CEMAR/CENOMAR document needed for interview

[danmera 0]

My wife had her interview on Feb 2 only to be delayed because she did not have her CEMAR/CENOMAR document. The US embassy in Manila sent her to the NSO

to order the form and it would be picked up by the Embassy on Feb 10th.

The immigration lawyer i hired clearly had no idea my wife needed this document or they would have had my wife bring it to the interview. My wife could have easily went to the NSO

before her interview and got the CEMAR/CENOMAR and she would have had her visa approved.

Bottom line is my wife had an NSO stamped Marriage Certificate but hat wasn't what the consular officer needed.

Now my wife and are delayed with no date when she will get her visa approved. My lawyer sent a note to the US Embassy to expedite the visa and i also had an

aide to a US Senator send a note to the US embassy to expedite as well.

Anyone else having this issue currently? After my wifes interview, I found the US embassy Manila checklist of what documents to bring and it does state to bring the CENOMAR but the checklist

also says to bring other documents that are not needed as they were sent to the NVC previously.

My wife and I have been waiting now almost a year to get her visa, mostly due to delays from mistakes from my lawyer. Learn the hard way! Hopefully she will be approved soon

[Anh map 2,098]

Sorry to hear your story. It sounds like the attorney had zero experience with this and did no homework.

Files get lost and items within files get misplaced. Therefore it is wise to bring copies of all documents previously submitted to an interview. Why risk a delay on a lost document? That's why the checklist includes items already submitted to other offices.

Best of luck.

[Sorine & Jim 1]

I think you are going to hear from a lot of people -- lawyers are a waste of money... You can complete the entire process yourself... This entire process is easy if you can take your time.. Plus everything you need to know can be found on this WEB site.

[Darnell 8,478]

hey - welcome to VJ !

We've a great search feature here - suggest you try it- with 'CENOMAR' as the search term, see what you see?

[coraliesolms 47]

At least you still have an immigration attorney. Halfway through our process, our attorney's number stopped working, so we went to his office and SURPRISE! It was gone.. just an empty building, no forewarding address... nothing.

I hope your wife's visa comes through quickly. Once you give the information they are looking for, its only a matter of a week or 2 before its approved

[YuAndDan 153]

Moving to Region specific forum...

[JunLei09 2]

I think you are going to hear from a lot of people -- lawyers are a waste of money... You can complete the entire process yourself... This entire process is easy if you can take your time.. Plus everything you need to know can be found on this WEB site.

[happyme'11 3]

My wife had her interview on Feb 2 only to be delayed because she did not have her CEMAR/CENOMAR document. The US embassy in Manila sent her to the NSO

to order the form and it would be picked up by the Embassy on Feb 10th.

The immigration lawyer i hired clearly had no idea my wife needed this document or they would have had my wife bring it to the interview. My wife could have easily went to the NSO

before her interview and got the CEMAR/CENOMAR and she would have had her visa approved.

Bottom line is my wife had an NSO stamped Marriage Certificate but hat wasn't what the consular officer needed.

Now my wife and are delayed with no date when she will get her visa approved. My lawyer sent a note to the US Embassy to expedite the visa and i also had an

aide to a US Senator send a note to the US embassy to expedite as well.

Anyone else having this issue currently? After my wifes interview, I found the US embassy Manila checklist of what documents to bring and it does state to bring the CENOMAR but the checklist

also says to bring other documents that are not needed as they were sent to the NVC previously.

My wife and I have been waiting now almost a year to get her visa, mostly due to delays from mistakes from my lawyer. Learn the hard way! Hopefully she will be approved soon

Sorry to hear that. Hiring a lawyer is just a waste of money for me. I did all my paper work from K1 to AOS to ROC and the I-130 of my kids by myself with no help from the lawyer. I had a great help from this site and it's members which i am very greatful forever.

[mrs. carey 4]

I think you are going to hear from a lot of people -- lawyers are a waste of money... You can complete the entire process yourself... This entire process is easy if you can take your time.. Plus everything you need to know can be found on this WEB site.

Ditto! My fiance's dad is a lawyer and we never asked him for any help. Plus almost everyone here is very helpful so you can always ask and get reliable answers since they all are based from their experience/s.

[Jimmyzr1 36]

Does the filipina need a cenomar if already annulled?

[danmera 0]

Thanks everyone for the info!

My lawyer was recommended on Better Business Bureau with a top rating. I will be sending a note to BBB about this firm.

I was told before i started this whole process how complicated it is and if one part of the form is filled out wrong it will be delayed for months.

The whole process my lawyer put me through seemed strange. For example, I fill out one part of the form that wanted to know where my wife lived for the past 5 years. Then the forms get

submitted to the NVC.

Then in November a get notice from the NVC that they need more info. They wanted to know where my wife lived way back when she 16 and this is what the form states. Well i didn't fill out that form, i just did what the

lawyer told me, thinking they knew what they were doing. I just paid them to fill out all the forms and not make any mistakes. They couldn't even do that.

By the way that delay cost me a month, and spending Christmas with my wife.

