2004/2005/2006 Priority Date Tracker

Thanks t-cell, tabachingdj and cutienurse for your responses.
@cutienurse I got married May of 2006 but I already submitted all the necessary papers to my agency prior to that date. They informed me on Aug of 2006 that my case was already approved and paid for my visa fee bill on Sept of the same year. I informed them that I am already married and ask them if I will declare it in my DS230 form. Instead my agent told me to declare it during the embassy interview bec. they thought I can still be interviewed before the schedule A visas runs out. They even told me that there were nurses who are on the same situation like me that they only declare their status during their interview. My concern now was I already signed my 2nd DS230 and my case was completed twice I am afraid that they will asked why I did not declare in my 2nd DS230 that I am already married. I am always asking my agent with my situation and keep on saying that it will  be just fine. Actually im still using my maiden name in my passport up to this time and I am really confused.
Hope you can shed some lights with my querries. Thank u so much my co-nurses...

-pinaynurse1723

Hello PINAYNURSE1723:
I am not sure if your lawyer is providing you with a good move regarding not declaring your real civil status when you filed your DS230. Although it may be a good strategy,It is still actually a form of dishonesty and may subject an applicant to visa denial. I have seen some nurses who did same but that was during the time Schedule A was still available for nurses and visa issuance was very swift. Now that we are in EB3, and retrogression is set,  it takes a lenghty time to process a case and that makes anyone need to provide accurate info when filling up the DS230.
If I am not mistaken, NEWBORNS are the only one allowed to be added at the time of consular interview. Spouse/s must be declared more so if you have submitted a new DS230 after your date of marriage.
Try to seek for other legal advices. You my not know, some agencies can cause harm to their own nurses. God Forbid.
Goodluck and God Bless

Thanks nurseidol for your input.

I am really worried because I don't want my husband to be left here especially now that I am expecting to deliver our first child. I hope I can still add my husband in my petititon. I'll try to talk with the head of the agency and so with their lawyers.

Thank you so much for your replies.I really appreciate it.

Dear Pinaynurse1723,
     It seems that your agency is not very much aware of how the procedure goes if an applicant got married during the process of petition.  Nurse idol is right.  There will never be a chance that you will bring your husband with you when you leave if you will only declare him or change your status from being single to married during your interview time.  Husband doesn't have the same opportunity the way newborns have as per immigration law. You should have ask an immigrant lawyer who are more aware of this rather than an advise from your agency here in the Philippines.  I heard a lot of negative things from my co nurses that their agency always provide them a wrong perceptions that lead them to their delays of processing. 
Anyway,  based on my experience. and i do believe it is also applicable to you and to your spouse (that only if your agency had advise you the same)  You should have change your status in your DS forms before you submit it to your agency.  If  I'm not mistaken you only paid your visa fee bill on sept 2006 and your petition was approved last august 2006.  Actually, you have plenty of time between your wedding and the time that your case was approved.  What my lawyer instructed me on my case was this.  I got married june 2006, my petition was approved may 2006 and USCIS forwarded it to NVC where my status is still SINGLE when it happened.  Then i informed my lawyer about my new status right after that.  So, before she paid my visa fee bill she took hold of all my documents first and instructed me to send me and my husband's set of DS forms that declares us as MARRIED and together with our marriage contract and my husband visa fee bill.  You dont need to change your Maiden name. USA isnt particular of that too. My lawyer also told me that this is the way it goes for if i wont declare it before i submit my DS forms and pay my visa fee bill alone,  It would take me a long time before i could have my husband to follow after.  She further said that it might took my husband to follow 5 yrs or more if i didn't include him during that time.  I really hope & pray that it wont happen in your case sis.  Coz that's obviously a big mistake on the part of your agency.  I'm afraid that there's no way for your husband to join you at the same if you had already declare your single status from the start at NVC.  And that if ever you declare or change your status only during the interview it might complicate your case and will be taking the risk that you will be delaying yourself or your visa issuance because of that.  Whatever it takes i do believe it will still be your decision for it is your entire families future who is at stake.  If you get the chance to seek other legal lawyers advise please do so.  I will also ask my lawyers advise regarding your specific case.  I pray for you too!  God bless...

hi piaynurse1723! just trust your agency, i believe they do that bec they dont want anymore delays.. at that time, that is the right thing to do.To reveal your spouse at the time of interview.Because it is really allowed and believe me they are sure you will be approved by the embassy,additional derivative is allowed for intending immigrants,but in this kind of situation the embassy will process the papers of your spouse and not the NVC which is absolutely allowed.As long as the marriage is real and true there will be no problem, just bring your marriage contract on sec paper of course you know that already" and his birth cert and his ds230 etc plus the fee..then thats it!..you already avoid additional delays of your paper. I am 100 percent sure of that. im in the same boat.just relax wait for your pd to be current. to my fellow nurses good day to all of you.

