daisychain

forgot to add, when u call USEM and provide your case # and they tell you that they've already received it, you can now schedule your appointment. they will send you a confirmation email. you need to bring that with you, along with the letter you will be receiving from the US embassy that they have already received your approved petition to your medical.

Don't wait for any packet. They don't send it out anymore. YOu have to download it form their website. It only takes around 7 days for the NVC to deliver the approved petition to USEM. Call USEM if they have already received it and provide your case number. Pay DELBROS and have your medical asap.

Good day!

Am new to visa journey, just have a few questions:

1.) NVC has sent me a note that they already sent the approved NVC documents to USEM Manila last July 21,2008. What happens next? Should I wait for USEM to send me the packet 3 or I need to call them?

2.) How long does it usually take them to process documents after NVC approval?

Thanks!

i've only received a pink slip. what exactly does the pink slip entail? i've read other posts that a white slip indicates document verification. i remember the guy from the USEM telling me that not all applicants are required to undergo document verification. so does a pink slip mean i skip the document verification process?

i don't know why but pink slip sounds so... cutesy. heheh.

also, would delbros inform if you they have already transmitted DV request form to NSO or is it something that i have to ask them myself?

actually she was a bit irritable at first, especially when i over talked and took like a few seconds getting my documents out of my folder. but she smiled and wished me good luck at the end. =)

i forgot to add that although my interview with the consul was uber short, it was the pre-screener who asked a lot of questions. here are the ones that i can remember:

1. does the co-sponsor live with your husband?

2. when did you meet your husband?

3. how long did he stay in the philippines?

4. how did you meet? who introduced you?

5. do you have any handwritten letters? ( i said no. he lived here for a year. anything he had to say, he said it to my face. heheh).

6. were you married before?

7. was your husband married before?

8. do you have any kids? are you pregnant?

9. how old is your husband? what's his complete name? what is his job?

basically, just answer the questions and don't overtalk and don't pro-actively volunteer information. i'm not sure if it's the case for everyone, but the prescreener cut me short and got a bit annoyed when i over talked and kind of deviated form her question. but she was nice though. she smiled at me and said, "good luck!" at the end.

i think my interview with the prescreener took around 10 minutes. she spent a considerable amount of time arranging and collating the affidavit of support and evidence of a genuine marital relationship. she also returned the letter of employment since it wasn't original (she kept the notarized job offer though). she asked for my husband's IRS transcript for 2006 since he had a certificate of no file for 2007.

the prescreener accepted my co-sponsor, although i've heard of cases where it was rejected.

and again everyone, don't forget your delbros document verification receipt! they will ask for it.

and i can never emphasize enough how important it is to have two copies DS 156 and DS 157 completely filled out so that you won't have to wait hours longer. (plus DS 156K for k1 visas). otherwise, you'd have to go back to your seat, fill out the missing information before lining up again at the immigration visa ticket booth. this will place you at the end of the line. the numbers are not called out in chronological order. it depends on who finishes each process first.

for those whose medical was delayed by the SLEC, don't forget the half sheet of paper.

don't put your pictures in an album. just have loose pictures ready. believe me, it won't fit in the hole underneath the window.

don't forget to brandish your ID and DS forms prior to your entrance while lining up outside! you have to show that to the guard. (NBI clearance would do)

if you will be going to the bathroom, ask the person beside you to kindly watch out for your number on the screen.

have the documents ready before you approach the pre-screener (affidavit of support and evidence) because they can get a tad impatient if you take a considerable amount of time getting your documents out of your folder.

do NOT bring any electronics. it will not be allowed in the embassy grounds. there are people outside who make a racket out of keeping people's cellphones for safekeeping for P200 but the embassy guard emphasized that they are in no way connected to the US embassy and you leave your cellphone with them at your own risk.

there is no clock at the US embassy. best to bring a watch if you want to keep track of the time.

will add more to this forum in case i remember anything else.

No need to type on bold letters.

Question 14 - NONE

Question 28 - US. Citizen Spouse

Question 22 - yes. those who submitted that field empty were asked to fill it up. Provide a date, any date, a tentative date even, doesn't matter if you haven't made any specific travel arrangements yet.

Question 36 - YES. U.S. Citizen Spouse

Don't forget to tick NO in item 39 for those that do not apply to you and put none in the blank line next to it.

Good day to all!

I know this is such a simple question but I just want to make sure.

On Question number 14 of DS156 about NATIONAL IDENTIFICATION NUMBER. Do I have to answer NONE or do I have YES using my ID's issued by the Philippine Government like our SSS Number.

Can I type on Bold letters or what?

On Question number 28 Who will pay for your trip? Can I answer my husband and his complete name? or just his complete name?

