N360

From wikipedia:

The term America's Team is a popular nickname in American sports that most often refers the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League.

Bob Ryan, the Vice President and editor-in-chief of NFL Films, coined this for the Cowboys in 1979. After preparing and editing the team’s 1978 season highlight film he had to come up with a title for the film. As a life long fan, Bob decided the title would be a great fit.

It seems the label came from a lifelong Cowboy fan. What a surprise.

Go Giants!!!!

I've never quite understood that label. "America's team". Ive lived in many different cities including Dallas and it seems there's more Packers or Steelers or even Giants fans than Cowboys.

I wonder where the moniker "America's team" came from. I know its not from number of league championships because the niners and packer and giants have more. it certainly did not come because of superbowl wins (niners and steelers have the same). I mean who ever thought the Cowboys were the team favored by a majority of the population. I actually think more Americans dislike the team than like them.

Can please someone tell me what will be the effect if I will go back to the Philippines on my AOS?

It would be okay for me if my husband and i will not continue this fuc*ing AOS and instead just file for the divorce or will it be automatically if i go back to my country?

You just married a little less than two weeks ago so Im assuming you guys have not filed AOS yet. If so, just go back to Philippines then. no harm no foul.

If you have filed AOS and you're asking what would be the effect. I would assume nothing. First off, you would be in Philippines so you wont care. Second, if you "stayed" here in the US and its time for you to lift condition on your conditional reseident status, it will probably get denied.

I think Myla is correct here. If you think hard about it, K1 is a "fiance" visa. Which means both parties must be of legal age to get married. Right now in the Philippines, she's not yet legal. Even in the US, 18 is the legal age to get married without parental consent in all but a few states.

I know that you werent asking for advices but I think people here have been giving you some good ones.

IF I were in your situation, since as you said, the beneficiary will not leave until she's 18 anyway, I'd wait until she's 18 to file the papers. A K1 visa only takes about 6 months (give or take) for the whole thing. I've seen some get approved in 3 months.

But then again thinking back in my own's past... When I was 18, I did not listen to anyone.

So all I can say is good luck in all your decisions.

my husband either ,he haven't get yet the letter from nvc...The difference is that the k1/k3 their appointment letter is coming from the usem while the cr1 everything came from the nvc...i was really confused because some of here said they brought with them their original /appointment letter ...but my friend said she was also cr1 (vj member) that it would be fine if it is just xerox /fax..i really dont know for now but to make it sure maybe it would be better if we will ask our husband to send it through fedex if we want early medical..anyway they will recieve it ahead of us ...i know it would be costly this way but we dont want to take chances here

For CR1, NVC will send to both the petitioner and beneficiary the appointment letter that you can take to St Lukes and to the embassy.

In our case, I knew that mail in the Philippines is slow and my wife might not get "her copy" in time, so I sent Khristine a copy of the appointment letter they sent me. I sent my copy to Tintin via Fedex coz i was sending her a bunch of other stuff anyway.

If the letter is the only thing you need, perhaps a cheaper alternative would be for your hubby to just scan a copy of the letter, email it to you, and then you can print it out in PI?

thank you....thank you so much...vjer's...helping me a lot......I know what i will do now...God bless you all!!!!

Goodluck Edith. Tintin and I are praying for you.

Please can some one answer this question.. I will be filing the AOS within the month.. I am very lucky to live in Oklahoma.. and we have to freaking travel to Oklahoma City and take a day off of work to file the AOS in person I guess. But a filipina here is telling Zandy that she can't get her SS # until we files the AOS. It's my understanding she can get one now.. but it will have a stamp on it that will say she can't work? which is ok.. I just want her to have a card.

If I take a day off and take her to the SS office will the issue her a SS card soon? or will we have to wait..

Mike everyone here is correct.

Zandy can apply for SSN but it will have a stamp that says she cant work. After AOS, you guys can go back to SSA and get a new card without a stamp.

Some people prefers to wait until after AOS so they dont have to go back to get a new card. It's all just preference thing.

The filipina who said you cant apply for SSN probably dealt with a not so knowledgable SSA employee or have only two weeks left before her I-94 expires.

I want to be comfortable in flying. How did you carry your documents? Your xray? I'm going to bring the documents I brought during my interview. Are they going to check it? or only the passport with visa and the x ray film? Need your advise guys. Thanks a lotl. God bless

Pauljoy

They did not ask for my wife's Xray at POE. Just the brown envelope and passport.

Here's what I noticed at LAX POE. Everyone that was carrying their Xray was from Philippines. I knew because it says St Lukes. But none of the other people from other countries were carrying Xrays. I can only "assume" that the instruction from the US embassy in Manila to carry Xray is a bit outdated.

