RufusDawes

Once your visa is approved, I believe your fiance has 6 months to leave for the US. So if its probably 2-3 months for NOA2 puts you at November, then if you delay some on SLEC and the USEM interview to January or February? That might work

Enjoy the first meeting, you will never forget it! I just have some advice for your K1 Visa.... make sure your fiance gets a police clearance certificate before she leaves Hong Kong, this will make life easier later on in the process. I filed last month, unfortunately the USCIS has slowed down significantly right now on processing the applications, its in the 4-6 month time frame now just for I-129F approval... it was 2-3 months a few months ago.

Hopefully we can schedule the two appointments in the same day, or at worse back to back days. Otherwise those of us who are coming from Mindanao are SOL and will have an extra plane ticket to book. In theory this should open up more slots for the actual visa interview, but this is the federal government and common sense usually doesn't prevail.

They released like 1000 interview slots for K1 visas yesterday... must be trying to meet the surge that the USCIS and NVC released in the last few months to work down their backlog from the last few years... checked a little while ago and many slots are still open.

I don't have a answer for your specific issue at the moment, but may have the final answer for you if you learn that it is not possible to obtain it. That is the situation I am in right now. If you find that the police clearance is indeed "unobtainable" through no fault of your own, then the visa officer can make an allowance for that and declare the document "unobtainable". I reference this URL from the Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual Section Section 9 FAM 504.4-4(F) a(1)(U) Unobtainable Documents: https://fam.state.gov/fam/09FAM/09FAM050404.html If this is the path you end up on there are three things you must do: 1) Document all your efforts to try and obtain the document. You need to show, with evidence, to the visa officer that you tried hard to obtain the document. 2) You must be able to explain why the document is unobtainable. Research the laws of the country you want the police clearance and show printouts from government websites that list their laws and explain why you can't get the document. 3) Be able to provide "secondary evidence". In the same section I referenced above for "unobtainable documents" it explains that the visa officer may consider "secondary evidence" in lieu of the unobtainable required documents. Secondary evidence might include; personal notarized affidavit of good conduct while in the country, letters for reference on good conduct from employers/coworkers/friends etc., letters of good conduct from religious organizations she was affiliated with while staying in that country. Be organized, detailed, and have ample supporting evidence. I am working with an immigration attorney now who specializes in obtaining PCC for foreigners in China, he has advised me that he has rarely had in issue with the visa officer when approaching the unobtainable police clearance in the manner described above. Good luck!

Did they ask for a police clearance certificate from when she worked abroad?

Oh ya there are lots of scammers who stand out front of the PSA office who offer to get you a CENOMAR.

I would appreciate it if you can provide contact information.... I am aware of these "agent" services but can't seem to find any, these booking services are legal and paying $50 to get a slot is worth it IMO.

If the reciprocity table says it is unavailable to you then you are good to go no worries! Just be able to document everything at the interview why this is true. You only have minutes at the interview to make your case, so make sure you are well organized with your documents and have practiced answering the questions.

It is based on 1 year of cumulative time in the country... so if you visit the country 4 months a year the last 5 years you never stayed there for 1 year consecutively, but your cumulative time is greater than 1 year. I wish it wasn't based on cumulative time, if it wasn't my problem would be solved, Thanks for posting the information, I do appreciate it!

This is the reciprocity table for documents in China... it says the document is "available" which is an issue with a consular officer, they think you can get it but didn't... But if you look further in the "Registration Criteria" she does not have items 2 and 3 because her visa type made her ineligible establish residency and be issued a residency permit. So the document is considered "unobtainable".

This is for anyone else in this predicament, there is a path to victory but it seems there are several hoops to jump through… in the Department of State Manual they allow for exceptions of required documents that are “unobtainable”… if you search this sight for “unobtainable” there are some good posts regarding the topic… it seems there are three things you must establish and provide evidence of: [1] why the documents are unobtainable (through no fault of your own) [2] detail your efforts to obtain the documents (did you make an attempt with the proper authorities) [3] provide alternative evidence that conveys the same information as the documents that are unobtainable (personal affidavit of conduct, employer letter of good conduct, letters of conduct from friends or coworkers etc.) It seems that this approach can be successful if you take the time to prepare and gather all the evidence needed. I have decided to hire an attorney who specializes in this area, it is going to be pricey but it is my best option at this time and I am confident they will do a thorough job.

