Happy Update and Spouse Kin question (merged threads)

[David Holmes 13]

My wife had her Interview a few days ago at the Manila consulate and she passed!  Now just waiting for her Passport to come back to her with the Visa, and then travel to the US after that.

 

At some point we might want to get her son over here as well.  What's the process for that?  Does she become a petitioner?  What is the paperwork track?

[JFH 12,190]

How old is her son? How old was he when you married his mother?

[Chancy 6,241]

57 minutes ago, David Holmes said:

My wife had her Interview a few days ago at the Manila consulate and she passed!  Now just waiting for her Passport to come back to her with the Visa, and then travel to the US after that.

 

Congratulations on the interview!

 

By the way, you did not mention if your wife already completed CFO counseling.  Do make sure that she gets her CFO sticker or certificate as she will not be allowed to board the plane without one.

 

58 minutes ago, David Holmes said:

At some point we might want to get her son over here as well.  What's the process for that?  Does she become a petitioner?  What is the paperwork track?

 

The process starts with an I-130 petition.  As to whether you or your wife should be the petitioner depends on your answers to JFH's questions above.

 

[David Holmes 13]

1 hour ago, JFH said:

How old is her son? How old was he when you married his mother?

He was 8 when we married, and 10 now.

[David Holmes 13]

39 minutes ago, Chancy said:

By the way, you did not mention if your wife already completed CFO counseling.  Do make sure that she gets her CFO sticker or certificate as she will not be allowed to board the plane without one.

 

The process starts with an I-130 petition.  As to whether you or your wife should be the petitioner depends on your answers to JFH's questions above.

 

Whoa, what is CFO counseling?  Where can we find more information on this?

 

And he was 8 when we married, and is 10 now. How does that affect who is the petitioner, and does it affect timelines or likely outcomes?

[pushbrk 12,898]

17 minutes ago, David Holmes said:

Whoa, what is CFO counseling?  Where can we find more information on this?

 

And he was 8 when we married, and is 10 now. How does that affect who is the petitioner, and does it affect timelines or likely outcomes?

Absolutely, who is the petitioner has great impact on timelines but not likely outcomes.  YOU should be the petitioner for your stepson.  Same exact process as for your wife, except when you describe the relationship, and that his birth certificate will be needed at the beginning instead of only at the NVC stage.  Start by reading the part of the I-130 instructions related to filing for a stepchild.

[Chancy 6,241]

1 minute ago, David Holmes said:

Whoa, what is CFO counseling?  Where can we find more information on this?

 

CFO counseling is one of the Philippine requirements for exit immigration.  The counseling session itself will be done online or via phone.  Appointment is required, so is emailing of lots and lots of documents.  You and your wife better work on this ASAP.  Start here -- https://cfo.gov.ph/overseas-filipinos-cfo-online-registration-system-or-of-cors-2/

 

If you need more info not immediately apparent from the official site, please do search or post in the PH sub-forum -- https://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/129-philippines/

 

[Chancy 6,241]

36 minutes ago, David Holmes said:

And he was 8 when we married, and is 10 now. How does that affect who is the petitioner, and does it affect timelines or likely outcomes?

 

Because you married his mother before the child turned 18 years old, you may petition for him as a step-child of a US citizen.  If the plan is for him to immigrate while he is a minor, his visa category will be IR2.  As we learned during the pandemic, IR2 is one of the categories considered mission-critical by the Dept of State.  Follow pushbrk's advice about the IR2 process for your step-son.

 

If your step-son had been older than 18 at the time of your wedding, only his mother would have been able to petition for him after she moves to the US.  His visa category would have been under family-preference, which have a backlog of at least a year's worth of cases waiting for processing at the US embassy in Manila.

 

[JonSeattle 202]

Is the father of the child still around? If so then you may want to discuss getting some kind of written release from the father while your wife is still there, if you will be changing the last name of the child or adopting him as your son. The requirements for those depend on the state, but you might consider researching that while you wait for the back and forth with the CFO.

[David Holmes 13]

So it's been 24 days since her interview in Manila, and 17 since they said they were sending her visa back to us, but it still hasn't arrived.  The courier says they don't have it, and the email portal just says "no status update" where I hear means its still at the embassy.

Does VJ track how long this typically takes?
 

I feel like our progress bar is stuck at 99.95% complete!

[Chancy 6,241]

4 hours ago, David Holmes said:

the email portal just says "no status update" where I hear means its still at the embassy.

 

Is this the tracker you're checking?  https://ceac.state.gov/CEACStatTracker/Status.aspx

 

[David Holmes 13]

2 hours ago, Chancy said:

 

Is this the tracker you're checking?  https://ceac.state.gov/CEACStatTracker/Status.aspx

 

That tracker says "Issued" and cites the case last updated as 4-5, now 20 days ago.

 

I was talking about the email portal passportstatus@ustraveldocs.com; I read about it here on VJ.  Include your passport number on the Subject line and it auto replies with the status.  But if the status is "no status" then it means it's still at the embassy. 

 

Either way, still no passport and no word. We're under the gun with this baby.  How long is this part taking now?  Is it tracked in the timelines?  Should I be calling them every day now?

[David Holmes 13]

The asawa had her interview on 4/1 and passed.  On April 8th they sent us an email saying they were approving a visa to be issued.

 

Now its 4/25 (26th there) and the passport status is still "no status" meaning the embassy still has it.  2go confirms they haven't received it.

 

Is this long a wait pretty typical now?  

 

We can't get through to embassy on any phone line or email or chat or anything, and she's quite pregnant so we're going out of our minds.  

 

I would fly over there and bang on their door except (a) would probably get shot and (b) I think there's still a travel restriction.

 

What would you do if you were me (or us)?

[payxibka 10,045]

3 minutes ago, David Holmes said:

The asawa had her interview on 4/1 and passed.  On April 8th they sent us an email saying they were approving a visa to be issued.

 

Now its 4/25 (26th there) and the passport status is still "no status" meaning the embassy still has it.  2go confirms they haven't received it.

 

Is this long a wait pretty typical now?  

 

We can't get through to embassy on any phone line or email or chat or anything, and she's quite pregnant so we're going out of our minds.  

 

I would fly over there and bang on their door except (a) would probably get shot and (b) I think there's still a travel restriction.

 

What would you do if you were me (or us)?

Is the ceac status showing "issued"?

[David Holmes 13]

40 minutes ago, payxibka said:

Is the ceac status showing "issued"?

Yes