GarLeb

CSC rarely processes CR1s.  If you file the I-130 your case can be moved from center to center.  Think of adjudication like a checkout line at a grocery store.  Some lines move faster.  Sometimes the shortest line has an issue.  Every I-130 is different as it is based on the two parties and the particulares.  We didn't even consider the US initially for residency when we got married. We moved to Mexico.  Then life happened and there were fortunate circumstances and we got here super fast.
 
If you withdraw the I-129F and file for the spousal make sure your petition is complete and accurate.
 

^^^THIS^^^
@GarLeb, Dont miss the forest from the trees.  Too many believe the goal is just being together.  That may or may not be doing a disservice to both of you.  Take a step back and look at what YOU really believe is your priority.  WE can't answer that for you and there is no wrong answer.  If the year of no work and not being able to return from an international trip are not a concern, stick with the already filed K-1.  There is nothing wrong with that.If your goal is to be settled quicker with the beneficiary able to work and travel internationally, the timelines really dont matter.  Spousal will always beat K-1 to the green card.  This is really a decision the two of you need to make together.  Once you make it, DON'T LOOK BACK!  You will drive yourself crazy with "what ifs".  Make your decision and stick to it.  Both will get you to the same place.
 
One last comment, don't focus so much on the process.  Focus on why you are doing this process.  It is long but it isn't difficult unless you make it that way.  The love is where your focus should be.  It will make this journey a little easier.

My fiancé passed the embassy interview last night (today her time) and said the interview only took 5 minutes.  The interviewer didn't even ask for affidavit of support or the scrapbook of photos of us together she made for evidence.  It sounds like the embassy is pushing people through fast to try to catch up on the backlog so if you're still waiting for an interview date it could be coming soon!

Not really by case number.  Definitely not by country.  Actually, the I-130 processing time at USCIS is mostly down to your luck.  The only part in your control is how well the I-130 package is put together and how soon it is filed.
 
IMO, it would not be wise to base this life-changing decision on something that depends mostly on luck.  Instead, I suggest you re-examine your priorities -- ie. is time-to-visa really the most important factor for you, despite the major disadvantages of the K1 post-entry?  If so, then yes, maybe you should just wait your turn at the K1 line at USEM.
 
Also note, based on my own experience and on reports of others here on the PH sub-forum, the average wait time from NVC DQ to interview letter for CR1/IR1 at USEM nowadays is around 3 weeks.  Consider that versus the 1+ year wait time from NOA2 to K1 interview slot at USEM.
 

All wait times are now long, and as far as we can discern from years of data here on VJ, there is no difference in approvals times by country.   Any non-expedited petition approval taking a few months is an outlier, and I wouldn't rely on that happening for you.
 
You also cannot expect to have any future petition sent to a particular service center.  It is luck of the draw.
 
Expect either process (K-1/CR-1) to take up to two years.  If waiting that long is not an option, the USC petitioner can consider moving to beneficiary's country.
 
 

My visa is approved!!!  Issued 🎉
 
It took 18 long months for us to get to this point, a lot of it due to some unfortunate events beyond our control (Potomac SC transfer, NVC system glitch, sputum testing).  Thankfully, no RFEs or 221g, so other than the bad luck, it was smooth sailing.  Hoping I don't jinx the visa delivery, CFO part 2, COVID testing, and flight.  Abangan!
 

After almost 2.5 years from filing. This part of our journey is over and our new one begins.  JAL upgraded them to business class from Tokyo to Dallas. Eventhough it's 75 which is a blessing in November, they are cold lol. Everybody needs a long rest now.

I'm pretty big into personal development and self-directed learning, and I dislike paying for things when I can get them for free.
 
I've always wanted to try LinkedIn Learning, but I never wanted to pay for it. It usually costs USD 20-30 / month, depending on the plan you choose, but you can get it for free if you have a library card from your local public library. Depending on where you live in the US, it's also free to apply for a library card, and you can often do it online. Note: I don't get any compensation for the link, I just found it very useful and wanted to share. Immigrating is expensive enough as it is, and immigrants already have a tough enough time breaking into US white collar jobs.
 
This is very useful for anyone who wants to upskill while waiting for their GC/EAD. You can also raise your visibility to recruiters on LinkedIn if you complete industry-specific courses.
 
Hope this helps someone out there in limbo while waiting for their work permits to come through!

