We Are The Art

<---------brings in BIG spoon
A one time friend of mine said something during one of his normal aluminum can induced hazes that at first severely offended me, but over time has been hard to refute. His words, not mine:
"The Philippines is a backward third world country, ruled by corruption, and inhabited submissive sheep." "You can accept it, deny it, or rebel against it, but the fact remains I speak the truth and it will always be this way."
The CFO seminar, airport exit tax, exit visa etc. are all examples that support his statement..........as much as I hate it......his statement is dam hard to refute. No one questions the legality, they simply do as they are told and collect a few pesoes.

That's kinda harsh, almost sounds like your implying that he will or does abuse her.

Having been to the US numerous times on my tourist visa before getting the K1, I can vouch that most of what they say is BS and their speakers have never even been to the US (I asked them)..They use scare tactics, tried to convince us to open bank accounts.. it was really awful! At least this was my experience back in 2011

This is the best apologetic I have seen so far. In theory, this is the relevance of why it is needed and looks good on paper. My problems are just a couple really. First, this one might seem minor, but is quite a nuisance for some. The vagueness of the CFO webpages and such do not necessarily prepare a person for the seminar. Things like "Other documents" do not clarify anything, and only make life harder when people are traveling to these seminars from places like Davao. Then, they are requested to go back and get more documents. Then, that wasn't good enough so they have to get even more documents. Why can't things like this be explained the first or second time around? It does not have anything to do with knowing someone's maiden name. For others here to reduce the greater problems into one menial example thinking it justifies the overall upset of attendees and brokenness of system is absurd. My second concern is that interviews that turn for the worst because the CFO officer is attempting to coerce the attendee into believing something that isn't true is indeed brainwashing. For example, I have read from others here that officers had made up lies specifically aimed at the foreigner just to break down the morale of the willing Filipino. This is corruption and brainwashing at its finest. Maybe, an abolishment of CFO is not the answer, but reform might be something to consider.

I don't think the op was whining in anyway, I think he was just calling to attention to the run amuk bureaucracy that is becoming more and more prevalent in todays times. In America, government is encroaching more and more into our daily lives and pockets.
Regulation this and requirement that. If no one draws an eye to it, it will continue to grow and to exert more control over our lives.

I think an online petition is an inexpensive way to protest this requirement.
I'm not going to respond anymore to people saying it can't be done or they're against others doing something about it. You're on the wrong team, trying to throw cold water and negativity upon something that might be within our power to change by merely signing our name to a petition. I am willing to look into how an online petition could be set up and think about the most efficient way to do it. I think I should poll people first though because my impression is the vast majority of people would rather not be forced to do this. A voluntary program - I have no problem with that. But for us it was a stupid waste of time and money. Maybe I am wrong about how other people feel.
Other productive ideas would be nice, or again if you think I am wrong about the law and can prove why - please do.

Hello.....
Is anyone else having a problem with their comment section? Everyting i post is doubled. I there a way to stop it? It is driving me nuts

Do nothing with the expired visa. It is irrelevant. What part of "never ever again" are you having difficulty understanding?

Greg - My sympathies on how heartbroken you are and there is no personal judgement here. Part of the problem with open message boards is people take pleasure in rubbing salt in your wounds. One of the cowardly means of doing that is pretending they are asking an innocent question when it's really a snide remark like "I wonder if this guy is a pedophile; two sides to every story..." Just ignore it. They want to get you on the defensive. You could just as well ask "I wonder if you are a serial killer" in response. And since the truth is somewhere in-between then they're somewhere between a serial killer and normal. A run of the mill sociopath.
Enough of this vain effort. The government has already made the determination that the relationship was genuine. It's over. The only thing that could change this determination is if you found substantial bullet-proof evidence of fraud like being married to someone else at the same time, correspondence with someone saying she was defrauding you, a confession - it has to be something of extreme gravity to reverse an official determination. There are untold thousands before you who had spouses leave when they got their green card. It's too late.
You aren't thinking clearly, and one symptom of that is hoping you can out-manipulate a manipulator. She is an emotionally abusive, cunning predator. She's already proven more than a match for you so just get yourself free of her as soon as possible.

