martinbr

What type of visa are you talking about?

CR-1 / IR-1 Spouse Visa and I-130 Petition,, thanks but found the information I needed in one of the threads here.

martinbr

Hello, wondering if there is a way to check a visa application online through one of the Philippine agencies? It's quite a old application started in 2007. Continued to update every year for the past six years, but then they changed the way to contact them and I can't get through. Tried emailing with just a automatic response with no information.

thanks,

martinbr

Hello, i caught this thread and i now it's old, but i am going through the same thing right now, and was wondering bow your madriage turned out. My wife is havinf a affair but still living with her. I don't know what her next move is going to be, but i am preparing fpr the worst. I think she is going to split and have me hangimg. You can email privately if ypu want because i need someone to talk to that is gping tjru the same tjing, thanks, martinbr.

Hello everyone, haven't been here for awhile. Does anyone know of a good attorney in Bacolod City or nearby that could help me with getting a passport replacement? My wife is here with me in the states for about two years now, but her child is still over in the philippines due to our finances still and her not passing the medical due to a mild case of TB.

The TB has been resolved, but the kid lost the passport. We have a problem with the birth certificate that has to be resolved in a court first. I need to get this going since I have already had one year of extension on her visa application. We got one estimate from one attorney for $400.00.

We had a rivision corrected with the NSO four years ago and she was issued a passport. But our friend who is helping our daughter get a replacement took the old bir certificate down to the processing center with the incorrect info on it and now this has opened a whole new can of worms.

I don't get this. If the birth certifcate was updated at the NSO and I brought in a certified copy, wouldn't this be the one that they would recognize for a passport renewal. Now I am looking at another additional cost and will probably take up to six months in the court to have processed. If the child was already issued a passport in the first place, why would we have to go into court? Isn't a copy of the new revised birth certificate the grounds for getting a passport replacement.

Anyone been thru this?

thanks,

martinbr

The embassy has sent a I-864EZ application that needs to be filled out to update my Visa application for our daughter. This pertains to income requirements. I have not worked since being laid off on 07/2009. I filed for permanent disability shortly after that and was approved this year. Actually the approval date goes back to when I originally filed in 2010. So would I check 17b as retired since I am not working anymore?

thanks,

martinbr

I have to update the visa application and I-864 for our daughter to get over to the US. It's been over a year and was actually was in a cancelled state but called the embassy and was able to keep it active for a little longer. She had to undergo treatment for TB and has finished a treatment

They informed me and sent new DS-230 application and a I-864 for our current financial status. So for the last two years my taxes are kinda of bad. My 2009 is ok, but for 2010 I was out of work. I didn't earn anything except for my unemployment benefits and also a 401k fund that I had cashed out.

I pay taxes on this because it's considered income.

Since then I have been put on permamnent disability. I have a steady income thru the government. My wife works a minnimum wage job but between the two we make the poverty line that I have used as a quide line. Anyone else been in this situation? Help much appreciated.

thanks,

martinbr

Thank you again, good luck with your child....

martinbr

If I can I want to accompany my daughter in her interview but since we just came from vacation and visit her in the Philppines last March and went back home here in USA April its impossible to get another vacation on my job, we decided to get AFFIDAVIT OF SUPPORT AND CONSENT to the Philippine consulate appointing my brother as her legal guardian and represent me in filling applications and other pertinent papers relevant to her travel abroad. I always give my bothers instruction of what they are going to do and support him provided all the documents that my daughters need specially the requirement, during medical exam and interview. I gathered all the documents from here and sent to him if the requirement coming from the Phlippines I instructed him how to get it thats what I did!

Cel&Arch

Thank you for the info. Very helpful. How about going to the interview? Did you accompany your child at interview?

martinbr

I have to update the visa application and I-864 for our daughter to get over to the US. It's been over a year and was actually was in a cancelled state but called the embassy and was able to keep it active for a little longer. She had to undergo treatment for TB and has finished a treatment

They informed me and sent new DS-230 application and a I-864 for our current financial status. So for the last two years my taxes are kinda of bad. My 2009 is ok, but for 2010 I was out of work. I didn't earn anything except for my unemployment benefits and also a 401k fund that I had cashed out.

I pay taxes on this because it's considered income.

Since then I have been put on permamnent disability. I have a steady income thru the government. My wife works a minnimum wage job but between the two we make the poverty line that I have used as a quide line.

