CFO telecounseling requirements

[justinedr 27]

hi im prepping docs for my cfo counseling next week. just dont know what Proof of Residency/Alien Registration Card is. is this his proof of residency in the philippines? petitioner is a filipino who got naturalized 9yrs ago.

 

 

Quote

 

In preparation for your Telecounseling, you are advised to prepare the following documents listed below 

and send them here after the Telecounseling session. 

 

Also, please note that you may be requested to submit additional requirements, like medical certificate, affidavit of support, 

police record of your spouse/partner/fiance(e) etc., if I deem it necessary.

COUNSELING REQUIREMENTS (clear photos will do)
1. Marriage Certificate (PSA) or if married overseas, original Report of Marriage duly registered by the Philippine Embassy/Consulate or the Department of Foreign Affairs (if applicable)
2. Divorce decree/certificate (of Filipino spouse or foreign spouse, if previously married)
3. Annulment paper (of Filipino spouse or foreign spouse, if previously married)
4. Proof of residency/Alien Registration Card-ARC (of foreign spouse)
5. Proof of relationship (pictures together, e-mails, among others)
6. Death certificate (of Filipino spouse and/or foreign spouse, if widow/widower)
7. Certificate of Family relations / registration (of foreign spouse, if applicable)
8. Photo of your valid passport
9. Photo of your valid visa 

10. Proof of Employment (of foreign spouse/partner/fiance(e))

11. Proof of Residence (i.e.: ID, billing statement of foreign spouse/partner/fiance(e))

12. Petitioner's Passport Page with Bureau of Immigration stamps (if applicable)

13. Contact Information

a. Your Full Name:

    Address:

    Email address:

b. Full Name of Closest Relative in the Philippines (indicate relationship):

    Address:

    Contact Number:

c. Petitioner's Full Name:

    Address:

    Contact Number:

 

 

[Hank_ 9,174]

Proof of residency/ ACR card is only needed IF the foreign petitioner is residing in the Philippines.    

[justinedr 27]

ohh so i dont need it then. thanks @Hank_!!

[flicks1998 1,044]

55 minutes ago, justinedr said:

ohh so i dont need it then. thanks @Hank_!!

Once you complete the CFO, please report back how it went.  I have heard nightmares about this process for the past decade and have very little patience if any nonsense comes of it.  Just by the email they sent you, I can tell there is already a potential powertrip of the person administering the CFO.  

[justinedr 27]

14 minutes ago, flicks1998 said:

Once you complete the CFO, please report back how it went.  I have heard nightmares about this process for the past decade and have very little patience if any nonsense comes of it.  Just by the email they sent you, I can tell there is already a potential powertrip of the person administering the CFO.  

will do. looking at the list overwhelmed me as well. but i just wanna get this over with 😑

good thing i still took a chance to get a schedule even before my interview - i thought their new normal online process strictly requires the visa before being granted a schedule.

[AlaMike 229]

I'm waiting to see how Jeigh's CFO works out. She went to the session last year but without Visa. She paid the fee and has the receipt and completion paper.

Just waiting on passport with Visa stamp to arrive. Hope fully they will no want all the other papers they are asking for now. But I have them scanned and ready to send... just in case.

 

[flicks1998 1,044]

48 minutes ago, justinedr said:

will do. looking at the list overwhelmed me as well. but i just wanna get this over with 😑

good thing i still took a chance to get a schedule even before my interview - i thought their new normal online process strictly requires the visa before being granted a schedule.

Thats the way I understood it as well as the visa needs to be issued.  Did you schedule before you had the visa and if so, how far out did you have to schedule (basically if you went to make an appointment today, how many days or weeks was the earliest time frame?)  The one thing that we are racing against time is the medical exam and the 6 month expiry on that so doing the CFO asap may help save some time.  

 

Most of the documents seem to be what was prepared for the visa interview (and which were never asked for) so those now meet the CFO list. 

[flicks1998 1,044]

24 minutes ago, AlaMike said:

I'm waiting to see how Jeigh's CFO works out. She went to the session last year but without Visa. She paid the fee and has the receipt and completion paper.

Just waiting on passport with Visa stamp to arrive. Hope fully they will no want all the other papers they are asking for now. But I have them scanned and ready to send... just in case.

 

Which ones are the additional documents?  The possible affidavit of support, petitioner police record, medical certificate?  Number 1-13 just seem to be documents we had prepared for the interview.  If we need an FBI clearance, those can take time AND you have to be in the US to do it.  When I worked in Vietnam, an FBI clearance is mandatory and I had to fly all the way back to the US just to do the FBI clearance as it was impossible to do at an embassy overseas. 

[justinedr 27]

5 minutes ago, flicks1998 said:

Thats the way I understood it as well as the visa needs to be issued.  Did you schedule before you had the visa and if so, how far out did you have to schedule (basically if you went to make an appointment today, how many days or weeks was the earliest time frame?)  The one thing that we are racing against time is the medical exam and the 6 month expiry on that so doing the CFO asap may help save some time.  

