mkatt8

Thank you all so much for your replies. I greatly appreciate all your answers and sound advices.

Namaste

Just another question I failed to ask in my prior post... Do I need to fill up Form N-600 for my son?

Thank you, again,

Hi! I am currently fixing my N-400 packet and have a few questions. If anyone could help me out please, I'd appreciate it. My son is 16 years old ,so there is no need for him to fill up the N-400 form correct? Do i need to include fees for his application and biometrics or just the biometrics fee? Can he also change his name during this process?

Thank you in advance and hope to hear from anyone soon CHEERS!

The petition was submitted May 25th and she turns 21 in August , depending on the day , about 3 months after the petition. The amount of time that USCIS takes to approve the petition is subtracted for her age at the day of the interview. Lets pretend that it takes USCIS 6 months. So if it took 6 months as long as the interview is before Feb 2012 ( 6 months past her turning 21 ) AND she enters the US by that birthday + 6 months date you are fine. However you filled very close to the age out date. Onced the petition is approved the time to pass to the embassy and the time for medical and scheduling an interview count against you. It won't be easy to get this all done before she ages out and then has to wait for 15 years.

Thank you for taking the time in answering my questions.

I'm Jim, and Boiler was referring to my previous response to you.

Yes, what I said and what you read are the same thing. The time between when the petition was accepted by USCIS (the priority date) and the day that the petition was approved is deducted from the child's age. If it takes five years to approve the petition (which would be pretty rare) then they'd deduct five years from the child's age. But remember - the child would also be five years older, and they begin accruing time against their age as soon as the petition is approved. The CSPA was primarily designed to protect beneficiaries from USCIS dragging their feet.

In essence, the amount of time you have to complete the NVC processing, schedule an interview, get the visa, and enter the US is approximately equal to the amount of time between when the petition was submitted and when the child turns 21, give or take. NigeriaOrBust summed it up quite nicely.

My recommendation would be that your niece's father handle everything after the petition approval with the utmost urgency. Every document or electronic correspondence submitted to NVC or to the US consulate should be marked "URGENT: POSSIBLE AGE-OUT!". With a little luck, and possibly a little compassion on the part of the government employees involved, they might push things through a little faster.

Thank you for the patience in explaining this to me and for the suggestion as well. I appreciate it.

Read Jim's reply, he covered that!

Is Jim his user name? I could not find a Jim under the Aging Out Topic. And thank you for your time.

Yes, turning 21 affects the process. She will no longer be eligible as an IR2 immediate relative. She would be eligible for an FB1 family preference visa. Since family preference visas are subject to quotas, she'd have to wait until her priority date was current and a visa number was available. The Philippines is severely backlogged for FB1 visas. The current wait is about 15 years.

The good news is that they will deduct from her age any time spent waiting for the petition to be approved. This means if it took eight months to process her petition then they will deduct eight months when determining her age for the visa. She must use the visa and enter the US before her effective age is 21. She will not be able to remain in the Philippines and finish school unless she is also willing to wait an additional 15 years to immigrate.

Thank you for replying to my inquiries. But on the top of this forum. There is a topic about Child Aging Out. Does my niece fall under that category? It says on the topic:

"Basically, CSPA is applicable to many children since it was passed in 2002, as long as the child was under 21 when petition was filed and is still unmarried. It removes the period between priority date and petition approval date (in some cases, as much as 5 years) from current age of eligible child."

Does this hold true?

My niece was recently petitioned by her father who's a US citizen. She is now 20 years old. She will be turning 21 this August. USCIS received the application just this 25th of May. Does turning 21 during the process before it's approved affect her petition? And another question is... If my niece gets approved, does she need to leave as soon as possible or can she wait a year and finish her college degree before leaving for the States? And lastly, when she does come over to the US and gets her green card, can she take trips abroad? Thank you in advance for your help.

