Newbee needs help

[Jen&defs 0]

Hello I need some good advice on the Phillippines. I will visit my fiancee for the first time this December in Manila then to Quezon and later visit her very large family in a far province. A lawyer told me that its hard to file fiancee K-1 visa there how true is that I assumed it would take 6 to 8 months tops pending no mistakes on my behalf and holidays and how the processing center works. please enlighten me.

Also does any one know of good hotels and restaurants and thrifty things to do there my fiancee is a country girl but has been in manila a year or so and is not too familiar with these things she is a sort of a home body.

How much is the fees to obtain a passport and the police backround check, vaccinations and other fees and processes to get a K-1 visa out side of the $455.00 processing fee.

how can I make cheap international calls to the Phillippines. my phone bill is shocking.

who has the best airfares with no booking fees and better flight connections from the new york, new jersey area of the east coast

THANK YOU for all responses please give me all insider info and tips to survive and bring my baby to me. P.S. anyone know a good cheap service or lawyer to file K-1 visa with to help me expidite the process please let me know.

[Ndrangeta_one 0]

Hello I need some good advice on the Phillippines. I will visit my fiancee for the first time this December in Manila then to Quezon and later visit her very large family in a far province. A lawyer told me that its hard to file fiancee K-1 visa there how true is that I assumed it would take 6 to 8 months tops pending no mistakes on my behalf and holidays and how the processing center works. please enlighten me.

Also does any one know of good hotels and restaurants and thrifty things to do there my fiancee is a country girl but has been in manila a year or so and is not too familiar with these things she is a sort of a home body.

How much is the fees to obtain a passport and the police backround check, vaccinations and other fees and processes to get a K-1 visa out side of the $455.00 processing fee.

how can I make cheap international calls to the Phillippines. my phone bill is shocking.

who has the best airfares with no booking fees and better flight connections from the new york, new jersey area of the east coast

THANK YOU for all responses please give me all insider info and tips to survive and bring my baby to me. P.S. anyone know a good cheap service or lawyer to file K-1 visa with to help me expidite the process please let me know.

There is nothing CHEAP when dealing with this...

be prepared to spend a lot of money,a lot of time and a lot of efforts, a lot of patience.

[AbbynSheryl 0]

hey which city in quezon r u going to?

abby n sheryl

[SuperDuper! 230]

Do you want to save money and get her visa approved faster? DO NOT HIRE A LAWYER. Just Read the FAQs here and ask questions. We will help you get 'er done! Good Luck in your Visa Journey. Many here have been down the road that you are just walking down.

[Dennis&Dane 0]

Unfortunatley December is probably the most expensive month to go for airfare.. because all of the overseas workers (filipinos) are going home for the holidays and it drives ticket prices up... if you can wait until january you would get better rates.

there are a lot of things to do in Manila just taking in the sites.. but for me I enjoyed being in the provinces much more because there you get to see a true picture of daily life of filipino people... their culture is rich and the people are fun, nice and for the most part always smiling. just give her an Idea of the types of things you like then let her give you suggestions.. maybe there is somewhere that she wants to go or something she want to do...

I can say this you need to start reading.. the guides here are a very good place to start.. but dont take everything as black and white... it seems like every case has some gray areas that you will have to address that will be unique to your situation. Just study and educate yourself and ask questions here.. you will get answers.. sometimes it takes a few days but you will get answers..

If costs seem to be prohibitive to your situation you better start saving.. make no mistake the process is expensive...

and getting the Visa is only the first step.. The K1 visa is a 1 time entry permit into the US... with a few benefits.. it is also the starting point for your SO to get her citizenship if that is what her intention is... there are also a lot of restrictions that go with it too...(like I said read the guides) then keep in mind the next steps are also expensive and time consuming too.. AOS (adjustment of Status) which needs to be started on or before 90 days of her entry into the US and that alone costs $1055 apx...

I have been to the philippines 3 times so far and I have really enjoyed each trip except for the long tiring flight.. and the leaving part... you are going to enter into a completely different culture IMHO Be open minded and enjoy!

Good luck on your journey!

Dennis

[Andrelle 1]

They're right...u have to have a lot of patience in doing this visa processing. We first thought of hiring a lawyer but we decided not to after looking at the forms and the step-by-step process and my fiance and I agreed not to hire one. So, i guess we saved some money from doing that. Right now, i'm just waiting for my visa. It took us 6 months. It could have been shorter if we didn't get stuck in NVC (hope u won't experience that).