On Question number 22 When do you intend to arrive in the US? Can I give them specific date and month?

On Question number 36 Has anyone ever filed an immigrant visa petition on your behalf? Can I say yes because my husband filed I-130. (I saw the example forms but it's on K1)

Hope someone could help me.

Thank you so much and Good Luck to all of us.

Irene

yes i agree. i didn't really mind lugging all the stuff. You never really know what they're going to ask for. There was a girl before me who was interrogated to the max. She brought her husband along but he wasn't allowed in the interview room. I think it's because of the their age gap. Their interview took 15 minutes and the consul asked for additional evidence.

I'll be compiling a list of interview tips and on what to do and what to bring to the interview, based on what i've experienced and from what I've observed.

Better to be prepared than sorry.

hi alizeyah. i got a pink slip for document verification and visa delivery.

luvu2allday, i feel privileged to have broken your record. hehe.

good luck on your journey jamster!

i texted delbros and asked about the status of my document verification (i'm THAT impatient) but I haven't received a reply yet.

i saw a lot of people who brought their x-rays. i'm not sure about the IR1 interview, but for the k3 interview, it's not needed at all.

btw, for those whose interview was delayed because of the medical, please don't forget to bring the half sheet provided by the SLEC. the girl infront of me didn't bring hers and i think she was asked to come back and reschedule.

DON'T FORGET TO BRING YOUR DELBROS DOCUMENT VERIFICATION RECEIPT! the pre-screener (or was it the immigrant visa ticket booth?) asked for it.

hi everyone! thank you so much! now all i have to worry about is delbros. i paid it last july 11. i'm not sure if that would provide them enough time to deliver the visa swiftly. from what i've read, it can range from 3 days to 1 month for delbros to process document verification. wish me luck everyone! thank you so much!

i forgot to add that i stepped out of the embassy at approximately 11 a.m. so all in all, it took 4 hours, 95% of which was spent waiting in line. hehe.

btw, they prioritize the elderly, disabled and applicants with children. (omg you have no idea how restless children can get. maybe they prioritized the children because they were getting cranky and noisy. the US embassy officer asked everyone to please maintain silence because interviews were ongoing. tell that to the kids. heheh.)

I got to embassy around 6:15 a.m., 45 minutes before my scheduled appointment. All immigrant visa applicants (including k3) had to line up at the right side where the line was shorter. The other line, for seafarers and other immigrants visas were a lot longer. Anyway, I had to present an ID (in this case, an NBI clearance) to the guard and my DS 156 and 157 (plus DS 156K for k1 applicants). this took around 10 minutes.

i then entered gate 2 and placed my stuff in the xray machine. afterwards i went to the immigrant visa section where the guard asked us to take our seats. one by one, each line had to line up at the immigrant visa ticket booth where we presented our 2 copies of the DS 156 and DS 157 plus visa pictures.

IMPORANT!!!!! A lot of people who were way, way ahead of me were tremendously delayed. In fact, I was already on my way out of the embassy and they were still waiting to be called for the interview? Why? Because they didn't fill out the DS 156 and DS 157 forms correctly or they only submitted 1 copy of each. Btw, item 39 of DS 156, u have to check NO if it's not applicable to you. the girl before me only had 1 handwritten DS 156 form (yes, apparently they accepted handwritten forms). she was given another copy to fill out before she could go back to the ticket booth. i had my interview like an hour before hers. a few minutes of delay made a world of difference.

anyway, i didn't have a watch so i can only provide estimates. i had to wait my number to flash on the screen. IMPORTANT AGAIN!! A lot of people missed their number because they weren't looking up. They would not be announcing the number or anything so if you miss your number because you weren't staring at the board, well.. too bad, they'd put your number at the end of the line and you'd wait for hours. It happened to the girl 2 rows infront of me. Anyway, you don't have to stare at it. Just look at it whenever you hear the ding. That means they're posting a new number.

So... after an hour, my number flashed on the screen for my pre-screening. The woman was very nice. She asked for my affidavit of support. I also gave her my co-sponsors' affidavit of support (yes, they do accept co-sponsors for k3. infact, if not for my co-sponsor, I would've had problems. initially, she remarked, "so your husband just started on his new job? do you have an original certificate of employment? i only had a photocopy but i had a notarized copy of his job offer. anyway, i told her "oh i have a co-sponsor." then i handed her my mother-in-law's affidavit which she accepted). afterwards she asked for pictures. i brought my album out and she said, "just 4 pictures please". the small album wouldn't fit in the hole. so i took four pictures out and handed it to her. she asked for letters, i told i had none but i had chat logs. so i handed her chat logs and phone bills. she gave back the hotel receipt. i enumerated the other pieces of evidences, should she need any of it. she just told me that it's fine and that i should go back to my seat.