I'm sorry some people have been so judgmental of you in these circumstances. Certainly, that is uncalled for and inappropriate.
Riogan gave you some good advice as did Vanessa. File for divorce, change the locks on the house, get a new phone number, get new email address, make sure her name isn't on any sort of joint accounts or anything like that (I suspect you have already removed them, but just in case you haven't . . .), and when the divorce is final send a copy to USCIS (include her name and A#), explain that she abandoned you the day she received her green card and that you do not believe she was honest in her reasons for getting married in the first place. Include details and any documentation you have in a straight-forward, non-emotional way.
Another possibility instead of her planning this from the start (which she could have done as well) is I wonder if she really believed the 'myth' that all Americans are wealthy and the streets are filled with endless opportunity here in the US - and was disillusioned when she got here and realized that she wasn't in for the 'easy life' she had hoped? Her demands for money, for 'address', for prestige and such really seem to indicate that these may have been her real motivation for getting married, and when they didn't materialize, any love she did have for you also went out the window with her disappointment. Regardless, she did leave once she got her conditional green card and that does give you a bit of an advantage.
She needs to file to remove conditions on her green card either in 2 years or once she is divorced. It is in your best interest to get divorced rather than waiting out those two years. She will have to prove that she entered the marriage in good faith and that the two of you lived in an honest marriage - her sudden departure once she got a green card does not do much to prove her 'good faith'. I think you can expect that once she discovers she needs evidence of her 'good faith' she might try and come back, professing her love, professing her willingness to try again - and will show up just long enough to get what she needs, and then take off again.
If she does go back to Europe and remains there for an extended period of time (over a year) without special permission to be outside of the US, that too would work in your favour. If she tries to re-enter she may find that her green card status has automatically been revoked - especially if they have your divorce and documentation of your suspicions on file.
The most important thing for you to do is to move on with your life. You were willing to work on a marriage with this woman, but it didn't work out. It may be that she planned to leave from the beginning, or it may be that she became disillusioned with the reality of the US when she had expected much more. For whatever reason it was, I am sorry it didn't work out and encourage you to do what you can to protect yourself if she is a 'schemer', or to just move on with your life if she was 'real'. Once you are divorced, the immigration problem is hers. She will have to prove her integrity; she will have to prove her account. (You may wish to include copies of the police 'no action' records for when she called the police to the house with your report to USCIS. If you provide them it will look better than if she provides them, if there was no action taken. You then get to include your version of the story and that will be on file).
Good luck to you, and again, I am sorry for what you are going through, and that you have been subjected to some inappropriate judgmental comments on this forum.

Those who sacrifice security for freedom, deserve neither
Benjamin Franklin

You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.
Winston Churchill

Frank Tipler (Professor of Mathematical Physics):
"When I began my career as a cosmologist some twenty years ago, I was a convinced atheist. I never in my wildest dreams imagined that one day I would be writing a book purporting to show that the central claims of Judeo-Christian theology are in fact true, that these claims are straightforward deductions of the laws of physics as we now understand them. I have been forced into these conclusions by the inexorable logic of my own special branch of physics."

W.C. FIELDS
A woman drove me to drink and I didn't even have the decency to thank her.
I am free of all prejudices. I hate every one equally.
I drink, therefore I am
I never drink water because of the disgusting things that fish do in it.
Never try to impress a woman, because if you do she'll expect you to keep up the standard for the rest of your life.
No doubt exists that all women are crazy; it's only a question of degree.

yes, I was responding to I Love Islam, she said a lawyer told her to wait until her husband had his greencard before he could apply for SS number, that just isn't true, and yet another example of an immigration attrorney not knowing what he is talking about

