When you are the beneficiary of a Family-sponsored petition and you are from the Philippines, depending on the category you are in, there is usually a long waiting period for a visa number to be available.  The wait may be as short as a year or as long as twenty four years! This is because the Philippines is one of the four countries that is oversubscribed—too many applicants than visas available. To be updated on what priority dates are being currently processed, you can check the monthly visa bulletin being published by the Department of Homeland Security.  It is a summary of available immigrant numbers during the particular month. 
 
When your priority date finally becomes current, you will receive a letter from the U.S. Embassy to inform you and that you must now submit your Choice of Agent form.  This form is used for you to appoint an agent, usually an attorney or even your petitioner, who will be receiving correspondence sent by NVC.  Once you’ve sent it out, the agent you named in that form will receive a letter from the National Visa Center (NVC) informing him of your intention.  The agent will then receive courtesy copies of all succeeding correspondence.  After that, you will receive an Immigrant Visa Fee Bill.  This letter will instruct you to pay the immigrant visa fee, which is currently Four Hundred ($400.00) Dollars.  This fee is subject to change.  Once you’ve made the payment, a Packet IV will be sent to you giving instructions for document processing.  You will be required to download and complete Form DS-230 Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration and submit original or certified true copies of the documents, if applicable:
 
1.    Birth certificate (issued by the NSO),
2.    Court and prison records,
3.    Deportation documentation,
4.    Certificate of No Marriage Record (CENOMAR) (issued by the NSO),
5.    Marriage certificate (issued by the NSO),
6.    Marriage Termination Documentation,
7.    Military Records,
8.    Photocopy of Valid Passport Biographic Data Page,
9.    NBI Clearance,
10.    Police Certificate(s) and
11.    2x2 visa photographs.
 
Once you have submitted and completed the necessary forms, the petitioner will be sent instructions on how to complete the Form I-864 Affidavit of Support and the necessary supporting documents needed for financial sponsorship.  There is a fee of Seventy ($70.00) Dollars.  The sponsor will be asked to submit a copy of his/her individual Federal income tax return, including W-2s for the most recent tax year, or a statement and/or evidence describing why the sponsor was not required to file. Also a copy of each and every Form 1099 Schedule, and any other evidence of reported income must be included. He/She may submit this information for the most recent three tax years, pay stub(s) from the most recent six months, and/or a letter from your employer if you believe any of these items will help you qualify.
 
The documents that you have submitted will be processed by the NVC.  In the event that the documents you submitted are incomplete or are missing, you will be notified and be requested to provide additional information.  When all of your documents have been reviewed, you will receive an appointment letter containing the date and time of your visa interview along with instructions for submitting to a medical examination.
 
Waiting for your visa number to be available takes a lot of patience.  There is no way to expedite the processing except for preparing the required fees and documents beforehand.  The best that you can do is to constantly check the visa bulletin and start gathering these documents so when your priority date finally becomes current, you have your documents and fees ready to be mailed out and paid. 
 
Atty. Michael Templo is an attorney admitted to practice law in New York State and Federal Courts and is a partner at Templo & Templo www.templolaw.com with offices in New York, USA and Makati City, Philippines.  Atty. Templo specializes in US Immigration matters.  Atty. Mike Templo is also a host for the weekly show “Cros­sing Borders” which airs every Thursday at 10:30PM on ANC and 2:30PM on TFC crossingborderstv.multiply.com. The discussion above is not intended as legal advice, and cannot be relied upon for any purpose without the services of a qualified professional.  For your comments and questions, Atty. Templo can be reached at info@templolaw.com or log on to www.templolaw.com.