Help! Flummoxed by the sheer complexity

[RO_AH 1,659]

A couple more things, plan to visit at least once after 1 year and then go again once she gets her visa to bring here back with you. That will help the distance. Covid sprung up in the middle of my process making travel extremely difficult and made our process even longer because the embassy shut down completely except for emergencies. By the time my wife got here it was just over 2 years and we had 2 children already. So yes, I did go visit .

 

While 2 years seems long you will get there and on the plus side if she enters 2 years and 1 day after your wedding, she gets her 10 yr green card which makes things way easier. So even if she were to get the visa at 1 year and 11 months, wait the extra month before she makes entry.

[RO_AH 1,659]

12 minutes ago, Nathan Alden, Sr. said:

 

Thanks for the insistent advice, truly. I already determined that I can't add her as an authorized user of my credit card because the issuer requires a US SSN. I'll do what I can. 😊

Been there done that, tryin to help a brother out

[spicynujac 23]

20 hours ago, Nathan Alden, Sr. said:

 

Thanks for the insistent advice, truly. I already determined that I can't add her as an authorized user of my credit card because the issuer requires a US SSN. I'll do what I can. 😊

The US is asking for any additional evidence that your relationship is bona fide, to make sure there's no scheme for someone to enter the country on a ruse (this occasionally happens, often with fiance visas.  I even know people who have entered, and one even became a US citizen, through sham marriages first obtained with a fiance visa.  There is a case before the Supreme Court right now about an MS-13 Hispanic gang member who got an American woman to apply for a visa for him, with authorities arguing that they did not have a legitimate relationship, despite obtaining a marriage certificate after his arrival in the US).

 

One benefit of the marriage visa vs fiance is you are already married to the person in question, so you have a much more serious relationship and a very low bar to prove that it is legitimate.  Also, they scrutinize different countries differently.  The authorities realize in the Philippines, you're typically looking at an middle aged or older white man marrying a younger Filipina bride.  Not a lot of shenanigans or gang entries going on there, and it's not a high risk country for visa fraud.  While the US can theoretically ask for more information if they choose to, they really are just collecting basic data from you, and want to know the names and dates of births of people applying at this point, and make sure your marriage certificate is valid before passing you on to be processed.  Where you really need to have strong evidence proving a true relationship is with a fiance visa.  That said, I think I included a copy of our last boarding passes together showing we visited recently, and considered that as proof of the ongoing relationship.

 

Fun fact:  A couple of years ago my credit card company was offering a $50 bonus if I ordered another card for someone in my household.  I gave them my dog's name, and to this day, he has a working credit card.  US immigration knows which types of proof are meaningful and which are not.  If you're paying $1,000 for a ticket, flying 20 hours in a plane and spending a week with her, that's pretty strong evidence.  If she and my dog both have similar looking pieces of plastic that were issued for free, that means absolutely nothing.  The investigators have seen lots of fraud, and they know which types of evidence is meaningful and real, and which is weak and does not demonstrate any true relationship.  

 

If you really need to give your wife a way to spend money drawn on an American bank, you can get a credit card with her name on it (huge red flag personally) but printing her name on a plastic card as some type of "proof" of your relationship is a waste of time. 

 

Also, don't overthink the I-130.  It's a basic government form.  We spent 2 days on it.  Day one I read and saw "honey I'm going to need a copy of your passport and the full names and places of birth of your parents."  Couple of days later I filled everything in and submitted.  Get it in and then you have a year to worry about the next steps.  If you are delaying because of the name, apply in whatever name is currently on her ID documents and it can be changed to your married name at the next step a year later (according to what I've read here).

[Nathan Alden, Sr. 17]

As far as names go, Form I-130 is the least of my concerns. Far more onerous are the repercussions of changing one's name in the Philippines. For me, it's a matter of keeping the moving parts to a minimum, which is why we'll leave her name unchanged as of now.

[Stevephoto 230]

Nathan, as @RO_AH said, we all in this to help each other out. From what I can see you are at the "H*LY SH*T phase. We have all been there.  EVERY step in this process can feel overwhelming. Break it down into small bites and tackle them in order--I went so far as to have five different labeled envelopes for Joan's interview--each one dealing with different requirements! PLAN on hiccups to occur during the process: when everything is broken down into bite sized pieces then you can just slide in the hiccup without feeling like the pile just got higher. I think it was a different post and I think it was either @top_secret or @RO_AH that talked about going back again. I was there 4 times in a year and was lucky enough to be there for Joan's interview. It was an amazing experience. I said this in a different post: breathe. It will happen. Please feel free to PM me if you want someone to @#@$#%## at. My actual information is old, but the feelings are still valid. Hang in there!

[Spicy Chickenjoy 12]

@Stevephoto nice to see you active here. I remember you from the Asawa World visa support group on Facebook from back in the day.

[top_secret 2,376]

9 hours ago, Nathan Alden, Sr. said:

As far as names go, Form I-130 is the least of my concerns. Far more onerous are the repercussions of changing one's name in the Philippines. For me, it's a matter of keeping the moving parts to a minimum, which is why we'll leave her name unchanged as of now.

 

 

The I130 is of primary importance.  Every single day it remains unfilled is one additional day you will remain separated. The clock is stopped waiting for the I130 to be filed. The name change is irrelevant to the I130 and you have like well over a year to get it done.  It's very simple.  File the ROM, wait a few months until it's processed, then you wife goes down and pays $20 to change her passport.  That's it.

[Nathan Alden, Sr. 17]

I'll be filing the I-130 shortly! My bride is out getting her passport photo as I type this. All she has to do after that is scan one of the signed affidavits.

[Nathan Alden, Sr. 17]

Thank you VisaJourney!!!