BigJohn

What is an Infopass??? Never heard of that.

I asked her if she gave them an address at customs when she came in. She said they did not ask her for an address. We filled out what address we would be living at here in the visa paperwork though. As far as an I-551 stamp, I'm not sure what that is -- in her passport she has her US visa page and a small purple 'Admitted' stamp from customs on the next page.

As far as SSN, I was waiting for her green card to get here before I worried about that. I figured I would have to apply for one -- do they send one automatically? If so no we have not received that either.

As far as a USCIS service center, I found one on the other side of town but it says it's an 'Application Support Center'. The nearest field office is almost 2 hours away in San Antonio. Is this not something I could talk to them about on the phone??

My wife has been here approximately 2 1/2 months on her CR-1 visa. We have not received a green card or any correspondence from the government at the address we listed as our residence here. Is this normal? I was under the impression you would receive the green card automatically roughly a month after arriving. We've been married just over a year so she is still on conditonal status. Do I need to contact someone or is this length of time still normal??

If your us citizen spouse has been a resident of the philippines for at least 6 months, you can file DCF through the embassy and it will only take 2-3 months. Only available to long term us citizens residing in the philippines though.

You know if your parents are interested, you can always petition for them to come in 3 years after you become a citizen.

In the US your name can be whatever you choose. US and filipino custom would be Mary Vargas Smith, as the maiden name usually replaces the old middle name, but in the US a woman can do it however she wants -- both names, either name. She could be Mary Ramos Vargas Smith, too. In the philippines, her old middle name is her mother's family name, so it's not a special middle name that's unique.

I am pretty sure you can not claim your wife as a dependent. You will get the marital tax deduction for her.

You DEFINITELY do NOT need police clearance if you are filing DCF. You only need NBI. Can't speak for non-dcf since I didn't go that route... obviously if they are required its an NVC requirement, not USEM since they don't require it for DCF

I have heard they want both names as well. What we did was have them put her full combined name on the NBI and we did not have any problems with the embassy. Firstname middlename maidenname marriedname

I'm glad we went with continental! My wife is on the exact same flight through guam and honolulu to houston arriving on the 13th. Be sure and post how the flight went for her (i've gone the same route in the opposite direction) and how the POE is.

Also is POE on this flight in Guam, honolulu or Houston as far as going through immigration? i thought it would be at the final destination of houston since they don't leave the gate area before that

Yes, in the philippines they will frequently require the full 3 years returns. I read a message on another site recently (or maybe it was this one) that someone new was in charge in the embassy recently and they are sticklers for this type of thing and are requiring 3 years even though I believe only 1 is required by the rules of the form.

As a general rule in my experience, ALWAYS take a copy of EVERY document that they could conceivably ask for when dealing with the embassy, even if they have already been provided it before. If they lose it is is your loss while they wait for you to provide it. You are responsible if they don't have it. Each embassy is different and it can even depend on who is the person who does the interview how much may be asked for.

If you are living in the philippines you should file DCF.

I have heard of people taking their philippine's phones to the US (my wife has smart) and then having relatives in the philippines buy them loads. Will this work? Will a philippines phone that someone in the philippines buys a load for be able to send a text from here without additional charges?

Curious if the wait/delay for a visa for immediate relatives is the same length for parents as siblings? is my wife's mother going to have to wait as long as her brothers or sisters??

Yes as long as there are no problems with the medical (TB test) or interview (all papers in order) she will most likely be ready to go. After the interview if approved it's just a week or two to get your visa.

Yes, you can pay the departure fee at the airport in dollars. It will be whatever the peso value is that day converted to dollars.

Yeah I know about the exit tax at the airport... just making sure there is nothing else unexpected like the exit clearance I had to get through BoI when I was there.

My wife has her passport with visa, stamp/certificate from CFO, plane ticket and all her paperwork... packed and ready to go... is there anything I might be missing she needs to do before leaving cebu? When I left I had to pay an exit clearance fee. Does she have to pay some similar tax before leaving, or is she ready to go now? I just don't want her to get to the airport to go and have them say 'oh you didn't do this/pay this.'

My wife is arriving Feb 13th in Houston. Is there a guide as far as what happens after you deplane at POE? I looked but didn't see one.

Thanks for the description. What is the point of the BDO cards if you are leaving the country? Do they have some easy way to deposit money overseas so relatives can access it??

The cebu version is 400 pesos so i guess they just include the photocopies. We are just going to wait for our packet to get here before she goes.

Thanks -- i keep hearing about people taking the seminar before they get their visa -- how are they doing it if the immigrant summary is required? Do they have to go back and submit it later when they get the stamp?

Thanks... no RFEs, done in 3 months and no significant hang ups... I guess it really can be done

My wife just had her interview today and was approved. Anyone have any experience on how long it takes to get a visa delivered to cebu?

Where do you get this immigrant data summary for us bound? My wife just got back from the interview and she said the embassy told her she gets that AT the cfo seminar?? that doesn't sound right.

anybody have any experience with the seminar in cebu?

Wife just got back home from the interview - hurray she passed!! Now I just hope the visa comes soon!

I think you need to contact USCIS directly to find out if this is a dealbreaker or not. Certainly if you don't have a SS # there is no legal requirement for you to get one, but as far as I know there's no legal requirement for USCIS to approve a visa for him if he doesn't. Sponsoring a foreigner to the US is a privilege not a right that's why approvals are not automatic. He can easily get a SS # or a tax id if he's in the US.

you don' want to request it TOO close to the interview date, as it takes 3-5 business days wait to get it. It is not one that you can pick up the same day like birth certificate or marriage license.