OK, we just completed this.  For the stepdaughter we did sign her up for the "pink" PDOS whereas mom had to sign up for the "blue" GCP.  As far as we can tell the daughter needs a unique e-mail address from mom.  The part for the child was easy.  Just follow the "pink" PDOS link.  It only works 7:00AM to 5:00PM. Monday thru Thursday. Upload passport and visa.  We just used phone pictures.  We did it right around 7:00AM and got an auto reply by e-mail requesting us to send the visa, birth certificate and ID to a Gmail address.  We did, got a reply from the counselor at the Gmail address requesting a few more documents and then she sent the unique link you need to complete the registration.  Fill out the forms there and it directs you to pay.  It had a notice there that said credit card payment is not working, but it offered the option to pay by credit card. So being the daredevil that I am, I followed that link to a PayMaya page and contrary to the notice and to my complete amazement, credit card payment actually did work.  Stepdaughter got her temporary certificate by e-mail immediately.
 
Wife was more or less the same process except she had to sign up for the "blue" GCP and had to do the tele counseling before receiving the unique link needed to complete the registration.  Her counseling actually went well.  Registering Monday morning, the counselor replied by email from an actual proper @cfo.gov.ph email address (rather than the Gmail address daughters counselor was using) Monday evening with an appointment for Tuesday afternoon.  Then Tuesday morning the counselor contacted my wife again and asked if she could do it right away.  She did, it took about 20 minutes.  I don't know all the details but apparently nothing to bothersome for my wife.  So now we have the temporary certs for both of them.  Theoretically they both get stickers sent to her house by LBC.  We'll see about that. 
 
To answer a question that often comes up.  They did specifically request a PSA ROM.  We provided one so I can't say what the response would have been if we didn't have one.
 
The first certificate was P581 total with fees.  The second certificate was P461 since it could combine the P120 shipping fee from the first.

So exactly 7 months to the day from when we filed the I-130's, we have visas on hand.  We will try our luck with CFO on Monday, and I got them tickets flying into LAX in 2 1/2 weeks.
 
We had the visas sent for pickup at 2GO's DAU office since my wife kind of lives in the boonies so home delivery could be unreliable and would almost certainly add an extra day. They started tracking in Manila the second day after status changed to "issued" on CEAC and they were available for pickup the day after that.  So interview and issued status on Tuesday.  Available for pickup in DAU on Friday. Delivery to 2GO's MOA office or anywhere else in Manila would not have been any faster.  If anyone does have then sent to 2GO's DAU office note that the address they give for the pickup has not been 2GO's DAU address at least 5 years.  So you would want to go to the "new address" where they moved their office like 5 years ago, not the "old address" where they are still telling people today to go pick up their passports.
 
They started tracking on 2GO's e-Trace tracking web site using the UID number from https://www.ustraveldocs.com/ph or https://cgifederal.secure.force.com/  The UID is the number in brackets next to your e-mail address in the upper right hand corner when logged in, or it also appears with the bar code on the printout from registering delivery address.  We never could track it with 2GO by case number or passport number.  The status also changed to "Passport has been received from the consular section, and is currently being processed for delivery" on the dashboard page when logged on to the ustraveldocs/cgifederal web site and on https://www.ustraveldocs.com/ph/ph-niv-passportretrieve.asp .  

After 806 days, we finally got good new. She got her appointment letter last Wednesday night (for an appoinment today). Not much time. Luckily, she was still in Batangas. She was in there 2 hours. I will post her review when I get to speak with her later.
 
No my goal is to get her out of there before the vaccine mandate goes into affect for foreign travelers. I really prefer she gets vaccinated her. Thank you lord.

Well the CEAC status changed to "issued" later the same day of the interview.   So 6 months, 27 days from filing I-130's to visa Issued.
😁
We're waiting for it to start tracking with 2GO now.
 

So as of this morning, Oct 5 Manila time, my wife and stepdaughter attended thier interview at US Embassy Manila.  We are very cognitive of the importance of "visa in hand" and will reserve final celebration until that is the case, but the interview went well and they are verbally approved by the US Consul.   She had nothing but nice things to say about the Embassy staff and the Consul.  She felt there was a high level of professionalism there. She went in highly stressed and came out really feeling positive about the experience.
 
 
Oh, and then driving home MMDA traffic enforcers extorted P2k from her over some sort of lane violation.  ;-).  Got to love the Philippines.   I'm thinking if I was there I could have got that bribe down to P500 but I told her don't even sweat the P2k.  It's a good day 😁

I am also helping my step son file ROM and while the video is very thorough it is also a little misleading.  You do need 5 copies of the ROM form signed and notarized, you only need one original marriage certificate and you can use 4 copies.  The video said everything has to be original.  One thing great about Utah is they email a certified copy of the marriage certificate with Titan Seal.  It certifies the copy as a "trie and correct copy of the original".  
 
