Theodore Huang, Immigration & SSD Lawyer

From Maiden Name to Married Name

Female holders of valid visas on passports reflecting their maiden name may present to the U.S. immigration officer at the Port of Entry a legal document, such as marriage certificate printed on the Philippine National Statistics Office security paper, attesting to the change of the surname every time she travels to the United States.

Should one wish to have a valid visa transferred in a new name and in a new passport, one must reapply for a visa.

Terminated or Annulled Marriage

Generally, female holders of valid visas on passports reflecting their married name may use the visa to travel if they have the marriage annulment decree printed on the Philippine National Statistics Office security paper, for Philippine marriages, or certified copy of divorce certificates. The decree, however, must specify that they are allowed to revert to their maiden name.

Should one wish to have a valid visa transferred in a new name and in a new passport, one must also reapply for a visa.

Theodore Huang, Esq. has been practicing business immigration, EB-5 investor, and family immigration law since 1997. Highly recommended on LinkedIn, Attorney Huang has written numerous articles on visa matters affecting foreign new hires, start-ups, and intracompany transfers. His articles have appeared on www.EB5Planet.com, www.VisaSoup.com, www.MyVisa.com, and www.GoFianceeVisa.com  For more information and a free consultation, please contact him immediately.

Filipino law says that anyone emigrating has to attend the Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar with the Commission on Filipinos Overseas. K-2 12 years and younger don’t have to attend.

The U.S. Government doesn’t impose this requirement. To inform visa recipients, the offices does make this information available to all fiancées and immigrant visa applicants. The US Embassy attaches to the visa packet an information sheet so that these foreign nationals are aware about the seminar.

Below for is a quote from the Commission on Filipinos Overseas:

The Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar is for emigrants petitioned by their parents, siblings, and immediate relatives. Travel regulations, immigration procedures, cultural differences, settlement concerns, employment and social security concerns, and rights and obligations of Filipino migrants are some of the topics on the PDOS Seminar.

Filipino spouses and other partners of foreign national are given guidance and counseling program. They are given advice on the realities of intermarriage and migration, rights and obligations overseas, available support networks for women in distress, cultural and social realities overseas, and other information which may help them make informed decisions about cross-cultural unions and settlement overseas.

– Excerpt from the CFO Information Sheet

If you are interested in bringing over your Filipino fiancée or fiancé, please call our office to discuss your situation in a free consultation. Attorney Huang has substantial experience assisting fiancées from the Philippines and would be pleased to provide assistance.

Theodore Huang, Esq. has been practicing business immigration, EB-5 investor, and family immigration law since 1997. Highly recommended on LinkedIn, Attorney Huang has written numerous articles on visa matters affecting foreign new hires, start-ups, and intracompany transfers. His articles have appeared on www.EB5Planet.com, www.VisaSoup.com, www.MyVisa.com, and www.GoFianceeVisa.com  For more information and a free consultation, please contact him immediately.

K-1 regulations require that the U.S./foreign couple meet at least one time within two years prior to submitting the K-1 fiancee visa petition to the USA.

For U.S. citizens with girlfriends in China, this will require making sure your US passport is valid and obtaining the required Chinese visa. Do a search for the nearest Chinese consulate that can receive your passport and issue you a Chinese visa stamp. You may need to submit your passport in person or hire an agency to do so on your behalf.

Contact your Chinese girlfriend to let her know of your flight plans, hotel reservations, and plans during the visit. For those who are pretty sure of the direction of the relationship, you may want to start gathering documentation in preparation for the fiancée visa.  For those who are still getting to know each other and are not sure about their future plans together, use the time to continue to get to know one another, talk about your expectations for the relationship and get to know Chinese culture.

It’s important to retain proof of your visit and to show that you’ve actually met. While this may seem obvious, it’s easy to forget to take photos or save receipts which the USCIS will expect to see. Applicants should be organized and make sure they gather adequate supporting documentation to avoid a Request for Evidence by the USCIS.

