top_secret

ustraveldocs.com is CGI Federal Inc. which is the civilian IT contractor responsible for US Embassy Manila's and some other embassies visa scheduling websites. While admittedly their IT work is somewhat suspect and sub-par, they are officially sanctioned by the Embassy.

"NO RECORD ON FILE" does not require a letter of explanation. There is US Embassy Manila's website explaining where a letter of explanation is required and it does not apply to you. https://www.ustraveldocs.com/ph/ApplyforImmigrantVisa.html#:~:text=An official letter of explanation,the date it is issued.

"NO RECORD ON FILE" or "NO DEROGATORY RECORD" are "good" and correct remarks on a NBI Clearance. Either of those two remarks are what you and the embassy wants to see. The quote from the 221g instructions does not make sense because "NO RECORD ON FILE" definitely is a correct remark. Since it seems you are interviewing at some embassy outside of the Philippines, perhaps the consul there is just not familiar with Philippine documents(?????) Given that the NBI Clearance you describe is definitely "good" and therefore the 221g instructions are not clear, I'm not sure what the solution is. Maybe a letter explaining to the embassy that the reason it says "NO RECORD ON FILE" is because you never had any arrests or court cases that would have created a record. (????) As a contingency you could try renewing your NBI Clearance again because sometimes on a renewal the remark changes from "NO RECORD ON FILE" to "NO DEROGATORY RECORD because now there IS then a record of the previous check. for reference "NO RECORD ON FILE" or "NO DEROGATORY RECORD" is good "NO CRIMINAL RECORD", "NO CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS" or "NO PENDING CASE" is not as good as it sounds and would require waiting for a letter of explanation from NBI. "WITH DEROGATORY RECORD" is bad. It sounds like yours is good.

If you are in a US city that has a LBC office then that is by far the best option. It costs us like $12 and gets delivered in like 4 or 5 days with full tracking. If you are not in a US city that has a LBC office, I would probably go with DHL. I previously had a poor experience with UPS in the Philippines and probably won't try them again. I haven't personally tried FedEx there so no real opinion good or bad.

In the Philippines they would accept the PSA Report of Marriage as unconditional proof of the name change. I suspect either way the plane ticket would work with the ROM and marriage certificate as proof of the name change. Changing the passport in the Philippines seems wise since it costs like $22 including the expedite fee and takes two or three weeks. Last I checked DFA appointments are now readily available. Make sure she does pay the expedite fee since nine times out of ten Filipinas are cost conscious and thrifty and would forego paying $4 extra to save a few weeks time, whereas American spouses would generally happily pay $4 extra to save a few weeks. since it is an option.

Be aware that there are much more extensive lists of required documents frequently mentioned in TikTok, than the much shorter list of actual requirements.

Just my uneducated opinion, but how we personally interpreted that question is that the entire purpose of the visa application was solely and for no other reason than to be reunified as spouses. Seeking any type of employment had no role whatsoever in the reason we filed the visa application. So we answered "no" and feel it was the correct answer even though my wife did subsequently seek work in health care for reasons that are completely unrelated to the reason we filed the visa application.

Once she has her visa it shouldn't be any problem. But if you decide to take her on vacation to Thailand while you are waiting it's best if you travel with her rather than trying to meet her there. Get to the airport early and plan on a secondary interview but if they are accompanied by foreign bf or fiance they would generally pass a secondary interview. They might make YOU sign some very strangely worded affidavit promising to bring her back. 🤣

Based upon advanced TikTok experience🤣, if she is not talking about CFO then she ''might' be concerned about the potential of a possible secondary interview by Philippine exit immigration at the airport(???) These sometimes do happen. It is typically not a problem for K1 or immigrant visa holders but is not unheard of. Secondary interviews by Philippine exit immigration get a lot of attention on social media and cause a lot of stress and worry because for young women traveling alone internationally for the first time as a tourist they can be quite invasive, intimidating and there is a not insignificant possibility they might not be allowed to leave the country by Philippine immigration if such an interview didn't go well. All of which is not usually a problem for a K1 or immigrant visa holder. It is unlikely to happen at all and and even if it does she just needs to play along and everything will be fine. It's not something she needs to worry about.

EVA Air is one of the best airlines out there. They know all about US Entry requirements. They have fantastic service and you will have no problem with them.

It's got to be one of the more dimwitted tone deaf social media campaigns ever. The interview backlog for CR1/IR1 CR2/IR2 interviews has now grown to 10 months which as far as I know is kind of unprecedented for Manila. It certainly wasn't anywhere near that bad even throughout the rona lockdowns. Posting on Facebook how awesome they are doing is kind of like poking an angry hornets nest with a stick. They are getting roasted in the comments.

There is absolutely fantastic case number status analysis and tracking going on at this site. https://www.casestatusext.com/forms/I-485/IOE-LB

For taxies install the Grab app on your phone. https://www.grab.com/ph/ . It's like Uber and makes things cashless and just soooo much easier. Manila is a big city and there is certainly crime and scams. But if you just use common sense and pay attention it's probably not much more sketchy than some US cities these days.

