OneWingedAngel915

Good Morning Everyone, My wife and I submitted our I-130 in August 2023 with a reception date of August 9, 2023. Earlier this week, it showed only 1 week of processing time until a decision would be reached. About 13 minutes ago, it went from 1 week to now 8 months. My wife and I are in shock and do not know what to do or even what to ask. Could you please provide guidance? Is a change from 1 week to 8 months standard? What does it mean? Please let us know if you have any questions. Thank you very much for your time and consideration. Have a lovely day. -Ray.

Good Afternoon Everyone, My wife is a Filipino citizen and still uses her maiden name. She used her maiden name when I submitted her I-130. In the Philippines, people usually cannot change their name or even their last name unless they are married. The Philippine government recognized our marriage, so she can now change her last name. She is asking if it would help her visa application if she changed her last name to mine now that she can. My concern is that changing her name might present an issue since her name would no longer match the documents and applications we already submitted. So, we are not sure how to proceed. Do you all have any thoughts or recommendations? Thank you all! -Ray

Hello Everyone. I’m unsure where to post this because my situation is weird. So I decided to place it in a couple of places because my wife and I need help. My name is Ray, and I recently married my Filipina wife in August of this year via a virtual ceremony from MarryFromHome.com. She still lives in the Philippines, and we’ve shared a condo there since the end of September. We ultimately want to live in the US, where I’m from and still live, and I’ve only been visiting her in the Philippines. We understand the entire visa process from beginning to end could take a while, so we decided to get our marriage (which is fully legal and official in the US) officially recognized in the Philippines. We made that decision partly for my tourist visa extension and because my wife is a federal employee as a teacher, and having our marriage recognized would help me receive some of the benefits she gets. We went to the local Philippine Statistical Authority (PSA) to get our marriage recognized here, and they told us we had to apply for civil registry through the Philippines Embassy in the United States that serves the jurisdiction our wedding took place. After talking with a close friend, she suggested my wife and I have a civil wedding ceremony here in the Philippines at the local City Hall. Before we married virtually, we considered having a civil wedding in the Philippines. That would have required us to go to the US Consulate in Cebu or the US Embassy in Manila to get an Intent to Marry. Once we had that, we could process a request for a ceremony at city hall or a courthouse. That’s where we are a little stuck and need help. We would like a civil ceremony where we are staying right now, so we don’t have to go through all of the paperwork and mailing of documents to go through the Philippines Embassy in the US. But we are not sure if we would still need to appear before the Consulate or Embassy to get an Intent to Marry or if they will honor our marriage certificate. Our marriage certificate is valid and legal in the US, showing Salt Lake City, UT, where our marriage is registered. Any help, guidance, suggestions, or feedback is openly welcomed and deeply and sincerely appreciated. Please don’t hesitate to ask if you have questions or need clarification of our situation. Thank you all so very much in advance.