thirty minutes after, my name was called for finger scanning. took like a minute.

this was where the long wait began. i think i waited for about an hour and 30 mins, probably even more. finally, my number flashed on the screen and i entered the room where i was to have my interview with the consul. it went like this:

the consul wasn't even looking at me. she was handing back the stuff i gave to the pre-screener (pictures, phone bills, etc.)

these are the questions she asked;

what's your name?

how old are you?

what does your husband do?

how'd you meet?

aftewards, she said, "okay, that's fine. sit outside and wait for your number to be called."

five minutes after, they called my name. the guy gave me a pink delbros visa delivery receipt then i went to the delbros booth to pay for my visa delivery. they told me it'd take around 2 weeks or less for the visa to be delivered.

so that was it! i was carrying 2 huge bags crammed with paperwork and evidence, and i only got to use like 5% of it.

i just realized that we sent a photocopy of the marriage certificate for the I-129F. does delbros verify the marriage certificate that came along with the I-129F package or the marriage certificate that was submitted during the visa interview?

thanks Lizscott!i:m gonna add a clipping from a magazine where my husband and i appeared. omg, i was just printing the chatlogs covering a 6-month period from the time my husband left the philippines last march 2008, it already reached 1,400 pages, even with the smallest readable font, size 8, and 0.5 margins everywhere!!! i already reached the 400th page when the printer started sputtering. i was talking to a fellow VJ member who thankfully knocked some sense into me that all the consul really needs to see is 20 pages.

wish me luck everyone! hope and pray the USEM won:t request for additional documents. i:m already getting cross-eyed from all the documents im gathering. i think i:m treating myself to the spa after this madness! heheh.

Hi everyone! Hi thirdsjen! I missed you. It's been a long time. =)

My husband did not file for 2007 taxes.We have a certificate of no file from the IRS. I guess it's because he thought he wouldn't have to since he'd be staying in the Philippines. Do you guys think that would be a problem? His only proof of income is his letter of employment and most recent paystub. We attached a notarized letter of explanation.

Yup, I'm bringing along a photocopy of his naturalization certificate as well his his expired license and photocopy of his biographic passport page as proof of citizenship.

mrs. Scott, since I'm applying for k3, I'm using the I-134, not the I-184. =)

Hi Mrs. Scott

My husband resigned from his job because he was preparing to go to the Philippines, that's why he didn't file his taxes for 2007. do you think that would be a problem? what do u think of my husband just starting on his new job? I heard that USEm does not accept co-sponsors for k3.

thanks dora2x for the support. =)

Hi VJ members! I'm preparing for my k3 interview and I'm really nervous that I might've missed out on something. please provide your two cents worth on the complete list of documents that i'll be bringing to my interview. Btw, the reason why I'm adding proof of identity is because according to SLEC, lack of proof of identity for both petitioner and beneficiary is the number one reason for visa denial (aside from lack of proof of relationship of course). Also, what do u guys think of my hubby just starting on his new job 3 weeks ago? His salary is above the poverty guideline but I'm just wondering if the fact that he just started on his new job would serve as a deterrent to visa issuance (he has a certificate of no file for 2007 from the IRS).

beneficiary's proof of identity:

school IDs

yearbook (HS)

college transcript

petitioner's proof of identity:

expired california driver's license

photocopy of biographic page of passport

photocopy of proof of naturalization

birth certificate

affidavit of support:

letter of employment including salary/hour and date started

most recent paystub

letter of explanation (that he just recently started on his new job, certificate of no file from IRS for 2007, that my husband stayed in the philippines for a year and worked here)

IRS transcripts from 2004-2006

w-2 from 2004-2006

bank statements

COE for when he worked here in the philippines

income tax return for the year he worked here in the philippines

co-sponsor's affidavit of support:

letters of employment (2 jobs)

most recent paystubs

IRS transcripts and w-2 from 2004-2006

bank statement

Packet 4:

birth certificate

marriage certificate

NBI clearance

DS-156 and DS-157 (two copies) including proof of payment

delbros receipt

passport and medical (SLEC will deliver it directly to the US embassy)

appointment letter in email and letter from the US embassy

proof of relationship:

chat logs

remittance from petitioner

pictures upon pictures

affidavits from co-workers from the company we worked for together and family members attesting to the authenticity of the relationship

hand-written love letter from petitioner

phone bills

PLDT budget cards (used to call the petitioner when he returned back to the US last march)

my COE and income tax return (proving that we worked in the same company for a year)

copy of magazine where i interview my husband for an article (how we first met). it's under my pen name but i will also provide a copy of the book i wrote under pen name. the copyright is under my full name, just in case she questions my pen name.

what do u guys think? did i miss out on anything?

