OrangeFolder12

The medical exam (for embassy visa purposes) is good for 6 months. Source

As others have stated, the important dates are on the visa. If the visa is not expired, there shouldn't be any problems getting into the US.

Also, there are tons and tons of available seats on flights to the US, even flights from Philippine Airlines direct from Manila to San Francisco. You can even do it through their web site: Philippine Airlines Site.

How long ago has that been may I ask? The ATM fees just started a few months ago. Before that there was no charge for her family to use the PayPal card I got them.

True. My ATM card has a CIRRUS logo on it, but it didn't save me the 200php charge.

I don't have a problem with charging ATM fees, in general, but you're talking about $5 for every $200... and in the States it's $3 max for $300. Plus you're getting hit with the exchange rate. My bank refunds ATM fees too, but only up to $15.

Has anyone else noticed the banks are going crazy with ATM fees? My wife has been in the Philippines the past couple of months helping her family as her father was diagnosed with lung cancer and helping her mom after he passed away.

But she says most ATM's say there is either a 200 or 250 charge for each withdrawal, then our bank adds ANOTHER $2.50 on top of that! She tries to wait until she needs to make a large withdrawal so it doesn't hurt so bad.

Any ideas for the best way to transfer money? We have a PayPal account that doesn't charge for withdrawals, but you have to plan in advance to make sure the money is there. It is convenient to just transfer as she needs money. We use a separate account for travel so we can feel safer about using our cards overseas.

I experienced the 200php charge this past January and I was not pleased.

I wonder if it makes sense to setup an account at a local (Philippines) bank and transfer money into the account as needed from a US bank. I've looked into it a little, but have never actually done it. Wells Fargo bank seems to have some kind of money transfer plan Wells Fargo Remittance (but I'm not a huge fan of Wells Fargo). Xoom sounds like a good option too. I've seen some good and bad reviews on it. It might be good to try a small amount to test it out and see how the process works. I've only ever done Western Union, which works really well but I think they really screw you on the fees and exchange rate.

First off, thanks for providing this site. It's a tremendous resource and has been incredibly helpful in navigating the immigration process.

But I need some help figuring out what to do now.

Background: My fiancee (Filipina) and I are trying to get a K1 visa. We've made it through most of the hurdles. She had her embassy interview back at the end of June, 2010. Unfortunately (for us), she spent many years working in the middle east as an OFW. So, the embassy has requested that we obtain police clearances from: Lebanon, Qatar, and Bahrain. We've managed to obtain 2 of the 3 (Lebanon and Qatar). But we're still waiting for the paperwork to come back for Bahrain. The first 2 requests my fiancee made (May and October) to Bahrain were just letters mailed to the Bahrain CID (General Directorate of Criminal Investigation). No response was received from either request. The most recent request (December) was made through the Philippines DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) using a special form form the government of Bahrain. The Bahrain government web sites suggest 12-16 weeks for a response (that window opens this Friday).

My concern is that with all the recent protests/unrest in the Middle East, including Bahrain, that our request will either be delayed or continue to go unanswered. I've tried to get the Embassy to waive the requirement, but they do not seem to be willing to do it. Unfortunately, the only responses they provide are requests for more information via a standard form. I've written a hardcopy letter, emailed them, phoned them and even visited the Embassy during my last trip in January, 2011; but I cannot get any information about why they will not waive the requirement. It seems like an obsolete requirement anyway, aren't there international criminal records databases that should make the police clearance requirement a moot point?

I guess my question for you is this: Is there anything else I could/should do? Best case, the paperwork will come back in a couple of weeks and everything is resolved. But what options are there if that doesn't happen? What if week 16 comes and goes? Would an immigration lawyer or my Senator be of any use? Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?