Our Interview: Almost passed.

[Kevin- 13]

Praise God!

Even though we aren't official yet, it's almost a done deal.

We had a lot of worries and doubts about the interview, and kept putting it off. I was waiting for business to improve to show more income, and feared denial. But a week before the scheduled interview when we were considering another reschedule, I felt impressed to go forward in faith. She agreed and we finalized gathering and organizing all the paperwork. We did reschedule one more week later to wait for more paperwork to ship from the US (apparently fed ex ships from PH to US much faster than the other way around).

We also prayed a lot.

We were quite worried about the affidavit of support portion of the interview, but it turned out to be almost a non-issue. I'm currently self-employed, but it's a brand new business with no useful history of income. This came after spending many months trying to get another job after huge layoffs at my former employer. I was actually "unemployed" for over a year, but have been working on the new business for a handful of months now. If they had wanted to examine the affidavit and supporting evidence closely, they could have decided to deny us. We actually had co-sponsor paperwork ready just in case they wanted it. They simply accepted my statement of self employment without even reading the letter I wrote or examining my supporting evidence. They only used my 2008 tax return for the income verification. 2008 was far more than enough by the 1.25*poverty guideline.

What turned out to be the snag, was her birth certificate and NBI clearance. We had both, but her original birth certificate had the wrong year, and was not fixed until 2007. So the consular said he just needs another NBI clearance using her incorrect birth year, as due diligence to show that the other records don't have any bad marks. We've already gotten that turned in, and are just waiting for the visa to be released.

When he mentioned that, we were confused at first, unsure if we were denied or under further review or something. He saw the confusion and explained it was an easy thing and said "congratulations". That word just keep resounding in my head for the rest of the week! "Congratulations"... For anyone wondering, the consular was a clean-shaved younger white guy with short hair and a somewhat deep voice. He's possibly a few years younger than me, I'm 31.

We can give credit to different things for the victory, but we know it was God's help that got us through. With our situation, it could easily have gone much worse, even resulting in denial, based on what I've read here on VJ. I haven't seen anyone else with our exact circumstance, but many similar cases with a better overall set of details have sometimes been denied, or been asked for co-sponsors (yes, even in Manila). But we had the perfect Helper, our paraclete (parakletos), the Lord God Almighty. How can we fail?

So I can offer these bits of advice, in ascending order of importance. That means the last one is the most important:

1. Petitioner be present at the interview if possible.

2. Bring all required evidence, and much more. Be ready for anything. Overwhelm them with well organized and solid evidence.

3. Build the relationship with your fiance(e)/spouse with God as the foundation.

4. Pray for His guidance and intervention to help all circumstances line up in favor of your visa approval. Be specific.

5. Entrust everything to His will, and have faith in His power.

Those aren't in chronological order, particularly 3. Heheh.

[marklovetina 52]

:dance:

[sachinky 464]

Congratulations!

[Glynn & Jean 5]

Praise God!

Even though we aren't official yet, it's almost a done deal.

We had a lot of worries and doubts about the interview, and kept putting it off. I was waiting for business to improve to show more income, and feared denial. But a week before the scheduled interview when we were considering another reschedule, I felt impressed to go forward in faith. She agreed and we finalized gathering and organizing all the paperwork. We did reschedule one more week later to wait for more paperwork to ship from the US (apparently fed ex ships from PH to US much faster than the other way around).

We also prayed a lot.

We were quite worried about the affidavit of support portion of the interview, but it turned out to be almost a non-issue. I'm currently self-employed, but it's a brand new business with no useful history of income. This came after spending many months trying to get another job after huge layoffs at my former employer. I was actually "unemployed" for over a year, but have been working on the new business for a handful of months now. If they had wanted to examine the affidavit and supporting evidence closely, they could have decided to deny us. We actually had co-sponsor paperwork ready just in case they wanted it. They simply accepted my statement of self employment without even reading the letter I wrote or examining my supporting evidence. They only used my 2008 tax return for the income verification. 2008 was far more than enough by the 1.25*poverty guideline.

What turned out to be the snag, was her birth certificate and NBI clearance. We had both, but her original birth certificate had the wrong year, and was not fixed until 2007. So the consular said he just needs another NBI clearance using her incorrect birth year, as due diligence to show that the other records don't have any bad marks. We've already gotten that turned in, and are just waiting for the visa to be released.

When he mentioned that, we were confused at first, unsure if we were denied or under further review or something. He saw the confusion and explained it was an easy thing and said "congratulations". That word just keep resounding in my head for the rest of the week! "Congratulations"... For anyone wondering, the consular was a clean-shaved younger white guy with short hair and a somewhat deep voice. He's possibly a few years younger than me, I'm 31.

