Going to the US: I-130 Petition (Spouse/Immediate Relative) Part 4

[vain_kixie]

okay kahit saan ka magpakasal basta ipa recognize mo sa philippines. Kasi they will need the NSO copy of your
marriage contract. All the best to your application.

Kung iniisip mo na magpakasal sa states and wait for the process there pwede din yun. It might not be the
rightful thing to do pero may mga gumagawa nun. That's IF makakuha ka ng visit visa. And thats a HUGE IF.

[jazzlawyer]

joining

Hi sis!

i ve been backreading this thread for quite a some time now. need to know about this. i just got married to my husband last April 27 here in the PH. He is an american citizen.

We havent started the process. but i was hoping to do it asap. I want to be with my husband na kasi. althought i can visit him naman since i have a tourist visa.

My concern is the procedure with regard to filing.

1. We still dont have our marriage certificate yet with us since we''re just 1 month married. From the viewpoint of others, it takes 3-5 months before we get it with NSO.   Does that mean we cant proceed to the filing of petition unless we get hold of the marriage contract? 3- 5 months is super long time to wait before we can start the petition.

2. since were also LDR, we dont have any joint properties and finances, are these required? Other than joint assets, what else can we give to prove that we're legally married?

3. How many years did it take you to be with your significant others?

Thanks! its hard to be newly weds and yet youre apart 

[Yes Man]

@vain_kixie bakit may if? mababa lang ang chance pag ganun ang ginawa?

[xthine]

@Jazzlawyer -" 1. We still dont have our marriage certificate yet "

I believe for marriage based petitions one of the requirements and part of the application to be
submitted with the packet is a marriage certifiacate.  Can one file a petition without a marriage certificate?  Perhaps.
Will the USCIS accept and process the petition?  One of the things I learned with the immigration process is that the USCIS prefers  applications that are well organized with appropriate documentation.

[lisse]

...
Will the USCIS accept and process the petition?  One of the things I learned with the immigration process is that the USCIS prefers  applications that are well organized with appropriate documentation.

Yes, per my experience your application will be delayed if the USCIS deemed your application/paperwork as incomplete. Then there are certain procedures pa na you have to follow in complying the requirements kasi they will not wait on it, they will move on to the next application and before they can "match" the needed doc to the pending application if na-submit na eh madaming pagdadaanang "kamay" yan. even those who have complete paperwork upon filing encounter months and months of delay nga eh.

[xthine]

^Exactly.  That's why it took me weeks of research to make sure I had everything before submitting our packet. 
Despite moving to another state with a pending petition and interview date at our old home state,  I would say the process overall was very smooth.

[lisse]

^ako din sis. months ata inabot ng preparation ko ng docs, and we opted not to hire a lawyer. I heard stories kasi na usually the forms will just sit in the desk of their temps. iba kasi pag ikaw mismo nakatutok and since you did all of it you know the contents so during the interview you know na consistent ka sa mga answers mo. we went through the spouse visa rpute, took us 5 months from filing to actual entry here sa U.S. completeness and accuracy of the docs is key, plus madami tayong mga bro and sissies here whose experiences are very helpful. yun lang basa-basa lang ako dito.

[jazzlawyer]

we went through the spouse visa rpute, took us 5 months from filing to actual entry here sa U.S.

what do yu mean 5 months? 5 months lang from filing your spousal visa was approved na?

may i ask what docs did you show? we dont have any joint assets kasi eh. hes in sfo na and im still here in manila.

[lisse]

^yes sis. we filed July 2012. Got interviewed, approved, and flew here December, 2012. medyo mahaba ang list ng documents ko and nasa computer ko sa house. I'll check later if ma-retrieve ko. in our I-130 kasi, we attached a cover letter with table of contents. we told ourselves it's better na sobra kami ng docs kesa kulang. and yes, we submitted proof of joint assets. we opened joint bank accounts in the Philippines, and we bought a house there. if you are leasing or renting a place, a contract of lease under both your names will do.

