CFO Seminar at PRISM

[RVIANE♛ 5]

IDS comes with the visa stapled in the yellow/brown envelope

[Atencio 43]

IDS comes with the visa stapled in the yellow/brown envelope

Thank you Dianne

Edited January 12, 2011 by Atencio

[BigJohn 4]

Thanks -- i keep hearing about people taking the seminar before they get their visa -- how are they doing it if the immigrant summary is required? Do they have to go back and submit it later when they get the stamp?

[RVIANE♛ 5]

Thanks -- i keep hearing about people taking the seminar before they get their visa -- how are they doing it if the immigrant summary is required? Do they have to go back and submit it later when they get the stamp?

you can take the seminar while you still waiting for your visa then just go back after you have your visa in hand you have to take your passport w/ the visa and the IDS to get the sticker/stamp

[crystal01 29]

Ok so I took it earlier today. I am still WAITING for my NOA2 so no visa yet. I'd share my experience on what transpired:

Got to the PRISM office around 10:20 am. The schedule is at 10 am but there was a problem at the LRT so I got stuck at Buendia Station for some time. Luckily I was told that I can still attend the 10am seminar. Next one is at 1:30pm so thank God I was still accomodated!

When I got there, I went to the registration booth and paid 250 pesos. I was handed a form to fill out (it basically is a bio sheet about you and your fiance) I was also asked if I was single or not and what visa am I there for. So I said single and was asked for 2 valid IDs and my birth certificate. I didn't have photocopies of those so I was told to have it photocopied first and just submit it later. I was then instructed to go to the room at the end of the hall as they were already starting the Introduction. I opened the door and was barely able to get in because it was soo full of people! The room is about 3 x 5 meters small with a broken down AC. The number of people is maybe around 40. We were all crammed in. It was hot, the room reaked of kimchi, and we were all squeezed in together. There were no more seats left so some were sharing seats or just standing at the sides. The instructor later told us that he had done the intro to all of us at the same time so we don't have to wait too long. (Some are OFWs, some going to the UK, Australia, Japan, Korea (aha that explained the kimchi smell! they are taught how to make one ) Germany, Finland, Canada, etc.

The intro was mainly about what to do and what not to bring at the airport and the airport procedures. There was a handout given so all the info was there too. There is nothing new in there if you have traveled outside the country before. Just do's and dont's and what nots. Luckily that was only just about 30 minutes. It was very uncomfortable and I was sweating profusely so we all breathed a sigh of relief when he said we can now go out the hallway and proceed to our respective country rooms.

So we proceeded to the US room. It was colder than the first room and there were just about 18 people so it was much more comfortable. Here, we were all handed out BDO (Banco De Oro) forms because they said we are all qualified and can apply for their Kabayan Savings Intl ATM Debit Card/ MasterCard with no maintaining balance and that we just need to submit 1 ID pic at any size and 1 valid ID. This should be optional but he made it seem like it is required. I am a current BDO client so no biggie. No harm in getting another account. Minimum Initial deposit is 50 pesos.

Then, we were asked to shell out 150 pesos for the handouts which they'll be giving us later (Several photocopied paper stapled together. Not more than 10 pages --- what a rip off!!)

Another person conducted the country specific seminar. She's a very nice lady and conducted the seminar lively enough for us not to fall asleep ) Here we touched point on the differences of the K1, K3, CR1, PR1 and what the next process should be once we are in the US. She also talked about what to do with the brown envelope from the embassy containing the IDS. Can you imagine some people opening the envelope even when it specifically says not too? There was 1 guy in the room who did that lol He said he went back to the embassy to have it sealed again. The talk lasted for around an hour and a half. It was just very basic info. Everything I have already read in here and some I am already familiar with. Some may just see it as a waste of time (Im a lil guilty hehe) but it has very useful info that can potentially save someone from being abused and enable them to know they have rights too.

Next part is the one on one interview. We were all asked again to go out and stay at the hallway. I think there were 3 councilors doing the 1 on 1. Some personal questions are going to be asked at this point. I was just asked how old I am, what my degree is, what his job is, where and when did we first meet, how long have we been together, has my fiance been here, what dates his visits are.

Also make sure you know what your fiance's mother's maiden name is. This is one thing they ask and you also have to put this on the form they give out. It probably lasted for 10 minutes. She asked for my fiance's birth certificate but I didn't have it so I just gave a copy of the bio sheet from the K1 packet. She also asked if I have a copy of his ID but I also don't have it so she said it's okay. Then she asked for a photocopy of my birth certificate and 2 valid IDs. Again I don't have a photocopy of anything so I had to go down to a computer shop by the side of the building to have my documents photocopied. Talk about being ready. LOL

Once I've given her the photocopies, she asked me to proceed to the picture taking room. Afterwards, we just waited for the certificate to be handed out to everyone. Once you have it, you can now proceed to the other CFO building for the sticker and the other cert they put in your passport. That's where you pay the 400 pesos fee. Since I didn't have my visa yet, I didn't proceed there.

Now, remember that BDO form? The instructor told us our cards will be ready at the BDO bank downstairs by the time we are done with the seminar. He isn't exactly forthcoming with the things he says! There was a long line of people waiting for their accounts to be processed and you need the yellow CFO certificate they give out after the seminar before you can get your new account. It prolly took another hour before we finally had our ATM cards.

I finished there at 3:00 pm. I was already so hungry by that time and I didn't even do the sticker part

Now that I have my certificate, I just need to go back to the CFO office once I have my visa and pay 400 to get that CFO stuff out of the way and fly out without any probs

Edited January 13, 2011 by crystal01

[BigJohn 4]

Thanks for the description. What is the point of the BDO cards if you are leaving the country? Do they have some easy way to deposit money overseas so relatives can access it??

The cebu version is 400 pesos so i guess they just include the photocopies. We are just going to wait for our packet to get here before she goes.

[RVIANE♛ 5]

Thanks for the description. What is the point of the BDO cards if you are leaving the country? Do they have some easy way to deposit money overseas so relatives can access it??

The cebu version is 400 pesos so i guess they just include the photocopies. We are just going to wait for our packet to get here before she goes.

tell your wife to ignore that BDO thing thats completely BS

[bulon 3]

It's better to go to St. Mary in Katipunan. It's one stop shop there! After seminar there is a CFO there where they put your sticker right away. Unlike in prism where you have to go to CFO main office (quirino) for the sticker.

[thekfc 26]

It's better to go to St. Mary in Katipunan. It's one stop shop there! After seminar there is a CFO there where they put your sticker right away. Unlike in prism where you have to go to CFO main office (quirino) for the sticker.

The CFO main office is right around the corner from PRISM. Also it depends on what is more convenient to you.

My wife took the CFO seminar last week at PRISM. She said that everything went smoothly - the entire process took about 2 hours. I am not sure how long it is at St. Mary's, also she didn't want to deal with the nuns.

tell your wife to ignore that BDO thing thats completely BS

I completely agree - ignore it.

My wife took the seminar last week & they didn't mention anything about it.