Okie, so we had our AOS interview today, and they took my husband's I-94 and asked us to drop of a vaccination chart to them. I have a question, they took the I-94 and didn't give us any documentations or stamps or anything other than the checklist to bring vaccination. Is this normally done? Or do they usually stamp the passport and we just failed our interview? Because we have nothing stating that we had our interview or that our case is pending.... ((((

Not to worry. You're good to go! Just submit as soon as you can the document that they need from you. During our interview, we were asked to submit my son's TB test result asap. She took our I-94s, no stamps on our passports but she said that we were approved. And we did submit the requirement the same day of our interview. And all went well.

Hi! You can read my interview experience if you want. Please just click on this link:

My link

Hope this helps. Good luck!

She can still use her existing passport under her maiden name.

How old is your son? His age will determine the application cost.

My passport will expire in 8 months, do I need to wait for it to expire before I can get a new one ? or can I renew it a few months before it expires ? if so how long ?

I highly suggest you have it renewed there in the Philippines. Easier, affordable and faster. You don't have to wait for your passport to expire. You can get it as early as now. It's such a hassle to renew it in the States and it will take them a month or so if you have it done here.

I know for my wife's son that a separate I-485 needs to be done, but I am a bit unclear on some of the details. Is the additional I-485 submitted with my wife's AOS package or do I need to send a separate I-485 package with all the supporting docs (i.e. I-864 and all the supporting evidence) and a separate fee check?

Thanks for any advice!!

How old is your wife's son? Mine was 12 at the time of our AOS application. If he is the same age or younger, then you need to prepare the same AOS package EXCEPT for the G-325a. His I-864 should just be the same copy as your wife's. What I did was I put my son's package in 1 folder, and mine in a different folder and placed both folders in 1 big one and mailed it. So we did have separate fee checks. Good luck!

even if u are the petitioner and u found incapa. too then u have to under-go psych evaluation too... but if u passed the psych evaluation from the slec dr. then no more psych test...

True! But if you are the petitioner and the respondent was found psychologically incapable, then you don't have to go through the evaluation at all.

hello to all,here i come again,happily married...Thank God for the guy u gave to me,i just only wanted to share some pics. for our happiest moment OUR WEDDING DAY..THANK GOD..here we come again for another journey,starting filling up AOS,keep helping us..thank you all...GODBLESS TO ALL...

CHEERS to you and your husband!

Thanks a lot

No worries Cathy. Don't be nervous and don't stress out too much. Try to relax and enjoy your trip. Have a safe flight!

Is anyone who can give me an advice about the psychiatrist test/evaluation on medical?

they will ask about the process of the Annulment cases?

and any possible question ?

Pls I need your reply Guys....

paulabby

Hi, during your medical... you have to bring your annulment papers. If you petitioned for the annulment, then you don't have to go through the psychiatric evaluation. But if your ex-husband was the petitioner, you would have to go through that process.

Hello,

I just want to know if did you guys put in the DS-230 the previous married name under Part 1, Line 2: Other names used or aliases? All I know is maiden name should be put there.

Info about me, I was also married before (marriage #1), and now annulled (marriage #1). Now I am married to my husband (marriage #2) and we are undergoing CR-1 processing. We are about to send DS-230, but confuse on the question Part 1, Line 2: Other names used or aliases.

Any help should do.

Salamat po,

Luningning

Yes, put your previous marriage ( previous married name from marriage 1) and just put your maiden name on line 2. Good luck and hope your application process go smooth.

My daughter and I applied for our AOS together, and last March 25th we "both" got our biometrics appointment letters (2 letters, same day but different time).

On April 5th we received another notification, but this time it was the interview appointment letter only for my daughter (k2 visa holder). We waited couple of days hoping to receive my notification also, but nothing. So I called and asked to send me the letter back (in case it could be missing).But still nothing.

The interview is going to be next May 10th and I will be ready, with all the paperwork, pictures and proves for my daughter and for me also.

I still think that is very strange that She got the appointment letter and I did not. So I am wondering if this is common or if I have to worry about.

Thanks in advance

From my experience... my son's interview letter came first, he's 12 and after a few days, my letter came in. I'm sure everything will be fine. Good luck on May 10!