I followed the video and watched it a few times before looking into it myself.  It is easier than what is shown but it is a great introduction to the process.  San Francisco returns the original and the PSA copy takes about 6 months.

FINALLY! ❤ CEAC was updated after 3mos and same time i got an email for my Interview date. 
 

Just submit the I-130. Here's what we did when we cancelled our K1:
 
- There's a section in the I-130 that asks "Have you ever filed a petition for this person before?" We selected yes and wrote on the form: "Withdrew I-129F fiance petition. Married now."
- Sent a message through the Ask NVC web page indicating we were married.
 
As for her visiting you during quarantine, it will depend on your hotel. But I don't think any hotel will advertise that they allow quarantine visitors. The government would shut that down right away.

2)  You can see several confirmed cases in some Facebook groups of the Utah Marriages being accepted and CR-1 visas being issued by US Embassy Manila.  I think I have heard of 2 cases where apparently it went through without question and CR-1 visas were issued. There is one recent more detailed account where the beneficiary reported that she was questioned fairly extensively about it by the Filipino counsel doing the pre-interview review.  She said the Filipino counsel was unfamiliar with the Utah marriage process but after having it explained to her, she concluded it was a proxy marriage, verified passport stamps that they had met after the wedding and before filing and sent the case through.  The American counsel doing the actual interview didn't mention it in that case and the visa was issued.  So far, I have not seen any accounts of any couples experiencing any significant blowback from US Embassy Manila over the Utah marriages.

I know it's a big decision, and here's my feedback on your questions:
 
1) Would it be worth it to abandon the case, get married and start all over again with a CR-1 visa after waiting for more than a year since the application date? I know it's a decision that only I can take but I would like to know everybody's opinion.
Yes, for the simple reason that if you continue with the K1, even after the K1 visa is granted, your spouse will face another long wait to get her work permit, travel permit, and/or green card. Some people wait months or even years. Even if you can financially afford the long wait, your spouse may have trouble adjusting to her new life if she cannot work or travel home for an unknown period of time. Some people also report issues obtaining SSNs, driver's licenses, bank accounts, and health insurance. Many threads here on VJ about couples who separate, partially because of the stress waiting for the EAD/AP/GC, or one or more of the related bureaucratic complications. The spousal visa avoids all these issues from the moment your spouse steps foot on US soil.
 
2) Has anybody from the Philippines gone thru this process? I know there was a thread about a lady that married her boyfriend from Costa Rica and everything worked out for them but I would think that every consulate is different and I don't want to go to thru all this to be told no at the end.
There are some posters here who are going through the process. There are some stories of US spousal visas granted by other consulates on the basis of an online marriage, but none yet specifically from the US embassy in Manila. Hopefully someone with first hand experience comes along soon.
 
3)Would it be possible to consummate the marriage outside the Philippines? My fiance has never left the country before and I'm afraid they won't her exit the country or what's even worse, come back after the trip. I understand that I can get a visa to enter the Philippines after getting married but at this moment is not realistic for me to spend 10 days quarantining in a hotel and I was thinking that maybe meeting a place like Turkey could be a good idea.
You can consummate the marriage anywhere in the world that you can physically meet. If your fiance has trouble leaving the Philippines (and she likely will because she's never traveled overseas before), then your next option will be to visit her in the Philippines. Expensive and inconvenient, but not impossible.
 
4) If everything goes well, would getting a CFO to exit the Philippines be a problem for her assuming our visa gets approved? I've read many different opinions about this that I don't know what to believe, some people say that getting a CFO with an online marriage is impossible while others believe otherwise. 
I haven't heard of any CFO stories related to online marriage yet. I don't see how it could be a problem especially if you can prove you've been in a legitimate relationship for years. 
 
 

Completely agree.  Also with a country that takes education seriously.  I find the people in Singapore look out for their neighbor quite well, although as mentioned before its not perfect but pretty close.  Very rarely do you find an expat that did not like it.  Most try to extend their assignment as long as possible or try to stay longer by switching companies.  Its an excellent place for families as well.

It's amazing what good governance can accomplish. Also a population that's willing to act for the greater good.

I agree with everything you said.  The other things that has helped Singapore compared to Indonesia as well as other countries is that they have one of the best medical care systems in the world and the people generally are very healthy and there is an enormous culture for people to take care of their health.  Which unlike the US who has a decent medical system, that system is overrun by a population who is extremely unhealthy with obesity and diabetes the main issues.
 
