The Philippine CFO violates Filipino human rights by not allowing Filipinos to leave the Philippines

[gymrat50 1]

          My wife and my two-year-old stepdaughter are Philippine citizens and has been granted a CR1 and CR2 Visa’s by the United States of American, but the Philippine government is refusing to let her leave the Philippines. They are forcing her to stay in the Philippines because they have this law that says citizens that want to leave the Philippines must have a CFO certificate to board a flight out of the Philippines. CFO stands for Commission on Filipino Overseas. It is supposed to be a seminar where they learn what to expect when they immigrate to the United States. Then after the seminar they get interrogated by a government official and then after the interrogation they decide whether the Philippine citizen can leave the Philippines or not. My wife went to this seminar and then was interrogated and after the interrogation they refused to issue her CFO certificate They said they refused her because she did not give them any evidence that she has spoken to my family. I rarely speak to my family because my family is spread out all over the United States. They wanted to see screenshots of video calls with my family. When I was in the Philippines with my wife she did talk to my family on cellular phone calls as my family and I do not make video calls to each other. The Philippine government is essentially kidnapping and falsely imprisoning her by not allowing her to leave the Philippines with her two-year-old daughter and forcing them to stay in the Philippines. They both have valid United States of America visas The Philippine government  through the CFOs forcing them to stay in the Philippines against their will. Please report this story. I have all the documented evidence to show this is true The CFO denied 9 out of 17. Thw CFO is a communist organization that abused Fili[ino human rights under the liwe of protecting them. Please fellow Americans do not marry a Filipino because the CFO will do everything it can to keep you apart.. It is very hit and miss and depends on the communist that interrogates your spouse. They essentially have no rules and can deny for any reason they want and they will make one up if need be, They do not want Filipinos to leave the Philippines.

 

 

[wildbug100420 283]

1 hour ago, gymrat50 said:

          My wife and my two-year-old stepdaughter are Philippine citizens and has been granted a CR1 and CR2 Visa’s by the United States of American, but the Philippine government is refusing to let her leave the Philippines. They are forcing her to stay in the Philippines because they have this law that says citizens that want to leave the Philippines must have a CFO certificate to board a flight out of the Philippines. CFO stands for Commission on Filipino Overseas. It is supposed to be a seminar where they learn what to expect when they immigrate to the United States. Then after the seminar they get interrogated by a government official and then after the interrogation they decide whether the Philippine citizen can leave the Philippines or not. My wife went to this seminar and then was interrogated and after the interrogation they refused to issue her CFO certificate They said they refused her because she did not give them any evidence that she has spoken to my family. I rarely speak to my family because my family is spread out all over the United States. They wanted to see screenshots of video calls with my family. When I was in the Philippines with my wife she did talk to my family on cellular phone calls as my family and I do not make video calls to each other. The Philippine government is essentially kidnapping and falsely imprisoning her by not allowing her to leave the Philippines with her two-year-old daughter and forcing them to stay in the Philippines. They both have valid United States of America visas The Philippine government  through the CFOs forcing them to stay in the Philippines against their will. Please report this story. I have all the documented evidence to show this is true The CFO denied 9 out of 17. Thw CFO is a communist organization that abused Fili[ino human rights under the liwe of protecting them. Please fellow Americans do not marry a Filipino because the CFO will do everything it can to keep you apart.. It is very hit and miss and depends on the communist that interrogates your spouse. They essentially have no rules and can deny for any reason they want and they will make one up if need be, They do not want Filipinos to leave the Philippines.

 

 

You didn't know about the requirements of cfo before leaving? It's my understanding you can always reschedule another appointment and try again. 

[gymrat50 1]

It is not a matter of not understanding the requirements. They make up their own rulles. There is no where on the CFO website does it sy tht screenshots of video calls with the husbands family are required. I also did not see that in any forum or youtube video. It is typle Philippine BS. The Philippines is nothing but a third world communist ####### hole and my wife'ds eyes are finally being openned to that fact. I do not recommend getting a fiance or spue from the Philippines because the CFO is a ceapshoot with less than a 50 percent chance of success. When my wife was denied at total of 9 out of 17 were denied. The communist Philippine giovernment thinks it owns its citizens and thus they violate their human rights by forcing them to stay in the Philippines essentially they are imprisonig her by not allowing her to leave the Philippines with her valid United States visa.