Here is the problem. My wife has been her for a year and we don't have a lot of money to be flying her over to be with her daughter at the interview. We have a adult that is going to accompany her at the interview. Then if she passes, she will go back home and wait for visa and then get her over here.

Has anyone ran into this problem? The child is 14 yrs old. Would they even let her get on a plane by herself or would she have to be accompanied by a adult? Well will have everything set up ahead of time.

martinbr

Was the child up for a K-2 or CR/IR-2 Visa?

If K-2 then it must be issued within 1 year of the Mom's K-1.

If CR/IR-2 then you are able to keep it alive my maintaining contact with the Embassy.

The childs application is for a CR/IR-2.

martinbr

Your communication does not have to be in paper only. If you have proof that you sent email about the case (with all the details such as Case#, applicant's name and DOB) included, you can print out those evidences (emails you sent to the embassy) and include it with a letter explaining that you have in fact kept in contact with the US embassy about the case and that it is not over a year from such last contact.

If you must, enlist the help of your congressperson and show him/her the evidence you have. The law permits contact even if it is through a telephone - but if you cannot produce evidence you are against the wall.

I contacted them a few times thru email. I got a hold of them tonight and they acknowledged that I have sent email to them. I have a copy of the email that they sent in response to my email. What they told me is that it was a automatice generated letter and that since our child has a medical condition in which she is being treated for that they will keep the case open for a little bit longer. Probably about two more months.

They also told us to send or fax a letter stating of our childs condition and a aprox time for when she can go up to manila to schedule another medical and then a interview.

martinbr

Hello everyone, I recieve a hard letter thru regular mail that our child's visa application has been canceled due to it going past a year from the date of here firs interview. Our child did not pass the medical due to TB.

We made contact thru the emabassy by email several times in the pass year about this matter to still keep the case open. Now what they are saying is that unless we can show for some reason out of our control, they cannot reinstate the application. This means that we would have to start all over again. My wife has been in the US with since 10/2010. The only thing that we didn't do is write a formal letter in which I know now I should have done since I guess for some reason they overlooked the email responses that we sent. I'm pissed about this. This means probably a couple of more years before our daughter can get over to the US and the extra cost of starting over again. Anyone ever had this situation, and what was the outcome.

thanks,

Martin

Records indicate that the applicant that the applicant was found to have an infectious pulmonary ailment (tuberculosis).

Based on the guidelines and technical instructions set forth by the U.S. Public Health Services/Centers for Disease Control (USPHS/CDC), immigrant visa applicants found to have “Class A” tuberculosis are recommended to undergo and complete a full-course of Directly Observed Therapy (DOT) at St. Luke’s. DOT is administered for a minimum of six (6) months or even longer if deemed necessary by the treating physician.

We are unable to initiate processing the case until our panel physicians have cleared the applicant for travel to the United States. St. Luke's will advise the applicant regarding the interview scheduling as soon as the medical results are available, and she is cleared of any infectious pulmonary illness.

The applicant should return to St. Luke’s to complete the recommended therapy. Section 203(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) provides that an applicant's registration for an immigrant visa be terminated for failure to apply for the visa within one year following notification of the availability of such a visa.

Future immigrant visa inquiries should be directed to IVManilaReplies@state.gov.

Immigrant Visa Correspondence Unit

Consular Section

U.S. Embassy, Manila

1201 Roxas Boulevard

1000 Manila, Philippines

Telephone: (632) 301-2000

Fax: (632) 301-2037

/mbp

Hello, the Philippines passport fee is 1200 pesos plus 180 pesos delivery fee (this is optional, but very convenient for u do not need to go back to the passport office they will deliver it right in front of your door) so all in all it is about 35 dollars... She needs to bring an affidavit of loss and it will cost her 10 dollars maximum, and then she needs to bring her birth certificate (orginal copy from nso) and Identification Card.

She must go to the new building which is near SM Mall of Asia (just in case she doesn' know).

The important thing is that she must go online to have an appointment, this is the difficult part because appointment sometimes take a month before her appointment date.

Are you sure about the appointment? My wife originally did not have to make a online appointment. She got in on the first day by drop in. But this is down in Bacolod City at the center where the consulars office is for passport applications. Are you talking about up in Manila?

thanks,

martinbr

I was informed by my wife this morning that our daughter who still is in the philippines lost her pasport on the way to the bank to pick up some money. I know she has to go to the local consulate after a month for a waiting period to see if it shows up. But I am confused on the fees of a lost passport application.

