thonati

My fiance had a similar situation. She had a copy of her birth certificate and was rejected by the Embassy staff (a Philipino Ladyboy). Fortunately she had an original "copy" at the hotel just across Roxas Street. The Ladyboy was great and let her come back with the original and she was approved same day.

Well you have that right. We were lucky and was able to re-schedule our appointment for the same day. We had an error on the original DS160. I hired a local "fixer" and she fixed it for sure. The best $100 i ever spent. We received our visa today from Parqal (same place as fingerprints). CFO is Monday and we fly out on Tuesday.

Hi guys, We will pick up our visa yellow packet today at Parqal. My fiance has read in the tic Tok Army post that the Manila CFO office is difficult to get the certificate compared to the other locations. She he hell bent on going to Cebu for her CFO because what she read on Tic Tok. Has anyone experienced any problem with the Manila office? Has there been any delays in issuing the CFO certificate? From what i read from previous posts, the CFO is issued electronically (QR) in an email within 1 hour after the seminar has ended. Is this still correct?

Yea this is so random. I have seen where others are not asked either and i have seen where this is the first document that is asked for.

I wanted to share a detailed timeline of my fiance's interview in US Embassy Manila on 13MAY25. We stayed at BayviewPark hotel directly across the street but it is about 1/4 to 1/2 mile walk to get to the pedestrian overpass on Roxas Road. There is a huge concrete divider on Roxas Road the length in front of the Embassy. There is no pedestrian cross walk at any intersection in front of the Embassy. I presume for security purposes. My fiance joined a Facebook of K1 interviews scheduled for 13MAY. We all met up last night for dinner and compared notes. I was the only USC there. The other girls had interview times of at 630 but our interview was 830 The alarm went off at 4am sharp. Yes 4am. We met the rest of the group in the hotel lobby at 430. At 445, we took a Grab-Van to the Embassy which cost 500 Pesos including Tip. We went to the far South end of the US Embassy property (near the cross walk). This is the Consular Entrance area. There were vendors setting up chairs in the pubic area/sidewalk between the curb and the US Embassy property. I am a Capitalist so I did not mind paying 50 pesos to rent a chair for all 6 of the girls plus me. There was also water/soda/snacks etc for sale from a trike vendor. I think they also held electronic devices for people as well. I held all the girls phones for them. At 530 SHARP the Filipino guard told us to line up. He put all the 630 appointments in the line furthest line from the road. The second line was the rest. At 550 the Embassy Staff started to roll in. They all assembled at a meeting point just outside the entrance door. At 600 SHARP, someone from inside, opened the door and let them in. He looked at all their credentials before he waived them in. At 615, the National Philippine Police Bomb Squad came around with the K-9s and secured the front of the Embassy. They loaded up and left. At 630 SHARP the Guard told the 630 line for move forward. There were about 75 people. It took them about 15 minutes to all enter the building. At 645 the guard let my fiance's line move forward. It took them about 25 minutes to enter the building. At 715, the first girl of our group emerged from the building with approved status. At 800, my fiance came out in a panic telling me we have to go back to the hotel to get her original birth certificate. She put the copy version in her file and left the original at the hotel. The Pre-screening agent (a Filipino Ladyboy) told my fiance she had 30 minutes to return or she would have to reschedule. We snagged a trike and I told him to run every red light and I would pay him extra. He agreed and drove like a mad-man. On the way, I asked my fiance "Are you sure you have the original there?". Her reply, "I think so". You can imagine my frustration. I told her, "We went through this in great detail last month when I was here (I went to visit in March 2025)". She said she was sorry and was I mad at her? As my grandmother used to say, "There is no use crying over spilled (spilt) milk". Fortunately, she did have the original in the hotel room. The driver waited for us in front of the hotel and we were back by 815 (15 minutes total). He charged us 300 pesos but I gave him 500 and thanked him profusely. My fiance went back into the building at 820. By then 2 more girls from our 630 group came out: Approved. By 845, all of the girls in the 630 group were completed and approved. Then the waiting game. It looks like they schedule the K1 visas first starting at 630, then 730, then 830. There were a few girls going into the building after 900 but it is difficult to know if they were K1 or not. I waited outside for my fiance but thankfully I VPN'd Directv and I watched the Detroit Tigers vs Boston Red Sox game so I was not bored. The game was completed about 930 (A great Tiger victory I might add). Then i started to get nervous. At 1110, my fiance emerged with a smile on her face. She was able to get through the pre screening again rather quickly. However, since she had to get re-sequenced for the interview, she was at the "end of the line". She was called to window 64 about 11am my fiance estimates. The Interviewer was a middle aged female American Consular. The other girls went to window 66 an 68. Here are the list of questions, in order. Q: So tell me about your fiance? A; He is kind, funny, loving and devoted to his family and children Q: Oh, so he has children? Tell me their names and ages? A: (she answers correctly) Q: Where does he work and what is his job? A: (she answers correctly) Q: What are your wedding plans and date? A: We do not have a date yet but we plan to get married at his house before the 90 days expires. Q: When did you last see your fiance? A: 2 minutes ago, he is outside. Q: Oh, when did he arrive? A: May 11th Q: Where did you meet him? A: Dating Website Q: How often do you contact him? A: every day, sometimes 3 times per day. Q: Oh so often, how does that affect your daily schedule? A: When it is morning here, it is evening in the US and he stays home and watches sports on TV. When he wakes up, it is evening here and he talks to me when he drives to work. Q: What did you do together when he arrived? A: We went to the mall and bought a wedding dress. Q: When is he returning to the US? A: He does has not return flight because we will go together to the US. Q: Oh really? That is intertesting. Do you know he has a criminal record (DUI when I was younger. She also noted a Bankruptcy that I had 30 years ago which was not asked on the I-129F). A: Yes, he told me everything Q: Are you sure you want to go through with the marriage? A: Of course Then she said "OK, here are some pamphlets for you to read, VISA APPROVED. You will get the visa in 1 or 2 weeks" A few points to note: All documents must be originals. There were about 3 other girls that received a 221g because they did not have original documents. The pre-screening agent asked for my wife's original death certificate as well. No one asked for the I-134 document, nor reviewed any financial statements. I can only assume they already know my financial status from the IRS.

