marriedtomrg

My mom is in the Philippines, so I only filed the I-130.
 
She finished her NVC process (The I-864 was included in that filing) and her Embassy process, she got her visa on hand April 15.

Wow! That's awesome!  CONGRATULATIONS! 

My mom is in the Philippines, so I only filed the I-130.
 
She finished her NVC process (The I-864 was included in that filing) and her Embassy process, she got her visa on hand April 15.

I am aware that she needs visa in hand, thanks. Spent time creating checklists for her and I was able to visit CFO website without issues until a week ago. I just worry that the blocking will continue until we are ready to register her, which I don't want. We have the VPN as a back up if it is still blocking us.

I am aware that she needs visa in hand, thanks. Spent time creating checklists for her and I was able to visit CFO website without issues until a week ago. I just worry that the blocking will continue until we are ready to register her, which I don't want. We have the VPN as a back up if it is still blocking us.

You can try, but as someone else mentioned, if SLEC required additional testing, treatment or documentation outside of their two-day (average) process, then no. You will want 1 to 2 weeks between the interview and the medical.
LBC Delivery is 5 to 7 business days within Metro Manila. May be quicker if you pick it up at MOA, but that doesn't include the time it takes the Embassy to generate the visa.
 
Once she has completed her interview, she has to turn in her passport. If the Embassy puts her case in 221g administrative processing, once the documentation is available, her passport should be submitted with whatever the Embassy requests. 
 
Please consider also she needs to depart the Philippines before her medical exam expires. 
 
 

If you have your 2022 1099 (or whatever the equivalent is for a W2 for self employed folks), you can provide her a copy of that, too. Most people wouldn't have filed taxes yet.

Both fees have to be in PAID status before you can upload anything. Your status should change soon.
 
In the meantime, you can start completing the I-864 and collecting supporting documents for both the AOS and the IV application.

You can contact NVC to expedite his case.
 
But first - you need to make sure your documents and forms on CEAC are current. Update your I-864 with the most recent tax year (2021) and update the supporting documents (2021 IRS tax transcript, 2022 W2, optionally you can also add 2020 and 2019 IRS tax transcripts and three months of paystubs). Your dad's NBI clearance will also need to be updated (they are only good for a year) as well as his 2x2 photos (those are good for 6 months). If you need to update your DS-260, you need to contact NVC to 
request them to reopen the form.
 
Once you have made those updates, request the expedite by email NVCExpedite@state.gov
 
NVC will forward your request to the Embassy and they will make the decision - I have no doubt they will approve this - your dad has been in a queue a long time.
 
I joined an FB group of IR5 Visa Journey folks, and many of them are Filipinos who have taken action on their own cases - because in you wait for the Embassy to do the scheduling, you will wait far longer.
 
Hope this helps.

You can contact NVC to expedite his case.
 
But first - you need to make sure your documents and forms on CEAC are current. Update your I-864 with the most recent tax year (2021) and update the supporting documents (2021 IRS tax transcript, 2022 W2, optionally you can also add 2020 and 2019 IRS tax transcripts and three months of paystubs). Your dad's NBI clearance will also need to be updated (they are only good for a year) as well as his 2x2 photos (those are good for 6 months). If you need to update your DS-260, you need to contact NVC to 
request them to reopen the form.
 
Once you have made those updates, request the expedite by email NVCExpedite@state.gov
 
NVC will forward your request to the Embassy and they will make the decision - I have no doubt they will approve this - your dad has been in a queue a long time.
 
I joined an FB group of IR5 Visa Journey folks, and many of them are Filipinos who have taken action on their own cases - because in you wait for the Embassy to do the scheduling, you will wait far longer.
 
Hope this helps.

If you already have completed the medical exam, you run the risk of remedical - results expire within 3 to 6 months.
 
If you haven't scheduled the medical yet, you can postpone/reschedule for a limited number of times. Not sure of the official number but a cursory search suggests 2 to 4 times.
 
Just keep your case active.

You can pay separately and complete them separately, that is up to you - like SteveInBoston says, NVC won't review the case until everthing is submitted.  Also be aware, in terms of planning:
 
For both AOS and the Immigrant Visa
- after you pay the fee, you won't be able to submit anything until the status reads PAID (that's maybe 24 to 48 hours, depending on your bank)
 
AOS
- When you add your AOS stuff and a Household Member, neither of you can add supporting documents until the link appears next to your name (another 24 hour wait or so)
 
Immigrant Visa
- you won't be able to submit ANY civil documents until the DS-260 has been completed and submitted - I would not recommend attempting to hurry that up, however - you need to review the entire form ro make sure there are no errors - because once the DS-260 and supporting docs are submitted and marked as Accepted, the DS-260 is locked. You can only edit it if you request NVC to unlock the form.

Thank you @marriedtomrg and @IWander . My fiancée has rescheduled her exam to eleven calendar days before our travels to account for multiple visits to SLEC.
 
-Boat

Very few people complete it in a single day, but it does happen. Most get done in two days. If day 2 is a day for immunizations, you should be in the clear.
 
That being said, you may want to consider holding off any out of town plans.
 
Some applicants are asked to return for a sputum test (you will know if she gets handed a green piece of paper)...that extends your wait time to 2 more months.

