six7one

Congratulations!!

Looks like Juliet has to stay in Manila 6+ months..test positive for TB..she has a roomie from this site also taking treatment..just wondering if anyone knows of apt. there to lease? Are they gonna lease to 2 TB patients? I hear of dormatories there..dont know a thing about them...thanks for any help

Depending on your budget, you can easily find apartments and condos in the Ermita/Malate area via the Internet. I found a fully furnished condo near SLEC which is only a 10 minute walk away. Robinson's Supermarket and Mall are literally across the street. There are also hotels near SLEC with monthly rates such as Ralph Anthony Suites. RA Suites is a stone throw away from SLEC. Lots more just have to search the net.

I found my condo on Forrentmanila.com. You can also find apartments on this site

For DOT, they will group individuals in time slots according to the progress of their treatment. Even though this is the case, treatment can actually be administered throughout the day (although DOT closes before SLEC at 4:30 PM). I know of some people who commute to SLEC every day from as far as Batangas City, so staying in the vicinity of SLEC is not required. However, commuting to SLEC can be an ordeal and add extra cost to your budget and time consuming. Hope the information helps.

Even though the DS-160 is not required for K1 Petitions, select that option when you call. When you speak with the call center rep and give them your MNL Case number, they should see it on system.

First round of sputum tests is three consecutive days. During these tests a culture sample will be taken. The culture results from this sample will be given after 8 weeks. SLEC will not cancel an interview appointment (at least in our case), but they are supposed to notify the USEM that your case will be delayed pending the culture/passing the medical exam.

Jlttravel.com.ph

Hello Guy's i need some advice...I do my medical last July 9,2012 and get result for the next morning July 10,2012 just to find out that I have problem in my lungs..In my X-ray the found a little scar on it so i need to go back in St. Lukes for three days sputum and i need to do the culture for 2 months before i recieve the result...My question are: Since we need to cancel my interview...can we do the interview date after i get a result for my X-ray or we need to put another date for the interview? How many times we can cancelled my interview? I aprreciate your relpy i really need it

Cancel your Interview and do not reschedule until after you have PASSED the culture test. If I am not mistaken, you can schedule up to 3 times. After the third one you will have to pay the Visa Interview fee again.

I hope someone can answer this question. I'm starting to get nervous and confused.

I have completed the 129F and included my fiance 19 year old daughter on the form as well.

My fiance has received a letter from the Embassy in Manilla indicating she has been approved

and to call to schedule her interview. When she called they wanted to know about the same letter

in her daughters name. Myself and my fiance have not received any letter in the daughters name and

I have not read anything about a different letter for my fiance and another for her daughter.

The Embassy will not schedule the interview until both letters have been received by fiance.

Can someone please help or offer some insight?

Thanks,

Not sure what to tell you other than this does not sound correct at all. If you put the daughter (K2 Derivative) on the I-129F, then you should be fine. Only the K1 Beneficiary gets the notification and the instruction letter. This was the case for me. We got only one NOA2 and only one letter from the USEM. Nothing mentioned for the K2. However, we paid for two Visa Interviews, the K1 and the K2, and were able to schedule both interviews. Try calling back and speak with a different call center agent or contact the NVC for clarification on your case.

Hi there VJ users. My fiance is from Guam and we are working out our papers now. We are both Filipinos but he was naturaly born in Guam. I just have some confussion with the address that I need to place on the cover page and intent letter which I got from this site. As I have researched its giving me a two different zip code. So I am hoping that someone could help me and and enlighten us with the information. and by the way whats for the 325a form for four copies?? do we really need to send four copies of that? thanks guys!! hope some fast response!!

United States Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

[ADDRESS OF FILING LOCATION]

Just so you are clear, the I-129F Petition must be submitted by the US Citizen. In your case, I am assuming it is your Fiance who was born in Guam. The cover letter should be from him. He must send the completed packet to the Texas Lockbox via Express or Priority Mail. Get a Receipt Confirmation also if you send it via the US Mail. He can also send it via DHL, UPS, or Fed Ex, but the US Mail is just as quick. Mail the packet to the following...

USCIS

Attn: I-129F

2501 South State Highway 121 Business

Lewisville, TX 75067

From there it will be sent to the correct service center. For Guam residents it will be forwarded to California. Be sure to make the check payable to "Treasurer, Guam" as stated in the instructions. Also, take the time to fill out and submit the G-1145 so he can get email updates on status of the petition.

You don't need to submit four copies of the G-325A, just two. Your Fiance will need to submit one for himself (the Petitioner), and submit one for you (the Beneficiary). Both G-325As must be complete and SIGNED.

Lastly, get all your forms online at the USCIS website. DO NOT use the forms at the USCIS Guam Field Office. When I went there they actually gave me really old forms with the the old addresses and fees. Avoid unnecessary delays and use the forms and instructions HERE at the USCIS website.

If you need any additional info, just message me. Hope this helps.

Congratulations!

Yea, who thought taking initiative would be punished... My wife hasn't submitted a "detailed" medical certificate. I told her to say she can not get one cause the doctor moved to the US to leave the corrupt Philippines. hah! Hopefully, that might void my wife's word he's taking medication. Who knows. Ano biyan.

My Fiancee is also required to provide certification from her doctor in her province as proof of being being administered the medication. What we have provided so far is not good enough and a more detailed one is required. It's difficult for us to obtain it now that she's in Manila undergoing the DOT but we are still trying. Hopefully, we can get what SLEC requires soon. My fear is that SLEC may require the complete 6 month instead of the 4 she is already required to do if we can't obtain the certification document soon.

If you have the opportunity to select a time slot for DOT, chose the one between 12:00 - 2:00 PM. SLEC is less crowded because it is the lunch hour and going in for the DOT takes all of about 3 minutes. I went with my Fiancee once and it was in and out. It took longer to walk there than it did to get administered the medication and sign her card. She went early once before 9:00 AM and said the que for DOT in the morning slots is MUCH longer.

My wife and stepson completed day 1 of the US immigrant visa medical exam. Our son has been taking medication for primary complex for 1 month prior to the exam. However, even without the results of his xray at SLEC, the doctor told my wife that my son will have to undergo treatment everyday at SLEC for 5 months. From what I understand, he must first undergo a SPUTUM test at SLEC which may clear him for travel to USA to receive treatment there, given that children's cases typically are not infectious. Also, there is a chance he will be found to have a normal Xray. Why did the doctor tell my wife he MUST undergo treatment before the SPUTUM test and xray results were found? Thanks. -Tony, her husband

We are in a similar situation. My Fiancee took two months of medication for suspected TB back in her province. When she had her CXR at St.Luke's they saw the spot and of course gave her the Sputum tests. When she informed SLEC that she had been taking the medication for suspected TB, they informed her that she needed to complete 4 additional months even though her Sputum tests were negative. I didn't understand why until I read the CDC requirements for Immigrants to the US. You can read more at http://www.cdc.gov/immigrantrefugeehealth/pdf/tuberculosis-ti-2009.pdf

Page 14 in the requirements outline "For applicants who present for the medical examination already on tuberculosis treatment begun elsewhere.." Because treatment (the medication) was started somewhere else, my Fiancee's fit this category. I am assuming your step son also falls into this category.

If you are calling from the U.S., you can call (214) 571-1600. Listen to the menu options. Select Philippines, then Non-Immigrant Visa. When prompted if you have completed the I-160 select YES even though this is not required for K-1.

Be ready with all your information such as BPI Receipt Number, MNL Case Number, Beneficiary's Passport Information, etc.

Congratulations!! So happy for you.

Do both parents need to sign the Parental Advice for the CFO Seminar? My Fiancee's father is away from home working and only her mother is available. Thanks in advance VJers.

Sorry top hear that, but it is what I feared as mentioned in my response to your last post. You and your fiancee's situation is just like ours was. As far as hotels/apartments, etc., as my fiancee, now wife had already lived near Manila and SLEC so we didn;t have to do that. I know they have some nice condo's around there though, for like $800.00 a month - kitchen, balcony, entertainment center, all the comforts of home, because Chie's friend and her boyfriend from the USA are in one now. I could get more details if you want, just let me know. Its something we are considering for our first return there together, instead of staying in a hotel. Seems like a better deal for the longer 3-4 week stays.

