spicynujac

Interview is essentially the LAST step. Did you receive anything asking you to schedule an interview? If you haven't filed the DS-160, that's essentially the FIRST step in the visa application (until then you were just in the waiting period to PETITION for a visa. Kind of confusing I know). Nonimmigrant Visa for a Fianc(é)e (K-1) It seems like you are in "Second Step: Filing for the Visa" So the next big step is submitting the DS-160. I went spousal visa which is a different process but I'm sure others can chime in if you have any questions in filling out that form. But the first step is to file your "VISA APPLICATION" document which is the DS-160 for fiances or DS-260 for immediate relatives / spouses. And begin collecting all the documents in the list above.

It's CHRISTMAS SEASON!!!! (If you are married to a Filipina) haha! I've never gotten a plastic tree before (and sold Christmas trees every year as a Boy Scout) but I think I will buy one this time because our real trees won't stay alive for 4 months! (hopefully they aren't tariffed to the same price as a live tree) I was unaware of this tradition until last year when someone posted it, but I can assure you it is 100% TRUE! Are any of you celebrating / decorating this early? Yeah I know we have Halloween and Thanksgiving coming still but... I'm not gonna argue!

Civil Registry/Consular Mortuary Certificate – Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco A copy of both passports is required. That would prove Filipino citizenship. I will PM you the contact for a Reverend Chris at Universal Heart Ministry who officiated our virtual wedding and was fantastic (he charged us about $10 more than a state of Utah bureaucrat charges and it was a lovely ceremony).

@yuna628 Agree. When my wife tried to open an American retirement account, she needed to print and mail her application with a copy of her social security card. No big deal, the account took a few days to open instead of a few minutes doing it online (we could have also showed her card in the branch in an hour or so but mail is more convenient and there was no rush). Wherever you are having trouble establishing an account, you should show them your physical social security card. I think you are overcomplicating the issue. I've never dealt with a "barcode" or visited / called the SSA for anything other than at my father's retirement date (my wife got her social security card in the mail automatically after she immigrated). Your number is valid once you have your physical card in hand. The SSA office is correct in that there is no "verification" of them. Technically it's not even supposed to be used for identity verification (that used to be printed on the cards themselves) so if someone is giving you a hard time about that, I would just look elsewhere. As far as a joint user on a credit card, I opened one in my dog's name several years ago... obviously he doesn't have a social insurance number (for those wondering, I received $50 for doing so under some funny promotion). Maybe try doing business at a local establishment versus one of these automated big companies where they use AI chatbots and don't know how to handle real customers (try a local credit union).

Based on our experience, I strongly recommend you do the online civil marriage (assuming both parties are ready) IMMEDIATELY. The clock for IR-1 starts ticking from WEDDING date, not filing date. There is a great advantage in entering the USA as an IR-1 permanent resident. No additional fees to the US Gov. No additional meetings or appointments or forms to file. Green card shows up automatically within 4 months. Social security card shows up automatically within weeks. 10 year permanent resident card, meaning you never need to renew it assuming spouse becomes a US citizen within those 10 years. Spouse can freely travel in and out of the country and work (she is going back home next month which would have been impossible under a K-1). Far cheaper than the fiance K-1 or even the similar CR-1 visa. We did the online marriage route, then met again in person (a *requirement* before filing your case), then waited a year before our form I130 began processing. At that point we knew the ball was finally rolling and began planning a nice church wedding in the Philippines, with all the pomp and circumstance (highly recommended if you are religious) and all this planning really took our (especially her) minds off the wait. During this time you can also work on CFO requirements, getting a new Philippine passport issued in her married name (strongly recommend this--it is the cheapest and easiest way to change her name--do NOT wait until you are in the USA), and can do the required medical test in Manila. By the time the visa was received, we decided to wait about 6 weeks so that we were married 2 full years before we entered the USA (CR-1 becomes an IR-1). We planned the wedding date on this 2 year anniversary, and then had a nice Filipino honeymoon too. Then when you enter, you are no longer Conditional CR-1, but a superior IR-1 immigrant. Plus there are generally US income tax advantages to being married for tax years 2025 and 2026... The immigration process was not fun, but after reading other's experiences (which I did a LOT of before deciding on this path), I'm very happy we picked this route.

Absolutely! I would bring it up at any interactions you have prior to entry.

The electric chair?