I had my fingerprints submitted at the local US Post Office. It is $50 to USPS and $18 to FBI. I received my results in 1 hour via email. I have had several FBI background checks before so I am not sure if that helps that they have my fingerprints on file for 30 years.

I spoke to an Immigration Attorney who worked previously for an Overseas Embassy. The passport stamps are the primary verification now that US Passports are electronic. It is not the actual stamp as the US State Department has an electronic record and know if you were in the fiance home country. There are usually problems if the USC does NOT travel to the fiance home country; although, it can be proven the meeting was held in a separate country. It is just another step to prove.

The process of open interview slots seems to be haphazard. They open a small number of slots randomly. We need Elon and Marco to get this figured out.

This is 100% correct. What a disaster of a process. I hope Elon & Marco figures this out and changes things. My first attempt was easy. However, I had a typo on fiance DS160 and it was like pulling teeth to make the correction. I had to hire an Agent to do this for me after 3 days of trying.

Let me add something here. Go into the evaluation with a positive attitude. Maybe, just maybe, you will get some good advice from the session. As maryaaaa said, focus on positive energy and not dark matter.

How long did it take to get the Passport/Visa returned after the interview?

Perhaps. However the USEM Call Center told me (on 2 different calls spaced 2 hours apart) that they can no longer update the DS160. The interview needs to be cancelled and another appointment is needed with the new DS160 and new fee. The agent told us she had a client get her ds160 changed at the bio just last week. This was AFTER the 25MAR change to the policy. I am not sure if the Bio appointment will be able to change ds160 in the future or not. Either way, my situation is as good as I could have expected.

