Stevephoto

Salamat everyone. So much to think about. You are the best!

Thank you. "Abroad" Do you mean while still in the US? That was our plan.

Salamat! Great comments and much to think about. Regarding the mail: I get it. Joan DID receive her NOA form for her 129F (back in the day)...AFTER she was already in the US (I even think we were married and she had her GC by then!) I AM listening to everyone and will look for a US address. It does sound like the best option. We will be selling the condo. Banking: Salamat! We are already looking into the BPI USD account. The depositing a US check seems to be the best option. Credit cards: I have both a MC and Visa account, but did not know about using them transfer dollars. I will add it to my list of things to investigate. The US address thing would allow us to keep at least one of them. The caution about keeping large amounts of money in a PI bank is well taken. The US check option resolves that concern (and the transfer issue). Very interesting about using your US credit card for all purchases and paying in USD (I assume from the US bank account). I did not think of that. Great advice about making sure that the charge is in pesos. Health Insurance: I agree that so far the Kaiser option seems best. I will look into it further. Visa: I am not a veteran so the SRRV is probably not a great option. I didn't know about the ECC-B thing. I will look into it. Sounds like the old "travel tax" but more expensive! That and the "If your spouse dies then your visa is void thing!" Thankfully Joan is a lot younger than I am so on paper...

Wow! Couple of months! That is even more intense than what we are facing! I have looked at the SRRV vs 13A and the 13A seems to be better for us. Luckily we currently live in an area with a high Filipino population, so I don't THINK our bank will change policy any time soon. Isn't the research fun? Some things are so easy to find while others almost impossible. I'll have to keep plugging away trying to find some answers. Do you have any insights on my other questions? Salamat. We appreciate you and everyone else here.

Salamat!

HA! You know me too well! Unfortunately we don't have many US address options, so it is back to the book!

Aloha! Believe it or not, Joan and I are about T-minus 11 months and counting before the move to the Philippines! It will be here before we know it and we will have a LOT to do, especially in the second half of the year. We do have some (OK, a lot!) questions as we plan for the move. Any information would be appreciated as always! Our local consulate is once again processing 13A Spouse Immigrant Visas. The processing time is about 15 days—way better than months in the Philippines! We still do not have an exact move date, but we are looking at the end of 2023. I will be 62 years old when I retire/we move. 1. VISA questions: The process seems straightforward and similar to what it was to bring Joan here (application form, medical, chest x-rays, financial statements, etc.). A. How long before the move would be a good time to apply for the visa? B. I assume the question about arrests does not include minor traffic violations. Am I correct? I have a few traffic tickets over 40 years but have never been arrested for anything. C. They ask for a local police clearance. I assume they want it from Hawaii and not the FBI? Either is fine, I just don’t want to waste time sending the wrong one. D. I will obviously note that I have Cerebral Palsy in the “physical defect” question on the application but will note that it does not qualify as an A or B category medical issue (same will be noted on the medical form). Do you see any issues with that? E. I searched and searched but could not find any specific reference to the financial requirements. We will own our house and land outright by the time we move and my pensions from NY, CA and HI along with SSA, while not a great deal of money, will cover our bills with some left over. I will not be retired yet if I apply for the visa from Hawaii. Would the calculated estimates plus title (I am listed on the title as “married to...) be sufficient to prove financial stability? 2. Banking Issues: A. Our current bank will allow us to keep the account with a Philippine address, so that is very helpful. We will be setting up a bank account in the Philippines when we visit this summer (I know about the IRS form we need if we maintain a foreign account with at least $10,000.00—no biggie). My pensions need to go into a US bank account (which is OK because we will still have some bills and taxes that will come out of our US account), but SSA can be deposited directly in the Philippines—but I assume that my name needs to be on that account and I believe I can be listed on the account with Joan. We will have to send some of my pension from the US account to the Philippines, so it is not a major problem to have the SSA deposited to the US account and transfer if that is easier. B. Speaking of sending money from the US to the Philippines once we live there, do you have any recommendations? We use Remitly now (I know that there are other choices, but so far, they work for us), however, they are only licensed to remit funds from the US if the sender resides in the US. They have a 6-month grace period but will then shut the accounts down. I have looked repeatedly online and I cannot find any options besides bank to bank transfers or ATM withdrawals and both of those are expensive. Do you have any recommendations? We may also have a larger amount to send once we sell our condo, but that might need to be bank to bank transfer unless someone has other experiences. 3. Health Insurance A. Do you have any recommendations for health insurance? I am looking at the Kaiser International Senior Plan for me and something else for Joan, but not sure which way to go. 4. Driving issues A. I have had a driver’s license for over 40 years. I understand that getting a driver’s license might be “interesting” once we get there. Do you see any issues with me obtaining a driver’s license as a person with a disability? To be honest, I would not be terribly upset to “retire” from driving, but it would be good to have a license for emergencies. 5. Credit card issues A. Do you know of any US credit card companies that allow you to have a foreign address? We have 3 now, but probably need to cancel them because they do not allow foreign addresses. We aren’t thrilled with the idea of using a friend or relative’s address. We also need to figure out how to cancel them without hurting our credit score. We have worked very hard and both have high scores. I think that is it for now. We hope that we have not asked too much!! Salamat mga kaibigan!

