ultrasoul

I am aware of that thank you. USCIS April adjustment of status increase now basically means from a financial perspective consulate processing route requires much lower financial cost. That until DoS increases the immigrant fee schedule (DoS increased non-immigrant fee schedule last year in 2023)

Don’t see anything regarding NVC fees increasing for immigrant visa IV consular processing. Anyone knows?

Thanks everyone! MNL terminal fee has been bundled as part of the ticket price (but some reason it looks lower than the 750 PHP). As for the travel tax- immigrant visa holders because they aren't considered permanent residents of other countries just yet have to pay the TEIZA Travel tax which can be paid online (plus a credit card convenience fee as usual). The New York Philippine Consulate webpage also confirms this- https://newyorkpcg.org/pcgny/other-services/travel-tax-exemption/

Appreciate a fellow VJ'er chiming in on the N400 earliest filing date calculation for an IR0 LPR (5 year normal requirement) based on several absences out of the US. LPR Status Granted - 04/13/2020 2020- 202 days outside US due to having to care of family overseas & COVID travel restrictions (Apr 2020 departure, Oct 2020 US re-entry no issues) 2021- 354 days outside US on overseas job posting with non-US company (Jan 2021 departure, Dec 2021 US re-entry no issues) 2022- 0 days outside US 2023- 0 days outside US 2024- 0 days outside US 2025- 0 days outside US For additional context- The LPR purchased and maintained a US house and US bank account statements since April 2020 continuously and filed US taxes continuously since 2020 tax year. Had the LPR not been outside the US in 2020 and 2021, the earliest filing date would have been 01/13/2025 taking advantage of the 90 calendar days early filing. Questions- Given the greater than 6 months but less than 1 year absences, is it correct to say that the earliest filing date should be calculated as plus 4 years 1 day from his Dec 2021 latest US re-entry date (and not the full 5 years from the latest re-entry date)? The LPR cannot take advantage of the 90 day early filing anymore correct i.e. Dec 2021 latest re-entry date plus 4 years 1 day minus 90 days for early filing? Thanks a million!

Did a search but couldn’t find a recent post here on this topic- thanks for the patience! Trying to see if we need to provide cash for our immigrating brother and sister in law for NAIA travel tax and terminal fee. Doesn’t NAIA no longer collects cash terminal fees as this is now bundled in airline ticket price? As for the travel tax- will they get an exemption since they are holding a US immigrant visa and CFO certificate? Thanks a mil

@W199 Can I ask once you made that payment was a temporary email digital certificate emailed to you? I'm wondering what's stopping someone from choosing the 30php pickup option for sometime in the future and not actually going to retrieve that sticker if the email digital cert is auto-emailed upon the 30 php payment? i.e. why bother choosing the more expensive delivery when it won't even be delivered until many months after you leave the country when payment of either option triggers the email digital certificate. thanks for sharing!

Correct that seems to be the current way right now - you need to pay for 120php++ delivery or 30php pickup of the sticker but the second pickup option is not possible since there isn't any stickers in stock lol. We will be emailing and sending a DM to the CFO FB account to see if they can just generate the digital certificate using the PDOS completion registration number without any payment. If not- we'll just email them back on May 1 since flights are in June anyway.

@RO_AH My brother in law just completed the CFO seminar but now they want him to pay 30 php + 90-200 php shipping for the sticker even though the email cert with QR code should be free. Am I missing something here?

Also if you file N-400 now you pay $725. USCIS released their 2023 fee hike proposal to increase that to $760 earlier this year in Jan. The final actual fee increase will be finalized in the coming months to take in effect Q3 or later in 2023. Get on it now and save some $$$

Wanted to circle back and provide an update. Earlier today on April 17 Monday, my brother got an update on his N400 confirming the quality checks were completed, N400 is fully approved, and the oath ceremony is scheduled for next month. Interesting, there was still no status updates on his I-751 which still shows waiting to be scheduled a ROC interview but an L1 chat agent was able to confirm that the Field office touched his I-751 last Saturday when the officer was doing the quality checks on the N400 approval and scheduling the oath before so it definitely feels like the I-751 approval status change should happen any day now. Many thanks everyone for allaying this concern cheers!

We tested the theory that Queens FO officer who approved the N400 must surely know that an I-751 approval is a prequisite- so my bro chatted with a L1 chat rep via Emma to see when was the last time someone touched the I-751 hoping the FO would have approved the I-751 today at the same time they accessed the N400 case to approve it but it does not look to be the case. Yes combo interviews should be the standard as confirmed in the DHS 2020 public webinar given by USCIS leader https://www.dhs.gov/publication/uscis-processing-concurrently-pending-forms-n-400-and-forms-i-751 judging from the site where people ask immigration lawyers questions- the reason why a combo interview is not done is because the N400 officer is new and does not know how to handle I-765 lol

Thanks @Mike E and @Misscloud. Already my brother had an L2 call back in Jan after his N400 interview but was given the precanned wait for your I-751 scheduling reply. Opened several escalation out of timelines processing tickets that went straight to the Queens FO on both N400 and I-751 cases and same responses as well. N400 status change thanks to congressional inquiry was the only way things changed lol

That’s what I thought. Better to go back to congressional liason to mention this to get movement in the i-751. Do local FO still waive I-751 interviews these days in 2023?

Not yet. Status shows N400 is approved and in line for scheduling

Sharing what I thought was a total impossibility but just happened- my brother’s N400 case status changed to approved and scheduled for naturalization ceremony even though his I-751 interview has yet to be scheduled much less even approved. On August 2021, my brother filed his I-751 to remove conditions on his 3 year conditional PR status. On July 2022, he was eligible to file for N400. On October 2022, due to the N400 USCIS transferred his I-751 case file to the Queens local field office (to prepare for what I was assuming a combo interview). On Jan 2023, he was scheduled and attended his N400 interview. Anticipating a combo interview, he brought all I-751 evidence (photos, bank records of married life) but officer shockingly did not do a combo interview- recommending his N400 for approval pending a future scheduled I-751 interview decision. On March 2023, he reached out to congressman to assist with moving his I-751 along since it was filled over 18 months ago and the paperwork has been sitting in the local FO at the time of his N400 interview and still remains there for 6 months now. Today April 2023, USCIS Queens FO reviews the congressional inquiry and changes status of N400 case to “recommended for approval in line for ceremony scheduling” with no update/ waiver approval to the i-751. Chatted with level 1 USCIS chat agent via Emma and agent states adamantly that N400 can be approved and naturalization can take place before I-751 approval which doesn’t sound right. I’m going to advice my brother to ask the congressional liaison to send a followup message to the local Queens FO to approval the I-751 or schedule the I-751 if they require an interview because I’m pretty sure my brother will be turned away at the N400 ceremony if the system hasn’t have record of a i-751 approval. Baffles me that a conditional resident can be scheduled for naturalization with 2 different USCIS staffers (field office plus chat agent level 1) not seeing this as a paradox?