Since my Fiance have a membership in Mabuhay miles,i know for sure its where he will get our tickets.The original plan was for him to pick us up once ready to go,unfortunately after a long discussion about it,we decided that I will just fly alone with our baby..Just thinking of this makes me nervous,excited and stress!!! But of course i have to be brave and be prepared for this...

For those who flew alone with their babies(my Daughter is 1 yr old)was it hard?What did you bring to ease the boredom of your babies?are the staff in PAL?helpful enough?Please throw me some tips of what to do?

The good thing is its a direct flight..no stopover!!!POE:San Francisco CA

Hi! I am an ex- flight attendant for PAL. I would highly suggest you take the straight flight going to the states mainly because you are flying with your 1 year old baby. Make sure to request for a seat near the galley and lavatory. I hope your flight will be smooth and safe. Just push the cabin attendant call if you need any assistance. I'm sure your flight would be fine. Cheers!

Is there an age limit for the PDOS. My fiance's son is 12 years old? Is he required to take the Seminar?

Minors 12 years old and below are exempted to go to the seminar. Click on this link:

My link

Hope it helps. Good luck!

Thank you mkatt8, somehow you clarified it. I might get my driving test once I get my EAD just like alex and astrid. I still need to practice more on my driving skills since the traffic rules in the Philippines are way too different than what they have here in the US.

That is so true! But the written test is quite easy. Just read the handbook and go to DMVs website and take their sample written tests there and watch their you tube videos. Those helped a lot! Good luck and I hope all will go smooth.

For some people, after marriage they submitted their AOS applications right away but not in my case. I've always been dependent to the schedule of my husband since I believe we have to sit down and lay matters on the table first while expediting every single document that have to be included in the package. I have already prepared all the necessary documents but we still have yet to recheck everything. So far we are still on schedule, my I-94 will expire on May 10 and we are planning to send the packet on the 19th of April.

Regarding the married name issue in my AOS forms, my husband and I went to the federal courts and they seemed confused about what has to be done. The clerk's suggestion was for me to get my name changed legally and pay the necessary fees. We still can't seem to believe it since most of the VJ members were able to change their names in their own means without doing all the paperworks. I reckon, the only document I have right now that's bearing my maiden name since I arrived in the US is my SSN. So we will just take it from there.. we will submit all the necessary paperworks in my MARRIED NAME and see what happens. ANyway, if they will have questions about it, they will require an RFE right? Would you do the same thing?

FOr those of you who have already gone through the process.. Is this the sequence you followed?

1) SSN Application in Maiden Name

2) Marriage

3) AOS Application

4) DMV - drivers license

5) Change SSN maiden name to married name

6) Wait for Biometrics INterview.

Also, what were the identification cards accepted by DMV when you had your license application?

If and when the biometrics interview comes I still cant get my drivers license, what other types of identification cards will USCIS accept?

Thank you VJ.

Basically, the sequence of what to do next is all up to you. What we did first was get married, submit AOS and as soon as I received my green card,I applied for my SSN, California ID and Driver License. So everything is under my married name already.

For Drivers License,

* An acceptable birth date/legal presence (BD/LP) document(s).

* An acceptable true full name document if the name of your BD/LP document is different from the name on your DL/ID card application.

* Your Social Security number (SSN). It will be verified with the Social Security Administration (SSA) while you are in the DMV office.

I just presented my Green Card and provided them my SSN. You may show your EAD since that usually comes early in the mail during your AOS process.

Regarding your last question about Biometrics? You just need to show your current passport, Original Marriage Certificate (they just need to look at it and verify your married name since your passport still carries your single name) and the Appointment Letter mailed to you for Biometrics.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

After having read a lot of reviews (more of complaints, actually) regarding dealing with the Philippine Consulate in Los Angeles, I pretty much thought we came prepared. Yesterday, we went to the Philippine Consulate in LA and arrived at 11 am. We parked behind the building across the street and we paid $14 when we got done at 3:00 pm. We went inside and got in the elevator. The Consulate is located at the 5th Floor. Just down the hallway, we had our Philippine Passport Size photos taken and we also had another different set of photos taken for the Report of Marriage. The photos came out pretty fast. We now headed down the hallway with everything in hand.

