Name on K1-FTP

[maryaaaa 126]

1 hour ago, thonati said:

UPDATE:   It has been 7 days and still no reply.  We logged into her DS 160 page and there are no updates.  So I sent a second request asking if she should bring the new DS160 to the bio and interview or will the original DS160 be updated.   We shall see what they say.

Call them on Monday

https://www.ustraveldocs.com/ph/en/contact-us

 

 

 

[thonati 62]

I called the US Embassy Help desk.  They told us that they cannot update the original DS160 and we have to cancel and re-schedule with the updated DS160.

 

Edward:  Is this what happened to you?

[Edward and Jaycel 1,136]

34 minutes ago, thonati said:

I called the US Embassy Help desk.  They told us that they cannot update the original DS160 and we have to cancel and re-schedule with the updated DS160.

 

Edward:  Is this what happened to you?

 

No... when Jaycel did her interview, it was on the old system and they did not require you to input the DS-160 confirmation number when scheduling her appointment

[thonati 62]

Further Update:   We called back in and found new information.  As of 25MAR25, the USEM does not allow any updates to the DS160 once it is submitted.  We have to cancel the appointment and reapply. We were told we need to wait 24 hours before making the new appointment.

 

Sucks to be us but at least we have firm direction.

[thonati 62]

EVEN FURTHER UPDATE: I was in Cebu for vacation with my fiance the past 2 weeks.   But Maryaaaa suggested I call the USEM and I called them TWICE.  Each time they told us to cancel the original appointment, re-schedule with the new DS160, and pay the visa fee again.  They also told me that USEM issued an internal memo not to make updates over the phone.  Evidently, the phone center operators were able to make this simple change over the phone.  However, as of 25MAR25, the phone operators are no longer allowed to make the change over the phone.

 

The website was difficult to navigate and it was not clear how to perform this action.  Also, there seems to be a certain number of times you can access the website over a specific time-frame because I timed out.  The system would not let me log in anymore.  The problem was there was no explanation, for example: "you reached your maximum of 5 logins over a 6 hour period.  Please wait 6 hours to log in again".  I will send a message to Elon and the DOGE team to see if they can fix this.

 

So my fiance found an "agent" on Facebook (per Maryaaaa's suggestion) to help us.  She was able to "reclaim" the $265 visa fee and re-schedule the BIO & IV with the updated DS160.  She only charged $100.  We were able to get the same day 13MAY IV as we originally had.  We got lucky and the Bio is the day before so I saved $200 in travel expenses for my fiance as well.  So I paid $100 to the Agent and saved the $265 and kept the same IV date.  Overall a HUGE success in my mind as the frustration was very high due to the incorrect information from the USEM.  I was about to stroke out.

 

I have no idea how this Agent was able to "re-claim" the fee (good for 1 year she said).  Maybe others on this forum know how to do this but I certainly did not.  It was no where to be found on the USTRAVELDOCS website either.  Again, the frustration level was very high.

 

I was so frustrated with the entire process.  I filled out the DS160 so I made the original error.  However, the DS160 is not very clear.  It does not ask for a "Middle" Name.  It only asks for a "given name" and "family Name".  So I thought my fiance's middle name (Mother's maiden name) was a family name.  Makes sense to me but oh no.  Nothing is simple with the US Government.  Again, DOGE should fix this.

 

The "agent" also told us that she had many clients that had the EXACT SAME ISSUE (I guess Philippine Middle names are a problem for USC).  In each case the Visa Applicant took both DS-160s to the BIO appointment and they made the correction at the bio appointment.  The "agent" asked me "Why did you cancel the original appointment?  You should not have done that". Evidently the BIO customer service IS ABLE to make changes in person.  All you need is the old and new DS160.

 

I explained to my fiance and the "agent"; that I only did this because the USEM on 2 different occasions "gave me explicit instructions to cancel the re-apply".  That satisfied the "agent" but my fiance was still TAMPO.  I wonder if the phone agents are actual USEM employees or a sub contractor.  I suspect sub contractor at some phone center in Cebu.

 

You can imagine how mad my fiance was as me for cancelling the first IV appointment..  This is my first experience with TAMPO.  FTR: it took several hours for her to speak to me after that so I just took a nap.

 

Overall, success BIGLY. 

 

Maryaaaa:  Thank you so much for your help. 

