CFO telecounseling requirements

[justinedr 27]

1 hour ago, Charlie Brown 302 said:

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.

 

In my case, 30 minutes after i sent my requirements to counselor’s email. 

[flicks1998 1,044]

23 hours ago, justinedr said:

In my case, 30 minutes after i sent my requirements to counselor’s email. 

Same case for us today.  Sent an email to the CFO.  Got a reply back within minutes to send additional documentation.  After sending this, got a reply back in minutes for CFO interview to be done on January 5th.  Everything is closed until the 4th I believe due to Rizal day tomorrow then the NY holiday and weekend.

[Charlie Brown 302 22]

Holy cow, they must not like us very much, lol.

 

We will try again on the 4th.

 

Thanks again for the info.

 

Happy New Year and stay safe.

[flicks1998 1,044]

1 hour ago, Charlie Brown 302 said:

Holy cow, they must not like us very much, lol.

 

We will try again on the 4th.

 

Thanks again for the info.

 

Happy New Year and stay safe.

If you didnt before, try to write to them during their business hours.  Before 430-5pm local time.  If you tried this before, I can get the email my fiance wrote to but Im sure its the same one as everyone else is using.  In your email, you may want to just attach the initial documents that we were asked for which was petitioners passport, NBI of beneficiary, CENOMAR of beneficiary, birth certificate of beneficiary.  Also, the ID (passport, postal ID, etc) of beneficiary.  That may eliminate one back and forth with them and they may respond directly with the time and date for the seminar as you would have already sent the required documents. 

[flicks1998 1,044]

Fiance did the CFO today, Jan 5.  This is without a current passport and visa in hand due to this being stolen.  Phone "interview" lasted about 15-18 minutes, mainly questions focusing on myself, the petitioner.  Need to email them my passport, latest passport stamps, proof of relationship, proof of residence, proof of employment.  This will be done tomorrow and then once we get the passport and can get the US Embassy to put in the visa, they will issue the CFO certification or sticker.  The CFO was pretty straightforward and interesting to listen to it.  They said they have made the CFO process much easier as previously during the pandemic they were trying to do the phone counseling, a Xoom seminar, etc but this was not working (which is not at all a surprise given the horrific internet reliability).  Now just the 15 or so minute call and all the slides are posted online, actually as Youtube videos. 

 

I will be writing to USEM now as I can give them a pretty clear timeline on our side concerning the stolen passport.  We should have the replacement by around Jan 18-20 and USEM should have this a day or two later.  Will tell them CFO/PDOS is done, just need the visa and we can pick up the certification.  Deadline to enter the US is Feb 22 as that is when the medical expires.  It appears, although I havent confirmed yet, Ill be extending my visa in the Philippines and instead of going back Jan 15 will stay to around Feb 19 or if we are able to get the visa/passport back quickly, will leave immediately given the travel ban that may still be in place.  Hopefully I can have my son in school for the last 3 months of the school year as he is doing nothing but home schooling now and the quality is real bad. 

Edited January 5, 2021 by flicks1998

[justinedr 27]

@flicks1998 Good for you not being given a hard time with the requirements. It was a fairly efficient experience with CFO on my end as well. But their questions are much more detailed and personal than what I had during the interview at the embassy. 
 

Wishing you and your fiance good luck with the lost passport and visa, I hope you make it before the medical expiry!

[flicks1998 1,044]

58 minutes ago, justinedr said:

@flicks1998 Good for you not being given a hard time with the requirements. It was a fairly efficient experience with CFO on my end as well. But their questions are much more detailed and personal than what I had during the interview at the embassy. 
 

Wishing you and your fiance good luck with the lost passport and visa, I hope you make it before the medical expiry!

Yes, I dont agree on the content of the CFO and I wrote another post somewhere else on ways they could make it a valuable service.  I sat and listened to everything today and most questions were based on me, my past relationships, my son, etc and quite intrusive questions as well.  I think alot of it comes down to who the person is giving the seminar though.  But the "online" version is much better than the one they used to do in person, although as others have said, the in-person seminar gave people the opportunity to meet others who were in a similar situation going to the same country. 