In the same month they processed 86 IR-1 and 4 (FOUR!!!) CR-1's they did manage to knock out 13,399 B1/B2 tourist visas and that doesn't even include all the interviews they completed that resulted in denials. At least K1's are doing well with 771 K1 visas issued. https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Statistics/Non-Immigrant-Statistics/MonthlyNIVIssuances/JANUARY 2024 - NIV Issuances by Post and Visa Class.pdf The embassy is convinced they are doing awesome.

January's visa statistics just came out. Predictably, US Embassy Manila processed a whopping 4 (FOUR!!!) CR-1 and 86 IR-1 visas. That is with a ten month backlog that must be in the thousands. https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Statistics/Immigrant-Statistics/MonthlyIVIssuances/JANUARY 2024 - IV Issuances by Post and Visa Class.pdf

US Embassy Manila would probably not even look at your certificate of employment if you did have one. It is of little value at a US B1/B2 visa interview. It would be more important if you can talk convincingly about your job than having any paperwork. They would judge you more by how well you talk about your circumstances.

Just noticed that it's now been more six months since any VJ member has reported a CR1/IR1 interview at US Embassy Manilla. Previously you would frequently see multiple approvals a month reported here from the Philippines. I doubt you could find any more than a two or three month gap in reported Philippines approvals in the entire history of this board. https://www.visajourney.com/timeline/k1list.php?op6=All&op66=All&op7=Philippines&op1=3&op2=&dfile=No&op3=5&op4=1

It is indeed a wise policy not allowing Facebook links. However, the link someone posted here earlier was to US Embassy Manila's official verified Facebook page and a rather daft post the embassy made bragging about how awesome they have done reducing their non-immigrant interview backlog from over 6 months a year ago to less than a month now, all during a time period that has seen the backlog for spousal interviews increase from less than a month at the beginning of 2023 to almost 10 months where it stands now. Some may want to Google US Embassy Manila's official verified Facebook page if they have any commentary on the embassy's priorities when it comes to interview backlogs.

It is no problem at all for USCIS, NVC or the embassy since they will ask you ALL other names you have ever used at any point they ask your name, and you would list your maiden name there. Just start using your married name when the case goes to NVC.

My wife was rather shocked when she suddenly noticed that open carry is legal Nevada, during breakfast at a diner in Beatty.🤣😂🤣

Being young and single, traveling alone to visit a US boyfriend, US Embassy Manila often issues denials at the interview before they even ask three or four questions. I suspect it may be denied before people even arrive and the interview is just a formality. I can't say that I have never heard of a young single applicant being approved but I think it is exceedingly rare, so go in there with kind of low expectations. It can be a painful letdown if you get your hopes to much. You can bring the papers you describe but they are unlikely to even look at them. It's more important to be able to talk convincingly about your job and assets rather that having an Employment Certificate or Bank Certificate. It's really common for people to complain they were denied without the consul even looking at their evidence. Before we were married, my wife was denied twice at US Embassy Manila. She owned a condo, owned a car, owned a business with great cash flow and money in the bank. She had valid 5 year multiple entry visas and good previous travel history for Japan and Korea. She had a previous multiple entry visa from the Netherlands and good travel history in Netherlands, Italy and France. None of which made a bit of difference.

Discover It Secured card is really good for building credit starting from nothing. It has no particularly onerous terms or fees like some other secured cards do. It has rewards and they would generally convert it to a regular unsecured card after 6 months so you can get your deposit back. There are plenty of other secured options but check the terms carefully since some of them are predatory, have high fees or don't offer a path to being unsecured. When you are reporting your income on credit applications it is totally allowed to report your combined household income rather than just personal income. Be careful not to run up allot of hard credit checks by getting turned down. Capital One, Discover, Amex, Credit One, Well Fargo and some others all have pre-approval sites where could check if they would offer you an unsecured card without doing a hard pull on your credit report. Some of the fintech companies like Chime, Cred.ai and others offer gimmicky accounts that function like a checking account with a debit card but report as a credit card on credit reports so they are useful for building credit. I agree with everyone else that becoming an authorized user on someone else's account is usually the best and easiest first step .

They should become US Citizens the moment their passports get stamped upon arrival. No need to pay the $220 Immigrant Fee. Go get their US passports right away with their endorsed visas and your naturalization certificate as proof of their US Citizenship. If dad is remaining overseas, to get their passports you will need a DS-3053 https://eforms.state.gov/Forms/ds3053.pdf from him for each child, notarized at the US Embassy. It's free. Some people might consider filing N-600 for a Certificate of Citizenship for them. It's expensive and not strictly necessary because their US passports would be proof of US Citizenship, but having a Certificate of Citizenship would remove any question about citizenship that might come up later in life.

What is the meaning of the "dot"? Is "MA." an abbreviation for a longer name like MARIA or similar and they shortened it so it so the name would all fit on your ID???? If that were the case(???), the embassy may want both the short version and the long version of the name(???)

Secondary interviews are not uncommon for Filipinos traveling as tourists and can be harsh. "Offloading" is real. But not with K1 or immigrant visas. CFO is more or less your insurance against that. At least in theory CFO should have vetted your fiancee's relationship with you and if CFO said it's ok, than BI should accept the CFO certificate at face value. It's more or less settled by CFO before she ever goes to the airport.