Michael Ruffin

I have 2 kids in the Phillipines.  Do you need you fill separate I130 forms and fee for each kid or one for both kids?

Thanks,

Michael

Thanks all!

I am planning on going back to the area in a week to help the husband of my college friend. I will talk to my friend to maybe get in touch with the woman (call her M). I have never met the woman but my friend was shocked to see this "M" come to her door last Saturday. The only reason "M" was at her home because the hubby had the daughter with him at a church outing which allowed her to leave for a longer period of time. My friend has plenty of room at her home for the daughter and her to live if she goes that route and leaves. I just want additional advice before I and my college friend interfere with some married life and family. Well, I will keep you updated on my findings in the coming weeks.

Hello

I am trying to get advice on possibly helping a Filipino women in abusive relationship. The information and story, I am posting is from a 3rd party source. So I don't know all the details just yet.

I am have a college friend that is Filipino and married. She live in NE Pa. Several months ago we reconnected and I visited her. I got to meet her husband and children. During the time we spent together exchanging stories of our personal lives high and lows. She told me about a Filipino woman she met when taking her children to a local library. This woman came to the USA from the Philippines on a fiance/marriage visa. They have a young daughter the age of 6 y.o. I have never personally met this woman but it trust my friend story. Recently on 7/12, the woman stop by friend's home out of the blue after my friend has tried to call her cell#. Her husband has locked up her GC and possibly others forms of ID. He has hidden her cellphone and will not her on computer. I am assuming that she has not contacted family since leaving the Philippines. I am hoping to travel back to the area and get more information and possibly met this woman face to face and find out for myself. If the story is true, is it legal for the husband to keep and lock up her GC? I know dealing with my wife (filipino) that all documents and immigration letters address to her property. I can open or keep any stuff address to my wife eventhough I am part of the immigration process.

I think she is in abusive relationship and my friend and I would like to help but I am looking for more information and advice before I step in. Any suggestions?

Michael

Does the lenght of time make a difference if she waits until she get US citizenship, (LPR=11 years) vs. US citizenship (<11 years, maybe 5 years)? Are the petition cost still the same no matter if she is LPR or USC? Thanks for any information.

Hello!

I am seeking advise on the subject of permanment resident petitioning her children to come to the USA. My friend is current Filipino Women that I meet a year ago in PA. She is still married but estrange from her husband due to his legal issues. She moved to TX to be near some friends and find work. She currently has 4 older children between 23-18 that are not married. She would like to bring her children her to the USA. During her marriage she petition once back in 2009 to bring them here but she said the petition is expired and income was a factor at the time. Well she wants to start the process up again. She has her 10 year GC and is with 2 years credit towards her US citizenship.

My questions to anybody is what is the best solution for her to bring her children her. She would like to start petitioning her children her without her husband and is working on earning more income to help her petition while a still GC. Which is better start now or just wait 4-5 years and get her US citizenship? I think should start now as a GC holder and try to bring 1 or 2 children her and work on the other 2 or is it better to wait until US citizenship. Is there a benefit just to wait for citizenship despite her children will be older?

Yes her son is unmarried. Would she petition of I-130? I think the fee is $420 last time I looked. I told her it will take time to get her son her but she wants to bring him to the USA.

Hello

My friend Emie is a divorce Filipino woman living in the USA for almost 7 years. She has adult child over 21 years old. Can she petition her son while still a GC holder? How long does it take to possible get approval for the visa process for an adult child? LAst point I don't think she is going to become a USC because she is property owner in the Philippines. She has a house there before she got married late in life again to the ex-husband. Can Filipinos be dual citizens? Well thanks for any help.

Well, I have 51 year filipina in my area that just got out of her abusive relationship. I was planning on her to my friends house one week to visit this woman and maybe convince her that it is town to get out of this bad relationship.

My questions is more of fact gathering find!

This past weekend I visit an old college friend and her family. We started to talk about my personal situation. Well my good friend is Filipino but American born. She was telling a story of another filipino woman in her area. My friend lives in the Scranton/Clark Summit, PA area. This filipino came her several years and married an American. They have 1 kid together. This filipina is her late 20's early 30's. I am thinking they have be been married for atleast 7 years because the daughter is that old now. My friend thinks she is in a verbally abusive relationship with the American husband. She has no accesss to phone, can't leave the home and the daughter is currently home schooled. The husband is very controlling! The filipina wife always ask my college friend if she thinks he will change but in the end she is basically afraid to leave him! She just doesn't have resources of her own and afraid to step out for herself. My question is the issue of ID's. My friend told me that she doesn't have her passport or GC on hand. The husband has them locked up. I am pretty sure she has a 10 year GC. Don't GC holder's must have their documentation on hand at all times? I am still getting more information from my friend but it seem this situation seems very illegal. I could be wrong but I want to find out information to help my friend gets this woman out of a bad relationship. Any thoughs or advice?

Michael

Hello again!

