danilou

The on-line status updates are not reliable.

You should have your bio letter in plenty of time.
If when you get the letter the appointment is scheduled for while you are out of the country, write a letter asking to reschedule the appointment stating the dates that you will be out of the counrty and take it to the address on the bio letter.
When you get there tell them that you will be out of the country on your scheduled date and ask to do bio there and then. If you are not able to the bio, give them the letter to reschedule after you get back.
There is no requirement to do bio before travelling but you must make sure that you do not miss the bio appointment while you are out of the country or you will find it hard to get back into the USA.
Good luck!

This is probably the most insensitive VJ post I have ever seen. It is none of the governments business how they spend their money. IF my wife worked outside the home (and she doesn't), she could send whatever she wants back to the Philippines. When you marry a filipina, it is no longer HER FAMILY, it is YOUR FAMILY. Anyone who married a filipina better understand their responsibilities to their extended family. No, not eveyone sends money home, but if her husband has no problem with her sending her entire paycheck back home, the government damn sure shouldn't be involved. We are good friends with a filipno american couple who have lived here in excess of 30 years. They have two daughters and one son, all college graduates and now parents. The lady, worked almost all of that time for the US Government and sent virtually 100% of that salary home to her family. They are now retired and have a nice place in Florida, and she still sends money home. She is one of the best mother's I have ever seen, and totally devoted to her family, YET, by your standards, she is a gold digger. I personally didn't marry a filipina to turn her into a western, (everything is mine type of person). Heck, this was even briefed to me by the US Embassy personnel in Manila when I got my Legal Capacity to Marry document. The lady asked me if I knew that I was actually getting an extended family with unspoken responsibilities to them. Never used that document as we went K1 instead, but the message stuck with me.

THINK I WOULD CONTACT THE NEAREST PHILIPPINE EMBASSY/CONSULATE, AND SEE ABOUT GETTING HER A NEW PASSPORT. MARRIAGE CONTRACT, NSO BIRTH CERTIFICATE, DEPENDENT I.D., AND PASSPORT PHOTOS SHOULD BE ALL YOU NEED TO GET IT DONE.

For most people, historically, the distinction has been irrelevant. The processing times for AOS caused the GC residence date for K-1 people to be significantly more than 90 days after their wedding date. They had therefore always been married more than 3 years at the 3-years-of-residence-minus-90-days date.
But because USCIS has gotten so much faster, there is a growing group of K-1 people, myself among them, who received their GC within 90 days of their wedding, and will therefore not have been married for 3 years at the 3-years-of-residence-minus-90-days date. For us, the earliest date we can apply for citizenship is the day of (or one day after) our 3rd wedding anniversary, even though that date occurs after the 3-years-of-residence-minus-90-days date.
Make sense?

I can field some of these...
Layovers are fine, my sweetiepie is coming to JFK via Japan. Since it's just a layover and not a stayover (overnight), then it's fine. And once you've booked a flight and have a ticket, it should be yours! Just tell your sweetiepie not to give up her seat for any of the free incentive offers that the airlines would offer.

