Meeting up in Thailand

[DustinMay 0]

My SO and I applied for the K-1 in October 2020 and we're still waiting at USCIS so we decided to meet in Thailand this Christmas.

 

She's has the CFO and a passport, but she's never left her country before and currently has no job. We've met one before in January 2020. She's asking me to provide for her an Affadivut of Support, but I can't find one for the purpose of meeting in a 3rd country (Thailand).

 

I'd like to provide her with as many documents as possible so she doesn't get offloaded. Does anyone know how we can provide an AOS meeting in a 3rd country? And if there are any other documents that we can provide for her?

[aaron2020 11,651]

Why is she asking for an Affidavit of Support to go on vacation in Thailand?

 

The US has nothing to do with her trip, so there is no US document that you can provide her.

 

The Thailand Pass does not require any financial information.   
 

 

Edited December 3, 2021 by aaron2020

[DustinMay 0]

25 minutes ago, aaron2020 said:

Why is she asking for an Affidavit of Support to go on vacation in Thailand?

 

The US has nothing to do with her trip, so there is no US document that you can provide her.

 

The Thailand Pass does not require any financial information. 

She told me that other filipinos have told her what she'll need so she won't get offloaded.

 

We already have the Thailand Pass for both of us.

 

I'm going to write her a letter stating that I will provide support for her on the trip so she can show the IO. I just don't know what to expect for her if she's never left her country.

[Adventine 3,201]

@aaron2020 Philippine exit immigration can be capricious and arbitrary with denying boarding to Filipino citizens. The risk is greater for young women who are unemployed, without significant assets, without travel history, and going to meet a foreign partner alone. They are (unfortunately and correctly) considered high risk for human trafficking.

 

The affidavit of support mentioned in this case would be presented to PH exit immigration. There is no standard template as far as I know.

 

@DustinMay have you checked this page from the PH Bureau of Immigration website? It has some info on the Affidavit of Support that PH exit immigration will look for. https://immigration.gov.ph/faqs/travel-req

Edited December 3, 2021 by Adventine

[bmfj 2]

@Adventine My fiancé and I traveled together to Phuket in Sept 2019. Do you think one trip prior outside of PH would ease the offloading odds? All supporting docs would be provided to IO.

[Adventine 3,201]

1 hour ago, bmfj said:

@Adventine My fiancé and I traveled together to Phuket in Sept 2019. Do you think one trip prior outside of PH would ease the offloading odds? All supporting docs would be provided to IO.

 

It certainly helps that you've travelled together before and will have supporting docs. Honestly though, the Filipinas with the highest chance of getting past exit immigration are those who are confident and who can demonstrate they have their own assets/a travel history independent of their partner's. Easier said than done, I know. 

[top_secret 2,451]

On 12/2/2021 at 5:38 PM, DustinMay said:

I'd like to provide her with as many documents as possible so she doesn't get offloaded. Does anyone know how we can provide an AOS meeting in a 3rd country? And if there are any other documents that we can provide for her?

Attached is a AOS template some others have used for similar circumstances departing the Philippines as a tourist.  IT IS NOT ANYTHING I WROTE OR USED PERSONALLY. I could see a few improvements or changes I might make and it is all nothing but legal puffery.  For extra added official-lookingness some people have been able to get Philippine consulates to "notarize it for use in the Philippines."  However, BI in Manila has been know to reject then if it is not "authenticated" (Red Ribbon) by a Philippine consulate and Philippine consulates flat out don't do that at all any more period.  Alternately you could get it notarized by a US notary and get that apostilled by your state.  But be aware that no matter what you do it is all for show has no real legal authority.  If BI decides to offload her there is no magic set of documents that could prevent it.  If BI subjectively sizes her up and decides she look like she can take care of herself out there in the big bad world she might not need anything but a plane ticket and COVID insurance.  As Aventine said, confidence and how she presents herself is everything.  A big help is if you add her as an authorized user on one of your credit cards and then pay plane tickets and hotel reservations in her name on "her" credit card.  They will very likely send her to a secondary interview if it's a first trip.  She will be asked to fill a form about how she is paying for the trip.  If the answer is "I paid with my credit card" that is much better than "some foreigner e-mailed me this ticket".  She should bring proof of your relationship.  Copy of your passport and Philippine passport stamps, photos, have you met her family, don't be at all shocked if they ask her to open her phone and let them go through your chats.......   They can be incredibly invasive at those secondary interviews.  She should be able to intelligently discuss what she will do.  Not just "I'm meeting some guy at the airport in Bangkok. She should be able to articulate what she would do if you dump her in Thailand and simultaneously Philippines imposes another travel ban ad the airlines cancel all her tickets (invoke her travel insurance trip delay coverage).  You should be available and in contact in real time to as she checks in and goes through Philippine exit immigration because they may ask some arbitrary document from you to send a phone photo in real time during the secondary interview.