I wanted to give an update on my situation for all those following me. I am about to file divorce with my wife or see is going to file divorce with me. Me and my wife have had issues for awhile. She got her 2 year conditional green card back in July. Not to go into all the personal but her behavior before she came and now current text messages and IM message suggest she came her under fraud. Now, she says she has another guy in her life. Oh well! I have been reading other forums about removal of conditions and divorce. I am not doing this out of spite but she never wanted the marriage. Her behavior became rude when I would not send money to her family. My reason for stop sending money was I spent most of money bring her her and didn't have much left to spending money supporting her with rent, phone, health insurance, etc...

I guess my question for the forum is what are my next steps when it comes to the immigration issue. I have been reading other posting on women that get a divorce before before removal of conditions. If am reading correctly, does she have to go back to her country? During our seperation she left the marriage within 9 months and there has been no effort to work issues out before coming to this decision. This decision was her to end things but I feel she had this planned from the start becasue the only time i would bother her if she ask for ride or need money for me. Right now there is no real proof she entered this marriage in good faith. We didn't share any expenses when she was staying with me and moved out! Do I need to call immigration and report this or just for her to try to prove her reason for being her was real?

Thanks,

Michael

Sorry for the delay replies to all the comments. I have been busy trying to get my work and then personal affairs in order. The latest update is my wife recieve her temporary green card on July 5th. I have been talking to family members about finding a lawyer. USCIS will not give out more information on the status without her present. I do have all emails and text messages. So, now it is wait and see. I am guessing the lack of proof of a true marriage as evidence will prevent her from getting a removal of conditions on her green card when it expires in july 2015.

We currently rent and the lease will expire 5th of August. We share no property and she has her own bank account. Her name is not on my bank account. Well there will be know real proof of marriage because we really never done anything together. She didn't take my name during the marriage. Who do i contact at ICE about her moving out?

I need help to make sure i am doing things properly here! Bottomline, I have been married to my soon to be ex-wife for less than a year. She came here on July 4th on K-1 visa. We live in Pennsylvania and married on August 24 and filed for Adjustment of Status and Work Permit and things were accepted on Sept 24th. She currently has a work permit will probably expire in the next few months. Update on adjustment of status: her green card was approved July 5th and will be sent to her in 7 days. I am hoping this only the 2 year card which she will later have to file for removal of conditions. She moved out back in May 9, 2013. We currently share no property. I have paid for everything from rent, phone, cable,, health insurance, etc... I want to know my grounds when it comes to mostly her immigration status and future in this country. She has admitted in text and emails and iIM's that she never love me and was just here to work. I have read in forums that if a divorce occurs at some point she can't get her green card because at this point it is not a bona fid marriage. She also has her own bank account. I just need all the wisdom from Visa Journey members.

Thanks,

Michael

I was reading that there are some people that don't get interview because their case was moved to California office. If that occurs what kind of Green Card will she recieve and are the limitations? Since marriage visa are the quickest route to permanment residency in the USA. Don't we have to prove to the govermnent at some point that we entered this marriage under good faith?

I am still alittle confused on the timeframe. I brought my wife here on a K1 visa. We married in July 2012 and filed for Adjustment of Status in August 2012. Is the adjust of status process different for K1 visas versus someone here on an IR-1? Do we have to wait for as long as 2 years and because of the concern of visa fraud with marriage type visas will we have to goto an interview? Right now our application is in acceptance status.

Thanks!

Michael

Hi Michael,

Could you tell us more about the kind if education they had been getting in the Philippines? Were they going to public schools or private schools? What city or town do they come from? Are they at the top of their class or not so much?

The language of instruction in the Philippines is English and if they are still in grade school or high school, they will catch up with American peers in speaking and comprehension. But the learning curve will be steep and it will take them some time to adjust emotionally and socially.

You and your new wife will have to be supportive. It will make a huge difference too if you make the initiative to get to know Philippine culture. Get involved in communities where they can make friends with other young Filipino immigrants so they will know what what they are experiencing is common.

Blue Bianchi

Hello Blue!

To answer your question, they are currently reside in Pateros (Sta Ana Barangay). They are attending a private pre-school in San Pedro called the San Pedro PECEP Center. The boys are doing very well academically. The youngest is on the Honor every period. I live in a very diverse community. I am not sure how many young filipino children reside in my communtity but there are alot of Asian children (Chinese, Japanese, Indian, etc...) and other minority groups here. There is a very good charter school that is part the of school district which they could attend but the public here is very good because of it strong ties to the university in my community.

Hello

I have question for any married couple that brought young children over from the Philippines. My wife has 2 young boys 5 and 7 this year currently staying with their grandmother in Manila. When I first met my wife original plan was to have the boys come with their mother but cost overruns prevented that option. Now, it is almost a year since my wife recieved her visa. I am going to have to repetition the boys because it will be longer than one year on the Join and follow. The boys are doing ok because the father is around! The problem on my end is money. I live in very nice area of PA where the public school is rank very high in PA and there is 3 Charter Schools in the area. The education for them is free both public and charter schools because the school taxes me and my with pay bi-weekly! The boys are currently learning english at their current school but to keep them there will cost about $1000 each per year. I am just wondering was there any issues with the kids adapting to an American lifestyles. Thanks for the input!

