J.M.

6 hours ago, Elitevaz said:

Very few Americans marry Filipinos. Most are marrying other Americans in America, so the vast majority of Americans will have no marriage record CENOMAR whether they are married or not. The US Government can't even properly track marriages of Americans, so the PSA has no chance.

What's the big deal?  If they ask for it, provide it, or abandon your plans.  Most Americans are not criminals, but they still do background checks.  Most Filipinos that are planning to marry a foreigner are not currently married, but they still ask for a CENOMAR from them.  Most people driving cars have licenses, but police still ask to see it when you get stopped.  For most cases, there will be no record.  For a few, there will be a record.  It's easy to get and cheap.  If you learn about the Philippines, you will soon figure out that a lot of things they do don't make sense.  There are a lot of things in the US that don't make sense too.  By the way, marriage is a state institution.  The US Government is not in the marriage tracking business.  The states maintain marriage records.

4 minutes ago, Outstanding Pengu said:

what does EAD and AP mean?

EAD is Employment Authorization Document.  It allows you to work while Adjustment of Status is processing.  It takes around 1 to 6 months for approval.  Once it is approved, you are legally allowed to work. 

AP is Advanced Parole.  This allows you to re-enter the US after international travel.  It's pretty expensive ($630 I think) and usually takes a long time (6 months+) for approval.  AP is only valid until you receive your green card.  Often, the green card is approved before AP, which makes the $630 fee just a donation to the government.

Over the past several months, some petitioners (10 or so) have reported being asked to provide an FBI background check for CFO.  However, all of them that I am aware of were for K-1, not spousal.  I doubt that will make any difference but just pointing that out.  I would get one, especially if your wife has significant travel to attend CFO.  At least one person was told that they could email the FBI report, which they did.  Upon receipt of the email, CFO replied and said (I'm paraphrasing) "great, now hand deliver it to us."  

It is not a physical sticker anymore.  Now it is a digital certificate.  It will be emailed to her immediately upon completion of CFO.  You can print the certificate and screen shot it but also save the email.  Sometimes they ask to see the email, not just the certificate, at departure.

skyscanner is always a great place to start.

9 hours ago, Drew3435 said:

I can confirm that the CFO does ask, at least as of now, for a police clearance for the petitioner. Source - I had to provide one before they would approve my wife. She actually has to go back now that we provided it. 

Which CFO location?

35 minutes ago, Mark24 said:

Apparently, she needs to attend a CFO seminar and undergo an interview, and the person conducting the interview has requested the certified duplicate, even though, logically, it makes no sense. 

Just for clarity, your fiancée was personally asked for the certified copy at CFO?  Or did she just "hear" that it is required?  I've never heard of that being asked for or even being given a copy of it.  Which CFO location?

1 hour ago, J.M. said:

Which location did this happen at?

This happened at the Manila location.  OP ran out of posts for the day but messaged me.

I understand you are having a difficult time with CFO, but in general, CFO is a breeze to get through.  Typically, those that have trouble with CFO are unprepared or have something other than a friendly attitude.  The one-on-one interview can be quick and easy or detailed and messy, depending on the attitude of both participants.  Since I have never heard of being asked to show screenshots of family chats, I would guess something earlier in the interview led to that request.

Like it or not, though, CFO is part of the process, and you have to go through it.  Which location did this happen at?

Yes, it's definitely hard to get the exact documents they want.  I have had to make 2nd trips for previous visits.  Now I take everything we've got and hope for the best.  I'm old and used to the way it was when I was young.  I think a birth certificate was all I needed.  Next they'll want a certified copy of the constitution, first-born's umbilical cord, and your first baby tooth.

My wife is 45.  She had never really driven before coming to the US.  We started doing a bit of "back-road" driving quite a while back.  Last month, we decided it was time to start practicing on roads with traffic.  We went our local DPS to get a permit.  She did the required 6 hours of on-line videos and the 1-hour safety video in advance.  The written test was on-line also, so our visit to DPS was just to process the paperwork.  There were only 3 counters.  While we waited for our turn, it became very clear that 2 of the 3 were very experienced, but the 3rd one was new.  She was super slow and asking many questions.  I was hoping we did not get her!  But guess what?  We DID.  The foreign passport threw her off a bit.  She was talking to herself about a marriage certificate or something to show legal name change, but I guess she realized the green card was proof enough of her name and moved past that.  She made it all the way to the end before she made an error.  She accidentally issued my wife an unrestricted license instead of a permit.  She asked her co-worker how to correct it.  She followed their instructions and changed it.  Or at least she thought she did.  My wife's unrestricted license arrived in the mail today.  No B restriction in it, and it is good for 4 years.  

14 hours ago, Legendary_Bry said:

It says K-1 is much faster than the CR 1.  It looks like K-1 is less than a year.   CR1 takes a little bit longer than 2 years.

