ranjen0703

Yep. Just carry your PI passport (remember to keep it valid) and your 2-year green card and you're good to go. Just remember that when you're traveling somewhere, check with their embassy website to see if you, as a PI citizen, need a visa. The green card should get you into Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean islands, and (maybe the EU countries) without a special visa, but anywhere else, and you probably need a visa, the same as any PI citizen.

Oh wow! It's really awesome to know that! Thanks for the info, confirmation and advice guys!

Hopefully this can help my fellow AOS applicants.

When the flight stewardess asked me to fill up the form I-94 in the plane, I didn't realize how important it was. I didn't know what to do with it, if I had to keep a copy of it or just give the whole thing to the Immigration Officer. The Immigration officer would stamp that said form the date of your 90th day stay in the US and therefore you have to get married and send your AOS (form 1-485) app before that date. You have to makes sure that the officer is giving you a copy of it. I sent my I-485 App together with my EAD app on Sept 15, 2009. I received NOA1 after a week, and my Biometric Appointment notice 4 days after. On October 13, 2009, me and my husband went to the nearest USCIS office and had my biometric and photo taken. The process was smooth and efficient that the entire process took about 10 mins or so. Then on the last week of October I received my EAD ID wohooooo!

Somewhere on the 3rd week of November I received my Interview appointment notice. In that notice, you are given a list of things to bring. It's recommended that you bring the mentioned docs, but the most important docs that the officer would ask from you are the proofs of relationship like a joint account statement, if you're under your spouse's insurance, if your name is on the house title or anything at all that could prove that authenticity of the relationship. In my case I brought a thick folder of docs but the interview officer was only asking for my husband's health and life insurance with my name as the beneficiary and the I-94 form. He also asked me to provide wedding and vacation pics. But he didn't bother to ask for our marriage certificate. The interview questions were very simple

Example:

NAme of your Spouse

You and Your Spouse' Birthday

Do you live together? What's the address?

How did you meet?

Where and when did you get married?

Do you have kids on your previous marriage?

Another tip - don't bring cellphones or any electronic device inside the building. We made that mistake and my husband had to rush back to the car to leave our phones there, and boy the parking lot where our car was parked was about a 3 min walk (6 min in total). When we finally reached the interview area, there were about 15 people seated there but among us I was called first (waiting was only 2 min). The officer was really nice, friendly, and accommodating. He said that I should expect my green card somewhere in Feb or March of this year. I'm crossing my fingers that it will be soon. One interesting thing he told us was that once I get my green card I should be able to travel outside US. This is just awesome! But I have doubts about it because I also heard that it's only after the lifting of conditional residency (2 years of stay) that I can travel outside US. Well, one good thing to do is to call USCIS to verify this info if one has to really go out of the country. This is all I can share with you as of now. If you questions, just go ahead and fire it up...

Good Luck to all of us!

If you want a fastest and cheapest way to get pregnancy milk go to ebay. Most pregnant women here just drink regular milk and taking prenatal vit., di kasi uso dito ang pregnancy milk like anmum. Congratulations on your pregnancy! Hope to see you at the All pregnant mommies thread.

Hi Brettanne,

I did try searching for it on e-bay but I didn't find any. Have you tried it? Well, I think I'll just stick with whatever prenatal supplements my OB-GYN would prescribe me.

Thanks for the info!

Yeah there is no milk for pregnant women here like Anmum that we have in PH. If you want, try Enfamil Expecta but I recommend to ask your doctor first before using this. It was already at the end of my 3rd trimester when I discovered it so I wasn't able to try it

If you want the fastest, easiest and reliable shipping company then try LBC. But I bet it would cost you bunch of money in sending those milk because of its heavy weight.

Good Luck and Congrats on the pregnancy!

BTW, you can join the ALL Pregnant Mommies thread if you like. Most of the people in there are Pregnant and Pinay moms and we all share pregnancy and parenthood stuff in there

Hi Pink!

Thanks for the info. It's kind of bizzare that Prenatal Milk is not popular here when some of the companies/manufacturers in the Philippines are US-based. I'm already taking an OTC prenatal vitamins though but I have yet to see my OB-GYN 2 weeks from now. I'll ask her about Enfamil Expecta.

