shaggy474

If the ticket was purchased in the Philippines, the travel tax is usually already included in the fee. If the ticket was purchased outside the Philippines, then she may have to pay the Philippine travel tax (they have PTA counter at NAIA).

Travel tax for Economy Class: p1,620.00

Travel tax for First Class: p2,700.00

Terminal fee is p550.00 plus the Security fee/charge of p200.00 = Total of: p750/passenger

Island_princess -> I don't think there are terminal fees for stop-overs. We had a stop-over at SFO then to Redding and we did not pay any terminal fees there. I'm not sure. Maybe others can give light on this.

Just to make things clear as mud. I last travelled from Cebu in April 2007 and was only charged the p550...no security fee. Could it be that the 200 is for Manila airport only? Anyway I would suggest that your dear one have all she needs and she can always trade it in for us at any of the exchange stations.

Good luck to you all, my baby has her visa and is on her way home in the next two weeks!

is this normal payment of delbros for cebu delivery 165pesos.

That is what they charged Girly. She is in Minglanilla, the south part of Cebu City.

Good Luck!

You will be able to get some really good reviews here...

http://www.visajourney.com/reviews/index.php

Good luck with the upcomming interview.

Thank you very much! I have another quick question. I need to mail these forms out to her by about next week to ensure they reach her in time for her interview. What is the most efficient shipping option to ensure a delivery of seven days or less of these forms to her? DHL? FedEx? UPS?

Thank you

Van I would use FedEX. My girl lives in Cebu and DHL never delivered her packet 4. After 29 days we found out it was sitting in their office. They claimed they text her and could not find her home. But she never did get a call or a text. We save them all. DHL made almost no effort in finding her package for us or her home. We had to visit the office in person and find someone who gave a #######.

We used FedEx to send the documents and they delivered in 3 days no issues no problems. I strongly suggest FedEx with your original documents!

Good Luck! :thumbs:

Congratulations!!! Us too! Maybe Girly saw you today!

Thanks to everyone Girly was approved today for her visa. No problems at all only took a few of our papers and said congratulations!

The landlord where my girl lives is trying to get extra money from her. She is asking for money because she claims the other tenants were short and she wants my wife to be to pay the difference by loaning 6000 pesos. Then she claims the electricity is short and wants another 3000 pesos. I told her to say no. But shes crying and upset and wants to move out.

I told her that we need to keep the same address for the duration of the process.

What should I do or tell her?

They must think the rich American wont mind paying the extra cash.

Yes this is common in the Philippines. I would under no circumstance send the money. If you pay it once they will expect it every time. If the others are short then she should go to them not your fiance. I have spent many months in the PI and have heard a million stories as to why girls need money. My fiance is in Cebu and people come out of the woodwork when I am there or right after I leave asking for loans from her. The simple truth is that a loan in the PI means that they want you to give them money...they will not pay it back.

As to changing addresses it should be no problem. Call the Embassy with her new address and you can arrange for her to pick up packet 4 at St. Lukes Medical Center or at the Embassy in Manila. Once she interviews she puts the delivery address on the form for Delbros to deliver the visa or she can request she pick it up at the Embassy as well. But dont let it keep your fiance from a peaceful living situation. If they are after her for money you can bet the possibility of them taking her mail is real. I would let her move...just be careful as many girls will try lots of stories to get a few extra pesos. Best of luck to you both. God Bless!

Mylene and her daughter Ashley's interviews are July 9th and I bought her tickets to fly out on the 16th.

I purchased the tickets over the phone yesterday from Northwest Airlines, a filipina answered the phone and gave me some awesome discounts.

I know most people wouldn't advise doing this but I weighed my options and decided that if I purchased tickets 3 weeks before the flight that it would be ALOT cheaper than if I waited until 1 week (or less) before the flight. The tickets that I purchased can be cancelled (or changed) up until the time that the flight leaves Manila for a $100 penalty; I don't think there will be a problem, but it does give me a little peace of mind.

Tomorrow I am sending out some additional screen shots and other items / documents that Mylene requested for her interview .. I included with these documents a sim card to put in her phone when she gets to her POE and also a letter to the Consular Officer asking that he/she allow Mylene to pick up the Visas in person. The reasons I gave for purchasing the tickets was so that Mylene and Ashley could be here ON my birthday and so we can get married and I can adopt Ashley in time to file their AOS paperwork before the fee increases on July 30th.

Mylene will be using Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport for her POE. Does anyone have any experience with this POE that they care to share.

Thanks,

CB

CountryBoy can you give me some more info about the sim card. I was not sure if the Phones there would function in the US. Girly uses a SMART sim now in her Sony Phone. Would be great if I could set her up as well.

Thanks and Good Luck to you both!

