Greetings Visa Journey Peeps

[JaZel 1]

Hello All!

First off, thanks for all the helpful info. I Express Mailed our I-129F Fiancee application yesterday and was just looking that the receipt confirmation. The ball is officially rolling.... There is so much info that is almost difficult to process. This is how I think it goes down:

1. Send in application

2. They receive it and send NOA1 and then send to appropriate service center. In our case, (I live in Seattle) I am assuming that it will be the California center.

3. Then they review the application and that takes like 5 months or so?

4. Once that is approved, they send NOA2 and from there it goes to NVC or CV something?

5. Then they send my application to Manila. (my fiancee is Filipina) Then she gets some sort of approval number? Then she can schedule the medical and interview online?

6. Then I send her some money to pay for the medical and a hotel in Manila for 2 nights so she can stay for medical. Are the medical exams and interview at the same time? Can you schedule it that way?

7. Then at some point she has to attend a class to leave to get a sticker on her passport?

8. Then they send her the visa? And this happens within a month of the interview/ medical?

9. Then she comes here. How do you know when to book a ticket? It seems like there is not a lot of advance notice.

10. Then we marry and live happily ever after.

So, I think I kinda understand it. Seems like a lot of steps seeing as how we are living in the computer age.

What can I do to speed things up? I have heard that I can schedule the class she has to take before she does the medical/ interview. She already has a passport and a clean police report. How close to the interview does the police report need to be?

Is it really going to take around 9 months no matter what I do? I want to do everything possible to get her here asap.

Thanks in advance for any info.

Peace,

Jason

[Bumbero 130]

Hello All!

First off, thanks for all the helpful info. I Express Mailed our I-129F Fiancee application yesterday and was just looking that the receipt confirmation. The ball is officially rolling.... There is so much info that is almost difficult to process. This is how I think it goes down:

1. Send in application

2. They receive it and send NOA1 and then send to appropriate service center. In our case, (I live in Seattle) I am assuming that it will be the California center. I live in SEattle too. Just received NOA1 and it's going to CSC.

3. Then they review the application and that takes like 5 months or so? Correct at USCIS

4. Once that is approved, they send NOA2 and from there it goes to NVC or CV something? NVC for a week or so

5. Then they send my application to Manila. (my fiancee is Filipina) Then she gets some sort of approval number? Then she can schedule the medical and interview online? Yup, she gets an MNL#. After you have that she can pay for her visa at BPI and then schedule her interview. She can have her medical as well.

6. Then I send her some money to pay for the medical and a hotel in Manila for 2 nights so she can stay for medical. Are the medical exams and interview at the same time? Can you schedule it that way? No, online registration helps though but medical can't be scheduled. It takes 2 days but some have had it completed in 1.

7. Then at some point she has to attend a class to leave to get a sticker on her passport? She has to go to the CFO seminar.

8. Then they send her the visa? And this happens within a month of the interview/ medical? After the interview it takes 7 to 14 days for the visa to be delivered by 2go.

9. Then she comes here. How do you know when to book a ticket? It seems like there is not a lot of advance notice. DO NOT BOOK A TICKET UNTIL SHE HAS VISA IN HAND! You will not believe some of the stories of people who make this mistake.

10. Then we marry and live happily ever after. That's the plan for all of us my friend!

So, I think I kinda understand it. Seems like a lot of steps seeing as how we are living in the computer age.

What can I do to speed things up? I have heard that I can schedule the class she has to take before she does the medical/ interview. She already has a passport and a clean police report. How close to the interview does the police report need to be?

Is it really going to take around 9 months no matter what I do? I want to do everything possible to get her here asap.

Unfortunately, there is nothing to do to speed up the process. I'm guessing I won't be out there till August for her interview and to bring her back with me.

Thanks in advance for any info.

Peace,

Jason

Here is the link to the CFO:

http://www.cfo.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1348&Itemid=918

I'm sure more will add to this post as well!

Good luck!!

Also, set your country for Beneficiary to Philippines. That way it's in the Philippines Forum and members can give you country specific info.

Edited December 22, 2012 by Bumbero

[Penguin_ie 5,992]

**** Moving from INtroducing Members to K1 forum ****

Op, you may also want to check out our Philippines forum for country specific questions: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/129-philippines/

[Ryan H 3,810]

Hello All!

First off, thanks for all the helpful info. I Express Mailed our I-129F Fiancee application yesterday and was just looking that the receipt confirmation. The ball is officially rolling.... There is so much info that is almost difficult to process. This is how I think it goes down:

1. Send in application

2. They receive it and send NOA1 and then send to appropriate service center. In our case, (I live in Seattle) I am assuming that it will be the California center.