THanks again!

Hello to all My Kababayans!

I need information on the easiest, fastest, and most reliable way of shipping packages from the Philippines to the US? I just got pregnant and I didn't find any milk for pregnant here in the US and my family in Cebu would want to send me milk from there.

Please help. Any ideas, suggestions will be highly appreciated...

Jen

Does anyone know how long it takes to get the Visa after you passed the interview?

Both pick-up or delivery.

Thanks.

Well some says they got theirs within a week and some for a month or so. That's exactly why I started this topic, to know which way could I get my visa faster?

It's a case to case basis, some got it in a few days, weeks, or mos. I talked to the Air21 agent inside the USEM and he said that USEM usually releases visas 1-2 working days after the interview, and the Air21 delivery takes a day. My visa was delivered 3 days after my interview. I was never asked if I wanted mine picked-up or delivered. BUt I think they wont bite u if try asking.

Where would be the best place to buy land and build a home in PI? I want to get started now, so by the time I do retire everything is ready and I can leave the U.S. for good. I love beaches, but also tranquility, and I want it to be beautiful for my future wife. Also would like to have running water, I'm not being funny, but that is a must.

You can try Cebu! You can google it to know more about the place. It's a peaceful city, and it's not as chaotic as Manila.

CAN I CLAIM MY CEMAR OR MARRIAGE INDEX AT ANY LOCAL NSO OFFICE? IM NOT FROM MANILA

Yep and you can also order it online. Ask for CENOMAR and if you are married they'll give yoiu the record of marriages.

No such thing in the books known as CEMAR. It's slang. I think I was one of the persons who "coined" the word.

how long they will issue after you request it?

thanks...il go then at our local nso office

Here in Cebu, our local NSO releases the requested docs the next business day. I'm not sure if that's the same with the other locations.

Does my fiance need any police certificates for his K-1 interview? He was here in the US for a number of years and had a couple of speeding tickets, but I'm not sure how to go about getting certificates without him here. Are these necessary for Juarez, Mexico interview?

Better if u check with the USEM in Mexico if they require it or not. It should be on their website.

Good luck!

I'm a British citizen considering marriage to an American citizen whom I have known for four years or so. Ideally we would like to marry in the US and I plan to move there if possible. I'd very much appreciate some advice. I have done some cursory research but I can't find answers to a couple of questions.

My fiancée has just finished a degree and is currently working two part time jobs whilst applying for jobs in her chosen field. Whilst she doesn't yet earn over $18515 per year, she will most likely do so in the next few months. Basically I was wondering if it is worth applying for an I-129F now to set the ball rolling so to speak. Or should I wait for her to secure a better paid job later in the year before doing anything?

Thanks in advance!

If both of u really want to start the processing now, better if u find a secondary sponsor since during the USEM interview u will be asked to submit ur fiancee's most recent tax return and u can't be sure if her would-be job with the better earnings will already be reflected on that tax return by the time u will be interviewed.

hi everyone! anyone here who got approved last week april 22, 2009 and still dont receive visa?

just want to ask few questions for those who receive their visa..

how long or how to get it from the time that u were approved?

air21 tracking number dont work, its not on their system yet, its been 3 days now and i dont receive it yet. im from mandaluyong city only.

can i book flight even i dont receive visa yet but i am approved? im just thinking if i book now then its more cheaper...

what r the things to prepare for port of entry? what things to show? r they going to interview me again like on interview on embassy?

also im just wondering if i can bring some powder lipstick/gloss blush inside handcarry if in case?

i dont have my school credentials yet but soon im going to get it..what else do i need?

I got my visa 3days after the USEM interview. Nobody at USEM but the consular officer can say when a visa can be printed out and be released. The air21 tracking didn't work in my case too. But i did receive a text message from air21 saying that the package was already in transit to the final destination and the on the next day, my visa was delivered.

Definitely, u can book a flight even if u don't have ur visa yet. That's your decision, at your own risk. But I'm sure that the majority would recommend for you to book ur flight once u have ur visa in ur hand so as to avoid the rebooking fee if ur visa gets to u beyond ur flght date.

