Edward and Jaycel

This is what I would recommend based on my experience with our K-1 Make an inquiry to the NVC asking for your case number via the public inquiry website: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/ask-nvc.html When you make the public inquiry with them, there is a button to attach files. Attach the Approval Notice of the I-129F. In that inquiry, in addition to asking for the case number, you should also ask them to update the email addresses for you and your fiancé(e) by saying something like: I would also like to make sure you have the petitioner and beneficiary emails updated in your system as follows: Petitioner Name: John Smith Petitioner email: john.smith@email.com Beneficiary Name: Jane Jones Beneficiary: jane.jones@email.com I have attached the approval notice for my form I-129F for your review. We did this and after that we got our case number (on the 2nd inquiry) and my wife and I got every email from the NVC and the embassy throughout the whole process.

I was following a post on a different forum about this and the general consensus was pretty positive - Most were happy with their experience and also noted that they received their receipt notice with the 48 month extension, on the security paper, in the mail within a week to 10 days. Two of the commenters reported being approved very quickly (3 weeks in one case, 7 weeks in the other). I continue to scour the internet for reports as Jaycel and I will be filing the I-751 in about 16 months or so.

Jaycel had "Late Registration" as well - Late by 3 years. She went back to her home Barangay and got an official sealed copy of her birth registration from the Local Civil Registrar, got an official, sealed copy of her Baptismal Certificate from her local parish office, official sealed copies of her elementary school records. When it came time for the interview, she didn't need any of them as the embassy accepted her PSA BC without questioning the late registration. However, it is up to the consular officer's discretion that is conducting the interview whether or not to require additional documentation in these cases. So my recommendation is to gather all the "secondary" evidence you can get you hands on and bring it to the interview. If you don't need it? Great. But if you do need it, then you can give it to them right there and maybe not have to deal with a 221g. Best of luck!

Great news!!

I do agree with this for sure.

Just hit my inbox at work........ U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security is amending regulations governing the H-1B work visa selection process to prioritize the allocation of visas to higher-skilled and higher-paid aliens to better protect the wages, working conditions, and job opportunities for American workers. The new rule replaces the random lottery for selecting visa recipients with a process that gives greater weight to those with higher skills. “The existing random selection process of H-1B registrations was exploited and abused by U.S. employers who were primarily seeking to import foreign workers at lower wages than they would pay American workers,” said U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesman Matthew Tragesser. “The new weighted selection will better serve Congress’ intent for the H-1B program and strengthen America’s competitiveness by incentivizing American employers to petition for higher-paid, higher-skilled foreign workers. With these regulatory changes and others in the future, we will continue to update the H-1B program to help American businesses without allowing the abuse that was harming American workers.” The number of H-1B visas issued annually is limited to 65,000, with an additional 20,000 for U.S. advanced degree holders. The current random selection process has often been criticized for allowing unscrupulous employers to exploit it by flooding the selection pool with lower-skilled foreign workers paid at low wages, to the detriment of the American workforce. To address these concerns, the final rule will implement a weighted selection process that will increase the probability that H-1B visas are allocated to higher-skilled and higher-paid aliens while maintaining the opportunity for employers to secure H-1B workers at all wage levels. This final rule is effective Feb. 27, 2026, and will be in place for the FY 2027 H-1B cap registration season. The rule is another crucial step to strengthen the integrity of the H-1B nonimmigrant visa program. It is in line with other key changes the administration has made, such as the Presidential Proclamation that requires employers to pay an additional $100,000 per visa as a condition of eligibility. “As part of the Trump Administration’s commitment to H-1B reform, we will continue to demand more from both employers and aliens so as not to undercut American workers and to put America first,” said Tragesser. For more information, see the final rule. For more information on USCIS and its programs, please visit uscis.gov or follow us on X (Formerly Twitter), Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

This is the worst part of the rampant fraud... the ones who genuinely need it get lost in the volume of bad actors

For context.... We just did this at the consulate in San Francisco. They required Jaycel to have the official copy of the PSA Marriage Certificate OR the official stamped Report of Marriage from the San Francisco Consulate. You can go to any consulate or the Embassy in D.C. with a PSA copy but if you only have the stamped ROM, you can only go to the consulate that issued the ROM for the first year after receiving it. After the 1st year, they expect you to have the PSA copy. Our experience in SF was super smooth... we were in and out of the consulate in 20 - 30 minutes and Jaycel had her new passport with her married name in the mail exactly 4 weeks later.

The can ask for anything on the list of "required" items. It's up to the Consular Officer. My wife was not asked for it during the interview for her K-1 but she had it and all the supporting documents with her just in case.

