J.M.

Correct. You might get an email from the embassy, but you do not need to wait for it. You are not short cutting anything. This is just the way it is done in Manila.

Everything in the Philippines is applicant driven. The embassy will not contact you. Just forge ahead with what needs to be done. You can track your case by entering your MNL case here: CEAC (state.gov). Select immigrant visa. "In transit" means it's still on the way. "Ready" means it is there already, waiting for you to complete the steps needed to schedule the interview. It is probably already there if you got the notice 2 weeks ago. Ine was there 2 days after I received the NVC email. First on the list is completing the DS-160, then paying for it. After that, you can start looking for interview openings. Once you have an interview date, schedule medical a week or so prior to the interview date.

Everything will be hand carried. Nothing will be uploaded except a passport style photo (as part of filling out the DS-160).

Manila typically does not even collect the I-134. You still need to have it ready, but it likely won't even be asked for. Your employment history document should be sufficient for employment verification. Bank accounts are assets. Since you are relying on income, no need for evidence of assets. Most recent tax transcript or return is required. Sending last 3 is typical and fine. No harm in sending latest W-2, but not really required unless you are in the middle of doing taxes or sending a return instead of a transcript. A few recent paystubs shows that you currently still have your job, so not a bad idea to send a few. Personally, I sent no employment verification letter and no bank information. My I-134 was not collected/reviewed.

A Texas marriage license is good anywhere in Texas, but nowhere in Mexico, border town or not. Did you report the marriage to the county clerk in Brownsville also to convert the license into a marriage certificate?

It's just a matter of a few days from "in transit" to "ready." The DS-160 is valid for 1 year after submission. The only reason some (including me) suggest waiting until "ready" is just in case there is some last-minute change you want/need to make. Hopefully you already filled everything out and are just hovering over the "review and sign" page. You are close enough to go ahead and submit and pay for it. It will take more than the advertised 4 hours for the payment to show up as valid. More like 24-36 hours. This post is only in reference to the Philippines.

Fasting is not required.

I doubt it would be very expensive to help her do this, but almost certainly there will be no profit. Your investment and periodic up-keep expenses will not be factored in as part of the cost, so to her it will seem quite profitable. For you, not so much. I would stick with quashing the idea. I've read a little about others doing similar, but the pigs got sick, which substantially increased the loss. As stated above, as long as she is not losing money, she will consider it profitable, and time well spent. Profit margins are extremely low even if you know what you are doing. If she has no experience, she (you) will lose money.

The DS-160 is intended for the beneficiary to complete, so yes, the petitioner is the fiancé.

More than likely, following this path would increase the delay, not speed it up. The reason is that SLEC doesn't really accept treatment given elsewhere. They force a 1-year delay after outside treatment is completed before you can schedule medical. Although SLEC does encourage you to bring past chest x-rays, the one they take themselves is final, even if you bring a dozen from other hospitals that say you are clear. Getting one in advance to show you are clear is not helpful. They will ignore it. The x-ray failure rate is somewhere between 1 in 10 and 1 in 17, depending on what source you use. That's just the x-ray rate. Failing the x-ray leads to the sputum test, which takes 2 months. The sputum failure rate should be significantly less than the x-ray rate, but honestly, if your sputum test is positive, you are fortunate to discover that you have TB and need treatment. The first day of medical is quite stressful because of the sputum concern. There is not much you can do except hope for the best.

Slight update... she would not necessarily need the Kuwait police clearance if interviewing the Philippines. It is not available unless physically present in Kuwait. She could get one while she is still there, but it probably would not be required if interview is in the Philippines because they know it is not possible to get one without actually being there in person to request it.

I don't have any Kuwait specific information, but there are a few things in your question that I can answer. The majority of the waiting time is for processing your I-129f petition in the US. The time for that processing is the generally the same, regardless of the beneficiary's country. I'm sure the Philippine Embassy would have looked at her a bit strange, since her interview and processing would be at the US Embassy, not the Philippine embassy. Yes, she will need a police clearance from Kuwait, and yes, she is eligible to get one. She will also need an NBI clearance from the Philippines. She will need both of these, no matter if interview is in Kuwait or the Philippines. The Philippines processes a lot of visas and has a hospital that is very efficient for the medical exam. I do not know how efficient the process is in Kuwait. The potential down-side of medical in the Philippines is the approximately 10% chance of being subjected to sputum testing for TB, resulting in a 2 month delay. The "2 day class" is CFO. It is actually a 1/2 day class. It is required for K-1's (and others) departing the Philippines. If she will depart from the Philippines, no matter where the interview was done, she will need this class. If she departs from Kuwait, not needed. I would be surprised if Kuwait is significantly faster than the Philippines, but it could be. The only thing I can think of that might be faster is getting an interview appointment. That takes about 1 month in the Philippines. For Kuwait, it says to email them to ask for an appointment and they will respond within 1 day with your appointment. It does not say how far away that appointment might be, or how long it takes to process the visa and return your passport. A conservative estimate for all of the processing in the Philippines, from the time they receive your case until departure, is 3 months. That is not 3 months from the beginning of the application. You have to add the US processing time and NVC time to that. For me, that part was 1 year. That's the time that you will wait before the case is sent to either country. It seems to be a little quicker now, maybe 8 months. There is very little Kuwait data in VJ timelines. The 2 most recent K-1's took 13.5 months for US processing and 3-4 additional months in Kuwait before interview.

