koltrone

Mabuhay!

Im one of those temporarily unemployed/retired folks so My Income is below poverty 2008. I been working hard and saving $$$ all my life, dont need to work anymore.

I was wondering if Manila Embassy is hard on "Assets" filers, I know it's up the the embassy. I do plan to work of course after we get to the states.

Seems odd to me that CO would decline an I-864 that meets the guidelines several times over but I hear that some embassy just don't like to trust the assets.

What's the buzz on Manila and a retired married couple? Any VJ'ers pass Manila on Assets?

When I had my interview for IR-1 my husband was out of work for almost 1 year. I had my FIL's federal tax with me and a co-sponsor document that they both signed just incase they ask about my husband's affidavit of support. I think I was just so lucky that i was not asked about it, or they already knew he is unemployed because its what came up in my data summary. Use your asset, it might help a lot besides its depends on the CO so we dont know what they're going to ask, just have all the documents ready that even your income is below poverty level you still have some enough to support both of you.

SMART has a new balikbayan sim.. cost around Php120 i think.

It doesn't have any maintianing balance for roaming services and your family can send you eloads.

i'm planning on brining one over but with the YM SMS service... (FREE UNLIMITED for US residents), I'm rethinking this plan.

Anyhoo, SUN also has an international sim that can send text to US phones for Php1/text.

So if your family has computer, just use this so they can send you text msg and you log in to YM or Skype.

sis, what network offers free unlimited YM for US residents? and how much it cost per month? thanks!

Using your Yahoo Messenger, you can send absolutely free and unlimited text messages to US phone numbers.

Meanwhile, your SO in US can send text messages to Yahoo Messenger on their standard text messaging rate.

That means, if your SO has unlimited text messaging with AT&T, he can reply to u unlimited through Yahoo Messenger.

To you, it will appear as a chat window, to him it will arrive in a text messaging format.

What we also did for calls was to get me (Filipina wife) a Yahoo Messenger phone in.... it's only US28/Year.

YM will assign a US Phone number for your YM ID and your SO can call you through his regular phone with standard phone call rates in the US.

Meaning, he can use up all his talk time with you. This is so long as you are logged in to YM. Very helpful to people who have computers and DSL at home... and their husband/fiance is out working or travelling. This is also good if you hook up your parents to this service once you arrive to the US. You can call through your landline or mobile phone to their YM Phone In number and not have to actually have internet at home. You can ask them to log in while ur out shopping... so you can call them and chat while doing grocery.

There's also a YM Phone out, it works the same as phone in... only this time you pay for outgoing calls. You can load minimum of US10 and it's only USD0.01/min call to the US (for US10 approx 3 hours talk time). You can hook your parents to this so they can call you at your US mobile number really cheap.

Again, this is very convinient for people with computers and DSL at home.

I am using a yahoo phone out right now. Before I subscribe to phone in but after our kid was born I dont have time to be always in front of the PC so i switch to phone out and call him whenever I get the chance. he is using sprintpcs network to text me via ym and aim (preferred) however he is paying too much since it includes voice calls and I havent really checked sprint services for just instant messenger. I will be leaving on July 8 and will disconnect my broadband since both of my parents who are seniors dont know how to operate computers, no siblings and the folks are planning to visit the province to take care of something so I want to communicate via yahoo messenger.

SMART has a new balikbayan sim.. cost around Php120 i think.

It doesn't have any maintianing balance for roaming services and your family can send you eloads.

i'm planning on brining one over but with the YM SMS service... (FREE UNLIMITED for US residents), I'm rethinking this plan.

Anyhoo, SUN also has an international sim that can send text to US phones for Php1/text.

So if your family has computer, just use this so they can send you text msg and you log in to YM or Skype.

sis, what network offers free unlimited YM for US residents? and how much it cost per month? thanks!

hi everyone...

i am 21 years old and my fiancee is 22 (both filipinos pero siya yung u.s. citizen)

gusto ko lang e tanong if kailangan ko pa ng letter of consent to marry galing sa parents ko kasi

nabasa ko sa philippine law.. ito Parents' Consent or Advice: Under Philippine law, the legal age for marriage is 18. If the contracting parties are between the ages of 18 and 21, they must present written consent to the marriage from their father, mother or legal guardian. Any contracting party between the age of 22 and 25 must present written parental advice, i.e., a written indication that the parents are aware of the couple's intent to marry.

Kung oo Saan ako magpapagawa ng letter na ito.. at saan ko gagamitan.. sa CFO ba o sa EMBASSY INTERVIEW?

E tatnong ko narin sana kung pwede naba akong mag pa medical at mag schedule ng date for interview kahit wala pang pinapadalang letter ung us embassy sa akin (nakuha na NIYA ung noa2 n letter from nvc)

pwd narin ba akong mag seminar sa cfo?

medyo nagmamadali kasi kami..kasi madedeploy siya sa afghanistan...

THANK YOU sa mga advice niyo God bless u all

I'm guessing sa US kayo magpapakasal - so u need ung intent to marry and not the parents consent. Kse when my husband marry his 1st wife @ 20 his parent didnt even know about it.

