dare448

Just now, Jojo92122 said:

You left out that vital piece of information about having a conditional green card.  Your first post mentioned getting married in 2012 and a 10 years green card in 2014.  

 

You can apply under the 5 years rule.  Being separated is fine.

I am so sorry about the confusion. Yeah, we got married in March 2012 and I was granted the 2-year conditional green card in October 2012. 2014 was when I received my 10-year permanent green card.

Thank you for your comment by the way, really appreciate it.

Just now, Jojo92122 said:

You are not eligible to naturalize.  You have not been living with your wife as required under the 3 years rule.

Thank you! I think my post was kind of confusing. Our 3-year rule was applicable in 2015 since I got my 2-year conditional green card in 2012. This year will mark my 5th year as a permanent resident, correct? So does that mean I can apply on my own?

4 minutes ago, Transborderwife said:

It would not be of good and moral character to file for citizenship when you're going to divorce.  Wait for the 5 years.

Thanks for the response. Actually, it'll be 5 years since I got my first (2-year conditional) green card this coming October. 

Got my 2-year conditional green card in October 2012 and the 10-year green card after we applied for removal of condition in 2014.

My wife and I have been married since March 2012 and I was granted my 10-year permanent green card in 2014. That same year, my wife and I decided to start a business in the Philippines so she moved back to Manila to start and manage it. I visited her in December 2014 and twice in 2015. Unfortunately, the business fell through around mid-2016. Since there's no more reason for her to stay there, I told her to come back to the US but she told me that she doesn't want to come back and stay married with me. I was devastated so I visited her in August 2016 to see what's up and try to convince her again to come back to the US with me. To cut the long story short, I couldn't convince her so we decided that it was time to separate since I have no plans in staying in the Philippines as I have established our life here. Up to this date though, we have not filed for divorce. 

Anyway, I am eligible to apply for citizenship in August of this year but I was wondering if being separated with my wife will affect my application. Should I file for citizenship now or do I need to file for divorce before applying? Any suggestions, comments and legal tips are highly appreciated.

Regards,

Rey

Question now is, can they do the validity extension at the LA Consulate? And if not, you should've asked right then and there or call them up again for what he would need if it can only be done here in Manila.

A google search, I came across this:

http://www.dfa.gov.ph/index.php/2013-06-27-21-50-36/phl-embassies-and-consulates/1814-extensions-of-validity-of-passports-no-longer-allowed-beyond-october-2015

and this (PDF Document):

http://www.philippineconsulatela.org/WEB%20MATERIALS/passport_amend_guidelines.pdf

You might be better off seeing if this can be done in LA, rather than getting stuck here in Manila only to find out that can't be done in his case.

Hubby did ask but they are very strict. They only allow emergencies such as death in the family, medical emergencies and the like. We have researched a little bit as well but the one we found online was written way back in 2011 so we're not sure if it still applies these days. It said that DFA in Manila allows cases like my husband's as long as he is able to bring all purchased airline tickets upon application.

UPDATE:

So my husband went to the consulate general office here in LA last Monday to ask if there's an expedited renewal service but unfortunately, he was told that there's none and that there's a backlog in Manila at the moment for all passport renewals adding another 4 weeks waiting time making the total processing time between 10 - 12 weeks.

He was advised to renew his passport in Manila upon arrival but unfortunately, he will arrive in Manila at 9:40PM on May 1st, which is a Friday meaning the earliest date he'll be able to go to the DFA is on March 4th. Even if he opts for an expedited service (10 days), it'll still be late for his May 9 flight to Singapore. When he told this to the lady attending to him, the lady said that he can apply for VALIDITY EXTENSION.

Has anyone here experienced this before? What are the requirements, fees and how long does it take? Any advice, tip, suggestion is greatly appreciated.

Thanks a lot!

We have now received the email that our card is in production- 3/16/2015

Congratulations Brokenness!

If he has 6 months left when arriving Philippines then he can head on over to DFW and renew his passport. Expedite service is available and takes about 10 days. Sooner if you have it done in Manila. After that there are no concerns what country he travels to.

http://manila.passport.com.ph/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Philippine-Passport/206073122778369

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB8QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.state.gov%2Fdocuments%2Forganization%2F87474.pdf&ei=zK0EVdmyKoGigwT2iIPQCA&usg=AFQjCNErfCGE56WlbJK1yLU_rQrO8lUZqA&sig2=48sO4q0HXYYdHuux7LnjAQ&bvm=bv.88198703,d.eXY

Thank you for this insightful response. Yeah, I'll have my husband try renewing his passport in Manila if it doesn't work out for him here in LA.

