I am starting a new thread to track cases from NVC - embassy to GC.
The best news for RN in China, Phillippines and India has been great and informative thread, but I think it is more appropriate and convenient if we start a new thread.
Also with the rapid scheduling of interviews for most of us, I am looking beyond the CP and anticipating the GC!
The August interview schedules are out already in India, and recently in the Philippines and hopefully in China.
Here is my case details
Category : EX Schedule A
USCIS receipt : April 2004
Processing Center : Vermont
I-140 approved : October 2004
NVC case number : MNL2004813XXX
NVC forwarded packet 3 : April 5, 2005
Packet 3 sent back to NVC : May 3, 2005
NVC case completed : May 16, 2005
Consular Interview : August 29, 2005
Visa received : ???
Date of entry in the US :???
GC receive : ????
I hope you can also post here your details interview experience.
This batch is unusually fast. My interview sched is just 9+ weeks after case completion. I was initially looking at atleast 12 months. Oh well...
Yes, hope to see you jen in jacksonville. we're targeting october or november. how about you?
If everything goes well, we also plan to leave by mid-October. But we might be asked by my employer to go earlier so probably mid-September the earliest. Congrats!
We had our medicals early this week. I won't go through the details but will offer some tips based on our own experience, observation, and feedback from several st. luke's staff, themselves:
1) Majority (except 1 very good post) here said that the earlier you go to st. luke's the better. This is NOT TRUE! We were there the 1st day past 10am and 3pm the 2nd day. Our total number of hours are less than those who came in early. Actually, we should've gotten in even later the 2nd day. This girl from Cebu came in during day1 at 1pm and we finished just about the same time. She said, the first few steps was a breeze since there's no more people at these frsit stages.
According to the guards and some clinic staff, there's a long queue during the early hours of the morning. And the process lengthens coz some of the labs/sections do not open till 7 or 8am. A security staff said that a lot of thos who line up as early as 3am gets very irritated come around 9am if there not yet finished...they kept on complaining that they were there very early. He goes, "who says you have to be here that early?"
2) Atleast 3 staff members (including the doctor who did one of our PE) said that the best day to go for your day1 is on Friday. and NEVER go on a Monday. We learned it the hard way...we went on a Monday. And it was crazy!
The reason being most of the people from the provinces prefer a Monday after a weekend. They also don't usually do their day1 on a Friday since that will mean spending more on the hotel for the weekend while waiting fro day2.
3) Best advice is to bring one yaya or relative for each of your babies/little kids. We can't imagine how we'll survive without the yaya
4) Have a very heavy meal before going to St. Luke's.
5) They don't accept dollars anymore. It's PhP 5130 for adults
Goodluck!
Daning, thanks for sharing these tips with us! Im sure will come very invaluable to us considering our situation ( with 2 weeks old baby and 2 unruly boys). We are thus changing our flight sched so that we wont be there on a Monday. Again, THANKS and CONGRATS!
how on earth am i going to carry that film!! it will definitely not fit in my hand carried luggage! those of you who already left, how did u carry it??
i have the same dilemma, gwapo! hahaha. when is your departure? wanna meat at the airport? :trout:
how's your pdos? ate hael and i were boggled by one of the requirements, the immigrant data summary sheet. do we need to bring the original? i mean WE (ate hael and i) wouldn't let them touch our visa packets (hahahaha)..
Daning, thanks for sharing these tips with us! Im sure will come very invaluable to us considering our situation ( with 2 weeks old baby and 2 unruly boys). We are thus changing our flight sched so that we wont be there on a Monday. Again, THANKS and CONGRATS!
And one more thing. There is an "express lane" for those with small kids but St Luke's or the guards don't announce this. Ask for it upon entering and proceeding to step 1. Discovered it only while watching one of their screen TV messages while witing in one of the steps. It should've saved us more time if we knew.
And honestly, it is tough for us with kids. They will become restless after some time. Bring their favorite toys, books, etc. Make sure they are well rested and hopefully in a good mood coz the waiting game could really be unsettling. God bless.
i have the same dilemma, gwapo! hahaha. when is your departure? wanna meat at the airport? :trout:
how's your pdos? ate hael and i were boggled by one of the requirements, the immigrant data summary sheet. do we need to bring the original? i mean WE (ate hael and i) wouldn't let them touch our visa packets (hahahaha)..
tell us details of your pre-departure seminar.
my travel agent won't issue without it.
details please..
PEANUT
hahaha... i will be leaving hopefully on 11th of july. but i dont have the details of my trip yet. i just solved my prob with my Xray film... i was relieved that it fits just right on my hand carried trolley!!
regarding my PDOS,i havent encountered any problem. i downloaded the registration form thru their website and filled it out before going to CFO. i advice u do this too, so when u arrive at their office, u will just have to submit everything and wait until the seminar starts. they wont be asking for originals, except for your passport of course. you will learn a lot from the seminar. while listening to the discussion, i felt as if my heart was getting heavier!!! ambivalence!!! huhuhuhu. i think im too young for this!! tsk tsk!!
better have ur PDOS early so u wont be rushng when ur time comes...
regarding my PDOS,i havent encountered any problem. i downloaded the registration form thru their website and filled it out before going to CFO. i advice u do this too, so when u arrive at their office, u will just have to submit everything and wait until the seminar starts. they wont be asking for originals, except for your passport of course. you will learn a lot from the seminar. while listening to the discussion, i felt as if my heart was getting heavier!!! ambivalence!!! huhuhuhu. i think im too young for this!! tsk tsk!!
better have ur PDOS early so u wont be rushng when ur time comes...
Pardon my ignorance, what's a PDOS? Is it something that we'll be explained once the visa packet arrives?
If everything goes well, we also plan to leave by mid-October. But we might be asked by my employer to go earlier so probably mid-September the earliest. Congrats!
Yeah, we may go as early as late September as well. I guess, we'll be in Jacksonville around the same time. Well, assuming that all goes well in the consular interview.
Anyways, have you solved the dillemma with your baby not included in the visa appointment? Just keep us posted. We're almost there.
Congrats to those who got their visas already! :balloons:
Pardon my ignorance, what's a PDOS? Is it something that we'll be explained once the visa packet arrives?
hi daning:
pdos:Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar required for filipino immigrants by the Commission on Filipino Overseas. It is a requirement for us to attend before departure.
hahaha... i will be leaving hopefully on 11th of july. but i dont have the details of my trip yet. i just solved my prob with my Xray film... i was relieved that it fits just right on my hand carried trolley!!
regarding my PDOS,i havent encountered any problem. i downloaded the registration form thru their website and filled it out before going to CFO. i advice u do this too, so when u arrive at their office, u will just have to submit everything and wait until the seminar starts. they wont be asking for originals, except for your passport of course. you will learn a lot from the seminar. while listening to the discussion, i felt as if my heart was getting heavier!!! ambivalence!!! huhuhuhu. i think im too young for this!! tsk tsk!!
better have ur PDOS early so u wont be rushng when ur time comes...
thanks for sharing gwapo!
i'll be leaving this july 16..
keep in touch.. you can either p.m. me or send me a smile thru friendster.
Can you just walk in on any weekday, or do you need an appointment?
Also, I'm from the province. I was hoping to attend the PDOS just before (maybe the day before) I fly to the US. That way I won't have to spend for an extra round-trip ticket just for it. Can I do that?
honeyjen
16 Posts
If everything goes well, we also plan to leave by mid-October. But we might be asked by my employer to go earlier so probably mid-September the earliest. Congrats!