I am respectfully going to disagree with a number of members here and - not speaking as a moderator but as a member of VJ who is also familiar with the moderation issues - say this topic is valid in this forum. The question is a legitimate one and in my opinion, not inflammatory. It was not
"purposely designed to upset, antagonize, make fun of, belittle, or otherwise instigate an argument that takes away from the personal enjoyment of the Service by other users"
and yet, some of those who sometimes skirt around the edges of this TOS in Off Topic, responded to this post in the same way. It is kind of illustrative of the problem in Off Topic - people often respond more to who is posting the comment than they are to the actual comment.
In Off Topic, even seriously asked questions or innocently mis-placed questions that reveal some of the emotional pain or angst or fear of the OPs, are often thrown to the wolves and devoured as if the person asking is some sort of a toy to be batted about like a cat playing with its prey. While experienced members of OT are used to this, others are not and it does chase people away. I do know many people who will not participate in OT because of the way they or such comments made by others are treated. Many of these people retreat to their Regional Forums and participate in the safer and more supportive communities they find there. It is sad because there are often non-immigration related topics I know I would like to be able to discuss seriously and carefully, but I generally don't participate because the moment someone says something 'differing' from the OP or one of the strong-opinionated individuals, then the topic is no longer under discussion and the words become heated, devolving into insults, innuendos and attacks - both personal and generalized against segments of society united by some shared trait or situation. There is very little consideration, respect or kindness of others in the OT forum. Unfortunately, it may very well be a microcosm of the greater 'politicized' community at large where there is a huge silent majority and a very vocal minority who overspeaks anyone else's attempts at participation. Everything doesn't have to become an insult against Liberals or Conservatives or Obama's fault or Bush's fault, or Islamic terrorists' fault or Christian fundamentalists fault or black/brown people's faults or white people's faults - but that is how virtually everything is treated in Off Topic - even topics that start off without any obvious connection to one of these stances.
An even more troubling aspect of this it is that this 'attitude' does overflow into the Immigration forums - the place where people are supposed to be supportive and helpful. Sardonic black humour, irony, insinuations and jumping to conclusions about motivation are rife. There is always a choice to be made about how one responds to any situation - and if people would take the time to think and compose their responses to the benefit of the topic or the individual seeking assistance, rather to their own personal need for power or ego or control or some personal agenda, it would be a much more inviting and informative environment. It is the habitual and repetitive aggression that is most troubling. Everything becomes so black and white when in reality, life isn't black and white, it is varying shades of gray with few absolutes.
So, that is my personal perspective on this issue and as both a member and a moderator I do ask that everyone continue to discuss this topic calmly and seriously, if necessary giving the benefit of the doubt to Steven, and looking at the question, not the source if that is what it takes to see the shades of gray.

That's it...in a nutshell.

Might be a higher probability in your neck of the woods, but the odds are pretty remote here in the SF bay area. Most of the cities up here are "sanctuary cities". I don't agree with it, but people who share my opinion are a small minority here.
I've lived in the US my entire life, and never had an encounter with immigration officials when I wasn't crossing the border by land, sea, or air. I've lived in border states, but not within 100 miles of the border. I suppose there's a chance they could show up at your house if you had a K1 living there who had not yet adjusted status, but I've never heard of that happening. I've also never heard of a K1 being deported who was eligible to adjust status, but didn't for lack of money. I've heard of them getting jacked around and held in custody, and the spouse having to produce a marriage certificate and getting a stern warning about filing ASAP, but I'd guess that happens in a tiny fraction of the cases of K1's who don't file a timely petition.
I'm not one to say "Don't worry. Everything is fine." By the same token, I don't believe the situation is as dire as some make it out to be. I know a few people who planned everything out in advance and had a solid financial plan, saved every penny they could, and got clobbered with expenses they never expected or had any way to deal with. I know one guy who burned through his AOS money because he had to stay in Vietnam 3 weeks beyond his available vacation time because of hangups at the consulate. I sure wasn't going to chew him out for choosing to fight for the visa, and then not have any available cash for a timely AOS filing.
I just don't want anybody to get scared to death with stories of deportation, and end up making a potentially disastrous financial decision out of fear. The likelihood of anything bad happening as a result of postponing the AOS for a few months is relatively remote for most people. It's a high priority, like I said, and should be done as soon as possible, but don't do anything stupid like robbing a bank to get the cash - it's not THAT urgent.

The answer, in a nutshell, is that she's eligible to apply for adjustment of status if you married her within 90 days of her entry, she's out of status when the I-94 expires, but she continues to be eligible to adjust status even if the I-94 is expired, as long as you remain married.
You're going to get some lectures about being properly prepared, and that you should have had the money saved up before you petitioned for the K1, and blah blah blah. Ignore it. Sometimes, no matter how well you plan, life just happens. A family member dies and you have to pony up a couple thousand dollars to attend the funeral. The transmission on your car blows out and you have to get it fixed or lose your job. Whatever. Sometimes you have to make a decision based on "worst case scenarios", and spend your savings to fix the situation that has the worse potential consequences. Not everyone has the luxury of having a fat savings account as a contingency for every possible scenario that might happen.
Consider the AOS to be a high priority, and take care of it as soon as you are able. Avoid any situation that might result in any interaction with immigration officials between the time the I-94 expires and you get the AOS petition filed.

