top_secret

We had this problem since my wife had a very long address. We opted for extreme abbreviation to make the whole address fit. Her address was something like "Phase 2B, Block 11, Lot 6, Morning Glory subdivision, Barangay San Jose, city, provence, zip code". To make it fit we shortened it down to something like "P2B BK11 L6 MNGLY SD BGY SJOSE, city, provence, zip code". It worked for us. In many countries addressing is an inexact science. In general an overseas beneficiary's address is less critical than US addresses since they they probably won't contact anyone or send anything there anyways. It's probably unlikely they would have an issue with the beneficiary's address and even if they did they would hopefully issue a RFE rather than a rejection.

Looking at it more closely, it seems they do have such a vaccine formulation in Ireland and UK. https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/5581/pil They don't have it in the US and it is not what they generally call DTP. But if that is what he got it seems he does still need Pertussis.

Given that, I would be inclined to think the card is inaccurate. That does not describe DTP vaccine. AFIK there is not any single vaccine formulation that includes those components yet excludes Pertussis. There are formulations that include Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, and also include polio vaccine. I'd see about getting the card corrected by the vaccine provider.

Generally, DTP is given to infants and small children children whereas Tdap is given to teens and adults. Either is just fine for immigration purposes. The P in DTP is Pertussis, not Polio. Capital P because it's a stronger dose for children. So it is a little strange, but otherwise inconsequential that they gave DTP to a 27 year old. It should be no problem.

I don't think the first note is a RFE that would prevent you from becoming documentarily qualified. It's just advisory since your intentions about the children seemed unclear based on your DS-260 answers. If they would reopen the DS-260 fix it, and if not, it is probably not a problem and you could just mention it at your interview.

100% they will reject it for mixing pages from different editions. That is why it was rejected. The rejection notice says "If you submitted I-912, Request for a Fee Waiver, or this form is available for a Fee Exemption, the determination of the Fee Waiver or Exemption has not been made at this time." They didn't even consider if the fee waiver is valid or not.

Our marriage certificate has the same problem. My mom is listed by married name when it should have been maiden name. USCIS, NVC and the Embassy had no issues at all accepting it like that.

That is correct. Once something is submitted there is no changing what is there. All you can do is submit a new one. I made the same mistake with my stepdaughter. The two cases are handled separately so even if the marriage certificate was submitted for mom and wasn't ask for in the list of documents for her daughter, it is still required to independently prove the stepdaughter relationship.

Today, 5/6/2025 I received two "We have taken action on your case" SMS messages. Checking online, status changed to "Actively Reviewing". Nothing under documents tab. So, it is generic activity, though I realize many cases are "Actively Reviewing" for years.

I am assuming he has his Filipino Passport too. He should do E-Travel because he is exiting as a Filipino Citizen. He must also pay Travel Tax regardless of citizenship because he has been resident in the Philippines for more than a year. On future trips both of you would be exempt from Travel Tax once you are resident in the US.

My wife’s daughter transferred from Philippines to California Schools. The school here had no problem at all accepting her Philippine records but they most certainly will want to check them. We used her baby book from the Philippines which had her vaccinations recorded. The most notable difference between ordinary Philippine practices and California requirements is that Varicella vaccination seems somewhat uncommon in the Philippines but is required here. If there are any missing shots, they would still let him start school and give a 30 days deadline to get whatever shots are needed. So, if any are missing you could wait until he is here. Whenever you know what city you will be moving to check online for the local school district. Many in California have online enrolment. I was able to enroll my stepdaughter before she even got here. They just said she was good to go so bring her by the office whenever she was actually here and ready to start. Also, on her first visit to her pediatrician here the nurse very carefully went through and transcribed all of her Philippine vaccinations into the California state immunization registry so there now exists a very official US record too.

https://cfo.e.gov.ph/Re-Issuance-Revalidation-and-Amendment-with-GCP She's supposed to amend it if it was previously for another reason. They used to be able to do that online but now it apparently takes an in person visit. The paper certificates don't expire but I'd hate to have too argue that point with BI right before a flight. All newly issued e-certificates are digital only. They eliminated the paper stickers and in fact BI often specifically request to see the CFO e-mail in people's phone.

