RoseAndDaniel

Rose received her social security card in the mail 2 days ago, so we went to my primary bank today to add her to my account. I was informed by the bank that they entered her social security number into the "system" and it came back as invalid. They explained that her social security card was only valid for work and not for opening a bank account. Her card does read "VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION".

Now, after much discussion, we achieved a compromise. The bank "allowed" me to add her to my account only after I wrote a letter and one of my relatives that banks there also wrote a letter stating that we know Rose and recommend that the bank allow her to become a customer. They accepted her passport as identification only after we provided a certified copy of our marriage certificate and filled out another form stating that she is a foreigner and listed her "permanent address" as her last address in the Philippines. They told me that once she gets her "regular" social security card, then I need to come back and they will remove her from "foreigner status".

I was blown away. I had no idea it would be that difficult to get her on my account after we were married. After that we went to Sam's Club to add her to my account there and almost had to walk away since she had no proof of address in the USA. Fortunately, we had saved the letter from social security with her name and our current mailing address.

I'm just sharing and venting a little. I'm interested to know if others have experienced similar situations. We're moving forward and making progress, but I really thought some of these things would be easy compared to the immigration process.

Daniel

Look at the NOA2 that you received for the K1. There is an A number written above the beneficiaries name. THAT is the number you use.

No. Sometimes the petitioner is a naturalised USC so THEIR A number is written on the visa, sometimes the person that wrote the visa number in is wrong (there are a few posts about this and mine for example is missing the first digit - a zero)

The best way to verify A number is to look at the NOA2 from the K1 petition. That's the correct one for the beneficiary.

Thanks for the information. I checked the NOA2. Apparently, the immigration officer wrote down the wrong number (added a 9).

I started filling out my wife's AOS paperwork today and discovered a discrepancy in the A#.

On her actual Visa in her passport it has: A# XX XXX XXX (an 8 digit number)

The immigration officer hand wrote an A# on the back of her I-94 and also on the page opposite of her Visa.

The number he wrote was: A# X9XXXXXXX (he added the 9 and his number is a 9 digit number).

When I tried to enter the number from the Visa into the forms, one of the forms says it is an invalid number and the other form adds a "0" in front of the number. When I enter the immigration officer's 9-digit number, I don't get these same issues in the forms.

I'd appreciate any input and would like to know if anyone else ran across this issue.

Thanks,

Daniel

My fiancee will arrive on a K-1 Visa in October and we will be married the same month. We were planning on beginning the AOS process by November when we have all the necessary certificates, etc.

I have a job offer on an overseas US military base as a civilian contractor. The position allows me to bring my wife and kids (no kids yet). I have spoken to someone on the base who says there are workers there who have spouses with them who are not US citizens.

My question is this: would my wife need to complete AOS in the USA before travelling to join me at an overseas military installation or could we move during the process? Has anyone had similar experiences? I am not a member of the US military.

Thanks.

I have been watching this discussion for some time and I felt confident that the DS-160 is not required for the K-1 Visa.

Well, here's a new twist.

Rose went to pay for her interview at a BDO in Pagadian City (Mindanao) earlier today. She gave them a copy of her email letter confirming her appointment at the Embassy. The lady told her that she must provide the bank with the DS-160 before she can pay for the interview because that is the new requirement.

I told Rose that the lady is wrong and that she may just have to wait and pay when she gets to Manila. I have never heard of the bank refusing to accept payment. I thought all you had to have was your confirmation of appointment at the embassy.

Has anyone else had this difficulty?

Rose and I were very excited to find out a couple of days ago that she is pregnant. However, I am concerned about her upcoming medical exam at St. Luke's. I have read many posts that say she may be exempted from the x-rays but I am actually more concerned about the immunization requirements. From what I have gathered, she is not required to have her immunization completed before she travels to the USA, but she may be required to have them before she can file for AOS.

As near as we can tell, she is only 5 weeks pregnant.

Her medical and interview will take place in early August.

Our hope is to have her in the USA for our wedding by early October.

She would be filing for AOS in November.

