Kevin & Liz

Seems everyone is in agreement with our first thoughts on using the B-2 option. In our case, however, it seems it would be difficult to show the ties necessary to insure to the US Embassy-Manila her intent to return. She does care for the two grandchildren of a deceased son, but they are not adopted or otherwise legal dependents. Her mother also supports a minor mentally challenged son but he is an 30 yr old adult. Her family does own property, however, much of it has been recently transferred to my wife's name. And, there is not a large bank balance to show either.

Some people say none of that is really necessary for the B-2 if it is specifically for visiting family, although the assumptions of the US Embassy that would need to be overcome seem to be clearly stated.

Any other tips would be appreciated.

PS - my wife is not a US citizen or is she eligible anytime soon

Does anyone know if it is possible to petition the mother of my wife for a temporary visa in order to aid in caring for our newborn after the birth of our first child? We just found out my wife will have a difficult pregnancy and birth and will requre prolong periods of rest as well as be restricted to limited care for our child for the first few month.

If it is possible, please specify the visa type. My wife and her mother are from the Phillippines.

Thank you.

Below is the official response from an e-mail inquiry to USEM. It appears to be only a minor inconvenience. Just one more thing to do in Manila before she departs for USA. Thanks to those who have been helpful.

"This is in reply to your inquiry of October 23, 2010, regarding your visa concerns.

Your beneficiary should submit the visa packet, together with her passport with the issued K1 visa, to the Embassy's Immigrant Visa Unit (Window 34) on any workday, between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., to have it resealed. She may also send the documentation by courier delivery service to the Immigrant Visa Branch (Attention: Operations Unit), U.S. Embassy, 1201 Roxas Boulevard, 1000 Manila.

We hope this information is helpful to you.

Sincerely,

Immigrant Visa Correspondence Unit

Consular Section

U.S. Embassy, Manila

1201 Roxas Boulevard

1000 Manila, Philippines

Telephone: (632) 301-2000

Fax: (632) 301-2037"

Cattycorner to you in Northwestern VA near Winchester

Thanks for your advice.

She has to take the envelope down to the U.S. Embassy to have it transferred to a new envelope...and she will have to do it immediately. When is she leaving?

She just received the VISA today so we have not made travel arrangements but were hoping for next week as the departure. she has to take to CFO seminar first.

My Fiancee was so excited about receiving her Visa that she started to open the yellow envelope before whe red the warning not to tear or open the visa. The waring says she will not be allowed to embark on the plane or have significant delays at her POE. What do we need to do or how can I rectify this before she leaves?

This past Monday my Fiancee had her USEM interview, which took very little time and without very many interview questions being asked. Maybe they were in a hurry to get through the interviewees as the Typhoon was approaching that day. Afterwards, she was told to go to the Air21 window to pick up a paper slip, however, she was not informed whether or not the Visa was approved. We are assuming since she was not handed back her passport at the interview they will process the Visa and courier it too her via Air21 but we are not 100% positive. Perhaps I should call for confirmation but other threads indicate that confirmations are not easy to get through the phone portal. Anything you can share is appreciated.

On a side note I would like to send a VISA/MC prepaid debit card to her for expenses and/or emergencies traveling to US. All USA services for this require a SSN, which of course she does not have. Any suggestions here would also be appreciated.

Thanks for your help?

My fiancee was flagged for a sputum test during her medical exam at st. lukes in August - a 2 month delay. In a couple of weeks we should be getting the call with the results. Assuming the test is negative, should she travel to manila to coordinate with st. lukes the reschreduled US Embassy interview or can the arrangments via St. Lukes also be done by telephone?

We don't want to uproot her son from his classes to travel to manila and then wait however many days until the interview is rescheduled.

My fiancee was flagged for a sputum test during her medical exam at st. lukes in August - a 2 month delay. In a couple of weeks we should be getting the call with the results. Assuming the test is negative, should she travel to manila to coordinate with st. lukes the reschreduled US Embassy interview or can that also be done by telephone? We don't want to uproot her son from his classes to travel to manila and then wait however many days until the interview is rescheduled.

Been through on that too..... I must say its bureaucracy. I am not even so keen with their standards. On my xray during my medical, they told me I have scar in my lungs and have to go Sputum Test... and blah blah which took 2 months. That was so damn 'coz a month before having medical, I have over-all check-up at St. Lukes Medical Hospital which is 100x better than them.

Maybe if US embassy will have at least 2 choices on where do you want to have medical, then you have second opinion, and they will be more critical with their diagnosis.

Anyway..... GoodLuck!

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Philippines has a prevalent TB situation, hence, everyone WILL most likely get s positive test. Were her employers specifically testing for TB then as well? How long ago was this?

There is no such thing as handling it Filipino style, St Luke's is 'governed' by the US Embassy/US Dept of Health/CDC. When I had my sputum test there, both DOH & CDC were there to observe their procedures to make sure everything was being done as they want it.

Lastly if you already have an interview date, yes, STL will reschedule for you. If not then you would need to handle that yourself.

Thanks for your reply. The odd thing here is that she spent 71 of 72 months in Taiwan between 2003 and 2010 and received biyearly exams, including chest xrays just like the one last week at st. lukes, without any issue. She has only been back in phil for 6 months so it seems unlikely there would be scarring already or that it wasn't previously noticed.

First, if she even offers to grease the wheels with cash (which I assume is "Filipino Style" then she will never get a Visa for the US.

In the Immigration process the only thing you should ever handle this was is expediting getting paperwork, not changing the contents of that paperwork.

Regarding "Knowing the scar is BS", a few points:

1. Why would you trust a medical from an employer who is financially motivated to keep her health records clean over a medical for US Immigration purposes that is motivated to protect the US from infectious diseases?

The company is motivated to keep there employees healthy and there production lines moving. It is not likely they would let something go and risk infecting a highly trained workforce.

2. Wouldn't you prefer to know if she is positive for TB and have it treated ASAP?

My concerns are it is a false diagnosis considering the frequency of the situation based on others in visajourney and elsewhere.

3. I understand is sucks to be apart for any length of time but it this was someone else's fiancée wouldn't you want to know they were properly screened/treated before entering the US and coughing next to you at a museum?

I'm not condoning exposing americans to an illness and certainly urged my fiancee to accept the situation but this smells of something and I am only hoping to hear from people you have had similar experience. Judging by the many other similar threads this does not appear to be a rare occurrance.

Thanks

Just received the "scar tissue" diagnosis on the X-RAY from SLMCEC. It seems this is commonly a mistaken diagnosis, for whatever reason. So it is on to the Sputum Testing next week and another 2 months wait. I personally believe this to be BS since she was an OFW for 6 years and had medical exams and x-rays every 6 months by the employer. My fiancee wants to "handle it filipino style" to get her approval. Would like to hear any comments from others who have been caught up in the same BS. Also, my fiancee said SLMCEC will take care of rescheduling the interview. If anyone can confirm this I would appreciate it since my deadline is Aug. 9th for rescheduling. Thanks.

Kevin

I just received approval of the I-129F application. In January prior the I-129F we attempted to obtain a tourist visa at the beneficiary's embassy, which was subsequently denied. The question is does the beneficiary need a second DS-156 application or is the first one still valid?

Thanks.