Alot says pwede daw ung NOA2. Yes pwede ka na mag seminar then pag na received mo na ung visa mo babalik ka sa CFO for stamp.

Hope this helps

thanks alot ladies. next week pa daw kami mag seminar. july 8 pa naman ako aalis e

guys may expiration ba ang CFO counseling? gusto kase sumama ng friend ko, wife din sya ng USC pero they didnt start the process of their papers, pwede na kaya sya um-attend? feedback naman po. thanks!

This might be so so late but i haven't had the time to post so much after i received my visa. I realized there's so much more to do before the flight.

My interview date was May 7th of this year. I live in Rizal so i had to wake up 4:30AM and prepare myself and left the house at 5:30AM. I arrived at the USEM around 6:45AM and there was a lot of people outside the USEM. Some were standing in line and were assisted by the guards to get in the building those who had 7am schedule. I had an 8:30 schedule so i went to the waiting shed outside. While waiting outiside, there were people selling umbrellas and i had to buy one because it started raining hard. I also heard from them that the USEM had a meeting last May 5 that they wont allow people who brought any liquid forms, cellphone, sharp objects to enter the building. There was this woman who was crying because she brought her celphone with her and when she got it and the USEM scan machine traced her celphone. The guard didnt ask her any questions, they just reschedule her interview date at once and asked her to go home. So guys! DO NOT BRING colognes, cellphones, sharp objects like nipper or nail cutter, and usb drives if you dont want your interview date to be rescheduled.

The guard finally called applicants with 8:00am schedule.. and i asked the guard if I could go since mine was 8:30. Then the guard said 'Ma'am! kanina pa po yung for immigrant applicants! kanina pa dapat kayo pumasok! Yung mga pinapahintay lang po dito ay yung K type visa lang.' Bummer! So i hurriedly went in and found Koltrone in the building. She already got her number while i was just sitting there waiting for my turn to get my number. After i got my number i waited HOURS! before my number flashed on the queing board. I saw Koltrone's number flashed for the pre-screening interview, then for the final interview, but my number wasnt flashed yet.

An hour after Kotrone left, my number finally flashed. The pre-screener was nice. I was just standing there in front of the booth waiting for her to ask me questions. She just looked at me and smiled, then she started writing something, then looked at me again then asked for PICTURES, EMAILS, CARDS, REMITTANCES, MY HUSBAND'S INCOME TAX RETURN FOR 2008, CO-SPONSORS INCOME TAX RETURN. Then she asked me these questions:

- How long have you been married? When?

- Have you been married before you met your husband now?

- How many kids does your husband have?

- What are their names?

- Who is your sponsor?

- How come you dont have the co-sponsor's 2008 income tax return?

(then she saw my daughter's CRBA that my husband sent them)

- "Oh! So your daughter's now a US citizen!... Hmmm.. ok, you're good to go. Goodluck with your final interview"

Then i waited another hour for my number to flash again. Here are the consul's questions:

- Who's your petitioner?

- When's the last time you saw him?

- How did you meet?

- How many times he visited you?

- Does your husband have kids from his previous wife?

- Are you ready to be a stepmom?

( Then silence... she was typing something on the computer )

- Have you been married before? ( i answered 'no')

- (and again with a more threatening tone) Have YOU! been married before? (Answered her with a more confident tone 'NO!')

Then she said, 'Congratulations, your visa is approved'. (She didnt smile or anything when she said that. parang napipilitan lang yung pagkaka approve ko.. hahahahaha!) Then she instructed me to wait at the waiting area and my name will be called again. after like 5 minutes, my name was called to go to window 37. The lady handed me back the documents that the pre-screener took and she asked me to pay the courier then she stapled the small pink paper on the 2nd and 3rd pages of my appointment letter and the lady said i can go home after i paid the courier.

THAT'S IT!

The questions were easy. All you gotta do is answer the questions WITH CONFIDENCE. Smile even though they're not smiling. It's ok to be nervous, im pretty sure that the pre-screener and the consul knows that every person that they're interviewing everyday are nervous. But DONT stammer. Because if you stammer, they'll get suspicious.

GOOD LUCK SA INYONG LAHAT!!!! SANA PASADO LAHAT PARA MASAYA!!

You can bring all you mentioned above only u have to leave it at the guard with ur id and the'yll give ur cp or electronic device back to you.Better leave it outside with your companion if you have any though.

Lei, feeling ko lakas ng mga anak natin sa USEM lol ako hindi na hinanapan ng income tax return. practice na practice pa naman ako kase baka ma question since he is out of work since aug 2008 kaya i have my FIL as co-sponsor. ung tanong na di ko ini-expect was ano daw course ng husband ko sa college, haynaku buti naalala ko, un pa sana ikadi-deny ko LOL

Sa May 27 ang alis ko sis. Excited na ang lola mo. hehehehehe

uy sa 27 na alis mo? san ka nakakuha ng ticket? mura ba nakuha mo? kelan ka nag CFO? happy trip!

not so sure about the food... but as i mentioned earlier, you'll have a place to buy food inside...

thanks raeka.. im so worried coz i have a baby.is food allowed like chocolate?

