Bring stepchildren to the US (ages 15 and 10)

[Scott-Ilyn 81]

Hello everyone,

 

My wife came over on a K1 visa in January 2022.  Her K1 visa was issued in Hong Kong on December 2, 2021.  Initially, we weren't planning on bringing her children over until they were older.  However, circumstances have changed and we would like to bring them over on a K-2 follow to join option.  So, we emailed the NVC and the US Embassy in Manila, Philippines asking about how to do this.  We received a reply via email within 2 days from Manila indicating that we would need to provide a letter explaining why we wanted to transfer the case from Hong Kong to the Philippines and to prove to them that the children are eligible to remain in the Philippines during the K2 process.  So, I wrote a letter explaining our circumstances that my wife was an OFW in Hong Kong and her children remained in the Philippines with their grandparents.  I provided copies of the children's passports as further proof of citizenship. A few days later, we received a reply via email indicating that the K2 visa petition was approved and they provided instructions on how to proceed.  Now that you have my background info, I have 3 questions...

 

1.  When we applied for the K1 visa on the DS-160 form, we indicated that the children were NOT going to come at a later time.  Is this going to mess up the K-2 process?  Should I let the US embassy in Manila know about that answer on the DS-160? or should I just not bring this to anyone's attention.  We certainly don't want to be dishonest or hide anything and we also don't want to get our hopes up and have them dashed only to find out that they are ineligible because of that answer on my wife's DS-160.

2.  I was reviewing the following web page (referenced in the email) https://ph.usembassy.gov/important-visa-information/ and it seems to indicate that the 12 month follow to join requirement has been temporarily extended to 18 months due to COVID-19.  Has anyone taken advantage of this option?  In other words, is this 6 month extension still an option?

3.  My wife is waiting for her AOS, EAD, and AP documents.  So, she may not be able to travel to the Philippines to accompany her children through the POE.  We were thinking of requesting an expedite for her AP for the sole purpose of accompanying her children back to the US.  Is this a valid reason for AP expedite?  If she does not have her AP by Spring of 2023, would I be allowed to fly to the Philippines and accompany my stepchildren through the US POE?

 

Thanks in advance for all of your time and attention to my questions.