Manila Bio & Interview Schedule

[thonati 54]

Hi All,

 

My K1 case is in transit this week.  I have seen where others say it will take Manila Embassy a few days to be "ready".  I tried to pay for the interview but the system says "case not found" so I guess it has to be "ready" in order to pay and schedule.  My fiance is doing her medical today at St Luke's.

 

Has anyone recently made an appointment for Bio & Interview?  How many days out are the Bio & Interview appointments? 

 

I would like to make some flight arrangements.

[RufusDawes 24]

1 hour ago, thonati said:

Hi All,

 

My K1 case is in transit this week.  I have seen where others say it will take Manila Embassy a few days to be "ready".  I tried to pay for the interview but the system says "case not found" so I guess it has to be "ready" in order to pay and schedule.  My fiance is doing her medical today at St Luke's.

 

Has anyone recently made an appointment for Bio & Interview?  How many days out are the Bio & Interview appointments? 

 

I would like to make some flight arrangements.

 

What you say about payment is correct, just wait a day or two and the payment screen will appear and it will recognize your case number.  We paid with cash at RCBC and it cleared in about 8 hours.

 

I have been waiting to book for 2 weeks now, some have been waiting since late January... we are all waiting for the next batch of K1 interview slots to be released by USEM.  i only know of one person who booked in the last two weeks, and they caught a cancelation and snagged it.  I am guessing when the slots are released they will be for April and May, but I don't know for certain.

 

This is all I know and I follow the situation closely... just have to pray and wait it out, it shakes out how it does.

[thonati 54]

27 minutes ago, RufusDawes said:

 

What you say about payment is correct, just wait a day or two and the payment screen will appear and it will recognize your case number.  We paid with cash at RCBC and it cleared in about 8 hours.

 

 

As I was typing my post, I logged into CEAC and it now says "Ready".   This is about 36 hours from the K1-FTP.

 

I was able to pay the visa fee with credit card.  But when I went to schedule the bio, it shows no slots open.

 

This is disappointing because we all have waited so long only to be put on hold again.

 

I guess I will keep trying to schedule the bio and interview on any hourly basis.

[thonati 54]

I just logged into the system again and their were a few openings for both Bio (15APR) and Interview (13MAY)

[RufusDawes 24]

44 minutes ago, thonati said:

I just logged into the system again and their were a few openings for both Bio (15APR) and Interview (13MAY)

I was just going to tell you that here!!! 

I was able to book VAC, USEM, and then SLEC... praise God!

[thonati 54]

24 minutes ago, RufusDawes said:

I was just going to tell you that here!!! 

I was able to book VAC, USEM, and then SLEC... praise God!

When was your NOA2 and "ready" status?

 

We scheduled medical without the interview appointment.  Others on this forum said St Lukes will make her sign a waiver that the medical is good for only 6 months.

 

Her medical is in 2 hours so she is now printing the interview appointment page at the hotel as I write this.

[RufusDawes 24]

4 minutes ago, thonati said:

When was your NOA2 and "ready" status?

 

We scheduled medical without the interview appointment.  Others on this forum said St Lukes will make her sign a waiver that the medical is good for only 6 months.

 

Her medical is in 2 hours so she is now printing the interview appointment page at the hotel as I write this.

NOA2 was 12/27/24, ready status was 2/26/25

[thonati 54]

14 minutes ago, RufusDawes said:

NOA2 was 12/27/24, ready status was 2/26/25

You are 2 weeks ahead of us for NOA2 and "Ready"

 

Did you get the same dates as me? BIO=15APR and USEM=13MAY?

[RufusDawes 24]

26 minutes ago, thonati said:

You are 2 weeks ahead of us for NOA2 and "Ready"

 

Did you get the same dates as me? BIO=15APR and USEM=13MAY?

Same LOL, there was nothing at USEM for Mar, Apr, and only 2 days in May... crazy

 

[thonati 54]

1 minute ago, RufusDawes said:

Same LOL, there was nothing at USEM for Mar, Apr, and only 2 days in May... crazy

 

I wonder if they "bucket" interviews based on visa category?   K1s this week, HB-1 next 2 weeks etc.

 

I am happy just to get a time slot.  We applied 13JUn24 so it has been a long wait. I have seen others get NOA2 and Approved in 6 months.  There does not seem to be any rhyme or reason.

