thirdsjen

my husband's interview was last Nov 18. the pre-screener asked for the marriage index which was the CENMAR. this took the place of the Document Verification which was causing all the backlogs at the USEM. CENMAR is for the K3/CR1/IR1 filers and CENOMAR is for the K1 filers. after the interview, my husband got his visa delivered to iloilo in 2 days!

thank you, shiri! your baby is just too cute! i have baby on the brain, can't you tell?

Thank you! I love my little guy. He was 3 months old yesterday. In the next 3-7 weeks you will have an ultra sound, will you find out the sex or be surprised? Babies are such sweet blessings. Pregnancy isn't always though. I had hard pregnancies, but I loved feeling them kick inside of me. Zach is my fourth child and Richard's first. I have two boys and two girls. My oldest will be 10 in March. How is your pregnancy going?

hi shiri! i had another ultrasound last tuesday. My OB already knows if our baby is a boy or girl but i told him that i want to find out with my husband. he then asked when my hubby is coming and i said Nov 30 so he said we can come in Dec 2 just to see if we have a boy or girl.. wasn't that nice of him?? i have 4 ultrasound pics and my OB said that you can totally see if it's a boy or girl in the pics.. i just don't see it! my parents and brother are all convinced it's a boy and i just can't see anything.. i can't even see the legs! shouldn't i be able to see the legs? i saw the arms and fingers.. but where are the legs??

i'm pretty much hanging in there with my pregnancy. i have more bad days than good. at least my OB lets me stay home cuz i still don't feel good and my work is so nice and accommodating to me. i have been on medical leave since my 7th week and i'm almost 17 weeks already..

i love the name Zach...

awww... thank you, all!

Jose Rizal, your visa finally arrived huh? Congrats! about time! btw, my husband is going to have his CFO stamped sa NAIA.. i called them ahead of time so that they can prepare his sticker. Flight nya from Iloilo will arrive at 630 PM eh and flight for LAX is 10 PM. Ok naman daw if he gets the sticker at NAIA, provided that he has all the requirements.

I had planned on doing this so I had him do the seminar after his medical the week prior to his interview.. hard to keep coming back to Manila eh..

Hi Guys:

I just received my approval notice for my I-130. What should I do now to speed up the process. The notice says NVC will send documents to my husband ( the beneficiary). Is there any thing I can do to make this happen quickly???

hello spmiller! congrats on your NOA2! just as Rajaa said, read up on Loto's shortcuts to NVC, that's how most of us got through NVC. There are others but I have not read any of them. Look them up under the WIKI tab.. if you have more questions, feel free to drop by in here and we would be more than happy to help you out

Hi VJ FAMILY!!! just a quick update: my husband's flight is 1000 PM Philippine time today!! this will be 6 AM PST!!! I can't sleep.. but i don't think i can stay awake till 6 am for his actual flight.. will pick him up at LAX at 630 PM tonight.. hopefully the POE will be a piece of cake.. and will only last maybe an hour or two.. i hate waiting..

EEEEEEEEEEEEKKKK!!!!!!!!!! he's almost here!!

Just an update: Husband arrives here tonight! Nov 30.. @ 0630 PM.. POE is LAX..

I AM SOO EXCITED!!!! and nervous!

Just a really long overdue update everyone: during my husband's interview with the pre-screener, the guy asked him for the NBI clearance, so my husband showed him his personal copy. Prior to this we sent in the Police Clearance from Iloilo to NVC just as they requested.

So, better to send both in, just in case they feel like they need it. Just another hassle pero what can you do?

hang in there! Kelvin was just recently transferred and you both have similar NOA1 dates.. you have to remember that there are thousands of applicants that they have to process.. your time will come..

i remember when all of us were getting our NOA2s and Rajaa was going nuts 'cuz it seemed like they were forgetting about her, but it did happen.. and what a relief for her!

pls don't cry.. it will only give you headaches and very puffy eyes... if you keep stressing about this, it will just drive you insane and your husband insane too.. try a new hobby or start preparing all the documents that will be needed once you reach NVC.. that should fill in the days..

one other thing: that RFE was a blessing in disguise. it delayed the interview scheduling, thus, in a way, expedited the visa delivery.

see, the problem with the embassy in the Philippines right now is this: most who were interviewed in august and september still haven't received their visas due to this whole DOCUMENT VERIFICATION thing that the Philippines has. it created a massive backlog. beginning oct, the embassy started to phase it out and added something to the list of requirements for those who are K or CR or IR1 categories. since the phasing out of the DOCUMENT VERIFICATION or DV as they call it, the visas have been arriving pretty quickly. for those who weren't aware of the newly added requirement, they had delays, but not too significant. i feel soo bad for those who have been waiting for months for their visas! imagine knowing that you are already approved but can't do anything because you don't have that precious document in your hand! i would go insane!!!

because my husband's interview was November, he got his visa right away.. if i hadn't gotten that darn RFE that took weeks for me to procure, we would have probably gotten out of NVC in record time, gotten an August or September interview, and then still be waiting for the visa to arrive as of today..

wow.. i never thought i would be thankful for that RFE..

martiniolive,

I agree, it does sound a bit brutally honest. I wonder if this is a common thing to tell immigrant women.

