dnavinnie

Well said @Hank_...I just married in the Phillipines to a girl with the biggest heart I have ever met. I did meet some scammers but that happens in almost every country in the world.

I totally agree on the scammers, "dragon ladies" .. women that pursue a foreigner as a way to get a green card and a better life.  Those types of women are still there, and I know of a fair number of men that got scammed, and had their hearts broken when the Filipina "ditches him" the moment she has gotten what she wants.    <<< But this is true of many countries.<   But I know many, many more couples that have great marriages and very happy lives.    And I know thousands of couples married to Filipinas.
 
The Philippines was listed as a "high fraud" country for years, (quality ink jet printers don't ya know), not sure it is anymore, haven't checked.  The fraud issue was relating to phony documents; a variety of official documents.  Over the years the Philippine government itself has taken major steps to make fraudulent documents much more difficult to create.   Even to this day the embassy is very watchful with documents and they are very quick to demand new documents and have them delivered directly from the government entity.
 
I believe the embassy has gotten very good at spotting the "dragon ladies"     And for those in real relationships the embassy has gotten very good at spotty those too.   I was there with my wife for the complete visa process in the Philippines .. it was a great experience and I will say -   The U.S. Embassy in Manila is not a difficult embassy for those that have genuine relationships and provide all the required documents.
 
But if your documents are not lined up  like little ducks in a row .. watch out.   And if they think the relationship is not genuine .. they will drop the big hammer.    I saw that during the time we were at the embassy as well.
 
 
 
 

I am getting married July 5 in the Philippines. It is taking 14 business days to get my marriage approval before we can marry so you need to check where you plan to marry.
 

Unless you were expecting to file DCF (Direct Consulate Filing) then yes things will be different.
 
But if you are getting married then heading back to the States to file the I-30 petition . nothing will be any slower than it is currently.      
 
 

It will potentially lengthen the USCIS ( petition ) phase but only for those select few who could actually take advantage of the services provided by the international field offices, however,  it will have no effect on the operation of the embassy Visa units.

Delays are just cycles, they come and go depending on when you file. 

This will have zero effect on the embassy 

Many cities are now asking for a CENOMAR from the foreigners .   Which is why I suggested to bring a copy of the divorce decree.
 
 
 
 

I haven't tried booking.com yet. I will try it in the future.

I'll be staying at the Seda Centrio in June. I will let you know how it is and any other info for you.

I always use Booking.com and read the reviews for anyplace I go in PI...even Mindanao. Try to rent a condo and live like a mini family...cook things and bond....

I'll be staying at the Seda Centrio in June. I will let you know how it is and any other info for you.

The different names will not be a problem.   That is understandable considering she is now married.
 
You used the child's name as shown on her birth certificate for her I-130 ?    Then all is good, the mother's birth certificate will match.    

Her name is as shown on her birth certificate, or was her name misspelled on her birth certificate?   Or are you thinking to change her last name to yours now that you are married to her mom?   That is called adoption, and you really want to wait until in the USA to do that one unless you have lots of time.

One word of advice for you. Apply for a national copy of your marriage certificate and pay the expedite fee asap after the city has their local copy available. The sooner you get it the sooner you can prepare your I-130 and it takes time to get the marriage certificate even with expedited service.

I am getting married on Midanao in July. One of my requirements is a CNI (Certificate of No Impediment). My fiancé was told a CENOMAR was needed for this. I sent her an official sounding email authorizing her to request a CENOMAR. She took that email with a copy of my birth certificate and it cost her 400 php for both of our CENOMARs. She had no problem. My guess it is to prove I am not married to any other Filipina. I hope this helps. BTW...some of the great people from this site helped me with questions regarding all of my preparations. 

I am getting married on Midanao in July. One of my requirements is a CNI (Certificate of No Impediment). My fiancé was told a CENOMAR was needed for this. I sent her an official sounding email authorizing her to request a CENOMAR. She took that email with a copy of my birth certificate and it cost her 400 php for both of our CENOMARs. She had no problem. My guess it is to prove I am not married to any other Filipina. I hope this helps. BTW...some of the great people from this site helped me with questions regarding all of my preparations. 

I am getting married on Midanao in July. One of my requirements is a CNI (Certificate of No Impediment). My fiancé was told a CENOMAR was needed for this. I sent her an official sounding email authorizing her to request a CENOMAR. She took that email with a copy of my birth certificate and it cost her 400 php for both of our CENOMARs. She had no problem. My guess it is to prove I am not married to any other Filipina. I hope this helps. BTW...some of the great people from this site helped me with questions regarding all of my preparations. 

It's true...and your right pretty silly since you never know who is being honked at or who is honking! In the us people get upset if they are honked at, lol. I just honked at animals and people on side of road who didn't seem to be paying attention.
 

I laughed when I read "honk a lot". Everyone honks their horn every 30 seconds and no one pays attention!...hahahaha

I have been traveling to Philippines since 2007, I have never made any hotel arrangements when I travel. 
 
I look on a map and do some research, check the weather and take a plane to where I want to go, once I get there I go looking for hotels. If I like the place I stay there a few days or a week, if I don't like it I move on to another location.  This has served me well.

The last time I tried an out of the way hotel in Cebu two roosters kept me up all night starting at 1AM!!!!! I don't have any luck with random...hahahaha.

My first wife was from Davao City, and that is when I kinda fell in love with the area.   My current wife is from Albay region
 
Siargao Island my wife and her family went a few months ago, they had a blast there. So I will explore it when I arrive 
 
https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&amp;ei=W9lSXPCrOcKKtQXlgpygAQ&amp;q=siargao+island&amp;oq=siagro&amp;gs_l=psy-ab.1.1.0i10l2j0l3.324.2610..6696...0.0..0.182.667.6j1......0....1..gws-wiz.....0..0i131.JFV5QFOWj10
 

I went there in 2008. Took a supershuttle boat and landed and got a taxi and started checking out hotels, I never pre book anything in Philippines unless I have been there personally.  After looking at about a dozen hotels and the beach front, decided to stay at Golden Sunset Beach Club. price was pretty cheap from what I remember, around 2000 php per day.  We had a ref that was stocked with food and drinks and price per item was sari sari price.  They served Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner there as well, and each room had their own table to eat on in front of the room.  Food was great and cheap.
 
We rented two motorbikes for 400 or 500 peso per 24 hour period each, drove all over the island.  There are many tourist places to visit, and we went to about 4 springs that were hot or cold or soda, and entrance fee was like 10 peso each.  I think I went to a couple of waterfalls as well, I remember one being pretty impressive.  
 
There is a white sandbar you can take a pumpboat to, it was well worth the trip.
 
Overall it was a great place to go, I liked it much better than going to Coron or El Nido
 

Awesome...I'm sure we are on the right track thanks to your help. I wish you guys good luck with the rest of your process.