I still have my PR status in Singapore and its highly likely we will be leaving the US after this school year.  Even though Singapore does have some issues, its probably the closest country on earth that could be considered utopia.  High salaries, low taxes, an educated population, incredible public transportation, clean air, great medical facilities, a government who runs a surplus, incredible technology and fast internet, a diverse population, and excellent geographic location to travel to other countries on extended weekends.  Yes, its expensive to own a car (although you dont really need one), discrimination can be a problem towards certain groups, in particular certain Indians and Bangladeshi's, plus its nickname can be Singabore, but I have enjoyed my time there.  There is also a reason why most of their government officials are reasonable and intelligent as they actually require a person to have basic skill sets to be in public office, unlike some other countries.  Yes Ive probably drank the Singapore kool-aid, but now having time to become more acquainted with the US after 28 years away, Singapore just offers so much more.  Due to Covid, they have made it slightly more difficult to obtain employment passes (raised the minimum salary to qualify plus some additional qualifications) but its still relatively easy for a foreigner to find a job there.  About 40% of the population are immigrants or workers there on work permits, S-passes and Employment passes.  

I can’t think of any starker proof that vaccines are effective that the comparison of Singapore and Indonesia.  Both ran rather draconian and obviously ineffective and counterproductive lockdowns. On a per capita basis, they both have had similar infection rates, 15,173 infected per million Indonesians.  14,028 infected per million Singaporeans.  Although it is entirely probable the Indonesian cases are dramatically underreported do to far less testing.   But where there is a HUGE, gigantic, unbelievably stupendous difference between the two countries is in the death rate per capita.  Indonesia, with a very low vaccination rate and where even most of the vaccinated were done with ineffective Chinovax, has a per capita death rate of 510 deaths per million.  Singapore with a very high vaccination rate, mostly with Pfizer and Moderna vaccine, has a death rate of about 12 deaths per million.  In other words.  Per capita, you have about 43 dead, probably unvaccinated, Indonesians for each 1 dead, probably vaccinated, Singaporean.  Or, unvaccinated Indonesia's per capita death rate is 4,250% higher than vaccinated Singapore.   Also, worth noting Indonesia probably got off way easier than western nations due to a demographically young and lean population.
 
While Singapore has not put their money where their mouth is just yet, the Singaporean Prime Minister has been telling the public that they cannot continue lockdowns indefinitely, chironivirus is not going away, they must learn to live with it, borders must be opened, business must go on, people die of flu and yet they deal with it, this will have to be handled the same way.  Which makes the Singapore Prime Minister one of the most reasonable, intelligent sounding world leaders around.  IF, Singapore does start to follow up on their wise words (it’s just talk to date) they could be trend setter and an example for countries in the region to follow.  It’s worth noting that Thailand is finally starting to talk seriously about very positive changes as well, although again with limited actual action so far.  AFIK Indonesia, is marching in lockstep with the Philippines talking about lockdowns and closed borders for the foreseeable future.

California has vax records database online as well.  https://myvaccinerecord.cdph.ca.gov/

The steps go like this.
1. Get Marriage License.  $70
https://www.utahcounty.gov/Dept/ClerkAud/OnlineMarriage.html
 
2. Get married by online marriage ceremony.  $35
https://www.utahcounty.gov/Dept/ClerkAud/MarrCeremony.html
 
3.  Order apostilled copy of marriage certificate. $45
https://www.utahcounty.gov/Dept/ClerkAud/CertCopy.html
 
4. File Report of Marriage.  $25
The Philippines San Francisco Consulate has consular jurisdiction over Utah marriages.
In addition to the listed requirements, it has been reported that the Philippine Consulate has been requiring a notarized affidavit stating that it is an online marriage and that the Filipino citizen was not present in the US.
https://pcgsanfrancisco.org/civil-registry/
 
5. Apply for Philippines 9a Visa. $30
https://pcgsanfrancisco.org/visa/
 
6. With your 9a visa and apostilled marriage certificate, travel to the Philippines and meet your new lifelong spouse for the first time.
 
7. File 1-130.
https://www.uscis.gov/
 
8. Live happily ever after.  Or not.
 

Not rumor. This is from the State Dept's  Motion to Dismiss in Ramirez v. Blinken, filed back at the end of June: 
 (Civil Action No. 21-01099, "MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISMISS" doc 6-1, p7)