[jazzlawyer]

thanks sis.

we didnt open any joint accounts here because we intend to stay in the us kasi so if joints account don na ioopen

I bought a house but it is only under my name because i purchased that during my single days pa

And alam ko an american citizen cannot purchase a property here in the philippines unless through inheritance (consti provision)

haay. minus na kami don. only chats and pics lang.

[vain_kixie]

I think okay na yun chats and pics sis. Yung mga fiance visas nga they approve even
though they have only seen their partner once. Imagine that. But then again im no expert here.

Kinukulit ko na si husband to file the petition. Because I am sooo tired of applying visas to other
countries. At least pag USC na ako, i have more choices of nations I can visit.

[lisse]

^^sis, foreigners can own properties, like condos. and even put up biz here as long as majority of owners or partners are Filipinos. so sa house namin (2 kasi binili namin) we asked my mom and dad to be our co-borrower's so lumalabas 75% of ownership ay Filipinos.
anyway, those are not the only proofs of a real, legit marriage. a NSO marriage cert is one. proofs of financial report is another. pictures of the wedding.

[jazzlawyer]

^ house kasi samin. That doesnt apply to me and hubby since we're individuals. kaya bumili na ako now since im still a filipino citizen. mangyayari samin if i try to amened the title, jazzlawyer "married to" husband lang. pero technically its still my separate property.

anyway, thank you! Im trying to collate na din. so far what i can think of nga lang is NSO marriage cert, pictures of wedding and even our pre canas discovery weekend certificates. Yun palang. so docs will not going to be as makapal as i thought it would be.

anyway weve been together for more than 3 years so i guess i can produce as much as docs as i could to prove that he's visiting me here.

[lisse]

^so more than 3 years na kayong married? that's good, kasi pag receive mo na green card mo, permanent na. good for 10 years na yung makukuha mo instead of a conditional one. pwedeng-pwede ng maghanap ng work

[jazzlawyer]

^ay sis 3 years kami mag bf gf.. we just got married last April  i think im still under the conditional resident visa

[xthine]

^ako din sis. months ata inabot ng preparation ko ng docs, and we opted not to hire a lawyer. I heard stories kasi na usually the forms will just sit in the desk of their temps. iba kasi pag ikaw mismo nakatutok and since you did all of it you know the contents so during the interview you know na consistent ka sa mga answers mo. we went through the spouse visa rpute, took us 5 months from filing to actual entry here sa U.S. completeness and accuracy of the docs is key, plus madami tayong mga bro and sissies here whose experiences are very helpful. yun lang basa-basa lang ako dito.

I know what you mean.  We consulted an immigration lawyer just to go over our packets but I prepared everything myself.  We did an AOS and were scheduled
For an interview after 3 months from filing but because we moved to another state our interview got pushed back 4 months.  Good thing I decided to follow up because they apologized and said we should have been interviewed *way* before the 4 months that had already passed.  After that call we were given an interview schedule  within 4 weeks and received our unconditional greencards within a week of approval.  The officer was nice and gave advise about filing for citizenship.   If we had not moved the process would've taken  just about 4 months.
It really helps reading the different forums.  I've read about the horror stores as well, even for the genuine petitions being denied due to various reasons (I think the most common one being lack of proof/supporting documents).

[Cardilene]

More often than not, mukhang napapasama pa ang pagkuha ng lawyer when it comes to immigration,...
I have a couple of friends na dumaan pa ng lawyer, yet up to now ay hindi pa nakukuha ang green card nila, though every case does vary, as for our case, kami lang ni misis ang nag-gayak ng mga papers namin, alll we did was follow every instruction, and submit every document na hinihingi, thnak God one hit ay nayari namin then,...

Good luck....

[xylene]

Hi mga sis and bro...

Share ko lang, after 10 months we finally have our NOA2! Kala ko di na darating eh

[Cardilene]

Hi mga sis, tanung ko lang gaano b katagal ang process petition kung si husband ay us immigrant (greencard holder) tapus i petition nya ako as her wife? Tnx
Gaanu ba katagala ng pagkuha ng green card?

Complete wait time is around 2 to 3 years

[Yes Man]

sino dito ang nag-susubaybay sa updates regarding sa Gang of Eight?