K-1 Manila Philippines Interview Notification

[glazierguy 20]

If somebody could please offer me 100% for sure info that would be great. Ive heard so many different versions. 1......some people say once the nvc sends manila the approved I-129 all you have to do is call for an appt. some people say the embassy must send you a packet with instructions, some people say the embassy sends you nothing. yet here in the states you will receive a notice that clearly states the embassy will be sending something to the applicant. my fiancé has no address she lives way way out in the boonies!!!!! 2.......some say you have to now take an affidavit of support to the interview, some say you don't.......3......some say the medical apt takes your passport and forwards it to the embassy on the day of your interview, some say they don't........so much miss information its just horrible!!!!!!!!

[TBoneTX 45,329]

*** Country-specifoc thread moved from CR-1 Process forum to the Philippines regional subforum. ***

[Steve&Ema 25]

If somebody could please offer me 100% for sure info that would be great. Ive heard so many different versions. 1......some people say once the nvc sends manila the approved I-129 all you have to do is call for an appt. some people say the embassy must send you a packet with instructions, some people say the embassy sends you nothing. yet here in the states you will receive a notice that clearly states the embassy will be sending something to the applicant. my fiancé has no address she lives way way out in the boonies!!!!! 2.......some say you have to now take an affidavit of support to the interview, some say you don't.......3......some say the medical apt takes your passport and forwards it to the embassy on the day of your interview, some say they don't........so much miss information its just horrible!!!!!!!!

Well I can tell you what me and my fiancée did. As soon as we got our case number I called the embassy and they told me to wait until I got the letter saying that they had received our petition at the Manila Embassy. But from what I read here, we just went ahead and scheduled the interview appointment online. Eventually we both got the letter from the Embassy but it is not necessary. You can have your fiancée pay the visa fee and then schedule her appointment online: https://cgifederal.secure.force.com/

The Embassy won't send you any packet with instructions. Just links to the instructions in an email. But you can find them here: ttp://manila.usembassy.gov/wwwh3224.html

Yes your fiancée has to bring the I-134 affidavit of support that you have filled out and signed to the interview.

No they do not take your passport at the medical, they stamp it.

[luther 0]

We were approved in less than five months following HANK's Guide exactly. We got the packet in the mail in her village after our interview and approval. Hanks guide was perfect for us. Once you get the Manila case number, ST Lukes Medical and

schedule the interview online. Passport was kept at the interview and we received it 10 days after the interview by picking up at the 2Go location in Manila. If you do nothing else read Hank's Guide. It is all worth it once she has that VISA in her hand. Good luck follow the guide.

http://visaconnection-philippines.com/#

[Jeff @ Missy 9]

We were approved in less than five months following HANK's Guide exactly. We got the packet in the mail in her village after our interview and approval. Hanks guide was perfect for us. Once you get the Manila case number, ST Lukes Medical and

schedule the interview online. Passport was kept at the interview and we received it 10 days after the interview by picking up at the 2Go location in Manila. If you do nothing else read Hank's Guide. It is all worth it once she has that VISA in her hand. Good luck follow the guide.

http://visaconnection-philippines.com/#

Is this a link to Hanks guide? There is no info on filing and all the paperwork requirements and USCIS stuff. I have a friend who is going to do the K1 soon and he is asking me questions on how to get started but I was a CR1 filer.

[Hank_ 9,174]

If somebody could please offer me 100% for sure info that would be great. Ive heard so many different versions. 1......some people say once the nvc sends manila the approved I-129 all you have to do is call for an appt. some people say the embassy must send you a packet with instructions, some people say the embassy sends you nothing. yet here in the states you will receive a notice that clearly states the embassy will be sending something to the applicant. my fiancé has no address she lives way way out in the boonies!!!!! 2.......some say you have to now take an affidavit of support to the interview, some say you don't.......3......some say the medical apt takes your passport and forwards it to the embassy on the day of your interview, some say they don't........so much miss information its just horrible!!!!!!!

Ignore "some"...

The embassy does mail out a packet, but PHILPOST never delivers... luckily it isn't needed for anything. Everything is online. So DO NOT wait for any letter from USEM, once you have your MNL # it is ROCK 'N' TIME!!

For the process in Manila, follow the flashing arrow below.... That will get your fiancee from A - Z and on the way to the USA.

Edited February 20, 2014 by Hank_

[Hank_ 9,174]

Is this a link to Hanks guide? There is no info on filing and all the paperwork requirements and USCIS stuff. I have a friend who is going to do the K1 soon and he is asking me questions on how to get started but I was a CR1 filer.

You're right there is NO information on the I-129F petition process there, all that is in there is information for processing the K-1 in Manila.