It is. I believe in the Philippines they have to attend a domestic violence seminar of some sort.

yes, we do. It is required by the Philippine govt. No one leaves without it. You must pay for this seminar, then travel across the city to get the stamp in you're visa.

my husband said that during the seminar, they were shown this clip of a girl arriving in the US, only to be used by her fiance or husband: they took pics of her, posted it on the internet and all kinds of disgustingness.. is this sort of "education" really necessary??

I told my husband before he left for the embassy to ask for a DV refund if the DV wasn't required, but DELBROS didn't give him a refund. that's ok.. it was only P650. hubby paid only P250 for a visa delivery to Iloilo! i thought it was going to be more than that.. maybe they took our 650 then added the 250.. hahaha...

My girl is from Iloilo too and she rec'd a text msg that delbros was going to refund her DV cost. She paid well in advance. But, before she was able to act on the refund, her cell got stolen from a guy hanging out in their living room (he was a friend of a friend).

Please let us know how long it took for him to get his visa.

Our interview is Nov 25 and I will be there. I'm wondering if they don't give visa right away, can visa be delivered to a hotel or picked up at the Embassy when ready? I get to the RP on Nov 23rd and leave Dec. 7th so hoping, praying she'll be flying with me.

Congrats to you and your husband, btw.

he got his visa today! it took only 2 days to be delivered to Iloilo! i wonder if that is normal.. i have heard that it can be delivered anywhere you want it to be delivered and i have read that some people have actually picked it up from the embassy.. but only because their flight was scheduled like a couple of days after the interview.. that's cutting it too close for me. some consuls will give permission for that but some don't.

but my husband's visa came after 2 days! that's fast! you can try and ask the consul at the end of the interview if it can be picked up though.. doesn't hurt..

good luck on the interview! i wanted to be there for the interview but it just didn't work out.. now remember, she has to get that CFO seminar and stamp on her passport before she can leave the philippines.. they won't let her out of the airport without it..

Congratulations!!! :dance:

thank you, KC♥MP!

congrats!!!

thank you, ruby_jade!

Congratulations!!!!

Seems like Debros is holding the money of many people!!!!

thank you, Steve and Maria!

oh i know.. they don't want to let go of our P650!! give it back, man! that ain't yours!

Congratulations!!! :dance:

thank you, ManilaIdaho!

Husband's interview: Nov 18 - Approved

Delivery Address: Iloilo City, Iloilo

Status: Received Nov 20 - 3:00 PM

ok, here's my big announcement:

HE GOT HIS VISA TODAY!!!!

can you believe that? they delivered his visa in 2 days! i was like, u sure? hahaha... so he's pretty stoked right now.. we're thinking Nov 30 or Dec 1 for his flight.. that should give him time to pack and say his goodbyes.. i feel pretty bad about him leaving everything behind and going to a foreign country. he was pretty comfortable there in the Philippines.. now he will be plucked out of his nice, comfortably life to here where all we do is WORK! hehehe.. oh well.. the main thing is that we are TOGETHER. i would have gone back to the Philippines in a heartbeat if i could. i just want to be together..

i have a lot of things to do! oh my gosh! if the house is a mess, pardon me.. i've kinda been stuck to my bed for the past 2 months..

FINALLY, after years of being separated, we will now be together always! THANK YOU, LORD!!!

i can't thank my VJ family enough, that's you guys! i would have never had the guts to do all this without ya'll.. i was so tempted to get a lawyer since i didn't know anything about immigration.. but with all the help from this site, who needs a lawyer? you guys are way better! and FREE!!!

Congratulations Jen!! I'm very happy for both of you!! Wish you the best of luck with your future.

KAHM, why did i ask if you had jet lag? you're not the one who came here! sorry!! i'm such a retard..

so the SSN arrived pretty quick, huh? cuz i want to start teaching him to drive in California.. in the Philippines, you pretty much do whatever you want.. there are rules but nobody seems to follow it.. it's pretty crazy and fun!