We have not been to Mindanao. I hear it is beautiful. We will be in Bulacan.

Aloha! We are looking into the same thing. From what I understand, the 13A process is easier and faster in the US. I am still researching how far out from the move is best to start the process. There are a number of medical steps to take (full lab work-ups, chest x-rays, etc.). I do not know yet how long they are valid. Where are you planning to live?

Philippines Airlines is offering a sale NOW (I THINK it is book by the end of December and fly after March 1st.) The fares are MUCH more reasonable than any time in recent memory. Be aware that they will charge you a "seat upgrade" in Economy class if you want to sit together ($20.00 in our case). 2 passengers (with seat "upgrade") roundtrip for a little over 2K.

Just a "public service announcement!" The USD-PHP exchange rate now and projected is falling fast. I might suggest sending what you can now if you have a lot to send over the next few months. Projections have dropped from touching the 60 range to bottoming out around 50 mid-2023 (and that does not factor in the exchange rate differences that whatever your remittance service charges. https://longforecast.com/usd-to-php-today-forecast Yikes!

Congrats!

Thanks for the corrections and the additional information!

Salamat! Ria seems to be a subsidiary of XE. Do you have any information about fees, exchange rates and sending limits?

SORRY! I know this is oft-repeated question but I have not found anything recent (aka last year or so). Most of you know that Joan and I are moving to the Philippines when I retire next year (I just posted some replies to someone else who is thinking about the same thing!) Our house(s) (duplex) are moving along beautifully and on schedule (and have already survived two earthquakes and a typhoon, so we got lucky and found a terrific architect/builder.) We are scheduled to start paying for the second half of the project next month--which is a hunk of change even spread over ten month. We stand to save a lot of money with the current and projected exchange rates and we want to get the best we can. So, here is the oft-asked question: Who do you use (now) to send money? We have used: Xoom--stupidly expensive for the kind of money we need to send with a lousy exchange rate Remitly--Our current choice. Reliable, reasonably fast, not "fees" for transfers over $1K, clear daily, monthly and 6 monthly limits (which fit our needs), BUT not the best exchange rate (even 1 PHP per $ could save us a LOT of money) WU--Better exchange rate even with the debit card fees (I understand that there are no fees bank to bank, but I even WU said they would be cautious giving the actual bank account information!), but we have had problems with transfers going through with them before and they don't tell you what your transmittal limits are ("You will know each time you log in." Yeah, but what if I need to make a house payment and you tell me I have reached my limit!) Wise--Wise has been highly recommended on this site. I opened an account and found their fees to be more than I want to pay. Has anyone used XE or World Remit? I've read ok things about them, but...I trust all of you. Salamat as always!

