US Immigration from Philippines

Hi, I'm planning to visit the Philippines this year. I currently have pending I-751 and N-400 application and this will be my first time traveling back to the Philippines with an expired Green Card.

I ll be carrying:

1. My Philippine Passport
2. My expired Permanent Resident Card
3. The original I-797 Extension Notice (Notice of Action)

Has anyone here travelled back to the Philippines with these documents? May I know:

• How was your experience with the Philippine Immigration Officer when exiting the Philippines and returning to the US?
• Did they accept the expired GC + I-797 combo without issues? Or did they look for other documents?
• What kind of questions did they ask regarding your status?

Thanks in advance!

My fiance' arrived in October on a K1 visa and we got her a social security card in her maiden name.

They issued the card with the following statment : VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION
I only mention this to supply all information.
She is NOT trying to work.

I was told by Social Security online she needed ID and the marriage cert. That was it ( Yes, I mentioned she was NOT a US citizen and here on a K1 visa)

We made an appointment to change her name after we were married.
The Clerk asked for the marriage cert and ID
She gave the clerk the marriage cert and her Filipino passport.
He then wanted to see immigration documentation.

She gave him the I-94 which had expired Jan 5.
We were married December 5th
He said he could not process the name change because her immigration form was expired.
I explained the k1 visa required marriage within 90 days which she did and this was the earliest appointment SS had.
I also explained the marriage cert proves she honored the rules of the Visa and either way it was irrelevant because she already had a Social Security card and we were just updating her name change.
He said a social security card does not prove immigration status. I said , I know. This has nothing to do with immigration status.
Simply a name change due to marriage for her existing social security card.
He repeatedly stated since the I-94 was expired she might be here illegally so he could not change the name.

After further discussion I decided to leave and do research and make another appointment

If you are curious why we want this done before AOS we want to have her social security reflect her new name and not wait until her AOS because I want to add her to my financial accounts, open a joint checking, get her health insurance, drivers licence etc in her married name.
If I wait until AOS then we have to redo all of those documents and worse new checks etc

Either way according to the Social Security website all that is required to change the name is ID and an original marriage certificate.

Attached are screen shots from the Social Security website showing requirements.

I have made another appointment at the Social Security Office to try again.
This time I will bring printouts from the Social Security website and argue my position more adamantly.

Logic seems to be on my side. But this is the government so logic may not apply.,
She has a social security card.

She got married and wants to simply change the name on her existing social security card.

NOT CHANGE ANYTHING ELSE ; like the ability to work etc

Social Security website states to change the name she needs ID and marriage certificate.

NOTHING is stated about immigration status

According to the SSA Program Operations Manual System (POMS)

RM 10212.025 Evidence of Name Change based on a US Ceremonial Marriage &

RM 10212.055 Evidence Required to Process a Name Change on the SSN based on Marriage

all she needs is her ID and marriage Certificate.

If I am missing something I would appreciate what RM of the SSA POMS shows otherwise.

Thanks

We am currently working on my step sons N600. I am sure more questions will come up as we progress through it that I will ask here. The first part we are stuck on is where they ask when and where you entered the country. He entered through Ohare airport so should we select Chicago, Il for that question? The second part we are stuck on is where it asks for the date his Philippines passport that he originally used to travel to the US was issued on. He no longer has his original passport as he had to have it renewed and received a new one so we don't know the exact date his original passport was issued. Can we just put the date it was renewed? That's all I have for now. I'm sure more questions will come up as we progress through it further.

Another question:

"What was the USCIS office that granted your LPR status or location where you were admitted?"

We are not sure what the answer to this is. Should we just put Chicago?

I got my FBI rap sheet today for the CFO interview and well I was wild boy. Anyways I found out they(FBI) didnt seal my felonies under youthful Offender. Will they fail us, what can i show them that it was almost 40 years ago, and i've been a good boy, Because i had a pocket knife they are saying i am violent Felon but nothing like that i just had a pocket knife that was like a inch over NYS limit

So, our case shows Ready today (a day and a half after it changed to "In Transit"). Yay! But we're not sure what to do next.

The VisaJourney details on the Manila embassy say that waiting for contact from the embassy is an unnecessary waste of time. Obviously, we need to submit a DS-160 (we've started filling that out), schedule interview and medical, and pay some fees. I believe things recently changed to require scheduling a biometric appointment at VAC, that used to be done during the interview appointment. But what order should these all be done, and are there dependencies between steps (like needing a fee payment confirmation code or DS-160 submission code to sign up for an appointment?) The K-1 guide jumps straight from USCIS approval to interview and leaves out all the things the beneficiary needs to do -- probably because they are embassy specific. And the embassy-specific guide doesn't distinguish between visa types, and I believe not all visa types are handled the same at Manila (e.g. NVC schedules the interview for some types, but not K-1).

So a checklist for Manila K-1 steps, from CEAC Ready until Interview (possibly including documents exclusively needed for CFO, if obtaining them takes longer than return of passport), would be super useful!