Be Advised: The following comments voice my strong opinions on a subject that many will find hard to accept. I make no apologies for my personal beliefs nor will I retract any of my statements. I will however ask that those who disagree respect the OP's posting by addressing the thread rather than launching any personal attacks.
That's the Philippines for ya! Take some good advise; Wash your hands of the entire affair immediately.
Let her family deal with their own problems and you make your own family your sole priority. Personally, and as difficult as it may be for a multitude of reasons, I would immediately cease to provide any and all monetary support to her family as well. (IMO it was a serious mistake to ever have provided financial support for her family in the first place) Your wife will no doubt protest and be upset if you do but, remember that you married HER, not her family. Your wife is your responsibility, her welfare and the welfare of your immediate family is your priority. By taking on the burden of her families needs you have unwittingly put you and yours at risk. Just take a look at the stress and strife that you and your wife are currently experiencing as proof of that fact. There are many unexpected consequences occuring and I suspect more are to come. As difficult as it may be for both you and your wife to witness and accept, poverty is a fact of life in the Philippines. As you can now see, the very perception that you "have money" is enough to invite disaster from all sides when such terrible desperation is a factor. The seemingly innocent and well intended injection of money (however small it may be) into the support of her family has obviously become well known to many others far beyond the scope of just her family, throw in the rampant corruption so commonly seen in the Philippines and that is all that was required to bring you to this current dilemma. Desperate people do desperate things, it happens every day all over the world, not just in the Philippines.
While any responsible husband does in fact have a responsibility to help the extended family (both sides) in times of genuine need, there are distinct limits involved. Sudden serious illness or injury as example or even some unexpected financial distress may require some temporary aid, but beyond that it is fool-hearty for any husband to allow his own family to become financially involved and at risk in order to satisfy the unwise and unrealistic "cultural expectation" of financial support from anyone who has the good fortune of escaping the poverty of their previous life. Yes, charity does play an important role in life; But always remember...."charity begins at home". One must first be able to "help themselves"....before one can truly help others.
This widespread and common belief amongst many Philippino's that a daughter (or son for that matter) who marry's an American or any other nationality "of means" by Philippine standards, has a "duty" to unendingly provide financial support to their natural family (even including cousins and 2nd or 3rd cousins in some cases) is born out of the desperation brought on by poverty and is probably rooted in the so-called "tradition" known as Sin-Sot commonly practiced in Thailand. Without going into too much detail, in Thailand, "Sin-Sot" is the practice of a prospective husband paying both gold and money to the prospective wife's family in order to compensate the family for the "loss" of the potential earnings that daughter may have provided had she not married and left the family. Basically, it's a corrupted form of "dowry". But even in Thailand, there is no evidence that it was ever a part of any true Thai "tradition". In fact, many respectable Thai families would never accept such payment as it would bring utter disgrace to the entire family. The truth is, "Sin-Sot" and the Phillipine custom of expecting and/or demanding financial support from any family member who is perceived to "have money" is a relatively new practice that is born purely out of desperation, corruption and poverty and did not come into play until large numbers of Thai and Philippino women began to marry Americans (primarily) during WWII. Since that time, both Thailand and the Philippines have long been economically distressed and poverty stricken. Sadly enough, the most common and abundant export from either country has been....their beautiful women. Human nature being what it is, it didn't take long for many less than honorable elements of both countries to seize upon their new-found "windfall" of wealth by basically extorting money from their own family members and the spouses they chose to marry.
Yes, many will strongly dispute my statements and attempt to justify this corrupt practice by claiming (and rightly so in some cases) that they do "owe" their families as much as they can give but, a large percentage of those nay-sayers are also the very victims themselves. Many a Filipina has been coached or even brainwashed to believe this corruption since early childhood and it has become deeply entrenched in Philippine society. All people have a natural desire to help their families and a deep emotional bond will always exist, it is that very bond that is so often used to manipulate many Filipina's into mistakenly believing they have a "moral obligation" to serve this destructive "cultural expectation" even at their own peril. In the end, neither party is well served by this corrupt practice and many Fil-Am marriages have been destroyed because of it.
I strongly urge you to take the above into consideration when deciding how best to address your current and future situation. Chances are, there is in fact a certain level of extortion going on and it may not be limited to only outside parties. Many a man has been used and manipulated in ways that boogle the mind to imagine, I'd do some very serious fact checking before I made any commitments if I were you. I firmly believe that many of your suspicions are completely justified and the truth may be even worse than you expect. Honor your wife by standing strong and refusing to allow this or any other outside interference to come between you, she may be a bit confused or even hurt at first, but in the end she will respect you for it. Let troubles on the other side of the planet work themselves out and focus on maintaining your own family's stability. You are not responsible for the problems in other people's lives and they should not depend on you to provide solutions, especially not if the solution they seek....is money.
Good Luck and Best Wishes!

