Our client, a U.S. citizen, married his wife in the Philippines in June 2022. Following the marriage, he remained in the Philippines for a time before returning to the United States. In October 2023, our client retained our firm to file I-130 petitions for his wife and stepson. USCIS approved both petitions in February 2025.
Immediately following the approvals, we submitted the immigrant visa applications for both the wife and stepson to the National Visa Center (NVC) in April 2025. Despite being provided with the same set of financial documents, the NVC qualified the wife’s case but issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) for the stepson’s case. We responded to the RFE immediately. While the stepson’s case was pending review, her visa interview was scheduled at the U.S. Consulate in Manila for August 4, 2025.
We advised our client’s wife to attend her interview as scheduled. In the meantime, we sent multiple inquiries to the NVC requesting expedited handling for the stepson’s case to ensure the family could travel together. Ultimately, her visa was approved. Following our expedite requests, the NVC forwarded the stepson’s case to the Consulate, and he completed his interview in October 2025. His immigrant visa was also approved, and the family traveled together to the United States on December 5, 2025.