LexieJ

Your visa expiry is tied up to your medical expiration, so whatever the expiration of the medical is the validity of your visa.

25 minutes ago, Boiler said:

F2b Philippines complications I have seen have mainly been where the person has married, and forgets to mention that. Really the same deal.

There’s a case like that in that other group but the applicant was denied because he could not get a CENOMAR.

Thank you @Boiler and @Crazy Cat, yes the interview was today in Manila, this is second hand information as the applicant was in another group and the one that posted in our group just shared it with us, anyway if CBP finds out about this at the point of entry can this person be refused entry? I’m thinking too that this might be brought up during naturalization.

Not sure if this is the right forum for this, Mods please move to the appropriate spot, thanks!  So this  posted in our FB group chat, f2b applicant had interview 8/23/23 and per the one that posted the petitioner died 8/10/23 and the applicant still pushed through with the interview and was eventually approved for the visa,  the petitioner’s and joint sponsor’s information were all updated and uploaded in CEAC, applicant did not disclose the petitioner’s death nor it was brought up during the interview. So I’m guessing this is misrepresentation, right? This was at the Manila embassy. 

2 hours ago, butanding said:

Im trying to understand as well. What happens if your F2A gets DQ'd? does it mean I have now to wait for visa bulletin to be current to get interview schedule?

If the embassy sent you an interview or auto expedite letters prior the retrogression and you decided to continue with the interview and your PD is not current, the pre screener will not let you go through with the interview. This information is from EB3 applicants group I belong to,I’m sure the process will be the same for family based applicants. So word  of advice do not proceed as you will only be wasting time and money if you do so.

They're doing something weird though, members from my group chat of F1/F11 applicants have been receiving letters from NVC stating that their expedite request have been granted and those members did not request for expedite. Those members as well are next in line for interviews as we have been tracking DQ dates of everyone in our group, now those members need to self schedule their own interview date via CGI federal site, so it looks like this is their way of keeping up with all the applicants that were stuck since 2020, our last member that got the expedite letter was DQ'd August 24, 2020.

9 hours ago, Demise said:

Sibling is what I call a "second-degree relationship". Basically you are related because you share at a common parent-child relationship to the same parent, so it's you->parent(s)->sibling. You cut one of those connections and you're no longer legally related.

 

AFM 21.9(c)(1)(A) says "...Therefore, officers should carefully review the supporting documents to ensure that both the petitioner and beneficiary have a parent-child relationship with the claimed common parent(s), as defined at INA 101 (b)(1)-(2).". INA 101(b)(1-2) is a long list of what qualifies as a child for immigration purposes.

 

Going further

Policy Manual Chapter 4.B. says adoption severs the legal link between parent and child.

Siblings don't have any direct link to each other, it's basically two parent-child relationships with the same parent. But there is one exception that lets you undo it if:

• No immigration benefit was obtained or conferred through the adoptive relationship;

• A natural parent-child relationship meeting the requirements of INA 101(b) once existed;

• The adoption has been lawfully terminated under applicable law; and

• The natural relationship has been reestablished by law (citing Matter of Xiu Hong Li).

She never immigrated to US so point 1 is good. Point 2 depends but I assume that at some point your parents did raise her before giving her up and didn't just leave her unclaimed at the hospital. Point 3 and 4 would basically require her to go to court in the Philippines and basically seek to have the adoption order reversed and make her biological parents her legal parents again. From some cursory googling it looks like this can be done. https://www.manilatimes.net/2022/09/05/legal-advice/can-an-adoption-of-a-child-be-rescinded/1857260

 

Still, I would recommend getting a good immigration lawyer (particularly one that deals with international adoptions), this stuff is above the paygrade of this site and above the paygrade of most average lawyers.

 

But to answer your question, is it possible, yes with a very large but.

Can the adopted child self petition? Will I-360 appropriate for this case?

The 3 week old needs a passport too and yes your wife needs her greencard and her unexpired PH passport. 