Is it possible? Sometimes. It will depend on the mood of the person checking the documents prior to admission. It used to be fairly common. SLEC used to say "Interview appointment letter (if available)" but it does not say it that way anymore. I have read some have been successful but were required to sign a waiver, acknowledging that medical validity is only 6 months, regardless of how long it takes to complete your interview. I don't think you are gaining much, if anything, by trying to do it in advance. All you are doing is shaving a little time off of the visa expiration date, which is based on medical completion date. While "in transit," the best thing to be doing is completing the DS-160 and paying for it so you can actively start looking for an interview appointment. Getting an appointment for medical is not difficult. Personally, I would get the interview appointment and then schedule medical a week or so prior to that date.

For all vaccines that are a series, only the first of the series is required. Completing the series is optional and does not need to be completed by a civil surgeon. Covid is an exception. You must complete the entire Covid series. Technically, K-1 can delay getting vaccines until after arrival in the US, but then you would need to see a civil surgeon after arrival, sometimes at significant expense. From USCIS website: Q. Certain vaccine series can only be completed with multiple visits to the civil surgeon. Am I required to complete the entire series before the civil surgeon can sign the Form I-693? A. You are only required to receive a single dose of each vaccine when you visit the civil surgeon. You are encouraged to follow up with your private health care provider to complete the series. Once you have received the single dose appropriate at the time, the civil surgeon can sign and certify the Form I-693. The COVID-19 vaccine is the exception to this requirement. You must complete the COVID-19 vaccine primary series (for example, 1 or 2 doses, depending on which vaccine, in adults; 2 or 3 doses, depending on age and which vaccine, in children) and provide documentation of vaccination to the civil surgeon in person before completion of the medical examination.

Approximately 1/2 day, start to finish. CFO digital certificate is emailed to you on the spot, before you leave the building. This is current information for Cebu in January 2024.

You do not need to wait for anything for the Philippines. Go ahead and complete the DS-160, pay for it, then schedule your interview and medical. You will not hear anything from USEM. Create an account and complete DS-160 Apply for a U.S. Visa | Complete My DS-160 - Philippines (English) (ustraveldocs.com) Create an account to schedule appointment portal.ustraveldocs.com/?language=English&country=Philippines After you have an interview appointment, schedule your medical exam at St. Lukes. Make it a week or so prior to the interview so the results will be available. After your interview and return of your passport, schedule CFO. You are fortunate to be in Metro Manila. That makes things much easier.

For Manila, it's really not that big of a deal. The list looks long, but some of them are combined. Tdap includes tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis. MMR is measles, mumps, and rubella. Other than those 2, you will also get Hep B and varicella, unless you have documented history of chicken pox. 4 shots total. Flu is also possible, but not usually available there. Your 2nd day at medical is reserved for nothing but vaccines. This is based on actual experience a few months ago.

CSC is California Service Center V is Vermont T is Texas With very few exceptions, CSC processes K-1. If your case number starts with WAC, it is at CSC. The VJ estimate is only to NOA2. It is only based on VJ user inputs, so it is not the most accurate thing in the world since so few users input their information. It's an estimate anyway, so take it as just that. Mine took 12 months from NOA1 to NOA2 (6/22 to 6/23). Things look to be a bit faster now.

Maybe this post from the India subforum about K-1 interview scheduling will help:

They might send you an email when your case arrives, but you do not have to wait for it. Since your case is already "ready" it appears they did not send you one. But like I said, you don't need it. Everything from this point is for you to do. The embassy will not prompt you or contact you. Complete, submit, and pay for the DS-160. If you have not already created an account, go to Apply for a U.S. Visa | Schedule/Change My Appointment - Philippines (English) (ustraveldocs.com). On this webpage, it will be a non-immigrant visa application. The K-1 is a non-immigrant visa with immigrant intent. That is why you might see it listed in either category.

Yes, you choose immigrant visa. "Ready" means your case is already at the embassy, waiting for you to complete DS-160, schedule interview appointment, and medical.

The initial dose is all that is mandatory. From the USCIS website: Q. Certain vaccine series can only be completed with multiple visits to the civil surgeon. Am I required to complete the entire series before the civil surgeon can sign the Form I-693? A. You are only required to receive a single dose of each vaccine when you visit the civil surgeon. You are encouraged to follow up with your private health care provider to complete the series. Flu shots are only given when in-season and available. Since yours in marked "complete" I wouldn't anticipate an RFE.

For the Philippines, do not wait for or expect the embassy to contact you. You can start filling out the DS-160 as soon as you have your MNL case number. It is several pages long and there is a good bit of information to fill in. Once you have completely filled it out, you will get to a "review and submit" page. Just sit on it until CEAC shows your case status to be "ready." Once it is in "ready" status, sign and submit the DS-160. You pay the DS-160 fee after submitting it. There is a tab on the webpage for payment instructions. Basically, you print a deposit slip and take it to a participating bank. A few days after payment, you can enter the deposit receipt number on the interview scheduling webpage and that will free you up to look for appointments. The payment page says it will be completed in 4 hours, but it really takes a day.

I forgot to mention it will take several days for NVC to respond to your inquiry, but they will respond.

The only notification you will get from NVC is an email when they forward your case to the embassy. You can request the case status and case number from NVC using the NVC Public Inquiry form: Public Inquiry Form (state.gov) You should send an inquiry once a week until they assign your case number. Once you have your case number, you can track it using CEAC: CEAC (state.gov). Choose immigrant visa. NVC will take a few weeks to a few months, depending on how lucky you are. For the Philippines, once you have your MNL case number, you can complete the DS-160 and schedule your interview. You will probably not be contacted by the embassy, except maybe an email when they receive your case.