Frank and Racquel

Hey guys,

I just hope others can offer some advice and speak from their experiences how they handled moving to another country.

Yesterday, I was talking to my fiancee online and everything was going great, but then the conversation moved to our life together in the US and how I was excited to be with her. She sort of got emotional about it and told me I didn't understand what she was going through and the reality of the situation really hit her the other day. She later apologized and told me it wasn't my fault. She told me that everything just hit her... she was moving to a foreign country and leaving her family, friends, culture, everything behind that she knew all her life to move to foreign country that she doesn't know everything about and only people she knows are me, my family, and a few friends scattered across the USA.

She was telling me how it was hard to pack her boxes (I brought back 2 already) because how could she fit everything she owns or want to bring with her in two 50 pound boxes. Her life basically had to fit in these little boxes... and when she was explaining this to me, it hit me that she is sacrificing a lot to be with me.

She gets emotionally attached to things, like when she had to sell/give away all our belongings in our apartment (We have been together for almost 7 years, me going back and forth...) she cried over it because that apartment basically was filled with memories. Everything we bought in that apartment... we had a story to go along with it. I didn't realize how emotional she was over it and being a guy I told her that it was just material things and to just get rid of it. The entire time I was consumed by the whole visa process and wanting us to be approved that I ignored the fact that she was leaving everything behind just for me.

When we got approved I was so happy, but I didn't want to rush her to go to the USA, so I told her to spend time with her family for Christmas, New Year's, and even the month of January. I didn't want to rush her to be with me and get homesick during the process, so I told her we are going to take this slowly so she can adjust. She told me she wants to go here after New Year's, but right now I'm not making any plans and we will take this one step at a time.

I've read posts on here where guys were rushing to get their fiancees over to the US even when their visas were not on hand... I understand how everyone wants to be with their loved ones, but it's also scary for our fiancees...

How can I make this easier for her?

Get on a plane Dec 30th and surprise her for New Years Eve and start the new year, the new life off together and escort her here to USA , a personal escort by her ever loving Soulmate and best friend. Don't let her travel 20+ hours alone.

and You didn't go to Philippine Bureau of Immigration and Deportation for extention?

thanks i sure will

Free Balikbayan Visa for former Philippine citizens and for foreign spouses and minor foreign unmarried children of Filipinos and former Filipino citizens

No visa shall be required for a maximum stay of one (1) year [renewable for an additional 6 months for a total of 18 months] for the following Balikbayan, every time they enter the Philippines to visit, regardless of the frequency of their travel to the Philippines.

1. Former Philippine citizens (including Filipinos who have become naturalized U.S. citizens, and citizens of the Bahamas, Bermuda and other countries within the jurisdiction of the Embassy of Washington, D.C.); Also eligible are Filipino citizens living overseas. A typical situation is that the Filipino visitor to the Philippines is not yet a foreign citizen, but he or she has an immigration card from a foreign nation [such as a "green card" in the USA].

2. Foreign spouses and minor foreign unmarried children of Filipinos and former Filipino citizens.

The balikbayan free visa privilege is extended to former Philippine citizens, the foreign spouse and the foreign minor unmarried children of Philippine citizens, provided that:

1. they are nationals of Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belgium, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Comoros, Costa Rica, Cote d’Ivoire, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Norway, Oman, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Tuvalu, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United Republic of Tanzania, United States of America, Uruguay, Venezuela, or Vietnam; and

2. they are traveling together to the Philippines with the balikbayan spouse.

The former Philippine citizen shall declare before a Philippine Immigration Officer at the port of entry that he/she is availing of the balikbayan privilege and shall present his/her valid passport in addition to any of the following documents:

1. cancelled Philippine passport;

2. birth certificate; 3. naturalization papers to show former Philippine citizenship; or

4. certification from the adopted country.

The accompanying foreign spouse and foreign minor unmarried children of Filipinos and former Filipino citizens shall declare before a Philippine Immigration Officer at the port of entry that he/she is accompanied by a Filipino or former Filipino spouse or parent and that he/she is availing of the balikbayan privilege, and shall present his/her valid passport in addition to the following:

1. Foreign spouse: Valid passport and Marriage certificate

2. Foreign Minor unmarried children: Birth certificate

3. Adopted children: Adoption papers

For further verification please call the Philippine Embassy at 202-467-9300 or 202-467-9324 for more information

Strictly speaking, she needs both. By Philippines law, any child born to a Philippine citizen parent after October 15, 1986 is Philippines citizen. You must always enter a nation of which you are a citizen on that passport. She will additionally need the US Passport to return.

Likely, you could just use the US Passport to enter the Philippines, but it is not technically following Philippines policy.

I would investigate this more because my friend, who is a Pinoy Celebrity and she lives in the Philippines, she married a German guy and they had a baby and the baby was born in Germany and now she cant get him a Philippines passport.

Hello Everyone!

Happy Holiday..

Me and my Daughter are going to the Philippines March of Nextyear, She is 2 years old and will need to have a passport.

