T_and_A

yes, i agree.. nothing wrong with checking in with the airline as sometimes the gate nos may have changed... it happened to me, so while at the airport, my folks warned me about that too... ALWAYS make sure to check the flight details and the gate no, they have it flashing anywhere in the airport so it's really easy to find, make sure that the gate is correct, if it's not the same as in your boarding pass...

I also had solo flight for the first time when i went here.. You will be fine. You have to be in the airport at least 2 hours before your flight or you may have to check with your airline requirements, also check the luggage requirements. So you will still have ample time for security, checking in your luggage, paying fees. Bring something that you can read or listen to because there will be some waiting.

should have had it corrected, misspelled info on passport, esp state may pose a problem.. That's the reason why i opt to have my visa picked up so i can check for the information if everything is correct... spelling included. Maybe you can still have it corrected in the US embassy and just request for a pick up if you are going to take your CFO in Manila area due to you're leaving pretty soon. Just to be sure you know...

If ever they allow you entry in POE even if its misspelled and definitely not your fault, i think it will still be a hassle when you don't have it corrected because when you get here, there will be adjustment, and all the paperwork, so you don't have to explain over and over again what happened.

Good thing though is that i googled hopkinsville, ny and i don't think there's such a place..

They should be able to change the visa and correct the spelling on it, it was their fault.

Maybe you can call the US embassy and ask how you can go about it and also inform that you will be leaving in Aug.

Good luck.

...and my husband calls me tinted.. LOL...

Yes, i second the motion.

UP : highest grade is 1.0, failing mark is 5.

4.0 is conditional meaning, you have an option to take a removal exam, if you pass it gets converted to 3.0 (you pass, don't have to repeat the subject, if you fail, gets converted to 5.0, you repeat and wait for next year if it's seasonal and a pre-requisite to another subject,lucky if it's offered next semester).

Just curious if they use the same 4.0 scale as we do in the USA.

Reading this information below from the University of San Jose - Recoletos, the scoring system seems a LOT different from the way it is done in the USA.

Any advice or information would be greatly appreciated here!

Grading system depends on the school. La Salle highest grade is 4 while University of the Philippines highest grade is 1.

You have to know the particular school.

TWOF..

Abby and Sheryl shared it on this forum...

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=211812

Haven't tried it but let us know and see how it goes.

congrats!!!

happy times!!

Parents received the passport with visa. They were granted 10 year multi-entry tourist visa..

At least now in the next 10 years, if they want to visit US, they can...

I'm just happy and cant complain with that. Thank God!

We just used xoom last night and we saved a lot after using the coupon code. Thanks!!!

had to pay upon delivery by air21... just keep money handy when they come... just not sure how much it is now. PHP250 maybe?

Hello! We are looking into purchasing tickets online for a tourist visa roundtrip for two (lets say expedia or travelocity) but would like to ask what all other fees are included or not included on the purchased ticket? Our concern is we purchase ticket for our parents online so they already have it handy when they leave but what all fees do they need to pay when they get to the airport.

Some here in VJ say that they didn't have to pay travel tax, some said they did. Now from research, most said that if tickets were purchased thru travel agency, they usually include the travel tax (1620), another one mentioned that she purchased tix thru travelocity online and was not asked to pay the 1620 when she went to the airport but the date for that reply was Nov 2008. Is there anybody out there who had a recent experience with travelocity and if they needed to pay the PTA (traveltax) during booking or at the airport?

I also understand that there are terminal fees that needs to be paid upon departure from NAIA. Now my question is since this is a roundtrip, how many times do they have to pay fees since it's roundtrip?

Thanks in advance to everybody...

Tito Jorge... hehehehe...

Seriously, to OP maybe it has deeper reason that you may have to find out (perhaps traumatic experience?) by talking it out with her or whatever good means... I'm sure there's good reason behind it.

maybe, you can try to make love at day time so you dont have to turn the lights off.. don't take me wrong... just a thought.

I agree, it's not a cultural thing... can be personal for your wife.

Collating the supporting documents and all those stuff took longest.. But as soon as you have already paid the application fee from BDO ($131), can call up the PLDT line to schedule appointment

Here is the timeline they had:

May-July - collecting all requirements:

<they had to wait a long time for this because Papa doesn't have passport yet and so to get it he has to have birth certificate, but Papa's birth certificate was lost and the records were destroyed during WW2>, this was the hassle why it took long to get everything going.

July 20 - finally when all the requirements are ready, they went to Legaspi Albay to pay the application fee in BDO. Same day they tried calling the PLDT line, no luck, couldn't get thru; also tried calling using other lines, still no luck

July 21 - still continue trying to call PLDT line, still no luck...

July 22 - went to another town in Tabaco, Albay to try the PLDT office from there, someone answered from the US embassy:

They were asked the questions on the phone.

When is the planned visit (ans: as stated in my application form Aug 1 or as soon as possible)

Why do you want to go to US (daughter and son in law invited us and wanted to take the oppurtunity to visit and travel with my husband since he's also old already and would be nice if they can visit)

Is this coming Friday ok with you?...

...and so they had to leave morning of thursday, arrived in Manila, Thursday night.

July 24 (8 am) - they were asked to go in at 6:30 am for the 8 am interview sched.

Here's what happened: Had to wait for their turn to be called (40th interviewee on window 5 (this is my lucky no))

They were asked for their application forms, and their passports.

the questions asked were:

1. Why do you want to go to US?

2. What work does your daughter do in US? <she works in computers - IT, she's a graduate of computer science>

3. How many children do you have? (5)

4. How many in US and how many in the Philippines? <only one in US though i have a sister there who is already a US citizen>

5. What will make you come back to the Philippines? I only have one daughter in US and a grandson, I have 4 here in US and two grandchildren, there's no way i would exchange US life for my family here in the Philippines. Our trip is simply so we can go see my daughter there and not live there especially illegally.

Same day friday afternoon, they got message from air21 giving the tracking nos for their package.

May I ask how long did it took for your parents to have their Tourist visas approved?

when did they apply? and how to begin with?

I called my ma to inform them that they may need to go home to province to receive the package from Air21 coz i don't think they will have somebody receive it for them. I guess my mama saw it coming already so she asked the consul about it, in case they may stay here in manila for a few days to look for tickets, and if air21 will let someone receive it for them. Consul said that he will also include authorization letter to have authorized person (my sister)receive the package for them in case they are not available. Only show ID. so that was settled.

Also in addition, they asked the consul if possible to pick up since they may be staying in Manila for a few days anyway, they can just pick it up but CO said that shipping thru air21 is the only option they have going now.

thank you all...

just update... im surprised how quick US embassy is working now... I talked to my mother their Friday night and she said that they received a message from air21 already that embassy sent them a package.. I am assuming that these are their passports. I am really surprised they shipped it same day the interview was done. It was addressed to the province though and my parents are still even in Manila now.

Question: if the package arrives our address in the province before my parents do, will they allow someone, lets say my siblings, accept the package for them?

Hmmm...good question, they had a place for us to assign someone to get our package when delivered by Air21 but without that paper I don't know but if I was guessing I would say probably not.

thank you all...

just update... im surprised how quick US embassy is working now... I talked to my mother their Friday night and she said that they received a message from air21 already that embassy sent them a package.. I am assuming that these are their passports. I am really surprised they shipped it same day the interview was done. It was addressed to the province though and my parents are still even in Manila now.

Question: if the package arrives our address in the province before my parents do, will they allow someone, lets say my siblings, accept the package for them?

Yay!! I am so happy... We have been trying to get my parents to come for a visit for a long time now. I was pregnant and just had my baby and wanted to have at least my mama come here when i deliver but it didn't happen. Was kinda lonely just in the hospital alone (this is my first pregnancy) when my husband needs to get something from home and do some errands but had to deal with it. Would be nice to have some moral support. Anyway, my baby is born healthy though he had to be delivered thru CS. Really hard with first time mom, not much help around, you know...

...but last night.. I was so glad, relieved to know that both my parents got their tourist visas approved!!! They called in US embassy last Wednesday to schedule the appointment and they were scheduled for the interview Friday morning. It was sudden and quick, they had to leave morning Thursday, take the 10-11 hr bus ride to Manila and make it to the interview.. Everything went well.

This is the first time my papa will go out of the country... i admit I am really excited for him! They will be here August so I can still spend some time with them while still on maternity leave before I come back to work. We will show them around and have them meet my husband's relatives. I am sure we will have a good time.

I just wanted to share how happy I am... and thankful to God for all the wonderful blessings. Thank you Lord...

Hello mga mommies... been awhile since i last visited vj...

pano naman kasi... i hatched na... hehehehe... it was early and it ended up CS... last Monday July 6, though we had a hard time picking out a name... finally PRESTON JAMES is here!

I would just like to share my experience... hay naku... July 4th pa lang i was already non stop contracting. Hay talaga, nafeel ko yung uncomfy feeling na parang manganganak na ako anytime but then again i was thinking baka false labor na naman... my contractions never stopped until finally July 6, we decided to go to the hospital... so yun nga we arrived there around 7 am. i was contracting continuously within 5 mins interval since the 4th... i was only 2.5 cm dilated... i was put on IV baka raw dehydrated lang ako... still not stopping contractions, and then they gave me my third pack of IV, still my contractions never stopped, but my dilation, never improved. Then finally they gave me options to either come back at a later time and have a natural labor or stay and they will intervene, meaning they will break my water to make the contractions strong enough and baby's head would come down further and make me dilate... but the last option, no turning back na... I asked my aunt nurse, and she said go for the latter one, anyway, baby will be safe. I was scared kasi i didn't want to have CS and that's another caution the doctor gave us if i choose the last one. I finally decided to do the latter, since anyway, my contractions are not stopping and soon i would have to go through the labor process anyway, why would i have to prolong it. My case was just a matter of not improving my dilation, ayaw lang talaga bumukas ng cervix ko, so the case is di makakalabas si baby naturally. anyway, noon time dr came and broke my water... after 2 hours, i dilated only to 4 cm... they tried increasing the medication for making the contractions stronger, by that time it was so painful, yun na yung part na you will cuss your husbands (but i never did, actually happy ako kasi my husband was there all the time and helping me breathe while on labor), i opted for epidural and ohhhh... it was heaven to me... i was sleeping thru my labor prolly from exhaustion. Some blooper though, after the dr broke my water, and they put pads on my bed, i thought i was peeing that i couldn't control... told my husband OMG, call the nurse, coz im gonna pee, and i couldn't control it and i felt that it just trickled... ok, never mind i peed already. I was so embarassed that i thought i peed my bed. When the nurse came in, she said that it was still part of my water. So mga mommies, wag magtaka if after your water broke, there's still more to come when you're in labor. By 5 pm, still my dilation never improved, stuck on 4 cm. My contractions are really strong by then, i couldn't feel it much becoz of the epidural but baby is getting stressed out already, so the dr finally decided to have a cs, for baby's safety. So at 6:30, he was born. Sa loob pa lang ng tummy, only head pa lang nakalabas, baby is already crying.. he's a healthy baby boy. Thank God.

Now, i'm still recovering from the surgery. Mejo masakit pa yung incision ko but it will get better. I got discharged last Th and baby had first dr's visit yesterday, Saturday. In the afternoon, we had baby shower. It was alot to take in but everything is doing ok. My husband is really there for me.

speaking of breastfeed.. hay naku mga sister, ni wala pa akong kagatas gatas... ni hindi nga ata lumaki yung B00bs ko... hahaha...how disappointing... i was hoping high pa naman about it, hahaha... <husband ko rin> still in high hopes... when kaya magkakacolostrum dede ko?..

syanga pala... update... sabi ng dr ko today, im dilating na raw... 1.5cm. naku malapit na talaga labor day! kakatakot... sige... kaya yan.

kami rin ng asawa ko, mga second hand lang... my husband is really frugal. Abang abang kami sa craiglist for the furnitures and we also had been to alot of baby stores. It paid off naman, kahapon we went to see the furnitures na nasa posting within our area, $300 both for convertible crib and dresser/changing table combo... tapos parang bago pa yung condition. Hardwood and really sturdy. I really liked it. Sabi nung may-ari they purchased it brand new sa babiesrus for more than a grand total... oh di ba? tipid talaga. magagamit pa ni baby until lumaki siya, even convertible into a full size bed.. we will pick it up on friday kasi i-didismantle pa nung owners. Tapos yung owners, binentahan din kami ng mga baby clothes, 50 cents a piece.. Magandang klase pa, branded din. parang di nasuot... Nakakatuwa nga parang ukay ukay... hehehe... nakakatuwa rin yung mga baby clothes... anliit...parang naglalaro lang nang mani- manika... bahay bahayan but for real.

Oo nga pala, I have a question sa mga mommies. Magpapabreastfeed ba kayo?

Hello VJ family.

I would like to consult what you think about this...

My parents are applying for a tourist visa so they can visit us here, see their upcoming grandson, and hopefully visit my aunt and family in MA as well on their stay here. It would really be nice if they get approved. My mother was able to come to US as a tourist before to visit my aunt.. My husband and I will be paying for the tickets for my parents.

Anyway, I received an email from a good friend of mine and she also wants to come for a visit here in US. She is asking me if it's ok that I can reference our address here in TN as one of the places to visit put in her application. She said she's planning to go to LA too and TN, where I am at. She just wants to travel I guess as she liked US when she went here before. Just as background, she has been here in US before, she was sent by her company (expat here in US) for a period of time, has a good job in the Philippines and good life there too. When she was here, she was assigned in one of their corporate base in TX so we really couldn't meet up then but we were talking about how nice it would be that we could meet up here in US. I told her our place is more than welcome to have her when she comes for a visit.

My questions... the address i will give her will be the same address that my parents will have in their application. Do you think this would have any effect or affect other pending tourist visa applications considering they may be applying at a time close to each other? What advantages/disadvantages will there be that you can think of in this situation..

I actually feel thrilled that my friends wanted to come see me and I don't have any doubts that they can spend for themselves at all. I also wanted to have my family here too very bad.

Just want to share...

I still feel blessed and thankful kasi ok si baby ko after the accident last Thursday. I fell flat on my tummy, hit the gravel ground tummy first last thursday while walking the dog for the last time before going to work. My baby Frosty saw something that he chased while i was holding the leash and he dragged me to the ground. Ended up in the hospital for more than 24 hours. After ultrasound showed that everything is normal, as far as they can see, they have finally decided to discharge me though i'm still having continuous contractions. Now, after the fall, i still feel bad contractions... I feel that it's not the same as before I was feeling before the accident. I know contractions are normal esp the last trimester, but i think the accident triggered more contractions for me now.

ang sakit mga lola... I just want to share this because I want all mommies to take precautionary measures. I don't want this to happen to any of you. I know dito sa US, wala naman tayong maasahan as far as the things we need to get done is concerned <chores>, at as much as we would like to take care of it all, now that we are pregnant we need to insist and get our husbands to do the physical work for us, that are safe both to us and our baby.

As for my case i had brown discharge. That's why I didn't realize i was pregnant until i was two months in it because of that brown discharge I had. I thought i was menstruating. But so far im on 34 weeks now and everything is normal. There were occassional brown discharge esp on my first trimester but all my labs were ok and the doctor didn't find anything with it. As far as i remember the doctor called it palip? sounds like that. I didn't ask for the spelling.. She said some women have that.. sa pagkakaintindi ko, its kinda like a tissue growth in your pipi that may cause the bleeding, eventually discharged as brown but its nothing to worry about. So ok na lang ako. But again, i don't have any complications now as far as the pregnancy is concerned....

good morning.....

i called my doctors office today and and told them about the brown discharge that im having for 2 days now...they asked me to come there today and they will do ultrasound to make sure the baby is fine and nothings wrong with me....i got so scared and asked them again is there something wrong? (silly me...hehehe) they said they just want to make sure that everything is okay....

so please include me and my baby in your prayers that everything will be okay....thanks and i appreciate it...

ill keep you posted when i get back....

I kinda had the same experience like this. When i got a job interview, they were asking about H1B visa. I told them flat out that I don't need sponsorship for a visa and that I am here legally and allowed to work. They didn't make a big fuss about it, they gave me the job anyway. I just showed them my work permit during that time, and when my greencard came, i updated and submitted it to HR.

tiis o tikis? hehehehe...

kakatawa tayo... hay naku... tawanan na lang para masaya pa rin.

so far yung asawa ko di na masyado on the phone with x since the incident... at least don't see him talking no more after the incident.. not once. di ko lang alam kung may communication pa rin sila while im not looking... haay keber.. di ko na lang pansin.. para iwas wrinkles. ambata ko pa para tumanda sa konsumisyon... ...

It's all a matter of convincing consul that she will come back to the Philippines for a tourist visa. My mother was able to get three international tourist visas (1 in US and 2 in Australia) without showing as many financial proofs before. She was never even asked for any. Either she's really lucky but doing it three times and all approved I can say that it's really a tough good luck that is hard to find. Of course, she never ever abused it and never overstayed while on tourist visa and ever will. I am hoping she could get approved again so she can come visit us, my husband and her future grandson (one coming very soon!)... I really hope she gets approved again and my papa too.

Good luck on us!!!

hahaha... may toyo... kakatawa... pero mejo totoo.... kakaboba din... kaya ako distansya amiga... feeling ko mas madalas mo makakasalamuha mas malaki chance na mahawaan ka... kaya distansya na lang.