jpac876

Congrats on getting through the drawn out NVC process! Based on my experience with the US Embassy in Manila, expediting an interview is usually only approved if there are extenuating circumstances requiring immediate action (ie. medical emergency, military duty, etc.). While I cannot say with any certainty, since US Embassy's and Consulate's differ from country to country, I can say that the 2-3 month from NVC approval and interview date is usually a bit of overestimation.

A recent example would be my mother-in-law. She is currently being petitioned by my wife for an IR5 visa (Parent of US citizens). Last week, the NVC informed us that her case is fully reviewed and that her case is just pending availability for interview at the US Embassy in Manila. Just for fun, we asked how long it would be before they could get her scheduled and they gave the generic answer of 2-3 months. However, just yesterday, we received an email saying that her interview date is scheduled for this coming November 15 (just over 1 month).

With any luck, having your stepdaughter here in time for Christmas is definitely a POSSILITY. At the same time, since the process does indeed vary from case to case, I would make arrangements for a worse case scenario as well. Either way, I am happy to hear that your step-daughter will soon be joining you within the upcoming months! Best wishes!

-Justin

There is nothing exceptional with the OPs circumstances

OP you have 9 months, get the paperwork into the lockbox now, with luck you will have the visa in hand by the time you move, otherwise your separation is likely to be brief

Upon reading further into what the USCIS views as EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES. I would have to agree with Kastrs on this. here is what I found:

© Exceptional Circumstances.

Hello,

I wish I had better answers for you! However, it seems you that the only way to go the DCF route would be to request for an exception. While you may already have this information, you can reference the information below from the US Embassy in Singapore.:

Exceptional Filing at U.S. Embassies or Consulates without a USCIS Field Office:

Beginning August 15, 2011, petitioners, who do not reside in a country with a USCIS field office, but who believe that their situation merits an exception, may request an exception to allow the Consular Section at the Embassy or Consulate to accept the filing. Each request for an exception will be evaluated individually.

A petitioner seeking to file a Form I-130 at an Embassy or Consulate where USCIS does not have a presence should contact the Consular Section to request consideration of the request for exception and explain the circumstances in detail. The Consular Section will then relay the request for an exception to the USCIS field office with jurisdiction over the Embassy or Consulate. The determination of whether the case presents exceptional circumstances that warrant an exception to the general filing process will be made by USCIS. USCIS will be publishing guidance on the circumstances that may qualify as exceptional on their website at: Process for Responding to Requests by the Department of State (DOS) to Accept a Locally Filed Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative.

Please contact the Consular Section, Immigrant Visa Unit at email: singaporecon@state.gov or Tel: 64769100 for further information.

My advice would be to inquire via phone or email as to the timeframe and guidelines on which qualifying for an exception is even REALISTIC. At the same time, what would the time frame be? Would it be more time efficient to just bite the bullet and file with the Chicago Lockbox? Either way, I wish you and your family the best! Hope this helps and Good Luck!

Regards,

Justin

Sure!

So my wife was able to get a passport with no problems =) Her job even picked up the processing and expediting fees! We then asked about our our son's Passport. Without mentioning his expired green card, we specifically asked "tell us everything we need to bring in order to get our son a passport." The agent was very helpful and kindly listed the information.

1. Proof of Citizenship (my wife's naturalization certificate sufficed)

2. Evidence of parental relationship (my son's BC)

3. Photo ID (my wife's passport and/or Drivers License) OR child's photo ID (We didn't mention his expired green card) <------Agent said we only needed one or the other

4. Parental Consent from both parents <-----this was the only hiccup in the process since my stepson's biological father is still in the philippines and not a part of his life.

5. 2X2 passport photo

6. completed application

hope this helps!

feel free to email me personally if you have other questions at jpac876@yahoo.com

Justin

Thanks. We decided to give that a shot next week

Hello all!