The questions at the POE are just about your petitioner. U will be asked for the visa packet, your passport with the visa and the CFO sticker.

You can put them on a separate sheet

Does the letter of intent have to be on two sheets? Or can i word one sheet with both my and my finaces intent of getting married within 90days of her arrival. Of course with the signatures on it.

We submitted 2 separate sheets, one for me and one for my fiance.

hello!!!, anyone there, who had a recent medical exam in st.luke's?, what kind of questions they are asking?, and what did they do to u during medical exam? , think that is 2day medical examination... thank u!!!!

In my case, I was asked about about my medical history (like if I had any surgicall operation, if I was hospitalized, and they will asked if u had any illnesses that they have on their list) and my immediate family's too. For people with problems with the medical result, they will undergo sputum and tuberculin tests and that will make the process 3 days.

Hi Ranjen,

I would like to commend you on giving tips on medical and visa interivew as those tips are very helpful. But there one thing i have noticed.

8. You can eat snacks inside USEM. IN fact, foods are sold there.

Correct me if I am wrong. As far as I can remember, you can not bring foods inside the USEM premisses specially liquids. I know that they sell foods inside the USEM but as far as I can remember, you can not bring your own food. I am just afraid that people might think that they can bring their own food.

I was able to bring my own snacks inside and a bottled water too. Perhaps, people should just bring food that wont make a big mess inside. In my case I brought some brownies with me and as mentioned above, a bottled water. That was why I put at the end of my entry that my experience might vary from others. Thanks for that comment pink!

when ru leaving for US?

This is the visa packet and yes, it is normal to have a diagonal cut at the top corner of it.

Thank you so much Pink!!

Hi to all VJ members!!

I'm so happy that I already have the visa in my hand and I'm so grateful to this website and to all VJ members and bloggers who have helped me in making my visa journey fairly smooth sailing. Hopefully this thread will come in handy to those applicants who have yet to go through the medical and interview. I wont be giving you the details of my experience since you will definitely get help and instructions from the staffs. In addition to that, SLEC will give you a flowchart of the entire process. I'll just post here the infos u need to know to make the process smooth and convenient for you.

Medical exam at St Luke's:

1. Bear in mind that St Luke's Extension Clinic is not located at the same place as the hospital. I met a few friends while doing the medical and one told me that the taxi cab brought her to the St Luke's hospital instead. If you're not staying at a hotel close to the clinic (bec maybe u'r staying at a kin's house), then better if u bring a printout of the map and show it to the taxi driver; or u can just tell him the exact address.

2. Bring the ff: Passport, (3) 2x2 pics (don't glue/paste them on the form yet, SLEC staff will do it for u); black ballpen (not sign pen); original & photocopy of your Embassy letter or Appointment confirmation letter; MEdical Fee in peso (they don't accept dollars but they do honor credit cards).

3. Don't immerse yourself in deep conversation with friends bec u might miss ur name when called. I'm sure you want to get done as soon as possible.

4. The last step on the first day is the physical checkup (where u have to disrobe). The waiting time before u get ur turn is about 1-3 hours depending on the number of people. During this step,I suggest u eat ur lunch across the clinic so u wont faint of hunger. It is not allowed to eat inside the clinic. After this, you will be advised to proceed to the checkout counter.

5. On the 2nd day, don't forget to bring your passport and the payment receipt and 2 copies of 2x2 pics. Approach the guard and tell him that it is already ur 2nd day and u were advised to come back at that specific time.

6. You will have get your immunization shots. Afterwhich, u will be advised to get ur medical result.

7. As for me, it was SLEC that forwarded my passport, the CD and the rest of the medical result to USEM. I was told it was forwarded the next day.

7. Good news for everyone. On our trip to the US, we wont have to carry with us that BIG x ray film since SLEC put the copy on a CD! ISn't that great?!

NOTE: For those with problems with the X-ray, there will be a third day for u since u will have to collect sputum sample and a turbiculen test will be conducted.

USEM interview:

The process was really fast. I was done in a matter of 2 hours!!

1. Don't ever bring any electronic devices for u wont be allowed to get inside USEM. They don't have a courtesy booth where u can leave things. I talked to some applicants there and they thought that there was one. Well, they were wrong and it caused delays for them.