Charles Schwab Investor Checking has a debit card with free international ATM fee rebates and no foreign transaction fees. So when I withdraw money at a Filipino ATM, and the screen says I will be charged 250 PHP as a foreigner, my bank pays that fee instead of me. And of course direct debit (non-cash) payments are handled in the foreign currency with no fee/markup (using the published VISA exchange rates). It basically gives you a local bank account in the local currency while traveling. Getting one of these cards is a great long term solution, and one I've been using for about a decade traveling across the world. Short term I would just send her some cash and have her exchange it at the airport if it's just small amounts for meals etc. You might even be able to do this in advance at the departure airport. Or just pack a lunch. American airport food is pretty terrible. I've been amazed at how affordable it is to send money via Western Union from the US to M'Luihillier (barely more expensive than using my bank's free international wire transfer service!). Alternatively you could look into buying her a prepaid card in the Philippines using an international network.

What is your reason for moving to the US? If you are relocating concurrently with your wife's permanent residency, what are the terms and details of this relocation (when, why, how, where, etc.)? At the very least you need to eliminate all the reasons an immigration officer can deny you, and if you are not living in the US and don't show any documentation of a permanent (long term) move there, you haven't met this qualification. Filling out your timeline would help.

Seems to only apply to K-1s per @CrazyCat's comment above. Another case of bad reporting!

OP's spouse was granted a visa, and has already entered the US. I see this is a split topic, so maybe something got deleted but what is the question or issue here?

USCIS tightens green card rules for marriage-based cases, adds mandatory interviews The USCIS has introduced new rules for marriage-based green card applications, effective from August 1, 2025. These changes apply to both pending and new petitions, as outlined in the 'Family-Based Immigrants' section of the USCIS Policy Manual. This includes mandatory in-person interviews for couples applying for a green card through marriage. Anyone know more about these changes? Sounds pretty nuts. Then again, I have found the accuracy of MSN news items that pop up on my screen to be very far from accurate... I suspect there is some exaggeration here... they aren't really requiring all immigrant couples to attend a government interview are they? This article suggests immigration agents can make surprise visits to your house "especially" (but not only?) if you're married less than 2 years. US Green Card Process Gets Strict for Married Couples: New Immigration Rules Explained Additionally, USCIS has broadened its ability to conduct unannounced home visits, especially for marriages under two years, to verify the relationship's legitimacy and combat fraud. I know marriage fraud goes on all the time. And perhaps this can catch some of it. But it's gotta be unnerving for the vast majority of us doing things above board. Unannounced home visits by federal agents as a routine policy is not something I had on my bingo card for 2025. I would expect we will have more fee increases soon to pay for all these extra bureaucratic processes. Sure glad we have our green card and have passed the 2 year mark!

I would apply immediately but you could be in serious risk if you don't pay within the first 6 months of arrival. Green card processing is taking 90-120 days and your stamped visa has a 1 year expiration date. Ours took over 90 days. I would be pretty nervous right now if my wife didn't have valid residency documents... or if they were set to expire in a few weeks and we were waiting on the mail. Just do it, and be done with USCIS (well, until citizenship anyway) !

Is the father a US citizen living in the USA? If so, the child should be a citizen. You will have to register a foreign birth of course, as the US will have no record of it. https://www.uscis.gov/citizenship/learn-about-citizenship/i-am-the-child-of-a-us-citizen The law in effect at the time of birth determines whether someone born outside the United States to a U.S. citizen parent (or parents) is a U.S. citizen at birth. In general, these laws require that at least one parent was a U.S. citizen, and the U.S. citizen parent had lived in the United States for a period of time We considering having our birth abroad, for financial reasons as well, but chose against it due to bureaucracy in my wife's country. But there was never any doubt of my son having US citizenship. I think you are making the right choice.

No. No. 1) Please fill out your timeline. Just to add my experience: 2) As you are married, you must file taxes as married, and not single beginning the year you married. The only choice is married jointly or married separately. It shouldn't affect your immigration processing as you have ?? probably (timeline) ?? already submitted your tax forms and taxes going forward probably won't be looked at, but marking single is incorrect after you marry. 3) You need a tax number (ITIN) or social security number issued by the IRS. There is a way to get an ITIN before your wife moves here, but it required a lot of steps and in our case by the time we jumped through all those hoops, my wife was already in the US and received her social security card, and then the ITIN number arrived days later (!!!) [Again, depending on what your dates are--we can't see them.] 4) Best option is to file married separately and then when she arrives in the US revise your tax returns with her new social security number as married jointly, and file for refunds under the lower joint tax rates. 5) Each party must file by the due date in their respective country, where required. Order does not matter, though some forms may ask for tax paid to another government tax office. Unless you are doing a foreign exclusion of income this shouldn't matter.