Edited Friday at 05:53 AM by thonati

[J.M. 285]

I've been following this thread but stayed out of it because my experience is from before the process changes with Biometrics and VAC.  The $265 fee is for the VISA, not for the DS-160 Visa APPLIICATION, so no money was reclaimed.  I don't know how all that looks on the new website or how you would link the previous receipt to a new DS-160 though.  Previously, the way to go about it was to create a new DS-160, with whatever changes you needed, and take it to the interview (along with the previous DS-160).  The embassy would edit your existing DS-160 during the interview, using the new one as a guide.  If the changes were very minor, then it could be done verbally during the interview, without needing a new DS-160 as a guide.  It sounds like the "fixer" aka "agent" says they now do that at biometrics instead of during the interview.  Just to restate:  this is how it USED TO BE- don't take this comment as the right way to do things now.

[thonati 62]

Perhaps.  However the USEM Call Center told me (on 2 different calls spaced 2 hours apart) that they can no longer update the DS160.  The interview needs to be cancelled and another appointment is needed with the new DS160 and new fee.  
 

The agent told us she had a client get her ds160 changed at the bio just last week.  This was AFTER the 25MAR change to the policy.  
 

I am not sure if the Bio appointment will be able to change ds160 in the future or not.  

Either way, my situation is as good as I could have expected.  

[maryaaaa 126]

On 4/4/2025 at 1:44 PM, thonati said:

EVEN FURTHER UPDATE: I was in Cebu for vacation with my fiance the past 2 weeks.   But Maryaaaa suggested I call the USEM and I called them TWICE.  Each time they told us to cancel the original appointment, re-schedule with the new DS160, and pay the visa fee again.  They also told me that USEM issued an internal memo not to make updates over the phone.  Evidently, the phone center operators were able to make this simple change over the phone.  However, as of 25MAR25, the phone operators are no longer allowed to make the change over the phone.

 

The website was difficult to navigate and it was not clear how to perform this action.  Also, there seems to be a certain number of times you can access the website over a specific time-frame because I timed out.  The system would not let me log in anymore.  The problem was there was no explanation, for example: "you reached your maximum of 5 logins over a 6 hour period.  Please wait 6 hours to log in again".  I will send a message to Elon and the DOGE team to see if they can fix this.

 

So my fiance found an "agent" on Facebook (per Maryaaaa's suggestion) to help us.  She was able to "reclaim" the $265 visa fee and re-schedule the BIO & IV with the updated DS160.  She only charged $100.  We were able to get the same day 13MAY IV as we originally had.  We got lucky and the Bio is the day before so I saved $200 in travel expenses for my fiance as well.  So I paid $100 to the Agent and saved the $265 and kept the same IV date.  Overall a HUGE success in my mind as the frustration was very high due to the incorrect information from the USEM.  I was about to stroke out.

 

I have no idea how this Agent was able to "re-claim" the fee (good for 1 year she said).  Maybe others on this forum know how to do this but I certainly did not.  It was no where to be found on the USTRAVELDOCS website either.  Again, the frustration level was very high.

 

I was so frustrated with the entire process.  I filled out the DS160 so I made the original error.  However, the DS160 is not very clear.  It does not ask for a "Middle" Name.  It only asks for a "given name" and "family Name".  So I thought my fiance's middle name (Mother's maiden name) was a family name.  Makes sense to me but oh no.  Nothing is simple with the US Government.  Again, DOGE should fix this.

 

The "agent" also told us that she had many clients that had the EXACT SAME ISSUE (I guess Philippine Middle names are a problem for USC).  In each case the Visa Applicant took both DS-160s to the BIO appointment and they made the correction at the bio appointment.  The "agent" asked me "Why did you cancel the original appointment?  You should not have done that". Evidently the BIO customer service IS ABLE to make changes in person.  All you need is the old and new DS160.

 

I explained to my fiance and the "agent"; that I only did this because the USEM on 2 different occasions "gave me explicit instructions to cancel the re-apply".  That satisfied the "agent" but my fiance was still TAMPO.  I wonder if the phone agents are actual USEM employees or a sub contractor.  I suspect sub contractor at some phone center in Cebu.

 

You can imagine how mad my fiance was as me for cancelling the first IV appointment..  This is my first experience with TAMPO.  FTR: it took several hours for her to speak to me after that so I just took a nap.

 

Overall, success BIGLY. 

 

Maryaaaa:  Thank you so much for your help. 

 

I'm happy to help! ♥