If everything goes well, she should be due in late February or early March of 2011.

She has an Ob/Gyn that will write a letter stating the progress of her pregnancy and requesting her exemption from the x-ray and immunizations.

I would appreciate any advice or recommendations from past experiences with similar situations.

Salamat,

Daniel

Rose is scheduled to have her interview at the Manila Embassy on August 9th, 2010.

Daghang Salamat for all the great responses and information. I called the US Embassy in Manila today and they confirmed that we can schedule an interview appointment when we are ready.

We are looking at an October wedding, so the process went a little faster than I anticipated...but not by much.

I'm thinking if we set an interview in mid-August, then that should be ample time to get everything before flying here at the end of September.

I'm always having to look at the planning because of my work schedule. I just finished a 17-day trip to the Philippines and returned to work when I found out that our paperwork had moved on to the Manila Embassy. Unfortunately, I can't send her the needed documents until July when I return home.

I'm afraid of a similar situation as Tahoma and having to send additional papers to her in Manila. Therefore, I have to plan her interview during my time at home where I can react to whatever is needed. It's kind of like learning to juggle...

Thanks again for all the help and good luck to all of you.

I'm seeking advice on scheduling the medical, interview and CFO in Manila. My fiancee is from Mindanao province and will fly to Manila for the medical and interview. I have read that the medical should be completed at least 5 days before the interview to make sure that everything is complete. I've also read that some people receive their Visa the same day and can attend the CFO the next day while others need to wait for their Visa to be sent to them.

I'm just trying to figure out the logistics: how long will she need to stay in Manila to do the medical and interview? Or is it better if she flies to do the medical and returns a week or two later to do the interview.

Finally, is it better to schedule the CFO the day before you know you will depart the Philippines?

Thanks.

I just received a text and email this afternoon that our case was updated. Apparently, our petition was approved and mailed out 05-17-10. It's kind of funny because I am flying to the Philippines tomorrow morning so I won't be able to get the "hard copy" until I return.

Looks like we're still moving in the right direction.

May you rest in peace Protacio. You will be missed.

Well, I appreciate the responses and they definitely answered my question...though some were rather disturbing. And I thought I was a little paranoid...LOL. I appreciate the concern. I entered into a long distance relationship in the Philippines with caution because of some of the things I have read and heard.

Now, I feel it necessary to defend my fiancee since my question didn't include the "rest of the story".

Rose has been caring for her father since he started seeing doctors last August about a large tumor on his neck. The whole family has been through so many ups and downs with this illness. A biopsy in November showed the tumor to be malignant and stage 3 cancer. The doctors refused to operate because of his age and other health issues. I'm already all too familiar with what happens when a biopsy is performed on a malignant tumor and no action is taken.

I was able to visit with her family in October and again this January. My mother and aunt joined me in January and Rose's parents, myself, my mother and my aunt had a wonderful 9 day vacation together visiting Bohol and Cebu. It was the first time her parents had ever left Mindanao and the first time they had ever ridden on an airplane. Her father had a few days that he had to stay at the hotel, but he really showed his true strength by keeping up with all of us when we visited the Chocolate Hills. Never underestimate a lifetime farmer in his seventies...even when he is ill.

Rose has gone out of her way to make me feel comfortable in trusting her. She never touches the money in "our" bank account without asking permission even though she has been told repeatedly that she can access it as needed. She always tries to let me know where she is and she is actually the one who insisted on webcams when we first met. These are only a few of the many things she does to earn my trust. I recognize that it works both ways too. My job keeps me out of communication at times and she has to trust that I am where I say I am.

I asked the question because I try to get my facts straight before I get too upset at hearing something so ridiculous. During my last two visits, I have seen and heard some outrageous things...some factual and some not. That's why I wanted to ask the VJ community first...I figured there were people on here who knew for sure. Rose said some of the nurses had relatives that were married to "white men" and told her it was necessary and important for her to vote if she wanted a Visa. Who knows why they would tell her this. A doctor once told her to stop dressing her father's wound because she was menstruating. I went ballistic over that one...she wouldn't let me talk to the doctor.

