EatBulaga

I was able to get my Filipina spouse acclimated pretty quickly by going to the local Filipino restaurants and Filipino church. She also met a few other Filipinas with similar experiences online so she has a few chat mates. Keeping in touch with her friends and family back home is critical so make sure you have good phone plan and wifi at home. One thing that will help her confidence greatly is learning to drive and getting the driver's license. Find out how she can get a driver's permit and license in Texas and I recommend investing in driving lessons instead of you teaching her to drive since driving lesson cars come with passenger-side brakes. Teaching the wife to drive is a source of great stress where some marriages may not survive.😂 But getting her onto your car insurance is good evidence of bona fide marriage. Also get the SSN as soon as the I-94 is available. Don't sign up for the SSN with the AOS or EAD--it will take too long and you will need it sooner for bank accounts, joint billing, marriage certificate, driver's license, etc. Update the SSN card to the marriage name when you have the marriage certificate and before sending in the I-485 if she wants to file with the marriage name change. You can see our Timeline or Profile to see the steps that we went thru.

There is a current CFO thread discussion. https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/799174-cfo-requirements-for-k1-fiance-visa Apparently there is a new digital CFO coming out May 1. CFO also has an expiration date.

Where in Texas? Houston has the most Filipinos with a Jollibee 😂 . Dallas has a Kabayan store and several Filipino restaurants. The best place to network with other Filipinos are at church, especially Catholic Churches. Do some searches on Google map to find Filipino restaurants and churches near you. Filipino church will be a good place to build relationships with others so they can write affidavit of bona fide marriage for you when you go to interview for AOS or ROC. Edit: beware not to make travel plans too close to the K1 interview. Filipinas need to pass the CFO to exit the Philippines, especially K1 Filipinas Edit: Plano, Houston, San Antonio all have a Jollibee 😂

Welcome! Remember to fill out your Timeline which helps with the stats pages and helps others to help you 😊

@EandK @mrveg @centric23 @BradPeters @MnY My report for submitting the I-693 per courtesy email is at https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/798091-request-for-form-i-693-courtesy-email/?do=findComment&comment=10831413

As mentioned, you can leave Part 4 blank if you do not have immediate travel plans. For our I-131, Part 4, 1.a, we listed "no current planned travels", and 1.b, we listed in a few countries including my foreign spouse home country as potential travels. For Part 7, #1 you can mark "More than one trip", and add a separate sheet of paper explaining that you have elderly parents. For our I-131, we added a Part 7 separate sheet including names of the elderly relatives and pics of their foreign ids who are potential "humanitarian reasons" to travel outside of the country for my foreign spouse. And surprisingly, that Part 7 separate sheet was a document uploaded by USCIS to our USCIS account under the I-131 application document section. I don't know if that made any difference, but if you go see our Profile or Timeline, you will see that we got the EAD/AP combo card after doing an I-765 expedite.

Yes, our DS-3025 was marked "K Visa applicant voluntarily completed vaccination requirements". Keep in mind that the overseas doctors are not USCIS employees. They are contracted out to check if the K1 applicant has the medical to enter the US. USCIS still reserves the right to make sure an applicant has the medical to stay in the US. Good point. I don't know the medical process for the IR-1/CR-1. However, I do know debating with USCIS to scrutinize their medical process is wasted time and effort at best. Another thread discusses the pros and cons of doing the I-693 with the AOS vs waiting for the RFE: https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/799022-is-form-i-693-required-when-filing-for-aos/ Like most K1-to-AOS filers, we assumed we did not need the I-693 medical because of the I-693 instructions 3.C.1: "You are not required to have another medical examination as long as you file your Form I-485 within one year of an overseas medical examination; and" https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/798091-request-for-form-i-693-courtesy-email/?do=findComment&comment=10822462 But there is still the instructions 3.C.2: "...you must still show proof that you complied with the vaccination record". Without going into lawyer mode, most assume 3.C.1 implies 3.C.2, but USCIS still reserves the right to enforce 3.C.2. The Atlanta courtesy email was just a reminder that we did not have the I-693, and if you do get an RFE, you should not be surprised since they already sent a courtesy email saying you do not have an I-693. If I had a K1 and a couple of K2s, I probably would wait for the RFE, since three I-693s could run about 2000. In our case, I was prepared to shell out about 1000 if the Civil Surgeon found extra medical conditions, but fortunately our I-693 only costs 545. I posted the complete Courtesy Email at https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/798091-request-for-form-i-693-courtesy-email/ I posted our latest report submitting the I-693 at https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/798091-request-for-form-i-693-courtesy-email/?do=findComment&comment=10831413 IMHO, the path of least resistance is still to complete the I-693 for the AOS. But everyone has to choose what is best for them.

