Police Clearance for OFW wife/starting visa process

[Toby and Quennie 4]

Married 12/15/15 in Philippines. I'm about to start the visa process to bring my filipina wife to the U.S. Not exactly sure where to start. Think about hiring an attorney/service. Have a few questions!

1) Where do I start, checklist, step-by-step;

2) I need information on police clearances from the 3 countries within which she was employed as a domestic helper;

3) Is it possible for me to search within this particular forum for threads that meet my search criteria?

Thanks in advance for all of your assistance!!

Toby

[Shemp 6]

You don't need a lawyer: https://www.uscis.gov/family/family-us-citizens/fiancee-visa/fiancee-visas

Edited May 1, 2016 by Shemp

[A'n'L 735]

Start here: http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1

Which countries and how long did she stay in each?

The VJ forum can be searched easily :-)

No need for a lawyer, good luck :-)

[Nathan&Emily 10]

You don't need a lawyer: https://www.uscis.gov/family/family-us-citizens/fiancee-visa/fiancee-visas

As they're already married surely it wouldn't be the fiancee visas page he needs?

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

What countries did she work in? I say this because there are some countries in the Middle East that do not give police clearances if you are not in the country. The embassy knows this and it is not a problem. You don't need a lawyer just follow the guides.

[Greenbaum 12,259]

Toby and Quennie, on 01 May 2016 - 1:34 PM, said:Toby and Quennie, on 01 May 2016 - 1:34 PM, said:

Married 12/15/15 in Philippines. I'm about to start the visa process to bring my filipina wife to the U.S. Not exactly sure where to start. Think about hiring an attorney/service. Have a few questions!

1) Where do I start, checklist, step-by-step;

2) I need information on police clearances from the 3 countries within which she was employed as a domestic helper;

3) Is it possible for me to search within this particular forum for threads that meet my search criteria?

Thanks in advance for all of your assistance!!

Toby

The process is a little time consuming but it comes in batches. Many, many people have done there own and had no problems or if any occurred they were able to keep moving the process forward on their own and with the help of the VJ community. You can do this. Here is some links to get you started. The VJ guide is good and some have given you the link already.

This couple finished theirs about 8 months ago and gave back to the community with their own website. http://jerryjja.wix.com/filipinasaswa#!uscis/c116m I think they are still around if you have questions. Also, "Brassballs" is here and he just completed his. He offers lots of help to others.

Here is another place to look http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/499355-updated-ir-5-guide/

And here is the Embassy Letter (referred to as Packet 3 or P3) http://photos.state.gov/libraries/manila/1178798/feb2015/IV%20Applicant%20Interview%20Preparation%20Instructions%20-%20English%20_February%202015_.pdf

The P3 is all the documents you will need and instructions for your interview at USEM in Manila Philippines. Remember, every Embassy is different so be careful where your getting your information from. Stay here in the Philippines Sub - forum and you should do fine.

Welcome aboard.

Edited May 1, 2016 by Greenbaum

[Toby and Quennie 4]

She is now back in Mindanao. So, she will be using the embassy in Manila.

She worked in:

Dubai: 10/11/06-05/27/08

Qatar: 10/21/08-06/24/10

Hong Kong: 05/26/11-09/03/14.

Thanks a bunch for your help!!

By the way,,...so, how is it that I can search the forum??

Thanks again!!

[Joshua@Tinz 52]

Better get to work on those police clearances ASAP, As long as she does not go back to those countries they will never expire. The ideal situation is to have her former employers get them for her, HK is attainable for sure, for dubai and qatar, I will only suggest you google the information as it is easily enough to find, and I do not want to lie to you and make an untrue statement about whether or not they will provide one when the person applying is already at home, some do some dont.

[Joshua@Tinz 52]

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/security/police-cert/mid-east/united-arab-emirates.asp

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/security/police-cert/mid-east/qatar.asp

[Hank_ 9,174]

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/security/police-cert/mid-east/united-arab-emirates.asp

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/security/police-cert/mid-east/qatar.asp

Those links are of no value - canada

[Greenbaum 12,259]

Toby and Quennie, on 01 May 2016 - 10:35 PM, said:

She is now back in Mindanao. So, she will be using the embassy in Manila.

She worked in:

Dubai: 10/11/06-05/27/08

Qatar: 10/21/08-06/24/10

Hong Kong: 05/26/11-09/03/14.

Thanks a bunch for your help!!

By the way,,...so, how is it that I can search the forum??

Thanks again!!

