Mike&Cherry

Hey Mike-

Thats great to hear that your making all these plans almost reminds me of me, a year or so ago when I did this adventure. Like a previous poster mentioned, this process does take longer but not to much. If you look at my signature of events, You will see that its been since Nov 2009 until finally now we are just waiting for an interview. There was a time that I got the paperwork approved, and fees paid but after that there was nothing until august 2010. Thats because my wife was going to have a baby and I was going out there again, and I didn't want to have the interview while I was there, because 1. Wasn't prepared for the CRBA process for our son, and 2. JUST in case NVC needed more documents, I didn't want to be in Philippines and not have that with me.. So I waited until August to finish where I left off in April/May. Everything is almost done

First of all I want to wish you the best in completing your long journey soon. And good luck with your wedding in the Philippines.

It's kind of cool that we can relate to each other and everyone else on this forum too. Even better that you have alomost completed the process in which I'm about to begin. Thanks so much for the advice; I need all I can get. The only thing I don't like about the CR-1 Visa is that once you get married your pretty much locked into that particular visa and there's no other back up options, that I know of. Of course I don't want to be apart from Cherry too long. I'm kind of worried what will happen if we're denied or if Immigration decides to take forever. I've seen some couples wait a year and longer and then some get denied. I can't imagine how they feel and I don't wat to experience that.

I have a question. As long as we have a genuine relationship and I know we can prove it, what is the best method to secure a visa for Cherry, K-1 or CR-1? Are there a lot of people that get denied with the CR-1? Or are there more denials with the K-1 Visa? And why does it take so long for them to process everything? Is the K-1 Visa a safer way to go especially because there are other avenues to follow if we are denied? I'm so worried of all of the uncertainty that the government leaves us with. Fortunately we still have 2 months left to make a final decision of what type of visa to go for. We just want to make sure that we make the best and most secure choice with no regrets. Thanks everyone for always listen to me and providing fantastic advice. I look hearing back from anyone who can help ease my mind so that we can make the right choice.

Mike

For cenomar you must make an appointment now,,,they changed it a few months ago,, you can no longer just walk in and get it.

Thanks for the tip. I already tried to book an appointment, but they do not book appointments too far in advance. The appointment can only be book a few days in advance on the website. When you do book it, it shows how many appointments are available. Didn't seem like they had to many people going to the Embassy for the legal capacity. But of course once the appointment date is available for me, I will book it ASAP. I just want to avoid any problems. Thanks and I'll talk to you later.

Mike

Hey Mike good evening to you. I wanted to give you some input of what to expect from my perspective only because I went down this road your going through. So I went last year to the Philippines and my stay was only a month.. IT WAS A BUSY month indeed. We had to prepare everything ahead for this. First my wife had to get her Cenomar (Showing singleness for her part) She did that before I went there, because I believe there is a turn around time for 2 weeks.. maybe shorter, but you want to get that knocked out asap! Shortly after I arrived there I had to goto the Embassy I believe on Roxas blvd. in Manila and had to get my cenomar showing I am single and not married. I got the paper that day. Of course don't forget to goto the immigration office and renew your passport after the initial 21 days of being there. We didn't have a big church wedding due to the timing, because if it was in church there is a month full of things that would have been required to do and we just didn't have the time, so we went to a recreation hall that catered to Weddings, told them when and what we wanted.. overall i think we spent like 700 usd on the wedding that included everything, it was great. If you want to get suited up for the wedding get a barong and her dress, along with maid of honor and best man, god fathers, and god mothers, ring bearer and flower girl(s) at the malls there. not a bad price. We got married in her province so we had to setup marriage counseling before we got married it was quite interesting.. when they go around the room asking how many kids you want tell them 1,000,000 lol it was humorous. A couple days after the counseling, we were married and we signed the marriage papers it was a great time!! I would do it all over again if I could. But anyhow, after you leave she can take care of the rest like getting the NSO copy of the marriage certificate. IF you send her anything send her through fedex.. mail system sucks there. but fedex guarantee 3 day delivery to her door they even call her before they drop off. if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask add me to your friends I don't mind answering your questions.. ingat ka (take care)

How's it going? Thanks for your advice. We are going to get a civil wedding first and attempt to complete most of the Church requirements during that month, so that for when I go back everything can be panned out well and to minimize any last minute requirements. Wow, 700 dollars, that's super cheap. I was thinking like I was going to have to spend about 5,000-7,000 dollars on the wedding. I guess we're going to have a very big and extravigant wedding. I can't wait. And I really want Cherry to have her dream wedding. She deserves it. and I want her family to be there for it; And of course her family will be my family too. And when you said you got your Cenomar, do you mean you got your legal capacity? Because I cannot get a 'No Marriage" record here in the US in my state. Also I don't understand the 21 day passport thing. Why do I have to update it? Is it required? and will I have problems with Philippine Customs in the airport when I arrive because I'll be staying for 28 days? Well I look forward from hearing back from you. Take care.

Mike

I totally understand about family being conservative. I'm not the only daughter but I'm the youngest and my parents are quite overprotective. I'm just glad my husband understands and that's why we both decided to get married here in the Philippines. This is something you have to talk thoroughly with Cherry. Anyway, if you get married here in the PI, yu would be ineligible for K1 processing. But you can file fr CR1 instead and for me, there are also advatages with an immigrant visa. There'd be no need for her to adjust her status once she gets there and she can work from day 1, no need to file for Employment Authorization Document. But I do have to say, basing from other people that I know, is that K1 takes a shorter time compared to Immigrant visa. Goodluck on which way you guys will choose. As long as the decision is mutual, that's what really matters. Mind you, this journey demands a lot of patience from both of you so better consider the pros and cons. Godbless

I like how they are conservative. They are genuinely good people who really care about there daughter. By her being raised this way shows how many great qualities she has. We're leaning towards just sticking with our original plan. Get married first and then file the CR1. civil wedding first. Then around the time she gets her Visa we will have a church wedding and then come back to the US together. Thanks for your advice with the marriage certificate; good to know. We prefer for her to have the benefits from the CR1 visa and no extra problems or filing with the K-1. Still seriously thinking about the K-1, but at this point haven't decided to go that route. We have a genuine relationship, it's just proving that to the Consulate can be a pain in th butt. I don't think we will have any problems. I was wondering if say we went the K-1 route and it was denied, then do we still have the chance to get married and then go for the CR-1? With all of the stuff I read about the whole process being so difficult I always want to make sure that we have other options. We feel that going the marriage route would minimumize those options. We want to get married for sure first, but we just don't want any problems with immigration. I am aware of what type of evidence they want and we have plenty of that. Also wich Visa is more of a sure thing or having a better chance of approval as long as we do everything they want correctly? Thanks always for your help, advice and just listening to my concerns. God Bless.

Mike

Thank you everyone for you helpful and in-depth responses. With the K-1 Visa application requirements I misread or got confused with what is needed. That's great to know that the K-1 is now an option. I want to be with Cherry in the U.S. as soon as possible. The only thing is that we want to get married in the Philippines. I also would like to do this out of respect for her parents, family and friends. She is the only daughter in her family and this is a big life event that I know they all want to see. They're also going to be my family too so I want to share this special moment with them all. I also don't know if her parents will allow for her to leave their home without her getting married first. There are a really nice conservative family. I'll know the answer to this in a couple of hours once I talk to her. Is there a way to have a Catholic ceremony without making it a fully legal marriage. Once we are married legally are we ineligable for the K-1? I assume yes, but maybe someone here knows a loophole. I look forward to hearing back from you with your thoughts and advice about our options. Thanks.

Mike

Well, my husband called the USCIS before to ask if the civil registar's copy is good enough and they say it's okay. But I still chose to wait for the NSO marriage certificate to be sure. Someone who also wrote a comment on this thread said the NSO is the one that is required. Quite confusing! But hey! You didn't get any RFE notice yet and if you will, you already have the security paper so you can mail it right away. Let's just hope no RFE for you so it wouldn't take additional time for them to grant the noa2!