12 hours ago, Blessing Ann said:

LexieJ, would you mind telling me what’s the name of the group in fb? I would like to join . Thank You for your message. Hope the US government will not mandate that Covid vax by January 2023 .

Quick Fb search will lead you to plenty of FB groups, I belong to F2b/F1 groups as my brother's case is F1. TBH this site is way more useful and you will find better advice here than FB as there's a lot of misinformation and uninformed members in FB. @Chancy have provided you with great advice, trust me you will not learn anything new in FB, you will probably be more confused when you join them, I felt like an "expert" when I respond to most members and I'm in no way  an expert. I will probably trust the senior members here than any lawyer in a heartbeat and like I previously mentioned I have not seen one apply for 601 waiver, they ended up just getting the vaccine. If you would like to proceed with the 601 waiver you better study it in great details or hire a lawyer that have successfully done it.

I belong to a few FB groups from the Philippines and have seen a few applicants who got delayed for the medical clearance due to be not being Covid vaccinated. No medical clearance from SLEC=No interview. I have not seen one applicant file for 601 waiver, all those who got delayed ended up just taking the vaccine. I have been following Atty. Jim Hacking on YT and his law firm do not file 601 waivers and he said there's only a few lawyers who do this and he does not know the success rate. Good luck, hope it works out for you. 

I belong to a few Filipino based  FB groups to track how the interview letters are being processed, at this time it looks like applicants Dq'd in April/May/first 2 weeks of June 2020 were issued interview letters last October 6-7 basing from what members posts(these are for f2a, f2b and f1) and a few f2a members who had DQ dates of July 2020 were also issued interview letters. 

   CSPA is very confusing there was a poster there that her sibling got denied coz of aging out, it was under f2a. Now the sibling got converted to f2b and she was really upset and would like to know who she can file a complaint about this, she said that she even had a lawyer help her reinstate the case at the NVC stage but eventually got denied, advised her that consul's decision is final. she can try to see if there is any room for appeal but most members in the group told her to just move on as per  their own personal experience they were advised by lawyers that there is no hope for appeal in cases like this. 

@SusieQQQ I am curious about the seek to acquire provision of the CSPA, I was wondering if it got suspended due to the pandemic as most embassies were closed for interviews, specially in the Philippines, the backlog has been pretty bad. So if the seek to acquire is still in effect even with the pandemic, I foresee a lot of CSPA denials moving forward.

16 hours ago, GinoNiña said:

Im trying to  understand this process. If  its  approved, which country she must  depart from to  come here in the US, hong kong or phils?

The lady I was talking about will exit from HK to avoid the whole CFO process.

2 hours ago, LexieJ said:

I follow a group in FB for visa applicants from PH., there is a poster there who had successfully got a divorce from HK and got her interview and visa from HK as well under F2a petition. She was so worried about her case being denied because of the annulment/divorce case from her ex. If your partner is still working in HK I highly advice for her to undergo the process there vs in PH as there's pretty significant backlog in the Philippines. Good luck!

This will also avoid the CFO seminar!

On 10/6/2022 at 8:46 AM, Tim y said:

Ya I am willing to wait if I had to and I am very familiar with government process there. She lives in Hong Kong and has for over 5 years so I don’t see how divorcing there is a short cut. As long as it isn’t breaking rules and in the visa application everything is disclosed I don’t see the problem. If she really wants an annulment that can be done from the US as easily as from Hong Kong. I totally agree with the find another one but just as you said the heart wants what the heart wants. 
 

Thanks for your input. 
Cheers 

I follow a group in FB for visa applicants from PH., there is a poster there who had successfully got a divorce from HK and got her interview and visa from HK as well under F2a petition. She was so worried about her case being denied because of the annulment/divorce case from her ex. If your partner is still working in HK I highly advice for her to undergo the process there vs in PH as there's pretty significant backlog in the Philippines. Good luck!