With the calls, my fiance used his phone before and I saw his bills, really shocking, ur right about that. He purchased a computer for me and we saved a lot from that. We do voice and video chat in SKYPE. We just have to pay 999 for smartbro internet connection and electricity might increase a bit but not a lot . I also get online thru yahoo messenger SMS instead sending him txt messages which cost 15 pesos. With SMS, u pay 2.50 per message. A lot cheaper....

I'm glad I found this Visa Journey and this really helped a lot in our K-1 Visa.

Good luck and may you have a productive visit here in the Philippines!!!

Edited November 8, 2009 by Andrelle

[Dakine 26]

Hello I need some good advice on the Phillippines. I will visit my fiancee for the first time this December in Manila then to Quezon and later visit her very large family in a far province. A lawyer told me that its hard to file fiancee K-1 visa there how true is that I assumed it would take 6 to 8 months tops pending no mistakes on my behalf and holidays and how the processing center works. please enlighten me.

Also does any one know of good hotels and restaurants and thrifty things to do there my fiancee is a country girl but has been in manila a year or so and is not too familiar with these things she is a sort of a home body.

How much is the fees to obtain a passport and the police backround check, vaccinations and other fees and processes to get a K-1 visa out side of the $455.00 processing fee.

how can I make cheap international calls to the Phillippines. my phone bill is shocking.

who has the best airfares with no booking fees and better flight connections from the new york, new jersey area of the east coast

THANK YOU for all responses please give me all insider info and tips to survive and bring my baby to me. P.S. anyone know a good cheap service or lawyer to file K-1 visa with to help me expidite the process please let me know.

Try the shoe on and see if it fits before you make big plans. I hope the " far province" isn't on south central Mindanao!

Bad monkeys in the jungle there.

[SuperDuper! 230]

Wanting cheap phone calls, but flying during the most expensive high season of the year?!

Why not wait until after the first week of January, when fares will be go back to normal rate, and save hundreds. Think of all the phone calls you can make with that.

[Chris and Rosalie 0]

Hello I need some good advice on the Phillippines. I will visit my fiancee for the first time this December in Manila then to Quezon and later visit her very large family in a far province. A lawyer told me that its hard to file fiancee K-1 visa there how true is that I assumed it would take 6 to 8 months tops pending no mistakes on my behalf and holidays and how the processing center works. please enlighten me.

Its not that difficult. Just read the VJ K1 guide. Its pretty easy to follow. Note down all the things you need to get from your fiancee that you need when you file the I-129F. I had to wait for the signed G-325As, the letter of intent to marry and the passport photos to come in the mail which is slow.

Also does any one know of good hotels and restaurants and thrifty things to do there my fiancee is a country girl but has been in manila a year or so and is not too familiar with these things she is a sort of a home body.

I mostly stay in Makati when I am in Manila but the hotels are a bit higher cost. I've stayed in the Hotel Intercontinental and City Garden. City Garden is cheaper but its farther away from the malls like Glorietta and Greenbelt than the Intercon is. Quality of the rooms was about the same.

As for things to do in Manila, I liked going to Fort Santiago, Manila Cathedral and the Saint Augustin monastary. That's a nice way to spend a day and its cheap (cab fare plus a couple small admission fees). Beyond that, movies are cheap there compared to here. Its about 140 pesos in Manila to go to a movie. There are theaters in all of the malls (Glorietta, Greenbelt, Mall of Asia). Walking around the Mall of Asia and window shopping is also relatively cheap if you can resist buying stuff.

How much is the fees to obtain a passport and the police backround check, vaccinations and other fees and processes to get a K-1 visa out side of the $455.00 processing fee.

I don't remember the passport fee but I gave her about $75 worth of pesos and she was able to pay for it and the travel across the province to the city with the DFA office. The NBI police clearance is cheap. I think the fee is like 115 pesos. She will also need a cenomar and a birth certificate both from the NSO. Those cost a couple hundred pesos each as well. In all my fiancee needed to make like 3 trips until we got it all because the passport, bc & cenomar take a while before they are ready to pick up.

how can I make cheap international calls to the Phillippines. my phone bill is shocking.

who has the best airfares with no booking fees and better flight connections from the new york, new jersey area of the east coast

See if there is an internet cafe with webcams and headsets where your fiancee can go. I chat with my fiancee for about 2 hours a day using skype. Its way better than the phone because you can see her on the screen. Cafes usually aren't much more than 50 pesos per hour and most are cheaper depending on where she lives

THANK YOU for all responses please give me all insider info and tips to survive and bring my baby to me. P.S. anyone know a good cheap service or lawyer to file K-1 visa with to help me expidite the process please let me know.

I suggest not using a lawyer. Following the K1 guide here on VJ is not difficult at all.