My wife, who came in 2010 on a K1 visa from the Philippines, is now a US Citizen! With regards to her "visa journey," all the processes and applications were done smoothly and within a timely manner. Unfortunately, for my stepson (my wife's from a previous relationship) we neglected one seemingly important step. He originally came under a K2 visa. We then, almost immediately upon his arrival, filed the adjustment of status and he was granted a conditional green card. We mistakenly thought that his green card would expire this coming November. Come to find out, it had expired LAST NOVEMBER 2013. We did not and have yet to file the "Removal of Conditions" application. I was advised by the USCIS customer service agent that since he is only 7 years old, we shouldn't have to worry about deportation or anything like that. However, they did say that I should file the application right away. Our plan was to have that filed by the end of this month. That was until my wife's Oath taking ceremony earlier this week. We were told that her any of her unmarried children under 18 would also automatically become US Citizens upon her receiving her naturalization certificate. After asking for more details, the USCIS officer simply said to just go to the Post Office and apply him for a passport and that there shouldn't be any issues. He also noted that since my wife is now a US Citizen he is entitled under law to also be a US CItizen. However, we were not entirely confident in his answer. Would we be able to apply for a passport for him? or should we still proceed with the removal of conditions then apply for a passport once his green card is current? In my opinion, the latter seems to be a HUGE waste of money due to the circumstances at this point (Myself and now my wife are US Citizens). Any insight on this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all for your help

Regards,

Justin

The Immigrant Fee (ELIS Fee) for each parent - $165.00, Visa Fee - $230.00, and Affidavit of Support fee - $88.00.

http://www.uscis.gov/uscis-elis

Perfect, hopefully we can get the process started soon. My wife's citizenship interview/testing is scheduled for 7/12/14 at 9am. I've heard the Dallas USCIS office is known for allowing applicants to participate in the oath taking on the same day depending on the scheduled time of interview. If that is the case, she should be petitioning her parents this coming august or september =)

thanks again!

Thanks everyone for all the responses!

Having been through the process, does anyone happen to know the estimated costs for each parent? Obviously there would be the fee for the filing the I-130 (~$420), medical exams (~$220 from what i remember), plane tickets (good thing my wife is a flight attendant for American Airlines!), plus additional expenses for document requests (postage, BC's, etc). However, is there anything else? I'd assume there would be a fee for filing for the immigrant visas overseas?

Thank you again!

-Justin

I appreciate the information!

Hello everyone,

My wife will soon receive her Certificate of Naturalization within the next couple months. After receiving it, we plan on petitioning her mother and stepfather to join us here in Dallas. They are both currently in the Philippines. While we are aware of the initial steps and requirements, I was a little unclear as to which forms to file. Do we only file the I-130 for each of them? OR do we need to do that along with the I-485 as well once they arrive. Any insight on that would be great! While money is not a huge issue, we would definitely be thrilled to save the extra application fees.

PS. IF we only need to fill out the I-130, does that mean they will automatically become permanent residents and have a green card issued without additional steps once they arrive?

Thanks again and God Bless

-Justin

Hello everyone,

its been a long time since i've posted, and i do appreciate all the past support with getting my wife here with her k1 visa! FINALLY her son (3 yrs old) is now here from the philippines. I just wanted to know what steps we need to take to get his adjustment of status taken care of. We assumed that all we had to do first to was apply for a social security first like we did for my wife back in june. However, the social security office said he was not eligible to receive a social security without a work authorization document. Really didn't make sense and we've been having trouble getting answers from both the social security administration AND the USCIS. If anyone has gone through the process, any advice or help would be awesome! hope to hear from you all soon.

thanks,

Justin and Precious

thank you all for your response. i think you will only get police clearance in certain country if you stayed for more than one year. are you sure about this?

i think if you stayed for more than 6 months on that country..

We started the I-129 on August 18 and now Im waiting for the NO2. My fiance in Philippines is leaving next month (October 22) will be going to Australia for vacation (approximately 3 months) will be back on January.

Now my concerns are - would there be any problem/ or should I ask, will the Immigration in the Philippines wait for you at your own phase to prepare all the requirements to be passed? or should we start to prepare all the requirements now and let her relative send the requirements to the immigration because she is out of the country? (Original passport would be a problem if needed to be passed. and medical examination)

Anyone could tell us any advise on this please. Would there be any problem?

i believe there would be no problem since the only time you need her to be in the Philippines is for the medical exam and interview in the US embassy which both will be scheduled by you or her..but you might want to ask her to leave atleast a copy of her passport to her family just in case you might need it but actually all paper works will be coming from you once you receive the NOA2..if anything else you'll need from her most probably would be her signature on some forms which you can just send to her in wherever she's going and she just have to send it back to you..

are you sure of that? yes her son's name matches with his passport..

and thank you

No problem. As long as the visa holder's name matches their passport you are good to go.

are you sure of that? yes her son's name matches with his passport..