Just as micharmaz stated, SLEC will inform USEM about your medical situation and they might say that they will cancel your scheduled interview. They told us that but we found out later after everything was completed that they had not cancelled her interview. It wasn't that big a deal but I did have to call the embassy when I was trying to re-scheduled Chie's interview so I could get the correct number to put in the online interview scheduler. I think it was the "Receipt Number" part - I think. It was not her passport number or her VISA payment receipt number but a number that the USEM gave me over the phone that I had never seen before. But you can cross that bridge when you get to it. I would just check to make sure they cancelled your interview and if not then you do it to get that out of the way, and then when her medical is completed and she has the documents for her interview just call the USEM again at that time and ask for the number to put in the online scheduler "Receipt Number". About your petition being valid 6 months later, you will not have to worry about that because SLEC is the one requiring you to do 4 more months of treatment. That was not an issue for us at all, however, after your second medical, instead of the usual 6 months validation for your fiancee's medical exam which they will count as of 4/27/12 but they probably didn't tell you that, you will have just 3 months after her second 2 month Sputum Culture test for her to leave the Philippines. Just be aware of that. I'm sure it will not be a problem for you becasue just like for us I din;t waste any time getting Ritchie her airfare and everything to get here as soon as wwe could after her interview.

If that last part was confusing then look at how it went for us:

- Chie (Ritchie) had her 3 day Sputum Collection sometime Mid-May 2011

- Even though they told her that they would not do the 2 month Culture test because the medication she was on would interfere - they did do one and the results came back negative in mid-late July 2011

- They considered that Culture result as a completed medical exam that would expire 6 months from that date in July, on January 27th 2012

- So Chie would have to leave the Philippines by Jan 27, 2012. But we didn't find out until after her second Sputum Culture test was completed Oct 27, 2011. So 3 months after that was Jan 27, 2012.

Again, no big deal because I'm sure you will not wait 3 months to get your fiancee and step daughter on their way here after her interview, but this is just fyi and something to be aware because we kinda got caught up in the ticketing prices thing because Chie's interview got re-scheduled for Dec 8th, 2011 (and we were lucky to get that - 3 weeks after she finally gor her medical approval and the docuemtns in hand!), and of course we did not actually purchase her airfare until after her VISA was in hand I think 10 business days later around Dec 18th or so. She got here Jan 4, 2012, but it was kind of close, but only because of the Holidays. It looks like you and your fiancee may be getting done close tot he same time of yeasr that we did last year and is why I am pointing this out. Again, just be aware. Maybe they told my Fiancee this early on and she forgot or something, but I found out when I called SLEC to complain about having to pay for the medical again. But again just because of the time of year it may be by then, just a heads up for you because otherwise if it were say the middle of the summer then it would probably be less of a concern.

Anyway, as we said before this wait while a little frustrating is worth it in the long run because she will have been treated for terrible disease and it's something critical they you both can put behind you. What's 6-8 months compared to here long term health?

She will clear her medical in the end and it will be a walk in the park from there (except for the hustle and bustle of running around and preparing - her for leaving and you for her arriving, but that will be exciting and a little fun, too!) I remember flying out to San Francisco to meet Chie when she came out of the customs area there and then we spent the night there and then flew here together the next day!

God bless to you and your fiancee and step daughter!

Yes indeed that we had similar experiences, and I thank you for all your feedback and insight. It is unfortunate that the additional time to complete the medication will bring a delay, but in the end there will be no dark cloud hanging over our family's health. We could have easily hid the fact she was under medication prior to the SLEC exam and we would just be waiting 8 weeks for the culture. Just like you we chose not to hide any information. Why jeopardize a lifetime for the sake of saving 6 months? To each his own, but I believe we made the right decisions for our family's future.

When she told me that SLEC found the scar in her CXR, I called the USEM and cancelled their interviews. I logged into the portal and confirmed their interviews were indeed cancelled. I will contact the USEM again in the next day or so to ensure that they are aware of her disposition with the SLEC requirement for medication and there will be up to a 6 month delay. I'll see if I get this "Receipt Number" you described. SLEC did inform her that because the treatment would take her past the 3 months for the validity of the first exam, she would have to do the physical portions of the exam again as a new exam. Therefore, we need to pay again for a new exam.

As soon as we complete this process and get their Visas in hand I can make arrangements for their airfare. I'm pretty confident this won't be an issue as there are a few airlines servicing Manila and one even has daily flights.

I have a preference to put them in a condo for several reasons and have made several contacts already. I would however, welcome more information as I haven't made any commitments yet. Please send me any info you can on this condo you are referring to.

Many Thanks for your insight and feedback. I hope our experiences help others who may go through the same things. Maraming Maraming Salamat Po.