For a simple online self check if SS has you recorded as a Citizen or a PR, you can log into your ss.gov account and start (but not complete) an online dummy request for a replacement SS card. If they still have you recorded as a PR it should notify you that a personal appearance is required to continue the request. If you get all the way thru to the sign and submit page it means they have you recorded as a citizen. Bail out without clicking sign and submit if you aren't actually requesting a replacement card.

For us the e-mail was addressed to both the petitioner and the beneficiary. The NVC case creation date they list can be skewed a little bit because it is an average of all immigrant visa types that go through NVC. Spousal visas tend to be more straightforward and the cases may get created faster than the overall average. Congratulations.

That's rough. Delivery of the new one by mail is possible but there is no way she can avoid applying in person.

They return the old passport stamped "CANCELLED" on the page opposite the bio page. They should let her retain the old one still valid and cancel when she picks up her new passport in person. If it's a long trip and you want to do it by mail to avoid a second trip to pick up the new one, they 'might' allow her to mail the old one in once the new one arrives at the consulate and then they cancel the old one and mail them both back together so she is only without a passport a few days. Obviously, a bit more risk by mail then picking up in person. They won’t deliver the new passport before the old one is canceled.

With the caveat that Philippine consulates are famously inconsistent making up and applying rules... Generally, Philippine consulates would accept a Report of Marriage and application changing passport name if filed together at the same time. ALL Philippine Passport applications require a personal appearance at the consulate so doing it concurrently eliminates the mail option for filing the ROM. If the ROM was done by mail, Philippine consulates would also generally accept the original Report of Marriage with their seal and signature for up to one year before they require only a PSA copy for changing names on passports.

If you get started now you could almost certainly get her Philippine Passport changed before September. She just needs to file a Report of Marriage with the Philippine Consulate or Embassy that has consular jurisdiction over wherever the marriage took place and file for a new passport in her married name. You could usually file for both concurrently and new Philippine Passports are taking 2 to 4 weeks to be processed from the US. Filing for AP now would offer the greatest chance of success but risks wasting the not insignificant application fee.

Looking at just VJ members reported timelines https://www.visajourney.com/times/ir1-spouse-visa-historical/ there seems to be a tiny improvment in processing times at most service centers over the last month or two. It's probably not enough improvement to even be statistically relevant or enough to predict any kind of trend but nonetheless is not showing any kind of increase in processing times.

I could possibly be good news. It is at least evidence they are working on it. It would automatically be "Refused" until she completed a new medical since her last one is expired. Presumably instructions will be forthcoming.

My wife got same day oath in San Diego. I literally saw her status change and the oath ceremony notice appear in the documents tab in her online account on my phone, in real time, while I was in the waiting room, about 10 minutes after they called her in for her interview. I had already seen the notice before she even came back out from her interview.

If it is vfsglobal (vs vsf) then it may be linking to the ustraveldocs site which may be legit in a roundabout way. If it is vsfglobal it is a scam site. https://www.usvisascheduling.com/ is the actual legit site even though it looks like a scam site too due to the Department of State’s incompetent IT contractors.

The major reason some folks need large book passports is if their travel pattern includes frequent visits to countries that still issue full page single entry visa stickers.

By the N400 instructions it seemed to us that the evidence of support only applies to children who do not live with you or for whom support orders exist. If they are living with you, that fact alone is proof you support them. We selected "resides with me" and checked "Yes" for providing support for the child, and left it at that with no further evidence or commentary since it seemed not to apply.

You could baselessly speculate that any big unexpected change in that meaningless number 'might' mean your case reached some kind of internal milestone that triggered it to recalculate and that could possibly indicate some sort of movement. Any sort of movement could generally be seen as positive. My wife's I-130 was approved shockingly fast and very unexpectedly only about two weeks after I submitted additional unsolicited evidence.