Timing Trips to Manila

[abaa 21]

My fiancé and I will be completing the DS-160 soon and we should have an interview date shortly. I know we will need to schedule an exam at SLEC and I was wondering about optimal timing of the appointment. My fiancé lives in Mindanao, so it would be preferable to do the exam on the same trip as the interview. My question is, what is the best amount of time between the exam and the interview? I would prefer to have the dates close enough to do on the same trip, but I would also like a cushion of time in case there is some problem with the exam.

 

My second question regarding timing is the amount of time between the interview(assuming an approval) and receiving the visa. I’m wondering if it is better for her to return home to Mindanao while she waits for the visa or to stay in Manila and wait there since she will most likely need to fly from there when traveling to the US.

[Hank_ 9,174]

Complete the medical a full 24 hrs before the interview date .. just in case, as the embassy requires a 24hr notice should there be issue with the medical

[abaa 21]

9 minutes ago, Hank_ said:

Complete the medical a full 24 hrs before the interview date .. just in case, as the embassy requires a 24hr notice should there be issue with the medical

Thank you for the info Hank.

[RUJEN 140]

My Fiancee had her interview set for a Thursday, She flew to Manila on a Sunday, medical on a Monday ( all day there ) they had her come back Tuesday to finish (only took an hour ). She received her package for the Embassy then, She chilled Wednesday and did the interview Thursday and then flew back to Leyte Friday.

I knew we could have done it faster but I didn't want to take chances, St Lukes is a gamble on their timing. I figured a couple extra days for a hotel was worth the price.

We had her visa sent to Leyte because ( at least for us ) it took 2 weeks for them to send it. I see some cases where the visa is issued within a couple days, and some take a few weeks....

[abaa 21]

2 minutes ago, RUJEN said:

My Fiancee had her interview set for a Thursday, She flew to Manila on a Sunday, medical on a Monday ( all day there ) they had her come back Tuesday to finish (only took an hour ). She received her package for the Embassy then, She chilled Wednesday and did the interview Thursday and then flew back to Leyte Friday.

I knew we could have done it faster but I didn't want to take chances, St Lukes is a gamble on their timing. I figured a couple extra days for a hotel was worth the price.

We had her visa sent to Leyte because ( at least for us ) it took 2 weeks for them to send it. I see some cases where the visa is issued within a couple days, and some take a few weeks....

Thanks, I appreciate the timeline from someone who has gone through this recently. It gives me a good idea how to plan.

[hunny&me 274]

13 hours ago, RUJEN said:

My Fiancee had her interview set for a Thursday, She flew to Manila on a Sunday, medical on a Monday ( all day there ) they had her come back Tuesday to finish (only took an hour ). She received her package for the Embassy then, She chilled Wednesday and did the interview Thursday and then flew back to Leyte Friday.

I knew we could have done it faster but I didn't want to take chances, St Lukes is a gamble on their timing. I figured a couple extra days for a hotel was worth the price.

We had her visa sent to Leyte because ( at least for us ) it took 2 weeks for them to send it. I see some cases where the visa is issued within a couple days, and some take a few weeks....

 

13 hours ago, abaa said:

Thanks, I appreciate the timeline from someone who has gone through this recently. It gives me a good idea how to plan.

abaa, in RUJEN's timeline, just don't forget your RT-PCR Negative result within 3 days of medical day, you will not be able to enter SLEC without it.

[abaa 21]

1 minute ago, hunny&me said:

 

abaa, in RUJEN's timeline, just don't forget your RT-PCR Negative result within 3 days of medical day, you will not be able to enter SLEC without it.

Thank you for the tip. It would be terrible to miss an appointment over something like that.

[hunny&me 274]

1 minute ago, abaa said:

Thank you for the tip. It would be terrible to miss an appointment over something like that.

must be DOH accredited too!  >> https://doh.gov.ph/licensed-covid-19-testing-laboratories

[abaa 21]

5 minutes ago, hunny&me said:

must be DOH accredited too!  >> https://doh.gov.ph/licensed-covid-19-testing-laboratories

It looks like she will also need that test for her flight to Manila. I hope we can just stay within the time thresholds and use the same test, that way she can get it done before she leaves. Thank you for the list.

[Adventine 3,196]

@RUJEN had great suggestions for timing. @abaa I would only add that it's best to get a hotel within walking distance of SLEC and the US embassy. I'm currently in Manila and traffic is pretty much back to pre-pandemic levels. It can get ages to get anywhere.

[Charlie Brown 302 22]

18 hours ago, abaa said:

Thank you for the tip. It would be terrible to miss an appointment over something like that.

+1

[hunny&me 274]

FYI

[abaa 21]

8 hours ago, hunny&me said:

FYI

This is good to know, one less step to worry about. It looks like I will need to be checking everyday though for updates. Thank you.

[top_secret 2,421]

Hmmm? That date is sus.  Maybe you get to the front of SLEC and the security guard says "APRIL FOOLS"🙄🤪  (just kidding......????)

 

 

22 hours ago, hunny&me said:

 

[Steve2022 41]

An answer to your second question is right here:

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Supplements/Supplements_by_Post/MNL-Manila.html#medical_exam_instructions

It states right there IN RED that you should schedule the exam 2 weeks before the interview. 

The sentence is ambiguous.  It could mean that you should carry out the action of scheduling 2 weeks before your interview, or it could mean that you should schedule beforehand so that your medical appointment will occur 2 weeks before your interview appointment.   I think it means the latter, or at least I think that is what they meant to say, or perhaps they meant to say, "at least 2 weeks before", although that is, in fact, not what was said there.

We are considering having my wife take an early trip to Manila in order to do the medical, before we even get the interview date, since the medical is purported to be good for 6 months, and it has been reported recently that some people have had trouble getting it done before the interview.  I also read that at the Manila Consulate, you are not allowed into the interview without the medical already completely accomplished with the approval document in hand.

Edited March 26, 2022 by Steve2022