Yes. But start researching and preparing for the I-751, and collect the I-751 evidences. That should keep you busy? 😂 Here is our report for submitting the I-693 per the courtesy email. We went to the doctor's office earlier in the week as instructed to pick up the sealed packet. Based on the stack of sealed brown envelopes that the receptionist had, we were among the many that did the I-693 with this Civil Surgeon. The envelope itself is just a standard 10 X 13 brown envelope, but it is taped sealed with the doctor's stamp over the flap that has the name, "Civil Surgeon", and the doctor's phone numbers. They also gave us a copy of the I-693 that is supposed to be in the sealed brown envelope. As posted in our Civil Surgeon report https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/798091-request-for-form-i-693-courtesy-email/?do=findComment&comment=10826873 We were only able to check the first 2-pages, then signed the I-693. There is a leap of faith in assuming what is inside the sealed envelope is the accurate I-693, and the copy they gave us is a duplicate of what is in the sealed envelope. In any case, the doctor completed Part 5 thru 11 of the I-693. Part 10 is the vaccination record that was transcribed from the DS-3025 along with the particular vaccine dose received during the I-693 medical exam. In Part 10 Results, the doctor selected the box, "Applicant completed vaccination requirements or may be eligible for blanket waivers as indicated above". Attached to the end of I-693 are the copies of the Covid vaccination cards, lab reports, and driver's license. Also as instructed in the courtesy email, we put together supplemental "evidence of the bona fides of marriage". We used this opportunity to include among other evidence: the 2022 Tax Return Married Filing Jointly, joint bank statements, credit card statements, car insurance, affidavits from church members, beneficiary of the retirement accounts, bill statements of joint accounts, driver's license, health cards, pictures of the wedding, and pictures of married life. In addition to printing all those out, we uploaded the files to my.USCIS.gov as instructed in the courtesy email. For each file we uploaded, we had to select a category for the file, which we chose "Bona Fides of Relationship". We now have about 20 files in our document section of the I-485 in the online account. So our final drop off packet consists of: 1) printout of the Request for Form I-693 Courtesy Email, 2) sealed brown envelope (10 X 13) from the Civil Surgeon, and 3) our sealed brown envelope (10 X 13) of evidence. And we put all those in a 10.5 X 15 bubble mailer plastic envelope. We went to the USCIS Atlanta Field Office on the Saturday as instructed in the courtesy email to drop off our packet. When we arrived, the parking lot was fairly full with plenty of people coming in and out, but we were able to find a parking spot without much trouble. At first we thought everyone was there to drop off their packets like us. But other things appeared to be going on like Naturalization Oath, appointments, etc. and we all had to go thru an airport-like security to enter the building. An USCIS agent was hollering like a TSA agent at the airport, "all items in the bin...take off belts...have your id's and appointment letter ready..." There was about a 10-minute line getting into the building. Once in, we followed the arrows to the first check-in station. That was where we dropped off the packet. I asked for a receipt that they got the packet, but the agent said they don't give one, but assured me that this was the place to drop off the packet. So it took less than a few minutes to drop off the packet once in the building. As we were leaving, we continued to see steady streams of people and cars coming in and out. After completing this process, there is a sense of relief, much like the feeling I had after sending off the AOS, or getting the fax confirmation after submitting the I-765 expedite evidence. Our final cost was 545 for the I-693 medical. The fact that a particular vaccine was needed from the Civil Surgeon probably meant we avoided an RFE at least for the I-693. But putting together all these over the course of the last 3 weeks required effort and focus. It was certainly mentally and emotionally taxing at times much like putting together the AOS or the I-129F. Now comes the waiting, which should be the easy part but the waiting itself can also be emotionally draining. As I recommended above, start researching and preparing for the I-751 to keep yourself busy while waiting. If anybody cares to read it, I'll post the outcomes from all this waiting.

If you read our Civil Surgeon visit report, the doctor did say a particular vaccine dose was needed. https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/798091-request-for-form-i-693-courtesy-email/?do=findComment&comment=10826873 But now that we went ahead and had the I-693 medical, we hope to avoid any RFE. Those who are adamant about the K1's being exempt just because they submitted on time fail to understand that USCIS reserves the right to overrule the overseas doctor's DS-3025 with a US Civil Surgeon I-693. The way that I think of it is that the DS-3025 as the medical ticket to enter the US, but the I-693 as the medical ticket to stay in the US. USCIS reserves the right to determine with a Civil Surgeon if the ticket entering the US is good enough to stay in the US. Again I'll post our update soon.

