Kevo

The trip was awesome and everyone loved the gifts. Pasil, Kalinga is a beautiful place - best way to describe it would be to imagine rural West Virginia in the early 1900's. Very isolated - about a 2 hour drive from Tabuk, most of it on a dirt/mud road winding through a mountain range.

I wish I would've brought more whiskey though...I drank way more of thier gin (4x4) than I brought. Next time I'll bring more...planning on returning in Feb for a little longer (21 days).

And for myself, I'll bring some handkerchiefs or tissues, Off spray/lotion, and benadrel for bug bite relief! Some kind of insect tore up my ankles with small itchy bites and another got me about 10 times in my upper thigh area and made quarter-sized bruises around the bites.

Agree, Manila is too big and crowded. We're just staying one night to rest up before heading to Kalinga. At the Ramada near China town.

Damn time zones...it's 2:30 am here and I'm wide awake! I should've taken a sleeping pill earlier.

Adrian, from everything she's told me I get the impression that I'm going to a back-woods tiki-hut village. Which suits me just fine.

I'll be in Manila Tues & Kalinga on Weds, can't wait. I've been to alot of countries around the world, I get the feeling this will be the most exotic of them.

Maybe I'll see you there and we'll have a tagay!

You know you can buy JB at the duty free store at Terminal 1, about $76 for 3 liters.

I don't want to lug around a 3L bottle from Manila to Pasil...she wants me to experience riding the bus and I'm thinking it's gonna be a rough trip.

I bought a fifth of JB for about $15 at the BX class 6 and I'll stick it in the suitcase.

Thanks all for the tips.

Ok, got 8 t-shirts and 3 hats...all with an American theme. One of the hats has a rebel flag, I'll get a kick out of seeing them wear that.

Got about 5 mini assorted Hershey candy bags.

Pangga, you sold me on the UNO cards. I'll let you know how that goes.

And Piglett, I'm gonna get a fifth of whisky tomorrow. Probably Jim Beam because I can't stand JD and I know my fiance doesn't like it also. Even though I'm sure JD is probably recognized more.

Yeah, they're going to be disappointed if they're expecting an American to bring them Swiss chocolate. Frankly, if Hersey's makes them think I'm cheap I really don't care. My goal isn't to make them think I'm rich. Actually, one of my concerns going in is her relatives trying to mooch off of me, so being labeled cheap may not be a bad thing, haha.

I think I'll go with tshirts, hats, and halloween candy on clearance now (Hershey's ). Thanks all for the suggestions.

I can't wait to see the Philippines, meet her family, and see her again. It's only been 3 months but seems like forever!

Hershey's cheap?? When I think of American chocolate I think of Hershey's. If I send or bring chocolate it will be Hershey's and Hershey's only. Hershey's is delicious.

Now excuse me while I check to see how my Hershey's stock is doing. Seriously though, Hershey's only for chocolate.

If the guard stamped your receipt with “SPUTUM --- something” then unfortunately, you have to have a Sputum Collection and a 2-month long delay.

Is this something that can be done prior to the exam to avoid a 2-month delay? wth is sputnum?

No you do not need . I flew through Taiwan on Eva Air.

Thanks.

I would bring chocolate, but she wanted me to mail some about a month ago so I shipped about $30 worth of chocolate bars. Not sure about giving toiletries...I'll prob stick with t-shirts, maybe sweatshirts/hoodies.

Should I stay away from anything too American (ie, American flags on them), or do you think they'd like that?

Transit visa? I'm flying next week from LAX to Philippines with a stop in Taiwan for a few hrs....I never heard of a transit visa! Do I need one just for a layover?

I dated my filipina fiance for about a year while we were living in Cyprus...she's in the Philippines now and I'm going there next week for the first time and meeting her family. Any ideas for a gift from the US to give to her family members? Something inexpensive, but thougtful...pretty sure they will be thankful for just about anything as her family is probably below avg as far as income and they live in a very small village in Kalinga (Pasil). Something that won't take up much room in my luggage also.

The only idea I can think of is T-shirts..

I'm so excited!

Another question about it, how much fast does an approved expedite make things happen? Without it, looks like 5-7 months..with it, approx how long (assuming no RFE or other delays)?

How do you request an expedite? I will possibly deploy in May and will be sumbiting a 129 soon for a K-1 visa.

Try zillow.com for an estimate.

Does it really matter who it's addressed to, or if there's even an address on it? I was under the assumption that as long as it has the petitioner/fiance's names and signed by both it would be ok.

Thanks for the info...no waiting requirement for all three states.

A few states (Nebraska, Wisconsin, Oklahama) have 6 month waiting periods! Ouch!

That leads to another question...I'm an Ohio resident, my divorce was in a Utah court, and I currently live in California. Which state law would apply for me?

Is that 60-day law a state law or is it federal? I haven't filed a I-129F yet but my divorce has only been final for about 3 weeks.

First off, thanks for any help that you guys who have been through this can give me...I know these questions are probably in here somewhere but not easy to find.

A little background...I'm in the mlitary and was stationed in Cyprus. I met my phillipino fiance there as she was (still is) working as a nanny/maid there. My first marriage was still not legally over even after years of separation so we could not get married there. About two weeks ago a divorce was FINALLY granted.

I've done the research and think I've got everything ready for the petition to eventually apply for a K-1....I do have a few concerns though.

1. Proof that we met in person. We dated for a whole year, so we have plenty of pics. But I didn't keep any plane tickets or anything like that. I do have my passport stamps.

2. She's in Cyprus illegally as she stayed there past her work visa. Because of that I told her she should return to the phillipines first before filing the petition. She agrees and will be going soon. I guess she will be able to show her passport stamps too...will the stamps showing a long stay in Cyprus set off red flags with USCIS or the State Dept, or will they not even look at that?

Any suggestions?

Also, the process seems pretty cut & dry...but do any of you suggest going through an agency to help? If so, which one(s)?

One more thing - assuming everything we submit is done correctly, how long of a process am I looking at to get the visa issued? From everything I've read I'm guessing approx 6 months?