HELP!! CFO HAS ME STRESSING!

[luckytwo15 13]

Forgive me guys, I'm a bit confused, so thanks for your patience with this question: The long and of the short of it is fiancés CAN go to the seminar without their passport and visa with, complete everything; pay; etc. But then they must RETURN to CFO to get sticker later? Or can they get that at the airport (no extra trip to CFO)? It sounds like the former, but I'm not sure...

TIA and have a great day, everyone!

Sortof. She can do CFO in advance of receiving her visa, but MUST have her passport present at her CFO appointment. That would need to be done before the USEM interview if you want to get it out of the way. We chose to do it ahead of time to make sure we met all the wickets of the CFO counselors.

Another way to do CFO is to do the seminar post-USEM interview and after receiving the passport and visa.

There's more than one way to crack the nut. Just depends on what suits your plans, budget, travel distance, etc.

[dynb 17]

Hi, I haven't had my USEM interview but this thread has been very informative. I went to Hank's website, read the CFO section and have a question regarding this:

USC: (copies of) - bio page of passport, birth certificate, divorce decree (if been married before) are the most common requests. (USC if you have never been married before CFO has been asking for a copy of the tax return - if you provide that to CFO then for sure BLACKEN OUT YOUR SSN and other vital info that should not be made public. )

Does that mean I have to ask my fiancé to send me a copy of his tax return (with vital info blackened out of course) and the other docs mentioned to be as ready as possible upon attending the CFO seminar? Thanks!

Edited February 18, 2015 by dynm

[Hank_ 9,174]

Hi, I haven't had my USEM interview but this thread has been very informative. I went to Hank's website, read the CFO section and have a question regarding this:

Does that mean I have to ask my fiancé to send me a copy of his tax return (with vital info blackened out of course) and the other docs mentioned to be as ready as possible upon attending the CFO seminar? Thanks!

You only need a copy of the tax return for CFO if you fiance was never married before (thus no divorce decree or death certificate) to prove singleness.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Hi, I haven't had my USEM interview but this thread has been very informative. I went to Hank's website, read the CFO section and have a question regarding this:

Does that mean I have to ask my fiancé to send me a copy of his tax return (with vital info blackened out of course) and the other docs mentioned to be as ready as possible upon attending the CFO seminar? Thanks!

Any documents you are willing to provide should not be altered in any way. Once you start redacting a document, it becomes worthless as evidence. And any copy of an original document, or copy of an original filing, has to include all pages.

Edited February 19, 2015 by I AM NOT THAT GUY

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

You only need a copy of the tax return for CFO if you fiance was never married before (thus no divorce decree or death certificate) to prove singleness.

Do you mean tax return or do you mean IRS transcripts? Anybody can fill out an "informational tax return" to say anything they want, and they have, in prior years, which is why photocopies of signed and dated tax returns require supporting documents before they can be submitted as evidence of income, for example.

[Hank_ 9,174]

Do you mean tax return or do you mean IRS transcripts? Anybody can fill out an "informational tax return" to say anything they want, and they have, in prior years, which is why photocopies of signed and dated tax returns require supporting documents before they can be submitted as evidence of income, for example.

Nope I do not mean tax transcribe, not even the embassy requires a tax transcript.

[Blueblood 5]

Any documents you are willing to provide should not be altered in any way. Once you start redacting a document, it becomes worthless as evidence. And any copy of an original document, or copy of an original filing, has to include all pages.

I disagree. There is a certain level, some might say a high level, of subjectivity in this entire process. Copies of 1040's may, or may not, be asked for at any given point. If asked to produce them, copies with redacted SSN's aren't necessarily "invalid." I'd rather my fiancé have them then not, and yes, her copy is indeed redacted.

So far as I can gather, the CFO Counselor may well not even ask for them. If he/she does, and then demands "original" copies (this would surprise me but who knows), well then she's not getting them anyway bc the originals were sent off to the IRS last year. I'm not going to worry about it.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

I disagree. There is a certain level, some might say a high level, of subjectivity in this entire process. Copies of 1040's may, or may not, be asked for at any given point. If asked to produce them, copies with redacted SSN's aren't necessarily "invalid." I'd rather my fiancé have them then not, and yes, her copy is indeed redacted.

So far as I can gather, the CFO Counselor may well not even ask for them. If he/she does, and then demands "original" copies (this would surprise me but who knows), well then she's not getting them anyway bc the originals were sent off to the IRS last year. I'm not going to worry about it.