Nice! so you stayed logged in on that page and just hit refresh every 2 hours or so?

Did you just call the embassy? I think you can call as much as you want and won't get blocked like you would on the website...

As you know, if your beneficiary has lived in a foreign country for more than 6 months you must obtain a police clearance certificate (PCC) from that country for her time there. This report is presented during the embassy interview. What do you do if it is not possible to obtain the PCC? My Pinay worked as a teacher in Shenzhen China off and on from 2006 through 2014. She was always issued short term visas, the Type F/L/M visas that are issued for travelers or short term visits. She would work a school session for 4-5 months then return to the Philippines for a few weeks then return to school to work another session. She never stayed in Shenzhen for more than 180 days at a time. China requires that you stay more than 180 days in a city to establish residency, at which time you can be issued a “Residence Permit”. To obtain a PCC (technically called a Certificate of No Criminal Record) you have to establish residency of more than 180 days and have had a residence permit issued. Without these two requirements Shenzhen authorities will not issue anyone a PCC. She had a friend in Shenzhen ask the local authorities on her behalf about the issue, and they confirmed she need a residence permit to get the PCC, which she never had one. So what am I to do if I can't get the PCC, anyone been in this situation that can offer advice?

The I-129F instructions asks for evidence of intent to marry within 90 days of entry to the US, so I added the engagement pictures and ring receipt/pictures to my packet... this in addition the the signed letters of intent to marry.

IMO the I-129F instructions are ambiguous... it requires documentation that all previous marriages were terminated for petitioner and beneficiary... my Pinay was never married, but just to be safe I included her CENOMAR in the application packet.

You can schedule the medical whenever you want as it has a 6 month shelf life, but get it done before the interview.

Is a USEM appointment required first to make an appointment with SLEC for the medical exam? If USEM is making us wait weeks now to book an interview appointment, my thought is to get the medical out of the way. This way if a USEM cancelation pops of on short notice then the medical will be done and ready to go. What is the shelf life for a medical exam, 6 months? TIA

I'm not at your point yet, but on "Step 5" of completing your account information on the ustraveldocs the following is confusing, but I believe this is what is wanted: "priority date" = NOA1 date "case ID" = NVC case number Also know where you want your visa mailed, home address of your Pinay or if she lives in the country you may want to send it to the nearest LBC office, that is what I am doing since my Pinay is a province girl.

Seems like USCIS and NVC have almost cut their processing times in half, creating a surge in K1s hitting USEM ready for interviews... hopefully the embassy will adjust and it is just temporary. I see lots of peeps complaining on some of the FB support groups who are not able to make an appt right now with USEM.

I feel your frustration, in a similar situation with my Pinay but we need the PCC from China. Are there any individuals offering services to acquire the PCC for you? I did a cursory google search and found this, I bet there are more like this if you investigate: https://www.policeclearancecertificates.com/jordan-pcc/ Also do a search on this forum, specific to Jordan as it may give you some leads to pursue. China has several small businesses that provide that service, it's not cheap but you get the PCC. I have a few other options at the moment to get the PCC, but I can always pivot to one of these services if needed.

Just recently went through getting a new Ph passport, but not your situation. The process takes about 3 or 4 weeks total if you pay extra for an "expedited process". The situation for my Pinay is that her first name was misspelled on her current passport and a new passport was needed. Had to get a birth certificate, local police clearance, and make an appointment with the closest passport office in her province (which was a 2 hour bus ride!). The passport fee was something like $37 US.

Just the name change alone is a significant problem with no easy solution... seems like his wife has had three different names? All it takes is one document to not match up properly at one point and the entire process comes to a halt. I'm going through the I-129F myself as DIY, my Pinay has her first name misspelled on her current passport, we decided to get a new passport issued so that all the names match on all documents: BC, CENOMAR, Passport, vaccine records, police clearance reports, national ID card etc. so we could avoid any snags in the future.

Your situation is very complex, many moving parts, only advice I have is if it was me I would hire an attorney to get me through this. All the best sorry I can't answer your questions.