Be Advised: The following comments voice my strong opinions on a subject that many will find hard to accept. I make no apologies for my personal beliefs nor will I retract any of my statements. I will however ask that those who disagree respect the OP's posting by addressing the thread rather than launching any personal attacks.
That's the Philippines for ya! Take some good advise; Wash your hands of the entire affair immediately.
Let her family deal with their own problems and you make your own family your sole priority. Personally, and as difficult as it may be for a multitude of reasons, I would immediately cease to provide any and all monetary support to her family as well. (IMO it was a serious mistake to ever have provided financial support for her family in the first place) Your wife will no doubt protest and be upset if you do but, remember that you married HER, not her family. Your wife is your responsibility, her welfare and the welfare of your immediate family is your priority. By taking on the burden of her families needs you have unwittingly put you and yours at risk. Just take a look at the stress and strife that you and your wife are currently experiencing as proof of that fact. There are many unexpected consequences occuring and I suspect more are to come. As difficult as it may be for both you and your wife to witness and accept, poverty is a fact of life in the Philippines. As you can now see, the very perception that you "have money" is enough to invite disaster from all sides when such terrible desperation is a factor. The seemingly innocent and well intended injection of money (however small it may be) into the support of her family has obviously become well known to many others far beyond the scope of just her family, throw in the rampant corruption so commonly seen in the Philippines and that is all that was required to bring you to this current dilemma. Desperate people do desperate things, it happens every day all over the world, not just in the Philippines.
While any responsible husband does in fact have a responsibility to help the extended family (both sides) in times of genuine need, there are distinct limits involved. Sudden serious illness or injury as example or even some unexpected financial distress may require some temporary aid, but beyond that it is fool-hearty for any husband to allow his own family to become financially involved and at risk in order to satisfy the unwise and unrealistic "cultural expectation" of financial support from anyone who has the good fortune of escaping the poverty of their previous life. Yes, charity does play an important role in life; But always remember...."charity begins at home". One must first be able to "help themselves"....before one can truly help others.
This widespread and common belief amongst many Philippino's that a daughter (or son for that matter) who marry's an American or any other nationality "of means" by Philippine standards, has a "duty" to unendingly provide financial support to their natural family (even including cousins and 2nd or 3rd cousins in some cases) is born out of the desperation brought on by poverty and is probably rooted in the so-called "tradition" known as Sin-Sot commonly practiced in Thailand. Without going into too much detail, in Thailand, "Sin-Sot" is the practice of a prospective husband paying both gold and money to the prospective wife's family in order to compensate the family for the "loss" of the potential earnings that daughter may have provided had she not married and left the family. Basically, it's a corrupted form of "dowry". But even in Thailand, there is no evidence that it was ever a part of any true Thai "tradition". In fact, many respectable Thai families would never accept such payment as it would bring utter disgrace to the entire family. The truth is, "Sin-Sot" and the Phillipine custom of expecting and/or demanding financial support from any family member who is perceived to "have money" is a relatively new practice that is born purely out of desperation, corruption and poverty and did not come into play until large numbers of Thai and Philippino women began to marry Americans (primarily) during WWII. Since that time, both Thailand and the Philippines have long been economically distressed and poverty stricken. Sadly enough, the most common and abundant export from either country has been....their beautiful women. Human nature being what it is, it didn't take long for many less than honorable elements of both countries to seize upon their new-found "windfall" of wealth by basically extorting money from their own family members and the spouses they chose to marry.
Yes, many will strongly dispute my statements and attempt to justify this corrupt practice by claiming (and rightly so in some cases) that they do "owe" their families as much as they can give but, a large percentage of those nay-sayers are also the very victims themselves. Many a Filipina has been coached or even brainwashed to believe this corruption since early childhood and it has become deeply entrenched in Philippine society. All people have a natural desire to help their families and a deep emotional bond will always exist, it is that very bond that is so often used to manipulate many Filipina's into mistakenly believing they have a "moral obligation" to serve this destructive "cultural expectation" even at their own peril. In the end, neither party is well served by this corrupt practice and many Fil-Am marriages have been destroyed because of it.
I strongly urge you to take the above into consideration when deciding how best to address your current and future situation. Chances are, there is in fact a certain level of extortion going on and it may not be limited to only outside parties. Many a man has been used and manipulated in ways that boogle the mind to imagine, I'd do some very serious fact checking before I made any commitments if I were you. I firmly believe that many of your suspicions are completely justified and the truth may be even worse than you expect. Honor your wife by standing strong and refusing to allow this or any other outside interference to come between you, she may be a bit confused or even hurt at first, but in the end she will respect you for it. Let troubles on the other side of the planet work themselves out and focus on maintaining your own family's stability. You are not responsible for the problems in other people's lives and they should not depend on you to provide solutions, especially not if the solution they seek....is money.
Good Luck and Best Wishes!

