amerisian

Just got email as well as text--we are approved in 4 months and 3 days!!! Here's the bottom line from the email:

On May 9, 2011, we mailed you a notice that we have approved this I130 IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR RELATIVE, FIANCE(E), OR ORPHAN. Please follow any instructions on the notice.

Wow, that's fast. Congratulations to Both of you. Wish we will have a speed visa journey too. God bless you both.

Thanks for this Forum. I finally find where I belong. Will be 1 month this 14th. thanks God...Please help us...

April petitioner here. Status: Initial Review. Good thing is, the last time I checked my VJ timeline my visa will adjudicated on Mid to End of September. Now, its on last week of August to 1st week of September. I guess, it's moving. Have a speedy visa journey to all.

Hello everyone!

We just got married. And I want to be on my husband last name. I do not know when should I change it and where... Do I need to do that before sending documents for AOS or after? I even doubt what last name put in all documents for AOS.

I will appreciate all responses. Thanks.

I renewed my passport and used my husband's family name. I used his family name too in all my documents after we married.

The past two days I was getting extremely anxious and a bit depressed that everyone around us was getting their NOA2 and somehow they had skipped over our application. I was at work today....and had checked VJ and Skype about 30 times as a I usually do. I was also skpying with my fiance when my dad called to tell me that I had some mail from the USCIS. He opened it and read to me that we had been approved. I nearly went through the roof and all my fiance could see me do was smile and say "oh my god i am so excited"...."oh my god." I am glad we got through this first hurdle we are one step closer to being together forever oh and for the record......I didn't get an email nor a text and our status still says initial review.....I guess someone in the IT department at USCIS is sleeping on the job.

You are very Blessed Today.

The officer said we need to find a new one. I'm done with this. I don't have hope someone will help us.

You are almost there, compare to us who were even the NOA2 is still unknown. Try again..and you don't have the right to quit at this point. You are almost in the finishing line to be with your beloved...1 more step. You can do it.

Thank you everyone

It's more than a year now that me and husband didn't see each other in person only in video chat everyday....Hope God miraculously touch the heart of USCIS people and guide their hands to pick our docs and approve it sooner...less than 3 months is my goal...hehe...I claimed in Jesus name...

Hang on there, you're almost done.

iT SAYS: THE I-130, PETITION FOR ALIEN RELATIVE HAS BEEN RECEIVED BY OUR OFFICE FOR THE FOLLOWING BENEFICIARIES AND IS IN PROCESS.

WHAT DO I NEED TO SEND BACK OR DO I JUST WAIT FOR THE NOA2?

THEY DIDN'T APPLY MY WIFE'S MAIDEN NAME IS THIS OK OR DO I NEED TO CALL USCIS?

You and my husband have the same question. As he get the NO1 hard copy, he wondered why my family name ( now maiden name) was not included and he wants to be in there. I just told him, no worries it will be fine. ( He just love my old family name I guess, as I love it..hehe.)

Hello Fellow Filipinos,

It's only now that I found out that there's a separate forum for Philippines and I'm so happy to know it's crazy I've been a member for quite sometime now...but this is actually a better place to be...

Anyways, I'm just curious about this CFO seminar if it's really required or not I've read a lot about this and now I'm totally confuse. I know it'll still be a while before I will need this since I'm still waiting for my NOA2 but I'm trying my best to be proactive just in case we'll get approved soon. Based on their website here (http://www.cfo.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=329&Itemid=78) it is required, but some of the VJ-er said that this is a scam and they were able to leave PI w/o having this stamp/certificate, some say that this is only needed for passport application and renewal which is not applicable for me since my passport will expire in 2014; also, I've been to the US couple of times already but had no problem at the airport upon my exit.

By the way, since I already mentioned passport I also have a question (sorry susulitin ko na ). How long should a passport be valid not sure if it should be 2 years until I have my residency just in case we'll get approve.

Maraming Salamat po

Yes, CFO is very required indeed. You can't board on the plane to the US wherever you go as emigrant without the CFO sticker stamp in your passport. You can attend the seminar without your passport but you can only get the CFO certificate which means you need to go back to CFO for the CFO sticker after the issuance of your visa. To lessen the cost and save time, better attend the CFO seminar after you get your visa.

Passport must be less than 6 months. God bless.

I've seen a post for April filers for VSC, but I'm at CSC. So, I didn't feel it was for me. Besides, shouldn't we be able to just band together regardless of which service center we're looking towards? C'mon, April filers... let's hear from you.

April Filer here but only CR1. I guess, it's okey..

