Does anyone have any views on this? Should the CFO seminar be done before or after the interview? Any positions for why it should be done either way?

You can have seminar either Before or After your interview..

but you will still need to go back after you have your visa to get the stamp.

yes Correct!!..
Goodluck!!

before and after approval.

before u can only have certificate but if u do it after your approval u can have your certificate and u can have your sticker too before your can leave your home country. goodluck to you

I had mine right after I got my visa in hand..it was just a one shot and everything was done in a day!

Plan to do it after I have my visa so that I no longer have to go back to get my visa stamped.

-Riza

Unless you are in the area of CFO it's easier to do CFO with visa in hand as you can do it all in one day if you have the correct documents.

At the same time it can be better to do it before if you are denied the first time do to lack of documents. When my wife did hers one person was denied and had to go home and get parental approval. She had to go back at a later date.
Another friend was required to get a transcript of his divorce proceedings which took awhile to get and get to his fiancee in PI!!
Not good if you have plane reservations within a couple weeks of receiving visa.

I suggest do it after u got your visa so u dont have to go back again for sticker/stamp on your passport.

I plan to to have the CFO seminar after I got my visa so I can do it in one day

i went there before my interview. my husband and i were in manila during that time and he brought all the docs for the interview w/ him (and i happened to have some docs too thinking we'll arrange our stuff while he's in phil) so we decided that i'd attend the CFO seminar... since im from cdo, i stayed 2 days in manila w/ my mom before i head to the states so i can get my passport stamp (no longer cramming for the seminar lol) and just enjoyed the moment being w/ my mom before the flight... its really up to u... it was convenient for us to do the seminar before the interview but if you think you want it after, then there's no harm in that either lol... just bring all the necessary docs/requirements... i dont think it will make a difference for us as long as you have what they needed... good luck and God bless!!!

I came from Mindanao and I had to travel to either Cebu or Manila for the seminar. I had to be in Cebu before the interview for business so I took the chance of taking the seminar there and had my passport stamped in Manila, the day before my departure in coming here.

So either way, you are good.

Goodluck

We have taken it before the interview, like 8 months before. Now am waiting on the Visa. Does that mean we go back to the CFO to get the stamp when we receive the Visa? Is there an appointment needed for that? How long does it take to get the stamp if you have the certificate of completion?

yes after u got your visa u needed to go back to CFO either in manila or in cebu where your seminar was happened...., and as far as i know it doesn't consume longer to get stamp. just bring your certificate from seminar and CFO certification in a check like paper. Goodluck

can I also hear your views about my concern my fellow vjrs,
My Mahal will be here this 20nd until august. after he got back to US, he will be filing CR1 for me.
Can I have the CFO seminar while he's still here with me, after having all the docs I need to present to the,. (MC, and others) can I have the CFO seminar even though he haven't filed it yet? it's gonna take 1 year before I'll have an interview but I would want to have it at least as early as I can.

I would really appreciate your comments. thank you in advance...

Check out Section 6.2 of the Manila Embassy K1 Visa Guide.