Brian and Annette are married in simple ceremonies in Amherst, NY.
| August 1998 | After being engaged for three months, we settle the question of who is going to move where. Brian calls his local representative's office and is informed that if we get married in Manila and then file a petition for an alien spouse, approval could take years. A petition for an alien fiancee takes less time, so we decide this is the better option. He requests for the proper forms (twice) and receives them in about a week. Meanwhile he moves from Cato, NY to Depew, NY. |
| September 4, 1998 | Brian mails I-129F and both G-325a's to Annette by US Postal Service Express Delivery. This costs $20, and we are told the packet will arrive in three days. |
| September 12, 1998 | So much for three days, it takes a week. Annette receives the forms, fills up a G-325a for each of us, goes over the I-129F that Brian filled up, and has her 3/4 frontal picture taken. Then she sends it all back to Brian by registered mail. |
| Early October 1998 | Brian has his picture taken and mails the completed I-129F to the Vermont Service Center, together with a check for $75 payable to INS, his birth certificate, and the two G-325a's. Some days later, he receives the first notice. |
| October 21, 1998 | Brian receives notice of approval, valid from October 21, 1998 to February 21, 1999. It says NO EXTENSIONS. Annette calls the US Embassy in Manila, asks what comes next, and is told to wait for the K1 packet to arrive in the mail. (Groan. The Philippine postal service is notoriously unreliable.) Note: The US Embassy Immigrant Visa Section accepts inquiries only between 10am-12nn on weekdays. Telephone number is 523-1001 loc. 6241. |
| Early November 1998. | Annette calls the Embassy again since she hasn't received anything. They tell her that a letter and forms were sent on October 23, and it is possible to get a second copy by lining up early in the morning to get a number, to be able to go to the information counter at 2pm. (They told her numbers were given out from 7-8am, but she finds out people start lining up as early as 2am. Apparently, up to 500 people line up but only 250 are given numbers.) She decides to wait it out till mid-November. |
| November 16, 1998 | Annette (thankfully) receives her K1 packet and instructions. The house number on the address is wrong, and the postmark date is blurry, but the envelope is stamped "priority mail", which is supposed to take just 24 hours. The cover letter is dated October 23. Instructions state to submit OF-179 (biographic data and request for alien registration) ASAP, but OF-169 (statement) only when all required documents are gathered. She calls and is told they can be submitted together, so she waits. She also asks about the mistake in the address, and is told she only has to write the correct address on the documents for submission. Over the next few days, she gets more pictures taken, her passport renewed, and NBI clearance. The information provided in the packet estimates that fiancee applicants are scheduled for interview a month after submitting OF-169. They set tentative plans for a wedding in January. |
| November 27, 1998 | Annette drops off OF-179 and OF-169 at the Embassy. There is a green drop box for this just inside Gate 2 that looks suspiciously like a trash bin. |
| December 1998 | Annette calls the Embassy several times. They have not yet updated her computer record to reflect receiving either OF-179 or OF-169, but disclose that, because of enormous backlog, people are already being scheduled for interviews in March and April. Brian worries about the petition expiring (valid till February 21, no extensions is printed on his notice of approval). Annette calls the Embassy again and people make vague statements about "such things not being questioned as long as the case is moving along", till someone finally tells her the petition is valid till April 20, 1999. So what was "no extensions" printed on the notice for? They postpone January wedding plans. |
| Early January, 1999 | Annette calls the Embassy again. She is told that her appointment letter was mailed in late December, and that she can come get a second copy (by the same procedure explained earlier of getting a number in the morning for the information counter in the afternoon) if she wishes, because the house number on her computer record address is still the same wrong one. She decides to wait a little longer. |
| January 17, 1999 | Annette finally receives her packet, including an appointment letter for March 1, two OF-156's, one supplemental form to OF-156 for fiancee visa applicants, instructions for the medical exam, an I-134, and a list of required documents to be brought to the interview (certified true copy of birth certificate, NBI clearance, two frontal photos, and proof of a valid fiancee relationship). * - N.B. See below. |
| January 27, 1999 | Annette goes for her medical exam at the St. Luke's Extension Clinic on T.M. Kalaw in Ermita. She and Brian set a tentative wedding date on March 13, 1999. |
| Late February 1999. | Brian sends her the completed I-134 with a letter from his employer and his 1997 ITR, along with some old phone bills. Annette discovers the K-1 newsgroup and FAQ for the first time (it would have been so much help to have found it earlier). |
| March 1, 1999 | Annette arrives at the Embassy shortly after 4am, and is already twentieth in the line at Gate 2 for first-time immigrant interviewees. She doesn't find out till she gets inside that payment must be made at a nearby branch of the Bank of the Philippine Islands before her papers will be accepted. The bank doesn't open till 9am. See the interview page for details of the rest of that horrid day. She is finally interviewed at 3:30pm, but the consular officer requests her to return with a copy of Brian's 1998 ITR and W-2 as soon as she can. |