 

Most of the documents seem to be what was prepared for the visa interview (and which were never asked for) so those now meet the CFO list. 

i didnt get to choose slots. just to share what i did-

1. i created an account from the link on their website. that link https://cfo.ph/Online_PDOS_Account_Creation-GCP/ only works weekdays office hours.
2. i got an email immediately after completing my account. it lists 4 requirements to be sent to a different email (the email of your assigned counselor). they were beneficiary passport biopage, petitioner passport biopage, marriage cert if married, and the visa.
3. i dont have a visa yet as my interview is on jan 4. i stated this and attached the appointment email from USEM instead. i emailed the counselor with the requirements today dec 9, and 30 mins later she replied with my telecounseling schedule - dec 14

there are no instructions to pay yet so i havent. 

my only concern was the possible wait time on getting a schedule. if you would need an earlier sched than what they will provide, you can probably email them to have it moved. almost the entire process seems to be pretty discretionary by the cfo people.

 

[flicks1998 1,044]

8 minutes ago, justinedr said:

i didnt get to choose slots. just to share what i did-

1. i created an account from the link on their website. that link https://cfo.ph/Online_PDOS_Account_Creation-GCP/ only works weekdays office hours.
2. i got an email immediately after completing my account. it lists 4 requirements to be sent to a different email (the email of your assigned counselor). they were beneficiary passport biopage, petitioner passport biopage, marriage cert if married, and the visa.
3. i dont have a visa yet as my interview is on jan 4. i stated this and attached the appointment email from USEM instead. i emailed the counselor with the requirements today dec 9, and 30 mins later she replied with my telecounseling schedule - dec 14

there are no instructions to pay yet so i havent. 

my only concern was the possible wait time on getting a schedule. if you would need an earlier sched than what they will provide, you can probably email them to have it moved. almost the entire process seems to be pretty discretionary by the cfo people.

 

Great, thats super helpful. We will do this process this week while waiting for the visa and see what happens.  

[AlaMike 229]

19 minutes ago, flicks1998 said:

Which ones are the additional documents?  The possible affidavit of support, petitioner police record, medical certificate?  Number 1-13 just seem to be documents we had prepared for the interview.  If we need an FBI clearance, those can take time AND you have to be in the US to do it.  When I worked in Vietnam, an FBI clearance is mandatory and I had to fly all the way back to the US just to do the FBI clearance as it was impossible to do at an embassy overseas. 

I am saving all the information that they DID NOT ask for during the initial counselling session in a separate file; divorce decree, proof of employment, proof of residency, etc. That information was never asked for. Before the "online/phone" interview, people were showing up and getting asked for paperwork that was not on the list. 

As for the FBI background check? I work for a security company and we do background checks on all employees, so I just ran one on myself.  We use a company call YALE and a couple others to do backgrounds, all done online. 

[flicks1998 1,044]

1 minute ago, AlaMike said:

I am saving all the information that they DID NOT ask for during the initial counselling session in a separate file; divorce decree, proof of employment, proof of residency, etc. That information was never asked for. Before the "online/phone" interview, people were showing up and getting asked for paperwork that was not on the list. 

As for the FBI background check? I work for a security company and we do background checks on all employees, so I just ran one on myself.  We use a company call YALE and a couple others to do backgrounds, all done online. 

OK great thanks.  Yes, I would definitely be over prepared as I doubt there is any consistency in this.  One "counselor" will request certain documents while another will want others.  Once we get going on this process Ill post the experience. 

[TShayne 12]

23 hours ago, flicks1998 said:

Great, thats super helpful. We will do this process this week while waiting for the visa and see what happens.  

So we set up our account today on the 10th and will wait for a schedule. Our Interview was December 9, and on December 10 our status changed from ready to issued. We are hoping to get word of a teleconference soon. Would love to spend Christmas in the US together.  Let us know if there are any other documents you need to give outside of what is on the list of 13. 

[AlaMike 229]

3 hours ago, TShayne said:

So we set up our account today on the 10th and will wait for a schedule. Our Interview was December 9, and on December 10 our status changed from ready to issued. We are hoping to get word of a teleconference soon. Would love to spend Christmas in the US together.  Let us know if there are any other documents you need to give outside of what is on the list of 13. 

I am just a couple weeks behind you on CFO scheduling

Keep us all informed

[justinedr 27]

so i just finished my tele-counseling. she just established our relationship- asked questions you'd typically hear on embassy interviews like when where how did we meet, have our parents met, when did he propose, what's his work, where does he live, where will i live, what're our plans once i get there, how many times has he visited the philippines, where did he stay on his visits here.. she then gave the spiel on having support groups and gov't contacts for if/when i'd have problems settling in the US. whole thing lasted 20 mins only.

 

nothing additional was asked from numbers 1-13, and i can send the visa later once i have it (🤞 for approval). once they're emailed, a confirmation email will be received to serve as completion of the tele-counseling. another email will also be sent for payment instructions. after payment and sending the proof of payment, that's only when the temporary certificate will be sent.