Very few people complete it in a single day, but it does happen. Most get done in two days. If day 2 is a day for immunizations, you should be in the clear.
 
That being said, you may want to consider holding off any out of town plans.
 
Some applicants are asked to return for a sputum test (you will know if she gets handed a green piece of paper)...that extends your wait time to 2 more months.

Very few people complete it in a single day, but it does happen. Most get done in two days. If day 2 is a day for immunizations, you should be in the clear.
 
That being said, you may want to consider holding off any out of town plans.
 
Some applicants are asked to return for a sputum test (you will know if she gets handed a green piece of paper)...that extends your wait time to 2 more months.

Current W2 for 2022 (if already available - for most folks it won't be available till the end of January) and 2021 tax transcript (free download from IRS website), and last three months of pay stubs are the minimum, with proof of naturalization or LPR status.
 
If you are issued 1099 forms, you have to show the one from 2021.
 
Optional to add 2020 and 2019 IRS tax transcripts - that is up to you, add them if you think they will help. Otherwise, you can leave them out.
 
If your income is not sufficient to cover the income requirement for your household size, you can provide proof of assets or get a joint sponsor.

That's a concurrent filing - you file I-130 and I-485 if your parents is already in the US and are adjusting status - so they get a green card that way. They can also file the I-765 (work permit) and I-131 (advance parole) at the same time.

I did a quick search for you - there is a page in USCIS called Tips for Filing Forms by Mail (wasn't sure if sharing the link was allowed). Somewhere in there it says not to use staples, instead use heavy duty paper clips.

You can request NVC for an expedite if your parents case is still Documentarily Qualified (if it is not, you will need to update their documents first to get the case back into DQ status). After the expedite request, NVC will forward your request to the US Embassy in Manila and from there you can wait for their response - likely the Embassy will approve it because you have waited so long. Only then will NVC forward your parents case to the Embassy.
 
from there you have a couple of options:
 
1) You let the Embassy to schedule your parents interview. In this scenario, there is no telling when you will get that date - the experiences of folks are different - some take days, weeks or, months. I am hopeful that they will get to you much quicker.
 
Or, 2) you can check the NVC visa status: https://ceac.state.gov/CEACStatTracker/Status.aspx
 
if it is READY - you can create a CGI account and schedule the interview yourself.
 
In either case, once you have a date, you can schedule the medical exam - which must be completed before the interview.

Wanted to add that Forex has a Packy Pack service - where "packy" is a play off of "paki," Tagalog prefix for "please do this for me." (e.g. pakidala (please send this to), pakiusap (listen to me please), pakihawak (please hold this for me))
 
You purchase items from, say Amazon - you send them to Forex, and they will either forward what you bought to your loved ones in the Philippines (piecemeal)  OR ask them to hold all your purchases - and once you have completed your shopping only then will they pack your gifts for you in a balikbayan box and ship it to your loved ones then.

Wanted to add that Forex has a Packy Pack service - where "packy" is a play off of "paki," Tagalog prefix for "please do this for me." (e.g. pakidala (please send this to), pakiusap (listen to me please), pakihawak (please hold this for me))
 
You purchase items from, say Amazon - you send them to Forex, and they will either forward what you bought to your loved ones in the Philippines (piecemeal)  OR ask them to hold all your purchases - and once you have completed your shopping only then will they pack your gifts for you in a balikbayan box and ship it to your loved ones then.

I had all intentions of returning to my home country. No one expected my daughter would have received the interview as quickly as she did, she only filed N400 around the same time i arrived. I did not overstay my B2, she received her interview and passed and we submitted the documents to adjust status before i overstayed the visa. So not sure what point youre trying to make. What does that have to do with this any way? Its my daughters right as a US Citizen to be able to petition her parent. Thats what she was told by the officer, and she even said i was visiting on b2 and she was told i could stay and file the AOS. So dont act like i did anything wrong. 
 
In addition.. i did contact USCIS today. My advice to ALL of you that has provided nothing but criticism, trust your gut feeling with your stuff. USCIS said the notices had been returned. ON TOP OF THAT one of them was my biometrics appointment for the first week of January! So everyone telling me be patient wait 1 week wait 3 weeks... waiting would have me missing my biometrics and going through the hassle of rescheduling. 
 
So for anyone else that has a situation like mine the solution was: 
 
Call USCIS at 800-375-5283. The first thing they asked for was of course the Receipt number or A number. I explained the situation with the mail and he was able to pull up information using my daughters I130 petition for me that we had submitted shortly after her naturalization. He provided me All receipt numbers for my I485/I765/I131 as well as provided the information for my biometrics appointment. He provided directions for pulling the receipt and bio appt notice from my uscis account. He was very helpful and he too explained his frustration with USPS and how this happens very often with letters not being delivered despite having an "In care of" line under the receivers name. 
 
Thank you all for your advice of patience and understanding. I hope this post can help others. 

What's more important is that they are clear/easy to read, in the correct file format (pdf or jpg/jpeg), and the right file size. 

If you have already been vaccinated then you will just need your vaccine cards.
 
One of the other members also posted about needing to register at eTravel prior to travel - this replaces the One Health Pass
 
 https://etravel.gov.ph/