Finished a Trip to Cebu with questions

[Peter Lee]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: Finished a Trip to Cebu with..., posted by Esiang on Feb 6, 2003

You know I went to INS website and got lost in the mumbo jumbo.  I would feel more comfortable knowing that if something goes wrong someone will know what to do quickly.  I hear that attorneys get a little more attention with the INS coz they can give em headaches.   I don't have access to Politicians like some of the Attorneys do.  Any way that is the perception I get from those that go with professional help and those that don't.  Just to find the new fees INS uses was confusing enough.   I have not decided yet but I will decide soon to do it myself of get professional help.  I have all my papers in order but I will need help in proving I earn enough money to qualify coz I am self employed.   I am a naturalized citizen no birth certificate I wouldn't know where to get my naturalization papers certified, probably with the INS LOL?  I had a name change in 1980 and that was certified but it gets more and more complicated. Pictures to the INS changes like music notes 4 pic then 2 pic than passport pic then INS pic.  Give us a break!  No one knows if you can get the Medical in Cebu now?   Is Texas still frozen and holding up immigration papers?  I just learned that it would be wise to show up at the interview in Manila.   Well that's another plane ticket and time off work.   What about no e mail before our meeting in Jan 03.  Will INS look at it like when we applied for the papers that we should have known each other well enough then to get married and anything after that does not count.   I don't know how INS thinks and what they are looking for at the interview.  My concept of meeting someone first and emailing later is more credible than e mailing first and then meeting.   But what I read is that the INS may be looking for how much we knew each other before we met.   If that is so I should wait and visit once more.   That would mean 2 more trips to the PI.  Oh well the price you pay for misinformation.  What a shame all those calling cards and no proof of calling.  What a shame all those hours of chatting and no proof of communication.   But you are right again; two separate professionals had different stories.  And the other problem is when you give these agencies money up front what is their incentive to give you that extra help you need when you have a time consuming problem?

[Ray]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: Re: Finished a Trip to Cebu ..., posted by Peter Lee on Feb 13, 2003

She will have to go to Manila for her medical exam.

For proof of citizenship on your petition, a photocopy of the naturalization certificate or your passport is fine.

Don't worry about evidence that you knew each other before you met. There is no such requirement! What they are looking for is evidence that you have a genuine relationship and are not just marrying her for the sole purpose of getting her into the country.

Ray

[Peter Lee]

... in response to Peter, posted by Ray on Feb 13, 2003


    I was advised by an agency that if I don't show prior contact before we met or before the petition is filed it may kick off a profile that gets their attention.  Especially if there is a 40 year gap in age.  She will be 20 in June and I am 59.  If i get a hard core interviewer they could put it into "investigation" and i hear that is a nighmare.   So i was advised by them that if i go for the fiance visa to wait at least 2 more months then put in the paper work.   The date it is filed is the date we are suppose to know that we are going to spend the rest of our lives together, I was told.  So the longer i can hold off filing the papers the longer our relationship will look on paper that we met.   Dat was what was advised to me.   I kinda agree coz it don't hurt to wait a while and see how the relationship developes.  You all advised me to not be in such a hurry anyway.   So i see it as chicken soap, "It can't hurt".  If i marry her there all this will be moot.  I kinda worry about the age thing coz some of the interviewers may really dislike it and look for reasons to put it into investigation.  Once the cats out of the bag, you know. I was worried about the photcopy of the naturalization papers so thanks for clearing that up for me.
I didn't know i could use my passport in place of my naturization papers.  Thanx Ray

[Ray]

... in response to Re: Peter, posted by Peter Lee on Feb 16, 2003

There really is no absolute evidence requirement other than the fact that you met in person. But I will agree that the relationship documentation all helps and it certainly wouldn't hurt to hold off a little while either.

You never know how the interviews will go, but the most important thing is that she look and sound genuine at the interview. We have one member here with a much bigger age gap than yours, they never met in person, and she breezed through the interview with only 2 questions if I recall correctly.