Hi nursing.  Did your lawyer already receive your packet 3? Did you already fill out the DS230 form and sent your docs to your lawyer and did your lawyer already send this to NVC?  The most reliable way to know if you are already doc qualified is to call NVC automated response at 001-603-334-0700.  You will need your NVC case number or your CIS case number in order to access your file.  If the response you get states 'your case was completed on....'  then you are doc qualified as of the date stated.
But based on your PD of 2007,  I think NVC has not requested for your packet 3 yet.  The last time they requested for updated DS230 was only for those with PD until 2006.

hi pinaynurse1723,
I think you should consult your immigration lawyer.  What you did could be interpreted as fraud by immigration officials because you were already married when you signed your DS230 but stated there that you were single.  What your agency could have done that time when you sent your first DS230 to NVC was to have you declared married but your husband listed as following to join if they were concerned about delays.  What made things worse is that you did it again on your second DS230, so this could be interpreted by immigration as intentional.  That you intented to commit fraud by misrepresenting your status twice.  They will see it in your marrige contract(date of marriage versus date of DS230).  You had 4 months from date of marriage to visa fee bill payment.  That was suffucient time to submit your marriage contract to NVC and have them send a visa fee bill for your husband also.  So I don't understand why your agency advised you to declare yourself single.
I was single too when my petition was filed in Nov 2005, got married dec 2005, I-140 approved Feb 2006, sent marriage contract to lawyer and husband's birth cert and copy of passport to lawyer Feb 2006, and visa fee bill for me and my husband sent March 2006, first DS230 for me and my husband sent to NVC Aug 2006.  So we have similar timeframe from marriage to visa fee payment, yet I was able to include my husband.  You don't have to chage your name.  I am still using my maiden name up to this time.  This is fine since your marriage contract will be your proof of your relationship.
Additional derivatives can be added at the embassy only...take note only if that additional derivative came into your life after you have been declared doc qualified...like if you gave birth after you were declared doc qualified.  In fact, in my case eventhough my daughter was only 10 days old when we sent our updated DS230 last May 2008 we still had to declare her on our DS230 as foolowing to join because she was already born.
I hope your lawyer can fix everything as soon as possible.
The best advise I can give you is to talk to your immigration lawyer who is processing your petition.  Maybe the lawyer is not aware that you are already married.  Do not only rely on your agency since they are not lawyers ang got you in this situation in the first place.

Thanks so much for all your replies.

What happened with my case is that my agency filed my papers prior to my marriage on May of 2006. I believe that they don't want to delay me anymore in fairness with them because they think I can still catch up with the schedule A visas at that time and aside from the fact that my marriage contract from NSO was only released Oct. of 2006. They made me sign my DS230 in advance I think that was Aug. 06 because during that time the processing was fast until retrogression takes in last Nov. 2006.

What concerns me now is the 2nd DS230 form that I filled-out per advise of my recruitment specialist, I still didn't put my husband as my dependent bec. she informed me that they have nurses who only declared her status prior to her medical exam and even paid her husband fee bill and filled out DS230 form of her husband in the embassy already during the interview. Though I had some doubts I still relied on what she said because I believe they already have a lot of experiences with their nurses. What add more to my doubts was when I read some posts here in the forum and this prompt me to state my case so that I will know what to do especially with those nurses who are on the same situation like mine.

Because of all your opinions, I already emailed the big boss of my agency in US so that he will know what happened with me. I am waiting for his response now esp. the response of our immigration lawyer.

Thank you so much and Ill keep you updated.

hi pinaynurse1723,
I think you should consult your immigration lawyer.  What you did could be interpreted as fraud by immigration officials because you were already married when you signed your DS230 but stated there that you were single.  What your agency could have done that time when you sent your first DS230 to NVC was to have you declared married but your husband listed as following to join if they were concerned about delays.  What made things worse is that you did it again on your second DS230, so this could be interpreted by immigration as intentional.  That you intented to commit fraud by misrepresenting your status twice.  They will see it in your marrige contract(date of marriage versus date of DS230).  You had 4 months from date of marriage to visa fee bill payment.  That was suffucient time to submit your marriage contract to NVC and have them send a visa fee bill for your husband also.  So I don't understand why your agency advised you to declare yourself single.
I was single too when my petition was filed in Nov 2005, got married dec 2005, I-140 approved Feb 2006, sent marriage contract to lawyer and husband's birth cert and copy of passport to lawyer Feb 2006, and visa fee bill for me and my husband sent March 2006, first DS230 for me and my husband sent to NVC Aug 2006.  So we have similar timeframe from marriage to visa fee payment, yet I was able to include my husband.  You don't have to chage your name.  I am still using my maiden name up to this time.  This is fine since your marriage contract will be your proof of your relationship.
Additional derivatives can be added at the embassy only...take note only if that additional derivative came into your life after you have been declared doc qualified...like if you gave birth after you were declared doc qualified.  In fact, in my case eventhough my daughter was only 10 days old when we sent our updated DS230 last May 2008 we still had to declare her on our DS230 as foolowing to join because she was already born.
I hope your lawyer can fix everything as soon as possible.
The best advise I can give you is to talk to your immigration lawyer who is processing your petition.  Maybe the lawyer is not aware that you are already married.  Do not only rely on your agency since they are not lawyers ang got you in this situation in the first place.