Joan and I are doing the same thing in about a year and I have done a lot of research (with some very valuable help here!) These answers are what I believe to be true as of now: Your wife, as a Filipino Citizen has NO restrictions on buying land. Your wife, as a USC, CAN still buy land (we did) BUT there are limits to how much she can buy. Your wife, should she reclaim her Filipino citizenship (dual citizen) (Joan did after buying this plot of land) regains her ability to buy as much land as she wants YOU, the USC with no ties to Filipino citizenship, CANNOT own land (you CAN own a condo, but not the land). You CAN be listed on the title as "married to...) i.e., "Property owner Jane Doe, married to John Doe." There are mandatory rights of passage in the event something happens to your wife. You, as "married to" are automatically entitled to a part of the land as spouse. However, her family also has claims to a percentage of the ownership. 13A Visa seems to be the way to go and we will be pursuing that next year. From what I understand, it is like a Green Card here, but needs to be renewed every year for at least 3 years. IF you apply for a 13A in the Philippines, then you receive a temporary "card" that becomes "permanent" when you renew a year later. IF you apply for the 13A while you are in the US, then I believe the visa is "permanent" right away (pending annual renewals) and a much faster process. The Hawaii consulate just started processing them again, so check with your local consulate. As noted above, the retirement visa has some significant drawbacks, so it is 13A for us. Balikbayan visa is good for a year, but I believe you need to leave the Philippines and re-enter with your wife to renew it--too many hassles and risks for me...but it might be a way to legally "test the waters" and then apply for 13A in the Philippines. Side notes: Buying land is difficult anywhere, but "It is more fun in the Philippines!" I highly recommend finding a real estate professional to do the leg work. We found an incredibly nice and extremely honest guy. PM me if you want his name. I will not mention what he did for us on a public forum, but it was way beyond what we could ever hope for. BE CAREFUL! We went through 4 scams before finding an honest seller (thankfully we only lost $60.00 on a bogus surveying job) Building: Joan and I are in the process of building a duplex house (one side for her parents, one side for us). Again, we got very lucky and found an incredible architect/builder. The designs are beautiful and our parent's portion is almost complete (matching the design). The incomplete building has survived two earthquakes and a typhoon with no problem. We get weekly updates with photos. PM me if you want to know who it is. Finally, have you thought about your budget? I will be on a "fixed income" (Joan will still work, but not me!), so once again, I have done a LOT of research. PM me if you want to see what I think is a realistic budget to live well on (based on many sources and over-estimating things by 1/3 to 1/2). It is a very exciting time for you and I hope that I have been able to offer some help. Please do reach out to me privately if you want to chat more. Edit: I BELIEVE that you can apply for Filipino citizenship after being a resident for 5 years married to a Filipina.

Aloha cdctke! I am looking at the exact same process for next year. This is from the Philippine Consulate in Honolulu. Hope it offers some guidance. @flicks1998 is a great resource but he beat me to it! https://honolulupcg.dfa.gov.ph/2014-05-13-10-59-40/visa

You are welcome Alison. I am quite sure the resources available to you are plenty. The questions will be the same no matter what the format. We happen to live very close to the local field office, so it was easy to get the booklet. The Hawaii field office is relatively small, so Joan's oath taking ceremony was small--I think 30 or fewer people. There were several ceremonies scheduled for that day. You said that you lived far from your field office. Ask if they offer oath ceremonies the same day as the interview. Some do, some don't. The Hawaii office offered same day ceremonies for people who lived on "the Outer Islands," or islands other than O'ahu. We live on O'ahu so we went back for the ceremony a few weeks later. Back to the test: relax and just study a little at a time. It was already mentioned, but I will say it again: pay attention to the question. If it asks for ONE answer (when there are several acceptable answers) then focus on ONE answer. Don't make it harder on yourself. I highly recommend this "classic" VJ thread by @TBoneTX to ease the stress of the exam. It is hysterical (spoiler: Mrs. TBoneTX passed the test). You will be fine!

Hi Alison! First, congrats on making it to the final stage! It is natural to be scared, but not overly so. As others have noted, the questions and answers are available to you. We pick up a booklet at USCIS and Joan studied a little each night. Then I asked her questions randomly every night for a couple of weeks. She got 6 out of 6 correct on her test and was done. The only thing I would watch out for is your local and federal representatives and/or political party. It sounds like they won't change base on the timing of your interview, but Joan's interview was after an election and she had to relearn some of the names. Good luck!

I was at a gas station in Hawaii and some guy offered to help me (I have cerebral palsy). I said thanks and went inside to pay. The (fill in whatever nasty word you want) then pulled his truck up to the still open pump and filled HIS truck up and took off. Thankfully the person working the counter recognized the truck and adjusted my bill. It happens and lesson learned. As for the Philippines, I had one scare going through security 10 years ago: the xray showed an Ipad at a strange angle and it looked like a knife. Cannot blame them for searching in that case. The only "hassles" I get at the airport is the occasional "medical clearance" interview I have to go through to explain what cerebral palsy is (two times). Maybe going through security in a wheelchair has some benefits! Funny story about taxis: Yes I was scammed, but I recognized it and got pissed. I through down an amount of money (before I really understood the conversions) that was...well let's say I unintentionally gave him a big tip. Another time some guy asked for P1000 for offering me a hand getting out of a kalesa. My then fiancee (now wife) took over and said some things that I still don't understand! Bottom line: many times in the PI with few attempted scams--BUT it is always good to be aware of your surroundings--even driving to work in your home town.

UPDATE: The bill has lapsed into law according to the Philippine Senate website! (I added the bold to the last sentence): 18th Congress Senate Bill No. 2450 PERMANENT VALIDITY OF THE CERTIFICATES OF LIVE BIRTH, DEATH, AND MARRIAGE ACT Filed on November 9, 2021 by Pangilinan, Francis "Kiko" N., Recto, Ralph G., Gatchalian, Win, Villanueva, Joel, Revilla Jr., Ramon Bong, Angara, Sonny, Poe, Grace, Binay, Maria Lourdes Nancy S., Villar, Cynthia A., Gordon, Richard J., Cayetano, Pia S., Go, Christopher Lawrence T. Top of Form Overview | Committee Referral | Floor Activity | Leg. History | All Information Bottom of Form Download SBN-2450 (Per Ctte. Rpt. No.334) 11/9/2021 4.2MB SBN-2450 (Third Reading Copy) 5/26/2022 286.3KB Republic Act No. 11909 361.6KB Long title AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE PERMANENT VALIDITY OF THE CERTIFICATES OF LIVE BIRTH, DEATH, AND MARRIAGE ISSUED, SIGNED, CERTIFIED, OR AUTHENTICATED BY THE PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY (PSA) AND ITS PREDECESSOR, THE NATIONAL STATISTICS OFFICE (NSO) AND THE LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRIES, AND THE REPORTS OF BIRTH, DEATH, AND MARRIAGE REGISTERED AND ISSUED BY THE PHILIPPINE FOREIGN SERVICE POSTS Scope National Legislative status Lapsed Into Law (7/28/2022) @Chancy I would THINK that the US Embassy would now need to follow Philippine law. Please post here if anyone has any issues with the Embassy accepting pre-PSA documents (AKA NSO documents) to keep us updated on this. Salamat!

Sorry, no updates. I THINK this bill is in limbo now. It was sent by the 18th Congress to former President Duterte. He did not sign it so I thought t would either need to signed, vetoed, or passed into law after 30 days under President Marcos. I cannot find any updates on its status (now past 30 days), but I saw an article stating that the "pass into law after 30 days" clause is on;y in effect when Congress is in session The 18th Congress adjourned and it is now the 19th Congress, so I am not sure if the bill needs to reintroduced to the new legislature or not. President Marcos did veto a tax incentive bill for the Bulacan Airport area, but there is some question about whether that will stand (because the old congress is no longer viable and therefore cannot exercise the right to override the veto or not). I had hoped to have a more definitive update on what I think is a very important measure that, as @Chancy indicated, may have implications for the procedures at the US Embassy. Please post here if you have any other information either on this bill or what happens in general in these situations. Salamat!

I agree with this ^^^ I don't think we ever included ROM for any process with USCIS. We DID include it recently for Joan's dual citizenship with the Philippine Embassy here, but I THINK the local DOH marriage certificate would have been fine. We filed ROC because we wanted to be recognized as married in the Philippines, not for any paperwork issues. But as @top_secret said, can't hurt in the Philippines!

There is a 30-year difference for us too. Not an issue in the Philippines (don't know about Colombia). I went to Joan's interview 10 years ago--not because of the age difference, but we just got lucky with the timing and I happened to be in the Philippines at the time. It was a great experience and one that we are both glad that I was there to share. It is not necessary, but yes, worth it if you can. As @bakphx1 said, you can be a support for your fiance as well as an extra set of ears to hear what the consul says. Go for it if you can.

I would certainly hope so. The whole point of the bill is to save Filipinos time and money by securing the permanence of their old documents. I didn't realize that the US Embassy was not accepting NSO documents (it has been a long time for us!) Let's hope that changes and there is one less step (redoing old, but valid documents) in the process. Salamat for your comment.