EVEN FURTHER UPDATE: I was in Cebu for vacation with my fiance the past 2 weeks. But Maryaaaa suggested I call the USEM and I called them TWICE. Each time they told us to cancel the original appointment, re-schedule with the new DS160, and pay the visa fee again. They also told me that USEM issued an internal memo not to make updates over the phone. Evidently, the phone center operators were able to make this simple change over the phone. However, as of 25MAR25, the phone operators are no longer allowed to make the change over the phone. The website was difficult to navigate and it was not clear how to perform this action. Also, there seems to be a certain number of times you can access the website over a specific time-frame because I timed out. The system would not let me log in anymore. The problem was there was no explanation, for example: "you reached your maximum of 5 logins over a 6 hour period. Please wait 6 hours to log in again". I will send a message to Elon and the DOGE team to see if they can fix this. So my fiance found an "agent" on Facebook (per Maryaaaa's suggestion) to help us. She was able to "reclaim" the $265 visa fee and re-schedule the BIO & IV with the updated DS160. She only charged $100. We were able to get the same day 13MAY IV as we originally had. We got lucky and the Bio is the day before so I saved $200 in travel expenses for my fiance as well. So I paid $100 to the Agent and saved the $265 and kept the same IV date. Overall a HUGE success in my mind as the frustration was very high due to the incorrect information from the USEM. I was about to stroke out. I have no idea how this Agent was able to "re-claim" the fee (good for 1 year she said). Maybe others on this forum know how to do this but I certainly did not. It was no where to be found on the USTRAVELDOCS website either. Again, the frustration level was very high. I was so frustrated with the entire process. I filled out the DS160 so I made the original error. However, the DS160 is not very clear. It does not ask for a "Middle" Name. It only asks for a "given name" and "family Name". So I thought my fiance's middle name (Mother's maiden name) was a family name. Makes sense to me but oh no. Nothing is simple with the US Government. Again, DOGE should fix this. The "agent" also told us that she had many clients that had the EXACT SAME ISSUE (I guess Philippine Middle names are a problem for USC). In each case the Visa Applicant took both DS-160s to the BIO appointment and they made the correction at the bio appointment. The "agent" asked me "Why did you cancel the original appointment? You should not have done that". Evidently the BIO customer service IS ABLE to make changes in person. All you need is the old and new DS160. I explained to my fiance and the "agent"; that I only did this because the USEM on 2 different occasions "gave me explicit instructions to cancel the re-apply". That satisfied the "agent" but my fiance was still TAMPO. I wonder if the phone agents are actual USEM employees or a sub contractor. I suspect sub contractor at some phone center in Cebu. You can imagine how mad my fiance was as me for cancelling the first IV appointment.. This is my first experience with TAMPO. FTR: it took several hours for her to speak to me after that so I just took a nap. Overall, success BIGLY. Maryaaaa: Thank you so much for your help.

UPDATE: The website was difficult to navigate. So my fiance found an "agent" to help us. She was able to "reclaim" the $265 visa fee and re-schedule the BIO & IV with the updated DS160. She only charged $100. We were able to get the same day 13MAY as we originally had.

Where is this from? Can you provide me the website please?

I have not seen any the past 2 days. I have been checking every hour.

Thanks Mary. You are a star poster. Salamat.

Further Update: We called back in and found new information. As of 25MAR25, the USEM does not allow any updates to the DS160 once it is submitted. We have to cancel the appointment and reapply. We were told we need to wait 24 hours before making the new appointment. Sucks to be us but at least we have firm direction.

We need to re-schedule our Bio and IV. Are there still "no slots available" showing on the website?

I called the US Embassy Help desk. They told us that they cannot update the original DS160 and we have to cancel and re-schedule with the updated DS160. Edward: Is this what happened to you?

UPDATE: It has been 7 days and still no reply. We logged into her DS 160 page and there are no updates. So I sent a second request asking if she should bring the new DS160 to the bio and interview or will the original DS160 be updated. We shall see what they say.

Yes that is what I am thinking as well. It is just frustrating for the Help Desk to show "Case Resolved" when the case only was transferred.

I did check that. It is listed as resolved. Here is what it says: Dear Applicant, Thank you for writing to the U.S. Visa Service Desk. We understand that We wish to advise that your concern raised in the earlier case has already been escalated and is still in the process of being reviewed. We will respond to your request via the email address registered in your profile as soon as we receive a response. Alternatively, you may contact us again at a later date. When you contact us regarding your visa application, please send us your email via the email address of your profile to ensure that there is a record of your requests/communications with us registered in your correct profile. We hope this information is helpful. Have a pleasant day! Sincerely, U.S. Visa Service Desk

The USEM responded within 18 hours. They said the case was "resolved" without any specifics on what action exactly was done. The message says the case was escalated. So I assume there is a two step process. Once the first step transfers the case, it is considered closed even though the error is not corrected. The case was "completed" by the first line responders. When I log into her DS160 profile under the original Bar code/case number; there are no changes. It still shows the error. When I log into her Visa Appointment confirmation, it still lists the original Bar code/case number. This is frustrating. Should the existing bar code/case number be updated to reflect the name change or should the new bar code/case number be shown in the Visa Appointment confirmation?

UPDATE: I created a new DS-160 and updated the name. We made the same mistake for her parents surname as well. So that was corrected. We then went to UStraveldocs and logged into her visa account. We then submitted a feedback > Request to update the existing DS160 with the newly created DS-160. Lets hope they get this corrected as this has been very stressful on both of us.