@Family Both husbands are PH citizens and both marriages happened in the Philippines, Husband #1 filed for divorce in 1991 from the US. Second marriage happened in 1997 to husband #2 in the Philippines as well, this lady did not file for annulment and or recognition of marriage prior marrying husband #2 thus making her marriage seems" invalid" per PH law. This lady is in the US as LPR and filed for husband #2 in 2020 and per her report to me she asked a lawyer from PH to get her a Cenomar/Cemar and this lawyer would have also filed for the recognition  paperwork for her but the lawyer did not file it and instead ran away with her money. So the Cenomar she filed with NVC is questionable as it was produced by the lawyer, so now this Cenomar is expired now and she is worried how to get a new one. Husband #2 is in the Philippines and will have his interview there.

2 hours ago, Chancy said:

 

Even if PH marriage #2 was duly registered, it is a bigamous marriage, and therefore invalid under PH law.  The couple should consult a family lawyer in the PH to verify if this is the case.  If the marriage is confirmed to be invalid, they would be committing fraud if they continue to pursue the F2A case based on the current marriage, even if USEM does not catch them.  I would not recommend it.

 

This is exactly my sentiments! I think this lady knew what she did was wrong coz she was the one that told me that she will withdraw it.

3 hours ago, Family said:

Because at USCIS stage only they reviewed the US Divorce and Philippine Marriage Certificate and they were both issued / registered by legitimate authorities  and CENMAR is not required to get I-130 approved much like Police Certificate is not at that stage.
 

At NVC , whatever CENMAR  , she provided , may have”  looked “ good enough. ..remember the Petitioner still has the original CENMAR in her hand. 
 

At this stage , being that she is married to the man since 1997 , and has lived as a married couple in the Philippines since 1997 ( marriage certificate duly registered) it’s probably worth attending interview with whatever she has in hand. …and see how it plays out. 
 

If it is an issue , she then files her own US divorce from husband #2 , flies to the Philippines and does a Utah zoom marriage and files a new I-130. 
 

Under NO circumstances should she go “ marry overseas” without divorcing 

 

I would NOT recommend any action by any attorneys in the Philippines because everyone posting indicates it will take years and big $$$ ….and she may end up with more fake ribbons/stamps and promises.

 

 

How can you divorce/dissolve an invalid marriage?

2 minutes ago, Chancy said:

 

I agree with your interpretation -- marriage #2 is invalid under PH law, if they were both PH citizens at the time of the wedding.  They need to consult with a family lawyer in the PH.

 

Also, the US embassy in Manila will require CENOMAR/CEMAR from both petitioner and beneficiary in this case, as presumably they both lived in the PH for years after turning 18 years old.  USEM will only accept PSA CENOMAR/CEMAR that was issued within 1 year of the interview.  So the CENOMAR/CEMAR uploaded to CEAC prior to Feb 2021 DQ is no longer valid.  Plus, the petitioner's CENOMAR/CEMAR must list all the legal names she ever used.  If she ever changed her name after marriage #1, that name should be listed in her CENOMAR/CEMAR.

 

I think the Cenomar/Cemar that "was issued by the PH lawyer might not even be legit" . It's probably from Recto or from somewhere else and not from PSA. That is her problem now, how to get the Cemar as she had not filed one herself, I told her to consult a PH lawyer ASAP. Her case seems so messy. She is planning to withdraw her petition from NVC until she can get this all sorted out. I told her the most viable option is to marry him overseas and or file for recognition paperwork and once that's finalize then she can marry him again.

     My only question though is why will NVC and USCIS accept those documents? How can she go this far in the process with possible fraudulent documents?

Yes! That's exactly what happened!

40 minutes ago, Adventine said:

Actually, as long as she can prove she was legally divorced in the US before marrying husband #2, she should be all right. The US embassy will follow US divorce laws. Other members with more direct experience will be able to reconfirm.

 

The only thing I'm concerned about is that Cenomar which may or may not be legitimate. I hope she didn't submit that possibly fake Cenomar at any point of the process.

