jean♥bill

I apologize if this has been answered before but I couldn't find anything in the search that was closely related.

Mother and father-in-law will be applying for tourist visa. I'm aware of the requirements and strong ties issues. Mother-in-law has stronger ties as she has a solid job with retirement benefits and can produce letter of leave approval and return to work date. Father-in-law does not work but has similar other ties such as family, land ownership, etc.

My question, at USEM, will both be evaluated for tourist visa together or each as individuals? Is it possible, or likely, that one could be approved and the other denied or would they both be approved or denied based on the evidence one or both has?

Thank you!

Sorry...Just had a good laugh. Was reading this aloud to my Pinay wife (Nursing student) thinking she would think it funny too. Only she confessed to drinking milk every day before medical for the same reason. LOL. I should have known since her mother often wonders how we can live in a place with all the vampires...Pennsylvania. HAHAHA!

We were in the same boat and just went with the new edition. Yes, its much longer in pages but it's almost all just additional yes/no type questions. There are also additional spaces for more children, prior spouses, etc that added to the overall length. I'm guessing they added more spaces for sections that applicants traditionally had to add additional pages to complete.

As long as you get the form you already completed in before the expiration date, then you shouldn't have any issues but we decided not to risk it.

Good luck!

PNB has a branch office in NYC. They may have one in CA as well. We access money deposited at PNB in PI directly through them. Of course the other international banks will have the same abilities and may be a bit easier. PNB can still be a hassle to deal with at times.

We ran into this difficulting when trying to purchase property several years ago. What worked for us was for me to transfer a portion of the funds to two of my family members here in US. We also had two different bank accounts for different family members in PI. Transfers (through Xoom) went through, funds were consolidated and property was purchased. Just another option to consider and I'm sure there are more. Good Luck.

My case is still showing the first step despite the fact I got my green card yesterday lol - that tracking system is a POS

For this round, we got everything, emails, texts and the USCIS site changed almost daily. When we did the I-129, my wife was here and it still was on the initial review.

We weren't even paying attention other than to look here occasionally for when approvals started occurring, and once again we seemed to be on the positive side of the timeline.

Hi All , I am new to posting but not new to reading everything , on visajourney. I got my GC in July 2011. I got divorce in January 2013. I sent my I 751 on 01-04-2013 NOA 01-14-2013 fingerprint was for 02-11- 2013 but I went 02-07-2013....As I am reading I see that some people have already received their 10yrs card. The problem that I have, well not really a problem. is that my card will expire on July 17,2013, so what I was thinking January fliers has expired in April, so been mine will expire in July .I guess I might get my 10yrs in September. I stand corrected, two months after your card expire. I know with the USCIS it is on their time but as it is going. Can anyone shine some light on this for me please. Thanks and you can add me too.

Your NOA1 also serves as a one year extension for your 2 year GC. The first sentence of the I-797, notice of action states that your conditional resident status is extended for a period of one year.

Just curious though, if you got your GC in July, you would not have been able to submit I-751 until 90 days before expiration or approximately April 17. Did that not create any issues?

Out of curiosity - out of everyone who has so far received their approval:

1) how many of you had an interview at the AOS stage; and

2) how many of you have had children since arriving in the US?

I was really surprised that we didn't get an interview as we did not have one at the AOS stage. And I was wondering if the birth of our daughter lead to the easier and faster approval than I was expecting.

Yes and Yes.

Just thought I would add that we sent our app to VSC in January also and just received email of approval and card production today. Sorry we didn't get our info added to the list but we're not very active on the site and just located this group a few weeks ago.

Good luck everyone. maybe VSC is hitting high gear!

Now to prepare for N-400 in January...

Same situation here. I shipped sensitive docs to her aunt in the city (with a physical street address) and my fiance made the trip to pick them up.

So if i understand you correctly, i cant apply for citizenship until three years from the time my PR Card was issued?

Correct...3 years from the date of issuance on your green card.

Great information! Thanks.

You won't get the infamous "Brown Envelope" until after the interview and approval. This will have all the immigration documents in it and clearly state on the outside that it is only to be opened by immigration officials at the point of entry. My wife's came in a clear plastic wrapper or envelope that also includes your passport being returned with the visa attached. You can open the clear wrapper and get your passport but don't open or tear the brown envelope in any way.

Good luck! Almost there!

