Required Documents For the Medical (K1 Visa Applicant)

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

1. Valid passport
2. Photocopy of Passport Biographic/Data Page, the page in the passport that contains the applicant's photo and information
3. 4 pieces recent 2x2 visa photos
4. Appointment letter from the Embassy or Instruction letter from the National Visa Center (NVC), if available,
5. 2 photocopies of your Appointment Letter/ Instruction Letter

Whenever applicable, please bring the following:

• Old chest x-ray films not less than 3 months prior to the medical examination
• Immunization record
SELF-REPORTED VACCINES WILL NOT BE HONORED.
Your vaccination documentation will only be honored if it contains the following details:
• personal copy (e.g. baby book)or copy of medical chart indicating received vaccines
• complete date of receipt of vaccination
• must include signature (license number, if applicable) of doctor or health worker who administered vaccine
• Detailed medical certificate regarding a previously-treated or currently managed clinically significant illness which should contain the following information:
• duration and date of treatment
• surgical procedure or medical intervention done
• complete final diagnosis
• outcome of treatment or treatment plans and prognosis, if available

Applicants are also required to provide the name, address and contact number of their petitioner in the U.S.A.

source: http://www.slec.ph/us-visa-applicants.shtml#required-docs

Required Documents To Bring to the Embassy During The Interview

1. PROOF OF PAYMENT - (MVR fee bank receipt)
2. PASSPORT valid for at least six (6) months
3. DS-156 NONIMMIGRANT VISA APPLICATION (2 copies)
4. DS-157 SUPPLEMENTAL NONIMMIGRANT VISA APPLICATION (2 copies)
5. DS-156K NONIMMIGRANT FIANCE(E) VISA APPLICATION ( 1 copy)
6. BIRTH CERTIFICATE.(NSO-certified)
7.  NBI CLEARANCE
8. OTHER COUNTRY POLICE CERTIFICATES.
9. COURT AND PRISON RECORDS:
10. MILITARY OR POLICE SERVICE RECORDS:
11. EVIDENCE OF A GENUINE ENGAGEMENT (photographs, letters, e-mails,
phone records, bank records, and remittance records as evidence supporting their relationships and intent to marry)
12. PROOF OF TERMINATION OF A PRIOR MARRIAGE
13. CERTIFICATE OF NO MARRIAGE RECORD (CENOMAR)
14. EVIDENCE OF SUPPORT (completed I-134 Affidavit of Support Form)
15. VISA PHOTOGRAPHS (Bring three (3) color photographs)
16. MEDICAL EXAMINATION

You can view the full instructions here from the US Embassy.

Paying the Visa Fee and Scheduling For a K1 Visa Interview

Visa Fee Payment: 

K-1/K-2 visa applicants, who have been notified by the Embassy to prepare for their interview, must pay the visa application fee before they can schedule a visa appointment via the online appointment website or the Visa Information and Appointment Service. There are three ways to pay the K visa application fee:
a) Cash payment at any Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) branch;
b) Online payment bill option provided by BPI to their clients
c) Online payment through Bancnet.
<source>

I paid for the visa fee at the nearest BPI  branch near our home. The visa fee for K1 is $350 but you can pay using pesos. 

When I got there, I told the teller that I am paying for a US Visa fee, and she told me that I need to pay 6000 pesos (around that amount). I corrected her and told her that I should be paying around 15,000 pesos because I am applying for a K1 fiancee visa. Make sure you pay the right amount. She double checked her references and told me that K1 visa fee is equivalent to 15, 400 pesos. She asked for my passport and asked me to fill out the deposit slip. She asked me to write my passport number on the reference slip. :)

The MRV application fee is not refundable or transferrable to another person. You must schedule an interview within a year from the date you obtained your BPI fee receipt. If you do not schedule an interview within a year, you will not be able to use that BPI fee receipt – it will no longer be valid. The BPI fee receipt is deemed utilized once the interview takes place, and cannot be used to make a subsequent appointment. <source >

Scheduling Your Interview

You must wait for 4 hours from the time you paid your fee before you can schedule your interview. Whether you schedule your appointment online or contact our call center, you will need the payment code printed on your receipt. (This is the UID given to you at the Bank of the Philippine Islands or when you created your online profile.) You also need to have your passport number and your fee payment date in order to schedule your visa interview. <source>

So, I scheduled my interview online on
http://www.ustraveldocs.com/ph/ph-niv-appointmentschedule.asp.
Note: In applying for K1 visa, you do not need to fill out the DS-160 form online.