After seeing more posts, I think the April 7, "We have taken an action on your case" notice is for everyone who got the Atlanta Courtesy Email, regardless if they went to see the Civil Surgeon or not. As of now, there is still no update since April 7, and our status shows "Our records show nothing is outstanding at this time". But as mentioned before, we went ahead and completed the I-693 medical and I'll post our report soon at https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/798091-request-for-form-i-693-courtesy-email/

There is a current discussion of I-693 already at https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/799022-is-form-i-693-required-when-filing-for-aos/ Maybe that will be helpful?

Where and which discussions are you referring? What do you mean next Federal Year? Thanks.

We got the same update. https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/786775-july-2022-aos-filers/?do=findComment&comment=10827679 And this was after we went to see the Civil Surgeon. In the I-693 medical exam, the doctor said the foreign spouse needed an extra particular vaccine dose not listed in the DS-3025. https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/798091-request-for-form-i-693-courtesy-email/?do=findComment&comment=10826873 We hope this will avoid any future I-693 RFE. And we plan to submit extra evidence of our marriage as instructed in the courtesy email. Whether this was a waste of money or time or whatever, we see it as an opportunity to submit more stuff in hopes to get our case moving.😂

If you got the I-693 medical sealed packet already, no reason to sit on it? You might as well follow the instructions in the courtesy email to submit it? I'm posting our I-693 experience at https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/798091-request-for-form-i-693-courtesy-email/

Do you know if the Filipina that has the EAD/AP combo card needs to renew the CFO to leave the Philippines after visiting? Thanks

Yes. We filed the Report Of Marriage with the Philippines embassy already. We are waiting for the processing and after which we can order copies from the Philippines Statistics Authority. My concern is that since USCIS has her maiden name passport number and expiry, is there any paperwork we need to file to update with the new passport with USCIS? Also do Filipinas have to renew the CFO with the new passport? Or when do Filipinas not need to register for CFO anymore? Thanks for any response.

Greetings all, I have a few questions about renewing the Philippines passport at the Philippines embassy, Washington D.C. 1) When renewing passport, I assume the default is e-passport? https://philippineembassy-dc.org/new-e-passport-applicant-adult/ 2) My Filipina spouse filed for the I-485 AOS with the marriage name using the marriage certificate and her old Philippines passport (maiden name), which will expire in a few years. In renewing the Philippines passport to the marriage name, is there any USCIS paperwork that needs updating so when we file later for the I-751 or N-400 there won't be any confusion? 3) Is there any advantage to renewing the Philippines passport sooner rather than later to the marriage name? Like easier to pass through airports? Less CFO hassles? Thanks in advance for any responses.

Greetings August 2022 AOS filers, After going to see the Civil Surgeon for the I-693 medical, we got an email from USCIS, "We have taken an action on your case", but we have yet to submit the sealed envelope. https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/798091-request-for-form-i-693-courtesy-email/ Our case status shows case is updated to April 7, 2023, but the message is still "Case Is Being Actively Reviewed by USCIS". I have a few conjectures of what might be happening. One, the Civil Surgeon inputted our I-693 medical case to their USCIS system, which updates the whole USCIS system. I remember this happening during the overseas medical when we saw the CEACStatTracker update the process date but the message stayed as "Ready". Or two, Atlanta FO has really taken action and we should see some updates soon. Some who reported the same message got their GC approval soon after. Or three, some others have reported this message as a glitch in the system, and are still waiting. In any case, if you go read our courtesy email post, we still plan on submitting our I-693 medical.

Greetings July 2022 AOS filers, After going to see the Civil Surgeon for the I-693 medical, we got an email from USCIS "We have taken an action on your case", but we have yet to submit the sealed envelope. Our case status shows case is updated to April 7, 2023, but the message is still "Case Is Being Actively Reviewed by USCIS". I have a few conjectures of what might be happening. One, the Civil Surgeon inputted our I-693 medical case to their USCIS system, which updates the whole USCIS system. I remember this happening during the overseas medical when we saw the CEACStatTracker update the process date but the message stayed as "Ready". Or two, Atlanta FO has really taken action and we should see some updates soon. Some who reported the same message got their GC approval soon after. Or three, some others have reported this message as a glitch in the system, and are still waiting. In any case, if you go read our courtesy email post, we still plan on submitting our I-693 medical.