Be Advised: The following comments voice my strong opinions on a subject that many will find hard to accept. I make no apologies for my personal beliefs nor will I retract any of my statements. I will however ask that those who disagree respect the OP's posting by addressing the thread rather than launching any personal attacks.
That's the Philippines for ya! Take some good advise; Wash your hands of the entire affair immediately.
Let her family deal with their own problems and you make your own family your sole priority. Personally, and as difficult as it may be for a multitude of reasons, I would immediately cease to provide any and all monetary support to her family as well. (IMO it was a serious mistake to ever have provided financial support for her family in the first place) Your wife will no doubt protest and be upset if you do but, remember that you married HER, not her family. Your wife is your responsibility, her welfare and the welfare of your immediate family is your priority. By taking on the burden of her families needs you have unwittingly put you and yours at risk. Just take a look at the stress and strife that you and your wife are currently experiencing as proof of that fact. There are many unexpected consequences occuring and I suspect more are to come. As difficult as it may be for both you and your wife to witness and accept, poverty is a fact of life in the Philippines. As you can now see, the very perception that you "have money" is enough to invite disaster from all sides when such terrible desperation is a factor. The seemingly innocent and well intended injection of money (however small it may be) into the support of her family has obviously become well known to many others far beyond the scope of just her family, throw in the rampant corruption so commonly seen in the Philippines and that is all that was required to bring you to this current dilemma. Desperate people do desperate things, it happens every day all over the world, not just in the Philippines.
While any responsible husband does in fact have a responsibility to help the extended family (both sides) in times of genuine need, there are distinct limits involved. Sudden serious illness or injury as example or even some unexpected financial distress may require some temporary aid, but beyond that it is fool-hearty for any husband to allow his own family to become financially involved and at risk in order to satisfy the unwise and unrealistic "cultural expectation" of financial support from anyone who has the good fortune of escaping the poverty of their previous life. Yes, charity does play an important role in life; But always remember...."charity begins at home". One must first be able to "help themselves"....before one can truly help others.
This widespread and common belief amongst many Philippino's that a daughter (or son for that matter) who marry's an American or any other nationality "of means" by Philippine standards, has a "duty" to unendingly provide financial support to their natural family (even including cousins and 2nd or 3rd cousins in some cases) is born out of the desperation brought on by poverty and is probably rooted in the so-called "tradition" known as Sin-Sot commonly practiced in Thailand. Without going into too much detail, in Thailand, "Sin-Sot" is the practice of a prospective husband paying both gold and money to the prospective wife's family in order to compensate the family for the "loss" of the potential earnings that daughter may have provided had she not married and left the family. Basically, it's a corrupted form of "dowry". But even in Thailand, there is no evidence that it was ever a part of any true Thai "tradition". In fact, many respectable Thai families would never accept such payment as it would bring utter disgrace to the entire family. The truth is, "Sin-Sot" and the Phillipine custom of expecting and/or demanding financial support from any family member who is perceived to "have money" is a relatively new practice that is born purely out of desperation, corruption and poverty and did not come into play until large numbers of Thai and Philippino women began to marry Americans (primarily) during WWII. Since that time, both Thailand and the Philippines have long been economically distressed and poverty stricken. Sadly enough, the most common and abundant export from either country has been....their beautiful women. Human nature being what it is, it didn't take long for many less than honorable elements of both countries to seize upon their new-found "windfall" of wealth by basically extorting money from their own family members and the spouses they chose to marry.
Yes, many will strongly dispute my statements and attempt to justify this corrupt practice by claiming (and rightly so in some cases) that they do "owe" their families as much as they can give but, a large percentage of those nay-sayers are also the very victims themselves. Many a Filipina has been coached or even brainwashed to believe this corruption since early childhood and it has become deeply entrenched in Philippine society. All people have a natural desire to help their families and a deep emotional bond will always exist, it is that very bond that is so often used to manipulate many Filipina's into mistakenly believing they have a "moral obligation" to serve this destructive "cultural expectation" even at their own peril. In the end, neither party is well served by this corrupt practice and many Fil-Am marriages have been destroyed because of it.
I strongly urge you to take the above into consideration when deciding how best to address your current and future situation. Chances are, there is in fact a certain level of extortion going on and it may not be limited to only outside parties. Many a man has been used and manipulated in ways that boogle the mind to imagine, I'd do some very serious fact checking before I made any commitments if I were you. I firmly believe that many of your suspicions are completely justified and the truth may be even worse than you expect. Honor your wife by standing strong and refusing to allow this or any other outside interference to come between you, she may be a bit confused or even hurt at first, but in the end she will respect you for it. Let troubles on the other side of the planet work themselves out and focus on maintaining your own family's stability. You are not responsible for the problems in other people's lives and they should not depend on you to provide solutions, especially not if the solution they seek....is money.
Good Luck and Best Wishes!

