Now I am really confused!

[soccoach 0]

Hello all,

I went to the embassy in Manila to ask some questions and now I am really confused.

1. He said my wife's 10 year visitor visa is not endagered if we submit the I-130 directly to the embassy using Direct Councelar Filing. This seems so contrary to everything I have read. I don't want my wife to get to Detroit and then miss my daughter's wedding because she is truned away at the POE.

2. He said I don't need a US based domicle until the visa is approved. The visa can not be given until the domicile is established. That seems contrary to the usual feedback that a domicile is needed in order to file in the first place. I have to prove residence in the Phils in order to file DCF, so how can I prove domicile in the US?

3. He also said that whether my step-daughter is adopted or not makes no difference to the I-130.

We are planning a trip to the US in May for 10 days. IF I can start the process before we leave, YEAH! otherwise what do I do?

Can anyone clarify this for me?

Hal

[Jeetyetkidd 0]

Hello all,

I went to the embassy in Manila to ask some questions and now I am really confused.

1. He said my wife's 10 year visitor visa is not endagered if we submit the I-130 directly to the embassy using Direct Councelar Filing. This seems so contrary to everything I have read. I don't want my wife to get to Detroit and then miss my daughter's wedding because she is truned away at the POE.

2. He said I don't need a US based domicle until the visa is approved. The visa can not be given until the domicile is established. That seems contrary to the usual feedback that a domicile is needed in order to file in the first place. I have to prove residence in the Phils in order to file DCF, so how can I prove domicile in the US?

3. He also said that whether my step-daughter is adopted or not makes no difference to the I-130.

We are planning a trip to the US in May for 10 days. IF I can start the process before we leave, YEAH! otherwise what do I do?

Can anyone clarify this for me?

Hal

Your wife can travel on her visa to the US while the I130 is in process, but it does not guarentee her entry into the country.

[eau_xplain 2]

Hello all,

I went to the embassy in Manila to ask some questions and now I am really confused.

1. He said my wife's 10 year visitor visa is not endagered if we submit the I-130 directly to the embassy using Direct Councelar Filing. This seems so contrary to everything I have read. I don't want my wife to get to Detroit and then miss my daughter's wedding because she is truned away at the POE.

This is correct. The visitor visa will remain current even though there is an I-130 on file. Your wife will, however, need to show sufficient proof at the POE that she will be returning to the Philippines after her visit.

2. He said I don't need a US based domicle until the visa is approved. The visa can not be given until the domicile is established. That seems contrary to the usual feedback that a domicile is needed in order to file in the first place. I have to prove residence in the Phils in order to file DCF, so how can I prove domicile in the US?

Sorry, don't know the answer to this one. Hopefully someone who knows will post a reply.

3. He also said that whether my step-daughter is adopted or not makes no difference to the I-130.

This is correct. You can file for your stepdaughter by virtue of her being your stepdaughter. She falls within USCIS' definition of "your child" who can be petitioned by a USC via the I-130.

[YOUTOO 2]

My wife was told at the embassy in Tokyo that a pending I-130, as a matter of fact any pending

immigrant visa would preclude her from obtaining a visitor visa or allow any entry at all on

a visa waiver. We paid a $ 140.00 to apply for a visitor visa so she could attend her daughter's

wedding in Las Vegas, we had proof of the return tickets, we had proof that we live together in

Japan and no intention whatsoever to remain in the states. Yet, they would not budge. The officer

told us that U.S. Immigration at POE would not let her in. Also entering into the equasion was

the fact that she is married to a U.S. Citizen. A the embassy officere told me that counts as two

strikes against her. Go figure. As a side note it was pretty interesting and scary how much info

he U.S. government has on my Japanese wife just entering her passport information. Makes

me shiver just thinking how much they know about me being a USC.

[GabiandVi 34]

My wife was told at the embassy in Tokyo that a pending I-130, as a matter of fact any pending

immigrant visa would preclude her from obtaining a visitor visa or allow any entry at all on

a visa waiver. We paid a $ 140.00 to apply for a visitor visa so she could attend her daughter's

wedding in Las Vegas, we had proof of the return tickets, we had proof that we live together in

Japan and no intention whatsoever to remain in the states. Yet, they would not budge. The officer

told us that U.S. Immigration at POE would not let her in. Also entering into the equasion was

the fact that she is married to a U.S. Citizen. A the embassy officere told me that counts as two

strikes against her. Go figure. As a side note it was pretty interesting and scary how much info

he U.S. government has on my Japanese wife just entering her passport information. Makes

me shiver just thinking how much they know about me being a USC.

Apparently this is not automatically true. Many VJers have successfully traveled on visitor visas to the US after an I-130 has been filed. I think each Consul has its own policies for determining who gets a visa or not. In China, the COs don't seem to have much discretion over this, but in my husband's country where relatively few visas are processed, they seem to have a lot more discretion. In China, I don't know how many COs there are, but it is at least 6. In my husband's country there is only one. In China, they seem to have a checklist. They don't seem to see the applicant as a person but rather as a sum of all their documentation. The CO in my husband's country said that since he was married to an American and had a legitimate way to immigrate and therefore would not jeopardize that by overstaying his visa, there would be no problem granting him a visa as long as he showed strong ties to the country. I think the CO in his country understood the culture of that country and recognized that my husband could never leave it forever. We were not going to file an I-130 in the immediate future at that time.

My husband's B-2 is about to expire and he is going to apply for a new one. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and I'm not going to file the I-130 again until after he enters the US just to be on the safe side. He'll go back to his country when his visit is over and wait for the process to be completed.

[GabiandVi 34]

2. He said I don't need a US based domicle until the visa is approved. The visa can not be given until the domicile is established. That seems contrary to the usual feedback that a domicile is needed in order to file in the first place. I have to prove residence in the Phils in order to file DCF, so how can I prove domicile in the US?

I'm pretty sure you establish domicile when you file the affadavit of support, which you don't do until the petition is approved and the beneficiary files an application for the immigrant visa. Maybe that is what he meant.