top_secret

There is a lot of confusion about CENOMARs, Advisory on Marriages, PSA Marriage Certificates and ROM's (Report of Marriage). ALL applicants must have either a CENOMAR OR Advisory on Marriages. They order a CENOMAR from PSA and depending on whether PSA has them recorded as married or not they will either receive a CENOMAR OR an Advisory on Marriages. You can't make a choice other than by going through the long process of making sure PSA has the marriage recorded. You get whatever PSA gives you. Whatever PSA gives you is what the embassy wants to see. The embassy may further confuse things by asking specifically for an Advisory on Marriages without mentioning that a CENOMAR is also acceptable. If they ask for an "Advisory on Marriages" but all you have is a CENOMAR, it is up to the applicant to somehow magically know that it means the same thing and to hand over the CENOMAR. Report of Marriage (ROM) is also not a requirement. Filipinos often refer to a ROM as a "PSA Marriage Certificate" since in the Philippines it serves the same purpose. As far as the embassy is concerned it IS NOT a PSA Marriage Certificate. It is a Report of Marriage. To further confuse that, the embassy has lots of instructions requiring a PSA Marriage Certificate, referring to the certificate that is issued for couples that marry in the Philippines. Those instructions do not apply to couples married overseas but since Filipinos often call a ROM, a PSA Marriage Certificate, they frequently misinterpret those instructions to mean that a ROM is required. If at all possible, it is very advantageous to change the name in the passport BEFORE the interview. She could literally show up the day of her interview with new passport in hand and the old canceled passport, show them to the security guard and they would straighten it all out at the pre interview document check. If she waits, her visa, green card, and social security card will all be in her maiden name. Social Security will not change her name until she changes her green card. Almost no state would change state id until Social Security or USCIS changes it first. It costs $415 and can take over a year to change the name on a green card once it's been issued. If you already filed a ROM 6 months ago surely it must be processed by now. Are you requesting it from PSA or talking to the consulate.? They always tell you 6 months but 3 to 4 months is more typical. 2 weeks for a new passport is more or less realistic if you pay the expedite fee. Maybe add an extra week for holidays. You can reschedule once or twice. There is some kind of poorly defined limit to how many times you can reschedule without involving the embassy. If you aren't ready to move for a few months anyway it's probably better to just hold off scheduling for a while until everything else is in order.

In your case, the only requirement is either you arrive together or the petitioner is in the US first. Since you mention traveling together it sounds like your plan is good.

It has no relevance whatsoever to a N400.

I think the "case number not found" issue generally resolves itself within a day or two. That whole website is a monument to shoddy government IT work.

Normally spousal visas are scheduled by NVC. Only expedited cases are self scheduled. But US Embassy Manila is using the expedite system for normal cases. That is the "old" site. Following the link from ustraveldocs.com/ph will get you to the new site but the embassy also still has links to the old site further down the same web page that they never updated. Try going to https://www.ustraveldocs.com/ph/en/immigrant-visa and then start signing up from the GREEN "Visa Login" button and NOT following the link on the very same page that says "I do not meet any of the conditions listed above, and I wish to schedule an immigrant visa appointment. " That link is wrong but then this is government IT work.

For most things in the US, first and last name alone is fine. I don't think it would be a problem

That has happened before when there were mass expedites. I don't think anyone ever came up with anything better than just keep trying. It seems they release more appointments periodically on a random schedule.

The scheduling website is a mess but it but that's what they have. Once you are expedited, whether you requested it or not, NVC is done with your case and the embassy has it. So NVC will not be scheduling any interview and you are on your own to get the scheduling done. When you completed the DS260 it had an option to e-mail you a PDF copy of the confirmation. The confirmation number is 10 digits starting with AA. If you did not send the email when you completed the DS260 you can still log into CEAC and then click the IV APPLICATION (tab), click the "View" link, REVIEW (tab), scroll to the bottom and click next and then repeat clicking next again and again through all the pages until you get to the confirmation page at the end. The confirmation number should be there. There is also a Email confirmation button that will e-mail you the barcoded pdf that will be useful later at the medical and Visa Application Center.

The random youtube civics test videos are a big help. I haven't heard of any CD's being sent by USCIS (or anyone else).

However, now the scramble is on. Anecdotally, it seems this last "mass expedite" was HUGE. So apparently there are now a very large group of applicants competing for actual available appointments to schedule and possibly slots at Saint Luke's and the biometrics at the Visa Application Center.

What is really notable about this latest "mass expedite" is that it definitely included cases documentarily qualified well into September 2024. That is a HUGE improvement in backlog and would seem to imply that interview wait times are almost back to normal-ish. Hopefully it lasts but it really seems promising. Maybe the new Visa Application Center offloading biometrics to civilian contractors actually did make some difference.

If she doesn't already have the PSA copy of the ROM you can get that online with a credit card here. https://psaserbilis.com.ph/ Request a Marriage Certificate and they would send the ROM. You can have it sent to the US but it's expensive. The cheap and easy way is probably to order one sent to a family member in the PH and have them send it to you by PhlPost EMS.

I always found this three years of marital union vs 90 day early filing issue to be a very grey area. This is not the first case I have heard of being denied for early filing due to not having three years of marital union, even though they were apparently within the 90 day early filing window. I agree that I cannot find anywhere that is says the 90 day early filing window also applies to the marital union requirement. However, it seems that in the vast majority of cases where it might be an issue, they are still approved normally and it is not an issue. It seems that a small handful of outwardly identical cases get denied on that basis. When I looked at it I could not find a solid argument to dispute the denials other than, most other identical cases still get approved? We were more or less in the same situation and debated waiting for the full three years because of it, but having identified numerous other cases where it was not a problem we still opted for 90 (89) day early filing and the marital union issue never came up. Not sure what to say for the original poster. It seems that filing within the 90 day early window is taking a chance due to inconsistency on the part of USCIS. Most people who did it were fine. A handful did and were denied. But I can't find a solid legal argument to dispute the denials.

"IN TRANSIT" is the predecessor to "READY" you WILL be "READY" within a day or two at the most. As a recipient of a so called "mass-expedite" you wait until the case is "READY and then go to https://www.ustraveldocs.com/ph/en/immigrant-visa and start trying to self schedule your interview. When it lets you schedule you are good to go on the date and time that you choose. You also need to schedule the medical at https://slec.ph/ and biometrics at the new Visa Application Center. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=888610943207697 Those who want to move quickly are able to. Don't wait for instructions from the embassy.

The so called "mass expedite" approval is separate from any actual, real expedite request or denial. If you got the e-mail yesterday you are good to go. Check your CEAC status. If and when the CEAC status is "READY" proceed to try self-scheduling your interview on https://www.ustraveldocs.com/ph/en/immigrant-visa . Do not wait for further instructions from the embassy. Based on the sheer number of mentions on-line it seems this last "mass-expedite" has been huge. Circumstances will favor those who move quickly.