That is FANTASTIC! Congrats!

thank you, shiri! your baby is just too cute! i have baby on the brain, can't you tell?

congrats Jen!!

a woman can never understand the fun of watching a fight with buddies...beer, chicken wings and boxing....aaahhh precious!!!!

hope you have started shopping for the ticket already!

he can have fun watching the game with me!! haha! but he told me earlier today that he'll go ASAP.. forget pacquiao.. whoa.. that's major right there!

been canvassing for tickets for forever already.. they all have something in common: $1,000!!!! for one way!!!

COGRATULATIONS JEN!!!! I am really happy for you and your husband. I hope he gets his visa soon. May God bless you, your baby and your husband. Hope you have a HAPPY life together!!!

Kelvin

thank you, Kelvin! i can't wait till he gets here! you keep us updated with your case, ok?

congrats Jen!!! i am so happy for you I am so very nervous... can you give us the list of questions too????

I just realized that we have been here on this thread for almost 6 months now!!! can you believe it?

i'll probably jst cut and paste what i posted over in the Philippines thread cuz it was pretty long.. don't be nervous, Rajaa.. although i was a WRECK! i couldn't sleep or eat! hahaha!

yeah.. it's been a long time.. we still have a ways to go, what with Removal of Conditions then Naturalization..

Thanks Kham Rajaa

Hopefully will get to hear soemthing by the end of the week:(

Congrats Jen.....Hope u have a blessed life

thank you, Aman.. don't lose hope yet, ok? just occupy yourself with a hobby or work so that time will pass by very quickly..

my husband was approved today! his appointment was 0630 this morning..

he said he arrived at the embassy around 0430 am then stood in line. quarter till 0600 they filled out forms (i dont know what form he's talking about.) they went inside at 0600 then they gave him a number. even though their numbers were in order, they weren't called to the pre-screener in order.

PRESCREENER:

Pinoy guy who asked a lot of questions like:

- did you apply for a CENOMAR (so glad we have that one!)

- can i have your original NBI clearance (my husband gave him his personal copy. NOTE: even though we submitted the NBI clearance with the DS-230, we received an RFE. they wanted a police clearance as well, so we sent that in too.)

- how did you and your wife meet

- what is your birthday (why was he asked what his bday was? shouldn't it be MY bday?)

- when did your wife go to the US (i'm a naturalized citizen so they will ask this)

- what is your wife's occupation in the US

- do you have any chat logs, emails, money remittances or pictures? (i told my husband to just hand him EVERYTHING that i sent him whether he asked for it or not; so he gave the prescreener EVERYTHING! better to be safe than sorry!)

my husband was told to sit back down and wait for the consul interview. in the meantime, they did the finger scans

CONSUL:

nice gentleman who asked more questions:

- how did you and your wife meet

- have you been to the USA before

- have you ever been issued or denied a visa (now, 4 yrs ago, my husband was denied a student visa. the school was all set here but they wouldn't give him a visa. he applied 2x and was denied 2x. i told him if they ever ask about any visa you applied for before just to tell them everything. you have to be honest. plus this has nothing to do with our petition now. so he told the consul he was denied 2x 4 years ago. the consul asked if he applied before he met me.. he told the consul that we are already together when he applied 4 years ago)

- consul commented that we liked to travel - he was looking at our pics: i made a folder full of pictures, chronologically arranged from 2001

- have you used any other name (this was interesting. my husband told him that he hasn't but he has nicknames. the consul then asked if he knew a ROBERT ........ my husband said no. i guess that ROBERT fellow with the same last name is in big trouble or something.)

so that was the end of his interview.. the consul told him that his visa was approved and for him to wait outside and wait for his name to be called then pay DELBROS for the visa delivery.

I told my husband before he left for the embassy to ask for a DV refund if the DV wasn't required, but DELBROS didn't give him a refund. that's ok.. it was only P650. hubby paid only P250 for a visa delivery to Iloilo! i thought it was going to be more than that.. maybe they took our 650 then added the 250.. hahaha...

NOTES:

-bring everything, even if you don't think they will ask for it: you never know! i had my husband bring our marriage certificates, our birth certificates, my W2s, etc, even though i know they already have the originals from NVC

-be honest. they already know everything anyway, just affirm what they know

-if you don't know the answer, just say I DON'T KNOW

-PRAY!! enough said...

i'm just relieved that this is over.. just gotta wait for the visa to arrive so that i can buy the ticket..

THANK YOU, VJ FAMILY!!!! everything i learned about this whole ordeal was from here.. from that darn MARRIAGE INDEX to the infamous DV! so glad it's over!!!