Rose just wants everything to go smoothly with the Visa process and I'm sure she is worried about something messing up the process.

Sadly, her father passed away on Saturday at 7pm their time. Because of my work, I wasn't able to find out about it or call her until almost 1:30pm the next day. She will be travelling back to their farm for the burial and she will be there for 9 days. Unfortunately, I will probably have no communication with her there because the cell signal comes and goes and they have no electricity. One of their neighbors has a generator and will allow them to charge their phone for a fee. I have only been able to sometimes get a text through when she visits the farm. It will be a long 9 days. I know it's easy to let your mind run away and draw some wild conclusions...but I find it a little easier knowing the history leading up to all of this.

As a side note, I will arrive in the Philippines on May 20th. They bury her father on May 19th. We will meet up on May 21st. It's going to be an interesting trip because I was supposed to stay with the family and help her take care of her father during this visit. Now I'm not sure what we will be doing or where we will go.

Thanks.

Voting in the Presidental Election is a requirement for all K1 Visas..............

Come on Dude, you got to be smarter than that.......

Well,apparently not...I still don't get it. I don't recall reading anywhere that voting was a requirement of the K-1 Visa. If that's a requirement, then we might be screwed on the K-1 Visa because I would still recommend she not go. It will be her decision.

My fiancee is very worried about the upcoming election. She is in the Mindanao province taking care of her father who is critically ill. She must travel to Cebu to vote because that is where she is registered. She does not want to leave her father (he might not make it through the weekend) but the nurses at the hospital told her that it is very important for her to vote if she wants to get her K-1 Visa later. They have stressed this so much to her that she is adamant in leaving on Sunday to travel to Cebu just so she can vote on Monday.

I told her not to go. I told her I am sure that the government agencies issuing the K-1 Visa will understand her need to care for her father instead of voting.

Am I wrong? I cannot understand why voting would be that important towards her getting her K-1 Visa.

Can someone please tell me something that I can pass on to her soon?

Thank you.

Daniel

Rose and I filed our I-129 petition in February also. It was received at the VSC on Feb. 8th, and I have it registered in my portfolio online for email and text updates. No updates yet. Just figuring we are in for the long wait now. Good luck to all the other Feb. filers.

I would like to thank all of the people who run and contribute to this site. I hired a "service" to process my K-1 Visa petition before I was informed about your site. As a matter of fact, my fiancee was the one who located your site and passed the link to me. I have become an avid reader and find the timelines, flowcharts, and FAQs especially helpful.

Interestingly enough, when filling out the I-129f petition, I asked the "service" about putting a PO Box for my mailing address since my physical address has no mailbox and I have to go into town to the Post Office to receive my mail. The "service" told me to use the physical address because the USCIS "very rarely" will ever mail anything to you. I managed to fit my physical and PO Box into the square available for address and included an explanation in my cover letter. After reading about being mailed the NOA1, NOA2, and possibly any RFEs, I find it difficult to believe the "service" would have told me that.

My application was received at the VSC on 02/08/10 and I immediately registered online to receive email and text updates after getting the cancelled check back with the receipt number. It was amazingly exciting to see the case pop up in my portfolio and know that something is finally happening after all of the preparation.

On top of my address "issue", my work schedule keeps me away from home for about 30 days at a time and when I throw a trip in the mix to visit my fiancee in her country, I find myself not being able to check my mail for up to 70-90 days. The upside is that time seems to go by very quickly for me with my work schedule. I certainly can't check the mail everyday waiting to hear something.

I guess if there is any question in this posting, it would be about missing any timelines due to not being able to check my mail regularly. I'm hoping this won't be an issue.

Thanks.

My fiancee is from the Southern provinces and speaks Visaya. I have searched online and found very limited resources for learning Visaya. I have located some products that teach Cebuano, but she tells me that the languages are similar but not the same. I am very interested in any advice on self-help programs, tutorials, or books that will assist me in learning her language.

Thanks.