 

But ultimately Americans always want to understand what steps need to be followed to fulfill the rules and thus ensure the anticipated outcome with some certainty due to prudent travel planning but for a Filipina traveling alone on a first international trip , especially during rona-rama, it is likely very much a #######-shoot and there is also a fair bit of luck (good or bad) that goes into the outcome. 

 

Lastly, consider what you will do if she does get offloaded.  It can and does happen with some frequency.  Look at cancelation terms on your tickets and reservations and at least contemplate what plan b looks like in advance.

 

 

 

AFFIDAVIT OF SUPPORT AND GUARANTEE.doc

[nykolos 711]

When i heard I had to provide an AOS, red lights went off for me too, that was until I realized it was nothing more than a sworn guarantee that I'll provide for her during her stay abroad.. Having gone through this with my Fiance, pretty much what top-secret posted is accurate, and the form is quite similar to what I used, just make sure to include your flight and hotel booking information in the AOS, flight numbers, dates, everything for BOTH of you..  The importance of the Notary AND Apostille should not be overlooked,  the notary is easy, I had mine done at a UPS store, but obtaining a Apostille through the consulate or State can take weeks or even a month or more, you're better off obtaining the Apostille through the County, mine took about 1 week and it was mailed in, if you don't have the AOS  Apostilled, she'll get off loaded for sure, that's what many have reported... You're also required to provide a hand written declaration of your relationship and travel plans, promising to pay for all expenses, this must be signed and notarized, no Apostille necessary.. And the originals of both need to be sent to your Filipina, I used Fedex, at @ $140, and she had it in 1 week.

 

My flight was about 8 hrs before hers and we were to meet in Duba for our connecting flight to the Maldives,  the possibility of her getting off loaded is real, so it was a big risk, not just financially but emotionally, However she's a smart girl and she covered ALL her bases and passed through BI without any problem, and we were able to spend 3 1/2 wonderful weeks together, it was well worth it.. Hopefully travel to the Philippines will open up this coming year and we wont have to go through this again.

 

 

Edited December 11, 2021 by nykolos

[andrewfromdenver 31]

On 12/11/2021 at 9:07 AM, nykolos said:

When i heard I had to provide an AOS, red lights went off for me too, that was until I realized it was nothing more than a sworn guarantee that I'll provide for her during her stay abroad.. Having gone through this with my Fiance, pretty much what top-secret posted is accurate, and the form is quite similar to what I used, just make sure to include your flight and hotel booking information in the AOS, flight numbers, dates, everything for BOTH of you..  The importance of the Notary AND Apostille should not be overlooked,  the notary is easy, I had mine done at a UPS store, but obtaining a Apostille through the consulate or State can take weeks or even a month or more, you're better off obtaining the Apostille through the County, mine took about 1 week and it was mailed in, if you don't have the AOS  Apostilled, she'll get off loaded for sure, that's what many have reported... You're also required to provide a hand written declaration of your relationship and travel plans, promising to pay for all expenses, this must be signed and notarized, no Apostille necessary.. And the originals of both need to be sent to your Filipina, I used Fedex, at @ $140, and she had it in 1 week.

 

My flight was about 8 hrs before hers and we were to meet in Duba for our connecting flight to the Maldives,  the possibility of her getting off loaded is real, so it was a big risk, not just financially but emotionally, However she's a smart girl and she covered ALL her bases and passed through BI without any problem, and we were able to spend 3 1/2 wonderful weeks together, it was well worth it.. Hopefully travel to the Philippines will open up this coming year and we wont have to go through this again.

 

 

does the apostille need to be from philippines consulate/embassy here stateside or does it need to be from american office?

[top_secret 2,451]

4 minutes ago, andrewfromdenver said:

does the apostille need to be from philippines consulate/embassy here stateside or does it need to be from american office?

An apostille is like a way to certify.... that a certified document... is authentic and "certified" by an entity that is legally able to issue a certified document.  In the case of an affidavit, the signer is not legally able to certify their own signature so they might get a notary to do that.  Then the Apostille officially attests to the fact that said notary is legal, licensed and properly notarized the document.  Some have reported mixed results taking an affidavit to a Philippine consulate and requesting they "notarize it for use in the Philippines".  It may give some solace to BI that a Philippine government entity has formally vetted the identity of mystery internet guy.  However no Philippine consulate will "authenticate" an affidavit because it is not a document issued by the Philippine government.  Alternately, one could get an affidavit notarized by a US notary.  Then the state where then notary is licensed would apostille the notarization.   But no matter what you do it's all just for show to make it look good.  There is no air tight set of documents that will legally override BI if they decide they want to offload someone.

[nykolos 711]

8 hours ago, andrewfromdenver said:

does the apostille need to be from philippines consulate/embassy here stateside or does it need to be from american office?

Top-Secret is correct, NOT the consulate/embassy, it would need to be done at the State or County so they can authenticate the notary, consulate can't do that.  Ours was done in LA County.