aaroncv3

Nice. Yeah, i think that is a reasonable bet.

Hey @Evan757, checking in. Did you guys get the email today?

🤣 I'm here for it, but I doubt either outcome would settle the matter. 🤣

No doubt. I've been here 10 months this visit. If it could have been avoided, I would have; but in retrospect there is no substitute for enduring alongside my wife. We are confident our relationship is stronger because of it.

Did you wife get the CFO yet? My wife was sharing the chika in the group chat about an impatient American husband pushing his way in to CFO, past the guard, to try get some special treatment. Word is that CFO told them if he ever does that again, she will never get the clearance. 😱🤣 She was able to get her schedule bumped up pretty easily with a phone call today. Was Oct 3, now Aug 16.

You'll get an email to the email address you used with ustraveldocs. It will include the tracking number. And they will probably call your wife when they are near, and need directions. Our email arrived 6:35pm of Aug 3. It said the shipment would arrive on or before Aug 7. But it was literally the next day.

We're in Laguna, near Los Baños. Two days for us.. maybe a little longer if you're in one of the further provinces. Have ₱440 ready, and she'll need her postal or unified ID. Side story, when FedEx delivered the documents, it was "signature required" but they never ID'd me. My skin color was all the identification they needed. 🤣 You know how it is, here. I wanted to see if LBC would do the same, but no, they followed the protocol. 👍 Edit: My wife just mentioned this: "it's ok if they don't have a postal id or unified id. They accept any other gov't id as long it's current / updated."

Yes, we received it on Aug 4. How about you? We were also able to get her CFO moved up. That is next week. After we confirmed the CFO schedule, I bought plane tickets back to the US in September.

I take issue with this representation of my statement to you. The framing may imply that I support the argument that a original or certified copy is not necessary. I am not making that claim. Further, I would strongly discourage presenting a photocopy as a sworn certified copy. I would entertain (and have) that there is a degree of absurdity to sending original or certified personal documents, which could (in some cases) even contain PII data of minor children, half-way around the globe--to a 3rd world country where postal items regularly go missing--just so the immigration officer can glance at it. Were it not so plainly absurd, I might not have hesitated to rush those documents sooner, rather than later. I do claim that it may be possible to deceive the interviewer with a high-quality, but not certified copy, but I would also say, "do so at your own peril." I asked my wife about exactly what the immigration officer did. She said the immigration officer went directly to the last page, made a comment, "There should be wet ink, this is a photocopy. I need the original."

Thanks. 🙂 I couldn't say what order might be used. Order doesn't seem to have much to do with it. At every stage, I've seen a portion of folks who filed later get approved sooner, and a portion of folks who filed sooner and get approved later. Not as a rule, but certainly a non-negligible amount. Maybe luck has a hand in it all.

I just logged on to CEAC and saw the status changed to "Issued" today. Woohoo! We are very excited.

I asked my wife if she heard anyone in the facebook group getting expedited since the June 26 batch, she said she has not. Good luck, there is reason to believe that it won't be a 6 month queue, like the last batch.

I just noticed that the "Case Last Updated" date has changed to today (July 31). It changed within the past few hours. The status page still reads, "Refused". I also noticed that the documents we uploaded to CEAC on July 27 are still in status "SUBMITTED" but not "ACCEPTED". I'll update when/if this changes, or if we receive back another 221g.

Status update: Said documents arrived Thursday, July 27. We followed the instructions on the 221(g), including scanning/uploading the documents in CEAC, filling out a document submission letter, and sending it all back to the Embassy via LBC. FYI, there was a fee at LBC of ₱440. LBC said the documents will be delivered to the Embassy the next day (Friday, July 28).

I'm sorry to hear this, my friend. We were also refused, and i was furious for a few hours immediately afterwards. But then i realized a refusal is not a denial. We just need to provide what they need. Anger wasn't going to change that. Only action. But i understand exactly how it feels, after all this wait, just to get refused. I tried to remember that my Filipina wife has also endured with me, and we got to sleep in the same bed that night, and really, a life together is what this is all about. If they need paperwork, fine. It's really a small effort compared to the commitment of the bigger picture. Hope you guys feel the silver lining, soon. Hang in there.

I'm really sorry to hear this. I lost count of the number of times I heard an acquaintance say, "why don't you guys just fly to Mexico and walk across?" I'm sure I'm not the only one who's heard it. Ad nauseam. So I can commiserate. Your positive attitude is inspiring. At first i was afraid to post that we didn't get the news we hoped, but then I realized the difficulty of this process and the candor of the collective experience is exactly what gives this forum its value. Glad to hear your update. There will be cake.