I am not a US citizen but my Husband is, and our Daughter was born in the US. I am wondering if she needs a US or Philippines Passport or both..

We will be in the Philippines for 2 months, I've been hearing that she could only be in the philippines for 21 days coz shes a US citizen. What do we need to do?

Thanks in advance!

Christina

I'm not sure if she can even get a Philippines passport. Anyway she dont need, she just needs a US Passport and the 21 day thing wont apply if you all travel together and you enter as a Balik Byan (not sure of spelling) visa since you are a citizen there and then they can be under your visa and stay for 1 year without paying the overstaying fees. You have a green card right? If you do , when you leave dont let them screw you out of the 1700p exit tax, show your greencard and they will give you a waiver on that exit tax, you just have to pay like 350p for the waiver hehehe , well they have to get atleast a lil out of you.

GETTING MARRIED IN THE PHILIPPINES: click here

"In late 2011, the U.S. Embassy learned that the following local registrars had refused to accept the Affidavit In Lieu of Certificate of Legal Capacity to Marry as a viable alternative to the Philippine document: Makati City, Quezon City, Davao City.

Please note that all fees paid for this notary service are non-refundable. Because U.S. Consular Officers are not in a position to respond with authority to questions involving interpretation of specific Philippine laws, such questions may best be addressed by an Attorney licensed to practice law in the Philippines. American diplomatic and consular officers do not have legal authority to perform marriages."

Oh thats news to me , I bet it dont last. I bet in a few weeks Makati, Quezon City, and Davao City change their toon real quick when they figure out how much money they are losing. It just didn't dawn on them yet.

Hope to get some help regarding marrying in the Phils. I see that updates have been made about getting married there. If the girl is from Davao, Manila, or Cebu (I think) the foreign man's certificate in lieu of divorce will not be accepted. My question is - Has anyone done this process in the last couple of months to give us some updates. How many certified copies of the divorce decree and birth certificates are needed? I have seen some post (4) and other threads mention (1). Thanks in advance!

I been married there 3 times, what do you mean the Affidavit in Lieu of Capacity to marry is no good there? Who told you that? We just got married there less then a month ago.

Hi guys,

So I'm about to file adjustment of status, my hubby is a USC. been married for 10 months but i have been using a fake social security number for 5 months to work. we were saving the money up file, and until that happened we both needed to be earning because money was tight.

i used my real name but a made up social security number. will this come up in the interview? can they see this happened? is my name now in the system? surely any one could have the same name as me.

Any one had a similar experience? or have any advice?

Your name could be a number soon, inmate # ??????????? LOL . Thats was crazy, you can get into a lot of trouble. You better get a immigration lawyer and see if they can dig you out of this mess without getting deported.

Well I would agree with that Gary. Since this topic came up again, I went back and did research on this site and pulled up nothing significant to convnince me either way for my situation. Personally, I am only concerned with the Philippines because we all know that all Embassies are different.

I took the task of emailing and conversing with recent Visa beneficiaries/petitioners that have gone through Manila in the last six months that are now here in the U.S. They all sent money in differring amounts but the indication I got from these recent awardees was that it was a non-issue and in many cases not asked for. It's got to be viewed on a case by case and above all by the specific Embassy you are going through. The only reason I was so interested in it is because sometimes our beneficiaries need dental care, their laptop dies and needs to be replaced... if we send money and there is good reasons and you have receipts/documentation it shouldn't be an issue as long as you are balanced with much more convincing documentation.

I been through 3 interviews at Manila over the years. They asked If the petitioner provided support to the beneficiary all 3 times and we said yes and handed them the western union stuff . They barely look at it but they did ask to see proof. Thats all I can say.

I am about to start the process, but there is a slim possibilty I could get relocated to the US with work while K1 is going on. If this happend, I would still plan to get married as I am madly in love like most on this forum, but i would want to switch and move through my employer as I would not have to quit my job which is well paid and the visa costs would be taken care off.

Can you canel the process?

How would you do it?

How long would you have to wait before applying for a new visa through an employer?

Thanks

Yes you can cancel it , all you do is have the petitioner send USCIS a letter requesting it be cancelled, include your names and reciept number.

The previous post of bullet points of the major events make good sense. As far as western union receipts, I think that would raise a red flag if you didn't send them. Every man I have spoken to has sent money to his fiancee.. so if you had no reciepts they would view it as

1.) You don't care enough for her

2.) You are lying about sending her money.

Neither of those assumptions are good when the petitioner makes 25-50 times more annually than the beneficiary. Some money transfers are expected.

Bring them with you to the Interview to show support. They ask to show monetary support. We brought all of ours to interview and they looked at them.

from the time you were born, what are the names you have always used? for school work etc before you came in to the U.S.

was this Fnu put in your 2003 visa ?

which clerk asked you to take your husband's name? during your marriage to USC or from your original country?

where are you from originally?

Where is Bono when you need him ? LOL he would know what to do.

If you guys need help let me know.

You can file k3 and its free to file it but this late in the game it probably wont be any faster. Just wait for the current situation to resolve.

