RO_AH

If she, as a Filipina, gets approved for a tourist visa, while having a pending spousal, please update us here because it would be the first that I've heard of, and I would be looking out my window for flying pigs.

If she, as a Filipina, gets approved for a tourist visa, while having a pending spousal, please update us here because it would be the first that I've heard of, and I would be looking out my window for flying pigs.

You mean the consulate as the USCIS is not involved in a visa decision 

3 people? Here's what I have done the 10 times I have gone myself. My wife gets transportation from where she lives in Bulacan (private van and driver). I pay about 3000PHP in the beginning and the last time I went it went up to  4k by the last time I was there. He would pick my wife and any other family and friends that wanted to come along and come to the Airport. After I would arrive he would bring us all back to her house. During my stay if we ever had to go to Manila or some place further than I wanted to go on trike, we would just go through him.
 
I am lucky that the trikes where my wife lives are all tall. I see ones in other areas and I would never fit in them either 🙂

3 people? Here's what I have done the 10 times I have gone myself. My wife gets transportation from where she lives in Bulacan (private van and driver). I pay about 3000PHP in the beginning and the last time I went it went up to  4k by the last time I was there. He would pick my wife and any other family and friends that wanted to come along and come to the Airport. After I would arrive he would bring us all back to her house. During my stay if we ever had to go to Manila or some place further than I wanted to go on trike, we would just go through him.
 
I am lucky that the trikes where my wife lives are all tall. I see ones in other areas and I would never fit in them either 🙂

I agree. Some private cars you can rent for 3, 6, or 12 hours. So that would be really worth it. You can stop to get something to eat or to the restroom whenever you want.
 
ABC hotel is great! Location is perfect, close to all the good stuff like Clark, SM Clark (huge mall - lots of restaurants). There is also a VFW nearby, if you are interested in that — not walking distance but can ride a jeepney (might be a challenge since you are too tall) or Grab. If you will bring cash, there are lots of money exchange places close to the hotel as well. Rooms are nice, clean, and AC works great (lol). It was about 6 years ago when I was there though so the rooftop didn’t really have anything. I looked it up just now and reviews say ABC has a rooftop bar. Aqua Beach Club is the one that has rooftop pools and great party scene! I honestly forgot if there’s a way directly from the hotel to Aqua but it is very close to each other. You can also just walk from the hotel to the walking street, as you probably already know. We enjoyed the waterpark — we bought tickets thru Klook, saved money (not much in $ really but I’m all about the deals lol). 

I pay 3000 for a private car from NAIA to Trece Martires every trip I take. It's only gone up 500p in the last 9 years. 

From other counties you may have a shot, but I, and most others with knowledge of Philippines and USCIS, would say you have zero chance in getting a tourist visa for your spouse. You can try.

Yes, I guess some people don't take the term "tourist" as literal as the NVC does. Tourist is just that, a tourist. You come, you visit, you leave. There is no such thing as a "come and wait while we approve your other visa" visa.

I am afraid you are simply realistic.  Other couples have move together to third countries while waiting, but since OP is already in the Philippines, it might be best to stay together there, and plan to move back together/move back right before her to get settled. 

As others said, the price is fair. Of course the bus is cheaper, but what's a few pesos when it comes to a loved one?

That's correct, but if you are sending money the rate is a tad bit lower, still under $60.

As others said, the price is fair. Of course the bus is cheaper, but what's a few pesos when it comes to a loved one?

Several things to cover here. Did your ex wife file a ROM in PH after you two were married. If not that is good as it will cause much less problems going forward and no problems with PSA because they have no record of you being married to a Filipina, If she did you will have to wait years and spend a lot of money filing for a recognition of foreign divorce in the Philippines and you will need a Filipino lawyer for this process.
My divorce was finalized less than 2 months before getting married to my wife in the Philippines...Not an issue.
In the Philippines that is not an age gap, that is normal. My wife and I are 25 years apart.
My advice is to do an online marriage through Utah. You can either do that while you are here and she is there, or do it there together when you arrive there. This is ONLY if your ex did not file a ROM. If she did this is not my advice. If you are not sure, or don't remember if she filed a ROM you can order a CEMOMAR/CEMAR for yourself from PSA in the Philippines. That will show if they have record of your previous marriage or not. You can order that at this link:
https://www.psaserbilis.com.ph/#!
So if you do not have a record of marriage you can do online marriage, have a reception there with her and her family, file your spouse visa, file a ROM in SF Consulate, get her medical, visa, CFO and come to USA.

I have never stepped foot inside a PSA office.  I just ordered mine online.

Have you tried scanning the code? It's just the number underneath the QR. If they scan the code it would only say that it matches the number on the certificate.

When you see what is happening at our southern border it seems extremely unfair with all of the hoops we need to jump through and the length of time that it takes to legally bring a family member here. I mean we have thousands of people daily just walking in with no need for a medical exam, no cost, very little paperwork, free accommodations, etc.  It makes you feel like there should be some shortcut somewhere to make it a little easier for us. Sadly there is not. If you have everything ready, send it in yesterday. Start the process, there will be no way to bring her to America legally than the I-130 route. We did ours during Covid and it added over a year of extra time to get our visa, so I feel your pain. We even had 2 children together and it was heartbreaking being away from them. It's a long process but worth it in the end.

When you see what is happening at our southern border it seems extremely unfair with all of the hoops we need to jump through and the length of time that it takes to legally bring a family member here. I mean we have thousands of people daily just walking in with no need for a medical exam, no cost, very little paperwork, free accommodations, etc.  It makes you feel like there should be some shortcut somewhere to make it a little easier for us. Sadly there is not. If you have everything ready, send it in yesterday. Start the process, there will be no way to bring her to America legally than the I-130 route. We did ours during Covid and it added over a year of extra time to get our visa, so I feel your pain. We even had 2 children together and it was heartbreaking being away from them. It's a long process but worth it in the end.

I'm going back to the Philippines in August.  I hope to find an attorney on the trip.  I am just very uncomfortable hiring an attorney on-line. Too many scammers. I was hoping someone could make a recommendation for a reliable attorney.  Good luck in your search.
 
In the past few weeks I have made my mind up to move to the Philippines what with how America is falling apart.

I think OP has a difficult time accepting that there are no “short cuts”, “back door ways” or loopholes in bringing his wife to the US.
 
All US citizens have to go the proper way, what makes this case more special than others? I don’t see it. Marriage to a US citizen alone, even if he or she is a veteran, does not grant any immigration rights - you actually have to go through the proper process to have anything granted immigration wise. The faster this reality is accepted, the sooner you can get the boll rolling in this very lengthy process (~18-24 months).
 
 

That US citizen you met at the mall who told you that your Filipina wife qualifies for a US passport and that you need to marry her again in the US? They were trolling you.

Unfortunately this is not possible.
 
This is what everyone want, be close to their love ones during this long and stressful process but this is not how immigration process work.
 
Again, like I told you, there is not shortcut. Maybe you think I’m being rude but this is not my intention. I’m not trying to crush your love story! I’m trying to bring you to the reality of this process. If you have the possibility to live with her on the Philippines or anywhere else, this will be my suggestion.
 
She cannot, per example, apply for a Tourist Visa and live here in the US with you for 2 years (time that the CR1 normally takes). This is not the purpose of the tourist visa.
 
If she have a nice job waiting for her, you can check if they want to sponsor her, but even this one will not be quick.
 
The best right now is focus in learn the process IMO. You will find a lot of “shortcuts “ ideas that can create a lot of unnecessary problems in the process.
 
2 years will flight fast and when approved she can live here with you happily!!
 
good luck 

Spousal visa via the regular process is your only option.  Start by filing an I-130 petition for her online from the USCIS website.  Plan on 1-2 years before she gets a visa interview in the Philippines.  Visit her there as often as you can during the 1-2 years and collect evidence of time spent together, in person, to submit at the NVC stage and/or visa interview.  There is no fast path for a spousal visa based on the circumstances described in your posts.  You will be living apart most of the time, unless you can move to the Philippines to live with her while waiting for her spousal visa.  Good luck!

It's better to continue the previous topic to keep things relevant:
 
 
The last post there asked about what "back door channel" you were planning, which you never responded.  
 
If seems you researched about getting her a job offer to get Direct Consular Filing (DCF), to which everyone responded "no."
 
The method is to apply for CR1.  If you were active military on duty in the Philippines and you were given orders to transfer, that would give you the "exceptional circumstance" for DCF.  There is no other "back door".
 
You do not have to travel back to the US to get things rolling.  You can submit the I-130 online from where you are now.

thanks for your input, im finding out she cant get a us passport, why i was asking, i dont want to make the spouse visa any harder than it is. I heard the embassy can process the visa if they want to, im working on that too, im not trying to do anything illegal, just looking for a legal backdoor that is publisized if you know what i mean, we had a long wait to get her annulment done due to covid, then it took us 5 months to process the paperwork to get the decree. I will ask if there is anything we can do to get the embassy to process it, if not, ill fly home and send the application in, it is ready to go.  Thanks for you comments.  If i find anything out, ill post it.