Letter From the US Embassy in Manila Notifying Us That The Alien Fiance IS Eligble For Visa Interview

Here's a letter I received from the US Embassy in Manila, notifying me that our case is eligble to be schedule for a visa interview. It includes instructions and what should be done before the interview date (i.e medical) and the the link to the interview preparation instructions.

National Visa Center (NVC) Received Our Case

On April 17, 2011, my fiancee received a letter from the National Visa Center, it states the following:

The State Department’s National Visa Center has recently received an approval I-129F petition filed on behalf of your fiancé. This letter is to let you know that within a week the petition will be forwarded to the 'appropriate visa issuing post' where your visa interview will take place.

We were also given our Manila Case Number. :It starts with MNL followed by a 9 digit number. After a week, try calling the US Embassy to see if they received your case. When they have your case, you can schedule for your interview right away. 

But my fiance and I were not really in a hurry. I didn't even have my passport yet at that time. They need to know your passport number when scheduling for an interview. :) 

NOA-2 Notice of Action Form I-797 (Receipt Notice)

On April 6, 2011, we received an email notification that our case has been approved. :) We logged in to the USCIS website and here's the screen shot of our case status:

Here's the copy of NOA2 my fiancee received in the mail:

I-129 F Petition: How to Check Case Status Online

You can check the case status updates of your I-129F petition on the USCIS website. Sign up here.Once logged in, you can opt to receive email/mobile notifications.

The 'Last Update' in our case was when the petition got approved! :) 

Misspelled Name in NOA1

Like what I mentioned in my previous post, my name was misspelled in the NOA1.There was an instruction in the form itself to immediately notify USCIS National Customer service Center if are any changes needed. My fiance gave them a call at 1-800-375-5283 to fix the issue.  The informed my fiance to wait for a few days and we we will receive a notification from them thru email:

U.S. Department of Homeland Security
VERMONT SERVICE CENTER
75 LOWER WELDEN STREET
SAINT ALBANS,VT 05479

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Monday, November 1, 2010

Emailed to _______@HOTMAIL.COM

Dear _________:

On 10/28/2010 you, or the designated representative shown below, contacted us about your case. Some of the key information given to us at that time was the following:

Caller indicated they are:
-- Applicant or Petitioner
Attorney Name:
-- Information not available
Case type:
-- I129F
Filing date:
-- 10/08/2010
Receipt #:
-- EAC-xx-xxx-xxxxx
Referral ID:
xxxxxxxxxxx
Beneficiary (if you filed for someone else):
-- ________, ___________
Your USCIS Account Number (A-number):
-- Information not available
Type of service requested:
-- Typographical Error

The status of this service request is:

We have corrected the error on your receipt notice in our systems. We apologize for the error on your notice and any inconvenience it may have caused you. We will not send you a corrected notice, as it would serve no purpose to do so. 

If you have any further questions, please call the National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283.

Please remember: By law, every person who is not a U.S. citizen and who is over the age of 14 must submit Form AR-11 AND notify this office of their change of address, within 10 days from when they move (persons in "A" or "G" nonimmigrant status are exempt from this requirement). To notify this office of a move, visit our website at: www.uscis.gov or call the National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283. The Form AR-11 can be downloaded from our website or you can call the National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283 and we can order one for you. Instructions for filing the Form AR-11, including mailing instructions, are included on the Form.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

NOA-1 Notice of Action Form I-797C (Receipt Notice)

After sending the I-129F petition to USCIS Dallas Lockbox facility on October 6, 2010, we received an email notification from USCIS on October 14.

Dear Applicant/Petitioner:

Your USCIS application/petition has been received and routed to the Vermont Service Center for processing. Within 7-10 days by standard mail you will receive your official Receipt Notice (Form I-797) with your Receipt Number EACxxxxxxxxxx. With the official Receipt Notice (Form I-797) you may visit www.uscis.gov where you can check the status of your application using My Case Status. We suggest you wait until you have received your Form I-797 before checking My Case Status.

This confirmation provides notification of the date USCIS received your application/petition. This notice does NOT grant any immigration status or benefit. You MAY NOT present this notice as evidence that you have been granted any immigration status or benefit. Further, this notice does NOT constitute evidence that your application remains pending with USCIS. The current status of your application/petition must be verified with USCIS.

PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE

Here's the copy of the NOA1 that my fiance received in the mail:

My first name was misspelled in NOA1 but we are my name was spelled correctly in all the documents we sent them. I'll discuss this in my next post. ;)

Mailing and Tracking the I-129F Packet - Where to Send I-129F Petition

My fiance sent the I-129F packet to the USCIS Dallas Lockbox facility on October 6, 2010. He sent the packet through the USPS using Priority Mail. So we were able to track the packet online.