 

[Crazy Cat 44,587]

Your frustration is understandable.  Seems to me the best course of action is to give them what they want. I see no other alternative.  Are you planning to that? Good luck.

Edited June 8 by Crazy Cat

[gymrat50 1]

Yes my wife and I made 4 video callsd to members of my family which took some doing since we do not typically video call each other instead we use our cell phones as phones to talk to each other.  We took screenshots of each and one of my brothers sent us a letter welcoming my wife into the family and my best friend and witness to the wedding wrote a letter. I also screenhot my Facebook homepage which shows recent posts about my wife going to and passing her immigration interview plus there are pictures of us together. They want to see that my famly accepts herwhich is stupid because she married me not my familiy and I rately talk or see my family because we all live in different States. No matter how this workks out I am going to try get the United States government involved and hopefully gett this into a news story because the Philippines is violating the human rights of Filipinos that want to leave the Philippines. Over a million leave every year because it is a third world communist ####### hole.

 

Edited June 8 by gymrat50

[Crazy Cat 44,587]

Let's hope CFO doesn't see your posts here. Your efforts getting the US government involved will be wasted energy.  People have been complaining about CFO for quite some time.  And there are many, many, many, many couples here who completed CFO.  That denial rate sounds too high.  Good luck.  I hope you get them to the US soon.

Edited June 8 by Crazy Cat

[J.M. 314]

I understand you are having a difficult time with CFO, but in general, CFO is a breeze to get through.  Typically, those that have trouble with CFO are unprepared or have something other than a friendly attitude.  The one-on-one interview can be quick and easy or detailed and messy, depending on the attitude of both participants.  Since I have never heard of being asked to show screenshots of family chats, I would guess something earlier in the interview led to that request.

 

Like it or not, though, CFO is part of the process, and you have to go through it.  Which location did this happen at?

[Boiler 47,514]

It does not just apply to those heading to the US, now there have been no end of PI cases on here who have managed it.

[J.M. 314]

1 hour ago, J.M. said:

Which location did this happen at?

This happened at the Manila location.  OP ran out of posts for the day but messaged me.

[RO_AH 1,684]

I know you are frustrated. A lot have people have complained about CFO but your claim that they deny 9 out of 17 is completely false. I have been on this forum for over a decade and I have not seen 1 case where someone is denied. Just get it done and get her here. 

[RO_AH 1,684]

I dealt with a lot during my wife's immigration process. Not to mention we had Covid lock down just before she was ready for interview. She was flagged for sputum and then had to have a second medical because hers expired due to the lock down. My wife and our 2 children were there and I could not even visit them due to the lock downs. Finally I was allowed as a spouse to go get her and our our children after applying for and receiving a visa from the Philippines consulate. I flew there and had to stay in a quarantine hotel by myself for 8 days. So trust me when I understand that there are challenges when immigrating a spouse or fiance from another country. However I never once was so angry due to something that I had no power over and could not change. Like I said I understand your frustration but you may need to take some anger management courses honestly. Maybe it's just your anger talking but you stated that you would not have taken this path had you known (in so many words) and recommend that others not do so. I would crawl through glass and do anything in the world to be with my wife and we are blessed by our children together. I would highly recommend that people marry and bring a Pinay to America.

[W199 468]

4 hours ago, gymrat50 said:

It is not a matter of not understanding the requirements. They make up their own rulles. There is no where on the CFO website does it sy tht screenshots of video calls with the husbands family are required. I also did not see that in any forum or youtube video. It is typle Philippine BS. The Philippines is nothing but a third world communist ####### hole and my wife'ds eyes are finally being openned to that fact. I do not recommend getting a fiance or spue from the Philippines because the CFO is a ceapshoot with less than a 50 percent chance of success. When my wife was denied at total of 9 out of 17 were denied. The communist Philippine giovernment thinks it owns its citizens and thus they violate their human rights by forcing them to stay in the Philippines essentially they are imprisonig her by not allowing her to leave the Philippines with her valid United States visa.

 

 

Of course there is no rule saying your wife needs to have screenshots of video calls with their family.  Likewise, of course, if they asked you for them, doesn't make them a communist. And its nonsense that you say they have less than a 50% chance of passing.

 

My Wife passed after less than a minute of questions, and we follow this very carefully, and it is extremely rare that someone is denied, and it is always for a pretty good reason.

 

It is very simple.  There are a lot of creeps and lets say "bad men" marrying and taking advantage of the Filipinos.  Perhaps vice versa too, but that is another matter.  There is a huge amount of abuse. If fact, during my Wife's CFO seminar the instructor got a text message from one of her attendees begging for help for getting back to the Philippines. 

 

The CFO exists to protect against this abuse.  If they sense a red flag they are free to ask for anything such as screenshots or videos of her talking to your family.  That seems reasonable to me if there was a reason they had a red flag,  You are bring a Filipino and her young child, who probably don't have any resources and will be totally dependent on you.  They don't want them to be abused.  As I said they see it all the time. 

 

What's the big deal, it seems pretty simple to have some video calls with your family, to help make sure they will be safe, and to give her more contacts in case of an emergency.

 

The way your reacting and insulting the Philippines might have been reflected in her interview and gave them a concern, which in turn made them ask for some additional information.

 

Like others have said, the CFO is typically a breeze. Though I admit, its possible she might have gotten a new CFO agent who is poorly trained and inexperienced, so I'm not judging you.  But you should just understand they are trying to protect her and a little daughter against abuse or being abandoned when brought across the planet and be a little more understanding see it from their perspective.   

[LIBrty4all 3,775]

On 6/8/2025 at 11:12 AM, gymrat50 said:

          My wife and my two-year-old stepdaughter are Philippine citizens and has been granted a CR1 and CR2 Visa’s by the United States of American, but the Philippine government is refusing to let her leave the Philippines. They are forcing her to stay in the Philippines because they have this law that says citizens that want to leave the Philippines must have a CFO certificate to board a flight out of the Philippines. CFO stands for Commission on Filipino Overseas. It is supposed to be a seminar where they learn what to expect when they immigrate to the United States. Then after the seminar they get interrogated by a government official and then after the interrogation they decide whether the Philippine citizen can leave the Philippines or not. My wife went to this seminar and then was interrogated and after the interrogation they refused to issue her CFO certificate They said they refused her because she did not give them any evidence that she has spoken to my family. I rarely speak to my family because my family is spread out all over the United States. They wanted to see screenshots of video calls with my family. When I was in the Philippines with my wife she did talk to my family on cellular phone calls as my family and I do not make video calls to each other. The Philippine government is essentially kidnapping and falsely imprisoning her by not allowing her to leave the Philippines with her two-year-old daughter and forcing them to stay in the Philippines. They both have valid United States of America visas The Philippine government  through the CFOs forcing them to stay in the Philippines against their will. Please report this story. I have all the documented evidence to show this is true The CFO denied 9 out of 17. Thw CFO is a communist organization that abused Fili[ino human rights under the liwe of protecting them. Please fellow Americans do not marry a Filipino because the CFO will do everything it can to keep you apart.. It is very hit and miss and depends on the communist that interrogates your spouse. They essentially have no rules and can deny for any reason they want and they will make one up if need be, They do not want Filipinos to leave the Philippines.

 

 

The CFO folks focus more on warning women about them being passed around via swinging/orgies than anything else, but they exist to ensure the safety of their citizens.  If she didn't pass, there is likely a good reason.  Find out what it was, correct it, and do it again.  Most pass the first try, so yours is an outlying case.

[RufusDawes 34]

You just have to bend the knee and submit to the CFO requirements if you want your Pinay to be with you.

Lately I have heard you need an FBI clearance or they will not give you the "sticker" on your visa.

This requirements isnt even listed on their website for required documents, but I did it anyway which cost me another $68.

I dont want to be held up and have to go back to the CFO to get the approval.

[LIBrty4all 3,775]

On 6/13/2025 at 9:28 AM, RufusDawes said:

You just have to bend the knee and submit to the CFO requirements if you want your Pinay to be with you.

Lately I have heard you need an FBI clearance or they will not give you the "sticker" on your visa.

This requirements isnt even listed on their website for required documents, but I did it anyway which cost me another $68.

I dont want to be held up and have to go back to the CFO to get the approval.

The PI has an FBI?  Or did you mean to say BIR?