Then there was another girl they tore up in the interview. They asked about her sex life and how many times she had sex with her husband, etc. Sometimes the interviewers will try to rattle her but usually they are very polite and professional. But like customs inspectors, you NEVER want to try to bull-sh#t them :-)

Ray

Ray

[Peter Lee]

... in response to Re: Re: Peter, posted by Ray on Feb 16, 2003

Asked about her sex life and how many times she had sex with her husband?  
See, I want to be ready for the worst case scenario.  When asked she should honestly say 10 times a day LOL.   I was told these inspectors are on a rotating job shift.   Sometimes the bad ones are replaced by a good one.  Sometimes the rubberstamp one is replaced by one who is just plain prejudice to large age differences.  But I got your point about being genuine at the interview.  So how many times should I have sex with the wife a day to sound genuine LOL?   Is that with or with out the use of Viagra? They will ask.  What if you bull-sh##em and tell them without LOL.  That is grounds for an investigation for sure!!!!
Sorry, it is really hard to stay serious with this and I know it is important information my apologies.  But my point is you can't just go by the book.  That is why I am on this forum, for people who did that done that. So again Ray thanks again

[Peter Lee]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: Finished a Trip to Cebu with..., posted by Esiang on Feb 6, 2003

Thanks for some positive feedback.  I also prize the negative stuff too but it is nice to know someone understands.   You think it will be one year for the fiance visa?  What if i married there is the paper work easier? I am getting mixed messages which way to go coz whatever i do now is what i have to stick with time wise i mean.  I talked to guys at the Consolate in Cebu who said they were tired of waiting for the fiace visa and just got married.  Well their paper work must start all over again right.   And i am hearing 9 months 1 year and now 2 years for a espousal visa.   What's the real story?

[Esiang]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: Re: Finished a Trip to Cebu ..., posted by Peter Lee on Feb 6, 2003

To better understand more of visa's rules and info. go to http://usembassy.state.gov/manila

Fiancee visa is the quickest way to get your lady some 8 months some 6 months, my Best friend processing takes her only 4 months. But it shouldn't be one year, mostly actually takes 6 months.

That situation of getting married in the Phils. after they already applied for fiancee visa dont sound so good.
I bet it will only double their time.....

I hope you'll have answers to your questions when you try to look and read about the usembassy website.

[wizard]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: Re: Finished a Trip to Cebu ..., posted by Peter Lee on Feb 6, 2003

Hey Peter...

Lots of guys are faced with extended waits for K-1 Visas to be processed, that's the Fiance Visa... This traditionally has been the fastest way to get your girl here... That was until the great freeze of 2002-3...

You could marry your girl in her home country and then file for a K-3 Spousal Visa here in the USA... This process  usually takes much longer to process than the K-1... Once you are married, you file for the K-3 visa here in the USA... Once the regional INS processes your request here in the USA, it is forwarded to the US Consulate where your girl lives... Then the interviews are scheduled... Lot's of good old tax payer bureaucracy...

That was until Direct Consulate Filing (DCF) for K-3's became available... This is where you file your K-3 directly with the US Consulate in your girl's country... You go with your new wife to the embassy and file the K-3 in person... Then, usually within 30 - 60 days, you wife will have another interview with the consulate, at which time shre will provide all the documents you/she needs to complete the visa application... If all goes well, she can have her visa in 1 - 2 days after the second interview...

Here are some helpful links to bone up on the process...

Definitive website on the DCF Visa process:
k1.exit.com/dcf.html

Visa Kits are available from:
www.usavisanow.com

INS website for all forms/fees for the process:
www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms

US Embassy Website in Manila webpage for K-1 & K-3 processing is:
usembassy.state.gov/manila/wwwh3204.html

I hope these help...

Like the lyrics of one of my favorite songs goes, "everyone deserves to be happy every now and then"...

I wish you luck in this pursuit...

wizard

[Peter Lee]

... in response to Direct Consulate Filing, posted by wizard on Feb 7, 2003

Say Wizard does this apply for the Philippines?

[Peter Lee]

... in response to Direct Consulate Filing, posted by wizard on Feb 7, 2003

After all that i find it doesn't apply to the Philippines !

OH WELL  !

It don't sound like luck will do it for me this time.

[Ray]

... in response to Direct Consulate Filing, posted by wizard on Feb 7, 2003

You can only use direct consular filing for IR-1 visa petitions (I-130) in Manila IF you are a resident of the Philippines, essentially meaning that you have lived there for at least 6 months.

