Edward and Jaycel

MSC files typically take longer than IOE....

I'm going to assume from the status messages you have that your receipt numbers begin with MSC?

Despite the posts from others in this thread and having lived in CDO for a year, I highly recommend you do not rent a vehicle to drive yourself. Learning the ropes of driving there with 2 small children in the car as well as your fiancée, IMHO is a really bad idea. You should be able to hire a driver for the two weeks that you are there. I would recommend having your fiancée make the inquiries and handle the agreement to hire the driver. I also do not recommend paying for the two weeks in advance but instead pay them a day or two at a time.

Congrats!! Here's mine and Jaycel's interview experience review

Well said! We have a responsibility to give back to the community that gave us all so much Jaycel and I will continue to be very active here and help out where it's appropriate (When a situation falls within something where we have experience or knowledge.) Glad to hear you will be doing the same!

After you get her SSN, get her on your banks account as joint holder, get her a debit card and both of you use that account for all your spending, bills, etc. (if possible with your financial setup). Also start getting her on utility bills, on your employer health insurance (after you're married if applicable). These are all good evidence of co-mingling your lives financially for the Adjustment of Status process. Our interviewing officer at USCIS said something along the lines of, "I see you pay everything out of your XXXXX Bank Checking Account." They look at these things closely. Also wills, medical power of attorney, etc. are all good things to have in general and make for good evidence on your AOS application.

Thank you and the same to you guys! See you in 21 months on the I-751 forums 🤣

There is nothing happening out there that indicates there is any validity to this story. There are the always-present factors that lead to inadmissibility (committing a crime, etc.) but not for simply being Filipino. And please trust me, as the husband of a Filipina who just got her green card and we are planning travel back to the PH around the same time as you guys, I am watching all things Immigration, CBP, etc. and I have seen nothing to suggest that what your wife read was anything other than scare-mongering clickbait.

They need IRS Tax Return Transcripts. The only time to provide a copy of the tax return and supporting W-2s & 1099s is if the sponsor cannot get a Tax Return Transcript from the IRS. This is to prove that they have filed taxes if required by law to do so. Then to prove current income, paystubs, letter verifying employment and most recent W-2 is what can be provided to satisfy this requirement. The bank account stuff is not necessary unless the sponsor is using assets to supplement an insufficient income. If the income is sufficient to meet the sponsorship threshold, it is not necessary to disclose the assets.

Ours showed the same thing after the biometrics appointment… then 7 months later we got a notice to appear for an interview. They then “unchecked” that step until we had the interview. Every marriage based adjustment of status now is required to have an interview. They no longer waive this requirement. This is right from the mouth of the USCIS officer that did our interview.

Awesome!! Bring it to the interview with you... Our officer asked Jaycel for hers

Awesome news! Thank you for the detailed review and Jaycel and I are praying for a speedy approval for you guys!

Wishing you guys all the best and please keep us updated!

We did the double exchange when Jaycel flew to the US - She has an account with a debit card with BPI that did work in LAX where she did her POE and got her connecting flight to Denver, but I had her withdraw about 12K of the money I sent in PHP and convert it to USD just in case because she had never been out of the Philippines before and we weren't 100% sure her debit card would work.

Bring an updated I-864 and supporting docs to the interview - My salary changed since we filed and I brought a new one just in case. I asked the officer if she needed it and she said she did not as the I-864 was qualified at the NBC and my salary went up, not down. But it's good to bring the updated form, tell the officer about the job change and let them decide if they need it or not.

Ok so July 29th was about a week ago. Not surprised that NVC doesn't actually have it yet. In about another 2 weeks, use the public inquiry form for NVC to ask for your case number. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/ask-nvc.html Ust the "Attach File" part of the inquiry to attach a scan of your NOA2. In the inquiry, ask for your case number. Also very important, in your inquiry, ask them to update yours and your fiancée's email addresses and give them the addresses. Don't worry about the NOA 2 expiring. The consular officer at the interview, if they are going to approve the visa will automatically extend the validity of the NOA2. You cannot have them extend it prior to the interview iat the Manila embassy. If your fiancée goes to the interview after the expiry date of the NOA2, make sure she brings updated letters of intent to marry, from you and her, with her.

What does the status of your case say when you put your case number into egov.uscis.gov ?

Submit the complete Tax Return (all pages and schedules) OR Tax Return Transcripts - Not both

Congrats!! 🎉🎉

Also I highly recommend about a week before your interview, you upload any new marital evidence to your I-485 documents section under "Unsolicited Evidence". Our officer thanked us twice during the interview for doing that as it allowed her to take a look at our case and all the evidence beforehand and made her job easier (i.e.; she didn't have to scan in all of our new evidence). Here's a review of how our interview went (I know you'll obviously have a different field office but it will at least give you some outline of how they go ):

@Rachel n Tyler I would do this, I would tell the officer that you got keys to the new place on the 1st and you have until the 12th to move out of the old place and you are in the middle of getting everything out of the old place and into the new place but you didn't want to change the address officially until you were completely out of the old place since the interview was coming in the middle of it all and ask them what you should do. Since your interview will still be within the 10 day grace period, you won't be violating any procedures and putting it into the officer's hands will allow them to handle it the way they think best. I would bet that the officer will just offer to update the address for you in their system. If not you can update it yourself online after the interview.

Thank you so much!! ♥️ Yours will be great too!

This is from the USCIS website: If you are a alien in the United States, you must report any change of address to USCIS within 10 days of moving.

Great news!! You guys are gonna do great! Jaycel and I did ours like 3 weeks ago and it was not bad at all

And according to the Officer that conducted mine and Jaycel's interview, interviews for marriage based interviews have been mandatory for all applicants since February. Like someone posted above, this used to be the norm and waivers were either non-existent or at best a super rarity.