You guys sent your petition on March 8 and had your visa delivered on June 18! Wow! This has got to be one of the fastest visa journey I've seen.

happy for you both! Good luck on the rest of the journey!!

i really wanted for him to leave ..so as my husband however i dont have the capacity to pay in one swipe the penalty that my husband had incurred i have tried calling his parents, email, write a letter snail mail..since 2006 and i never got any response..they always tell me will help but they never did.if he surrender to immigration he will say bye bye philippines forever...and since me and soph is denied we will never see him again..i wish i can get ways to request registration date how he can get state id and drivers license since i only lack 2 more years after his 14th birthday..but i dont know how

Hi Jonah,

Im confused a bit. If he surrender to Immigration you say bye bye Philippines forever? Why? I guess I'm having a hard time believing he wont be able to come back again to PI. But even if he can't, why is that such a bad thing? Dont you guys want to establish your life together in the US anyway?

Also... You and Soph were denied because of two main reasons. Your husband's domicile and the Affidavit of Support. But once Mario re-establish his domicile in the states and starts working (or join the military), these two major hurdles would be there no more. He can once again starts the CR1 process for both you and Soph.

I dont consider myself an immigration expert but If I am Mario, my first order of busines would be how to get myself back to the US. So surrendering to Immigration might not be a bad idea.

Do you or does anyone here know what the Philippine Immigration will do in this case? Will they jail Mario? Or will they just deport him. If they will just deport him, then isnt that what needs to be done?

Also... The US embassy offers "emergency services" to US citizens

http://manila.usembassy.gov/wwwha017.html#Obtaining

They may be able to help Mario get out of PI. Just a thought.

However, since he's wife is already here in the US, your nephew might not even need to file for CR1. He might just need to file AOS.

Not available for an LPR, only if a USC.

Ah. Ok. Thanks fwaguy.

I do not have definitive answer, but in for a long wait for I-130 to approve if now an LPR.

This is correct Roy. If the OP's nephew has to go through the CR1 route, its going to be a very long wait for LPRs.

However, the wife is already here in the US. So the "wait" really arent going to be as bad as the ones that are separated. Also, once the nephew becomes a US citizen, he can "upgrade" his petition.

Got the good news just a few moments ago when I called the Embassy. My fiancee's Visa has been approved for printing! They said it may not print today but to call again on Tuesday for an update. I'm hoping it will print today and she can get it tomorrow. If so, I'll book her a flight for the following weekend.

I'm so excited!

Wow! Finally!!! Hapy for you both!!!

well sounds to me your husband need to go back to usa without you for awhile and get a place to live and get his place to live and a job or i am afraid you might not ever get here or you file papers so he can stay there in phils and not worry about coming to usa. he need to prove he has a residence here in usa. which after 2 yrs in the phils. usem dont believe he has a place to live and you will become dependant on the goverment. i would just worry about getting your husband out of the country and home you only have ayear to get this all taken care of before you have to refile all papers again take care and god bless

USEM dont believe he has a place to live because frankly, it sounds like he doesnt. This is where most of of Jonah's immigration problems is coming from.

I agree with you on the domicile as well. Mario needs to go back to the US asap. As a matter of fact, Mario needed to go back to the US about two years ago.

Jonah, Im so sorry for being candid. I hope I do not offend you but your posts keeps going back and forth between problems without a resolution.

You've been going through this problem like you must go the the US so you can work and bail Mario but really... It should be the other way around.

Mario needs to go back to the US ASAP and get a job and start taking care of you guys (You and your daughter) right away. He needs to figure out how he can get out of the PI. If he was smart enough to go there in PI and get married to begin with, Im sure he'll think of something. He has to. He cant just sit there in PI.

mario lost his state and drivers id -- how do request this out of state?

If he's from Louisiana, he can request his records from here.

http://omv.dps.state.la.us/odr/odr.asp

I believe, he can also renew his driver's id online.

To be honest, I'm not sure what this would do since the US embassy is only asking for 5 things, from reading the letter you posted, and none of these have something to do with Mario's identity.

1. Affidavit of Support I-864
2. Notarized certificate of employment
3. rental or ownership documents of sponsor's house or apt
4. notarize letter of the setup between your dad (The sponsor) and the benificiary (you)
5. Verify if your child is a USC

Seems to me, most of your problem is just because of the Affidavit of Support.

To All fellow VJs;

My nephew in Maryland is still on his Immigrant STatus, meaning they are here only for 3 years when his grandfather petitioned his Mom. He marry his GF who got a tourist visa? my question is what they need to make his wife to live her legally(not sure the status term of his wife), or what they need to do apply since they haven't get their citizenship cause they afraid someone may tell immigration about the status of his wife. His wife want to work so she can help with the financial matters.

any suggestion and response to this matter is highly appreciated.

best regards to all.

I know for a fact that one does not have to be a US citizen to file a CR1 visa for his/her spouse. One can file for spousal visa even as an LPR.

However, since he's wife is already here in the US, your nephew might not even need to file for CR1. He might just need to file AOS.

Someone here might have a more definitive answer.

How about the huge eggplants? or sinkamas? or huge everything for that matter?

Also...

Do you not miss seeing Paquiao's face everywhere?

were just got arrive today here in washington seattle usa. its nice here but im kinda homesick. i know its natural cuz i miss my family in philippines. any filipina lives here in seattle? hope i can meet some friends here so that i will not get homesick...