For the I-129F petition, follow the GUIDES here on VJ for the K-1 visa. Link http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1guide

[sweet cakes 326]

If somebody could please offer me 100% for sure info that would be great. Ive heard so many different versions. 1......some people say once the nvc sends manila the approved I-129 all you have to do is call for an appt. some people say the embassy must send you a packet with instructions, some people say the embassy sends you nothing. yet here in the states you will receive a notice that clearly states the embassy will be sending something to the applicant. my fiancé has no address she lives way way out in the boonies!!!!! 2.......some say you have to now take an affidavit of support to the interview, some say you don't.......3......some say the medical apt takes your passport and forwards it to the embassy on the day of your interview, some say they don't........so much miss information its just horrible!!!!!!!!

First of all, relax! The K-1 visa process is not a walk in the park, but very achievable. As others advised, don't wait for the USEM instruction letter and do read Hank's guide for more tips: http://visaconnection-philippines.com/#

There are also other useful sites/blogs, like Ann's: http://philippinefiancevisa.weebly.com/

Which part of the visa process are you currently at? It would be easier for helpful people here to assist you if your VJ timeline is filled-up.

Edited February 20, 2014 by sweet cakes

[Tahoma 2,292]

If somebody could please offer me 100% for sure info that would be great. Ive heard so many different versions. 1......some people say once the nvc sends manila the approved I-129 all you have to do is call for an appt. some people say the embassy must send you a packet with instructions, some people say the embassy sends you nothing. yet here in the states you will receive a notice that clearly states the embassy will be sending something to the applicant. my fiancé has no address she lives way way out in the boonies!!!!! 2.......some say you have to now take an affidavit of support to the interview, some say you don't.......3......some say the medical apt takes your passport and forwards it to the embassy on the day of your interview, some say they don't........so much miss information its just horrible!!!!!!!!

1. If you wanted to go by the book, you would wait for the NVC to send your petition to the U.S. Embassy Manila (USEM), and then wait for the USEM to send the beneficiary their interview preparation instructions letter, and then schedule an interview appointment.

However, the problem with that process is that it wastes a lot of time. First, it takes a lot of time for the beneficiary to receive the USEM's instruction letter. Second, some beneficiaries never receive the instruction letter. Five years later, Chinook and I are still waiting for the instruction letter.

You don't have to waste time waiting for the instruction letter. There's a shortcut. The shortcut is to call the NVC and get your MNL case number. Once you have your MNL case number, you can pay the visa application fee at BPI and, the next day or so, go online and schedule an interview appointment. Then, a week or two before the interview, you can complete the medical.

Note: Your petition packet must be at the USEM in time for the interview. I have never seen anyone have a problem with that issue when they used the shortcut.

Note: You can read the USEM's interview preparation instructions letter on their website. It's here: http://photos.state.gov/libraries/manila/325288/packets/K1%20and%20K2%20Interview%20Preparation%20Instructions%20-%20English%20_updated%2004%20Feb%202014_.pdf

2. Yes, the beneficiary must submit the affidavit of support at the interview. Check out the USEM's instructions letter.

3. In the old days, St. Lukes kept your passport and forwarded it to the USEM. Nowadays, they return your passport to you when you complete the medical.

[Hank_ 9,174]

There recently was a Filipina who rushed things too much and was turned away at her interview as her file had not arrived from NVC. If you allow 4 weeks or so between when you get your MNL # and when you schedule the interview the file should be at USEM by then.

[Tahoma 2,292]

There recently was a Filipina who rushed things too much and was turned away at her interview as her file had not arrived from NVC. If you allow 4 weeks or so between when you get your MNL # and when you schedule the interview the file should be at USEM by then.

Do you have a link for that case? If it's true, it would be the first time I've seen it happen in the thousands of cases I've seen pass through here.

[Hank_ 9,174]

It just happened with the past 10 days or so. I will see if I can find it, most of the chat was PM but I thought there was a posting too.

LINK

Edited February 20, 2014 by Hank_

[sweet cakes 326]

There recently was a Filipina who rushed things too much and was turned away at her interview as her file had not arrived from NVC. If you allow 4 weeks or so between when you get your MNL # and when you schedule the interview the file should be at USEM by then.

Very feasible. There's really nothing that USEM can do without her file on-hand. But knowing the unavailability of close appointment dates, she must have been feeling lucky that she got a really close one.. Just curious if she's allowed to re-schedule her interview without paying a new visa fee.

[Hank_ 9,174]

Very feasible. There's really nothing that USEM can do without her file on-hand. But knowing the unavailability of close appointment dates, she must have been feeling lucky that she got a really close one.. Just curious if she's allowed to re-schedule her interview without paying a new visa fee.

I doubt they would want another fee as the interview never happened. But we are talking the government so who knows... I have not heard back on that yet.

[Jeff @ Missy 9]

The NVC told me the day the mail left the building via DHL, about a week to get shipped roughly then the time for them to open and log the info give 2 weeks minimum. Thats what I had done. The "four week rule" should be pretty safe.