Last minute CFO

[MowTin 7]

6 minutes ago, top_secret said:

I would say that CFO has a long history of stringing people along to the last moment but finally coming through when it actually comes down to missing a flight or not.  I would wager that it can probably be successfully handled somewhat inelegantly come Monday.  Be in contact with her in real time in case CFO comes up with any oddball requests.  I would put an all out effort into using that visa on time.  I believe it is realistically doable.

 

So, reading between the lines, should I have her try to grease the wheels a bit if things don't seem to be moving? 

[top_secret 2,066]

Just now, MowTin said:

 

So, reading between the lines, should I have her try to grease the wheels a bit if things don't seem to be moving? 

 

No, shouldn't require that.  Just tolerate with a smile whatever ordeal they put you through Monday and everything will 'probably' work out.

[MowTin 7]

1 hour ago, RO_AH said:

It looks like you waited too long to come to this forum. CFO is a Philippines requirement and has nothing to do with the visa or the visa process. I agree with the above, show up on Monday and beg if you must. Make sure you can show verification of the plane ticket and explain that you had no idea that it was needed. She must bring her passport and 2 ID, and a copy of your passport and marriage certificate.

 

I can pretty much guarantee that you will not be able to get an extension because it is your responsibility to know about the CFO. The expiration of visa is 6 months from the first appointment of the medical not when it is completed (after sputum). My wife had the same issue because after the sputum, we could not get an interview after the completion due to covid lockdown. Finally got the interview about 1 week before her medical expired so she had to re-take the medical.

 

Best of luck to you.

 

I had heard of this counseling certificate thing but when it wasn't requested during the Visa application process I just assumed that it was necessary for a spouse visa. I thought it was a fiance visa thing. 

 

So, you had to retake the medical? Did that mean the sputum plus 2 months wait and interview all over again? How long did all of that take? 

[RO_AH 1,615]

16 hours ago, MowTin said:

 

I had heard of this counseling certificate thing but when it wasn't requested during the Visa application process I just assumed that it was necessary for a spouse visa. I thought it was a fiance visa thing. 

 

So, you had to retake the medical? Did that mean the sputum plus 2 months wait and interview all over again? How long did all of that take? 

CFO is something that any Filipino must complete before leaving the country for any type of immigration intent.

 

Yes, we had to do the medical again Fortunately, she was not flagged for sputum the second time. Our biggest issue was the covid shutdown. We did everything we could to try and reschedule the interview after having to go through the sputum. a little over 3 months later we finally got scheduled. We got a 221g and by the time that was fixed and they were ready to issue the visa we only had a few days of validity left and it did not give us enough time. The embassy said retake the medical and then they would issue the visa. Everything went smoothly from there.

 

In your case she has the visa. If she does not use it before it expires it will be a more difficult process. That's why everyone here is suggesting to do anything you can to get the CFO on Monday. Hopefully they will take pity on her and let her through.

 

As far as greasing the wheels, that is common in a lot of things in the Philippines, but don't even think about it with the CFO.

[MowTin 7]

On 2/2/2024 at 8:57 PM, top_secret said:

I would say that CFO has a long history of stringing people along to the last moment but finally coming through when it actually comes down to missing a flight or not.  I would wager that it can probably be successfully handled somewhat inelegantly come Monday.  Be in contact with her in real time in case CFO comes up with any oddball requests.  I would put an all out effort into using that visa on time.  I believe it is realistically doable.

 

Good news, they let her take the class and she got the certificate!

 

Thanks for the advice. She didn't even have to beg. They were very accommodating. 

 

She has the certificate. Does she need a sticker from the airport CFO desk? 

[top_secret 2,066]

2 hours ago, MowTin said:

Good news, they let her take the class and she got the certificate!

 

Thanks for the advice. She didn't even have to beg. They were very accommodating. 

 

She has the certificate. Does she need a sticker from the airport CFO desk?

 

Congratulations!  All she needs is the online certificate with QR code and she is good to go.  They eliminated the physical stickers.

 

[W199 264]

4 hours ago, top_secret said:

 

Congratulations!  All she needs is the online certificate with QR code and she is good to go.  They eliminated the physical stickers.

 

Just a few months ago or so, after my fiancee got her K-1 visa in hand, she went to the CFO office to re-register her previous "tourist" CFO certificate with QR code to meet in Montreal, to a "K-1" CFO to USA.

 

They took away her online cfo certificate with QR code and issued a very official and impressive looking CFO certificate as well as a similarly official certificate on a sticker,  like her K-1 Visa, applied in her passport.

 

Unless this has changed in the few months, they had resumed giving stickers after they canceled the online classes ...  Maybe they stopped it again? 

 

[MowTin 7]

5 hours ago, top_secret said:

 

Congratulations!  All she needs is the online certificate with QR code and she is good to go.  They eliminated the physical stickers.

 

 

Thanks! We're so happy this is all over. She was able to get her passport stamped. I was also a bit worried about the POE questioning why she's going to Guam instead of NYC where I live. 

 

Next time she leaves the Philippines and reenters the U.S. does she need to do anything else? Any more Filipino rules? 

[top_secret 2,066]

1 hour ago, W199 said:

Just a few months ago or so, after my fiancee got her K-1 visa in hand, she went to the CFO office to re-register her previous "tourist" CFO certificate with QR code to meet in Montreal, to a "K-1" CFO to USA.

 

They took away her online cfo certificate with QR code and issued a very official and impressive looking CFO certificate as well as a similarly official certificate on a sticker,  like her K-1 Visa, applied in her passport.

 

Unless this has changed in the few months, they had resumed giving stickers after they canceled the online classes ...  Maybe they stopped it again? 

 

It was back in April when they said they discontinued the stickers but it doesn't surprise me a bit if they backtracked on that again after a month or two.  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=610295504471310  When my wife did hers they made everyone pay a courier fee for the sticker and then never actually sent them to anyone or sent them many months later.  It's kind of a moot point though because once she made it out the first time with her visa they have never asked or cared on any trip since.

[RO_AH 1,615]

3 hours ago, MowTin said:

 

Next time she leaves the Philippines and reenters the U.S. does she need to do anything else? Any more Filipino rules? 

No  worries. Just make sure that she gets a green card before going back.

 

3 hours ago, MowTin said:

I was also a bit worried about the POE questioning why she's going to Guam instead of NYC where I live. 

Why did she? Did you meet her in Guam?

[MowTin 7]

23 hours ago, RO_AH said:

No  worries. Just make sure that she gets a green card before going back.

 

Why did she? Did you meet her in Guam?

 

I was told the stamp on her passport is a temporary green card good for a year. 

 

I wasn't in Guam. I'm in NYC. They let her in and she explained her need to stamp her passport before expiration. Her dad is undergoing surgery right now so she'll come to NY in a couple of months. That was our original plan before we were surprised that the visa expired when the medical expired on Feb 7th.