Congrats Mhay!! Welcome to the US!!

Hi to all, I read before the topic about the good present or pasalubong for the in-laws but i couldn't find it so i just post for myself. I can't think of a good pasalubong for my in-laws, please give me some idea.

Thanks in advance and God bless.

Teena

A grandchild.

my baby was born here in manila philippines however we applied for crba..but it was not granted because my husband lacks domicile records in america after his 14th birthday we provide some proofs but for them its still not enough..we cant supply any other records because all the docs and computer related files were all destroyed during the hurricane katrina.."my husband resides in louisiana" and now...since his only 22 years old he dont even have job nor any tax returns..he was just a student..any idea how can i apply my daughter to bring with him in US?

Jonah,

The State department is pretty strict about domicile requirements. After all, they are only asking that you guy's prove that your husband is domiciled in the US for 2 years after his 14th birthday. It does not even have to be 2 continuous years. Just cumulative.

U.S. citizen parent's must have cumulative physical presence in the U.S. or its outlying possessions for five years, two after the citizen parent's 14th birthday and before the applicant's birth.

With or without the hurricane, Im not sure why you guys are having a hard time coming up with domicile record for 2 years. I mean, hurricane Katrina happened in 2005, so you guys have no records even after that?

He's 22 now, so for the last 8 years he should have at least some record? Shool records? hospital records? cellphone bill? federal census records? voting record? Stamped letter? bank records? drivers license? learner's permit? car registration or insurance? Anything that prooves your husband resided in the US for 2 years after his 14th birthday and 3 before that.

If you dont mind (I'm curious), what have you submitted as proof and why wasnt it not enough?

Anyway, if more proof of domicile records is out of the question for your husband, Im afraid the only other choices you have is for your husband to file I-130 for your daughter or for your husband to wait and establish domicile records in the states for 2 years and then file CRBA again for your daughter.

I've been apart from my fiance for nearly a year since my last visit. We've been seeing each other for around 3 years...a bit more. Due to some slow document delivery & financial issues on my end, we haven't submitted the K-1 visa yet. She's getting over a bad case of Dengue Fever & I really want to go over there to help her out & give some direct support. I'm considering just tying the knot there & switching to a K-3 visa to get her over to me. What possible benifits or pros/cons would it get me, other than getting her medical coverage & Dependant rate pay for me (I'm in the Air Force) to put some more money into the relationship. I really want to spend some time with her again & don't want to waste the trip...not to mention that I know she's getting tired of waiting with little progress here. Any advise, experience is greatly appreciated!

The best visa is CR1. It takes longer than K3 or K1 but if you're not in a rush, CR1 is the way to go. CR1 is also the cheapest. No expensive "adjustment of Status" fee ($1,010.00)

Speaking of Pros, Your wife will be able to work as soon as she lands at POE. No going back and forth between government offices. After POE, she just waits, usually a couple of weeks, for her green card and SS card in the mail.

In our case, my wife even had full medical and dental insurance coverage from my job right away. You cant do that with K1.

If you marry this year, you will also be able to include her in your tax return for 2008, which means more refund from Uncle Sam.

hi tin and noel,

Congrat's ha and thanks to tin for some info and advice..nice meeting you guys at CFO seminar....nanjan na pala kayo..hehehhe....I'm going to have my interview on august 5. pls.pray for me...Sayang..hindi man lang tayo nakapagpapicture..Anyway..God Bless and have a baby na ha....heheheh

jhen

Hi Jhen. OO nga. It was nice meeting you at the CFO seminar. Small world eh? he he

Good luck sa interview mo! We'll pray for you!

here's wishing you many blissful years ahead.... and babies soon.

God's blessings always.

Uh oh! You're predictting again. he he

Hello guys. Just wanted to drop by and say that after a long wait since NOA1, my wife is finally here in the US with me.

I went home to PI on the 23rd of this month and both me and my wife travelled together to the US on the 27th.

I only stayed for four days in the Philippines but we managed to finish everything we needed to get done.

Tintin had her despidida party on the 25th. CFO on the 26th, and had dinner with friends and fellow VJers Mhay_Stewart and Chris@Seattle on the 26th.

We arrived at LAX on the 27th 8:00PM. Our flight was smooth and on time. At LAX, me and my wife went directly to the US citizens and Residents line. After waiting for a few minutes, we were called to a window. The consul officer looked at our papers and told us to go to the "New Immigrants" window which is at the very very first window even beyond window #1.

We went to this new immigrant section and we were lucky that we were only # 2 in line. After a few minutes, the consul officers called us to come forward. He took both our passports and the packet from the embassy. (They did not ask for the Xray). He gave my wife a couple of papers to sign, took her fingerprints and told us to sit down and wait.

We waited for an hour. We were getting nervous because we didnt know whats going on. People kept coming and the line is now horribly long. There were many of us now "waiting".

After an hour, an officer called me and my wife's name. The officer gave us our passport, gave my wife a "welcome letter" and told us that her SS card and greencard should arrive in the mail within two weeks.

That was it!