I also forget to mention that the Adjustment of Status (after the k3) still requires that the petitioner be domiciled in the US. Maybe u can move to the phils after getting your permanent resident visa? But do research on the conditions surrounding the permanent resident visa.

1. From what I've read so far in the forums, the CO in the US embassy in manila does not accept co-sponsors for k3, only for the IR1. However, this seems to have been implemented fairly recently and isn't always the case.

2. It depends. What service center will you be filing from? In our case, it took roughly 2 months til the petition was approved. Our case was approved June 23. My interview is on August 4. I could've chosen July 29, but it was too early and I still had to prepare some documents. From the trend I've seen so far, things have been going much faster than last year. If you decide to go the IR1 route however and follow lotsofpatience's fastest NVC process, it will take only a month longer (in the NVC, that is). Plus there is a wait time for the interview for immigrant visa applicants, usually longer than non-immigrant.

3. I don't think it's relevant. From what I've read, only grave moral circumstances (such as sex offenders) have a larger legal obstacle to hurdle if he/she is the petitioner. But what usually matters is if the beneficiary has a pending legal case or a criminal charge, not the petitioner. HOwever, this is only my opinion gathered from what I've read here in the forums. It is always best to consult a lawyer.

4. If you apply for a k3 visa, you have to apply for adjustment of status before the k3 visa expires (usually after two years). K3 visa is multiple entry so you can probably shuttle back and forth the Phils and the uS but I think you have to be there when you file for AOS (biometrics and such). Moreover, adjustment of status likewise requires Affidavit of Support.

You should do more research about the conditions surrounding the permanent resident visa, if it'd allow you to maintain your status while outside the country.

However, if the petitioner is planning to stay here in the Philippines while the petition is being processed, that may pose a problem. I read a similar question in the Immigration Corner of the Philippine Star a couple of months ago. Also, my husband and I were in the same circumstance. The petitioner has to be domiciled in the United States and provide evidence of such (such as a stable job). A fellow VJ member's visa was turned down because U.S. Citizen husband was not domiciled in the U.S.

Hope that helps! As always, best to consult a lawyer! GOd bless your journey.

I just called SLEC and they told me that the results of my psych exam are ready and that I should come back for immunization anytime. I asked them if I should cancel/postpone my august 4 interview and they said that no need, I can still make it to my interview.

So I asked them if I passed the psych exam or not, they said it's confidential. I don't get it. *scracthes non-existent beard* Did I pass or not?

Hi NoandJo. Does that mean I can notarize the documents in the US Embassy?

Reba, there have been lots of cases in USEM where the CO refused documents that have not been notarized. Moreover, since my husband just started his job a few weeks ago and since he was "NO FILE" for 2007, the CO will likely require his notarized letter of employment and paystub. NoandJO, did you husband have his paystub notarized as well?

A lot of people have been saying that having a document notarized is free! I wonder where could that be.

actually, it's $10/document. kinda expensive. =(

is it really necessary to have all the letter of employment, bank statement and paystub notarized?

Hi everyone! I've decided to post here instead of the K3 thread because my question specifically caters to the US Embassy in Manila.

My husband just started on his new job a couple of weeks ago and I'll be having my interview on August 4. We already have his certificate of employment and from what I've gathered from fellow VJ members, the following should be notarized: letter of employment, paystub and bank statement.

We also have a co-sponsor (his mom) but from what I've heard, the USEM does not accept co-sponsors for k3. Is that true? If my husband does not meet the poverty guidelines, would it be grounds for visa denial? And would the fact that he just started on his new job be grounds for denial as well? He makes $13/hr.

Thank you all for your insights. =)

I'm having my husband's COE and paystub notarized here in the Philippines. It's much cheaper over here. Would the consul still accept notarized documents in the PHilippines or does it have to be notarized in the US?

I think so. He worked in the US til feb 2007. DOes it matter if the fiscal year for 2006 ends at the first quarter of 2007 or is the 2007 transcript regardless?

Did he file taxes for 2007? If he didn't then there is no transcript to get from the IRS. If he did, then yes, he should get one from them.

Diana

yikes. that sounds so foreboding. but he does have a co-sponsor. i've just researched about it and the USEM does NOT accept co-sponsors.

what i'm worried about is that he just started on his new job. another thing, he only worked in the US til february 2007. from what i understand, the fiscal year for 2006 ends february 2007. do we still need to get an IRS transcript for 2007?

Absolutely. A sponsor or at leasst a co-sponsor needs to make enough money based on the current poverty guidelines or the visa will be denied.

Diana