They didn't even consider if the fee waiver is valid or not.

Our marriage certificate has the same problem. My mom is listed by married name when it should have been maiden name. USCIS, NVC and the Embassy had no issues at all accepting it like that.

That is correct. Once something is submitted there is no changing what is there. All you can do is submit a new one. I made the same mistake with my stepdaughter. The two cases are handled separately so even if the marriage certificate was submitted for mom and wasn't ask for in the list of documents for her daughter, it is still required to independently prove the stepdaughter relationship.

Today, 5/6/2025 I received two "We have taken action on your case" SMS messages. Checking online, status changed to "Actively Reviewing". Nothing under documents tab. So, it is generic activity, though I realize many cases are "Actively Reviewing" for years.

I am assuming he has his Filipino Passport too. He should do E-Travel because he is exiting as a Filipino Citizen. He must also pay Travel Tax regardless of citizenship because he has been resident in the Philippines for more than a year. On future trips both of you would be exempt from Travel Tax once you are resident in the US.

My wife’s daughter transferred from Philippines to California Schools. The school here had no problem at all accepting her Philippine records but they most certainly will want to check them. We used her baby book from the Philippines which had her vaccinations recorded. The most notable difference between ordinary Philippine practices and California requirements is that Varicella vaccination seems somewhat uncommon in the Philippines but is required here. If there are any missing shots, they would still let him start school and give a 30 days deadline to get whatever shots are needed. So, if any are missing you could wait until he is here. Whenever you know what city you will be moving to check online for the local school district. Many in California have online enrolment. I was able to enroll my stepdaughter before she even got here. They just said she was good to go so bring her by the office whenever she was actually here and ready to start. Also, on her first visit to her pediatrician here the nurse very carefully went through and transcribed all of her Philippine vaccinations into the California state immunization registry so there now exists a very official US record too.

https://cfo.e.gov.ph/Re-Issuance-Revalidation-and-Amendment-with-GCP She's supposed to amend it if it was previously for another reason. They used to be able to do that online but now it apparently takes an in person visit. The paper certificates don't expire but I'd hate to have too argue that point with BI right before a flight. All newly issued e-certificates are digital only. They eliminated the paper stickers and in fact BI often specifically request to see the CFO e-mail in people's phone.

For a simple online self check if SS has you recorded as a Citizen or a PR, you can log into your ss.gov account and start (but not complete) an online dummy request for a replacement SS card. If they still have you recorded as a PR it should notify you that a personal appearance is required to continue the request. If you get all the way thru to the sign and submit page it means they have you recorded as a citizen. Bail out without clicking sign and submit if you aren't actually requesting a replacement card.

For us the e-mail was addressed to both the petitioner and the beneficiary. The NVC case creation date they list can be skewed a little bit because it is an average of all immigrant visa types that go through NVC. Spousal visas tend to be more straightforward and the cases may get created faster than the overall average. Congratulations.

That's rough. Delivery of the new one by mail is possible but there is no way she can avoid applying in person.

They return the old passport stamped "CANCELLED" on the page opposite the bio page. They should let her retain the old one still valid and cancel when she picks up her new passport in person. If it's a long trip and you want to do it by mail to avoid a second trip to pick up the new one, they 'might' allow her to mail the old one in once the new one arrives at the consulate and then they cancel the old one and mail them both back together so she is only without a passport a few days. Obviously, a bit more risk by mail then picking up in person. They won’t deliver the new passport before the old one is canceled.