i129f approved in less than 1 month???

[Rina-Ayman4Life 0]

one month that's great

[TeddyHoney 42]

Thanks for all the wowntastic words of encouragement!

I won't find out if i won the state lottery until Saturday night

To TeddyHoney: no problem and not personal questions. I knew she was for me almost instantly. We connect so well and we were both experienced at online dating so we both felt it. I know the relationship has progressed at breakneck speed, but we chat nearly every night for an hour or two on Skype and text and email also. Over Christmas break we were online 8-12 hours a day, just talking and me playing guitar, while she tried to sing. Just having a great time. After about 2-3 weeks I booked a flight to visit her. I normally never book flights so near, but she was considering working in a call center and was willing to wait until the end of January. When I went there I already was committed. I did bring a copy of the i129f and toward the end of the week i had her fill out her section. Also while there we visited an internet cafe and printed out all the other forms we'd need. Her parents helped her fill out the Bio form which required family details. We got our passport photos and I did everything I could think of as mentioned in the application instructions. I proposed to her on my last day there. At that point we'd only known each other 6 weeks, with the last week being the only time we spent together in person. But really, I am a strong believer in Skype now. I do think it is possible to know someone well online, but it must be live video. I didn't begin data gathering really until during that trip. I just saved receipts and had photos and ticket stubs, itineraries, etc. Being away from her, I hate it. And so when I returned I was obsessed with mailing the completed form immediately. I returned in Sunday night and it took until Tuesday night to finish everything, but that included two 8 hour work days. I read everything and performed many queries on Google, particularly about examples of completed forms and packages, and also about the cover letter and Letters of intent, those extra things which I felt a reviewer would at least be pleased with the detail and also make it interesting.

To Maleman: Thanks so much for the advice. I am worried about the TB screening and so is she, mainly because she is a nurse and can easily be exposed to it. Nevertheless we're planning already for the wedding on May 28. It will be small and not too heavily invested in case it has to be postponed due to those kinds of setbacks you mentioned. I'm perhaps equally obsessive about filing everything promptly. One question. When you mention forwarding a copy of the NVC to her, must i mail the original or can I scan it and email her an electronic copy for her to print there? Also With regards to those next steps, What post do you most recommend on this site for that?

I'll visit her once more next month, as planned. We'll buy a live goat and we'll kill and eat it( her family will perform the killing part, i hope). I can't wait. I love the zany adventure of it all. Her family is amazing, great humble and kind people, hard-working, and fun. I'm so lucky I met her. And my luck is obviously continuing with regards to this visa processing. Our biggest challenge will be obtaining a B2 visa so her parents can attend the wedding. I'm really hopeful and it will be very upsetting if they are denied.

I am happy and also I would myself be so envious if I heard this had happened for someone, not me. If it's any consolation I'm not usually a lucky guy. I'm usually just patient and arduously plodding along. Also I know it was just blind luck. I didn't do anything special, so please don't feel bad or like you could have done something more.

Thanks for the reply. That's great! Wow you play guitar? I was a professional Bass player many a moon ago and just fool around at my leisure now. Still a Stanley Clarke Fanatic!

Again, God bless both of you on your VISA Journey!

Derrick and Ritchie

(TeddyHoney and SqueezyBear)

[ryna 132]

Congrats and don't try to figure out why..

Ended up in the right pile? No errors on the forms? No one who's done bad things who just happens to share your name? It could be any number of things.

When we were waiting, I saw some fly by in 8-20 days and some go past the 5 months. Mine was over 4 months and without an RFE. It was hard but unimportant now.

Even with the quick approval, you still have plenty of time. The approval doesn't expire for 4 months, so gather what you need and then send your Packet 3 to the consulate.

Good luck!

[JohnC811 4]

The Visa people must like you a lot took me 184 days to get my NOA2 ..that's gotta be a record or maybey the were training someone and yours just happened to be at the top of a box ...anyway congrats

[Ugly_American 11]

Ryna, is the packet 3 something i must send in the mail or can it be an electronic documentation? I suspect the former. If so, which currier is most reliable? Federal Express? I imagine the address is on the NAO2 notice that's being delivered to me shortly. Thanks!

[dianarango_17 1]

i am afraid it has to be either faxed to the consulate or mailed in. just wait for her to get packet 3 instructions and they will tell you what to do and what you need to send in. go to the instruction of you consulate and you will find that information there. good luck with everything hope it all goes well.

http://www.visajourney.com/consulates/index.php?ctry=Philippines&cty=Manila

[DarlingNikki 7]

Congrats! You did get lucky indeed. best wishes on the rest of your journey!

[coraliesolms 47]

Wow... when did you get your NOA1?

[Ab44 3]

Congrats!!!! That's amazing!!

[Lisamarie 79]

I think it's fantastic. Many congratulations to you and I hope the rest of your journey goes just as well

Thanks for all the wowntastic words of encouragement!

I won't find out if i won the state lottery until Saturday night

To TeddyHoney: no problem and not personal questions. I knew she was for me almost instantly. We connect so well and we were both experienced at online dating so we both felt it. I know the relationship has progressed at breakneck speed, but we chat nearly every night for an hour or two on Skype and text and email also. Over Christmas break we were online 8-12 hours a day, just talking and me playing guitar, while she tried to sing. Just having a great time. After about 2-3 weeks I booked a flight to visit her. I normally never book flights so near, but she was considering working in a call center and was willing to wait until the end of January. When I went there I already was committed. I did bring a copy of the i129f and toward the end of the week i had her fill out her section. Also while there we visited an internet cafe and printed out all the other forms we'd need. Her parents helped her fill out the Bio form which required family details. We got our passport photos and I did everything I could think of as mentioned in the application instructions. I proposed to her on my last day there. At that point we'd only known each other 6 weeks, with the last week being the only time we spent together in person. But really, I am a strong believer in Skype now. I do think it is possible to know someone well online, but it must be live video. I didn't begin data gathering really until during that trip. I just saved receipts and had photos and ticket stubs, itineraries, etc. Being away from her, I hate it. And so when I returned I was obsessed with mailing the completed form immediately. I returned in Sunday night and it took until Tuesday night to finish everything, but that included two 8 hour work days. I read everything and performed many queries on Google, particularly about examples of completed forms and packages, and also about the cover letter and Letters of intent, those extra things which I felt a reviewer would at least be pleased with the detail and also make it interesting.

