... in response to My Fiance got her letter from the Embass..., posted by red on Jul 5, 2002Hi Red,
They wouldn’t tell you on the phone how long it would take because they don’t know. The guys that put the pressure on them for an answer seem to get the standard reply “4-6 weeks”, which really means nothing. I’d probably call them once a week or so just to remind them that you are still waiting.
These delays have become the norm recently from what I’ve heard. They are double-checking everything it seems. One big glitch lately seems to be with the ladies whose births were “late registered”, meaning that her birth wasn’t recorded with the local civil registrar until much later in life. A lot of the kids in the Phils were not born in a hospital, but more often at home with the assistance of the local midwife, so there was nobody pressuring them to register the birth. My wife didn’t have her birth officially recorded until she was 27. She never needed it all the way through college, until she applied for a passport.
These late registered births are more prone to fraud or factual errors and that’s likely the reason why they are getting more scrutiny, especially with the recent crackdowns in the visa issuing process. A common request from the embassy is for a recent baptismal certificate or early school records, because these are often more accurate than late registered birth certificates in establishing true date of birth and parentage.
If your lady falls into the late registered category, it probably wouldn’t hurt to have her get a copy of her baptismal certificate from the church where she was baptized, if applicable, just in case they ask for it. At least it will give her a little project to do and maybe take her mind off the waiting a little.
Jimbo and Dave H gave you some good advice: try to be positive and patient.
Good luck,
Ray