| March 2, 1999 | Brian faxes his 1998 ITR and W-2 to Annette. However, she is taking the USMLE Step 2 on March 2-3. |
| March 4, 1999 | Annette returns to the Embassy at 6am. There is, at first, a separate line for "recall" interviewees. The first-time interviewees with appointment letters are let into Gate 2 first. The "recalled" persons are separated into those with set appointments, who are let in first, and walk-ins. She submits the documents at Window X and is called back to the same consular officer's cubicle at around 10:30am. He just looks at them and signs the slip of paper for the cashier. She is given a claim stub and receipt and is told to return on Monday, March 8, at 1-2pm, Gate 1 to claim her passport and visa. |
| March 8, 1999 | Annette arrives at Gate 1 at 1pm. Lining up is irrelevant since claimants are called by name starting at 1:30pm. Fiancees are called in a group. Their brown envelope is stapled to their passport and they are told repeatedly not to detach the awkward packet. She then proceeds to the Commission on Filipinos Overseas for the required seminar. |
| March 10, 1999 | Annette flies to the US via NorthWest Airlines, going from Manila to Tokyo to Detroit, her port of entry. She receives her employment authorization card. She arrives in Baltimore, MD, where she is met by her aunt. |
| March 11, 1999 | Annette requests for the I-485 and I-131 packets via the INS website. |
| March 12, 1999 | Annette and her aunt fly to Buffalo, NY. Together at last! Brian and Annette apply for a marriage license at the town hall. In NY state, you must both appear personally before any town or city clerk, show proof of age (Brian's driver's license, Annette's passport), and sign the license in the presence of the town or city clerk. The license is issued immediately but the marriage ceremony cannot take place till 24 hours from the exact time the license was issued. |
| March 13, 1999 | Brian and Annette are married in simple ceremonies in Amherst, NY. |
| March 24, 1999 | The requested INS forms arrive in the mail. Oops, Annette forgot to ask for an I-765 and does so. Brian requests for copies of his ITR (he has been tele-filing) of the last three years from the IRS at 1-800-829-8815. |
| March 25, 1999 | The marriage certificate arrives in the mail. Annette has been waiting for this to be able to apply for a social security number and driver's license in her married name. |
| March 26, 1999 | Annette applies for a social security number at the office in Depew, NY. She presents her passport, EAD card, and marriage certificate. The application is approved and the card will arrive in the mail within two weeks. She also goes to the local Department of Motor Vehicles office but needs the social security number to complete her application. Her Philippine driver's license apparently doesn't count and she has to get a learner's permit, starting from scratch. |
| March 31, 1999 | Received I-765 form and ITR's in mail. |
| April 3, 1999 | Received social security card in mail. |
| April 5, 1999 | Returned to DMV and acquired temporary learner's permit. |
| April 6, 1999 | Filed I-485 (adjustment of status), I-131 (advance parole) and I-765 (employment authorization) in person at INS office in Buffalo, NY. Obtained new EAD card valid for a year. Estimated time for processing I-131: 15 days; I-485: 270 days. |
| May 11, 1999 | Received I-512 (advance parole documents) in the mail, valid for multiple entries within one year. Actual time to process: 35 days. Also sometime this month: took NYS 5-hr classroom course and road test, earning driver's license. |
| September 7, 1999 | Received letter dated September 2, 1999, setting interview for adjustment of status application on September 30, 1999. Details on adjustment of status page. Actual time to process: 154 days. |
| September 30, 1999 | Adjustment of status interview at Buffalo INS office. Annette receives her temporary green card for conditional permanent residence. Yay! See adjustment of status page for details. Time from submission of application to interview: 177 days. |
| December 1999 | Received green card in the mail, valid for two years. |
| June 2000 | Brian & Annette move to Kansas City, MO for job-related reasons. |
| Early July 2001 | We mail I-751, application for removal of conditional status, to the Nebraska Service Center. See the webpage detailing the steps for lifting of conditional status. |
| Late July 2001 | We receive a notice of action in receipt of our I-751. |
| February 2002 | We receive a letter of approval of our I-751 petition. Annette proceeds to the local INS office in Kansas City to apply for her new I-551 green card and receives a stamp in her passport. |
| January 2003 | Still no green card. Annette goes to renew her temporary I-551 passport stamp and finds out that for some reason the address on file at the INS is still our old New York address. Sent a request regarding the status of the green card. |
| Months later | Finally receive the green card in the mail, good for ten years. |
| 2005 | Annette becomes a dual Philippine/US citizen. |
* The US Embassy now apparently requires a certification of single status from the National Statistics Office to be presented at the interview. This can take 1-2 months to process, but I don't know much about it since I didn't have to get one. Please consult other Philippine K1 pages on Marriage-Based Visa Homepages, notably Mario and Christine's.