According to USCIS, Beginning Aug. 3, 2010 all Form I-129F petitions being filed by a U.S. citizen on behalf of a fiancé(e) or spouse must be submitted to the USCIS Dallas Lockbox facility.

For U.S. Postal Service:
USCIS
PO Box 660151
Dallas, TX 75266

For Express mail and courier deliveries:
USCIS
Attn: I-129F
2501 South State Highway 121 Business
Suite 400
Lewisville, TX 75067

Preparing the I-129F Packet - Cover Letter

Here's the cover letter that we sent to USCIS, so I think you can pretty much extract from the cover letter the needed requirements. Some of the documents we passed were not needed during the filing of the petition (i.e. proof of ongoing relationship) but we decided to do "frontloading" since it has been said that it will be helpful to have it in our file when the packet goes to the consulate.

I-129F Cover Letter

<Petitioner's Address>

United States Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

75 Lower Welden Street

St. Albans, VT

05479-0001

Nature of the submission: I-129F ORIGINAL SUBMISSION

To Whom It May Concern:

Enclosed please find my Form I-129F, Petition for K-1 Fiancée Visa for <alien fiancee's name> and supporting documents.

Contents include:

- Payment in the amount of $ 455 (money order)

- I-129F

- I-129F Supplement: PART B Question no. 13. List all children of your alien fiancé(e)

- I-129F Supplement: Part B Question 18, explanation of meeting in person

- G-325A and passport style photo (Petitioner)

- Attachment Sheet for G325A - Answer for section ‘Applicant’s employment last five

  Years’

- G-325A and passport style photo (Beneficiary)

- Attachment sheet for G-325a - Answer for section ‘Applicant’s residence last five years‘

- Attachment Sheet for G325A - Answer for section ‘Applicant’s employment last five  

  Years’

- Birth certificate and US Passport (Petitioner)

- Letter certifying intent to marry (Petitioner)

- Letter certifying intent to marry (Beneficiary)

- Proof of having met in person in the past two years

        -pictures (placed in ziplock bag) , photocopy of passport, eTicket Itinerary receipt,             

         boarding passes, hotel voucher, baggage claim, receipt (airport user’s charge),   

- Proof of ongoing relationship

       -mails, e-mails, chat logs, money transfer receipts, phone records

Copies of documents submitted are exact photocopies of unaltered documents and I understand that I may be required to submit original documents to an Immigration or Consular officer at a later date.

Signed,

<petitioner's name>

The list of documents required for filing I-129F is found in the Instructions for Form I-129F.
-Completed I-129F Form
-Proof that the Petitioner is a US Citizen (i.e. birth certificate, unexpired US Passport, Certificate of Naturalization, Certificate of Citizenship)
- Proof of having met personally within the last two years (i.e. pictures, photocopy of passport, plane tickets,                
boarding passes, hotel receipts etc)
-"Letter of Intent to Marry" from both petitioner and alien fiancee
-Form G-325A completed and signed by the petitioner
-Form G-325A completed and signed by the alien fiance(e)
-US-style passport photo of the petitioner taken within the last 30 days
-US-style passport photo of the fiance(e) taken within the last 30 days
-If either you or your fiance(e) were married before, show documents proving termination of prior marriage


I-129F Required Forms
Download Form I-129F
Download Instructions for Form I-129F
Download Form G-325A 


*Make sure you download the most current edition of the forms :) 

My K1 Fiancee Visa Experience

My fiance and I met online on August 2007. He is a US citizen and I am a Filipina. When we decided that we are both serious about spending the rest of our lives together, he came to see me on June 2010. We started the K1 process on October of the same year. 

Here's the timeline of our K1 Visa journey:

October 6, 2010----I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé(e) sent
October 8, 2010----I-129F received at Dallas, TX
October 14, 2010---NOA1 (Notice of Action 1) e-mail received, routed to VSC (dated October 12, 2010)
October 18, 2010---Money order receipt received
October 20, 2010---Touched
November 5, 2010--Touched
April 6, 2011-------NOA2 (Notice of Action 2)
June 13-14 ---------Medical
August 2, 2011-----Interview (Approved)

Here's an overview of the process (based on US Embassy Manila Website)

American citizens who plan to marry their Filipino fiancé(e) in the United States must file an I-129F petition with the USCIS office that has jurisdiction over the petitioner's place of residence. 

Once approved, the I-129F petition is sent to NVC, which forwards it to the Embassy in Manila. The Embassy will send the Filipino fiancé(e) information on how to apply for the K-1 visa, including the medical examination and the visa interview.

I'll be explaining the requirements and our experience with the different phases of the process in my succeeding posts.