Congrats!! That’s great news!! 🎉🎉

USCIS never provided the tracking number for Jaycel’s green card that was delivered almost 5 months ago 🤣 Thank God for Informed Delivery

Jaycel got hers in the province in Mindanao 10 days after we ordered it for her.... I would also highly recommend ordering 5 copies when you make the request. It's been super handy having extra copies here in the US and it's way easier and cheaper to get them now while she's there in the PH than to get them delivered here in the US.

Your family gave you good advice and I'm happy to hear you are following it. Keep us posted on your immigration journey!

Glad they rescheduled it relatively quickly! 🎉

You will not submit the I-134 in the packet when you file the I-129F - That only happens when your beneficiary goes to the embassy for the interview. The I-864 never comes into play during the K-1 process - only after you are married and filing for the AOS

My apologies.... I misread what appointment you have on Dec. 29th. You can reschedule a biometrics appointment pretty easily if you have your online access to your account in the my.uscis.gov portal. I thought it said interview appointment. Now the question becomes, do you want to spend $580 (Online Filing Fee) or $630 (Paper Filing Fee) to re-file your I-131 application. That's a cost/benefit decision for you but personally, unless you think it might be likely that you need to do an emergency trip back home, I wouldn't bother. I say this because while the I-485 is pending, I would not travel on AP for anything but an emergency.

Do not reschedule your appointment unless it's a dire emergency keeping you from attending.... Having to change your travel plans is a small price to pay to get this done. You misunderstood this instruction. They are referring to the new $1,000 fee they implemented for being actually paroled into the country. You still needed to pay the application fee for advance parole when you filed. This is why it was rejected. Maybe fortunate and saved yourself $630 since they scheduled your interview so quickly, hopefully you will have no need of it.

It's never left for me.... been broken since you first reported it.

Timing on responses to RFEs at USCIS is mostly officer / workload dependant. It can range from a few days to a few months unfortunately.

This is the correct option

They will take a photo and fingerprints at the interview regardless of the new policy.... I think this is more towards limiting the "Biometrics Reuse" when filing for a benefit. If you haven't had a picture taken by USCIS within 3 years then they will not reuse biometrics data they collected further back than that 3 years and it looks like they will schedule you for a new appointment regardless of the last biometrics taken when you submit one of the applications listed in the policy.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing new guidance that limits the age of foreign nationals’ photos that can be used to create immigration documents to no more than three years. This update enhances national security and prevents identity fraud. Effective immediately, the new guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual limits the use of photos to those that were taken within three years of the date a person files a USCIS form. Additionally, self-submitted photos will no longer be accepted. Only photos taken by USCIS or other authorized entities will be used. This ensures every photo used in a secure document is recent, accurate, and reliable—key requirements to preventing fraud and identity theft. Robust screening and vetting processes are critical to protecting the security and integrity of the U.S. immigration system. COVID-19-era flexibilities, which allowed the reuse of photos for up to 10 years even if a person’s appearance changed significantly, were kept in place longer than necessary. This compromised USCIS’ ability to verify, identify, and properly screen aliens. This policy change aligns with Department of Homeland Security priorities to modernize screening and vetting processes and address the vulnerabilities in identity documents. Certain forms will require a new photo, regardless of when an applicant’s or petitioner’s last photograph was taken. These include Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card; Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status; Form N-400, Application for Naturalization; and Form N-600, Application for Certificate of Citizenship.

She did not ever have it... The good thing at SLEC now (from what I'm told) is that they do the Interferon Gamma Release Assay (IGRA) Test for TB also and don't rely solely on the X-Ray like they used to. He will have to disclose his history and that should explain if they see any old scarring on the X-Ray. The thing is with SLEC is that it seems hit or miss depending on who the radiologist is reading the X-Ray. This was the biggest thing we were nervous about in the whole embassy process.

@Captain Ewok in addition to the [[Block new_topics_2019 is throwing an error]] it looks like the "Trending Immigration Discussions" section is not populating new stories as well

There is nowhere on the I-130 where you have to disclose these things.... However, USCIS still does background checks on the petitioners and I have seen on other platforms, an increasing number of US Citizen Petitioners reporting that they are being scheduled for biometrics appointments. Most of them have reported that they have some kind of criminal record, so be prepared for this. Also get ahead of the train here and start requesting whatever official court records / expungement certificates, DVTRO dismissal records you can get your hands on. Get a few copies of each. That way you will be prepared in case of an RFE from USCIS (when they RFE for court records, they want official, sealed/stamped court records) AND you will have another set to send to your wife as they will likely want official records at the embassy interview. I would also start crafting a short, sworn affidavit that you can have notarized, explaining these things. Then when the time comes, you are prepared for any eventuality and not scrambling with an RFE clock ticking down or trying to answer a 221g from the embassy.