-apc

I think this is excellent advice by apc.
 
Strongly consider consulting a lawyer as suggested  and maybe even consider an outside lawyer as well for 2nd opinion.  Sometimes, in-house lawyers could be notoriously loyal to the agency since they are the one paying for them.
 

hi piaynurse1723! just trust your agency, i believe they do that bec they dont want anymore delays.. at that time, that is the right thing to do.To reveal your spouse at the time of interview.Because it is really allowed and believe me they are sure you will be approved by the embassy,additional derivative is allowed for intending immigrants,but in this kind of situation the embassy will process the papers of your spouse and not the NVC which is absolutely allowed.As long as the marriage is real and true there will be no problem, just bring your marriage contract on sec paper of course you know that already" and his birth cert and his ds230 etc plus the fee..then thats it!..you already avoid additional delays of your paper. I am 100 percent sure of that. im in the same boat.just relax wait for your pd to be current. to my fellow nurses good day to all of you.

-snipee

Hello Snipee. Just a friendly advise, consider clarifying your case to your immigration lawyer as well. You are in same boat with pinaynurse and yet she's worried about this, I guess you should too.  Not including a spouse when filling up a DS230 after the date of your marriage is a form of mispresentation. It is OK for newborns more so if they're born after a candidate has been declared as documentarily qualified already. But for spouse/s. well sorry but I'm in serious doubt about it.
God Bless you and Goodluck. 

Hello everyone,

I've talked to my recruitment specialist about adding my spouse in my petition and what she said is that I will be delayed for 1-2 yrs? Is this true? to think that I am already case completed.

Hello everyone,
I've talked to my recruitment specialist about adding my spouse in my petition and what she said is that I will be delayed for 1-2 yrs? Is this true? to think that I am already case completed.

-pinaynurse1723

Hello. Your recruitment specialist must have been right. 
 Adding a spouse in the petition will definitely cause a delay. We are presently experiencing visa retrogression, this is already a lenghty delay. It will further cause a delay in your case since you will have the need to submit again a new and updated DS230 with your husband included as a derivative. As such, a visa feel bill for your husband must still have to generate and this will take time.

Note that your case wont be eligible for further processing till your PD will hit the qualifying date set by the NVC. With this, I assume that right at the moment, you are held helpless till NVC is ready to process your case again. Only by then that you can update your DS230, and include your husband as your derivative.

Tcell is right as well, try to consider seeking for advices from other immigration lawyers. They can best answer your concerns. Immigration lawyers hired by agencies can be notoriously loyal to their master.

No matter what, and in any views, if you decide to include your husband in your petition, this will surely cause some delays for ovious reasons. But I believe its worth it. It doesn't matter if there will be some delays in exchange of having to be with your husband in USA.

God Bless you

Hello everyone,
I've talked to my recruitment specialist about adding my spouse in my petition and what she said is that I will be delayed for 1-2 yrs? Is this true? to think that I am already case completed.

-pinaynurse1723

Hi Pinaynurse1723,
   I do believe your recruitment specialist is correct with this.  This is what my lawyer told me as well if in case i added him on a later date,  after i paid my visa fee bill and I'm already case completed.  It's either it will delay me at least 1 to 3 years if I'll have my husband join me at the same time or i could do the other option.  Which i will have my husband follow me after i leave which will take him at least 5 or more years to wait here in the Philippines.  Well, then again, it is still up to you and your husband to think wisely and decide what will be the best option.  Either you sacrifice a couple of years here to have your case reprocess again but you can be with your spouse once you leave or continue with your present case status and go by yourself and have your husband follow after which your husband will stay here for much more longer period of time.  Whatever you decide,  we do hope it will make you happy, contented and wont leave you any regrets.   Hope we were able to share our thoughts and our case well and were able to enlighten your worries. God bless  you and your family!