As you enter the Consulate, you have to show your papers to the person sitted behind the desk beside the entance door.If everything is in order, then you will be given a number.

You would have to do the Report of Marriage FIRST. Give all the necessary papers to the Civil Registry booth and then if everything's okay, you need to go to the Cashiers booth to pay $31. Then go back to the Civil Registry and show him the receipt. He will then give you a set of papers that you need to hand over when your number is called to Renew your passport.

4 hours later our numbers were called. My son first then myself. Just hand over the requirements and also the set of papers that the Civil Registry gave you so that your new passport will reflect your new married name. Sign and do the thumb printing. Now, you have to go and pay the fee to the Cashier. It's $50 plus $6 for priority mail. Because I definitely, do not want to go back there anymore and pick it up. Your choice though. You can pick it up or have your passport mailed to you. We were out of there 15-20 minutes from the time our numbers were called.

TIPS:

1) Try NOT TO GO on a Monday. There were a LOT of people yesterday. They said Wednesdays & Thursday are really quiet. Be there as soon as they open.

2) Park behind at their own buliding lot. You can have your parking ticket validated at the Releasing counter of the Philippine Consulate and ONLY pay $3 even if you're parked the whole day. NEVER park in front. Yes, it is metered parking but I heard a lot gets towed at the strike of 4 pm.

3) For Report of Marriage - Make 5 (FIVE) photo copies of Marriage Contract, 5 (FIVE) photo copies of bride & grooms Birth Certificate and passport data page.

I only made 4 photo copies because that's what I read on their website. The extra copy was the "set of papers" that the Civil Registry gave me to be handed to the person in charge for renewing your passport.Not to worry, down the hall where I got my pictures taken, he has a photo copier as well so, everything is pretty much there on the 5th floor ( except for snacks!). The rest of the requirements you can get at their website. Just take not of the revisions I just mentioned.

4) Get your number first and THEN have your photos taken.

4) Have your photos taken there, It's $7 for 4 Philippine Passport Size photos and $2 -3 for 2 photos with white background for the Report of Marriage. (You'll be needing 4 photos for each groom & bride) and 25 cents for 1 photo copy. Make sure you go to the right one because there is another photo shop on the 5th floor that charges more. The cheap photo shop office is located on the same side of the Mens comfort room. Sorry, I forget to get the room number.

A lot of Filipinos complained because the Consulate were very strict with the photo requirement. They had theirs done at Walgreens, CVS, Costco and other professional photo shops only to be rejected. Money down the drain. So save yourself the hassle and money and just have your picture taken there. It's real quick. Less than 5 minutes and it's done. Make sure you wear a top with a collar. Bangs away from your face and ears showing.

5) The Consulate observes Lunch Break from 12-1 pm. You can wait inside while they take their lunch. There a seats inside.

6) Bring some snack & drinks but be discrete about it. Supposedly it's not allowed but some still brought stuff in because no one is there to check, most specially during lunch break. There is also a kiosk on the 1st floor where you can buy drinks & snacks.

7) Bring whatever to pass the time away. Electronics are allowed.

8) If you ARE still in the Phillipines, it is MUCH, MUCH better to renew your passport there.

9) Other Philippine Consulates in the US have different requirements. This post is intended only for those who are doing their Report of Marriage AND Renewal of Passport in Los Angeles.

I hope this helps!

CHEERS!!!

My fiance seems to have a hard time cooking in the US. She says the ingredients she needs aren't sold in the grocery stores, which honestly I find a bunch of BS. She hasn't told me what she needs to make what she wants, but I told her most Filipino food is spices, meat and rice. Which we have. She has found Magic Sarap at the local Filipino market, but it's $3 a package. She also found spice mixes for Adobo, Pancit, Tocino, and a few more.

My question, what substitutes have you found for local ingredients do you use for cooking? I'll have her post exact dishes for you to give advice on.

I always find what I need at 99 Ranch Store. See if you have a branch near your area.