Sorry about the long delay on this process. As we all feel you and your fiancee's pain. Just keep looking at the end goal.

Are you looking for monthly rental rates or just for a week or two?

Whats is your budget range?

You can look on craigslist http://manila.craigslist.com.ph/ for apartment rentals or vacation rentals.

St. Luke's will update USEM and they place your petition on hold until the medical is completed. Then you can schedule your interview appointment. Also a good thing to follow up with USEM to let them know the applicant (fiancee) is undergo 2 months of PTB medication.

Thanks Micharmaz. Already been looking online for places near SLEC for convenience of my Fiancee just walking there or taking a trike. Right now my budget is between $400 - $800 a month and have already been looking at Craigslist. Looking at renting a place for a minimum of 4 months.

I will be calling USEM again just to make sure that they know that my Fiancee will have to undergo 4 months of medication and then another 8 weeks for the culture. Thanks again.

I just wanted to update my fellow VJers on my Fiancee's Sputum Result and situation. Fortunately, all three results were Negative. However since she disclosed to St. Luke's that she was under PTB medication for 2 months prior to the exam, they have instructed her to continue medication for an additional 4 months at SLEC in Manila. NOTE: She was put under medication by her doctor back home as a precaution because of a spot in her CXR.

St. Luke's has indicated that they will honor the 2 months of prior medication provided she obtain a certification from her doctor back home. When the 4 months of SLEC administered medication is completed, she has to then wait 8 weeks for a culture test results. When cleared, she will then have to take the medical exam again at SLEC which will have to be paid for again.

At minimum, we are looking at a 6 month delay in our K1 and K2 process, but as I said in previous posts her health is the most important thing right now. So happy my future step-daughter is all cleared (she's 100% done with her medical exam and immunization).

Need some feedback on the following...

1. Any recommendations on affordable hotels/apartments near SLEC with monthly rates?

2. Will my petition still be valid 6 months from now when she completes treatment? Do I need to inform US Embassy?

Thanks in advance for your feedback, and most of all thanks for your support.

I have a K1 for my fiancee who has a daughter (11yrs). Does that mean that when the package is sent from NVC to US Embassy Manila, and time to pay BPI for the visa fees - $240.00 for my fiancee and $240.00 for her daughter for a total of $480.00? So they will have separate receipts? Just wanted to be sure. Thanks for posting replies.

Yes, you will have 2 separate BPI Receipts. One for your K1 and one for your K2. Fees are in U.S. Dollars BUT paid in Philippine Pesos at BPI at the prevailing rate. When they go to BPI for payment, be sure the have their passports, copies of their passports, Case Number.

Well, my wife Ritchie and I were in almost the exact same spot last year at this time, that you are in now. Now, I don't know what they will tell you at St. Luke's in your case and I will not speculate on that, but i will tell you what happened to us.

Ritchie and I filed our I-129f petition Oct 2010 and got noa2 in March 2011. I was scheduled to go visit her for the second time in march 2011. But she had come down with a bad cold in early March and was not getting better and she went to see a doctoer and they took CXR and said they could not tell if she had pneumonia or PTB. As a precaution, they started her on some kind of antibiotic first, for one week and then as her cold and caugh cleared up they did a skin test which had positive results and they started her on PTB medication. This was early to mid-March 2011. Though we were disappointed, we thought "oh well, taking the meds can't hurt", because we never thought she had active PTB anyway even though the skin test was positive because one can be exposed to TB and the body fight the virus but leave a scar and you will test positive on the skin test but still not have active TB. Anyway our noa2 came later at the end of March and we scheduled her interview for late May, knowing they would find something on her lung and require the Sputum Test. We figured "Okay we know we will wait 2 months longer". So we expected it. She had her medical exam in early May and of course they did see whatever they saw on her lung and she had to do the 3 day sputum. Oh and BTW her local doctor had referred her to a Pulmonologist that did the CXR and review with her and discussed what they saw in her results which showed she did not have active TB but showed some other things that had very medical names and meanings but basically said she was okay. So St. Luke's said they would cancel her interview (which they never did) and then Ritchie was scheduled to come back for Pulmonary evaluation. In that evaluation Ritchie told the doctoer at St. luke's that she had seen a pulmonologist in March and was put on PTB medication. She presented the documents from her local pulmonologist of her 2 months PTB treatment (so at the time of her medical and Sputum she had been on the PTB meds from her local doctor for approx 2 months). They told her they would not do a culture test because the PTB meds would interfere and that they wanted her to completed the PTB treatment her local doctor had started her on over the next four months only starting immediatley on the DOT at St. Luke's! What a shocker! We thought that the 2 months PTB treatment best case would clear her lung so no scar would show and worst case just be discounted and we would just wait the 2 months culture and be on our way - NOT! Instead of 2 months it was 4 months we waited for her to complete the PTB treatment to equal 6 months and then another 2 after that for the repeat medical after her culture came back negative (had to pay again for second medical exam). So instead of her getting her around May or June as we first thought before she even ahd the pneumonia, then maybe mid-summer we thought after we new she would have to do sputum culture, we ended up having to wait until the end of October 2011 until her Cutlure test came back negative and we rescheduled her interview (after she waited 10 days for evaluation and to get her results in hand!) for the next available date which was December 8, 2011! Everything went fine from there. She finally got here January 4th 2012.