Hi pinaynurse,  updating your DS230 to include your husband will surely cause delay (1-2 years? well, it depends on the movement of the visa bulletin).  You will have to wait for your PD to be current inorder for you to be able to update your DS230 and have a visa fee bill for your husband.  If the visa bulletin does not retrogress after your PD is current, then I think you will only be delayed for a couple of months, BUT if the visa bulletin retrogress again...then you would be delayed for a year or 2.  If they only included your husband in your second DS230, then everything would have been in order now.  Your immigration specialist is right saying it could cause delay but did they say anything about the consequences you may face during the interview if you will continue to declare yourself as single?  If you decide not to update your DS230 now and wait for the interview, just be ready to have an explanation if the consul at the embassy will ask you why you misrepresented your status in your DS230.  I'm sure they will not accept the answer...you did it because your agency told you to avoid delays.   Remember, you are the one who signed your DS230 and not the agency so you are the one accountable for what is written in your DS230.
I agree with nurseidol, it's worth having everything in order now even though it may cause some delay rather than risk not being able to bring your husband.  These are the scenarios I could think of if you will declare your husband at the embassy:
1.  The consul might be very lenient and give your husband a visa (hoping for this one but I think the chances are slim).  Even husbands that were declared as following to join in DS230 do not get their visas at the same time as the principal applicant.  How much more for husbands that were not declared.
2.  The consul will grant your visa but will tell you that you have to petition your husband under family-based category (which could take maybe 3 to 5 years after you arrive in the U.S.)
3.  The worse thing that could happen...the consul could deny your visa for grounds of misrepresenting yourself.
This are just scenarios that could happen, it is up to you on what you decide.  We are not lawyers in this forum, we just share what we know base on the usual procedure but there are always loopholes in immigration law so a good lawyer is the best person to advise you.  Do you watch citizen pinoy?  I think they will be taping in Manila this month(just don't know the exact date), if your lucky you could go there and ask your question.

@pinaynurse1723,
 
The above possible scenarios mentioned by apc are indeed very, very possible. 
 
Do you want to take the risk? Taking risks means high rewards but also means taking possible consequences you might regret later on if the result is the the opposite of what you are expecting.  It's up to you on what to do.
 
Everyone has to make similar choices, albeit maybe with a different scenario or situation.   They make sacrifices and compromises.  Some, actually don't marry at all or hold themselves of being engaged believe it or not.
 
Some sacrifice not to be on any contract at all (local or abroad) because their petitioner/employer or agency prefers that they not be on any contract that may become a hindrance for them not to be able to go to the US consulate or embassy when the time comes. 
 
Whatever it is, they know they have to make hard decisions and choose the 'lesser evil' or a scenario they are willing to live with.
 

hi pinaynurse thats what im saying avioding delays, youre already documentarily qualified just follow your boss' again im 100 percent sure it is allowed and there is no misinterpretation about that,no problem with immigration.Our Manila US Embassy will take care of that, if you can recall this is a Consular processing and it dosent limit them by just issuing visa to applicants but also processing the entire Case including additional visas to qualified derivatives. Our Embassy,the Consular Officer handlng your Case has the power to deny and issue the visas.anyway i definitely can say dont worry you can take your husband with you when time comes, just pay the visa bill at the time of interview.
to Nurseidol thanks for the advise i really appreciate that, i say that were in the same boat because ive done that during my interview i have no problem. my pd is 2004,just waiting for my visa and thanks God it is really answered prayer.

i forgot to log in..sorry about that, its my post to pinaynurse and nurseidol. SNIPEE here

hi pinaynurse thats what im saying avioding delays, youre already documentarily qualified just follow your boss' again im 100 percent sure it is allowed and there is no misinterpretation about that,no problem with immigration.Our Manila US Embassy will take care of that, if you can recall this is a Consular processing and it dosent limit them by just issuing visa to applicants but also processing the entire Case including additional visas to qualified derivatives. Our Embassy,the Consular Officer handlng your Case has the power to deny and issue the visas.anyway i definitely can say dont worry you can take your husband with you when time comes, just pay the visa bill at the time of interview.
to Nurseidol thanks for the advise i really appreciate that, i say that were in the same boat because ive done that during my interview i have no problem. my pd is 2004,just waiting for my visa and thanks God it is really answered prayer.

- guest

Congrats, snipee.   Pls. update us on this thread.
Kindly indicate:
- exact PD
- date of interview
- when you and your spouse received your visas (once it has been delivered)

hello t-cell, i will update you if i already recieved the visas..more power to you!

Hello everyone.

Would like to congratulate Snipee for that.

I personally wouldn't want to assure anyone in here that  spouse/s can be added as derivative/s at the time of consular interview.  Sorry, although there are some cases that ended up successful through this way, I still see some gltiches on it. 

It requires one to fill-up the DS230 as honest as possible. Declaring that you are single in the DS230, though you're not, then all of a sudden will try your luck to present your husband before the consul at the time of interview is obviously an act of fraudulence.  If a GOOD and KIND consul will be with you, then LUCKY you, your case may be consider.  But what if it will be the other way around? Then you'll gonna waste everything.

This is just a friendly advice. Call it consular processing or whatsoever, the point is,  It pays to be truthful especially when it concerns legal matters.

Good Luck and God Bless