Jeff @ Missy

 

IIRC, A lawful Balikbayan stamp holder doesn't need exit clearance as long as you leave before your stamp expires. That's one of the privileges of being a BB.

The "after 6 months rule" you are referring too I believe applies to foreigners with tourist visas only. Those people need exit clearances to leave. HTH

Ya it's a sweet deal. My wife after getting her to the states wanted back after 5 months so now I am a BB instead of a tourist.

B. RA 6768 provides for the exemption of the following from payment of the travel tax:

Balikbayans whose stay in the Philippines is less than one (1) year

http://www.tieza.com.ph/ (travel tax drop down at top of screen)

I think they were asking about the BI exit clearance which needs to be obtained no more than 30 days bfore departure and at least 72 hrs or I have heard 2 weeks. A BB stamp holder as I know does not need an exit clearance after 6 months.

I would be curious to know what the traveler OP had any difficulty leaving, I am in the same situation now

Hey,thanks for the positive replies, I thought i would have been flamed on the filipina group part by a few, it can be a positive and negative thing, actually one of the ones who liked stirring the pot came to our house once, but only once. Yes my wife never really wanted to go to the USA in the first place, as in not her motive,we were married and lived together in the PI a few years. That being said, I myself am not thrilled with living in the PI forever, been there done that and saw both of the recent disasters a bit to close. My young child is the one that loses the most from this I believe, health and education is not the same in the PI.

Did not have time to do a reentry permit as an 'insurance policy' so to speak if we decided differently, still have a year here I believe before the GC goes inactive, and the cost of a reentry permit is 445$ plus biometrics and the travel. Sure would be nice to do a 6 month here and there schedule for awhile but the cost issue and also never really feeling settled.

FYI there is something called an SB-1 for returning after the GC times out but I hear it is hard to obtain, there has to be circumstances beyond your control as to why you did not return, not our case.

It's more fun in the Philippines? it can be but....

Five months later we are back in the Philippines, she prefers life here in the PI to that in the USA, one of few I would guess. So I am also here in the PI, not really what I wanted to do, was a lot of effort to bring my wife to the states. She felt somewhat isolated in the spectacular place where we lived, she enjoyed many of the amenities of living there but friends, family ties and the food back home was too much, so many thousands of dollars and travel and moving we are now settled "back home".

Now many of you may say "she should have joined a Filipino group so she felt welcome", but, as so many have also told me that is a HUGE mistake. She had filipinas there that she saw but not a large group. Since we have been back many of the guys I know reiterated the position of if she is in a large community of Filipinas that one of them will grab her ear and coach her on the niceties of how to get a divorce, support money etc, happens way to often. I have a good friend going through this and have heard endless stories since my return, way to common, buyer beware so they say. Now for us we have no issues such as this and I intend to keep it that way.

So my commitment to USCIS as in the change of address form for the I-864 I-865 is not needed here, her 10 yr GC will expire without a trip back in the coming year. I have many personal feelings on not living back in our wonderful USA home but....as Joe Dirt learned after searching so long for his parents, "home is where ya make it".

God Bless

Just did this at NAIA term 1, filipino line, 1 min wait, BB stamp, 9 suitcases through customs nothing to declare lane, 2 taxis for luggage and all is good.

Are you forgetting the reentry permit to get back to the USA?

Does she really have to be told that if she breaks the law in her new country she can be deported? But the other end of it I can see as there really are countries (mostly Moslem) where assaulting your wife is legal and abandoning your husband is a criminal offense. I can see the need to make sure that none of them think that is the case in the United States.

The Philippines being modeled after the USA in education and government and the sheer amount of Filipinos living here is a good indication that they will be treated properly and mostly MUCH better than they would getting married and living in the PI. Yes they should but are not told about laws here that can and will get them in trouble, such as hitting a child. Trust me that there are many of them that grow up in a tough environment of abuse against them and they think that this is normal behavior and it is tolerated in the PI but pull that over here, no no no. My wife is not afraid to whack me and I have warned her about the consequences if she does, and if she is abusive to our child there will be retributions.

On the airplane trip bringing my family here there was a gentleman with his two young girls, his children whom he was bringing here to get them out of an abusive environment with their mother, they were not married and USEM gave them the get out of town visa.

The CFO booklet we got was only a few yrs old, complimentary it was and just made the whole experience of the CFO seminar much more pleasing...

Women going to a western country are not guaranteed a good man who wil not hang them out to dry. Some of us may remember a recent thread where the OP's aunt came here on a K-1 and was indeed hung out to dry by the man who claimed to love her.

And although how to protect yourself is fairly obvious to most Filipina ladies, the ones to whom it is not obvious are the ones who need the seminar. How many of them know that if she becomes a domestic violence victim all she needs to do to get help is to dial 911 or flag down a police car? In some Moslem countries doing that will get her arrested for the crime of abandoning her husband. How many will fear doing that here, concerned that the same result awaits her?

For most of our ladies, and definitely for Candy, the seminar will not teach them anything they do not already know and will only teach them protection from the one man who they do not and never will need protection from (i.e. yours truly). But if it will save one woman from dying by making all of them go, it is worth it.

The first thing my wife got before her interview was the flyer on domestic abuse, and the interviewer told her not to worry if there is a problem and she will not lose her visa if she calls 911. What they did not tell her it can go either way, if the immigrant abuses the petitioner she will go to jail and that is a probable violation and she can be deported

The one place I don't want to see Candy wait in line is at the medical. Since they only take cash, each lady has at least $225 in her pocket. A robber going up and down the line can get a year's salary for the average Filipino in one morning.

It escapes any sensible reasoning why they don't take credit cards online for that. I would have paid it by now with my credit card if that were the case. They get paid sooner, our fiances are safer, and I sleep better. Everyone wins except the robbers.

I never saw a line for the medical, and they had security. I did not get there at some god awful hour to get my wife in but it takes 2 days so whats the hurry.

The CFO must be taking a beating, now they just need to abolish it and make everyone's life easier, or target those that are going to muslin countries that are known to abuse Filipinos

You just don't get it. Neither does your friend. Keeping his head in the sand will get him burned for sure.

My ex-wife didn't have a job, didn't even have authorization to work in this country, yet the judge awarded her NO alimony and ordered HER TO PAY child support, based on imputed wages. This was based, in part, upon the fact that she was young and healthy and would be CAPABLE of working someday.

So your wife was not a LPR then, no GC for working, did she ever enter the USA? Did you ever sign an AOS? Yes he is in better condition due to her working but still this is a huge hammer hanging over his head, and yes he needs to be prepared for when it falls.

Have you read this? There is a detailed document that can be downloaded at the end, a bit overwhelming...

http://www.avvo.com/legal-guides/ugc/demanding-support-payments-under-the-i-864-affidavit-of-support

You and your friend really need to speak with a divorce attorney, because you clearly don't understand how support works.

LPRs are entitled to unemployment insurance, but no one qualifies for unemployment insurance because of a firing with cause or quitting a job. The recipient must meet the qualifications established by the state, which usually revolve around job loss through job attrition, quitting a job due to discrimination, etc.

The point is if she does not have income my friend will support her, after she sues of course and he will pay the legal fees most likely. She can lose employment in anyway she wants. For the time being he will stick his head in the sand and hope it does't happen SOON.

The Form I-864 Affidavit of Support is a legally enforceable contract, meaning that either the government or the sponsored immigrant can take the sponsor to court if the sponsor fails to provide adequate support to the immigrant. In fact, the law places more obligations on the sponsor than on the immigrant -- the immigrant could decide to quit a job and sue the sponsor for support.

Hmm, I have not researched past cases. Can an immigrant get unemployment? All depends what her true intentions are but if she say did not show up for work for 3 days without calling or no doctors slip she would be fired, than the support would come into play. I will do some searching...

There is no real leverage in the ROC. If he refuses to sign, she can divorce him and file on her own.

If she is making that kind of money, at or over 125% of poverty level, he would owe her no alimony based on the I-864. If he filed for divorce, and she quit her job in order to get it, the courts would surely see that as an attempt to get alimony when she's perfectly able to support herself over the poverty level. Every case I've seen on someone getting money based on the I-864, and there hasn't been many, income made by the immigrant is subtracted from the amount.

I'm fairly sure you're incorrect about the 50/50 split in the Philippines. In annulments, what each party owns separately is theirs to keep. Its only assets owned together that are split 50/50. So any property they purchase, would be 100% her's in a split because foreigners cannot own land there. He can, rather than buy, take out a long term lease on property though. He can inherit the property if she were to die before him, but he'd be required to sell the property at that point.