Great! Cebu is closer! She is in the province of Negros Oriental. So that's "next door"! How can I find where in Cebu?

The time I attended CFO, I traveled from Mindanao but now I stay in Iloilo, so we are neighbors. As for the fare, she can travel from Dumaguete if she is from Negros Oriental to Cebu in a ferry (http://oceanjet.net/ - check this link for ferry schedule and fare ) and the pier that the ferry will dock from Dumaguete is nearer to CFO Cebu compare from the airport and it's cheaper( Taxis from airport will cost you another hundred of pesos). But if you prefer to have her on the plane, try to check Cebu Pacific as they have promos (www.cebupacificair.com).

Check this link for more info about CFO Cebu - CFO Cebu guidelines and requirements also step by step procedure for CFO Seminar in Cebu

Hope it helps. God bless

From those who have been there and done that, I would greatly appreciate some scheduling advice...

I plan to send my fiance to Manila for about a week (her father may accompany her, as she has never been out of the Visayas or even her island for the most part). So in 1 week, she needs to get her Medical exam done, go do the CFO thing, and an Interview. Is it even possible?

How long is the medical exam? I cant tell if it is 2 or 3 days.

How long is the CFO thing?

How long is the interview process? A half day, a full day?

I was thinking: Mon-Tues (Medical), Wed (CFO), and Thurs or Fri (Interview), with 1 day or so to explore Manila.

Or did another schedule work better for you?

Also...

How much money should I budget for this? Her father has a little money, but not much. And she did not sign a contract to teach another year, so her budget is drying up. They're actually very conservative with money, which is good. I just don't know what cost of living is in Manila...

(Please don't include fees for medical, CFO, and interview in your estimates - I think I know those already).

Very sweet.

I am from Mindanao too. I did my CFO in Cebu. I booked for a cheap hotel near DFA, Cebu. I preferred Cebu because people speak Bisaya and less crowded (compare to Manila).

My husband sent me $200. It includes my plane ticket back and forth, hotel stay, CFO seminar, food, misc fee, etc.

The seminar held at SMEF-COW, 1 ride on a jeepney from DFA, CFO Cebu and from the hotel where I stayed. The seminar registration started at 8:00 am. I supposedly finished with my CFO transaction about 3:00 pm but I waited for a friend that I met in the seminar to go together at CFO Cebu to pick up our certificate.

But, if she already have an interview schedule and want everything to be done accordingly (Medical, CFO, interview), I guess, better to get it all in Manila. I am planning to have my medical a week before my interview. Not just sure about the budget for Manila.

God bless you both.

Let me just add a personal note from me and my wife. We are 100% focused on the end game when she walks off the plane in Newark, has a quick conversation with the CBP officer, gets her visa stamped, and hears "Welcome to the United States, and good luck !!" Why focus on something so far into the future?? Not so far anymore, we hope. Because there can be lots of stumbles along the way and you will see plenty of people on this web site grumbling over what are usually pretty small things that can be easily corrected and for things like wait times that simply are what they are and all the grumbling in the world cannot change.

Our view is simple--the prize is that "Welcome to the United States, and good luck !!" It's for all of us--my wife, your wife, everyone who wants to be here. Best wishes.

Very Nice encouragement.

really good information and i thank you for your effort. She is a province girl,,,, i have spent 3 months with her i the last 7 months.......... went to her dads funeral and the same day to witness the birth of her newest niece,,,, she is from Mindanao and so Visayan is her native language...... dont know if i haveheard her say "mahal, innibig or Mamamatay ako kung wala ka..."

i am learning so much and thanks again.........

Hi, I am sure you didnt hear from her mahal or iniibig kita...hehhe..Because in Visayan "Mahal Kita" is Gihigugma ko Ikaw". or in Iloggo, "Palangga Ko ikaw". Bisayan directly say, I love you in most part. God bless you both...

Yea didnt mean to be so rude. But home is where the heart is. My husband visited me three times on the vwp. He didnt like america or our way of culture (he is from the uk) his last visit he came when our son was three months old his first time seeing our baby, he stayed 9 months, he is back home awaiting our petition to be approved so he can come back to the usa and live a life with his family. He feels his home land is no longer his home and that this is now home..with his wife and baby and step son. Home is where the heart is!

I agree.

Hi and thanks in advance for your replies.