This is good to know that I should get it anyways just in case and that it will eventually be needed. But now I'm seriously thinking about getting the K-1 Visa. That's a big decision that I'm waiting to discuss with my love Cherry the next time we talk. Thanks again for your help and taking the time to make sure I get everything right.

Mike

Hi Mike,

Welcome..

I'll be filing the I-130 for my wife soon also. I'm still waiting for the NSO Marriage Certificate, which takes a while. The MC you receive from the civil registrar cannot be used to file, so it may be a while. Check out the Philippines regional forums here on VJ for info particular to the Philippines.

Give this a read...

http://www.visajourn..._live_in_the_US

George

Thank you so much George. That's good to know. I don't want anything to slow down this whole process longer than it needs to be. Thanks for being so helpful. Take care and God Bless.

Mike

Those were precisely the answers I was looking for. Thank you very much for taking the time to answer and helping us out. That means a lot to me. The answers were so good that I have no more questions at this point, but I'm sure there will be plenty more as we go through the lengthy process of dealing with the system. And before I go, I want to wish you both the best on your journey. God Bless.

Mike

He gave up way to soon. I'm sure he spent so much time and effort in getting Rose into the U.S., but didn't take the time to learn about the Filipino culture and everything about her. After the whole draining K-1 Visa process he didn't bother to take the time and make the effort to even try to work out the money issues in a mature manner. Wasted his time, Fiance's time and especially Immigration's time. Some Fiance Visa deserving couple now has to wait longer because this undeserving couple took their place in line. I can't believe that he went online here to talk about the problems instead of using that time to try to work things out with Rose. Maybe she's somewhat at fault or maybe not. But I know at some point before this happened they were in LOVE. Seems like they fell out of love especially after all respect for each other was lost. That's something they will never get back.

I would have liked to hear Rose's side of the story, then we could all make a better judgement of what is really going on. Well actually as the saying goes, "it takes two to tango".

Good luck to you Jason and Rose, but please don't abuse the privledge the the U.S. Government gives to those who are dedicated and dovoted on making their marriages work with their soon to be foreign spouses.

Hello Everyone,

How are you doing? My name is Mike and I'm new here and I'm very happy that I have found this website. I want to prepare far in advance for everything to make sure that there are no problems. I'll be going to the Philippines in January to marry the love of my life Cherry. Since we haven't known each other over two years the only option we have is to apply for the K-3 visa after we get married. My question is what does the USCIS "Stand-Alone" I-130 mean? Because I have to have that sent to the Chicago lockbox. I will be in the Philippines for about 1 month and was wondering if I can turn the I-130 application in to the U.S. Consulate at the U.S Embassy in Manila? Or do I have to wait until I get back home to my permanent residence in the U.S. and send it to the Chicago lockbox?

Another question I have is about the I-864 form. Do I send this in with the I-130 form? I am aware of what documents I need to send in, but are there any other official forms that I need to pass in with the I-130? Also I understand what the poverty guidelines are. My income for 2009 was $18,271 and the poverty level at 125% was $18,213. I just barely made the cut by $58. But by the end of this year of 2010, I will end up making $38,000. Should I wait to get my W-2 for 2010 and not pass in the 2009 W-2 or will the 2009 W-2 be suffient? Or maybe I can include a 2010 pay stub with my 2009 W-2? The thing is, by the time I go to the Philippines I will not have my 2010 W-2 in hand to go to the U.S. Embassy in Manila with. So back to my original question in this post, Am I able to turn in or process any VISA applications while I am in Manila?

If anyone who has had experience with this could please help me out, I would really appreciate it. And from what I see on this site, it seems that everyone has gone through this process already. I just want to make sure that I do everything correctly to not delay my soon to be wife's Visa so we can be together here in the U.S. as soon as possible.

Thanks so much for your help and time,

Mike

P.S. Please remember that I am very new to this lenghty process and I am not familiar with many of the acronyms or abbreviations. I know over time that I will learn them, but for the meantime I hope that you understand my unfamiliarity.