CFO telecounseling requirements

[user555 196]

38 minutes ago, justinedr said:

so i just finished my tele-counseling.

They emailed us today and said your meeting is in 1 hour. It lasted for 9 min. They asked simple biographical questions with a Will you be homesick? and Does your family approve? These are things your friends might ask you. There was nothing about taxes, support groups, or domestic violence. They said they will email a temp certificate and once the visa is done, they will send the sticker. I think we waited 4 business days from when we emailed them first to when we had the appt. We just sent the 4 documents they have on their website. I have an ACR card, but they didn't ask for it. 

[TShayne 12]

On 12/9/2020 at 8:16 AM, 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. 

I was asked to provide a background check, will look at Yale.

[flicks1998 1,044]

9 hours ago, justinedr said:

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. 

 

8 hours ago, user555 said:

They emailed us today and said your meeting is in 1 hour. It lasted for 9 min. They asked simple biographical questions with a Will you be homesick? and Does your family approve? These are things your friends might ask you. There was nothing about taxes, support groups, or domestic violence. They said they will email a temp certificate and once the visa is done, they will send the sticker. I think we waited 4 business days from when we emailed them first to when we had the appt. We just sent the 4 documents they have on their website. I have an ACR card, but they didn't ask for it. 

Thats funny.  I wish everything worked so efficiently here   Thats got to be record in scheduling and doing the interview.

 

Did either one of you get a timeline from when you should have the temporary certificate, stickers, or whatever will be needed?

[user555 196]

23 minutes ago, flicks1998 said:

Did either one of you get a timeline from when you should have the temporary certificate, stickers, or whatever will be needed?

The way I understood it was when you send them a picture of your visa, they'll send you the payment option, and when you pay, they'll send you an email of your certificate and start the process of sending you the sticker. You can use either at the airport. Maybe 2-3 days max? 

[Carpe Vinum 2,327]

They are asking for a background check on the foreign spouse/fiancé now for CFO? Good Lord. Never heard of that happening before.

[Carpe Vinum 2,327]

9 hours ago, user555 said:

They emailed us today and said your meeting is in 1 hour. It lasted for 9 min. They asked simple biographical questions with a Will you be homesick? and Does your family approve? These are things your friends might ask you. There was nothing about taxes, support groups, or domestic violence. They said they will email a temp certificate and once the visa is done, they will send the sticker. I think we waited 4 business days from when we emailed them first to when we had the appt. We just sent the 4 documents they have on their website. I have an ACR card, but they didn't ask for it. 

I've said this before. My wife really liked CFO. She made friends there that she still has to this day. It does depend which city the CFO is in. Of course this covid-online thing is a completely different animal. I can't imagine the stress level for people going through this immigration process now.

[justinedr 27]

2 hours ago, user555 said:

3 hours ago, flicks1998 said:

Did either one of you get a timeline from when you should have the temporary certificate, stickers, or whatever will be needed?

The way I understood it was when you send them a picture of your visa, they'll send you the payment option, and when you pay, they'll send you an email of your certificate and start the process of sending you the sticker. You can use either at the airport. Maybe 2-3 days max? 

you dont need the visa for the payment instructions. you just need the long list of docs + other things the counselor will ask, email them, counselor verifies them, and if all is good you will receive the instructions. i already have the payment instructions and reference number, just need to pay it via bayad center as it was recommended for real-time posting. i was told the temp cert will be sent within 24 hrs upon verification of proof of payment.

[flicks1998 1,044]

1 hour ago, justinedr said:

you dont need the visa for the payment instructions. you just need the long list of docs + other things the counselor will ask, email them, counselor verifies them, and if all is good you will receive the instructions. i already have the payment instructions and reference number, just need to pay it via bayad center as it was recommended for real-time posting. i was told the temp cert will be sent within 24 hrs upon verification of proof of payment.

Thanks, good info.  

[AlaMike 231]

On 12/14/2020 at 6:32 AM, boris64 said:

They are asking for a background check on the foreign spouse/fiancé now for CFO? Good Lord. Never heard of that happening before.

You would think they would put ALL the required information they want, even if they don't ask for it.

Seems there is no consistency in who they ask for background, proof of residency or other non listed items.

I see where some have not even been asked for the basic requirements and others are asked for everything.

This just makes things more difficult for everyone.

[user555 196]

24 minutes ago, AlaMike said:

You would think they would put ALL the required information they want, even if they don't ask for it.

Seems there is no consistency in who they ask for background, proof of residency or other non listed items.

I see where some have not even been asked for the basic requirements and others are asked for everything.

This just makes things more difficult for everyone.

I wasn't asked for a background check, but another user on here messaged me and said he had to provide one. He's a US citizen that is living in the States. Why would CFO care about that? It's not like the USEM is any better. Some applicants are asked for W2 and tax forms (or transcripts) for the current year, some people are not, some are asked for a CEMAR for both the applicant and petitioner, some are not (just the applicant), some are never even asked for it (even though it's a requirement), etc. It seems like a newbie CO will be strict and a veteran CO has better judgement. The rules are not evenly applied in the PH or the US!

[justinedr 27]

On 12/14/2020 at 10:45 PM, justinedr said:

just need to pay it via bayad center as it was recommended for real-time posting. i was told the temp cert will be sent within 24 hrs upon verification of proof of payment.

Just wanna confirm that this is indeed true. I have my temp cert now even without the interview/visa. 

[user555 196]

4 hours ago, justinedr said:

Just wanna confirm that this is indeed true. I have my temp cert now even without the interview/visa. 

Welcome to government bureaucracy. There should be 1 rule that all employees follow, but with 100 employees, you're going to have 100 different rules. What applies to your case won't apply to someone else's case. 

[Carpe Vinum 2,327]

On 12/15/2020 at 8:12 AM, user555 said:

I wasn't asked for a background check, but another user on here messaged me and said he had to provide one. He's a US citizen that is living in the States. Why would CFO care about that? It's not like the USEM is any better. Some applicants are asked for W2 and tax forms (or transcripts) for the current year, some people are not, some are asked for a CEMAR for both the applicant and petitioner, some are not (just the applicant), some are never even asked for it (even though it's a requirement), etc. It seems like a newbie CO will be strict and a veteran CO has better judgement. The rules are not evenly applied in the PH or the US!

I was with my wife for her interview at the embassy. She was asked four questions and off we went. I could hear all of the other interviews going on. Some were getting raked over the coals. Especially about prior criminal activity. Two husbands/fiancés were even told to go sit down because they tried to interject during the interview.

Edited December 16, 2020 by boris64

[justinedr 27]

19 minutes ago, user555 said:

Welcome to government bureaucracy. There should be 1 rule that all employees follow, but with 100 employees, you're going to have 100 different rules. What applies to your case won't apply to someone else's case. 

True. So do trial and error based on what people share here while keeping expectations on the govt low.

[Charlie Brown 302 22]

Hello,

 

Not trying to hijack, but, what was your wait time from start of registration to receive counselor e-mail ?

 

She did get a text message basically telling her to wait.

 

My fiance' has been waiting for almost two weeks on her second attempt.

 

Thank you for all of the information on your experiences.

 

Edited December 28, 2020 by Charlie Brown 302