Proof of residency is the *only* document required to register a child in my city. I'd be surprised if there are public school districts that will register a child without proof of residency. Public schools are based on property taxes set at the municipal level. Without proof of residency, everyone would just opt to send their kid to the best district despite living in nearby communities with inferior schools. Source: mother is a public school teacher and I regularly complete proof of residency forms for tenants every August in my district. Children, regardless of national origin or immigration status, can register for public school at no charge in the district where they live. It shouldn't take more than a few days to get them enrolled, no matter what time of year you move. Just provide a utility bill, tax document, lease, or landlord letter. You can set up most utilities online or through the mail before you even arrive, or have a friend do it for you locally. I think you are overthinking this. The school clerk will probably spend 30 seconds at most making sure you provided the requested info, and then mark your child down as approved. If your child lives within the municipal limits, they are entitled to attend the public school. Send in documents showing this address, and if there are any questions, the school clerk will call you. I promise they understand things like "I am the mother but the water bill is in my husbands name."

The bigger problem is this: VJ Member Timeline: No Timeline Found! If you fill out your timeline here, you should have an accurate estimate. Ours was accurate to within mere days. Without a timeline, VJ can't calculate an estimate for you, and your data cannot be used to help others.

Green card arrived in just under 90 days. We should have just been patient. Yes the current advisory is 90-120 days. Just getting a bit nervous re: all the immigration heavy handedness lately.

Wouldn't "another document showing your travel plans" be a detailed itinerary? What about hotel reservations? The above doesn't mention anything about airline tickets. Just travel reservations. Many hotel bookings are refundable with no charge. At the very least, I try to book my first and last days before I arrive somewhere. I'm not sure this is in the right forum, as this is a trip to the Netherlands following Netherlands visa rules, right? There are all sorts of ways of entering the EU as a tourist, and different entry requirements based on which country's airport you use--probably outside of the scope of this forum.

The best option for "visiting the US first" is the tourism route which you already tried. What will you do if she doesn't like the US and want to live here? End the relationship? Move back to her country? Are you sure you are ready to marry? If you are committed to the relationship, the best option seems to marry now and pursue spousal visa. Yes, it's a bit ridiculous to ask someone to commit to living somewhere they aren't even allowed to see first, but that's US Immigration for you! At least we have free video calling today, and it's a bit easier to portray what life would be like before she arrives blind (hint: It's NOTHING like what Hollywood portrays!) If you aren't committed to moving anywhere in the world to be with your spouse, you could roll the dice and try a fiance visa, but it's an expensive time consuming gamble with a couple years of your life. Definitely don't rush into a marriage before you are ready, but also I'd be hesitant to put things on hold for 2+ years while I decide if this is the right partner for me. In my case, I was sure, and we used our 17 month waiting period to plan a religious ceremony in her home country (after doing a civil marriage through the state of Utah, in order to get the ball rolling on the US immigration side). This made the time go by rather quickly, and was fun for her. If you are still unsure, I would probably visit more, make video calls with both families, attend some religious or couple counseling, maybe bring a sibling or best friend over to meet her, or whatever you need to do to decide you are ready for marriage. Remember, If you went the fiance visa route, you only have 3 months to decide this. My total cost for IR-1 spousal visa (2023-2025) was $1,215 to the US gov't and $1,704 total including foreign medical fee, which varies by country. Last I checked, K-1 cost is at least $3,000 in US fees. And then you only have a 2 year green card which must be renewed ($$), vs a 10 year one that can transition to citizenship. I was also able to receive thousands in tax refunds by revising 2 years of US income taxes at the lower "married filing jointly" rate after marrying, during the visa processing period. This was a huge financial savings, which more than covered the costs of our immigration fees, wedding, and honeymoon. Anecdotally, my wife is fine with the US (doesn't love or hate it). One of her biggest complaints (that I hear other foreigners echo) is poor transportation and how considerably less social things are here, and everyone is just focused on working (often multiple jobs). We are likely moving back to her country one day, probably after my parents are gone, but she generally enjoys her new life here. I did promise to send her home once a year. One of my best friends married a foreigner, who has been in the USA about a year, and she is NOT happy at all... they are a committed couple with a young daughter but I'm not sure what is going to happen. It's definitely something to work through ahead of time as much as possible. Maybe she can start talking to some expat groups on facebook from her country. My wife found several friends that way. Edit: After reading @TexasRafael s post above mine, Utah marriage is a viable option for a same-sex couple who wish to immigrate to the US through Immediate Relative (spousal) qualifications. Utah allows couples to marry from anywhere in the world, whether you are physically together or not (but you must have one meeting to "consummate" the marriage before filing US I-130). Basically once married by Utah, you are legally married in the eyes of the US government and free to sponsor your spouse as an immigrant.