They may understand it but not all USCIS offices are alike or operate with the same rules or knowledge. My wife had friends, both that had AOS interviews and not, that were allowed to use the Philippine traditional way. After our marriage, we did the same for all documents (bank, drivers license & SS card), and it seemed acceptable. Even our AOS paperwork went through without any issues. When we attended the interview, the officer said that we had to switch the last names as was typically done in the US. We mentioned her friends and all have GC's in the intended way but he wouldn't accept this. His answer was that once you became a citizen, you can change your name to anything you want. now we have her GC in the american style and most other paperwork in the Phils traditional way.

Good luck, maybe you'll be one of the lucky ones.

Hi everyone! I need your opinion. I will be visiting the Philippines by October to attend my brother's wedding. I entered US with a K1 visa. However, I have not made a change of name in my Philippine passport so it is still under my maiden name. All of my legal ID's and documents here in the US are under my married name though.

Question #1:

If I book a ticket, should I use my maiden name since my passport is still unchanged?

Use your married name. You should carry a certified copy of your marriage certificate and just a regular copy in case someone wants to keep it. We were there and back in May and no one asked to see it. Same situation as you. Maiden name on passport, greencard in married name and tickets in married name.

Question #2:

They say I will just need to bring my marriage certificate so that when I come back, the US immigration can verify along with my green card and passport. Will it cause delay or problem at the airport coming back?

No problem at all. Immigration will look at both but know that if you entered under K1 that you should be married. They didn't ask for our marriage certificate, I'm guessing because I was with her.

Question #3:

I am in the process of renewing my Removal of Conditions since I entered US with a K1. I have received a letter of extension valid for one year until May 2013. Will this cause delay or problem too?

I can't honestly answer this since my wife is still under the 2 year GC but if you've already submitted your I-751 for ROC and got the extension letter, then you should be ok.

Anyway, anyone of you who have similar experiences please share it here. At least I can make decisions and won't waste time, money, and effort. Thank you!

I would add that the only time my wife was asked for the marriage certificate was when we were leaving Manila. It was actually the airline rep for ANA airlines. No one in immigration whether there or here ever asked.

Enjoy!

fPf_iMc

we just got back from a month long vacation in the Phils. My husband booked our tickets with my married name on it. We brought our marriage cert just in case. Everything went well and smoothly...

Agree with above.

Checked "intend"

Wrote "I will be marrying first name/last name within 90 days of her arrival in the U.S. following the issuance of a K-1 visa. I intend to provide room and board and all necessary support on a permanent basis."

Good Luck and be sure to check the "example forms" tab above. We had a quick approval and most of my answers were verbatim of what was written in the samples.

We're doing the same with a 6 month old in May. Try doing a search for "flying with infants". A lot of good sites with info came up.

The only embassy you should be dealing with in the Phils is in Manila. The consular office in Cebu is more like an extension office and doesn't process paper work nor conduct interviews.

Good luck.

Since this is for your conditional green card, it most likely won't be that intense of an interview. That will probably come at the ROC stage. We had very little evidence as well other than the certified copy of marriage certificate and some wedding pics.

They'll ask a few general questions that any real married couple would know anyway so I wouldn't worry too much. Just take what you can.

Good luck.

We used Agoda as well and I had to send Agoda a copy of my credit card since I was purchasing for someone other than myself and would not be staying. The hotel itself did not ask for anything other than the voucher mentioned above.

We never mentioned one thing about how we "first" met. The only thing I described for the app (as per advice on VJ) was how we met in person within the 2 year time frame. It was basically a story of my flight over, where we stayed, and flight back with respective boarding passes and receipts referenced to legitimize the story. I believe there is a sample in the k1 guide.

Good luck.

Do we need to have a new and notarized letter of intent for the interview? Notarized letter of intent letters are not necessary.

Does the divorce papers have to be the original or can it be copies? You actually need a certified copy, meaning you will need to request one from the authority that granted it. In my case, I had to write a letter to the County Recorder in the county in which our divorce was sealed. There was a minimal charge for this but you will then get an official copy with a seal on it.

How long ago was that . ??/ I think law is fairly new.

It was September of 2010. We were never asked for any receipts or other docs as mentioned by some.

I used Continental airlines Manila-Hong Kong-New York one way and booked my wife's ticket on their company website. No issues at all.

I've heard the same issues about booking flights from PI and noticed on some non-US carriers that booking one way from PI was not permitted.

I then booked another round trip ticket for me, and knowing her flight number and seat number, I could make the reservation for my return trip so that we could sit together as well.