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| Manila, Philippines |  Review on August 30, 2005: |
gwsmith01
Rating:  | Review Topic: General Review
The problem with the consular section at the U.S. Embassy in Manila is that it is very inconsistent. Sure, Manila may be a high fraud post and a very busy consulate, but that's no excuse to disrespect the applicant or American Citizen petitioner. From experiences of others, the embassy seems to be much tougher on applicants that have married in the Philippines than ones applying for a K1. Although some K1s go through Admionistrative Review, CR-1 applicants seem to have a 50/50 chance of being placed on AR.
We were married in July of 2004 in the Philippines. This is the first marriage for both of us. We're doing a CR-1 visa. Getting the Certificate of Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage at the embassy was a breeze. That took only about 45 minutes, where I had to swear that I was single and could legally marry. That is a requirement of a foreigner to submit with the marriage license application.
The problems started with the embassy when my wife was interviewed on May 25, 2005. Although she says the interview went well ann she was documentary qualified, she was given that white paper that said "Wait until you hear from us. We need to further review your case." This is just the beginning of Administrative Review. All we were told was that they had to validate our marriage and run a check for any unterminated prior marriages. We're told that there are many forged documents that get submitted, but ours are genuine certified copies on NSO SECPA.
After about seven weeks on AR, I visited my spouse in early July, where we celebrated our first wedding anniversary. Two days before I retyrned to the USA, we visited the embassy to request to speak to a consular officer about our case, where our request was denied.
Upon my return, I immediately contacted a senator's office, where we found out the embassy made a second request for documents from the NSO. This was 8 weeks after the interview. I wonder if they even made a first request. Then from a second congressional inquiry, we find out that the embassy received the documents from the NSO vailidatin our marriage, in which the documents were received on July 22. As of today, August 29, 2005, we are still under Administrative review.
As for communications from the embassy, they are very evasive when questioned. Congressional inquiries even get the brush off from Manila. Calling the embassy seems to be a waste of time, with their two favorite responses: "Case is still under review sir." We'll contact your wife when visa processing is complete." I feel the backlogs were actually created by the embassy itself. Something must be done to improve service.
I'm aware of others that have successfully gotten visas without going through the AR process, but with the way we are being treated, I must rate Manila less than zero.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #112