CFO seminar in Cebu

[Faith & Andz 3]

I've recently been reading a lot of posts about the 3 CFO seminar locations since my fiancée's interview is coming up soon. I've read about bad experiences in Cebu but haven't found any detailed good ones. Has anyone been to the CFO seminar in Cebu recently? I'm trying to decide whether it would be better for my fiancée to go there since she lives there or Manila since it is faster. I've also heard that PRISM is less stressful than the two that are run by the nuns. If she goes to PRISM, she'll go while she waits for her interview and then get the CFO sticker once she gets back to Cebu. It would be easier to do it all at once in Cebu and not have to face the stress of attending a seminar prior to the interview; however, if the Cebu seminar is really as bad as some people made it sound (interrogation, additional documents required, all day seminar), then I'll send her to the one in Manila. Any advice is appreciated.

I should add that neither of us have ever been married and are only a year apart in age. I'm wondering if they ask people more questions if one of them has been divorced or if there is a large age difference.

Thanks and God bless

Edited January 25, 2011 by Faith & Andz

[shescott 0]

PRISM and CFO I did that in one day, so your fiance can do that in one day too... Check this link http://www.cfo.gov.info if there's a seminar in Cebu... goodluck

Edited January 25, 2011 by shescott

[krissyjoe 3]

I did my seminar at PRISM located Katipunan infront of PSBA it's run by nuns I got there at 1 pm and done with everything at 3;30 pm I also live outside Manila but after my interview I waited for almost 13 days till I got my visa . Don't worry about the questions, they only ask typical questions with your fiancee like where you two met each other, what's your mother's maiden name and such...it's pretty easy so tell her to relax it's like talking to a friend this is for documentation purposes only so they could have a record if anything bad happens with your filipina fiancee out side the Philippines. She only needs to bring 3 copies of her visa, 3x passport biographic page, pen, then download the necessary form that she needs to fill out and she also needs to fill out one form too when she get there after that, she should pay the fees no need to bring pictures if you go to that place. GOOD LUCK to both of you

[krissyjoe 3]

oh and about the age difference I don't think they would care at all as I've posted earlier it's like talking to a friend they are very friendly and accommodating :)they ask questions with a smile on their face so about the divorce thing...they will just ask when did he filed the divorce?, what year? does he have a kid with his previous marriage? why it didn't work? questions just like that. I suggest just wait for her to get her visa since the CFO seminar can be completed in less than 4 hrs. then she will have everything that she needs when she leaves the compound the 2 certificates and the CFO sticker.

[marriedtomrg 140]

PRISM? You mean St. Mary's (SMEF-COW) in Katipunan (there is a CFO satellite office behind their building, they are in the same compound)...PRISM office is in Taft Avenue.

oh and about the age difference I don't think they would care at all as I've posted earlier it's like talking to a friend they are very friendly and accommodating :)they ask questions with a smile on their face so about the divorce thing...they will just ask when did he filed the divorce?, what year? does he have a kid with his previous marriage? why it didn't work? questions just like that. I suggest just wait for her to get her visa since the CFO seminar can be completed in less than 4 hrs. then she will have everything that she needs when she leaves the compound the 2 certificates and the CFO sticker.

[marriedtomrg 140]

Age difference is rarely a concern, especially in your case St. Mary's peeps are pretty easygoing...just present divorce decrees/annulment papers, and there should be no issue. As the previous poster mentioned, it's a one-stop shop, she can get the guidance counseling requirement completed at St. Mary's (she will receive a blue certificate) then walk down the CFO satellite office at the back to get her CFO certificate (green) and sticker.

I've recently been reading a lot of posts about the 3 CFO seminar locations since my fiancée's interview is coming up soon. I've read about bad experiences in Cebu but haven't found any detailed good ones. Has anyone been to the CFO seminar in Cebu recently? I'm trying to decide whether it would be better for my fiancée to go there since she lives there or Manila since it is faster. I've also heard that PRISM is less stressful than the two that are run by the nuns. If she goes to PRISM, she'll go while she waits for her interview and then get the CFO sticker once she gets back to Cebu. It would be easier to do it all at once in Cebu and not have to face the stress of attending a seminar prior to the interview; however, if the Cebu seminar is really as bad as some people made it sound (interrogation, additional documents required, all day seminar), then I'll send her to the one in Manila. Any advice is appreciated.

I should add that neither of us have ever been married and are only a year apart in age. I'm wondering if they ask people more questions if one of them has been divorced or if there is a large age difference.

Thanks and God bless

[Matt and Evieve 1]

I went to Cebu. It was really fine. Our age difference is just one year also but I don't think it does matter. I find the seminar very interesting and informative. I suggest she'll go there so she'll learn a lot about the process. There's nothing to be afraid

[tallcoolone 102]

CFO is a just another scam by the Philippine Goverment to get more money out your husband or Fiance backpocket......

[Markiss 0]

I'll be having the seminar tomorrow, I don't know what will my day will be.. I just want to make it done ahead of time. We don't have our NOA 2 yet..

Good luck to all,,

[Faith & Andz 3]

I appreciate all the responses. Just for clarification, I've never been divorced (obviously since I've never married lol). I think I may have confused some people when I asked about the age difference. I was just curious if the people with bad experiences were far apart in age or had been divorced. I'm assuming they won't give us any problems since we are both in our early 20s and have never been married before. I'm not worried about it; I'm just trying to diminish the stress for my fiancée.

P.S. I can't do the one-stop at St. Mary's since my fiancée would have to fly back to Manila to get her sticker after they send her the visa. She lives in Cebu, so we're leaning towards doing it all at once there.

Thanks again and any Cebu seminar reviews are welcome =)

[Faith & Andz 3]

Well, we decided to choose convenience and go to the Cebu seminar. My fiancée (Faith) just went to the CFO seminar in Cebu yesterday, so I'm just gonna write a short review. This is a second-hand review since I wasn't there, but I'll give as many details as I can. I've been told that Cebu only accepts 15 for a seminar, but Faith said there were more than 20 there in all, although there were only 8 of them in the American seminar (for those traveling to U.S.) I've heard many horror stories about the seminar in Cebu, but I think it's mainly for those people who are very young, especially if they're marrying someone a lot older than them. There was even one 19-year old there with her mother, so I think they're just concerned about the young ones making sure they are prepared. I've also heard that they give divorced people a hard time, but I can't verify that since my fiancée and I are both young and never been married. They watched a video of women who have been abused when they married someone outside of the country, and they gave tips for how to contact someone if you get into trouble. But, I think that really only applies to people who don't know their fiancé very well; if you're close and you know he is a good person, you've got nothing to worry about. They also talked a little about language and culture in the U.S. and how Americans have different attitudes, concepts of being on time, etc. The nun seemed a little strict and seemed like she was trying to convince people not to go, but I think she's just testing to see how sure you are about your fiancé. If you're confident about your relationship, you won't have any problems =). After the seminar (I think it lasted 2 hours), you have your one-on-one interview. Faith was fortunate enough to get a young lady (25 years old) rather than the nun, and her interview was more like a casual conversation, whereas the nun's interviews were kinda long. The interviewer just talked to her like a friend and asked her how we met, how long we'd known each other, and other simple questions like they asked at the embassy. She also asked a few personal questions like what are some good and bad qualities about me. On a side note, the one that interviewed Faith actually has an American boyfriend lol, so that's a plus! Anyway, they just wanted to make sure we really love each other, so there was no problem with ours. However, Faith didn't get the sticker the first day because she didn't have a copy of my passport, birth certificate, and the infamous proof of singleness (that doesn't exist in the U.S.). Thankfully, she just went back the next day and showed them a copy of my tax return that shows my filing status as single and got her sticker! Now, we're ready to fly when I go back to get her! Well, that's my review based on all the details my fiancée gave me. I hope it helps! Maybe Faith can answer any questions or give more details once she gets to the U.S. since right now, she's usually talking to me when she's at the café =).

[dnac59 0]

so Cebu wasn't bad? It would take 2 days if my fiancee doesn't have all the documents? We're deciding where to go for her seminar. How long does it take to finish in Manila? We figure that if it doesn't take too long in Manila, then maybe she can go to Manila days before leaving for her flight.

[sunandmoon 450]

Well, we decided to choose convenience and go to the Cebu seminar. My fiancée (Faith) just went to the CFO seminar in Cebu yesterday, so I'm just gonna write a short review. This is a second-hand review since I wasn't there, but I'll give as many details as I can. I've been told that Cebu only accepts 15 for a seminar, but Faith said there were more than 20 there in all, although there were only 8 of them in the American seminar (for those traveling to U.S.) I've heard many horror stories about the seminar in Cebu, but I think it's mainly for those people who are very young, especially if they're marrying someone a lot older than them. There was even one 19-year old there with her mother, so I think they're just concerned about the young ones making sure they are prepared. I've also heard that they give divorced people a hard time, but I can't verify that since my fiancée and I are both young and never been married. They watched a video of women who have been abused when they married someone outside of the country, and they gave tips for how to contact someone if you get into trouble. But, I think that really only applies to people who don't know their fiancé very well; if you're close and you know he is a good person, you've got nothing to worry about. They also talked a little about language and culture in the U.S. and how Americans have different attitudes, concepts of being on time, etc. The nun seemed a little strict and seemed like she was trying to convince people not to go, but I think she's just testing to see how sure you are about your fiancé. If you're confident about your relationship, you won't have any problems =). After the seminar (I think it lasted 2 hours), you have your one-on-one interview. Faith was fortunate enough to get a young lady (25 years old) rather than the nun, and her interview was more like a casual conversation, whereas the nun's interviews were kinda long. The interviewer just talked to her like a friend and asked her how we met, how long we'd known each other, and other simple questions like they asked at the embassy. She also asked a few personal questions like what are some good and bad qualities about me. On a side note, the one that interviewed Faith actually has an American boyfriend lol, so that's a plus! Anyway, they just wanted to make sure we really love each other, so there was no problem with ours. However, Faith didn't get the sticker the first day because she didn't have a copy of my passport, birth certificate, and the infamous proof of singleness (that doesn't exist in the U.S.). Thankfully, she just went back the next day and showed them a copy of my tax return that shows my filing status as single and got her sticker! Now, we're ready to fly when I go back to get her! Well, that's my review based on all the details my fiancée gave me. I hope it helps! Maybe Faith can answer any questions or give more details once she gets to the U.S. since right now, she's usually talking to me when she's at the café =).

my wife also had her seminar in Cebu. this sounds very similar my wife's experience. about the proof of singleness, she told them she forgot it, left in in Davao. she was asked how does she know I'm single. she told them she's talked to my mother and my mom told her I was single. she got her certificate that day.

Edited February 17, 2011 by sunandmoon

[dnac59 0]

so Cebu wasn't bad? It would take 2 days if my fiancee doesn't have all the documents? We're deciding where to go for her seminar. How long does it take to finish in Manila? We figure that if it doesn't take too long in Manila, then maybe she can go to Manila days before leaving for her flight.

[Vanessa248 4]

If she's in cebu, better do it there.