She has only this month started 5 days a week at min wage, so 400 a week lets say, over the 125% level yes. Maybe thats the best thing, divorce while she is making her maximum month salary. I think if she quit though she could then sue for the support, needs the 40 quarters first remember and no guarantees in this employment market. Staying with her friends and not working, no commute, no taxes possibly....

Seems like many are really not sure about the implications of the 864. My friend had no idea. Myself when I filled out the form it was 6 months or more before I had to turn it in and I never reread mine either.

Would be interesting to hear from some of the old VJ'ers whose marriage has fallen apart but I think they would rather not do so.

Really ?

What is he afraid of ?

There's certainly no reason to be afraid of going through a divorce.

From what you have written, she has NO basis for any long-term support and if her income is greater than his then she won't garner any temporary or short-term support either. Their marriage hasn't lasted long enough for there to be any appreciable marital assets and she has no basis for a claim on pre-marital assets.

Since she has no basis for spousal support, she would find suing for such support under I-864 to be nearly impossible.

Indeed, I'd be willing to bet that the advice she is getting is to stay with the guy, at least through ROC, if not a few more years, perhaps having a kid or two along the way - because right now her chances of getting any money/assets in a divorce is not good at all.

Best shot she has, really, is to scare the bejesus out of him in the hopes that he'll agree to a settlement; perhaps a cash out of 100k sounds better than a commitment of up to 440k ? But given the information you've provided, the onus of the argument is upon her and he should call her bluff and defend any argument she may make. He needs a decent attorney.

Annulment could be a very tricky and expensive option. Many states only allow annulment for fraud or lack of capacity to marry to begin with. Fraud needs to be direct proof, not hearsay, and demonstrating the lack of authenticity of an email or chat conversation would be trivial for even a third year law student. This is a long, hard, expensive road with much less chance of success than her getting any support based on the I-864.

Your friend needs to man up, consult a decent attorney, proceed with the divorce and forget about her after she has left the home.

well, from NOLO.com

CAUTION

A sponsor in a marriage-based case remains legally obligated even after a divorce. Yes, a divorced immigrant spouse could decide to sit on a couch all day and sue the former spouse for support. The sponsor may wish to have the immigrant sign a separate contract agreeing not to do this, but it is not clear whether courts would enforce such a contract.

Divorce is the easy clean part. Maybe 6 times the salary in the PI with the AOS and get a few of them together they can share expenses, never work and find a new target to suck dry.

Yes a decent attorney for advice, dig a foxhole and wait for the mortars to come in.

He really should take this to a lawyer. One thing I thought of was to sue for American annulment based on marriage fraud. A successful annulment makes their marriage void ab initio, which could then be used to revoke her green card since legally the marriage never happened.

Yes it is nasty, but sometimes you fight fire with fire.

Yes but would this not all be hearsay as there is nothing documented? It is pretty clear to me what her intentions are and her ultimate goal. Maybe a keylogger would be appropriate but probably not such a legal thing to do but then can make a clear decision. The goal of many are to get ahead and if you step on a few toes along the way but threats of the 864 and the leverage it can bring is not the way to do it.

I have mentioned to him to sell his house as a possibility with the intention of moving to the Philippines. At this point he would not have a domicile in the USA anymore. He has spent a fare amount of time there so is not to much of a bad thing, could be good. That would sure level the playing field to keep the relationship going if that is what he chooses but to stay here and ignore what is developing is really not good.

What particularly makes me a bit angry is she is stirring up my wife, had her crying. I do not need this either and if I get defensive look out.

I will give advice on what I have read here and let him decide his fate.

when you hear of those totally unbalanced results like that, its either just an urban legend, or else one had a good lawyer and the other went in thinking they knew it all and represented themselves. Never represent yourself in a contested divorce.

Exactly what I thought but the information was from someone he knew who knew the circumstances. I believe that most all states have the pre existing assets that go to whoever had them before marriage but who knows. Now under Philippine law everything is 50-50 regardless and this is something to consider for someone who does not have a PI prenup before the marriage, if he went there to live that is.

Biggest threat though is the darn 864. 30yrs would be almost 440k at todays level. Like some replies it would be hard to be successful in getting that but thats a really big black cloud hanging over his head and if he does stay with her he will always be a yes man to not upset her.

Get this...she read the news about the visa waiver for the PI and she already hit him up about bringing family over, haha. I told him that it is a hoax. Hopefully she is not reading this...

I told him he would need to sign a few more AOS's to get them over, go for it!

So the ROC can or cannot be a time to use a little levarage? He told me just an hr ago that she will NOT go back anytime soon. She knows the game for sure

Would need to know the circumstances for that one.

For friend and his wife:

How long have your friend and his girl been married?

Do they have children together?

Does she have children of her own?

Does she have any medical circumstances that require special needs?

Did she contribute any equity towards the purchase of the home they live in now, or any material improvements in the home since marriage?

She could quit her job today, but she's already demonstrated the capacity and willingness to work and with her green card, the expectation in any divorce settlement would be that she does work to support herself (either for partial or full support, depending upon the circumstances).

15mo, and no to all other.

She actually makes more money than the sponsor at the moment

I totally understand the desire for keeping that undisclosed right now. Too bad he lives in one of the less than fair states. A person can rest a lot easier when they live in a state that actually has fair laws in the event a marriage falls apart.

One story I heard were that the Filipina ended up with the house the sponsor had before they got married

What actual state does this couple live in? His exposure is highly going to depend on the jurisdiction he lives in.

don't really want to say right now...but my guess is it would be more on her side. There have been some other local stories I have heard and they are not favorable to the man. A bit of legal advice before the chit hits the fan would be a good idea for sure

Ah, another brain fart, I missed the part where she had her GC. With the green card she's free to work, travel, get a driver's license, etc., etc.

Okay, just divorce her and move on. The likelihood of her getting any traction with the I-864 is slim; I'd call her bluff and let her run with it.

I still don't think she'd be fool enough to fall for the 'lure her back to the rock she crawled out from under' scheme; sounds like a lot of trouble and expense for a proposition that will take time and probably doesn't have high odds of success.

She does want land and the apartments though and playing along with this may work. She has a job though and does not want to quit it as she cannot take off enough time to do the trip. She has saved a significant amount of money from working as she does not contribute much to the household bills (sends for mom and auntie) and food, pretty much is saving it for her future, her life back in phils doing nothing is her dream,

I will do my best to help him make a rational plan. He wishes he would never had brought her over now, quite obvious, but to cut bait and get her out of his life will be a tough one. I am going over to the PI this summer and I will try and get them to 'visit me for awhile'.

Just curious but I assume military personnel have different criteria, what would a domicile be if you are in a barracks?

Ahhhh then yes play the loving/caring hubby... we will be back in plenty of time for ROC... let's go visit family and look at land... "poof" - he leaves back to the USA and files for divorce, never completing ROC, her GC dies and she is no longer able to enter the USA. One viper returned to the rock she crawled out from under.

I wonder if a lost GC can be obtained by claiming it was lost? Of course she would have to pay for it and would have to get it from USEM.

So a "legal resident" you mentioned earlier. She has been here for well over a year and the state she is in has a 6 month residency requirement if that what you mentioned earlier.

Guam had divorces that could be done in one week, all you had to do is be there that long. It used to be that you did not have to even set foot on the island.

I don't think she would pull the abuse card but if backed into a corner you never know.

My friend is pretty naive. He says she has not said anything for a few days and he relaxes, then she brings it up again, the demands and all. She wants him to buy her a car now and he is not cash rich. Buy her a car and then she has more opportunities to begin her plan. Bad bad bad. How much sleep will he lose over this, needs to nip it in the bud and get on with it. Luckily there are no children invloved

Psst ... don't bring up removal of conditions... out of sight .. out of mind.

Seems like I read something about the immigrant if they do not file tax returns they are in violation of the rules and can be deported. "Yes dear, I just filed our taxes" (married filing separate)

She has even mentioned the ROC date to him. They were already thinking of taking a trip back to the PI and she wanted to make sure she would be back in time to file for the removal

This is where the "pit viper" has to be watched carefully. (hmm I wonder if she is reading this forum ... ? )

Oh, and he also found in her browser history that she had been looking up family law issues, he does not have her password but when she left the computer unattended he took a looksy, Ding Ding Ding, wake up time

My oops.... but there is a barb-less hook hiding in there just the same; one requirement is the beneficiary has to have legal residence status.

This is where the "pit viper" has to be watched carefully. (hmm I wonder if she is reading this forum ... ? )

Hank, he is a USC so yes...but what if he were to leave and say get permanent resident status in the PI? She would have to help in this though

Reading the forum I hope not but googling 864 she may find it

Caryh, this is probably the best. "Lets go back and visit your parents and see how they are doing, help them out a bit and then we can look at land to build on and move your parents into one of the units". "When we return back to the states we can work on your removal of conditions",