I have run into that issue myself, on something as simple as a photocopy of a credit card. Trust me. Bureaucrats in the Philippines will not accept an altered document, even if it is just to protect sensitive information. It is not worth them losing their jobs.

Edited February 19, 2015 by I AM NOT THAT GUY

[Blueblood 5]

IANTG, I am definitely not arguing with you in terms of Filipino bureaucrats, or any bureaucrats, for that matter. I'm just saying my fiancé is not getting anything "original" concerning me, my finances, or my ancient divorce. She'll bring copies. If the Counselor doesn't "accept" them (hell, I don't even have the "original copy" of my divorce decree; ONLY the court has that), then I suppose we'll cross that bridge when we come to it...

And in lieu of the originals, and as the whole deal is entirely at the discretion of the given Counselor, I'd rather my fiancé had copies, including redacted ones, to produce then nothing.

We'll see what happens...

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Nope I do not mean tax transcribe, not even the embassy requires a tax transcript.

But they do require W-2's, and such, to verify what is shown on the tax return.

[ForgottenNotes 12]

I plan to blacken out my SSN on my ITR... no way I'm letting CFO goons have that kind of information. Just hope they don't be difficult on that. Hank you suggested on your site to black that kind of information out. Have you verified anyone doing that and not having an issue? Yourself did that when you had CFO?

[Hank_ 9,174]

IANTG, I am definitely not arguing with you in terms of Filipino bureaucrats, or any bureaucrats, for that matter. I'm just saying my fiancé is not getting anything "original" concerning me, my finances, or my ancient divorce. She'll bring copies. If the Counselor doesn't "accept" them (hell, I don't even have the "original copy" of my divorce decree; ONLY the court has that), then I suppose we'll cross that bridge when we come to it...

And in lieu of the originals, and as the whole deal is entirely at the discretion of the given Counselor, I'd rather my fiancé had copies, including redacted ones, to produce then nothing.

We'll see what happens...

All you need is copies of the divorce decree, and because you have that CFO won't ask for a copy of your tax return. BTW I highly recommend blackening out the SSN on any documents given to CFO.

But they do require W-2's, and such, to verify what is shown on the tax return.

Not sure what your point it, as the conversation was about CFO, and no one gives a copy of the W-2 to CFO

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

IANTG, I am definitely not arguing with you in terms of Filipino bureaucrats, or any bureaucrats, for that matter. I'm just saying my fiancé is not getting anything "original" concerning me, my finances, or my ancient divorce. She'll bring copies. If the Counselor doesn't "accept" them (hell, I don't even have the "original copy" of my divorce decree; ONLY the court has that), then I suppose we'll cross that bridge when we come to it...

And in lieu of the originals, and as the whole deal is entirely at the discretion of the given Counselor, I'd rather my fiancé had copies, including redacted ones, to produce then nothing.

We'll see what happens...

Copies are fine, unless otherwise specifically requested. You will notice they often want to see "originals" and collect the copies. Like you said, they never get to see certain documents, because all you have is a certified true copy issued by the agency that is the custodian of the original. For all intents and purposed, that is an "original" document.

Nope I do not mean tax transcribe, not even the embassy requires a tax transcript.

Not sure what your point it, as the conversation was about CFO, and no one gives a copy of the W-2 to CFO

[Hank_ 9,174]

I plan to blacken out my SSN on my ITR... no way I'm letting CFO goons have that kind of information. Just hope they don't be difficult on that. Hank you suggested on your site to black that kind of information out. Have you verified anyone doing that and not having an issue? Yourself did that when you had CFO?

Many have blacked out the SSN on their copy of the ITR given to CFO. The copy of the ITR is not asked for if the USC has been divorce or a spouse has died, then a copy of the divorce decree or death certificate provide proof of singleness to make CFO happy.

I did not provide a copy of my ITR return, but I did provide a copy of a death certificate.

[kingneptune1 6]

Well guys...after a rough week and a couple of emotional days we are back on track and certainly not ready to give up by any means. Like I said, my own fault for not being prepared with that letter. I found out about it at the last minute. Our new target date is March 2...back to Manila, deliver NOTARIZED letter to CFO, and have her on a plane to the USA the next day. Apparently the letter itself was ok for cfo (handwritten), but I'm wondering if I should have her fill out the form letter and have that notarized as a back up? And maybe bring the ID just in case. Thoughts?