For the K1, the I-134 requirement is 100% of the poverty guidelines. https://aspe.hhs.gov/topics/poverty-economic-mobility/poverty-guidelines For the AOS, the I-864 requirement is 125% of the poverty guidelines. Best to read the instructions for the I-134 at https://www.uscis.gov/i-134 And read the K1 visa step-by step guide, especially the "What to send to your fiance once the I-129F is approved (Receive NOA2)" https://www.visajourney.com/guides/k1-fiance-visa/ and make 2 copies of I-134 and all the supporting documents: 1 copy sent to the K1 beneficiary and 1 back-up copy. https://www.visajourney.com/guides/k1-fiance-visa-tips/ There are sections in the I-134 where it will ask if the US petitioner is divorced and to list the dependents. The dependents will add to the household number to calculate the minimum income for support. For example, if the US petitioner is planning to sponsor the foreign K1 beneficiary, and supporting 1 child dependent, then the household will be 3. The poverty guideline for household of 3 is 24,860 to be K1 sponsor, and 31,075=1.25*24,860 to AOS. If the US petitioner can not meet the guideline, then joint sponsorship (like family member, etc) is the best option. There are sections in the I-134 to list any US petitioner assets. But the defining support for the K1 beneficiary is the current income of the US petitioner (need proof with some current pay statements, and 3 years of tax transcripts). Again, if the US petitioner can not meet the supporting guideline, then the US petitioner needs to find joint sponsor(s). Joint sponsors mean each sponsor needs to fill out a individual I-134 with supporting documents and send to the K1 beneficiary after the NOA2 case approval and before the consulate interview, so the K1 beneficiary will take two or more sets of I-134s with the supporting documents to the consulate interview.

@Loren Y Congratulations!!! Thanks for all that you've done for us!!!

You can maybe post your question at the regional forum? https://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/97-middle-east-and-north-africa/ Or check with those with UAE Timelines? https://www.visajourney.com/portals/index.php?country=United Arab Emirates https://www.visajourney.com/timeline/k1list.php?op6=All&op7=United Arab Emirates&dfile=No&op1=&op2=&op3=&op4=1&op5=5%2C6%2C8%2C10%2C11%2C13%2C14%2C15%2C16%2C17%2C18%2C20%2C21%2C22%2C25%2C26%2C27%2C28&cfl=0 It would also help if you fill out your Timeline

Thanks for the VJ stats. I posted my own theory about the Atlanta FO wait time at https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/798277-atlanta-field-office-385-months-wait-time/ I understand the "what if's". We've gotten this far being meticulous, which you called "what if's". Don't worry about us as much as those who are not meticulous going thru the immigration process. My theory is that these wait time estimates can change tomorrow if Atlanta FO wants to clear the backlog with those that have the I-693 and waive the interviews. Also, I conjectured that the Atlanta FO has not processed any cases since Jan 2023? And the recent courtesy emails may be a signal that they are ready to ramp up processing again? I agree with @beloved_dingo that it is highly unlikely that the Atlanta FO will actually take 2+ years to process the cases since USCIS will have to grant the 10-year GC and forfeit the I-751 fees from the applicants. Since the last VJ cases from Atlanta was in Dec 2022, with 15 months wait time, I predict most of the backlogged cases will get processed in 15-23 months soon because of those that respond to the I-693 courtesy emails. https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/798091-request-for-form-i-693-courtesy-email To avoid forking this post into something else, I recommend that we continue the Atlanta wait time discussion at this post https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/798277-atlanta-field-office-385-months-wait-time/

Foreign spouse has none of those and is cleaner than baking soda. My concern is that if our FO wait time is 38.5 months and increasing, then there is a chance that we may need to travel overseas during that time. And I like to know my options in case of the "perfect storm" like border closure, another pandemic, Trump re-elected, mass hysteria against immigration, etc. A lot can change in 3-4 years if you just look back at all that has happened since 2019 to now. And in a sense, we are still paying for it on the immigration end with all the backlogs and extended wait times even those as clean as my foreign spouse. With all the wait times vested (see our Timeline and Profile), I like to know my options to make the best decisions like I listed for you at https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/798626-a-question-regarding-advance-parole/?do=findComment&comment=10826892

If you have an overstay issue, then I would consult a lawyer or not travel outside of the country at all until the GC. I had posted my own question about denied entry with AP at https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/798413-what-to-do-if-eadap-combo-card-is-rejected-by-cbp/ The flowchart of choices for AP travel seems simple in retrospect: 1) Choose to travel overseas with AP or, not or wait to travel after receiving the GC. Wait for the GC seems to be the safest choice from entry point of view, not considering the risk or need to travel overseas. 2) If you choose to travel with AP, most likely AP entry will be approved at the Port Of Entry unless you have contraband, etc. 3) If denied entry with AP, then your choices are to hire a litigator to charge CBP of inappropriate denial (abusing authority, etc.), or to return to the home country and abandon the AOS and file for the CR1 provided the reason for denial is not being qualified for the GC. https://www.immigrationhelp.org/learning-center/what-to-do-if-denied-entry-into-the-u-s-with-advance-parole Knowing your options might help you make the decision best for you?