Our law office has substantial experience preparing K1 fiancee visas for Chinese fiancées, if you have any questions, please contact us.

Theodore Huang, Esq. has been practicing business immigration, EB-5 investor, and family immigration law since 1997. He has written numerous articles on visa matters affecting foreign new hires, start-ups, and intracompany transfers. His articles have appeared on www.EB5Planet.com, www.VisaSoup.com, www.MyVisa.com, and www.GoFianceeVisa.com  He has more than 15 recommendations on LinkedIn. For more information and a free consultation, please contact him immediately.

Just a note to let our readers know that we have been successful in obtaining K-1 fiancee visa approvals for fiance(e)s living and working in Dubai. Many foreign fiancees spend a few years living and working in Dubai, especially those fiancees originally from the Philippines.

We have been successful in getting K-1 petition approvals as well as having our clients go through the K-1 fiancee interview with a positive outcome. If your fiancee is in Dubai, and would like to avoid having to travelling back to her home country to interview, please contact me at 626-771-1078 for a free consultation.

A child accompanying his or her parent to the K-1 fiancee visa interview should bring the following supporting documents

1. A valid passport
2. A birth certificate
3. A medical exam.
4. If the child is 16 years old or older, police certificates are required.
5. No chest X-ray or serologic tests are required if the child is under 15 years of age.

If the K-1 foreign beneficiary has a K-2 child who wasn’t stated on the K-1 I-129f form whom the K-1 wishes to bring to the US, he or she should contact our office at 626-771-1078 to discuss how our law office can assist.

The question about hiring an attorney to help with the fiancé(e) visa or spousal visa process is a common one. It is true that, for some applicants, the fiancé or spousal visa application can be done on their own. To determine whether this is for you, ask yourself the following:

1. Do I have time to read and understand the regulations?
2. Do I or my fiancé(e)/spouse qualify for the immigration benefit?
3. Do I know what are the required supporting documents that need to be included? The regulations state what kinds of documents should or must be included. However, it is also helpful to provide proof that is not stated but also helps to prove the legal requirement.
4. Do I know which forms to complete? The USCIS offers downloadable forms; the key is knowing which forms and which version need to be completed.
5. Do I know where to send the application? There are different mailing addresses depending on your location.
6. Has my fiancé(e) committed any past immigration violations?
7. Is there a large age difference between me and my fiancé(e)?
8. Do I make enough money to show that I can support my fiancé(e)?
9. Is there anything in my personal history that could cause problems?
10. Is there anything in her personal history that could cause problems

It is appealing to prepare the fiancé(e) visa application on your own to save money. However, we regularly get calls from individuals who applied on their own only to have the application get delayed or even denied because of one or two issues. We see that our clients are greatly relieved to hand over the task to us instead of their having to wade through the complex and ever-changing procedures affecting fiancé(e) and spousal visa law.

We offer a wide range of fiancé(e) visa services from very low fees where the applicant does the preparation and we review,  to our office providing full service through the entire process. Call us at 626-771-1078 for more information.

After the K-1 petition has been approved at the USCIS, it will be forwarded to the National Visa Center and then on to the U.S. Embassy Manila. At that point, the K-1 fiancé(e) will need to do the following:

Each K visa applicant must first pay the visa application fee of $350 at any Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) branch.  There are three ways to pay the K visa application fee:

•        Cash payment at BPI.

•        Online payment option provided by BPI to their clients.

•        Online payment through Bancnet.

Once the fee has been paid, the applicant can proceed with scheduling an interview, this can be done either online at http://www.ustraveldocs.com/ph or by calling the Embassy’s Visa Call Center at (632) 982-5555 or (632) 902-8930. From that point, the foreign fiancée should begin gathering the necessary documents needed for the K1 interview.

If you are interested in bringing your fiancée or spouse over to the USA on the K1 fiance or spousal  visa and utilizing my immigration legal experience since 1997, please contact me at 626-771-1078.