If he has 6 months left when arriving Philippines then he can head on over to DFW and renew his passport. Expedite service is available and takes about 10 days. Sooner if you have it done in Manila. After that there are no concerns what country he travels to.

http://manila.passport.com.ph/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Philippine-Passport/206073122778369

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB8QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.state.gov%2Fdocuments%2Forganization%2F87474.pdf&ei=zK0EVdmyKoGigwT2iIPQCA&usg=AFQjCNErfCGE56WlbJK1yLU_rQrO8lUZqA&sig2=48sO4q0HXYYdHuux7LnjAQ&bvm=bv.88198703,d.eXY

Thank you for this insightful response. I will definitely have my husband try to renew his passport in Manila if it doesn't work out for him renewing his passport here in LA.

please do try to check with the consulate, if they can just extend the validity of the passport, like having a 1 year extension then you can just have the passport renewed upon his return. goodluck.

Thank you. Yeah, he will go to the consulate this Monday to see if there's an expedited service. If not, then he'll just have to apply for the extension. Hope the extension timeline is way shorter than renewal.

(Please transfer this topic to the appropriate section if found misplaced)

Hi All,

My husband's ROC application just got recently approved and we are so stoked because anytime now, we will be receiving his 10-year green card but unfortunately, we are facing some kind of problem.

He will be traveling to the Philippines to attend his brother's wedding (he is the bestman) on April 30th and will be coming back to the US on May 27th but his Philippine passport will be expiring on October 26th this year which means that the validity of his passport is less than six months upon departure and arrival both to the Philippines and the US.

Since he has a Philippine citizenship, we thought that he will not have a problem entering his home country with a passport valid for less than six months. When his best friend from high school who now works in Singapore found out about his trip to the Philippines, the best friend asked if he could make a side trip there for a couple of days and since he's never been there before, we bought his ticket to Singapore yesterday. While talking to the agent, we found out that his passport needs to be at least six months valid so he can enter Singapore. How true is this?

Also, is our assumption right that he will not have a hard time at the airport to enter his home country? How about coming back to the US?

We went to the Philippine Consulate (Los Angeles) website to gather some information about passport renewal timelines and it says renewals take about 8 to 10 weeks which is going to be too late for his April 30th departure. Is there an expedited process for Philippine renewal at this consulate?

Sorry for all these questions but right now, we are both in limbo on what to do. Please give us some advices all you knowledgeable and reliable VJ people.

Thank you in advance!

Congratulations Dani & Rey

Thank you tru_loves_journey! :-)

Hi All,

Checked our case status today and saw this... "On March 10, 2015, we ordered your new card..." Thank God! So happy right now.

Good luck to all the VSC (and a couple CSC) applicants that are still waiting. Your approvals are coming soon.

Best,

Dani and Rey

I got an RFE. ha.

6 years of knowing my husband and struggling through these Visa procedures, 3 1/2 years married.

2 years in the U.S. acclimating...accomplishing getting his drivers lic., a job, promotion, health ins through the job, him purchasing his first car, filing taxes jointly etc and Im not mentioning the personal struggles of him leaving everything behind......We have not established that the marriage upon which we were granted conditional staus was entered on good faith.

When does the stress end?

am I the last September filer?

Hi Inluv,

So sorry about the RFE. Technically, on VJ's terms, we are also a September filer (filed 09/30, received 10/01) and we still haven't heard anything from USCIS.

Hi dare448, based on your timeline, your NOA date shows 10/01/2014 which is your filing date…in that case you're an October filer the September filers are almost done getting their approvals, and your date is the 1st so you'll be one of the first to hear something! Any day now...Good luck!!

Thank you sunshine16x. Keeping our fingers crossed that we'll hear good news from USCIS soon.

Joining this thread as well so I can track if any of the October filers have gotten approvals already.

I am technically a September filer (09/30) but our NOA1 was dated October 1st. Hoping that we'll get approvals anytime soon.

Any news from the remaining September filers who are still waiting for decision?

Still haven't gotten ours. :-( I'm starting to get worried.

Approved!!! Card ordered jan 23!!!

Thanks everyone for the support and advice!

Good luck everyone, approvals will follow!!!

Congratulations on your approval. Did you get a text or an email?

Hoping to get the good news soon as well!

Mine says the same just October 1st. If in any case there's an RFE, it should say something else correct?

My husband and I are itching to know if our case got approved. We're crossing our fingers that we will receive the good news any time soon.

Biometrics completed. My husband was in and out of the building in 10 minutes. :-)

Looks like first time in history vermont center is ahead of california...but at least we're beginning to see some movements over in california as well. Although looking at the July/Aug filers we have a lot of water running down under the bridge...:/ There's only one applicant approved in July, and no one in August...gotta play that candy crush!

Hi AnotherLostSoul,

Do you know if any of the July and August filers received an RFE?

Thanks,

Dani & Rey

Hi All!

We got my husband's biometrics appointment letter today for 10/22. :-)

Thanks,

Dani and Rey

We've received our NOA1 letter in the mail today dated 10/01. :-)

Same thing happened to us. Thats when they look at the application. I wouldn't be worried about the time table for that. We got ours back a week after we mailed it next day.

Got it. Thanks bregan!

Hi All,

I just saw this morning that CSC cashed our check today (2 days after our application got delivered) but I haven't received the NOA letter yet. Is that normal that they cash the check first?

Best,

Dani and Rey