This is consulate specific. In other countries you can get the vaccines at any doctors office. The lesson is to follow the instructions for the particular consulate you are using.

Thats very true, and a little heads up for anyone going thru this process in Manila. In Manila when you do your medical, whatever shots you dont have or if you dont have records, they give you the shots at your medical, its included in the medical fee.

hi everyone..im new here in vj plss help me..i got my interview last nov 07 and when the final CO ask me all the question i answered him correctly and he told me that i am pretty good but he told me to move in the window 72 and a the consul there handed me 221g white paper and she told me that im lacking a affidavit of support and but i have and its from my brother in law and the consul want is from my fiancee and the problem is we dont have w2 because my fiancee stayed for seven years here for his study here in philippines.and before we go the CO GET MY PASSPORT AND SHE TOLD THAT THEY WILL KEEP IT THERE IN USEM.and we ask the C0 what else can we do and she told me that "send us the proof that my fiancee is employed and in nov 17 i send the letters pay stubs in 2go courier and whe called the usem yesterday and they told us that it is in process.. how long it will take???im so stress plss help me,,thankyou:))

Its really hard to say. Did you fill up a form for the courier service who will deliver your k1 visa pack? There is a tracking number on there, keep checking on the courier's website if they have a package in route to you using that tracking number. They might take a month before you hear something, maybe even longer because its Holliday season now and I think the embassy in manila is closed (limited operations) during last 2 weeks of Dec and 1st week of Jan.

OK

MY FIANCE SENT ME HIS I-134 FORM

HE MADE A MISTAKE ABOUT MY NAME

THE REAL NAME IS

FIRST NAME : VERONICA

MIDDLE NAME : NONE

LAST NAME : LU LU ( TWO LAST NAME , EQUAL)

HE WROTE IN HIS I-134

FIRST NAME : VERONICA

MIDDLE NAME : LU

LAST NAME : LU

THAT IS MY BIG DOUBT ......MY INTERVIEW IS ON TUESDAY, ONLY 6 DAYS

PLEASE ADVICE!!!!!!

WOW lol your a nervous wreck about this. It should be fine. No matter how you fill it in your name is going to read "Veronica Lu Lu"

OK

MY FIANCE SENT ME HIS I-134 FORM

HE MADE A MISTAKE ABOUT MY NAME

THE REAL NAME IS

FIRST NAME : VERONICA

MIDDLE NAME : NONE

LAST NAME : LU LU ( TWO LAST NAME , EQUAL)

HE WROTE IN HIS I-134

FIRST NAME : VERONICA

MIDDLE NAME : LU

LAST NAME : LU

THAT IS MY BIG DOUBT ......MY INTERVIEW IS ON TUESDAY, ONLY 6 DAYS

PLEASE ADVICE!!!!!!

Yes it should be ok.

about question 11 is referred to if he is giving you money to support you while in the US. And if it is not the case, he or she (co-sponsor) should mark NO 'cause he's not going to give you money or housing or whatever to support you.

My fiance marked NO and no questions were asked about that.

Best wishes

This is a weird question on that form, its confusing. I filed one of these forms several years ago for my then fiancee. I wrote on question 11. I intend to provide food, housing, and whatever money required for daily living for my fiancee.

Think about this question? Like where is the fiancee going to do , live in a car? have no support? just be on her own? So anyway thats what I put and it was approved. But the question is strange if you ask me.

As far as the name goes that will be ok. For now on leave the middle name blank and just write Lu Lu in the last name slot. Either way I dont think it matters since you dont have a middle name . I know a girl who has 2 first names and no middle name , she wrote the 2 names in the first name spot. She was ok too, no rejection.

You put your new name now. In the area where it asks other names used you put your maiden name. As for the SS card, bring your marriage lic with you to the SS office and change your name.

Are you interested in ACORNs for desert?

Back in 2008, me and my Pinoy wife are walking into a chinese buffet. This women standing outside has a clip board. I see on the backside of the clip board is an OBAMA bumper sticker. This woman asks me if I am registered to vote, I said yes. Then she turns to my wife and says the same thing. My wife said no. This woman starts filling up some card on her clip board, its a voters registration card. My wife said I am not a citizen here and the woman says its ok sign it anyway. I wish I had a video camera. Anyway now I jump in because if my wife signs it she just commited a crime right ? I turn to my wife and say "hun, if they let you vote your voting for McCain right?" My wife says yes. The woman grunts and turns and walks away from us LOL.

1 word to describe the NVC is Bizarre

Actually that was a bit tongue in cheek. Since we have all been to the Philippines we try to pick a vacation place we can meet that will be different. Considering Penang this year.

I want to go to Singapore so bad, never been there yet.

McCain and the cashier from McDonald's would have been better than McCain/Palin.

I don't think it matters really. Both are close enough that they have a chance with things changing over the next year.

I personally think McCain had a decent shot had they chosen a better running mate for instance (and hadn't damaged the perception that he was a moderate for the sake of the far right)

I agree, McCain/Romney would have been a good ticket? What you think?