This posting is the 3rd of a group of postings discussing the nonimmigrant visa interview process at the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines.

After arrival at the U.S. embassy and obtaining a number, the applicant will wait until his/her number is called. Once called, the big moment arrives as the applicant goes for the interview. Here’s what to expect.

Step 3: Interview Process

1. Pre-screening (Windows 21-29): checking and verifying information in the application form and confirming who filled out the form

2. Finger scanning (Windows 14-19, except 17): scanning applicants’ fingerprints electronically

3. Interview (Windows 1-13): conversation between the consular officer and the applicant; the consular officer will let you know at the end of the interview if you are qualified for the visa

Throughout this process, make sure to check the queue numbers on the queuing board.

If you or your fiancee or spouse needs assistance with obtaining a nonimmigrant or immigrant visa from the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines, call me at 626-771-1078.

The following supporting documents should be gathered in preparation of a K1 fiancee visa application.

1. Proof of U.S. citizenship
2. Proof of ability to marry
3. Visa photos
4. Proof of having met within the two years prior to the submission of the K-1 fiance visa petition
5. Proof of the relationship
6. Proof of financial ability to support

The supporting documents that need to be submitted must address the key issues of the K1 fiance visa. If the documents fail to satisfy an element, the USCIS may issue a Request for Evidence which will allow the petitioner another opportunity to submit the documentation.

Sometimes the U.S. petitioner may have submitted documents he felt proved a K-1 requirement, but the USCIS disagrees. Sometimes the disagreement may be based on a formatting issue. It’s difficult to know how to address the issue and whether to argue against the request or try to comply even if it will take much effort and expense on the part of the petitioner or foreign fiancée. In times like these, it is very comforting for couples to work with an attorney who has experience with the K-1 fiance visa category.

If you are interested in bringing your fiancée over to the USA on the K1 fiance visa and utilizing my experience since 1997, please contact me at 626-771-1078.

Question: I’m applying for fiancee visa, I worked in UAE from 2004 to 2009 I lost my old passport so I had to renewed it. Do I need a police clearance in UAE? I know its one of the requirements for applying a K1 visa, a police clearance from the countries you lived in. My problem is I don’t have any copy of my visa that was attached to my old passport which was lost. It was not attached to my new passport. Do I really need to declare in my application that I worked in UAE?

Answer: Because police certificates or clearances are not available to foreign nationals who no longer reside in the Emirates, applicants are not expected to produce them. We hope this information is helpful to you.

However, you should write all places you have lived or worked on your application form.

For assistance with preparing K-1 interview paperwork, contact our office at 626-771-1078

Upon the receipt of a K visa petition approved by DHS, the consular officer should promptly send to the applicant:

(1) Form DS-230, Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration or instructions for accessing Form DS-260, Online Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration;

(2) Two copies of the Form DS-156; Nonimmigrant Visa Application, or instructions for accessing Form DS-160, Electronic Nonimmigrant Visa Application

(3) One copy of the Form DS-156-K, Nonimmigrant Fiancé (e) Visa Application, unless the applicant was instructed to complete Form DS-160;

(4) One copy of the petitioner’s approved Form I-129-F, together with any criminal background information (including information on protection orders) that DHS has gathered on the petitioner and any information that DHS has provided regarding prior Form I-129-F filings by the petitioner

The DHS is in the process of preparing a pamphlet called “Legal Rights and Resources for Immigrant Victims of Domestic Violence: Facts about immigrating to the United States as a Fiance(e) or as a Spouse of an U.S. Citizen. When this pamphlet is ready, it will also be included in the package.

Part of our K1 interview services is to gather relevant information and prepare the above forms along with the supporting documentation. If you need assistance with this part of the K-1 process, please call me at 626-771-1078 for a consultation.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the second circuit affirmed that a K-1 who enters the US and later tries to apply for a green card on a basis other than marriage to the K-1 sponsor is ineligible to adjust his status.