 

 

She submitted the Cenomar and was accepted by NVC. He has been Dq''d since February 2021. My confusion is when she married husband #2 in the Philippines without the annulment and recognition of divorce paperwork, so in the eyes of PH law she was nit free to marry thus making this marriage invalid, if she would  have  married overseas then it should not have been an issue. 

2 hours ago, Adventine said:

We need a few more details please:

 

- did she file for divorce from her 1st husband in the US? And does she still have the divorce paperwork?

 

- did she try running a CENOMAR search on herself yet to see what the PSA records show?

 

- is her 1st husband still alive?

Hi Adventine,

    So I got more information:

--Ex hubby filed for divorce here in the US in 1991 and she has the divorce decree. she used that divorce decree to file for hubby #2. She married hubby #2 in 1997, without filing for annulment/recognition paperwork, she said Cenomar was not needed in 1997. 

--She said that she didn't know that she needed to file the recognition of divorce paperwork until 3 years ago when she filed for hubby #2's I-130, she hired a lawyer in PH who got her a :cenomar and told her that she(the PH lawyer) will file for the recognition paperwork but never did and she ran away with her money. That cenomar might not be even legit ? All her civil documents were accepted by USCIS and NVC, which leads to my next question, if this was the case how can NVC accept her civil docs? Seems like the Cenomar might have been produced fraudulently?

--Her first hubby is still alive and re-married as well. 

She is planning to withdraw the case until she can sort this out, I told her that her hubby might get grilled during the interview and might need to produce legit documents if they decided to push through with the case. Seems like the best way to go around this is withdrawing the case, either marry outside of PH and or if they decide to remarry in PH then she needs to file the recognition paperwork and once everything is finalized then she can refile again, seems like this is her only option, right?

Hi Guys,

   So i am a member of a Filipino immigration group in Facebook and I have been sharing my knowledge that I gained from this site when posters have question and to my surprised this lady DM'd me about her case. She got her green card from her US citizen son. She got divorced to her Filipino husband (the son's bio father), did not file for annulment or recognition of divorce paperwork. She then married her 2nd husband without those paperwork 25 years ago and when i asked her how she did it she said "we just went to Manila City hall and got married and they didn't ask for anything". Now fast forward a few years ago she filed for her 2nd hubby as F2a and he has been DC'd since Feb 2021, obviously USCIS and NVC approved all her documents but now she is worried that someone told her that she will need Cenomar during the interview. Now my question is, I think this marriage is not even legal/valid, correct? Per PH law she is not free to marry when they got married 25  years ago as she did not file for annulment or the recognition of divorce paperwork. I told her to consult an immigration and a family lawyer in the Philippines as her case seems complicated. Thoughts? 

On 8/31/2022 at 5:02 PM, NoMansLand2020 said:

Greetings, 

 

We are currently in the market for an additional car for our family. Looking for a used vehicle that will be mostly used by my wife. Currently we have two young children, one who is still in a carseat and a baby due in December. 

 

My wife has no driving experience and will soon be starting an adult driving class so she can earn a permit. Being a Filipino, she's short in stature, 4'10 and around 90lbs.  As we are soon to be a family of 5, we mostly likely need either a minivan, or smaller seater... Something that would seat at least 7. 

 

I am looking for suggestions as to what others might have done. 

You definitely need a mini van, our kids are 18 months apart and with 2 car seats it will be hard to fit them in a regular sedan or even an SUV, before we bought the Honda Odyssey we had a Nissan Murano which was really nice but had to sell it coz with 2 car seats and my mom helping out it was very tight in the back row, I'm 5'3" so a little taller than a "typical Filipina" and did not have any problems driving my mini van, it also had a back up camera so that made things easier, the clearance is also better with the mini van, I hated driving a small car now, I will drive my Odyssey until it's last breath! LOL! 

My 2006 Honda Odyssey is still going strong with 230k plus miles on it! We bought it in November 2005 before I gave birth to my daughter, so it will be 17 years old in November!