Philippines CFO counseling

[Hank_ 9,173]

4 hours ago, Allovertheworld said:

You must be newish

Here is the latest post of a US Citizen sent a email to CFO and was told they needed to attend:

 

 

 

That isn't the end result ... the daughter did NOT need a CFO sticker ...

[Don0 73]

On 11/4/2020 at 11:38 PM, Abrah@m said:

This is so frustrating. My wife finally received her IR1 visa after all this time and now we are at the mercy of this CFO counseling that seems to only apply to Philippines. She could be on a plan but instead I am trying to get a response from the CFO on why they are taking so long. We have followed their steps and submitted the requested documents but we have got no reply and it’s been a few days now. UGHHHH

Hi! I don't know if you have sorted this out and where your wife is in the Philippines but I got mine just online. I didn't attend any seminar since most offoces were closed due to Covid. I paid through Landbank, and got my certificate through email after 2 days. They said the certificate can be printed out and it would be enough and it was! But please note that this was 3 months ago.

Edited November 9, 2020 by Don0
Error

[AlaMike 221]

3 hours ago, Don0 said:

Hi! I don't know if you have sorted this out and where your wife is in the Philippines but I got mine just online. I didn't attend any seminar since most offoces were closed due to Covid. I paid through Landbank, and got my certificate through email after 2 days. They said the certificate can be printed out and it would be enough and it was! But please note that this was 3 months ago.

@Don0

Did you already have your Visa before applying? 

[Just Paul 4,591]

On 11/7/2020 at 8:58 PM, Murph4865 said:

CFO is not a scam it is a small seminar that they have to go through telling them about american abuse,

Not just American . . .  We didn't intend to immigrate to the US when we we did.  Mary had an immigrant Visa for Mexico, did the class for "South America" and then they told her she had to sit in the Kano class too.  Her CFO sticker says Mexico.

[Hank_ 9,173]

11 hours ago, AlaMike said:

@Don0

Did you already have your Visa before applying? 

 

You need to have the visa in hand for this online process.

[AlaMike 221]

Thank you sir

 

[Cody&Razely 134]

Actually, My fiancé just completed the CFO "Online" which was just a succession of brief phone calls. There was no "Counseling" (depending on ones definition of the word) there was no phone numbers or good information given, neither any information at all what so ever. The one sided conversations were primarily Interrogation,  questions then berating and laughing, then more interrogations followed by more berating and laughing, being cynical as hell!!! requesting mountains of documents and eventually getting the CFO Cert. and no visa was required. Only a government verified proof of Visa Free entry (since we are meeting up in a visa free country), fyi it took us jut shy of 2 weeks in total of dealing with this behavior before "satisfying" the Counselor and getting the CFO cert.

Edited November 12, 2020 by Cody&Razely

[flicks1998 1,044]

50 minutes ago, Cody&Razely said:

Actually, My fiancé just completed the CFO "Online" which was just a succession of brief phone calls. There was no "Counseling" (depending on ones definition of the word) there was no phone numbers or good information given, neither any information at all what so ever. The one sided conversations were primarily Interrogation,  questions then berating and laughing, then more interrogations followed by more berating and laughing, being cynical as hell!!! requesting mountains of documents and eventually getting the CFO Cert. and no visa was required. Only a government verified proof of Visa Free entry (since we are meeting up in a visa free country), fyi it took us jut shy of 2 weeks in total of dealing with this behavior before "satisfying" the Counselor and getting the CFO cert.

This has been the complaint for years about the CFO.  It was particularly bad when they were held in person.  Manila was notorious for a "bad" office.  The fiance doing the CFO needs to be a firecracker during this seminar and not put up with their BS.  

[AlaMike 221]

8 hours ago, Cody&Razely said:

Actually, My fiancé just completed the CFO "Online" which was just a succession of brief phone calls. There was no "Counseling" (depending on ones definition of the word) there was no phone numbers or good information given, neither any information at all what so ever. The one sided conversations were primarily Interrogation,  questions then berating and laughing, then more interrogations followed by more berating and laughing, being cynical as hell!!! requesting mountains of documents and eventually getting the CFO Cert. and no visa was required. Only a government verified proof of Visa Free entry (since we are meeting up in a visa free country), fyi it took us jut shy of 2 weeks in total of dealing with this behavior before "satisfying" the Counselor and getting the CFO cert.

When my fiancé went to the actual counseling secession in Nov. of last year, the woman was berating and telling my her actual lies about US men and how her life would be with one. Had her in tears when she came out.

Hate to see that is hasn't changed, even over the phone...

[Carpe Vinum 2,314]

20 hours ago, flicks1998 said:

This has been the complaint for years about the CFO.  It was particularly bad when they were held in person.  Manila was notorious for a "bad" office.  The fiance doing the CFO needs to be a firecracker during this seminar and not put up with their BS.  

 

12 hours ago, AlaMike said:

When my fiancé went to the actual counseling secession in Nov. of last year, the woman was berating and telling my her actual lies about US men and how her life would be with one. Had her in tears when she came out.

Hate to see that is hasn't changed, even over the phone...

I know this does happen sometimes. I will say that my wife enjoyed her session at Cebu. She made friends that she still has to this day.  A lot depends on the instructor and where it is held. A lot of these women have never left the country and have little idea what to expect living in another country. Also, not all men who marry women from the Philippines are the bright shining knights we are)))

Edited November 13, 2020 by boris64

[flicks1998 1,044]

39 minutes ago, boris64 said:

 

I know this does happen sometimes. I will say that my wife enjoyed her session at Cebu. She made friends that she still has to this day.  A lot depends on the instructor and where it is held. A lot of these women have never left the country and have little idea what to expect living in another country. Also, not all men who marry women from the Philippines are the bright shining knights we are)))

Cebu has an OK reputation for the CFO, same as Clark.  I know people who have traveled to both places to avoid Manila.  If the CFO was done right, it could be a valuable seminar, kind of like a cross cultural training and insight to rights as well as responsibilities in the new country.  Focusing on importance of paying and filing taxes, work place expectations, general laws, domestic abuse, even constitution rights.  But as you mention, it can be just a belittling of the applicants, manipulation, scare mongering, etc etc etc.

[Hank_ 9,173]

23 hours ago, Cody&Razely said:

Actually, My fiancé just completed the CFO "Online" which was just a succession of brief phone calls. There was no "Counseling" (depending on ones definition of the word) there was no phone numbers or good information given, neither any information at all what so ever. The one sided conversations were primarily Interrogation,  questions then berating and laughing, then more interrogations followed by more berating and laughing, being cynical as hell!!! requesting mountains of documents and eventually getting the CFO Cert. and no visa was required. Only a government verified proof of Visa Free entry (since we are meeting up in a visa free country), fyi it took us jut shy of 2 weeks in total of dealing with this behavior before "satisfying" the Counselor and getting the CFO cert.

That is interesting ... and good to know about being about to get the certificate without the visa.   CFO has not been consistent with this during the beer virus lock down.

 

Thanks for the update.

 

As for CFO berating people .. like a shark they always "smell blood" when the person is meek, shy or timid.  Those that are self-assured and confident don't get the intense interrogations.

 

 

[bolero_pa 33]

If it helps, we just went through the CFO process (mid July 2021) and I posted a detailed summary of our experience in a separate VJ post:

 

[geezerpl 1]

On 11/8/2020 at 4:58 AM, Murph4865 said:

CFO is not a scam it is a small seminar that they have to go through telling them about american abuse, sex trafficking and a lot of other things.  My now wife had to go through it when we was trying the K1 option back in 2017, so we are lucky she has her certificate from that class and paid exit fees for it. 

Not anymore.

Trafficking doesnt exist in the 21st century.

These days CFO "guidance & counseling" is more like a interrogation - defending poor Filipinas from rotten, demoralized Westerners