Steve & Erma

The K3 visa is to allow the beneficiary to come to the US and wait while the CR1 process finishes but as others have said it is very rarely granted. That being said it also may help your CR1 process through USCIS faster as in when they go to administratively close the K3 the case worker may choose to process your CR1 right then since it is on their desk. It doesn't hurt to try. I saw in a FB group the other day where an actual K3 got approved which is weird in itself. I also saw this week someone post a timeline that they applied for the CR1 at the beginning of Nov 2022, filed the K3 2 weeks later and then the CR1 was approved on 12/20/22. There is no rhyme or reason as to when or if the K3 will help your case or how much time it will take off but there are plenty of posts in FB groups that show it still does help occasionally.

You are good... DO NOT add anything else as it will just make more for the case worker to do.

@Family He just has to file before her 21st birthday not have the immigration done before her 21st birthday right?

1. 19, 17, & 15 2. Married 2016 so 13, 11, & 9 3. They have always been in his custody 4. 12/2021 5. The bio dad was redacted from the birth certs by the Australian government, they took the bio dad's parental rights away. @jan22 see I was close

@jan22 are you saying that he will have to file an AOS and I-130 for each kid and his wife? I know the oldest is 19 right now and the others are 2-4 years behind her. They were married August 2016 in Australia. I am not sure what your definition of custody is as they have lived together since before he and his wife married. I believe the adoption was finalized this year. Lastly, I believe the bio dad has nothing to do with the kids and I would assume he signed off. I will pose these questions to him and get back to you but I believe I am pretty close to my answers. @jskibo can you answer Mike's questions, I am interested in that info as well.

Thank you all for the info. So he needs to file an AOS (I-485) and the IR1 (I-130) which will cover the wife and kids? That is all? I know this is a very screwed up situation trust me I told him that. He had a lawyer for the adoptions but didn't bother with immigration for some reason. The lawyer processed the aadoptions (yes his wife's kids) and he is currently waiting for the BC's to then get them SSN #'s which he said he has handled but I'm not sure they won't push back.

I was in Manila with my wife when we did the Utah wedding. The US could give two craps about the PSA MC. It isn't a requirement when going through your interview. The only thing I'm worried about is when we get to the CFO and will they let her leave. Guess we will see when we get there, but I'm sure there will be people in this situation that will get there before me.

Ok I will try and lay all the info I know. Friend is a USC and his wife is an Australian citizen. He is a war time veteran. Her and her 3 children came to this country about 3+ years ago on a visitors visa which was good for 3 months and never left. He has legally adopted all 3 children. As far as the courts are concerned he is now considered their biological father and he is getting BC's from the state. Does that automatically make them USC? She read somewhere that because he is a war time veteran she cannot be deported but was unable to confirm. Anyone know if there is truth to this? She obviously doesn't have a green card and isn't supposed to be working in this country. Do they need to go through the normal IR1 process for her to become legal? Will there be issues? I know that she won't go back to Australia to wait for this to process, how will that play out? As soon as he has the BC's from the state he will get them SSN numbers. Does he need to do anything with the kids? This is a very weird case and I'm not 100% on where he should go from here. Thanks for any help.

You are probably more right than I am. I did actually email the guy from the FB video. I will let you all know how that works out and if I hear anything from him.

Your story sounds almost exactly like mine. We were together in Manila with her brother, his wife, and three aunties. The clerk is a solemnizing officer... the license is valid... and we were together in Manila physically with our witnesses and virtually with our solemnizing officer. Like I said I think this is all coming about because the LCRs, Mayors, Judges, and Priests are all losing money from fees from this option and they want those back.

@JJJ2022 where do I find the live stream at? Where in the family code does it say both parties have to be in the same location as the officiant? Everything I have read says nothing about who has to be where. All foreign weddings as long as done in a lawful manner in that country are viewed as legal according to article 26 of The Family Code of the Philippines. I can get the "proxy" weddings not being legal but when both people are on the zoom call there should be no issues. My wife and I were actually together in Manila when we got married via the Utah wedding. This all has to come down to money. The LCR's are losing money because of this. Instead of making changes to their laws to make the process more convenient for foreigners they just cancel this or that. Wish they could be a bit more forward-thinkers.

My ROM is stamped Oct 12 2022 and according to the SF consulate is scheduled to be transmitted to the DFA mid-November; I would expect mine to be processed by the PSA since the consulate did so. For those getting rejected this will not cause any issues with the USCIS. If you cannot get your ROM then your spouse will not be able to change their name. Should you get to your immigration or CFO interview and still have no PSA MC then if asked just be straight forward and explain you were unable because of the change in the policy. I can't imagine all of the people who have already been married this way and are in the immigration process would get rejected for either interview after getting to the very end of this long process. Bright side is I hear there are Philippine lawyers already fighting this in the courts.

@top_secret thanks for the info. My wife is 35 so I would assume she will get the same.

@top_secret Can I ask your wife's age? I know that they give age-appropriate shots I guess.

Either wait it out or resubmit the K3

As I understand it when you do a K3 they bring both petitions together and when they approve your 130 they will admin close your K3 right then and there.

I sent an email to them about a correction and it took them over a month to respond to me. I would just leave it be and if they catch it and RFE you then you can fix it.

It is on the website for the I129f under where to file - https://www.uscis.gov/i-129f You can certainly file the K3 but I would think if you have been waiting 15 months already you are pretty close to the end of your USCIS phase but I am not aware of the Nigeria time frames.

With the 2-factor identification, I have to give my wife a code each time for her to log in. Is there a way to give access to my wife to our USCIS online account through her email? Can she create her own account and then just add our cases and if so would she have access to the files I uploaded?

Less is more. Like the others said give them your strongest pieces of evidence to show your relationship. The more evidence you give them the more they have to go through as the agent has to look at everything you send in which increases the time they have to review your case. I wish I had realized this before I sent in some of the things I did.

Got my text message today letting me know they received my I-129f. When might I see it on the USCIS website? or will I? Is the # they sent in the text message is that my receipt number or will that come later with the document? How do I add my K3 info to my timeline?

For those Filipinas that have gone through the medical process at St. Luke's. My wife is unable to get her childhood immunization record showing all of the normal immunization given. Have any of you had the same problem and if so did St. Luke's administer all of the childhood immunizations or how was that taken care of? My wife isn't fond of needles or doctors and I just want to help calm her mind about this process. Thank you for any information you can provide.

FYI for the folks here... Sent in my ROM package to the SF Consulate on 10/4 and received 10/7. They said it would be 4-6 weeks for them to process but they sent back my package on 10/13. Sent them an email yesterday and this is the response I got. "Your approved Report of Marriage was mailed to you last 13 October 2022. It will be transmitted to DFA Manila by mid of November via diplomatic pouch. After approximately six (6) months to one (1) year you can secure an authenticated copy of your Report of Marriage at Philippine Statistics Authority." Hopefully it will be done as fast as @hunny&meh's was done and we can get some copies in about 3-4 months.

@John & RoseDid you ever find out where online she checks or is the email hunny&me left the best course of action?

If they are not issuing them anymore then why is it even on the site anymore? That doesn't even make sense.