[snydez99 6]

We got a list of possible required documents to. Just wondering, what is Certificate of Family relations / Family registry (of foreign spouse)?

Has anyone heard of this? Where do you get this?

[justinedr 27]

12 minutes ago, snydez99 said:

We got a list of possible required documents to. Just wondering, what is Certificate of Family relations / Family registry (of foreign spouse)?

Has anyone heard of this? Where do you get this?

Sounds like this is applicable to couples who are related by blood.. like second cousins marrying each other. Only provide if it’s applicable to you.

I may be wrong.

[Adventine 3,189]

Some countries have what is called a family register which is an official record of family births, deaths and marriages: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_registration#Family_register

 

They're fairly common in European countries and East Asia, but have no real equivalent in the US.

[RO_AH 1,656]

3 hours ago, snydez99 said:

We got a list of possible required documents to. Just wondering, what is Certificate of Family relations / Family registry (of foreign spouse)?

Has anyone heard of this? Where do you get this?

As I told you in PM and in another thread you are posting in. You should only worry about the 4 required documents. Don't concern yourself with things you may never need. If they ask you for other documents after the interview, that's when you start gathering them. My wife was never asked for any of their "additional documents that may be required". Keep it simple, the process is complicated enough without adding more complication.

[RO_AH 1,656]

4 hours ago, snydez99 said:

We got a list of possible required documents to. Just wondering, what is Certificate of Family relations / Family registry (of foreign spouse)?

Has anyone heard of this? Where do you get this?

Or you can chase down the full list before they ask for it:

 

Additional documents may be required in the event that the counselor determines it to be essential to complete the guidance and counseling process.
1. Divorce decree/certificate (of Filipino spouse or foreign spouse, if previously married);
2. Annulment paper (of Filipino spouse or foreign spouse, if previously married);
3. Proof of residency/Alien Registration Card-ARC (of foreign spouse);
4. Proof of relationship (picture together, e-mails, among others);
5. Death certificate (of Filipino spouse or foreign spouse, if widow/widower);
6. Certificate of Family relations / registration (of foreign spouse);
7. Declaration of undertaking of travel in letter format to include the following activities to prepare for travel, Itinerary of Travel and How to ensure safe travel and stay (if will be required by counselor/facilitator);
8. Affidavit of invitation and support (financial support/safety/medical insurance) notarized and authenticated by the Philippine Embassy or Consulate who has jurisdiction over the destination or host country (if will be required by counselor/facilitator);
9. Explanation on why the foreign partner cannot travel to the Philippines in letter format (if will be required by counselor/facilitator);
10. Valid no criminal records certification/clearance or any equivalent document to indicate lack of criminal derogatory record or medical/psychological condition (if will be required by counselor/facilitator).
CFO Officers will go over your documents which can take a few days to process. We will update your verification status thru another e-mail. In the event that your requirements are complete and verified, you will be notified of your tele-counseling schedule by your counselor/facilitator

[snydez99 6]

My wife has her phone session 9/30. I'm doing a timeline (narrative) about the important events for us as per your suggestion. However, I like being prepared just in case. We are up against 10/15 visa expiration too so hopefully it will all go well, she did good with Visa Interview

 

[RO_AH 1,656]

58 minutes ago, snydez99 said:

My wife has her phone session 9/30. I'm doing a timeline (narrative) about the important events for us as per your suggestion. However, I like being prepared just in case. We are up against 10/15 visa expiration too so hopefully it will all go well, she did good with Visa Interview

Yikes! That is cutting it close. I think my wife's CFO was scheduled the day after we registered. Just try and tell your wife to relax and not be nervous. Know her dates and be confident. She should also mention to the interviewer  when her visa expires. Maybe that will make them be nicer and not ask for extra stuff.

[snydez99 6]

Do they ask for exact dates i.e. Month/day/year or just moth/year?

trying to figure out how exacting we need to be