We can give credit to different things for the victory, but we know it was God's help that got us through. With our situation, it could easily have gone much worse, even resulting in denial, based on what I've read here on VJ. I haven't seen anyone else with our exact circumstance, but many similar cases with a better overall set of details have sometimes been denied, or been asked for co-sponsors (yes, even in Manila). But we had the perfect Helper, our paraclete (parakletos), the Lord God Almighty. How can we fail?

So I can offer these bits of advice, in ascending order of importance. That means the last one is the most important:

1. Petitioner be present at the interview if possible.

2. Bring all required evidence, and much more. Be ready for anything. Overwhelm them with well organized and solid evidence.

3. Build the relationship with your fiance(e)/spouse with God as the foundation.

4. Pray for His guidance and intervention to help all circumstances line up in favor of your visa approval. Be specific.

5. Entrust everything to His will, and have faith in His power.

Those aren't in chronological order, particularly 3. Heheh.

Congrats! I am happy for you both. Hope we have the same visa approval results when the time comes.

Praise God!

Even though we aren't official yet, it's almost a done deal.

We had a lot of worries and doubts about the interview, and kept putting it off. I was waiting for business to improve to show more income, and feared denial. But a week before the scheduled interview when we were considering another reschedule, I felt impressed to go forward in faith. She agreed and we finalized gathering and organizing all the paperwork. We did reschedule one more week later to wait for more paperwork to ship from the US (apparently fed ex ships from PH to US much faster than the other way around).

We also prayed a lot.

We were quite worried about the affidavit of support portion of the interview, but it turned out to be almost a non-issue. I'm currently self-employed, but it's a brand new business with no useful history of income. This came after spending many months trying to get another job after huge layoffs at my former employer. I was actually "unemployed" for over a year, but have been working on the new business for a handful of months now. If they had wanted to examine the affidavit and supporting evidence closely, they could have decided to deny us. We actually had co-sponsor paperwork ready just in case they wanted it. They simply accepted my statement of self employment without even reading the letter I wrote or examining my supporting evidence. They only used my 2008 tax return for the income verification. 2008 was far more than enough by the 1.25*poverty guideline.

What turned out to be the snag, was her birth certificate and NBI clearance. We had both, but her original birth certificate had the wrong year, and was not fixed until 2007. So the consular said he just needs another NBI clearance using her incorrect birth year, as due diligence to show that the other records don't have any bad marks. We've already gotten that turned in, and are just waiting for the visa to be released.

When he mentioned that, we were confused at first, unsure if we were denied or under further review or something. He saw the confusion and explained it was an easy thing and said "congratulations". That word just keep resounding in my head for the rest of the week! "Congratulations"... For anyone wondering, the consular was a clean-shaved younger white guy with short hair and a somewhat deep voice. He's possibly a few years younger than me, I'm 31.

We can give credit to different things for the victory, but we know it was God's help that got us through. With our situation, it could easily have gone much worse, even resulting in denial, based on what I've read here on VJ. I haven't seen anyone else with our exact circumstance, but many similar cases with a better overall set of details have sometimes been denied, or been asked for co-sponsors (yes, even in Manila). But we had the perfect Helper, our paraclete (parakletos), the Lord God Almighty. How can we fail?

So I can offer these bits of advice, in ascending order of importance. That means the last one is the most important:

1. Petitioner be present at the interview if possible.

2. Bring all required evidence, and much more. Be ready for anything. Overwhelm them with well organized and solid evidence.

3. Build the relationship with your fiance(e)/spouse with God as the foundation.

4. Pray for His guidance and intervention to help all circumstances line up in favor of your visa approval. Be specific.

5. Entrust everything to His will, and have faith in His power.

Those aren't in chronological order, particularly 3. Heheh.

Congrats! I am happy for you both. Hope we have the same visa approval results when the time comes.

[Ban Hammer 13,110]

congrats!

[scotty's girl 1]

Congratulations!

[lbounds 16]

Congrats to both of you. Your faith and patience has paid off.

[psycons12 0]

God is love, and God is big and love is strong,nothing can overpower it....

CONGRATULATIONS

[Scott and Mhay 57]

Congrats!!! I cant wait for our interview day.

[sweet angel 5]

God is great all the time. Congrats & Godbless!

[DARUMA07 25]

Congrats!!!

[~happyndinlove~ 540]

Another good news. Congrats!

[luckymom 0]

Congratulations to both of you!

[Rose&Armand 2]

Congratulations. I'll soon be joining my fiance for the interview. I appreciate you proclaiming your faith to get you through. I totally agreee. May you continue to have a great relationship for years to come. God bless you both.