So my wife's family received the K2 visa of her son last aug 24 but we kust saw the visa and noticed that my wife's first name is misspelled. Just one letter, would there be a problem in the airport?should we bring back the visa in the US embassy? my wife's picking him up this december 3..

thank you in advance for your help.

try adding a letter, assuring them that your fiance will not be a government liability. tell them that you have a stable job and youre working full time now, if thats the case..

and pray that during the interview, they will ask for a co sponsor just what happened to my wife. because most other counries do not accept co sponsors.

10-14 days typical

thank you!thats good to hear so i guess i shouldnt worry

Hi everyone!

We received an email stating that my employment authorization is already approved and we will receive the card/document within 30 days.

My problem is, i just got hired for a job and my starting date will be on Aug 23. And ofcourse they will ask for my documents to prove that i can work legally. Normally, how long would it take for me to receive it? The approval date of my application is Aug 4.

Thank you in advance!

Do you have some way of checking this with the US Embassy in Manila. I understand the circumstances might be quite different since you were never married. Normally the US Embassies in any country will be very strict and have their own requirements about permission to take the child out of the country. But as mentioned, that might just be in the case of their being a marriage.

Please try to check before hand. Normally, with a known marriage and father their should be a letter of consent not only granting full custody to the mother but also granting permission to take the child to the United States permanently with no promise of the child ever returning home and this should be accompanied by ID such as a copy of the National ID card and be notarized.

Good luck.

thank you for that suggestion! i actually called the embassy as soon as i read this and the CS rep said that it is not needed during his interview but it might be needed at the airport..i will still look more into this

i dont know how it works if the K2 arrives with the K1..

i have a k1 visa and im here in texas already but my son is still in the philippines. so he is a K2 follow to join situation. what i did is i called the US embassy in manila and set an interview for my son who's by the way only 3 years old. he had his medical exam yesterday and his interview will be next week. you need to fill up some forms for the child and you will get the list of requirements for the child's interview when you call to make an appointment. you have to pay $18 using your credit card to get a pin number to use whenever you call.

im not good at explaining this but its really simple.what you should do first is get the phone number of the US embassy in your fiance's country.then just follow the voice prompt how to buy the PIN and from there you can set the interview for the child and you can ask them for the information about the requirements.

and in regards with the schooling, they can definitely go to school once theyre here but you should apply for their adjustment of status first

if the k1 and k2 entered the US at the same time you can apply for their AOS at the same time. im not very familliar with this process yet but i think if the k2 is a follow to join then you have to apply for his/her AOS once he/she gets here.

hope these informations help

.. im a k1 visa and my son is a k2 visa were just waiting for the nvc to send out packet in the manila embassy..as far as i know if you are not married then theres no need to provide a consent from the father..my son is also using his father surname and his father sign in the back of the birth certificate but we are not married my son is 5yrs old now its been 3yrs since we did not see his father,,i did not prepare any consent from the father,i know we will have a hard time for him to sign it..and i know that it wont needed..so no need to worry..

thank you for sharing! though me and my ex remained civil with each other, i still dont want to ask any favor from him.

i actually made a letter of consent for him to just sign it and he already signed it but i forgot to ask for a copy of his ID and i was wondering if its needed.. but as you said since were not married, even the letter is not needed

thank you again for helping me

Hi everyone!

My name's Prescilla and I just got here in the US last March but my son is still in the Philippines and he's actually going to have his interview on Aug 16..

His name is Geoff and he's 3 yrs old. My husband now is not the biological father of my son but i was not married before..

I believe I need to get a letter of consent from the biological father of my son which will not be a problem..My question is,

is there any particular way of making this letter required by the USEM? Or can he just make a simple letter stating that I have the full custody

of my son blah blah blah.. and sign it? Does he need to attach any copy of his ID?

Thank you so much in advance if you can help me cause my son had a long day already during his medical exam because of misinformation and

I dont want it to happen again during his interview..

hello!

my husband and i applied for my AOS last may 24 and just waiting for the approval. my question is after i get my green card i believe i have a two year probation period right? correct me if im wrong but as i understand it i cannot get out of the country unless its less than 6 months? but what if i need to get back in the Philippines to study and it will most likely be more than 6 months, would that jeopardize my green card? we're thinking of doing this june of next year.

thank you in advance! hope you all had a good day!

Event Date

CIS Office : Dallas TX

Date Filed : 2010-05-24

NOA Date : 2010-06-02

RFE(s) :

Bio. Appt. : 2010-07-13

AOS Transfer** :2010-07-16

Interview Date :

Approval / Denial Date :

Approved :

Got I551 Stamp :

Greencard Received:

thank you!! God bless us all!!!