Skyman

Mom (in Cebu) needs a new passport. The old one is lost but long expired. Anyone know any tricks to get an appointment with DFA? It seemed ok for a while when the appointment system required identification and that wasn't transferable. But now it seems like the travel agencies have gotten around that and there are never available appointments. I was thinking if mom took one of the younger grand kids and got them a passport too, there is some kind of priority or something? Any other ideas?

I've had a 13A for, hmmmm, 14 years maybe? If you wan5 one I recommend getting it anywhere but the Philippines so you only have to do it once. Wish I had known it could be done in the US. I left the Philippines every other year since I got it. I calculated after I had it for 10 years or so, it was just then becoming the cheaper option than the BB visa with annual trips for 2 to (wherever). This is due to the fact that a BB pays nothing on departure whereas a 13A has to pay about p2880 to the BI and p1640 travel tax (every time you depart). Also, a 13A has to pay p310 AR every year and renew their ACR-I card every 5 years which runs something like $50 plus p5k or whatever. Probably the biggest reason to get the 13A over BB is for tax advantages if you have foreign income. As a 13A holder, you are bona fide resident of a foreign country and are eligible for foreign income exclusion regardless of the time spent in the US each year.

That's the 33 months I mentioned. No need to get hung up in the weeds regarding 6 months or 180 days. I won't be counting exact days/minutes to squeeze under the wire. Could be 5 months or 4. Interesting point about the marital relationship. How ####### are they about that? Are they going to want evidence we sleep together? We have property in the Philippines that requires maintenance and she needs to stay here to get her time in. It's not like I can pop over there on weekends. When we're in the same country we'll definitely be together and when we're apart we do some texting but not a lot because of the 12 hour time difference. We'd video but Philippine internet is dismal. Anyway, another concern I thought of is the residency thing. If we do this longish trip, the plan would be to do it at the end of our lease. Put our van and stuff in a storage unit and head for the Phils. Then a new lease on return. Might be the same complex but very unlikely the same apartment. That would be about 8-10 months before we could send the N-400.

What strange requirements may I (the USC) need to keep in mind while waiting for the 33 months to pass so we can submit her N-400? My wife (of 13yrs 2days) got her 10yr GC October 1 and I know she can't leave the country over 6 months or it will count against the 33 months. However, is there any similar restraint for me? I actually just returned from a 5 month trip to the Philippines a few weeks ago because our house/garage and pretty much everything else were destroyed by Super Typhoon Odette in December. She stayed here in San Antonio because we couldn't afford for both to go. Would there be some future problem with her Naturalization because of that trip? What if I'd stayed longer? 🤔 I expect both of us will go back to the Philippines 🇵🇭 in about June of 23 and she'll return under 6 months but would it be a problem if I stayed longer? Do I really need to be physically present in the US to file the N-400? Do I have to attend her interview? TIA