Be Advised: The following comments voice my strong opinions on a subject that many will find hard to accept. I make no apologies for my personal beliefs nor will I retract any of my statements. I will however ask that those who disagree respect the OP's posting by addressing the thread rather than launching any personal attacks.
That's the Philippines for ya! Take some good advise; Wash your hands of the entire affair immediately.
Let her family deal with their own problems and you make your own family your sole priority. Personally, and as difficult as it may be for a multitude of reasons, I would immediately cease to provide any and all monetary support to her family as well. (IMO it was a serious mistake to ever have provided financial support for her family in the first place) Your wife will no doubt protest and be upset if you do but, remember that you married HER, not her family. Your wife is your responsibility, her welfare and the welfare of your immediate family is your priority. By taking on the burden of her families needs you have unwittingly put you and yours at risk. Just take a look at the stress and strife that you and your wife are currently experiencing as proof of that fact. There are many unexpected consequences occuring and I suspect more are to come. As difficult as it may be for both you and your wife to witness and accept, poverty is a fact of life in the Philippines. As you can now see, the very perception that you "have money" is enough to invite disaster from all sides when such terrible desperation is a factor. The seemingly innocent and well intended injection of money (however small it may be) into the support of her family has obviously become well known to many others far beyond the scope of just her family, throw in the rampant corruption so commonly seen in the Philippines and that is all that was required to bring you to this current dilemma. Desperate people do desperate things, it happens every day all over the world, not just in the Philippines.
While any responsible husband does in fact have a responsibility to help the extended family (both sides) in times of genuine need, there are distinct limits involved. Sudden serious illness or injury as example or even some unexpected financial distress may require some temporary aid, but beyond that it is fool-hearty for any husband to allow his own family to become financially involved and at risk in order to satisfy the unwise and unrealistic "cultural expectation" of financial support from anyone who has the good fortune of escaping the poverty of their previous life. Yes, charity does play an important role in life; But always remember...."charity begins at home". One must first be able to "help themselves"....before one can truly help others.
This widespread and common belief amongst many Philippino's that a daughter (or son for that matter) who marry's an American or any other nationality "of means" by Philippine standards, has a "duty" to unendingly provide financial support to their natural family (even including cousins and 2nd or 3rd cousins in some cases) is born out of the desperation brought on by poverty and is probably rooted in the so-called "tradition" known as Sin-Sot commonly practiced in Thailand. Without going into too much detail, in Thailand, "Sin-Sot" is the practice of a prospective husband paying both gold and money to the prospective wife's family in order to compensate the family for the "loss" of the potential earnings that daughter may have provided had she not married and left the family. Basically, it's a corrupted form of "dowry". But even in Thailand, there is no evidence that it was ever a part of any true Thai "tradition". In fact, many respectable Thai families would never accept such payment as it would bring utter disgrace to the entire family. The truth is, "Sin-Sot" and the Phillipine custom of expecting and/or demanding financial support from any family member who is perceived to "have money" is a relatively new practice that is born purely out of desperation, corruption and poverty and did not come into play until large numbers of Thai and Philippino women began to marry Americans (primarily) during WWII. Since that time, both Thailand and the Philippines have long been economically distressed and poverty stricken. Sadly enough, the most common and abundant export from either country has been....their beautiful women. Human nature being what it is, it didn't take long for many less than honorable elements of both countries to seize upon their new-found "windfall" of wealth by basically extorting money from their own family members and the spouses they chose to marry.
Yes, many will strongly dispute my statements and attempt to justify this corrupt practice by claiming (and rightly so in some cases) that they do "owe" their families as much as they can give but, a large percentage of those nay-sayers are also the very victims themselves. Many a Filipina has been coached or even brainwashed to believe this corruption since early childhood and it has become deeply entrenched in Philippine society. All people have a natural desire to help their families and a deep emotional bond will always exist, it is that very bond that is so often used to manipulate many Filipina's into mistakenly believing they have a "moral obligation" to serve this destructive "cultural expectation" even at their own peril. In the end, neither party is well served by this corrupt practice and many Fil-Am marriages have been destroyed because of it.
I strongly urge you to take the above into consideration when deciding how best to address your current and future situation. Chances are, there is in fact a certain level of extortion going on and it may not be limited to only outside parties. Many a man has been used and manipulated in ways that boogle the mind to imagine, I'd do some very serious fact checking before I made any commitments if I were you. I firmly believe that many of your suspicions are completely justified and the truth may be even worse than you expect. Honor your wife by standing strong and refusing to allow this or any other outside interference to come between you, she may be a bit confused or even hurt at first, but in the end she will respect you for it. Let troubles on the other side of the planet work themselves out and focus on maintaining your own family's stability. You are not responsible for the problems in other people's lives and they should not depend on you to provide solutions, especially not if the solution they seek....is money.
Good Luck and Best Wishes!

I wish you good luck with congressmen, senator's etc. I have done those as well as multiple service requests, 2 separate info passes and multiple calls to USCIS including tier 2. Basically USCIS does what they want, when they want and no amount of calling, harassing, begging or pleading does any good what so ever in my humble opinion. The congressmen did try to help by contacting the service center, but after weeks of waiting they got the same typical responses that I had been getting - "wait 30 - 60 days", "wait 120 days", and one reply came back and said "if you haven't heard anything in 6 months please contact USCIS at that time", if you can believe that response LOL. The system is unjust for USC's but it's "A Dream Act" for others.

I hate hearing/reading/watching that the US government will give illegal aliens a path to citizenship while I wait, fill out forms, undergo a medical, get police clearances, show proof that my hubby can financially support me etc. Where's the justice? And all of those illegals who get on the citizenship path will soon be replaced by another lot of illegals.

My thoughts exactly.
Sadly, the words mediocre, half-assed and one big power trip comes to mind when I think of requirements my government sometimes requires. Especially this CFO thing. Because really... If you wanted to prevent trafficking and abuse, all you need is a seminar.

It is the dead guy's fault. He drove on private property, and then when the guy with the guy was yelling he rolled down his window. I wasn't there, but I can almost guarantee you the window rolling down made the home owner think the kid was going to pull something. In that situation - you don't wait and see, you shoot to kill. Period.

The kid shouldn't have rolled down the window.... Should have just driven away.

It's a big deal when you realize that unions have run Michigan for the past 80+ years, and almost all the auto factories are shut down in part due to the unions influence.