It's the small things. 😂

You mean a sacrificial American husband designated to hold all the Filipina phones so the rest of us can just wait in the aircon? 1 2 3 not it

You can go stand outside and wait like the other good American husbands did. 🤣 Some good chats to be had out there. Just stay near the embassy. When she's done she come out near the same place she entered. Or there are some American restaurants near by. I opted to just wait near the place where we were separated. (I'm suggesting to stay near the embassy because the guards will prevent the beggars and squatters from hassling you.)

Here's our update. Interview was on July 12. Visa refused. My wife said the interviewer was mostly concerned about the items which were "Case FE review note" before we were DQ'd. They refused to adjudicate without the actual certified copies of my (petitioner) previous divorce papers. We are in the process of getting those documents here to the Philippines. The embassy gave us instructions to send those, along with her passport, back to the embassy by courier. Based on other reports, the turnaround on that may only be a few days. Overall, we are still optimistic. If they were going to deny the visa for any reason, they would have just done that instead. A refusal is a refusal to adjudicate, where a denial is an unfavorable adjudication. Some other context to put this in perspective: the Philippines requires a CFO clearance for Filipinos moving overseas, and there is currently a backlog on the scheduling for that. We booked for an online appointment but there seems to be some uncertainty about CFO scheduling right now. We'd be in exactly the same situation had the visa been approved on-the-spot. God's timetable, not mine.

Status update: The necessary documents were not in the filing cabinet at home, so I had to submit a request for the certified documents from the respective agencies. Both agencies are in receipt of my request. My guestimate for the necessary documents to be here in the Philippines is August 1 via DHL. Unfortunately, LBC was not a practical choice in our case. We're still optimistic. At this point, the hold-up may be in getting CFO clearance. My wife reports uncertainty about honoring scheduled online appointments.

Though I cannot confirm by my own witness, I suppose this also applies to Filipino men: don't wear your crop-tops and booty shorts to the US Embassy expecting to be admitted. I know it's a brave new world and all, so here is my inclusivity. 🤡🌎

Report: my wife had her interview July 12. During her interview, I waited for outside the embassy. (We actually scouted the area the night before. We encountered a Filipino gate guard. My wife asked if I would be able to enter the Embassy with her for her visa interview. The guard told her, "Yes, he just needs to bring his passport." However, on they day of the interview, the guards said "applicants only". If you are the American and plan to accompany your Filipino spouse to the Embassy in Manila, you might as well keep your phone/watch/etc on your person, rather than leaving it behind.) My wife said the staff was quite stone-faced, except for the fingerprint and photo staff. She understands that it takes a certain kind of person to do that job, and so she didn't take it personal. Based on what my wife said, the questions they focused on the most were exactly the items which were the "Case FE review note" before we were DQ. They were: * I-864 (AOS). My income is 100% VA service-connected, which, while exceeding the requirements, is tax-exempt. She provided the documents clarifying this. (Actually, because she was nervous, she mistakenly handed them my DD-214 instead of my VA Verification of Benefits letter. She said that seemed to be okay for them.) * Marriage termination documents. They wanted to see the original / certified copy of my marriage termination documents. I did not bring those to the Philippines with me. They are in a filling cabinet at our home in the US. In the absence of those documents, they refused the visa. Although we were sad at first, we realized that, based on the instructions they provided, we don't need to make another trip to Manila. We just need to send the requested documents. I can have those documents sent via DHL to our address in the Philippines, then send them via LBC to Manila along with her passport. They will be returned via LBC just as a regularly-approved visa, attached to the passport. I estimate we're looking at a delay of maybe 2 or 3 weeks. A drop in the bucket, in the grand scheme of things. If the visa was going to be outright denied, they would just do that without requesting those documents. So, after feeling bad about it for a few hours, we realized it isn't hard to fix, and it was a good reminder to me that God is in control, despite how urgent my expectations are. Here's another observation, perhaps useful to some: while I waited outside the gate, I saw a young woman get refused entry because she was dressed inappropriately (low-cut top, booty shorts). Filipinas, wear your business dress or Sunday best. Dress like it is a job interview. I thought this was obvious. 🤣 Guess not.

🥳 Excellent. SFO would likely be our port of entry, also. Thanks for the details on your experience. 👍