Direct consular filing is not for K-3 visas, which are filed with INS in Chicago (not the regional service centers).

The K-3 petition is not always forwarded to the consulate where your girl lives, but it is supposed to be forwarded to the country where you were married, unless you were married in the U.S. For example if you marry a Filipina in Hong Kong, the K-3 visa must be issued in Hong Kong, even if she has returned permanently to the Philippines since you married.

Actually, K-3 visas should probably take roughly the same time as a K-1 to process (or less), depending on where you live. For a while last year, before new security procedures, the K-3 paperwork was going through INS in less than a month.

Ray

[wizard]

... in response to Some corrections, posted by Ray on Feb 7, 2003

Thanks for the update...

I'm trying to go through the process myself, but in Bogota... Maybe there ere some differences between Bogota and Manila... In all the paperwork that I am gathering for the consulate in Bogota, a "K-3 form" was never mentioned... I assumed that since I was doing a DCF for a spousal visa, I would be filing a K-3...

[Ray]

... in response to Re: Some corrections, posted by wizard on Feb 7, 2003

Some consulates allow direct filing for non-residents and some don’t. If they allow it in Bogota, then it will probably save you a lot of waiting time.

The Manila consulate is one of the busiest in the world and it’s a mess. With a standard IR-1 spousal visa in the Philippines, you have to wait for the INS service center, then wait another 3-4 months because they send everything to the NVC (National Visa Center) for preliminary State Dept processing. The whole thing took me under 10 months but that was before 9/11.

The whole purpose of the K-3 is to bypass some of the backlog at the INS service centers and get you and your spouse reunited in the States while you are waiting for the I-130 processing to be completed. They won't issue a K-3 unless one spouse is living in the US and the other is overseas. Unfortunately, we are at war now and the number one priority is security, not reuniting families.

The sooner we kill off the whacko Muslim terrorists, the sooner things can get back to normal. But I’m afraid that isn’t going to happen any time soon :-(

Death to terrorists!

Ray

[wizard]

... in response to Re: Re: Some corrections, posted by Ray on Feb 7, 2003

I'm a US citizen and my novia is Colombiana... From what I've read, DCF is a privilege only available at certain consulates... The consulate in Bogota does allow DCF...

The nice thing about DCF is that you can just show up at the embassy in Bogota @ 1:00pm, Mon - Thu, with your passports, marriage certificate, divorce decrees, birth certificates, photos, police reports and I-130... They will do the filing for you... Your wife's second interview is usually scheduled from 30 - 60 days later... If the rest of your paperwork is in order, no SNAFUs, then she can have her visa the next day... This method by-passes the necessity of having to file a K-3 in the states and wait for the processing and forwarding to the consulate in Bogota...

Alot of guys from the latin forum, myself included, are going this route since the wait time for K-1's is ridiculous... The Texas center is now saying over 250 days to begin processing a K-1 application...

This method does not provide the 90 period in the US to be sure of the relationship, but sometimes you gotta do whatcha gotta do... 60 days versus 250+ is a no brainer...

Thanks for the info...

[Frank2002]

... in response to Finished a Trip to Cebu with questions, posted by Peter Lee on Feb 5, 2003

Hello Peter

I am happy for you. But just go slow and also try to get to know her better now through a text based enviroment and by phone once you are back home. I would make at least one more trip before anything to permant. A trip with at least 4 more weeks together would be great to know each other better as an absolute mininum. If you don't mind me asking what is her age and your age? It is also really important to really step back and think abit somtimes when you have a cute little one next to you. Questions to ask our long term goals, future family, her family etc. Is she outgoing for example compared to you? Does she want a career in usa or a home maker? Does she want to send money home? Does she know not all americans are rich?  What are her expetations from her future husband, for herself and her family. Ask ihow her parents feel about this courtship and if they are for it, aginst, pushing it along bla bla bla You see you have to get the answers to alot of questions to make sure she is truly for you my friend. Good to hear you are happy. Please keep all of us posted Peter, by the way when is your next trip planed for PI?. We wish you all the best.

Frank from Canada