[Scott and Mhay 57]

if you want cheap calls to her cellphone or landline if she has one...try rebtel.com. It is 13.9 cents a min to cell and 11.9 cents a min to landline. You call using your home or cell phone. Other than that you can buy a laptop for her if she dont have one and get internet for her. Skype works great for video calls. That is what i use here in kuwait since im deployed.

[DaleandPat 0]

Hello I need some good advice on the Phillippines. I will visit my fiancee for the first time this December in Manila then to Quezon and later visit her very large family in a far province. A lawyer told me that its hard to file fiancee K-1 visa there how true is that I assumed it would take 6 to 8 months tops pending no mistakes on my behalf and holidays and how the processing center works. please enlighten me.

Also does any one know of good hotels and restaurants and thrifty things to do there my fiancee is a country girl but has been in manila a year or so and is not too familiar with these things she is a sort of a home body.

How much is the fees to obtain a passport and the police backround check, vaccinations and other fees and processes to get a K-1 visa out side of the $455.00 processing fee.

how can I make cheap international calls to the Phillippines. my phone bill is shocking.

who has the best airfares with no booking fees and better flight connections from the new york, new jersey area of the east coast

THANK YOU for all responses please give me all insider info and tips to survive and bring my baby to me. P.S. anyone know a good cheap service or lawyer to file K-1 visa with to help me expidite the process please let me know.

When I went to visit my fiancee I stayed with her brother right next door. Her family was very hospitable. In your situation I think you can find hotels very cheap compared to the USA. When Pat got her medical I think she was getting a room for $30 or $40 per day in Manila. Show a lot of interest in the Filipino lifestyle. The practical driving techniques are quite different than here. In the more remote areas it is more of a controlled chaos. I would do away with a lawyer. You can be guided very easily by using this site and using the guides at this site. Eating at restaurants is cheaper than here. I think 6 of us ate for 1500 pesos. I paid for it. So, spend a little money with food for her family, they have a hard time buying the food that is really good. They make soup out of parts of a beef we either throw away or is used as a rendering to extract protein. A lot of Filipinos can hardly afford food, so please feel free to give money or go to the market and buy food for the family. The Filipino peso is buying less all the time.

For phone, if your fiancee has a cell phone just use Yahoo messenger to place international calls for about 20 cents per minute. Also check out a VoIP phone service and see if that will be cheaper. Enjoy yourself when you go. Filipinos are such wonderful people. The kids are so much fun too.

Dale

[Rocky_nBullwinkle 6]

Do you want to save money and get her visa approved faster? DO NOT HIRE A LAWYER. Just Read the FAQs here and ask questions. We will help you get 'er done! Good Luck in your Visa Journey. Many here have been down the road that you are just walking down.

Yeah. If you want to save money, don't hire a lawyer especially in the Philippines. Lawyers are going to drain you of your financial resources. They like to prey on Americans like you.

[lbounds 16]

about the communication part..

My sweetheart lives in a remote province. Our normal routine is we talk for a few minutes every morning and night on the cell phone but our main communication is about 2 hours per day when she goes to the net cafe. It only costs her a few pesos per hour compared to phone bills.

So we see each other's faces every day by webcam and we can chat in instant message and use Yahoo voice at the same time for Free (or no extra cost from the net cafe). She just hits the "Call button" while we are chatting and it connects our microphones so we can talk over the net.

It works very good for me

Edited November 8, 2009 by lbounds

[Jen&defs 0]

hey which city in quezon r u going to?

abby n sheryl

Quezon city for 2-3 days then to visit with her huge family in another province at their farm. Hey thank you so much for your fast response this Visa Journey is great.

[Jen&defs 0]

First I want to say I LOVE VISA JOURNEY> Thanx to everyone who responded to my post this is wonderful. Sorry everyone but my love of my life Wena has already taken off for her vacation for the dates in December before I had the chance to tell her to let me plan everything and it snowballed into her humongous famly planning my visit to their province and large farm. people are calling and wanting to know me from out the wood works. from her mom's sister in Montana to her sister's friend way up state from me near my city. They are pulling out all the stops and i feel like a rock star right now so I have to plan quickly, carefully and prayerfully. so wish me luck and I will keep everyone up on my progress. already today she cut my days down staying at the hotel saving me some dough and when I find a hotel out of the many there I will only stay there 3 days and 2 nights opposed to the 7 day stay before..... The other days I will be with her in her very, very small and hot as hell apartment as she says and then her parents farm. After that we go to the hotel and stay before I return to the USA ... THANX everyone, please send me more info if you get any more advice till then I'll keep posting my questions as they arise.