December K-1 2009 Filers VSC

[PanamaJack 1]

Do not wait for your fiancee to receive the Packet 3, because she may never receive it. The embassy sent the Packet 3 to Carol on 3/25 and she still has not received. The mail system in Colombia SUCKS!! Have your finacee fill out the P3, print it, and fax...it will save a lot of time.

You got that right.WE never recieved our pak #3 . we dowloaded all the forms and faxed them in the day they had the case in their system and got an interview date 2 days later. We are doing the same with pak #4. If it arrives it does but starting today Maria is making an appointment for her Medical . Since she lives in Bogota we are doing it 3 weeks in advance. Also paying her Visa fee on Monday while it is still $131.00.and having the lab work done. also before the medical and getting whatever shots she needs....

A real mail system in Colombia? Surely you jest..ha ha ha

[Mark and Carol 4]

Pretty much!

So you guys take care of educating, I'm a disappear after 15th for about 2-3 weeks hehe.

Aye, Cap't...I'll make sure our mateys keep the ship on course! We are too close to our destination to steer off course.

Good luck with the interview and we'll be expecting good news from you in a week or two.

[Martyshk 137]

Aye, Cap't...I'll make sure our mateys keep the ship on course! We are too close to our destination to steer off course.

Good luck with the interview and we'll be expecting good news from you in a week or two.

I'm not sure I will be inclined to visit VJ while I'm there, even though I'll have internet access. But if anything, I'll shoot an SMS to Jared after the interview and/or visa-in-hand

[Mark and Carol 4]

You got that right.WE never recieved our pak #3 . we dowloaded all the forms and faxed them in the day they had the case in their system and got an interview date 2 days later. We are doing the same with pak #4. If it arrives it does but starting today Maria is making an appointment for her Medical . Since she lives in Bogota we are doing it 3 weeks in advance. Also paying her Visa fee on Monday while it is still $131.00.and having the lab work done. also before the medical and getting whatever shots she needs....

A real mail system in Colombia? Surely you jest..ha ha ha

Good idea to pay for the visa fee and complete the lab and medical now...just in case you run into any problems. Last night, Carol finally completed the DS-2100 with the help from a fellow Colombiana. I have the DS-230 completed and will email to her this weekend so she can hopefully fax on Monday...fingers crossed as usual.

FYI, you do know that Maria needs to take the completed DS-156 form and her passport with her to the bank? I have read that the bank will not accept online version of the DS-156 so they may provide a blank form for her to fill out manually. I have read that it depends which bank teller that she talks to.

[Mark and Carol 4]

Carol received the Packet 3 in the mail today. It's about time considering it was mailed on 03/25...talk about snail mail.

At least she received it!

[PanamaJack 1]

Good idea to pay for the visa fee and complete the lab and medical now...just in case you run into any problems. Last night, Carol finally completed the DS-2100 with the help from a fellow Colombiana. I have the DS-230 completed and will email to her this weekend so she can hopefully fax on Monday...fingers crossed as usual.

FYI, you do know that Maria needs to take the completed DS-156 form and her passport with her to the bank? I have read that the bank will not accept online version of the DS-156 so they may provide a blank form for her to fill out manually. I have read that it depends which bank teller that she talks to.

She is doing it tomorrow and taking it in on Monday or Tuesday to get the visa.. We finally got a Doctor's appt for 5-5-10 a week before the interview..Doesn't she need 2 copys of that form with the same barcode on it after you press print? If they make her do another one at the bank will they give her 2 copys ?

[PanamaJack 1]

Carol received the Packet 3 in the mail today. It's about time considering it was mailed on 03/25...talk about snail mail.

At least she received it!

We sent ours in 11 days ago and they said they sent ours out the same day so I guess we will get it next week. The Pak #4 is what is important. We need to have that for the doctor's appt in 3 1/2 weeks. The doctor said we need to have the interview letter that comes with Pak #4.

Edited April 10, 2010 by PanamaJack

[wilfinance 0]

Are you sure all my fiancee needs is the MNL# ? Do I need to send her a copy of the NOA2 or the NVC paper in which she was assigned an MNL# ?

I'm believing what Jared posts, he seems very knowledgeable about this whole process. Did you lady attend the seminar that is required for anyone leaving the country, mine is going on Monday. There is a stamp that they put on her passport showing attendance. I saw a posting on VJ about someone not having the stamp and getting stopped at the airport or actually boarding the plane. I wonder if he had to buy a new ticket.

Cary and Jim

[wilfinance 0]

The number I have for the U.S. Embassy in Manila is +63 2 301 2000. But Friday, April 9th is a Philippine holiday called "Araw ng Kagitingan," and no one will answer the phone at the embassy. I am in the same boat as you, so we will have to wait until Monday to call. I advise to call between the hours of 8 and 10 a.m. Manila time, since a U.S. Embassy recording said they only answer non-immigrant visa questions during that time period.

Apparently, the Philippines does not issue a Packet 3, but here is the online version of Packet 4. Someone on here said that Manila doesn't mail this Packet out any more, so you can download this version and/or print it out. I assume Manila still mails confirmation of receiving the visa petition from the NVC.