When i got USCIS approval back in early October, i was out of town on business. The Paralegal informs me they need all these original documents to send to the NVC. I was out of town so i couldn't send them and my wife had to send documents as well. By the time we got all the Documents together, it was mid October.

THEN, i received a "checklist" from the lawyer stating "Police Clearance." So my wife sends her Police Clearance. Lawyer emails me and says that is not correct, she needs the NBI clearance instead. Another mistake.

I received USCIS approval on October 5th. The package was submitted to the NVC around Oct 29th. That includes a 3 day delay because the mail containing my wifes NBI was not delivered to the office due to the Mail clerk calling in sick.......3 days?

Anyway, thats my Lawyer story. I will be trying for a refund. Not like i will get it, but at least this firm will know of my displeasure with their firm.

[Scott and Mhay 57]

My wife had her interview on Feb 2 only to be delayed because she did not have her CEMAR/CENOMAR document. The US embassy in Manila sent her to the NSO

to order the form and it would be picked up by the Embassy on Feb 10th.

The immigration lawyer i hired clearly had no idea my wife needed this document or they would have had my wife bring it to the interview. My wife could have easily went to the NSO

before her interview and got the CEMAR/CENOMAR and she would have had her visa approved.

Bottom line is my wife had an NSO stamped Marriage Certificate but hat wasn't what the consular officer needed.

Now my wife and are delayed with no date when she will get her visa approved. My lawyer sent a note to the US Embassy to expedite the visa and i also had an

aide to a US Senator send a note to the US embassy to expedite as well.

Anyone else having this issue currently? After my wifes interview, I found the US embassy Manila checklist of what documents to bring and it does state to bring the CENOMAR but the checklist

also says to bring other documents that are not needed as they were sent to the NVC previously.

My wife and I have been waiting now almost a year to get her visa, mostly due to delays from mistakes from my lawyer. Learn the hard way! Hopefully she will be approved soon

Too bad your lawyer didnt know that they wanted to see the marriage certificate on NSO security paper. Anyone can have an NSO stamp. Here is what the packet 3 says:

3. MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE (if applicable). For Philippine marriages, copies must be issued by the National Statistics Office (NSO) on security paper (not from the Local Civil Registry Office). You may call the NSO Information Center at 02-737-1111 to inquire about securing a marriage certificate or visit their web site at http://www.census.gov.ph.

http://photos.state.gov/libraries/manila/306605/atienzalb/Packet%204%20_appointment%20packet_%20English%20rtf%20_revised%20GSS_%20_2__001.pdf

Does the filipina need a cenomar if already annulled?

yes she needs to prove that she is legally single to marry you. read the packet 3:

l. PROOF OF TERMINATION OF A PRIOR MARRIAGE. If applicable, official documents (divorce decree, annulment decree or death certificate, etc.) that prove all prior marriages contracted by you and the petitioner have been legally terminated prior to the filing of the petition must be submitted.

Packet 3 for fiancee is here:

http://photos.state.gov/libraries/manila/19452/public/Revised%20K1%20Instruction%20Packet%20_3__rtf2_001.pdf

[Scott and Mhay 57]

Thanks everyone for the info!

My lawyer was recommended on Better Business Bureau with a top rating. I will be sending a note to BBB about this firm.

I was told before i started this whole process how complicated it is and if one part of the form is filled out wrong it will be delayed for months.

The whole process my lawyer put me through seemed strange. For example, I fill out one part of the form that wanted to know where my wife lived for the past 5 years. Then the forms get

submitted to the NVC.

Then in November a get notice from the NVC that they need more info. They wanted to know where my wife lived way back when she 16 and this is what the form states. Well i didn't fill out that form, i just did what the

lawyer told me, thinking they knew what they were doing. I just paid them to fill out all the forms and not make any mistakes. They couldn't even do that.

By the way that delay cost me a month, and spending Christmas with my wife.

When i got USCIS approval back in early October, i was out of town on business. The Paralegal informs me they need all these original documents to send to the NVC. I was out of town so i couldn't send them and my wife had to send documents as well. By the time we got all the Documents together, it was mid October.

THEN, i received a "checklist" from the lawyer stating "Police Clearance." So my wife sends her Police Clearance. Lawyer emails me and says that is not correct, she needs the NBI clearance instead. Another mistake.

I received USCIS approval on October 5th. The package was submitted to the NVC around Oct 29th. That includes a 3 day delay because the mail containing my wifes NBI was not delivered to the office due to the Mail clerk calling in sick.......3 days?

Anyway, thats my Lawyer story. I will be trying for a refund. Not like i will get it, but at least this firm will know of my displeasure with their firm.

Too bad that the BBB doesnt mean anything anymore. The best way to know about a lawyer is to know someone that has used them. They get paid a lot of money to do very little work in this process. Too bad you didnt find this forum before you paid for a lawyer. Hopefully you can get your money back from them, but I wouldnt hold my breath on that.

[edp333 9]

CENOMAR is item number 4. on the USEM IV Interview Preporation Instructions.

We were required to submit a CENMAR.