So, again, while your case is so very similar to ours in that your fiancee is on PTB meds for 2 months, that does not mean they will make her continue the PTB treatment at St. Luke's for another 4 months like they did us. But they might so just be prepared as our case is proof that it could happen.

But you are correct in that your fiancee's health as is my wife Ritchie's, is so much more important and no matter how long it takes this is a serious condition and it will have been dealt with and addressed. Frustrating - Yes, but their health is not worth risking just to speed the process along and save a few or even several months. Some have to wait much longer if they do not live near St. Luke's or even on Luzon and cannot stay there in Manila for their DOT,much longer so we are fortunate in that Ritchie did live near Manila.

I hope this helps but it probably didn't because it may be bad news. But I thought it important to let you know about our case because so similar and when Ritchie and I were going through this I never found here in VJ or anywhere a K-1 Phjilippines couple with situation the same as ours with having been on PTB meds for two (or some) months and then medical and then told to complete meds, etc. Your is the first I've seen like ours. So in that respect I hope this at least helps you to be prepared if they might have your fiancee continue and complete the 6 months PTB and then do 2 month sputum culture test.

Oh, and I did end up going to visit the second time but I waited until May between her medical exam and her 3 day sputum I visited her!

God bless to you 3 and I hope you do not have to wait longer like we did.

Thanks for sharing your experience with me. Needless to say, it's not encouraging but we are all at the mercy of the processes and procedures at St. Luke's. We try to stay positive about our situation and will just follow whatever instructions we are given in regard to their PTB guidance. I've told my mahal to be truthful and honest about her treatment if/when asked. Again, its about her health and not about expediting the exam for the sake of rushing to get to an interview. FYI, I just cancelled our scheduled Interview that was supposed to be next week. Instead she will go for the sputum tests next week and we are hoping and praying that they will go in favor of us. At the very least I will be on a short 3.5 hour flight to be with my mahal and step-daughter tonight. I'll be spending next week in Manila (I scheduled being there for the interviews as a just in case she passed). Being with them always brings comfort to my fiancee. This trip will make it my 3rd one week trip this year to be with and that's a great way to establish proof of relationship anyway. Not a wasted trip in my book.

I am in total agreement with limited information about PTB and CXR at SLEC on VJ or anywhere else on the Internet. What I do know is that SLEC experiences vary on the CXR, Sputum/Culture test, and their guidance. What remains the same is that if they see anything in the CXR, you will get the Sputum test. No doubt about that. Indeed you and I have similar situations. Trying to figure out what to do has been quite stressing leading up to the SLEC exam. I'm sure you had the same feelings leading up to it. It's unfortunate that many individuals who don't have access to information will go to SLEC and get their disposition to PTB then and there. What a surprise to walk out of SLEC knowing you've got a spot in your CXR you didn't know existed. At the very least we knew my fiancee would probably be flagged just as your partner experienced. I hope that our our posts here in VJ will at the very least help a few so that they don't go in SLEC blindly and know some of the things to expect.

God Bless us all and again, Thanks.

Six awee so sorry about that bro, but your right about her health is the most important thing. I hope her results will be negative and continue on with the process.

I had though about that having my Fiance get and advance check up just to be ready but we never got around to it. In February her daughter got sick so she had her do PTB test and thank god her skin test was negative.

Anyways best of luck.