Karen and Jay,

Your timeline looks a lot like ours. I met Cary online in October, I was there in July and August. The 202-663-1225 number is to the Consulant Generals office in the US. I am guessing that they monitor receipt of the visa files to the various embassys and perhaps the mailing of packet 3 although I have also been told here that Manila doesn't require a packet 3. To the best of my knowledge I think the only paper I have to complete is the Affidavit of Support. I have been scanning and Emailing anything I receive from a government agency so she has a copy of NOA 1 & 2 and the NVC notice just in case she needs them. She also has a complete copy of everything I sent initially to USCIS.

I am going to call the State Department, depending on how that conversation goes, I am going to try to schedule the interview. I will be spending this weekend in my office copying around 250 IM sessions. It is how we communicate. I didn't know anything at the time about this visa process so now I will use up a forest copying. I hope to send all my required documents out on Monday.

Where are you from? I am in the Philadelphia burbs.

Cary and Jim

[Jared and May 16]

I'm believing what Jared posts, he seems very knowledgeable about this whole process. Did you lady attend the seminar that is required for anyone leaving the country, mine is going on Monday. There is a stamp that they put on her passport showing attendance. I saw a posting on VJ about someone not having the stamp and getting stopped at the airport or actually boarding the plane. I wonder if he had to buy a new ticket.

Cary and Jim

For St. Luke's you need the MNL #, and not the letter from the Manila Embassy. For the CFO seminar you really should have the visa already to make things go easier, but I suppose you can do it before St Luke's takes the passport away from your fiancee and forwards it to the embassy.. Good luck & God Bless!

[sugarapple 1]

Hi,

I have a few questions, when do we we fill out the DS-156 online? Or just fill out the forms needed for the interview in any order? My fiance does not speak english and I have only seen the online application in english. Has anyone seen it in spanish? I read that the DS-156, DS-156K does not suppose to be signed until the interview because the consular officer needs to witness it. Can I fill out the forms in english for her and she just signs them it in the embassy?

you can I filled out the ds156k and the da156 form online and fedex them to my fiance. She can sign them the actually day of the interview will you guys sit and wait. Make sure to walk with a pen.

[Karen_and_Jay 2]

I'm believing what Jared posts, he seems very knowledgeable about this whole process. Did you lady attend the seminar that is required for anyone leaving the country, mine is going on Monday. There is a stamp that they put on her passport showing attendance.

No, she hasn't attended the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) seminar yet. The CFO recommends attending the seminar before AND after the U.S. Embassy sends back the passport with the K-1 visa sticker, but I've read in many posts here that all you need to do is attend the seminar after the interview. That way you can attend the seminar and get your visa stamped on the same day.

Karen plans to take her medical exam next week at the same time as the fiancee of VisaJourney member Johnny, from Wednesday, April 14 to Thursday the 15th.

The 202-663-1225 number is to the Consulant Generals office in the US. I am guessing that they monitor receipt of the visa files to the various embassys and perhaps the mailing of packet 3 although I have also been told here that Manila doesn't require a packet 3.

Thanks for the information about that number. I'll try both numbers later today to see if the Embassy has received Karen's petition yet.

I will be spending this weekend in my office copying around 250 IM sessions. It is how we communicate. I didn't know anything at the time about this visa process so now I will use up a forest copying. I hope to send all my required documents out on Monday.

Where are you from? I am in the Philadelphia burbs.

Cary and Jim

I don't think you need to print out all those sessions, but that is up to you. For our evidence of an ongoing relationship, I printed out screen shots of the following: my Yahoo Messenger archive (without any specific conversations highlighted, to protect our privacy), several cam-to-cam YM conversations (some with her relatives or my relatives in the background), a month of my YM Call History to show that I call her cell phone a few times every month, and a few months of my Aryty.com account history (I use that site to send Karen load). I also downloaded Excel spreadsheets for a few select months of text archives from Verizon Wireless and copied several envelopes, letters and cards that Karen sent to me.

I tried to pick a few representative months for each category, rather than overwhelming them with a pile of the same evidence. When I return to the Philippines to go with Karen to her interview, I'll bring a few additional current pieces of evidence to show that we still communicate as often as before.

I am in central New Jersey, about an hour East of Philadelphia.

[Jared and May 16]

Milagros is going for her interview in about 3 hours.. I should hear back from her around 10/11 PM EST, so I'll let you know what they ask of her in terms of evidence. She printed out a bunch of e-mails, brought love letters I sent via snail mail, along with pictures, passport stamps, boarding passes, hotel reservations, etc.

Best of luck to all. :thumbs:

[Martyshk 137]

Milagros is going for her interview in about 3 hours.. I should hear back from her around 10/11 PM EST, so I'll let you know what they ask of her in terms of evidence. She printed out a bunch of e-mails, brought love letters I sent via snail mail, along with pictures, passport stamps, boarding passes, hotel reservations, etc.

Best of luck to all. :thumbs:

I'll be on gtalk tonight if you need to pass some time BSing

[Karen_and_Jay 2]

Milagros is going for her interview in about 3 hours.. I should hear back from her around 10/11 PM EST, so I'll let you know what they ask of her in terms of evidence. She printed out a bunch of e-mails, brought love letters I sent via snail mail, along with pictures, passport stamps, boarding passes, hotel reservations, etc.

Best of luck to all. :thumbs:

Good luck!