J.M.

These are Philippines specific answers. Other countries have different procedures.

For some reason the link didn't post properly. It was just a link to K-1 timelines sorted by Philippines and NOA2.

I-129f approvals for Philippines are averaging about 3-4 month since the beginning of the year according to VJ stats: K1 Fiance Visa US Immigration Timelines for Philippines from the California Service Center - SORT : Second NOA Date - DESC (visajourney.com) Add 2-3 months to that to process the Philippines side. If you only look at the ones going through interviews recently, it is closer to a year of total processing time, but that is not really representative of current processing times. Following timelines that have filed more recently will likely give you a better estimate. The most recent NOA2 for I-130 (sorted for Philippines) was filed 9/25/23. The most recent NOA2 for I-129f was filed 4/11/24. These are just from VJ timelines, so not a 100% correlation to the real world. Processing times fluctuate, but the trend recently is K-1 is back to being significantly faster than spousal. Be sure to understand the different requirements for spousal vs. K-1 after approval.

There is a pretty extensive and current thread about CR1 interview availability here: It's 33 pages long currently, with posts nearly every day. The most current times are near the end of course.

I-485 Documents: G-1145 if you want email/text notifications 2 passport photos with name and A number on back Wife's Passport bio page copy Wife's Birth Certificate copy Visa Page/Entry stamp copy (likely on adjacent pages) I-94 printout NOA2 for I-129f Marriage Certificate, certified preferred DS-3025 Vaccine Worksheet. You will not have possession of the I-693. Cover page is your choice. It is a handy way to make sure YOU don't forget anything. I also encourage I-765 if wife has any plans to work within the next year. It's not that much more ($260 if concurrent with I-485). I separated the I-864 from the I-485 with a 2nd brief cover sheet.

Do you mean your I-129f was approved? Or do you mean you had your interview and are just awaiting delivery of your passport?

CFO and eTravel (which she will already have but will need to update prior to departure). CFO is relatively easy to schedule and takes about half a day. The catch is that it is only given in Manila, Cebu, and Davao. Hopefully she will be somewhat close to one of those. The digital certificate is emailed immediately upon completion of the class.

We never got this by physical mail, only email.

Item 7 is the letter that may or may not ever arrive that I mentioned above. Item 8 will not happen in the Philippines. Neither of these are required to complete the process in the Philippines. The only thing you need to complete the process is your MNL case number, which will be assigned at NVC after your I-129f petition is approved.

Nothing will be sent to her at all until after the interview, when they send her passport back. For that delivery, you will either give the delivery address or choose from a fixed list of pick-up locations when you schedule the interview. The embassy *might* send her a welcome letter and pamphlet, but it probably won't arrive before she is already out of the country. As was mentioned before, just put her new address on the DS-160 when you fill it out. Don't worry about updating her address until you fill out the DS-160. You'll be fine.

All required vaccines will be given on day 2 at St. Luke's. No need to get any in advance. For vaccines that require multiple doses, only the first in the series is required, and it will be provided at St. Luke's.

Do not wait for anything from the embassy for the Philippines. You will not get anything except possibly an email saying your case is ready. Everything there is driven by you. Once the DS-160 payment receipt is valid (24-36 hours), you can start looking for an interview appointment. Once you have the interview date, schedule medical exam for about a week prior to interview. I-129f approval evidence is the NOA2 from USCIS. It will say "Approval Notice" in the block to the right of the address block. Below that, the first sentence in the text will say "The above petition has been approved." This is not "cheating the system." It is the normal and correct way to do things in the Philippines. The packet others speak of generally never arrives from USEM, and even if it does, it will be months after you have completed the process. It is not expected for you to wait for it, and it is not required at any point for you to complete the process.

For the Philippines, the embassy will not set up the interview for K-1. As soon as you complete and pay for the DS-160, you will set up your own appointment at Apply for a U.S. Visa | Schedule/Change My Appointment - Philippines (English) (ustraveldocs.com)

Did you get this one recently? I know you can order BC online and have it delivered to the US for something like $20. At least that is how much it was a few years ago. Perhaps order another one and hope for better resolution, or at least the full document. The one I got was also difficult to read because the copy was poor, and that was a typed one for a 2002 birth. I don't remember how long it took to arrive, but it wasn't all that long.

The DS-160 is intended for the beneficiary to fill out. You can use her email or yours, but her name. I filled it out for my fiancée and just had her review and submit it. I used my email, not hers.

Create the account here: Apply for a U.S. Visa | Schedule/Change My Appointment - Philippines (English) (ustraveldocs.com) Click "login" and it will take you to the login page, where you can create a "new user" account. It looks very similar to the page you linked to, but it might be different, so give it a try.

For Manila, you do not have to wait for anything from the embassy to schedule your appointment. Complete the DS-160 and pay the visa fee. After payment is validated, you are free to schedule your interview appointment on ustraveldocs. Once you know your interview date, schedule medical exam a week or so prior to interview date. The "welcome letter" may or may not ever arrive. It is not needed for any steps along the way.

It appears you will have to file for Recognition of Foreign Divorce to get your CEMAR annotated to show your divorce. Anything that shows you are currently married will stop the K-1 process at the interview. I do not have personal experience with this, so perhaps others will tell you something different. Take a look at this thread covering the topic:

Did your previous marriage take place in the US or the Philippines? If in the US, did you file a ROM?

For both of these name changes, you provided valid documentation that allowed the name change. The OP wants to drop his "first" first name. That will be difficult if the identity document he provides lists that as his first name.

The number holder’s (NH) first and last name on his or her SSN card must agree with the first and last name shown on the document submitted as evidence of identity or legal name. A middle name or suffix is not considered part of the legal name. It does not matter if the middle name or suffix is included, omitted, or incorrectly shown on an SSN card. For SSN purposes, a NH’s legal name consists of the first (or given name) and last (or family name or surname) that is used to sign legal documents, deeds, or contracts. The SSN card has two lines for the NH’s name with 26 spaces on the first line for the NH’s first and middle names and 26 spaces on the second line for the last name and suffix, if any. Neither the first or last names shown on the SSN card should be reduced in length, unless it exceeds the 26-character limit. Therefore, omit middle names, middle initials, and suffixes if they prevent you from showing as many characters as possible for the first and last names.

That is more than enough to show evidence of meeting within the last 2 years. On-going relationship evidence is more for the interview. There is nothing wrong with submitting it to present date with your I-129f, but you will want to provide up to date on-going evidence to your fiancée just prior to interview time. Also include passport photos of each of you, signed letters of intent to marry from each of you, and proof of your citizenship through birth certificate or passport bio page.

Use whatever email address you want that you know is reliable. You will schedule the interview yourself after submission and payment of the DS-160. It will take 24-36 hours for the payment to be valid, not the 4 hours claimed in the instructions, so be prepared to wait longer than advertised.

You will have to carefully look at the codes on your receipt to see if travel tax was included. For a while it was, but I think now it may not be again. It was not included on my flight (Korean) last month. There will be a bunch of 3 letter codes on your receipt. There will be a terminal fee already included- do not confuse that with travel tax. I would be prepared to pay the travel tax no matter what your receipt says.

Congrats!