Edward and Jaycel

Glad is went smoothly!

Each case is different, may have different Administrative Processing needs, etc. We had another member who interviewed in Manila last week and their case status didn't change to Issued until 8 calendar days after the interview. Then if it's being shipped home instead of being picked up at the VAC, you have to add in the transit time for LBC. You cannot make the CFO appointment without the visa number so you will have to wait until you get the passport back When we made Jaycel's appointment, we had to wait until the following week but that was because CFO only operates Mon-Thurs and that week there was a national holiday on Thursday. The calendar for CFO is usually pretty good until a day or two before the day. Congrats on getting the approval!! Keep checking the case number status on CEAC for when it's issued and you should have it within a few days of that status update

If I remember correctly, the Manila embassy has a reputation for not providing the copy to the beneficiary. Like I said, we never got it and never needed it for anything. As long as she has the visa in her passport and the sealed yellow packet, she's good to enter the US.

We never got ours from the embassy in Manila and never needed it

It looks like it's a day or two after "Issued" according to the one person's account I was able to find, but I do not know if the email always arrives. I would say if the email or text doesn't arrive in a day or two, have her go to the VAC and see what she can do

The only "Original" document (Certified True Copy in reality) that you would need from the petitioner is a divorce decree or death certificate if a widow(er). It will need to be a certified copy from the issuing authority (court or vital statistics department, etc.) with the seal, signature and whatever else that authority uses on certified copies

USCIS determines the validity of a marriage based on whether it conforms to the laws in the jurisdiction of where the ceremony is conducted

You will not get anything in the mail because of the status "Case is Ready to Be Scheduled for An Interview". This just means you have been placed in queue with your local field office to be interviewed but it has not been scheduled yet. When that status changes to "We Have Scheduled You for an Interview", that's when you should be on the lookout for an interview notice in the mail. It seems like only folks with MSC receipts get this "Ready to Be Scheduled" status.

Right after you filed.... You should contact USCIS and request a new one

You cannot bring them on a visitor visa with the intention to apply for adjustment of status - This would be misrepresentation and fraud and is decidedly illegal. This would have terrible consequences for you and your parents with the very real probability of them never being able to set foot in the US ever again. Don't even consider going this route please. Do it the right way, the legal way

Thank you for sharing! What Field Office was your interview?

Thank you for sharing this!! It's nice for those of us who are still waiting for an interview to see other's experience When was your interview?

I am going to beat a dead horse here because getting this wrong caused USCIS to reject several VJ members applications earlier this year. You will pick the fiancée option because if you pick spouse, as @Noname93 mentioned above, they will be looking for an I-130 either concurrently filed or a NOA1 from an I-130 and when they do not see either of those they will reject your packet. Good luck!

Yes, bring the EAD, Birth Certificate, Passport, I-94 & official copy of the marriage certificate (especially if she changed her name after marriage) for your wife to the appointment I'm pretty sure you can get an ITIN for your stepson... just make sure to notify the IRS after he gets his green card and you get him a SSN so that the IRS can associate the ITIN to the new SSN

Today's stats: June 9, 2025 23:15 MDT November 2024 Filed I-485 Stats • Approved: 9,436 (+209) • Denied: 1258 • FingerprintScheduled: 78 • InterviewCancelled: 342 • InterviewScheduled: 10,133 (-37) • Processing: 19,656 (-193) • Received: 589 • Rejected: 102 • RFE: 406 • Terminated: 195 • Withdrawal: 39 • Others: 32

Ok so I don't think he'll be able to get his SSN until he has a green card because he is in that kind of limbo status until he becomes a LPR. For your wife, you will have to contact the SSA and make an appointment at your local SS office to apply for a SSN for her. You can go online and do the application there and you will get a confirmation number. When we did Jaycel's, once we completed that step and got the confirmation number, it took us to a portal to schedule an appointment online for our local office. If they no longer offer that as an option, you will have to call them. Do your best to find the local office's phone number because I hear calling the national number is a pain and you have to wait forever to get someone.

Did your stepson receive the EAD also?

Did you set up your my.uscis.gov account with an online access code that USCIS mailed to you?

Just read a report of someone’s experience picking up their passport at the VAC and when you go in there, and check in before going to the 3rd floor, you pick up a stub with a number and there’s different ones for biometrics and pickup. They will not give you a stub unless you show them the email that your passport is ready for pickup

Actually from some research I just did - It looks like once it says "Issued" it should be ready for pickup at the VAC and it also says she should receive an email. None of that is from an official site. I wish I could say definitively but when Jaycel got hers, it was before they opened the VAC and it was held for pickup at the LBC branch in the Mall of Asia and she had to wait for the email to tell her it was ready

Yes, Jaycel's status went from "Application Received" to "Approved" to "Issued". They should then notify your fiancée at the email she used on her USTravelDocs portal account when her passport is available at the VAC for pickup. Keep us posted!

You mean 6-10? That's good though... means someone is working on it.

Also remember that Friday, June 6th was a national holiday there in observance of EIDUL ADHA and the consulate may have been closed.

No... Things have slowed down at embassies it seems. When was the date of the last update on the CEAC Status Tracker?

This is the correct process for the K-1... This happened to Jaycel's status. What happens is that the embassy treats the K-1 visa process just like an immigrant visa all the way until the Consular Officer approves it. Then once it's approved, since it is still technically a nonimmigrant visa, it gets transferred to the nonimmigrant visa section to process and actually issue the visa. This means they received the approved DS-160 application from the Consular Officer and will begin their part of the process. Jaycel's status went from this to "Approved" in about a day and then to "Issued" 2 days after that. If she elected to pick up the visa at the VAC, once it's issued , it will then be sent to the VAC for pickup.