In the past I've seen descriptions that CR-1/IR-1 is superior, but K-1 was slightly faster, but never the claim that K1 is superior in any other way. K-1 offers substantially fewer benefits. K-1 I would recommend if there are children also needing to be relocated, or in special circumstances, or possibly if time to reunite was the #1 priority, such as for health reasons or something (though I'm not convinced this is the case any longer with K-1 visas) but it is objectively an inferior type of visa, giving the partner fewer benefits and requiring expensive forms to be filed with USCIS, with longer wait periods, and thousands more in fees, to obtain the same benefits a wife receives on day one. That doesn't mean K-1 doesn't make sense for some people (perhaps if you aren't 100% ready to marry yet) but terms like "superior" need to be qualified objectively. CrazyCat often repeats a good comparison between the two, second post in this thread. The "superior" type of visa for your partner, if you can get it, is Consular processing (DCF). Better, faster, *and* cheaper!

CR/IR-1 took us about 17 months, and we applied when there was a large backlog of Covid-19 cases pending. I've never read of a case taking 2 years, unless you drag your feet responding to requests or something. Read CrazyCat's summary again, slowly, several times, highlighting the differences in the 2 visas and decide which is better for you. For us CR/IR-1 was the right choice. This was recently highlighted again, when my wife became pregnant 2 months after arrival in the US, and wanted to return home to visit her family. This would be difficult/risky/expensive if we did not have the IR-1 10 year permanent residency & green card. As far as hiring an agency, the steps to do it yourself are laid out pretty clearly here. We did everything ourselves and had no stumbles, but we also had no past divorces, children, etc. and have a straightforward case. It will require some time to educate yourself so pick time vs. money... IR stands for Immediate Relative, ie your wife.

I've spent several months in PH (But never in CDG). I've never once wanted to drive a car. Transportation there is fantastic (though traffic can make it less so). You can find a taxi, jeepney, aircon van, Grab, or bus going basically wherever you want to at any daylight hour. Drivers are so cheap, being driven around the country is something I *enjoy* paying for. Sit back, let the pros do what they do best, and don't worry about the confusion of navigating a region you are unfamiliar in. Unless you are driving for hours each day, I can't see needing a dedicated driver. But it's also easy to befriend someone and have them be your "regular" guide if you like... Grab is good but honestly I just waive down a taxi.. or rather let the doorman do it for me (even $30 / night hotels have doormen. Wow I miss PH!) With a baby, yeah you might want to arrange something regular, with a carseat. I was often casually solicited driving services (for example, the security screener at the airport, instead of yelling at me like they do in America), just smiled and helped me with my backpack, and gave me a card offering to drive me around if I needed to go anywhere. If you make small talk with people, driving for hire is a fairly common service. I would think your wife's family should know someone who has a car and is willing to be your driver, no? If not many hotels can arrange this. Last time there with a buddy, he friend befriended the hotel's airport van driver and hired him directly. PH is the land of personal service!

I did a LOT of searching / worrying about this while we were waiting. In the end the VJ Timeline estimate was accurate to within a week or so. Interestingly it doesn't have an estimate for you, apparently due to lack of recent data from Chile. Doing a manual search it seems there is only 1 Chile case completed recently. Until the VJ timeline estimate updates, the next best thing would be monitoring those 11 other pending apps and seeing when the oldest one receives their visa. Or, alternatively, just waiting for at least a year to go by without worrying about it, if you can. Total Number of records in Database meeting search criteria: 12 (Visas Received = 1, Visas Pending = 11) If you asked me the best estimate today off the data I would say 15 months, give or take, of backlog until they start processing your app, then another 6 months to receive the visa. 21 months total. We waited 13 1/2 months before processing began, 21 months total. Very similar ballpark. So, September 2026? Just a wild guess from insufficient evidence though.

We entered the US with IR1 visa almost 3 months ago. Social security card arrived automatically within a week or two (funny enough with a misspelled name). We are still waiting on the green card. I would prefer not traveling abroad without it (both due to the crazy news I've heard regarding US immigration actions but more importantly it allows certain benefits in my wife's home country (as well as third country transit benefits we will very likely need to use!). As I recall, 3-4 months was a normal processing time, pre-Trump. Can anyone give any first hand knowledge of receiving a green card in 2025 and how long it took? There are stories of extremely long backlogs which I hope are not affecting automatic mailings of spousal green cards. We will likely still travel in the coming months either way, fingers crossed, as we want to squeeze in a trip home before the baby making begins! I hope this estimate of 9.2 months does not apply to our situation... (Link removed) Immediate Relatives of U.S. Citizens: Spouses (inside the U.S.) Marriage Green Card No wait required 9.2 months