2. Make sure that U have paid the Visa app fee and that ur DS 156 or DS 157 is BDO machine validated.

3. Make sure that the 2x2 pics have a white background and that your 2 ears are showing. Well, u can still have your id taken outside USEM but u have to pay 190php which is outrageously expensive!!!

4. Don't forget to bring a valid ID

5. Make sure you have all the forms needed.

6. Once inside, u will be given a priority number. Always pay attention to the queue board so u wont miss your number and the window number you are supposed to go to. If u have to go to the restroom, make it quick. Btw, for finger scanning, ur name will be called instead.

7. If u noticed that there are incorrect infos on ur forms, u have to inform the consular officer. In my case my birthyear was incorrectly entered on the I-129 F app form, so the consular officer updated their database with my correct birthyear.

8. You can eat snacks inside USEM. IN fact, foods are sold there.

IMPORTANT: The things I entered here are just what I have observed and were part of my experiences. It may have a slight difference for u. And these maybe applicable to K1 app only. Better if u read some articles on the USEM website.

I really hope these infos will be of help to somebody in anyway.

I just received my visa together with the visa packet yesterday, thanks GOD!!! Is it normal for the visa packet to have a cut on one corner? I'm just concerned bec it said on the letter that only a US immigration officer can open it and any attempt of opening it or if it is torn it will cause a significant delay upon entry to the US.

Please advise. THanks!

Have a safe trip!! GOd Bless!!

Guys, I am now preparing for some folders and pictures for my upcoming interview..but we have currently have problems, we only have few wedding photos, We did not even have photo with the justice in peace in it,we did not have a picture that both my husband and I sign a marriage certificate. The only wedding pics we have is taken after the wedding and at the reception which is only just few 5 pics but we have hundreds of photo with me and my husband in honeymoon and picture from other places. will it cause problem during my interview?

why do you think there will be a problem? it is a bonafide relationship you are trying to demonstrate... that is not done with just a few wedding pics from one day in your life....

The document which will make the consular officer believe that your marriage is legal and authentic is the marriage contract u both signed. THe wedding pics are just substantiating evidence.

Ok so I purchased the pin, which you can use a lot more than 3 times, talked to the operator and she tells me you do not even need to buy the pin because they schedule your appointment and put the date in the letter that they send to the beneficiary. So why not tell people this so we wont waste 20 bucks? Anyway I would just like to know how other people got their interview date, because I have been told I can not call and schedule.

One week after NVC forwarded the petition to USEM, I called the USEM call center and I got my interview date. 3 days after, I received the USEM appointment letter. You just have to have the case number.

hi there VJ family

I just want to ask about birth certificate, i just authenticated it last 2005 it is okey if i used it as 1 of requirements for interview or should i get new one.

thank you VJ family.

As long as your BC is on a security paper ( that's the yellow paper) then that should be valid forever unless NSO decides to change the paper to be used.

I HAVENT REGISTER YET..but when i filled the application # this one come out

Your case can not be found at this time in Case Status Online. Please check your receipt number and try again. If you need further assistance please call the National Customer Service Center at 1.800.375.5283.

do i need to register first?

tnx... im confused thank you

Once the app is already forwarded to NVC, the case status is not updated online anymore. My fiance had to call NVC to get our case number. He also received a letter from NVC informing him that our case was already forwarded to the USEM.

Great News!!! Congrats!

To my fellow VJ'ers

After a few months of preparations and waiting, and weeks of sleepless nights, we finally made it! I had my interview yesterday and I was approved!!! I still feel the butterflies in my tummy and I still feel like jumping for joy. haha.

I just wanna thank you, guys for all the help and assistance. Foremost, I am sooo grateful to God for making this possible for us. Kev and I wouldn't have gone this far without His help. My experiences during the medical examinations at St. Lukes and during the interview at the embassy were both great and worth remembering. Had I not only gained friends around, I also find the people inside so accommodating and friendly.

To those who are still in process, Good Luck! and know you'll make it, too!!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!! Thanks for sharing the interview questions u had from the US consul. It will be of great help to my coming interview on April.