Yup we are waiting as well. Not sure when but we went ahead and got ours on line. Ready to go just waiting to get the appointment letters. Good luck to you all!

Calling all Phil-Am CSC February filers!!! im starting this topic because we might be bumping into each other soon at St. Lukes for medical and at the manila embassy..it would be nice to know each other, get ourselves connected and share some tips too..

Hello everyone. We have our dates! Good luck to everyone!

Aloha kakou,

Have any fellow February filers received their physical/interview dates yet??

Bill and Joan

Yes we got our info off the website today!

August 3rd for St. Luke's Medical and

August 10th for Manilla Embassy Interview!

Can you help me guys where can i get cheaper tickets from philippines going to Michigan USA??Any advice...thanks

The best tickets I have found is through Best Travel store. bt-store.com is the website. I have used them three times myself to fly Cathay Pacific wich is by far the best airline. my tickets round trip have ranged from 1200 to 1500 even my last one over easter was only 1250. Best of luck to you. My baby gets to come home on my flyer miles... what a relief.

Dear All,

I would like to verify...

I still got no appointment packet in my hand, however, I want to go for early medical exam (2 weeks earlier than the my sched). What must I bring in lieu of my appointment packet?

Princess I believe you should bring a copy of your NOA2 and a printout of your appointment date from the website. Check Sheriff Uling's signature I think the info is there! Congrats we just got our dates too.

St. Luke's August 3rd

USE August 10th!

Good luck to all!

I have a question...

When can i apply for my SSN? After the wedding, right?

Congrats on your visa! If I am correct you should wait about 2 weeks and then apply for your ss#. Then you need to file a name change after the wedding. Here is the guide for this step hope it helps! http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...om&page=ssn

Hope that helps. Again congrats...I am so looking forward to the day my sweetheart has hers in hand as well!

Hi All,

I just want to know how long it usually takes to receive packet 4 after NOA2? Is it usually like after 2 months for CSC?

Well for your instance there will not be a packet 3. Philippines only issues packet 4. Best I can tell it is 30-60 days. Most that I have researched on this site get it in 4 or 5 weeks after the Embassy receives your hard copy paperwork. I am in the same boat waiting to see when my sweetheart gets to interview. Best of luck to you.

Hi everyone,

Finally after a year+ of immigration stress, Lorna leaves Cebu today for Manila.

She'll spend the night there and leave in the morning for Tokyo.

Then to Portland, Oregon. Then finally arrive in Medford, Oregon Wed. afternoon.

The positive for taking so long is I have been able to add a master bedroom and a brand new bathroom as well as MAJOR cleaning, hehehe!

I just wanted to thank everyone at this site for all the great info and help and friendship to help get us through all of this.

I can't imagine how we would have done all of this without this site and you folks.

Thank a bunch and good luck and God Bless everyone going through the journey!

Love and peace!

Lorna & Mike

Congrats. I hope you and your fiance have all the best. My girl is from Cebu too...makes the waiting all the more difficult...lol. But Thank God it is over soon for you guys!

Now that she is through the interview stage and waiting on the visa is there anything else we need to plan for before she gets on the plane to finally come and be with me? I thought I had read somewhere that there was a class that she needed to go to. I am asking because I want to buy a plane ticket but I want to make sure she is going to make the flight. Any help would be great. Thanks!!!

Hey Bud you do need to have her attend the CFO classes. These classes are required by the Philippines for all woman traveling abroad. It is a one day course that she must pass and then after she gets her visa must then take her visa to be stamped by the CFO. http://www.cfo.gov.ph/counseling.htm is the website to check it out. You must travel to Manila or Cebu to take the course. My baby took it in Cebu and it went well. You can check out Sheriff Ulings tips are great. I have copied it here for your info. http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=68967

Sounds like you are almost there. Good Luck to you and God Bless.

Hi all ,,,, long time no see Mr.Sheriff Uling... just plain old Uling when we first met.. I am glad to here you to are together, Well my journey started out a little rocky everything went smooth with paperwork and applacation for K1. whe interview date came up Yanai decided she was not ready for marrage . but wanted to introduce me to a friend of hers ,, to make a long story shot ,, I am now married, was married in the Philp..Dec 4th 2006, lol and am now a rice farmer, a cocanut farmer and soon to own a mango farm. am leaveing the USA on June 27th to be with my wife AND our child, ( it came two months early ) , . ( now to the question at hand It looks like I will be going throug Phip Immagration and need any info that anyone has on all the hoops ( I will b e arriveing as a tourest, and getting a 60 day extiention and will continu to do so tell all paperwork is compleat...) I am not sure of what paperwork I must take from here to there. I do knoe the whole process can take up to 5 years

Below are a couple of links to great sources of info on living in the Philippines. Perry Gamsby has some great strait up no bull books on the subject and has done wonders for me understanding the culture and other things to look for. I am sure they would both be great places to start looking for information. My fiance is from Bogo were Perry was living last I spoke to him. He has also lived in Cebu. Best of luck to you!

http://www.philippine-dreams.com/?hop=cebuliving

http://www.livinginthephilippines.com/

Can someone answer this for me before I take a leap off a building. My fiance does not make enough to cover myself and her children so I'm getting another sponsor to fill out the 1-134. Does his I-134 he fills out have to cover myself, her and her three children or just myself (the beneficiary) and anyone dependent on him in his household. Please I need help because this process is driving me insane.