K-1 is typically faster than CR1, but worst case K1 and best case CR1 might both be about 18 months.  My expectation is K1 will probably be 6 months or so faster than CR1 and take about a year.  Times vary constantly, so it's all just a guess.  CR1 is cheaper, unless you have to fly back to the Philippines to consummate the marriage.  If you do, the savings from adjustment of status is already blown on that trip.

K-1 cannot be filed online.

On 5/13/2025 at 11:33 AM, Edward and Jaycel said:

sometimes the CEAC status can lag behind actual events

Just to second this- a friend already has the passport/visa in hand, but CEAC still says "ready."

Another anomaly with applying online is the photo requirement.  A properly taken passport photo does not pass muster, even though it matches the US passport requirements.  On the online renewal photo instructions, it demands about half of the upper body be included in the photo, not just the face and shoulders.  Amazing that they have two different "official" websites that show completely different requirements.  Fortunately, I didn't have any travel plans.  I was just renewing due to expiration.  They had absolutely no sympathy, despite the tracking number showing it had either never left their facility or was not scanned when it was picked up (I did track that original number when I first got it).  I'm not sure how either of those possibilities are MY fault.  I was very annoyed with the whole process.  Just talking about it annoys me lol.

All that security is great, but when I renewed mine, it got "lost" in the mail.  I put it in quotes because it never showed any production steps, just a tracking number.  My stupid assumption was that the tracking number was automatically generated for return of supporting documents.  Since I applied online, I didn't need to send any supporting documents, so when nothing arrived, I was not surprised.  Mind you, my passport did not show it had been produced.  Fast forward a month or two later, I remembered I never got my passport, so I gave them a call.  They told me it was produced a long time ago and mailed using the tracking number I already had.  Since it had been over 90 days, the tracking number was no longer valid.  USPS reuses their 400-digit tracking numbers for some reason.  Anyway, the end result is I had to cancel my never-received passport and apply again from scratch, including paying for everything again.  And the kicker is, since it was "lost" I could no longer apply on-line.

It's unusual that he would not be aware of what county (or state) that divorce was filed.  Both Texas and Louisiana require six months of state residency and 90 days of county (parish in Louisiana) residency before divorce can be filed, so maybe this will narrow it down a bit.  Divorces are public records in both states.  Notification of the other party is mandatory, except in very rare circumstances, so he really should know something.

Written letters of intent to marry within 90 days are the normal evidence provided for this.  One from each of you, signed.  Search this site and google for fiancé letter of intent to see examples.  Having a date selected this early is optimistic, since processing times can vary significantly.  It is not generally expected to have a date chosen.

3 minutes ago, EatBulaga said:

under who must register, any alien whether previously registered or not?

The first sentence of "who must register" section says IF you fall into the "who is not registered?" THEN you must register.  You are not in the "who is not registered" category, so none of the "who must register" section applies.  You also left off an important part of the sentence: "Any alien, whether previously registered or not, WHO TURNS 14 years old while in the United States."

Your answer is in the "Who is already registered?" section in the link you provided.  It looks like you check 4 of the boxes saying you are already registered.  Any one is sufficient.

In the article cited by the article being discussed, it says ICE can ask the IRS to provide them with any location information they may have but must request it with a name and the last known address.  If the IRS has a match, they will give ICE the address they have.  It also claims there are 7 million tax-paying illegals.  I know a lot of illegals do file taxes, but I'm not sure there are 7 million.

5 minutes ago, MainFrame said:

I don't think its wrong for a sovereign country to have their own rules, laws and procedures. 

Definitely it is not wrong for them to have their own policies.  However, looking at a document that has already been looked at as part of the I-129F approval process is redundant.  Taking a second look at something that has already been reviewed (by the destination country even) is what I am saying is wrong.  CFO was established to assist and advise departing Filipinos with adjusting to their new country, not to investigate their partner.  Sometimes they forget that and start trying to police relationships.  It would just be nice if they were consistent, so that people were not always wondering what they will ask for.  Different counsellors ask for different things, and different locations ask for different things.  It shouldn't be harder to gather the documents for CFO than it is for the embassy interview, but it is.

1 hour ago, tseth15 said:

Do the post offices provide the papers to capture fingerprints?

It's electronic- just a scanner.  I'm sure you have to fill out some paperwork first.  I think the website I gave you can tell you all the details.  I've never done it.  

4 hours ago, maryaaaa said:

I just finished my CFO today and none of us in our batch were asked about police clearance. I guess its really case to case basis. 

Yeah, it's really wrong for them to ask for that, since every petitioner has already had a background check done, as part of the I-129F.  I have no idea what triggers a background check request.  I have only had 2 people tell me they asked for one.  Neither had any criminal history and there was nothing unusual about their cases.  As I told the OP, if the beneficiary is just a jeepney ride away from the CFO office, I wouldn't get one, but if it's a ferry ride and a flight away, I would probably get one to be sure I didn't need to return.

You can get one here: Rap Sheets (Identity History Summary Checks) — FBI

I never had to get one, but that is what another used at CFO when they requested it, and they accepted it.  It looks like you can get one in 48 hours if you go to a US post office to electronically capture your fingerprints.