Some US citizens fear that their foreign fiancées may use them to enter the USA and then abandon the relationship immediately and try to marry another. This holding upholds the law at 8 USC §1255 (d):

The Attorney General may not adjust, under [8 U.S.C. § 1255(a)], the status of a nonimmigrant alien described in [8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)K)] except to that of an alien lawfully admitted to the United States on a conditional basis under [8 U.S.C. § 1186] as a  result of the marriage of the nonimmigrant . . . to the citizen who filed the [K-1 visa petition].

If you have questions about your situation, please contact my law office.

The USCIS has provided examples of when an expedite request may be granted. These situations may include, but are not limited to, situations in which the applicant establishes one or more of the following:

• The applicant has urgent and critical medical needs that cannot be addressed in the applicant’s country;

• An applicant’s family member in the United States has a serious medical condition and has urgent and critical medical needs related to that condition that require the applicant to assist the family member in the United States;

• The applicant is faced with urgent circumstances related to the death or serious illness of a family member;

• The applicant or qualifying family member is a particularly vulnerable individual due to age, serious medical condition, or disability and this vulnerability is exacerbated by the applicant’s presence outside the United States;

• The applicant is at risk of serious harm due to personal circumstances distinct from the general safety conditions of those living in the applicant’s country;

• It would be in the national interest of the United States to have the applicant in the United States (for example, the applicant’s presence in the United States is urgently required for work with a U.S. government entity); or

• As described in a request from or for a member of the Armed Forces of the United States

1. The applicant’s qualifying family member is a member of the military who is deployed or will soon be deployed; and

2. The applicant demonstrates that, in light of the deployment there are compelling reasons to expedite the request due to the impact of the applicant’s absence from the United States on the applicant, the qualifying family member, or their children, if any.

The above non-exhaustive list describes some examples of situations that may, depending on the facts of the case, merit a discretionary approval of a request to expedite adjudication of a waiver request.  However, these are not the only circumstances that may warrant expeditious processing.

K-1 fiancee and K-3 spousal visa couples find it emotional difficult to endure the lengthy processing periods. The prospect of having to wait for up to one year and work with three different U.S. government agencies can be overwhelming and depressing. As an immigration attorney since 1997, I have successful helped clients navigate the immigration maze efficiently and as quickly as possible. My 17 recommendations on LinkedIn is a testament to my customer-service orientation and the fact that I can get results for my clients.

Give me a call to learn what I can do to decrease the wait, expedite the preparation and processing of your application, and have you be reunited with your loved one as soon as possible.

Administrative processing are the two words that a K1 fiance dreads hearing. Administrative processing occurs when after reviewing a case, a consular officer believes that there is missing information or that some kind of background check is necessary.

For consular officers at the US embassy in Rome, the embassy has stated clearly that officers will not provide an explanation regarding why the case is undergoing administrative processing. This only adds to the frustration and discouragement to the K-1 fiancee applicant. To add to the challenge, the US embassy has acknowledged that processing time varies and cannot be predicted as it depends on case volume.

The embassy does explain that the office checks for updates on all cases in administrative processing. Such status updates are performed twice a day which is encouraging to see. In addition, when the case has completed administrative processing, the embassy’s policy is to contact the applicant within one business day.

K1 fiancee visa applicants should prepare a petition that seeks to avoid the stress of administrative processing. We can help, for assistance, please contact our law office.

A limited number of NIV appointment slots for July 1 through August 17, 2012,  during the period the Olympics and the Paraolympics, will open up through the  Embassy’s Operator Assisted Visa NIV Appointment Booking Service during the third week of June.  The number of appointments available per day will be limited to 200, priority will be given to F-1 and J-1 students and exchange visitors and Petition-Based visa categories.

There will be limited B-1/B-2 appointment availability during this time. Applicants who have been refused B-1/B-2 visas in the past six months will only be able to schedule appointments after August 17.