Michael

Hello!

Is there any place or job resource available to help get my 30+ in laws jobs in Manila? They just have high school diploma. I know good paying jobs are hard to get without 2 years of technical school or college unless you speak very good english and work at the call center. There is has to be a need for janitors, cleaning people or garbage man. I am assuming you don't need an advance degree to clean toilets.

Thanks,

Michael

I applied for my I-485 back Sept 2012. My applications with fee has been accepted. I periodically check the USCIS.gov site to check the status. My wife biometrics were done in Oct 2012. What is the next stage toward getting the green card and usually how long does is take to get one. If eventually approved, are all green cards 5 years or 10 years?

Thanks,

Michael

I am confused! Are you the green card holder and are you the one physically pregnant? You question is confusing. If you are the women whether a green card holder or us citizen. I would think the company you are working for has somekind maternity leave. I am not a woman so I don't know how many day a company offers a woman expecting a child. If you are the man, I think some companies offer paternity leave also but again it depends the company you work for. Looking at your question, are you asking for somekind of government support so you can take time off of work? I don't think permanment residence (Green Card holders) are allow to collect government welfare, hence the reason all petitioners must sign a affidivat of support or run the risk of getting sued by the government.

Thanks all for the good response on cost of living.

I guess I want to explore this topic more and maybe I should move it to another forum. My question is how Filipino survive with these high costs? Now, I understand my question was about living in Makati. I picked that area because I visited it there once while meeting up wife at the time. I also read that Makati is the business center of Metro Manila. $700-1500 seem reasonable for an American and there are cheaper areas outside Makati. Makati population is not all American and foreigners, i am assuming that greater than 70% or more is Filipino. I know minimum wage in PH 426 per day (~$10 USD) for alot filipino and this working population is not living in Makati but maybe areas like Pateros (my wife is from there) or QC. There are probably cheaper areas than those two I mentioned. That is just $300/mo/ person and even a salary working as a software engineer (4 year of college) makes about $8000 USD. I am just puzzled on how any filipino moves into the middle class there when food prices are similar to USA price, I know public education there is not that stellar which mean k-12 will cost ~$50/mo/child for private schooling. We still did not factor in clothing and maybe the occasional entertainment. I have been looking up salaries for various area of employment and the amounts are not enough in my opinion. I am trying to be politically correct but with doing some illegal (seeing alot of certain internet sites for $$$$) a person can live the so called "Filipino" dream. Maybe I am wrong which is the not the first time in my life! Oh, it is just my thoughts! Thanks all for the cost of living stuff.

I'm starting to think about doing this too. Anyone knows what's salary can a programmer get there ? or a good site about job offers ?

I was just following up on my post about living in Manila, when I came across your listing. Are you asking about programmers salaries in the USA or Manila and are you an American or Filipino National? If you are American, I don't think you can get work permit the Philippines. I did find a couple of links on salaries in Phiippines for government worker: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Salary_of_Philippine_government_officials. Here is the second link: http://www.payscale.com/research/PH/Country=Philippines/Salary

I hope this helps you.

Michael

Hello VJer's

How much does a family of 5 need per month to Metro Manila? To be more specific, I was think about living in Makati which I heard is the nicest area of Manila verse my wife grew up in Pateros. I talking middle class lifestyle of apartment, cable, internet, schooling, and going for entertainment one a week?

Thanks

Michael

Hi I am looking for advice on possibly applying for a medical visa for my in-law. My wife's mother's has some medical issues and need treatment. She needs anioplasty surgery. I have gotten advice from about finding insurance for her in the Philippines. The insurance will cost about $2000 year from the quote but my concern is if/when fill out the paperwork on the insurance company will mostly likely not cover her since she has a pre-existent condition. I know the surgery in Manila will cost her about $10000 requiring $4000 deposit. I was thinking about trying for a B-2 visa to bring my mother-in-law here and get her on my insurance. I know it more expensive here but her pre-existence condition might not be factor because it with my company's insurance plan. I don't know? I am just looking for answers to help relieve stress from my wife. Any advice on the possibly of getting a B-2 visa, or ways of paying for the surgery. will kindly appreciated!

Thanks Michael

Hello!

It is Christmas time and I am about to ship gifts to my in-laws in Pateros, Manila. In the past I have used USPS and UPS. I don't trust USPS because my letters never got to the address. So, UPS has been very reliable and cheaper than the other shippers FEDEX, etc..., but still costly. I found out I can ship packages through my company's corporate account at a 1/3 of the normal shipping charges. Approx $8-10/ lb! I going to ship my stepson christmas gifts by UPS which should run me under $100 but I have more items I need to ship the weight is around 70 lbs total. I don't have the extra money to ship the rest of the items UPS plus running the risk of getting dinged on duty charges too! The last 2 shipments costed my in-laws $50 and 125 USD in duty tax. Speed is not an issue for the 70 lbs worth of items, I just want a very cheap and reliable way to get the rest of the items to my in-laws. Any suggestions?

Thanks and Happy Holidays and Merry-Xmas to all!

Michael