His household would be himself, his wife, any other dependents and you the beneficiary. It would not cover her and her children. Hope that helps. Look to the guidelines posted for the I-864 and that will help I am sure. Those are the instructions used to calculate the poverty guidelines and household size. Good luck!

A regular employee does not need taxreturns ! Why does everyone

keep talking about that ? It clearly sais so on the i-134

You will find that much of the government documentation is vague at best. Many folks have found that the different Embassy's require above and beyond what the standard forms say they do. My contact with the State Department lead me to understand that the Consul can decide to request or require what ever they wish. It is a judgement call and the more proof you have the better your chances without administrative review.

does tax returns really has to be notarized,? aside from having a notarized Affidavit of Support (I-134)? what I understand is that the income you declared on your Aff of Support is the exact amount on the tax returns..

is this necessary? it's confusing, I just read this thread, and my interview will be two months from now.

I dont believe so. Most threads have said that a transcript of your tax return is ok. You can request these free from the IRS. Others have said that photo copies were accepted as well but my understanding is the transcript is your best option. You can download the form from the IRS website and then fax it in to the office for your area. Offices are listed on the application. You can also request the w2s on the same request. Good luck!

I got my girl a computer and dsl line in Manila. We both bought usb headsets made by logitech. I remoted into her computer with techinline.com and setup skype for her. Then we made a phone call over skype. It was perfect. Now I wont have those 400 dollar phone bills anymore.

Just an FYI to the group......

For sure we use Skype and also Yahoo . If your girl needs to call your land line Skype is great is great as well. They call the US it is only like 2.1 cents US a minute. 1/10 what it cost to call the Philippines from here. But you have to have 56k or better connection. Skype and Yahoo save us hundreds a month as well!

I think you can print two copies or photocopy the one you printed. It says clearly on my packet instruction that "EVAF must be submitted the original and one Xeroxed copy".

I got my Packet 3 yesterday but I really need a break !! just to "digest" all the forms that I have to fill out ...

btw ... we need to return all the DS forms to the Consulate right ? I read some thread on VJ that the DS forms should be brought with you when going to interview.

However, my packet instruction says that "Please complete, but do not sign Form DS-230 Part 1, Form DS-156K and the EVAF on-line. Return all forms to the Consulate."

So I just fill all out without signing and send them back to the Consulate ?

confusing

My second thought: I wonder if the submission of the DS forms varied by different countries ?

ie for Philippines ... bring them when going to interview

for HK ... send them back to the Consulate first ????

Yes I believe it does differ by Embassy. To my knowledge the Philippines does not use the DS-230 but someone might know better on that. But to the best of my knowledge they go with you to the interview. But read and follow the packet 3 instructions for your Embassy and I am sure they will tell you what goes where. For the Philippines we bring the forms to the Embassy at the time of the interview but I would double check with your Embassy to be sure. Best of luck to you!

Hi there:

When do you need to fill out the online DS-156 and send in?

Is it (a) when you send back packet 3 to the consulate; (b)after you recieve packet 4; Or (3) when it is close to your interview date?

Thank you for your answer.

Ladywhite,

You can fill it out at anytime as the website does not send data to the Embassy it stores the data in the bar code for when you turn it in. Make sure you use good quality paper and printer the bar code must be sharp and free of smudges. You would then turn it in at the interview with the other DS forms. Good Luck.

Hi there, pal!

I don't have our NOA2 hardcopy yet, but I am just too excited and overwhelm how the process is getting fast now, so I called them. Just trying my luck.

NIce to see you here. I haven't even called yet, although my NOA2 were on 5-16. The website still hasn't updated my status, nor do I have the NOA2 in my hands. Just words from a nice woman at CSC.

We got our email approval for the NOA2 on May 9th and it left NVC for Manila on May 23rd. We had to call NVC to get 0ur case number and found out it was shipping that day. Good luck to you seems that yours should be close behind!

Just curious to see the age differences as i hear there are some big age gaps...I will start.

I am 32

She is 30.

Age difference 2 years 6 mo.

I am 39 and she is 23.... just under 16 years by 3 months