Use this link to find the country that she has lived in since age 16 for more than 6 months at a time: https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/fees/reciprocity-by-country.html

Just enter the Country and then look down the left column for something that looks like a Police Clearance link. Some countries describe differently.

[Toby and Quennie 4]

Better get to work on those police clearances ASAP, As long as she does not go back to those countries they will never expire. The ideal situation is to have her former employers get them for her, HK is attainable for sure, for dubai and qatar, I will only suggest you google the information as it is easily enough to find, and I do not want to lie to you and make an untrue statement about whether or not they will provide one when the person applying is already at home, some do some dont.

Joshua@Tinz.....

I'm assuming that if the police clearances are not provided by those countries, then there is no way to attain the visa? correct?

[Greenbaum 12,259]

Toby and Quennie, on 02 May 2016 - 9:21 PM, said:

Joshua@Tinz.....

I'm assuming that if the police clearances are not provided by those countries, then there is no way to attain the visa? correct?

You can get PC's from HK and Qatar but not UAE. The CO's normally know what countries will provide a PC and those that won't. To be safe I would print off the UAE requirements to show the CO if indeed they question you having not submitted a PC from UAE. The others you can get with a little effort.

Without the PC's (HK and Qatar) you will not pass but with them you will have met the PC requirement.

[Greenbaum 12,259]

Toby and Quennie, on 01 May 2016 - 10:35 PM, said:Toby and Quennie, on 01 May 2016 - 10:35 PM, said:

She is now back in Mindanao. So, she will be using the embassy in Manila.

She worked in:

Dubai: 10/11/06-05/27/08

Qatar: 10/21/08-06/24/10

Hong Kong: 05/26/11-09/03/14.

Thanks a bunch for your help!!

By the way,,...so, how is it that I can search the forum??

Thanks again!!

You can search VJ but not just the sub-forum.

Search box is in the upper right hand corner where it states "Google custom search" in a blue box and a greyed box that says "search".

Select this image to enlarge

Edited May 3, 2016 by Greenbaum

[jg121783 3,909]

Married 12/15/15 in Philippines. I'm about to start the visa process to bring my filipina wife to the U.S. Not exactly sure where to start. Think about hiring an attorney/service. Have a few questions!

1) Where do I start, checklist, step-by-step;

2) I need information on police clearances from the 3 countries within which she was employed as a domestic helper;

3) Is it possible for me to search within this particular forum for threads that meet my search criteria?

Thanks in advance for all of your assistance!!

Toby

She is now back in Mindanao. So, she will be using the embassy in Manila.

She worked in:

Dubai: 10/11/06-05/27/08

Qatar: 10/21/08-06/24/10

Hong Kong: 05/26/11-09/03/14.

Thanks a bunch for your help!!

By the way,,...so, how is it that I can search the forum??

Thanks again!!

Congrats on your marriage. My situation is very similar to yours so maybe I can offer you a few tips. I married my wife in February who was also an OFW. I have been working on my wife and step son's I-130s since I got back home in February and hopefully I will be ready to mail them out by the end of this week. First of all as many here will tell you don't waste your time or money on an attorney unless you have some serious legal issues. They will just take your money and you still have to do most of the paperwork anyways. I will admit this all seemed overwhelming for me at first and I thought about hiring an attorney (for about $2000-$3000 not including all the government fees) but if you take it all step by step it is not a big deal. There are some great people here who have helped me out a lot and I am now confident I can handle this process without any legal help. As far as police clearences go my wife worked in Dubai and I can confirm the only way to get a police clearence there is in person so the embassy has an exemption. I don't know about Qatar or Hong Kong.

Something no one has asked you yet. Have you applied for a NSO/PSA marriage certificate? It is needed for your I-130 package and can take a month or longer to get so if you haven't applied for it I would do that right away. We paid the expedite fee (I believe it was about 1000p) and we had it in about a month. It is my understanding if you simply include your local marriage certificate with your I-130 you will get an RFE asking for the NSO/PSA copy which could cause delays. Also you should fill out all the paperwork using your wife's married name which will make things easier later down the road. You should start thinking about getting your wife to her CFO seminar because it is required to change her last name on things like her passport. My wife has hers scheduled for the 10th of this month. Then I'm told it could be another couple months to get a new passport. I have found the Philippines government can be slow at times so it is best to get this stuff out of the way as soon as possible. I am still learning as I go here so if any of the experts here see anything I got wrong please correct me.

Edited May 3, 2016 by jg121783