My Philippine fiancée and i are struggling about which country in which to live. My thoughts are that she could come here to the US on a 90 day K1, check the place out (and me too of course) and then probably return back to the Philippines, without us getting married just yet. Basically i just want to make sure she will be happy here first. MY long term plan is to retire in The Philippines, with her of course, in about 10 years. She has a sister here in the US (permanent resident). My question, dear forum members, has two parts:

1. If she is granted a first K1 with my being the petitioner, and we decide NOT to get married yet and she returns back to the Philippines, would a second K1 be possible, more or less probable in the future?

2. Since she has a sister who lives here, if my fiancée lives up to her obligations and does not overstay her K1, would it be more probable that her sister could succeed in bringing her here for a family visa?

I have been approved for 1 K1 visa in 2003 (ex wife now naturalized citizen)

I guess, she will be happy in the US, besides, her sister is there that's a plus for her compare to any Filipina that no relatives in the US at all. If Love brings her there in the US, I am sure she will be happy living there. I am sure she will not go back in the Philippines when she step in the US. No reason to apply for K1 and will not get married. As you said, you love your fiancee very much. K1 is a short visa for her to stay there, after the visa end, what will happened? go back to Phils again and you will be separated? That's a sad thing. Returning in the Philippines with her after your retirement is always possible. But if she will return in the Philippines after K1 is ended is another bloody suffering of separation for a couples who truly love each other. God bless.

She is finally here. We are static. :dance:

Congratulations to Both of you...

My marriage to my wife ( we have 3 sons) still existed in an strain manner until I was convinced ( by my girlfriend) to get an divorce from my wife

and file for her ( I secured us citizenship for our son independent of this) thus in DEC 2008 i was granted a divorce and I then filed a finance petition for

my girlfriend. things were well between us and finally she received her visa and we move to the us in July 2010. within that month we got married and continued the process up to the point she received her work permit and travel documents and SS number 3 months later.

That message was from the husband. The girlfriend (the OP) convinced him to get a divorce from his existing wife with 3 children? VERY BAD..........and later on, she CHEAT on him.

From seeing the image that you attached, that was just a copy of her Local Civil Registry (Form-1A) BC that was authenticated by NSO. She has to get a certified copy of her BC from NSO not an authenticated Form-1A BC. Check this link for the sample on how the certified BC looks..

http://www.visajourn...p_display_media

It's basically just a scanned copy of the original birth certificate that is printed on security paper and has Birth reference Number. If she had lost her original BC I believe NSO has a copy of it in their data base.

And if not NSO will then instruct her to go to the Local Registry which her birth has record and they will then request for an electronic endorsement of the original birth certificate which the Local Registry has. They make it sound confusing but that electronic endorsement means the Local Civil Registry will scan the original BC and sends it direct to NSO. This process may take awhile though before you can get a certified copy of BC in NSO.

Sorry, If I confused you. The post above is right....About ordering a Birth Certificate online: here is the right link. Sorry. https://www.ecensus.com.ph/Secure/frmIndex.asp

i filled out the I-864 form (praying its accurate casue i was so fricken confused)......anyways my mom is co-sponsoring us.....does she fill out same exact form????

If your Mom live in different household, yes she will fill up the same Form I-864. But if you live together in the same household she needs to fill Form I-1864A..Maybe more VJ's will give you a clear insight. God bless..

Second time lucky with attachment... identifying marks whited out (hopefully). Printed on security paper.

By they way, I am not sure if NVC are accepting certified thru copy. But here in the Philippines, in legal transactions " Certified thru copy authenticated by NSO" is being honored.

Second time lucky with attachment... identifying marks whited out (hopefully). Printed on security paper.

The form you just shown is a certified thru copy authenticated by NSO. She can get a copy of her original birth certificate at NSO (burned by fire is not acceptable is not an acceptable reason anymore even here in the Philippines) as you get it at NSO if you have a record...

visit...www.nso.gov.ph if you want to get a copy of her birthd Cert. You can order online and will deliver it in your door.. God bless..

The saddest thing that nobody else has mentioned is, what will happen to their child? After all, the OP does have a child with her husband and their divorce will also affect this child... It is one thing for people to act on their selfish desires, but a quite completely different issue is to do this when children are involved. I guess that since the child is a US citizen he/she has the right to stay in the US. I only hope the OP does not want to take the child back to Jamaica...

If OP still have a conscience and think about her child's future, maybe she can leave the child to her husband if ever she will return home. Her husband is still the father of the child so nothing to worry at all. I guess the father will still love and take care the child despite of what the mother did.

I believed USPS is safe. I assumed you already bought the laptop,as you will send it tomorrow, right? On the other hand, it would be better if she will inquire how much is the laptop on her place and just send her money to buy it. Shipping cost free. Not sure. Just my opinion.