Steve & Erma

ROM Timeline Approved by Consulate - 10/12/22 Sent to DFA - November Diplomatic Pouch and held pending court issues with online/proxy marriages Transmitted to PSA - 01/06/23 Requested from PSA - 03/20/23 Received - 03/27/23 My wife went to the PSA in Maasin sometime in February to try and get a copy but even with all the DFA transmittal info was unable to. They took her phone # and called when it was ready to order and we ordered it online. Next stop DFA appointment for new passport. Don't get me started on that process. LOL

Not every online 130 gets the NOA1 immediately. Mine showed up online just before the paper one reached me.

ROM = Report of Marriage. It is something you need to do if you get married in another country. report the marriage to the Philippine government. You get a marriage certificate from the Philippine government after it is all done and she will need it to be able to change her name to her married name. There is no longer an issue with using the Utah Marriage. It has been resolved and they are not having issue with online weddings anymore. The only thing I was told is you need the apostilled marriage certificate from Utah when you send in your ROM. Under your circumstances the Utah marriage is your best bet. If you can afford to you can always look into a leave of absence from work to take a longer vacation and then getting married in the Philippines might work out. My wife and I did a 530pm and that was 830am the next day there and now during daylight savings time it would be an hour later than that.

I sent an email to the SF Consulate and the only thing they said is needed is an Apostilled MC which I thought was already the case. So nothing about the letter of validity when asked directly.

So I am going the ITIN route but I am here in the states. The agent that is authorized is at a local H&R Block, there is an agent in the Philippine and I linked it below. My wife's passport is currently expired and we are waiting on our ROM that just finally got transmitted by the DFA because of the Utah marriage issue, we used her Bureau of Internal Revenue ID Card which is their version of a SSN card. The agent told me that it is hit or miss with the IRS whether they will issue an ITIN or not. Here's hoping it all works when I file. https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/acceptance-agents-philippines

The SF Consulate and the PSA are now excepting ROM again. WOOT WOOT!!! Someone told me that they are now requiring the Letter of Validity from Utah which you can get from the Clerk the same way you order your Apostilled Marriage Certificate. I do not see this on their website at this time and I have not confirmed it with them. My ROM was held up with the DFA since October and they sent it through with out the Letter of Validity on 1/6.

@manyfudge So if the adoption finished in Dec 2021 and the kids were 14, 16, and 18 he won't be able to sponsor the last 2? The 16 year old by your sentence above wouldn't be eligible then correct? Do you know how he would proceed with those if that is in case the fact? If the mother was processed and became a PR would she be able to sponsor?

So what I have seen as of late it would be a good idea to do them as close to the same time as you can. The CR1 you can do online but the K3 you have to mail. You have to have the NOA1 notice from the CR1 to mail the K3 in so hopefully you get it right away after doing the CR1 online. I saw a post the other day that it helps if you get the K3 in before they start actively reviewing your CR1. That seems like it might be the key to a quick process through USCIS but I can't confirm without more corroboration to be for sure. This is all speculation at this point I don't have enough data to back it up.

The K3 visa is to allow the beneficiary to come to the US and wait while the CR1 process finishes but as others have said it is very rarely granted. That being said it also may help your CR1 process through USCIS faster as in when they go to administratively close the K3 the case worker may choose to process your CR1 right then since it is on their desk. It doesn't hurt to try. I saw in a FB group the other day where an actual K3 got approved which is weird in itself. I also saw this week someone post a timeline that they applied for the CR1 at the beginning of Nov 2022, filed the K3 2 weeks later and then the CR1 was approved on 12/20/22. There is no rhyme or reason as to when or if the K3 will help your case or how much time it will take off but there are plenty of posts in FB groups that show it still does help occasionally.

You are good... DO NOT add anything else as it will just make more for the case worker to do.

@Family He just has to file before her 21st birthday not have the immigration done before her 21st birthday right?

1. 19, 17, & 15 2. Married 2016 so 13, 11, & 9 3. They have always been in his custody 4. 12/2021 5. The bio dad was redacted from the birth certs by the Australian government, they took the bio dad's parental rights away. @jan22 see I was close

@jan22 are you saying that he will have to file an AOS and I-130 for each kid and his wife? I know the oldest is 19 right now and the others are 2-4 years behind her. They were married August 2016 in Australia. I am not sure what your definition of custody is as they have lived together since before he and his wife married. I believe the adoption was finalized this year. Lastly, I believe the bio dad has nothing to do with the kids and I would assume he signed off. I will pose these questions to him and get back to you but I believe I am pretty close to my answers. @jskibo can you answer Mike's questions, I am interested in that info as well.

Thank you all for the info. So he needs to file an AOS (I-485) and the IR1 (I-130) which will cover the wife and kids? That is all? I know this is a very screwed up situation trust me I told him that. He had a lawyer for the adoptions but didn't bother with immigration for some reason. The lawyer processed the aadoptions (yes his wife's kids) and he is currently waiting for the BC's to then get them SSN #'s which he said he has handled but I'm not sure they won't push back.

I was in Manila with my wife when we did the Utah wedding. The US could give two craps about the PSA MC. It isn't a requirement when going through your interview. The only thing I'm worried about is when we get to the CFO and will they let her leave. Guess we will see when we get there, but I'm sure there will be people in this situation that will get there before me.

Ok I will try and lay all the info I know. Friend is a USC and his wife is an Australian citizen. He is a war time veteran. Her and her 3 children came to this country about 3+ years ago on a visitors visa which was good for 3 months and never left. He has legally adopted all 3 children. As far as the courts are concerned he is now considered their biological father and he is getting BC's from the state. Does that automatically make them USC? She read somewhere that because he is a war time veteran she cannot be deported but was unable to confirm. Anyone know if there is truth to this? She obviously doesn't have a green card and isn't supposed to be working in this country. Do they need to go through the normal IR1 process for her to become legal? Will there be issues? I know that she won't go back to Australia to wait for this to process, how will that play out? As soon as he has the BC's from the state he will get them SSN numbers. Does he need to do anything with the kids? This is a very weird case and I'm not 100% on where he should go from here. Thanks for any help.

So how do you know if it is even worth trying? I just filed the I-130 but I am trying to find any way to get her here faster. I have seen many posts about them not approving them anymore and just closing them as admin whatever. If this is supposed to be a way to get your spouse here quickly to shorten the physical time away then why are they closing them all? Like a K1 visa, they have to apply to be able to work as well correct? I get so frustrated with this whole immigration process. When I see people just flooding across our borders and being allowed to stay while their court-appointed lawyer helps them file for asylum at no cost to them and then they just wait here for their court date where many of them just get approved. This all just feels like punishment to do it the right way.

My wife and I just got married and I just left her in the Philippines. I filed the I-130 tonight. Is there any chance of getting her a tourist/visitors Visa to come here prior to us finishing our immigration process? She has a son who we will bring along in a couple of years, along with family so she has ties to go back. Plus she has a small baking business. Any thoughts or do they just frown upon this because they think they won't go back? Thanks