3. Then they review the application and that takes like 5 months or so?

4. Once that is approved, they send NOA2 and from there it goes to NVC or CV something?

5. Then they send my application to Manila.

Thanks in advance for any info.

Peace,

Jason

You sent in a petition, not an application. You are not applying for anything, you are petitioning the government for your fiancee to be given permission to apply for a fiancee visa.

To answer number 4, I too live in Seattle and at the time I filed my petition, it was routed to the service center in CA.

[Pitaya 2,577]

You sent in a petition, not an application. You are not applying for anything, you are petitioning the government for your fiancee to be given permission to apply for a fiancee visa.

To answer number 4, I too live in Seattle and at the time I filed my petition, it was routed to the service center in CA.

Ditto

[Tahoma 2,291]

1. Send in application

^^^ Yes, you sent in an I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé(e).

2. They receive it and send NOA1 and then send to appropriate service center. In our case, (I live in Seattle) I am assuming that it will be the California center.

^^^ Yes, your petition most likely will end up at the California Service Center (CSC).

3. Then they review the application and that takes like 5 months or so?

^^^ Right.

4. Once that is approved, they send NOA2 and from there it goes to NVC or CV something?

^^^ Yes, once the USCIS approves your petition, they send it to the National Visa Center (NVC).

5. Then they send my application to Manila. (my fiancee is Filipina) Then she gets some sort of approval number? Then she can schedule the medical and interview online?

^^^ After the NVC assigns your petition an MNL case number, they forward your approved petition to the U.S. Embassy Manila. Once the Embassy receives your case file, they send a letter to the beneficiary informing them that they are eligible to schedule an interview. The letter also details the interview preparation instructions.

However, you should not wait around to receive the letter because it will set you back a month or more. Some people never receive the letter. Instead, you should start calling the NVC about a week or so after the USCIS approves your petition, and keep calling until you get your MNL case number from them.

Once you have your MNL case number, you can pay the visa application at BPI, schedule an interview either online or by phone, and complete the medical. This will speed things up a lot.

You can read the Embassy letter here.

6. Then I send her some money to pay for the medical and a hotel in Manila for 2 nights so she can stay for medical. Are the medical exams and interview at the same time? Can you schedule it that way?

^^^ The medical usually takes two days. However, if you come in early enough and St. Lukes is having a slow day, you may get the medical completed in one day.

Many people complete the medical a week or two before the Embassy interview. Some people complete the medical much earlier because they want to get a head start in case they have to undergo an eight-week TB culture at St. Lukes. A few people push the limits and complete their medical a couple of days before the interview. Some of those people have even hand-carried their medical results to their Embassy interview because St. Lukes could not deliver them in time for the interview.

My wife, Chinook, is from Bacolod City, Negros Occidental. She spent two weeks in Manila to complete her medical, complete her Embassy interview, and attend the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) seminar. Then, after she received her visa and returned to Manila on her way to the U.S., she stopped by the CFO main office to get the CFO sticker attached to her passport. Your fiancée will need a CFO sticker in her passport in order to board a flight to the U.S.

7. Then at some point she has to attend a class to leave to get a sticker on her passport?

^^^ Yes, she has to attend the CFO seminar and get a CFO sticker attached to her passport. There are two ways to do this. She can complete the CFO seminar before she has her visa. Then, once she has her visa, she will have to return to the CFO to get the sticker. Or, she can wait until she gets her visa and then attend the seminar and get the sticker at the same time.

8. Then they send her the visa? And this happens within a month of the interview/ medical?

^^^ Once she passes her interview, she'll receive her visa usually in a week or two...sometimes more and sometimes less.

9. Then she comes here. How do you know when to book a ticket? It seems like there is not a lot of advance notice.

^^^ Book the ticket when she has her visa in hand.

10. Then we marry and live happily ever after.

^^^ That's the plan!

What can I do to speed things up? I have heard that I can schedule the class she has to take before she does the medical/ interview.

^^^ See #5 and #6 above.

She already has a passport and a clean police report. How close to the interview does the police report need to be?

^^^ In my opinion, she should get her NBI clearance and her CENOMAR within one month before her interview.

Is it really going to take around 9 months no matter what I do? I want to do everything possible to get her here asap.

^^^ It could take that long, or it could take less time if everything falls into place.

It will take a lot longer if St. Lukes finds any abnormalities on her chest x-ray. In that case, it'll take about nine extra weeks to complete a TB culture. If the culture is positive, then she can look forward to a minimum of six months of treatment.

Thanks in advance for any info.

^^^ Walang anuman...and best wishes for a smooth and speedy visa journey!

Peace,

Jason