November Interview at US Embassy Manila

[RandyandRina 2]

Wow.... I just realized that we have a lot of VJ members that will be going for their interview on the week of November 5 thru 9.

Good luck to all of you!

Let us know the outcome of your interview. I will be adding another column for interview status

Date/Day......Type...........Name.........................Approved (Y/N)

05/Mon..........K1..............jerzboi

05/Mon..........K1..............indaylovesjudah

05/Mon..........K1..............myrnaandmaxim

05/Mon..........K1..............twodot

06/Tue..........K1...............Velmark

06/Tue..........K1...............BrianElla

06/Tue..........K1...............sabre_romanza

07/Wed.........K1...............DeeZee

07/Wed.........K1...............Jessel Chris

07/Wed.........K1...............MarcP

07/Wed.........K1...............hmmm...

07/Wed.........K1...............Sheyed

08/Thu..........K3...............michael_nc

08/Thu..........K3...............irene

08/Thu..........K3...............Techguy

08/Thu..........K3...............mdpo

08/Thu..........K1...............Psoas10

08/Thu..........K1...............djneal

08/Thu..........K1...............Forever in Love

08/Thu..........K1...............Jen_s21

08/Thu..........K1...............Tsup2

08/Thu..........K1...............Kevin_johna

08/Thu..........K1...............atenana

09/Fri............CR1.............xmkwhite

09/Fri............CR1.............MathisR

09/Fri............K3...............tangkas

[RandyandRina 2]

Preparing for the Visa Interview

Before the interview:

Preparing your interview materials:

Three reasons account for about 90 percent of all refused immigrant visas in Manila:

§ An incomplete or incorrectly completed Affidavit of Support

§ A lack of secondary evidence proving relationship or identity

§ Incomplete or outdated police or medical clearances

Here is some advice to avoid being in this 90 percent.

The I-864 Affidavit of Support (and I-864a for household members when required) is used to prove applicants will not become a public charge dependent on government welfare. Sponsors fill out this form. It is a legally binding, complex contract on which it is easy to make errors.

§ You should talk with your sponsor before your interview and ensure an I-864 was filed. If there is any doubt, consider having your sponsor complete another I-864 (and I-864a for household members whose income is included in the pledge of support) and bring the original signed forms to your interview— I-864s no longer need to be notarized.

§ Tax returns requirements recently changed and now sponsors only need present one year of tax returns. Consider bringing your sponsor’s most recent Federal tax returns to your interview—photo copies are acceptable

Secondary evidence of relationship and identity. Principle applicants should be prepared to submit evidence that further establishes their relationship with the petitioner and with their spouse and any children applying for visas. Every applicant will need to prove identity. Bring these items to your interview:

• Six or more personal photos with the primary applicant and petitioner (and spouse and children if they are applying) taken over a period of time; also include a copy of the petitioner’s US passport or Permanent Resident Card
• Personal correspondence, home telephone records or financial records showing ongoing relationship
• Proof of joint property ownership, joint financial obligations or remittances from the petitioner
• Baptismal records, medical records, school records and year books with photos, old and current professional ID’s
• All old passports
• Any other evidence you feel might be helpful

The Consul expects you to bring these items to prove relationship and identity. Leaving secondary evidence at home on the interview day may cause delays in issuing your visa.

NBI clearance and police clearance. Applicants aged 16 or older must have a valid Record Clearance for Travel Abroad Purposes from the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and a Police Certificate from every other country where they have lived for one year or more since reaching the age of 16 (six months or more for K visa applicants).

§ Police clearances should be in the applicant’s current name, birth certificate name, maiden name and any aliases or nicknames ever used, including different spellings you have used of those names.

§ Information on how to secure police certificates from other countries is available on the Department of States’s website at http://travel.state.gov/visa/reciprocity/index.htm.

§ Any applicant who has been arrested, charged or convicted of a crime must present an explanatory letter from the NBI listing each record on file, and any relevant court records associated with convictions, dismissals or findings of innocence for serious crimes. This letter is required if an applicant’s NBI Certificate has any of the following notations: “NO CRIMINAL RECORD”, “NO PENDING CRIMINAL CASE”, or “WITH DEROGATORY RECORD”. For immigration purposes, an NBI clearance is considered valid only for one year from the date it is issued.

§ Applicants must submit application documents to NVC to be documentarily qualified for the visa interview. Unless all requirements are submitted, the Embassy cannot process a visa application to completion. Be mindful of the expiration dates of the required documents, and bring updated ones to the interview if necessary.

Medical clearance. Medical clearances too expire after one year. Moreover, roughly 5% of our applicants have clinical indications of TB and are required to undergo an additional three consecutive days of sputum testing to determine whether they have infectious TB. Applicants undergoing sputum testing are not allowed into the visa section until the three day testing is completed and they are shown to be not infectious. Many people miss their visa appointment for this reason. If you have or may have had TB you should schedule your medical exam to allow sufficient time for sputum testing if required.

On the day of the visa interview:

Ø An applicant must have a scheduled appointment to submit a visa application to the Immigrant Visa Branch of U.S. Embassy Manila.

Ø Come on your appointed interview date. If you fail to show up, you will be scheduled for another interview, which will likely be at least a month later.

