Almost there, CENOMAR request

[TommyAndRizaPerl 5]

Hello everyone,

My Fiance and I have been moving along the visa journey ever since our notification letter in late January. Riza just had her interview the morning of the 15th and they told her that she needs to LBC them a CENOMAR and her passport so that they can approve her visa and then send her passport back to her. She lives in San Carlos City and we just found out she will need to attend CFO GCP, Cebu being the closest for that. My hopes were to have this all wrapped up next week so I can fly there on the 25th with a return on the 29th, am I expecting too much with that too soon? She'll be back in San Carlos later on today, she'll be able to LBC the CENOMAR and passport to the embassy in Manila tomorrow, what is the turn around on average? Also, the document requirements say she needs her passport and 2 forms of ID, she only has her passport and voting ID, will her birth certificate be sufficient for that 2nd form of ID? We're holding off on booking the flights until she has her passport back in hand with the visa stamp but we're worried about CFO GCP, any advice is appreciated.

 

Tommy & Riza Perl

[J.M. 230]

That's a pretty optimistic timeline.  It's not impossible but leaves no room for any delays.  The unknowns are how long it takes to process the Cenomar once received, and how long it takes to produce and deliver her passport.  That can vary from a couple of days to 2 weeks+.  A few have even had to wait 6 weeks for passport return.  For CFO, it is generally pretty easy to schedule, but she will need her visa before she can attend.  Last I heard it is only offered Mon-Thurs, so keep that in mind.  As for IDs, I'm not sure how many Filipinos can produce 2 IDs in addition to their passport, but somehow they all make it through CFO.  Mine went through Cebu with just passport and one other ID (SS).  The CFO certificate is emailed immediately upon completion of the class.

[Edward and Jaycel 172]

Jaycel did her CFO in Cebu in August and they only required her passport and one other form of ID

[TommyAndRizaPerl 5]

Thank you for the info. Current status is her cenomar and passport have been received by the embassy today/last night October 25th, hopefully we'll have the passport back by this time next Friday so that we can get the CFO done. Once we know when the CFO class is I'll be able to book flights.

[Edward and Jaycel 172]

28 minutes ago, TommyAndRizaPerl said:

Thank you for the info. Current status is her cenomar and passport have been received by the embassy today/last night October 25th, hopefully we'll have the passport back by this time next Friday so that we can get the CFO done. Once we know when the CFO class is I'll be able to book flights.

 

Awesome! Glad to hear it and keep us posted! The two things that Jaycel likes to share about the CFO is:

 

1. Don't watch YouTube videos about "Horror Stories" regarding the CFO. They got themselves sorted out last summer (2023) and as long and your fiancee knows the details about your relationship it will be fine. She said hers was a breeze and because all of the proof of relationship she brought, she only had to spend like 10 minutes in the 1 on 1 with the counselor.

2. Bring proof of your relationship because they WILL look through it. Jaycel brought ~140 pages and the counselor looked through all of it! 😆

Edited October 25 by Edward and Jaycel

[TommyAndRizaPerl 5]

What kind of proof should she bring? Should she print photos of us together? The USCIS application has like 50 pages of just photos of us together, photos of my boarding passes, printouts of out messenger conversations etc.

[TommyAndRizaPerl 5]

I checked the status on CEAC and it says READY, is this good? I was expecting something along the lines of "APPROVED".

[Edward and Jaycel 172]

2 hours ago, TommyAndRizaPerl said:

I checked the status on CEAC and it says READY, is this good? I was expecting something along the lines of "APPROVED".

That probably means someone is working on it in the visa section. As long as everything is ok with the paperwork she sent back in, it should go to “Approved” and then “Issued”. Keep us posted!

[TommyAndRizaPerl 5]

The status was updated on November 5th but no further updates as of today, still says ready. This wait is agonizing, I haven't been with her since May and I'm ready to go get the love of my life but I can't do anything until she gets her passport back with the visa attached. I'm guessing this is normal?

Edited November 12 by TommyAndRizaPerl

[Edward and Jaycel 172]

9 minutes ago, TommyAndRizaPerl said:

The status was updated on November 5th but no further updates as of today, still says ready. This wait is agonizing, I haven't been with her since May and I'm ready to go get the love of my life but I can't do anything until she gets her passport back with the visa attached. I'm guessing this is normal?

Yes, once it is "Approved" it goes through final checks before issuance. I get the frustration, Jaycel and I were apart for almost exactly one year (51 weeks to be exact) before she arrived here. I'll share what I said to someone else on here just the other day:

"I promise you when you both are reunited, all of that stuff just fades into the background and serves as a faint reminder that you pushed through all the BS to get to where you are. That's what others told me when we were struggling with all the delays and once Jaycel got here it proved absolutely accurate!" 🙂

Edited November 12 by Edward and Jaycel

[TommyAndRizaPerl 5]

I checked the status through CEAC just now and it still says ready but it also says the case was updated on November 12, tomorrow is 1 month since her interview so hopefully things are moving along. The 25th will be 1 month since the embassy received her CENOMAR and passport, this seems to be taking longer than normal but it is what it is. We're hoping to get her here before Christmas.

[Edward and Jaycel 172]

1 hour ago, TommyAndRizaPerl said:

I checked the status through CEAC just now and it still says ready but it also says the case was updated on November 12, tomorrow is 1 month since her interview so hopefully things are moving along. The 25th will be 1 month since the embassy received her CENOMAR and passport, this seems to be taking longer than normal but it is what it is. We're hoping to get her here before Christmas.

 

Did it go back to "Ready" or was it a typo and you meant to say "Still says 'Approved'"?

[TommyAndRizaPerl 5]

No, it has been "ready" ever since after the interview. They told Riza it could take 4-6 weeks for the CENOMAR and passport to be processed, they told her to send them the CENOMAR and passport LBC, they received them on Oct 25th, I've already sent status update requests twice with the form on the traveldocs site and nobody answers the phone there.

[Edward and Jaycel 172]

Sorry yes... I got this confused with another post where they went to "Approved". It sounds like they are at least actively working the case

[TommyAndRizaPerl 5]

They also show an 01 and an 02, case created 24-May-2024. Originally they gave me an estimate of 13 months start to finish, being stuck in limbo is frustrating, but expected.