When my wife was there before she came to the U.S. she told me they cost around $35.00 per passport. But what I am seeing on the manila embassy site is it's around $105.00. Has the price gone up that much in the last two years?

Also besides having to bring a certified copy of a birth certificate, photos, what else does she have to bring? Does she have to file a avadavit for lost passport form and have it notorized by a local attorney also? It's hard to get this info out of my wife because of her english skills.

thanks,

martinbr

Looks like you will have to file another petition since your wife's K1 was issued on 6/26/10 and the child may have to undergo treatment for maybe 6 months.

No, I found the answer on the manila emabassy url: The case gets terminated after one year if there has been no contact with them with a reasonble explanition to my situation. I originally filed a C-R1 for my wife and daughter.

thanks,

martinbr

I wouldn't worry too much about a skin test. St. Lukes doesn't perform skin tests because the skin test serves no purpose. Filipinos almost always show a false positive on the skin test because of the BCG TB vaccine they received.

Now I find out that they did a skin and it blew way up. After that, they did a xray and found a dark spot on her lung. So they are suspecting that she was exposed to TB. Her uncle had it last year and I know they she goes over there sometimes. We are sending money over today so she can get another full checkup down where she lives. I know you can't use this at St. Lukes, but I want to get a jump on this if she has been exposed.

St. Lukes will do a chest x-ray and look for any irregularities in her lungs. If they find anything in the chest x-ray, they will perform three smear tests and a two-month culture to determine whether a person has TB.

What date was your wife's K1 visa issued?

The date was 06/26/2010.

From the Instruction Packet....

http://photos.state....acket%20_3_.pdf

Minor children who are identified and listed in the approved I-129F petition may follow-to-join their petitioned parent. However, such follow-to-join K2 visas can only be issued within one year from the time the parent was issued the K1 visa. After one (1) year, they will no longer be able to derive immigration benefits from the I-129F petition and you or your spouse will have to file an immediate relative or second preference petition for them to qualify again for immigration benefits.

May i ask how old is your daughter? Mine would be 3 by the time she go for her medical. She received all her immunization from birth and i don't know if i should be worried about tb skin test or not.

My daughter is 13 and going to be 14 in July. So I need to get going on this.

Hello everyone, My wife has been year for around 8 months and things are looking up for us. She is working and I have been put in a position of early retirement. Now we have to work on geting our daughter over from the philippines. The child has been staying with her aunt because when they both went up for initial interview, the child did not pass the medical.

I was under the assumption that the child had a xray, but found out now after that the child only had the TB test and had which sounds like a positive reaction to TB. The skin in the area blew way up. This was all last Oct. and they couldn't stay up in Manila anymore because I ran out of money and they had to get back to where they live 600 miles south in Bacolod City. So my wife came over since she passed. Plus we didn't have the room for the child anyway since we are just boarding in a three bedroom house.

Now we have to get the child back up for another medical. But she will have to stay up in Manila for I would imagine a period of time. We have a place to have her stay at one of her relative's house.

So now my question is, since it's been this long is the case still open or do I have to start all over again at the NVC? I did contact the embassy around 6 months ago by email stating are circumstances and to have the the case to be put on hold. So how long would they hold a case open for?

I am going to to try to call tonight and see if I can get thru. Tried last week, but I think because of holy week they were closed.

thanks,

martinbr

Hello everyone, I want to thank all that responded awhile back about my wife finding work in the U.S. Well guess what? Good news, my wife got here first job after us looking since she arrived here last Oct. Man, what a load this will take off me. I was out of a job for a year in a half, found one for two months, and then got laid off again!

I have found some part-time work in the mean time. But as I was looking at the morning job postings, I ran across something that I thought she might be able handle. I guess she was a hit at the interview because the manager really took a liking to her. So I am really happy as so as she.

take care, will check back periodically.

martinbr

Hello everyone, my wife joined me last Oct from the philippines. I have been married three years, but it took a long time due to lack of money and my current housing situation. It's been really, really tough.

Anyway, she really wants to get going and work but she has absolutley no skills whatsoever. She worked in a couple of dept stores in her home town but that was back in the ninties. She wants to do caregiving, but most of the postions her want you to be certified and have a vehicle. She does not drive at all nor can we afford another car.