To Maleman: Thanks so much for the advice. I am worried about the TB screening and so is she, mainly because she is a nurse and can easily be exposed to it. Nevertheless we're planning already for the wedding on May 28. It will be small and not too heavily invested in case it has to be postponed due to those kinds of setbacks you mentioned. I'm perhaps equally obsessive about filing everything promptly. One question. When you mention forwarding a copy of the NVC to her, must i mail the original or can I scan it and email her an electronic copy for her to print there? Also With regards to those next steps, What post do you most recommend on this site for that?

I'll visit her once more next month, as planned. We'll buy a live goat and we'll kill and eat it( her family will perform the killing part, i hope). I can't wait. I love the zany adventure of it all. Her family is amazing, great humble and kind people, hard-working, and fun. I'm so lucky I met her. And my luck is obviously continuing with regards to this visa processing. Our biggest challenge will be obtaining a B2 visa so her parents can attend the wedding. I'm really hopeful and it will be very upsetting if they are denied.

I am happy and also I would myself be so envious if I heard this had happened for someone, not me. If it's any consolation I'm not usually a lucky guy. I'm usually just patient and arduously plodding along. Also I know it was just blind luck. I didn't do anything special, so please don't feel bad or like you could have done something more.

[Daniel&Theary 30]

Working for ups I hate to say this but use the post office priority mail. They are by far the cheapest and there international is flown on ups and fed ex plains. you also get a tracking number to the Phils should be like Cambodia around $30 and arrive in 3 to 5 days or DHL is about 75 in 2 days but UPS and FEDEX are both about 125 for 2 day

[omahagreg 2]

I'll post the complete email message below. I thought the i129f process (in California Service Center) required around 147 days. The text and email appear to indicate the case is already approved. They only sent the NOA1 on Feb 2. Could they really have already approved it in just 15 days? If not, then what does this email indicate as the status of the case? Sorry for the question. I wasn't expecting any news from them for another 4.5 months.

First of all of course, congratulations! 15 days is an amazing turnaround time, and virtually unheard of. And while 4-5 months is the average wait time as of now, many get approved much faster, and many wait much much longer. My time from NOA1 to approval was 65 days, for example, and time from NOA-1 to interview was 105 days. I considered that a pretty fast timeline, as I was expecting approval to take at least 9 months. And I have seen several reports of 1 year and longer waits. So, accept the blessing you have received, and be prepared for possible delays as the process continues. Hopefully everything goes smooth and without a snag, but so many little issues arise, you just have to be prepared.

You have many questions about the process from here going forward. First of all, I suggest you research anything you want to know on this site, visajourney.com. No need to google searching for answers. Believe me, every possible scenario and issue has been brought up and discussed here. There is a lot of bad information out there on the net, and most of the bad info is vetted out very quickly on VJ. I especially recommend you spend time reading information posted to the regional Philippines Forum, as that forum has very specific answers to the little complications specific to that country.

You asked about embassy processing time being 33 days--well, it depends how you define processing time. For now, your packet goes to NVC, who then forwards the petition to USEM. It takes 1-2 weeks for NVC to acknowledge receipt of the package, and in the case of a 129F, they usually forward the package a day or two after they receipt. Then, it takes 5-10 days for USEM to acknowledge receipt.

After the embassy has the petition about a week, you should be able to call and schedule an interview appointment. You will see many variations with this, some reporting they called even before the embassy acknowledged receipt, and some waiting until some time after they received notification. Interview availability is hit and miss. For example, I called around July 20th, and appointment openings offered were Aug 6th, Aug 10th, and Aug 13th. They said no other slots were available during those weeks.

The medical exam should be planned for at least 5 days prior to the interview appointment. While this is the standard advice, many report that you can do the medical in the 2 days prior to the interview appointment, and request special arrangements to facilitate this.

If you are granted the 'pink slip' after the interview (approval) then the visa will follow via courier to your fiance's address (unless she specifies a different address, or requests to pick it up). My wife received her visa one week after the interview, and that was delivery to Davao. Others report delivery of 3 days to 14 days.

For more advice on your questions, post your inquiries to the Philippines Forum, and you will get an outpouring of information and advice.

Your VJ family is here to help!

Good luck with your continuing journey. It is all worth it in the end, but it can be a tough road with many speedbumps to slow you down.

[lunenor 0]

My first time posting here. Apparently my application got approved the same day, the 17th, also with an NOA1 on February 1. Wonder if this happened to anyone else?

I appreciate also the replies to this thread, since I am in the same boat as the original poster: caught be surprise with such an early NOA2. I figured I had months to figure out the next steps. Not that I'm complaining at all!

[Daniel&Theary 30]

My NOA1 was Feb 15 I hope that means we will be first part of March. CSC seems to be just pushing them out right now?

[PhilAmTx 14]

Watch my Marriage Proposal Video Below :)

im so touched... :wow: :wow: :wow:

i super love it...she is so lucky!!!! :wow: :wow: