Philippine call centers ect ect

[cguytx 0]

I have noticed that a lot of the call center outscourcing has shifted to the Philippines. I had recently moved and called TXU Power company to disconnect service and was helped by a lady working in a call center from Manila. Then I called vonage to get some info on my account and was helped by a call center lady in Cebu City. It makes sense as they speak english well and they are easy to understand.

For years I have dealt with call centers in India and other parts and it was very difficult to communicate. After spending 8 weeks this year in the Philippines where a large majority of working professionals do read write and speak english I wondered why this market was not being used. It appears call centers are everywhere in the Phils now. I just hope they are paying a decent salary while they are exploiting a cheap labor market.

btw, being married to a philiipino for 9 months I can pickup on certain words that are pronounced and I immediately ask where they are from. Some try to hard it and say "overseas" then I ask "where in the Philippines" and they always laugh.

Talk about dedication, when a typhoon super 3 was bearing down on North Cebu last week I called one of the american companies and got a call center employee in Cebu City working while the typhoon was making it's rounds through there. In Oct I had flown home a day after another typhoon hit. I remember not even knowing there was a typhoon coming and telling my wife a couple days earlier, "man this is a lot of rain and its coming down in sheets, is there a typhoon?" my wife answered "this is the rainy season hon" I then replied "at home we call this a hurricane". We laughed it off but a day later I learned it had been the outer bands of a typhoon that had done extensive damage to Manila.

You can go days if not weeks and not know what is going on in the world around you out in the provinces ha.

[Dean iWait 0]

Yup, more and more companies going to Phils for this. Dell recenlty put a center in Manila. They are paying between P15,000 and P30,000 a month. Which isn't a lot but for the Phils it's pretty darn good.

[Jasman0717 8]

I think the Filipino constitution has a lot of restrictions for foreign investors to start up businesses in the Philippines. I can only speak for myself so may be wrong but in starting my farm I discovered that, as a foreigner, I cannot own real property. This made it difficult for me to invest in land for the farm. I looked into starting a corporation but was told that a foreigner could only own 40% of the corporation, again a problem. I know there are a lot of electronics companies operating in the Philippines, I saw a lot in Cebu along so don't really know how they get around the laws of the land.

I did hear, maybe its rumor maybe not, that several months ago American companies started paying the U.S. government a premium to process professional visas at the Manila embassy and that is why other visas have taken a back seat and the length of time has increased by several months. When we went through it only took two months from the time Manila received the petition until we had our interview but now I hear that can take up to six months. I guess American companies have found great value in Filipino labor because of their ability to write and speak English so well.

[jazzy 0]

hello,

I'm engaged in real estate business here in the island of cebu. We market all different high end subdivision, low cost housing for the poor filipino people and condominiums, for a very affordable payment scheme. As I know, as long as a foriegner married to a filipina he can buy property as much as he can afford and start a business anytime they want. Cos base on my experienced lots of foreign retirees now, investing there money thru buying farms, beaches and resorts here in the philippines and we can assist them preparing there papers for there businesses too. Hopefully, I can help anyone here soon if somebody are planning to have business or planning to buy property particularly in Cebu City area... ....lol...free adds...thanks

Jasmin

[Jasman0717 8]

hello,

I'm engaged in real estate business here in the island of cebu. We market all different high end subdivision, low cost housing for the poor filipino people and condominiums, for a very affordable payment scheme. As I know, as long as a foriegner married to a filipina he can buy property as much as he can afford and start a business anytime they want. Cos base on my experienced lots of foreign retirees now, investing there money thru buying farms, beaches and resorts here in the philippines and we can assist them preparing there papers for there businesses too. Hopefully, I can help anyone here soon if somebody are planning to have business or planning to buy property particularly in Cebu City area... ....lol...free adds...thanks

Jasmin

Wow! I belong to an expats group from CDO and they say they can buy property but the property must be put in the Filipino spouse's name. I bought property just south of CDO for our chicken farm but the actual deed is in my Filipina partner's name, the attorney helping us said a foreigner cannot own property. Guess I better do more research! Thanks for the info, it will get me busy with the property issue again because I want to buy land for a compound for my wife's family and us!

[Dean iWait 0]

I think the Filipino constitution has a lot of restrictions for foreign investors to start up businesses in the Philippines. I can only speak for myself so may be wrong but in starting my farm I discovered that, as a foreigner, I cannot own real property. This made it difficult for me to invest in land for the farm. I looked into starting a corporation but was told that a foreigner could only own 40% of the corporation, again a problem. I know there are a lot of electronics companies operating in the Philippines, I saw a lot in Cebu along so don't really know how they get around the laws of the land.

I did hear, maybe its rumor maybe not, that several months ago American companies started paying the U.S. government a premium to process professional visas at the Manila embassy and that is why other visas have taken a back seat and the length of time has increased by several months. When we went through it only took two months from the time Manila received the petition until we had our interview but now I hear that can take up to six months. I guess American companies have found great value in Filipino labor because of their ability to write and speak English so well.

I don't know where you're getting your information or misinformation. US companies are paying USCIS to process petitions within 15 days which has nothing to do with visa processing. And it's not taking anywhere near 6 months to get an interview in Manila.

[jazzy 0]

I don't know where you're getting your information or misinformation. US companies are paying USCIS to process petitions within 15 days which has nothing to do with visa processing. And it's not taking anywhere near 6 months to get an interview in Manila.

I beg to differ...it IS taking up to and exceding 6 months to get an interview...the k-1 seems to be moving a bit faster than the rest....but if its not 6 months its close!!

Jazzy

[Jasman0717 8]

I don't know where you're getting your information or misinformation. US companies are paying USCIS to process petitions within 15 days which has nothing to do with visa processing. And it's not taking anywhere near 6 months to get an interview in Manila.

I beg to differ...it IS taking up to and exceding 6 months to get an interview...the k-1 seems to be moving a bit faster than the rest....but if its not 6 months its close!!

Jazzy

Something was posted a long time ago that American companies were paying extra to have professional and labor visas processed quicker. When we went through Manila it took about 2 months from Manila receiving the petition until the interview, now it is much longer. Back when Manila was publishing the cases for interview each month many more were starting to appear that were outside the spousal/fiancee area. I know caregivers are in very high demand and companies are making a nice profit in providing the labor force to support the need.

[Dean iWait 0]

I don't know where you're getting your information or misinformation. US companies are paying USCIS to process petitions within 15 days which has nothing to do with visa processing. And it's not taking anywhere near 6 months to get an interview in Manila.

I beg to differ...it IS taking up to and exceding 6 months to get an interview...the k-1 seems to be moving a bit faster than the rest....but if its not 6 months its close!!

Jazzy

You can beg differ all you want. But the facts prove you wrong. Take a visit to the Manila Embassy Interview thread. It's running right at 3 1/2 to 4 months from the time Manila receives it.

Edited December 15, 2006 by Dean iWait

[Dean iWait 0]

I don't know where you're getting your information or misinformation. US companies are paying USCIS to process petitions within 15 days which has nothing to do with visa processing. And it's not taking anywhere near 6 months to get an interview in Manila.

I beg to differ...it IS taking up to and exceding 6 months to get an interview...the k-1 seems to be moving a bit faster than the rest....but if its not 6 months its close!!

Jazzy

Something was posted a long time ago that American companies were paying extra to have professional and labor visas processed quicker. When we went through Manila it took about 2 months from Manila receiving the petition until the interview, now it is much longer. Back when Manila was publishing the cases for interview each month many more were starting to appear that were outside the spousal/fiancee area. I know caregivers are in very high demand and companies are making a nice profit in providing the labor force to support the need.

Yes it actually was posted a long time ago by me. Again, USCIS processing employment based petitions in 15 days. This has absolutley nothing to do with Visa processing at the consulates. The embassy is still processing and setting interviews in order of when they are received. Keep in mind there was quite a back log of IMBRA affected petitons recently. Now the embassy is or has recently received those log jammed files. You were quite fortunate to have received an interview in 2 months. You can see the post and the USCIS program here.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=27962

http://www.visaportal.com/agencies/article...?article_id=172

[dumaguete 0]

I don't know where you're getting your information or misinformation. US companies are paying USCIS to process petitions within 15 days which has nothing to do with visa processing. And it's not taking anywhere near 6 months to get an interview in Manila.

I beg to differ...it IS taking up to and exceding 6 months to get an interview...the k-1 seems to be moving a bit faster than the rest....but if its not 6 months its close!!

Jazzy

Something was posted a long time ago that American companies were paying extra to have professional and labor visas processed quicker. When we went through Manila it took about 2 months from Manila receiving the petition until the interview, now it is much longer. Back when Manila was publishing the cases for interview each month many more were starting to appear that were outside the spousal/fiancee area. I know caregivers are in very high demand and companies are making a nice profit in providing the labor force to support the need.

Yes it actually was posted a long time ago by me. Again, USCIS processing employment based petitions in 15 days. This has absolutley nothing to do with Visa processing at the consulates. The embassy is still processing and setting interviews in order of when they are received. Keep in mind there was quite a back log of IMBRA affected petitons recently. Now the embassy is or has recently received those log jammed files. You were quite fortunate to have received an interview in 2 months. You can see the post and the USCIS program here.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=27962

http://www.visaportal.com/agencies/article...?article_id=172

I am not sure about you being the first to post about this, I have seen posted older than your join date referring to the increase in other visas through that Manila consulate that had deterioriated the output of the spousal/fiancee visas and that started occurring before IMBRA came into affect.

I have several friends who went through Manila prior to the summer of 2005 and they all said they were able to the interview within a couple of months of Manila receiving the petition so would appear to have been the norm and not fortunate for the petitioner/beneficiary.

[Dean iWait 0]

I don't know where you're getting your information or misinformation. US companies are paying USCIS to process petitions within 15 days which has nothing to do with visa processing. And it's not taking anywhere near 6 months to get an interview in Manila.

I beg to differ...it IS taking up to and exceding 6 months to get an interview...the k-1 seems to be moving a bit faster than the rest....but if its not 6 months its close!!

Jazzy

Something was posted a long time ago that American companies were paying extra to have professional and labor visas processed quicker. When we went through Manila it took about 2 months from Manila receiving the petition until the interview, now it is much longer. Back when Manila was publishing the cases for interview each month many more were starting to appear that were outside the spousal/fiancee area. I know caregivers are in very high demand and companies are making a nice profit in providing the labor force to support the need.

Yes it actually was posted a long time ago by me. Again, USCIS processing employment based petitions in 15 days. This has absolutley nothing to do with Visa processing at the consulates. The embassy is still processing and setting interviews in order of when they are received. Keep in mind there was quite a back log of IMBRA affected petitons recently. Now the embassy is or has recently received those log jammed files. You were quite fortunate to have received an interview in 2 months. You can see the post and the USCIS program here.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=27962

http://www.visaportal.com/agencies/article...?article_id=172

I am not sure about you being the first to post about this, I have seen posted older than your join date referring to the increase in other visas through that Manila consulate that had deterioriated the output of the spousal/fiancee visas and that started occurring before IMBRA came into affect.

I have several friends who went through Manila prior to the summer of 2005 and they all said they were able to the interview within a couple of months of Manila receiving the petition so would appear to have been the norm and not fortunate for the petitioner/beneficiary.

First to post about what?? Can you tell me where I said I was the first to post about anything? Am I in some kind of weird twilight zone? Did you even click on the link that I had posted? The post from before was about premium processing for petitions at USCIS. Nothing more nothing less. Just because USCIS agrees to process employment based petitions faster for $1,000 doesn't mean there are more of them! There is a numerical limit on employment based petitions. Premium processing only affects USCIS processing, there is no agreement for DOS to process thoses visas any faster. So we have evidence that you have a friend who got an interview in 2 months and Jasman0717 here who got an interview on 2 months. So 2 couples out of thousands and you state that it's the norm. Take a look at Jasman0717's timeline, he filed 2 weeks before IMBRA took effect. Than they had their interview scheduled while 10,000 petitions were held up at USCIS due to IMBRA. Duh Gee!! I'm sure that had nothing to do with it.

Edited December 15, 2006 by Dean iWait

[dumaguete 0]

I don't know where you're getting your information or misinformation. US companies are paying USCIS to process petitions within 15 days which has nothing to do with visa processing. And it's not taking anywhere near 6 months to get an interview in Manila.

I beg to differ...it IS taking up to and exceding 6 months to get an interview...the k-1 seems to be moving a bit faster than the rest....but if its not 6 months its close!!

Jazzy

Something was posted a long time ago that American companies were paying extra to have professional and labor visas processed quicker. When we went through Manila it took about 2 months from Manila receiving the petition until the interview, now it is much longer. Back when Manila was publishing the cases for interview each month many more were starting to appear that were outside the spousal/fiancee area. I know caregivers are in very high demand and companies are making a nice profit in providing the labor force to support the need.

Yes it actually was posted a long time ago by me. Again, USCIS processing employment based petitions in 15 days. This has absolutley nothing to do with Visa processing at the consulates. The embassy is still processing and setting interviews in order of when they are received. Keep in mind there was quite a back log of IMBRA affected petitons recently. Now the embassy is or has recently received those log jammed files. You were quite fortunate to have received an interview in 2 months. You can see the post and the USCIS program here.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=27962

http://www.visaportal.com/agencies/article...?article_id=172

I am not sure about you being the first to post about this, I have seen posted older than your join date referring to the increase in other visas through that Manila consulate that had deterioriated the output of the spousal/fiancee visas and that started occurring before IMBRA came into affect.

I have several friends who went through Manila prior to the summer of 2005 and they all said they were able to the interview within a couple of months of Manila receiving the petition so would appear to have been the norm and not fortunate for the petitioner/beneficiary.

First to post about what?? Can you tell me where I said I was the first to post about anything? Am I in some kind of weird twilight zone? Did you even click on the link that I had posted? The post from before was about premium processing for petitions at USCIS. Nothing more nothing less. Just because USCIS agrees to process employment based petitions faster for $1,000 doesn't mean there are more of them! There is a numerical limit on employment based petitions. Premium processing only affects USCIS processing, there is no agreement for DOS to process thoses visas any faster. So we have evidence that you have a friend who got an interview in 2 months and Jasman0717 here who got an interview on 2 months. So 2 couples out of thousands and you state that it's the norm. Take a look at Jasman0717's timeline, he filed 2 weeks before IMBRA took effect. Than they had their interview scheduled while 10,000 petitions were held up at USCIS due to IMBRA. Duh Gee!! I'm sure that had nothing to do with it.

Well, I took a look at Jim's timeline and he actually filed a year and two weeks before IMBRA took affect, better get your facts straight too. Up until the summer of 2005 many were going through Manila in just a couple of months and then the embassy increased visa issuances but not in the K area. It is too bad Manila doesn't publish the list of visa interviews each month, that list certainly did show an increase of other visa petitions.

So anyway, what was it you said, "Duh gee", I know IMBRA had nothing to do with 2005, it didn't take affect until March 2006 genius.

[Jasman0717 8]

Wow, maybe we should just let this post die a natural death, the posts are getting a bit strong. Pete is correct in saying I filed a year before IMBRA took affect and there was some sort of slow down in the summer of 2005. I read and heard that the embassy was processing more professional visas thus caused an impact on the K visas but can't validate that. Let's just leave it at that and push on, there are much more important things to worry about

[dumaguete 0]

Wow, maybe we should just let this post die a natural death, the posts are getting a bit strong. Pete is correct in saying I filed a year before IMBRA took affect and there was some sort of slow down in the summer of 2005. I read and heard that the embassy was processing more professional visas thus caused an impact on the K visas but can't validate that. Let's just leave it at that and push on, there are much more important things to worry about

Why are you calling me Pete, you know I hate that name. Just wait until I see you sister you knucklehead