Ø Leave cell phones and other electronic devices at home. Effective March 1, 2007, applicants with such devices will be denied entry. Please make arrangements to leave your electronic equipment in a safe location off Embassy grounds during your interview appointment.

Ø Immigrant Visas cost $380. In many cases the petitioner has already paid $335, leaving a balance of $45 per applicant. If you are not sure the entire fee was paid, bring money to cover the additional expense. The Embassy accepts dollars, pesos and major credit cards.

Ø You will also need to pay the visa delivery fee. Fees vary by location, but if you bring 300 pesos for each visa, the expenses will likely be covered.

Ø The Embassy attempts to process applications as quickly as possible but the visa interview and review of an application usually takes several hours. Because of the number of applicants at Embassy Manila, it is possible that an applicant may spend most of a business day at the Embassy processing an application. In some cases, the applicant may be asked to return for another appointment.

Ø The Embassy will make every effort to return an applicant’s original documents, but it is advisable not to turn in something that cannot be replaced. Consular officers often ask to see originals of documents. If the applicant wishes wish to keep an original document, he/she may submit a photocopy but should have the original for inspection by a consular official.

Ø Some cases will need investigation or further review that may delay the processing of the visa application by several weeks. The Embassy routinely requests verification of documentation by the civil registry and/or other competent authorities of the Philippine government which can take several weeks. In such instances, applicants may be asked to return for another Embassy appointment or may be asked for additional documentation.

Ø If the consular officer needs verification of the petitioner’s whereabouts, the applicant will be asked to provide a Certificate of Petitioner’s Status together with a clear copy of the photo page of the petitioner’s United States passport and a clear photo of the petitioner holding a recent newspaper or magazine with a readable date or headline. The photo should be taken within a month of the applicant’s interview.

Edited November 3, 2007 by RandyandRina

[AUREA 0]

Thanks sis Rina! I'm getting ready for the interview....Hope everything turns out fine for all of us...

[kjw 0]

Thanks sis Rina! I'm getting ready for the interview....Hope everything turns out fine for all of us...

hello let us know about your experiences in USE during your VISA INTERVIEW HAH? THANK YOU GOD BLESS YOU.....

[RandyandRina 2]

Here's the status...

Date/Day......Type...........Name.........................Approved (Y/N)

05/Mon..........K1..............jerzboi............................ Yes

05/Mon..........K1..............indaylovesjudah

05/Mon..........K1..............myrnaandmaxim

05/Mon..........K1..............twodot

How's everyone else?

[bubblesn 0]

Thanks sis Rina! I'm getting ready for the interview....Hope everything turns out fine for all of us...

Goodluck Aurea...

[AUREA 0]

Thanks bubblesn!

Goodluck Aurea...

[RandyandRina 2]

Another approval!

congratulations to twodot and jerzboi

Date/Day......Type...........Name.........................Approved (Y/N)

05/Mon..........K1..............jerzboi............................ Yes

05/Mon..........K1..............indaylovesjudah.............. ???

05/Mon..........K1..............myrnaandmaxim.............. ???

05/Mon..........K1..............twodot............................. Yes

Good luck to the next batch...

06/Tue..........K1...............Velmark

06/Tue..........K1...............BrianElla

06/Tue..........K1...............sabre_romanza

Edited November 5, 2007 by RandyandRina

[archie07 0]

Aurea, did you get the packet yet? My brothers fiancee still has not gotten it. She called St. Lukes Wednesday and they said the packet would be there today and still no packet..

[RandyandRina 2]

My hubby's interview is on the 15th, and he just got his Monday afternoon, Nov 5th.

Aurea, did you get the packet yet? My brothers fiancee still has not gotten it. She called St. Lukes Wednesday and they said the packet would be there today and still no packet..

[archie07 0]

My hubby's interview is on the 15th, and he just got his Monday afternoon, Nov 5th.

Aurea, did you get the packet yet? My brothers fiancee still has not gotten it. She called St. Lukes Wednesday and they said the packet would be there today and still no packet..

Hers is the 8th and no packet yet. St. Lukes took her passport and said to get the packet today but it wasn't there. This is kind of cutting it close now.

[Joe's Wife 4ever 0]

Can the appointment letter from NVC be use for my interview? Since I still don't have the packet from embassy. Anyway, im just asking. I still have 2 weeks of preparation and waiting. LOL

[archie07 0]

So far the only thing my brother received was the letter from the NVC that gave us the manila case number. They havn't received anything else and the interview shows up for the 8th of november. I'm clueless at this point.

[RandyandRina 2]

Can the appointment letter from NVC be use for my interview? Since I still don't have the packet from embassy. Anyway, im just asking. I still have 2 weeks of preparation and waiting. LOL

Yes

Hers is the 8th and no packet yet. St. Lukes took her passport and said to get the packet today but it wasn't there. This is kind of cutting it close now.

So far the only thing my brother received was the letter from the NVC that gave us the manila case number. They havn't received anything else and the interview shows up for the 8th of november. I'm clueless at this point.

Try going to the IV site and pull out your appointment date from there and then print it. That is acceptable too. Good luck!

Edited November 5, 2007 by RandyandRina

[RobinAtAileen 0]

Can you just show up early for the St. Luke's medical exam, or do you need to call them first to let them know. My wife has all documents, etc. I just want to double check if showing up early without warning is acceptable.

Thanks,

Robin