Thanks for your words of encouragement. Best of luck to you as well in your process.

My Fiancee got flagged for the Sputum Test because of the results of her CXR. Naturally, she's pretty bummed and upset but I reminded her that her health is more important and a delay is just that, a delay. We were sort of expecting them to detect the spot as her medical checkup in February first indicated this to us. She's been on medication for PTB since that February checkup. Our hope now is the sputum and culture tests will be negative. Another 8 weeks of waiting sucks, but all we can do is hope and pray for her to be OK.

My advice for anyone required to get the medical exam at St. Luke's: Have your beneficiary get checked for TB (with CXR) well in advance. I didn't come across this tip until the week I got the NOA2. All my Fiancee and I can do now is hope the medication had a chance to do its thing for her health.

I wanted to write this post to remind everyone that the underlying importance here is not the delay in Visa process. The importance here is your partner's health. For me, it's my Fiancee and her daughter. By the way, my future step-daughter passed all tests and got all her immunizations. Mommy and I are happy our girl is fine.

Thank you for all your support and continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Means a lot to us.

When your fiancée finishes her medical exam at St. Lukes, St. Lukes will give your fiancée her immunization record (DS-3025). She needs to bring it to the U.S. because she will need it when she applies to adjust her status. You guys will take the DS-3025 to a civil surgeon, and the civil surgeon will transcribe the vaccination information onto form I-693 and seal the I-693 in an envelope. You will include the envelope with her adjustment of status packet that you send to the USCIS.

If she doesn't need any more vaccinations here in the U.S., you shouldn't have to pay more than about $40 for the civil surgeon's transcription services.

Great info Tahoma. Many Thanks.

Now I know why she doesn't want to go to the zoo. .... but all the monkeys aren't in the zoo.... everyday you meet quite a few....

but still don't understand not wanting to go to the pool. I expect a "character" of a girl. Mahal ko and I both like 3 stoooges, stargate sg-1, spongebob, ASAP, it's showtime, and HYY. We also like Jackie Chan. There are some other differences, but when she watches her TFC shows, I just cuddle up and hold her. Maybe I pick things up, some times not.... But there are times when the baby loves to kick me.

And for lighter skinned people, lots of lighter skinned people around us, but also many Filipinos. Expect our daughter to be lighter skinned then my wife, but darker skinned then me.

six7one -- best of luck to you.... you are in for a fun ride.... just be swinging on a star

monkeys aren't in a zoo

Thanks. So excited to find out in a few hours.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Tahoma is right on. The immunizations matter not. I was with my fiance at the Us Embassy and through the whole process in Manila. I knew how nervous she would be. WE practiced the interview many times so she was relaxed when going through the process there. That week we spent in Manila I tried to make it as relaxing as possible even though it was hectic each day.

The immunizations if she gets them will be updated in her forms to take with her to the states. Not a major deal. glad the pregnancy is recent. It will at least make travel easier for her, but find an Asian market place near home which carries Filipino items. It helps immensely. the one thing we are always searching for is manila mangoes. I am thinking of planting a couple of manila mango trees. I buy so many of them almost a case a week as well as a lot of coconut milk and milo.

But St. Lukes won't be a problem. Some girls get vaccines, some girls don't. It seems almost expected many filipinas will be pregnant when going through St. Lukes and the visa process. Hope all goes well for you and your mahal ko.

Thanks for the feedback. Never hurts to ask questions to alleviate some of the stresses this whole process puts on us.

We had planned from the start of the K1/K2 process that I would attend their interviews and that's why I'll be in Manila for a week. I leave the day after tomorrow (woo hoo!). I can't wait to be there with my mahal and my future step-daughter. Miss them so much even though it only been 4 weeks since I was last with them.

I'm fortunate enough to live near the Philippines whereby it's only a 3.5 hour flight to Manila for me. I live in Guam by the way. When I can spare some time away from work, I visit as often as I can (which is nearly every month). There's a huge Filipino population here in Guam and the culture here is similar. I don't feel there will be too much difficulty for my mahal and her daughter to adapt here. Got the same foods, produce, climate, religion, etc. for them to acclimate to. Plus I have many Filipino friends for them to get to know. Got the mangoes here and if she needs some coconut for her Bicol Express, I can husk and grate them myself. LOL. Cheers, Best Wishes to you and your mahal, and Thanks for the add.