My sister who is working and living in America for eight years filed a US immigrant visa petition for my mother who is already 70 years old. Well, I have applied for a US tourist visa before so I kind of have an idea that the petition process may not be a walk in the park. But I am also hoping that this one will be fast and easy because of my mother’s age and my sister’s US citizenship. Anyway, I am the one living with my mother so it is my duty to take care of everything that my mother needs for the US petition. Of course, I constantly coordinated and followed the instructions from my sister in the US.
The first thing that my sister told me is to wait for the letter from the National Visa Center (NVC). From the time she said it, I think a month passed before the letter in a bulky brown envelope arrived. That first correspondence letter comes with instructions on the form that I need to fill out and the documents I need to submit.
The form can be downloaded online and in the letter there was an instruction that I can submit the form and the documents online. I just need to inform them that I want to communicate with them thru email. I tried that option but the US Embassy replied that email communication with the NVC is not yet available in the Philippines. So I downloaded the forms and filled it out carefully. It was quite scary because I can’t afford to make a mistake. I also prepared the needed documents and then sent the form to my sister in the US thru Fedex. I think I paid more than Php2,000 so the forms will be delivered securely.
My sister will be the one to send the forms to the NVC in US as she also needs to fill out some details in the form. Anyway, after sending it to NVC, I think less than two weeks passed before we received a reply from them. We were disappointed because apparently, our forms have some inaccuracies. It was in the date where we need to indicate my mom’s addresses and dates of residences. The US Embassy wants us to list down all the places where my mom stayed for at least six months since she was sixteen. It was stressful on my part since my mom transferred to four locations so it’s difficult to list down the exact addresses and dates of residences.
I also found it difficult to fill out the area where I need to write the name of the parents of my grandmother and grandfather. My mom’s father passed away even before she was born- so I just had to specify that the data is unknown. To make up for our mistake, the NVC requested police clearances from all the cities where my mom resided. Each of the police clearances should indicate my mom’s address and date of residence. That was such a hassle then as I need to take a leave from work so I can accompany my mom to four different locations and explain to government employees what we exactly need.
Anyway, after two weeks, we were able to complete all the police clearances they want. This time, we need to fill out a new form and my sister and I were extra careful now as we don’t want them to request new requirements.
So I prepared two forms. I filled out the first form and then prepared one blank form. The blank form only contains my mom’s signature as my sister will be the one to complete the blank form. She will only copy the details in the form I filled out. I went to Fedex again to send the forms.
So I prepared two forms. I filled out the first form and then prepared one blank form. The blank form only contains my mom’s signature as my sister will be the one to complete the blank form. She will only copy the details in the form I filled out. I went to Fedex again to send the forms.
After a week, we received an email from the NVC. We both felt triumphant because the NVC is satisfied with the requirements we submitted. This new correspondence letter instructs us to go to St. Lukes Center in Manila for my mom’s medical exam. What happened to the Medical Exam at St. Lukes for US Visa--to be continued.