Wow! I will keep it short. Did you believe the $1010.00USD would magically appear in your checking acct. when she landed here?
Rule of thumb: The man should have $5000.00USD minimum cash in the bank when she arrives in your arms. Otherwise, you are NOT ready to bring her here. Down off soapbox, also.
Otherwise, do what you have to to scrape up the cash and file for AOS, before you have greater problems to deal with. Good luck, and work hard to give your bride the life here she deserves.

Ohhhhh myyyyy - is slide 2 Durian? My wife loves it. I can take tiny bites at a time but cannot overly indulge, but thats how she said she "learned" to eat it too!
Honestly, we just had one and it still stinks a week later when I open the fridge door
But since she loves it I'll get her more anytime she asks
After all, whats a little stink when your truly in love (she puts up with my love of beans

If the consul officer does ask that question, use it to your advantage by putting a good spin on it.
Tell the consul officer that even though you make well over 125% of the poverty line, you are living with your parents because it allows you to save up to buy a home, and that you believe home ownership is a responsible and sensible way to provide long-term financial stability and security for your wife and future family.
Who can argue with that?

What bugs me the most when somebody will PM for a particular piece of information and after I've messaged them back, a few days later they'll PM again saying, 'Hey, I lost that link/form/etc--can you find it for me again?" Uh, no. I will not do your work for you.
I also think people just need to grow a thicker skin. This is a free advice forum and a great one at that. Things are not always going to be sugar-coated for you.
When I first joined VJ, I admit I asked my fair share of stupid questions but I appreciate everyone who's taken the time to reply with sound advice and support.
I try not to be rude but it's hard when someone will post an OP like 'My girlfriend was EWI, she was deported and she signed a statement saying she would not enter for the next 5 years but she entered EWI again--can she stay if I marry her?" I mean, seriously?
Some of the truly expert members are rude but it is forgiven because you know their advice is accurate.
This is something I posted earlier--I know the general attitude here on VJ is that the USC petitioner should do everything including the filling up the forms, paying the bills, organizing the information. Of course, it's a personal choice but it is also terribly patronising to beneficiaries like me who take an active interest in the entire visa process since it affects our lives too. We're not all completely incompetent, despite the general prevalent attitude. I am absolutely capable of reading the forms, interpreting and answering the questions correctly. I have no trouble with the English language and can comprehend the simple instructions written clearly on the form. When in need, I ask our dear VJ members for help. So far, I've pretty much done everything on my own, right from paying the AOS/IV bills to filling out the forms, making the cover letters, etc. -- both during the USCIS stage, and now through NVC. My husband does help, of course, (such as his tax transcripts/AOS forms) but he prefers to leave the paperwork to me. I'm good with forms, completely obsessive and #######-retentive about paperwork. Besides, I have a lot more time on my hands that he does.
Our delay (due to a ridiculous AOS RFE) is actually because my husband overlooked what I marked out explicitly for him. I can understand if the beneficiary is extremely busy or his/her English is not strong enough, or doesn't have access to a computer/printer to have a little help but to insist that USC petitioners should do ALL of it or to imply that they are not invested enough in the process is more than a little unfair and condescending.
Sorry to vent and go off on a tangent--this just bugs me tremendously.

Tell her to enjoy her weekend in Manila.
She can take a taxi to City State Tower Hotel and check in for the weekend. Then she can do some shopping at Robinson's or the Mall of Asia.
She can enjoy some delicious Pinoy meals before she leaves Pinas on monday evening.
City State has yummy bulalo.
Meanwhile, you can... ...yourself while you read the guides and change her flight.