 

I am going to the Phils on Sunday for 3 weeks.  I originally thought we could get an appointed within a few weeks of "ready" status.  But that is ok.  I will return in May for her interview and (hopefully) bring her home.   Festival is 09/10MAY so I will be there for that.  I plan to retire 01MAY so I will have plenty of time.

[Dan_Nelvin 1]

Hi, this thread has been helpful.

I just want to have some clarity since my current knowledge is that the K1 visa's validity begins from the time of medical so it's suggested to make the medical appt 2 weeks before the interview appt.

However, as mentioned above, it seems the bio and usem interview are scheduled separately? And if that's the case, the medical appt should now be taken 2 weeks before the bio?

Thanks for anyone who will clarify.

[RufusDawes 24]

13 hours ago, Dan_Nelvin said:

Hi, this thread has been helpful.

I just want to have some clarity since my current knowledge is that the K1 visa's validity begins from the time of medical so it's suggested to make the medical appt 2 weeks before the interview appt.

However, as mentioned above, it seems the bio and usem interview are scheduled separately? And if that's the case, the medical appt should now be taken 2 weeks before the bio?

Thanks for anyone who will clarify.

You need to have your medical completed before USEM interview, It takes approximately 1 week for the medical results to be delivered to USEM, so schedule accordingly. 

 

You book the OFC (bio) first, then the USEM interview after, this is done all at the same login.  You can't book OFC only, if you do that the system will cancel the appt.

 

So what I did yesterday was book the OFC/SLEC two consecutive days, then a month later the USEM.  My Pinay sweetheart lives in Mindanao so this means two separate airplane trips to Manila, but thats just the way it is cant do anything about it.

 

Hope that answers your questions.

 

[thonati 54]

23 hours ago, Dan_Nelvin said:

Hi, this thread has been helpful.

I just want to have some clarity since my current knowledge is that the K1 visa's validity begins from the time of medical so it's suggested to make the medical appt 2 weeks before the interview appt.

However, as mentioned above, it seems the bio and usem interview are scheduled separately? And if that's the case, the medical appt should now be taken 2 weeks before the bio?

Thanks for anyone who will clarify.

We scheduled the medical the same day we received the K1-FTP and the case went to "in transit".  The k1-ftp letter is required for the medical.  The "required documents" say the visa appointment confirmation is required; however, that is not necessarily true.  My fiance had the visa appointment on her phone (via email from the USEM) which I scheduled 2 hours before her medical.  So she did not have enough time to print it at the hotel.  The St Luke's Admin said the visa confirmation is not "required" but told my fiance the medical is only good for 6 months.  So any visa appointments beyond 6 months will require a new medical.  I heard that some people were made to sign a waiver acknowledging the 6 months but my fiance was not asked to sign any waiver.  She was verbally told.

 

As Rufus said, you MUST schedule the OFC and IV on the same log in.  On the schedule page, the OFC comes up first.  Once you click on a day in the OFC calendar, the IV calendar comes up.  Then the confirmation will show you both appointments.

 

As I type this on 13MAR25 at 11:45pm, my fiance is at medical day 2.  She is from Leyte so she will have to make 3 separate trips from Cebu to MNL.  It is a pain in the @$$ but worth it.  My fiance was looking at the medical bill, hotel, air fare and visa appointment and said "Wow, you spend a lot of money on me, but I will show you that I am worth it".  I had to laugh at that.  I love the Filipina spirit.

 

I am leaving on SUN 16MAR to the Philippines for 3 weeks.  I was hopping to bring her back with me but it looks like I will be making a return visit in May.

[thonati 54]

23 hours ago, Dan_Nelvin said:

Hi, this thread has been helpful.

I just want to have some clarity since my current knowledge is that the K1 visa's validity begins from the time of medical so it's suggested to make the medical appt 2 weeks before the interview appt.

However, as mentioned above, it seems the bio and usem interview are scheduled separately? And if that's the case, the medical appt should now be taken 2 weeks before the bio?

Thanks for anyone who will clarify.

Let me also add, I see you are "ready" today 13MAR25.  Now the hard part comes:  getting the schedule. 

 

I was very very lucky and snagged my appointments on the VERY FIRST SIGN-IN after our case went "ready" on 12MAR.  I have read that you need to be checking the websites every 30 minutes or sooner in case someone else cancels.

 

I am checking every hour hoping to get a sooner time.

[Dan_Nelvin 1]

Great! Thanks to both of you for the details especially with that same login bit that satisfied my anxious mind. Congrats too on each of your progress! Somehow makes me envious haha Anyway, ingat and regards to your fiances!