She doesn't even have enough experience to make out a resume. What should I do here? The only thing I can think of is to try to make some kind of resume that would probably be far from the truth, but if she doesn't have any experience there is nothing to put on a resume except her strong personable qualaties and the desire to work.

We live in the SF bay in which it is extremely competitive. I was out of work for 14 months, and just landed a job and now I am laid off again. I knew it was going to be hard, but if things don't start picking up here soon, I will be out of unemployment benefits and then were going to be in deep trouble. I am very frustrated and depressed about the country and the work situation here.

Since I am 59 years old, I could qualify for Social Security benefits in three years, but that's a long time off. Anyway, I really want to still work and can't land anything.

Sorry to sound so reduntant here, but it's been a lot of stress on me and I really don't want to let this creep into our marriage. Just trying to have faith each day and keep applying for jobs.

thanks,

martinbr

Hello everyone,

I haven't been here since last year. My wife arrived on 10/26/10. We have been living un near San Francisco on the West Coast. I am very happy having here with me finally after a 3 year ordeal jumping thru hoops to get her here. I think she has finally found a job. Just have to do the background check and TB test for the job. My wife has a SS# and is ready to go to work.

Is there anything else that she needs to do since being here? Is the permanent resident card good for 10 years? Does she have to any other kind of government documents or anything with immigration? If anyone has a info to pass forward it would be greatly apprciated.

thanks,

martinbr

Major inconvenience or not, the sooner you get her to St Luke's and start her treatment, the sooner she can be reunited with her mom and Step-dad! I agree that the whole St. Luke's only treatment is a pain but, it is the way it is. Tell your wife Welcome to the US of A, and soon enough your daughter will be here as well.

On a side note...they never did the Sputum for your daughter? I always assumed from your previous posts that she tested positive on the Sputum test. If she hasn't been tested, could just be an eight week wait, instead of 6 months plus for treatment.

No, she was staying with her sister and I was out of money to keep her up in Manila so she had enough money to get back to Bacolod City. Back in June, I spent all the money I had at the time to get my wife and child up there. I wasn't anticipated on having a rejection from ST. LUKES.

Like you have mentioned, she might not even have been exposed to TB. My wife just got her social security card today so the plan is to get her a job as soon as she can. I have a offer for a job here in the states that I am going to take. We need to get into a position to make some money for our daughter to come over. As it stands right now, we are living in a house with three other people. We are not in a position to bring her over yet. One day at a time, one step at a time...

martinbr

Thanks everyone, but now I have to figure a way to get the kid up to Manila for sputum test. When my wife and daughter went for medical exams, they couldn't wait around for a sputum for the child that was scheduled for the next following weeks. So they had to go home. I had no more money to give to keep them up there. And she wanted to get back home and take the child to her local doctor for treatment. I find it really bazzar that the only place that a person can have treatment is at ST. LUKES. Not every filipino lives in Manila. This is just unrealistic. But I know that is the way that it is.

My wife has a sister in Cavite that the kid could possiby stay, but it's not like walking down to the local store to get something. It is going to be a major inconvience.

martinbr

Well, after 3 years of immigration hell, my wife is finally here with me. It's been a long,long,long journey. But I am very happy to report she is finally with me.

She is still in culture shock. She really doesn't want to go out much. But that will change in time. As soon as she can make some friends in the filipino community here, I think she will do fine. I am very proud of her for all the work she did on her own for getting this process done. The trips getting documents processed on her own. The boat rides up to manila, ect...

Now we just have to work on getting our daughter here. She is staying with her aunt for the time being. Might be awhile, but we will get her here. Since my daughter didn't pass the medical, how long would her case stay open? 6 months? I really don't know the answer to this since I can't find any information about it. I might have to call the embassy about it.

martinbr

My wife is taking her trip to the U.S. tommorow. After three years I am estatic that I finally get to be with my wife. This opens a whole new chapter in my life. I am very happy. I am also very nervous. We will be living on a shoe string starting out and with the job situation it might be for sometime. But I am trying to positive that we are going to make it over here. The child will be staying with her aunt. No matter what, she will be with me and for that I am really excited!! We still have the child to contend with since she did not pass her medical. But one thing at a time. I have to get my wife here or her visa will expire by Dec. The only thing she needs to do is go to the CFO office and get the sticker for her passport. She took guideness class last year in Cebu.

martinbr