I had a chocolate in my bag

Hello all, I have some questions regarding about buying plane ticket.By the end of this month Im going to the Philippines to get my 3 boys we are wondering if its much cheaper to buy their plane tickets there in PI because when we are checking for a one way ticket it is much higher than of the round trips.Or it is still much better if we buy here? any suggestions please.

If you are buying an RT (US-PH-US) its better to purchase it in the US. For 1 way ticket I was able to booked for $680 cathay pacific POE - NY. If you kids are less than 12 years old dont forget to apply for travel tax exempt at dept of tourism.

Thanks for the info my kids are 17,14 and 9 but we already bought their tickets here can my youngest will still be able to apply for a travel tax exempt?

Also we found a great deals on RT and one way at onetravel they are the lowest ticketing agency so far that i found but you have to buy it online bec if you will call their costumer service and try to deal with them their price are much diff than what it says on their website its confusing, they have this $10 off from purchasing ticket on their website but its time limited so we grabbed the chance .

I am not sure since you already purchased your ticket. When I booked our ticket the travel agent asked me for the TEC and told me that they are the one who will forward to the airline. You may check with the airline, who knows you can get a refund have a safe trip

Hello all, I have some questions regarding about buying plane ticket.By the end of this month Im going to the Philippines to get my 3 boys we are wondering if its much cheaper to buy their plane tickets there in PI because when we are checking for a one way ticket it is much higher than of the round trips.Or it is still much better if we buy here? any suggestions please.

If you are buying an RT (US-PH-US) its better to purchase it in the US. For 1 way ticket I was able to booked for $680 cathay pacific POE - NY. If you kids are less than 12 years old dont forget to apply for travel tax exempt at dept of tourism.

I have my employment letter, divorce decree, tax transcripts all in scanned copies, is it ok to just have those during interview? Or they wud really ask for the originals?

I received all tax document from my husband in scanned copy (coverted to acrobat) and I didnt have prob with it. The employment letter I had it original because it needs to be notarized. The divorce decree was also original, its the same copy he left with me after we got married 5 years ago. I just gotten approved for the IR-1 and were leaving on July 8 POE - JFK

sis Raeka CONGRATS! eto na received ko kanina sa air21 - expect delivery soon daw ng documents ko from usem. they also include ung tracking num at nasa gateway at cargohaus na daw nila. will update ya.

i experienced it myself, got denied and was told im better off with an immigrant visa . its a waste of money .

yes sis, she did that i think last year and she got denied so she applied for canadian tourist visa and got approved. they see each other in canada instead. she told me the hubby is still waiting for some papers so he can start filing IR visa.

Thanks guys for all your replies

CMI sis Raeka

sabay tayo - MAY 7 8.30am ako. Done with medical Apr 21. Thanks!

Hi guys,

just want to ask this question for a friend who is not a member. she is married to USC and she wants to try to apply for a tourist visa "again". the first time she was granted a visa in 2005, she meet him and they get married. she returned home and after a year she applied again but she was denied due to the fact that she is already married, usem knew it. she then go to canada instead just to see her hubby. now she wants to try again because one of her friend told her that this friend's hubby was issued a multiple entry visa. she just need your opinion. I already gave mine that it just a waste of money, however she wants to hear it from other people. thanks!

thanks sis ruby for the reply

Hi Ruby, thanks for the information I'm waiting now my son's Philippine passort. He has US passort too.

Hi Ruby Meron sana ako question... Do you think kailangan ko pa i-apply si baby ng Philippine passport or khit hindi na? Nxt week na appearance ni baby sa US Embassy. Share ka nman ng experience mo kng ano nangyari sa CRBA ng baby mo

Sis you need to get PH passport for your child or else they will treat her as US Citizen only at the NAIA immigration and they will ask you to pay for the baby's stay in the philippines as an american. hope this helps.

I went to the Bureau of Immigration today here in cdo to apply for my son's exit permit...

My son was born here in PI, he has US passport and Phil. Passport ,

the officer told me that i don't need exit permit for him because he has Phil. Passport, I will just show both his passport when leaving at the airport in manila and show his US passport during our POE..

I just want to share this information to everyone!!!

Hi sis,

Is that mean na kahit hindi ko na dalhin ung son ko sa immigration? he has PH and US passports na.

Thanks!

congrats sis

with your situation, yes they will allow your companion. your FIL will be allowed also if the person who will be having a medical will be able to do it by herself, they do not allow companion.

thats how they are sis. i did email them before using my email account they ignored it for 2 days but when i use my husband's account, they replied after 2 hours. when my husband arrived they call our house to set an appointment for my son's crba, i was the one who picked up the phone but still the guy on the phone asked to speak to my husband just to tell him what time we need to show up and my husband was like ... "hun its 8am blah blah blah" i dont know why they need to talk to someone who will just going to pass the information to the other person. they can actually talk to me and tell me and were done since I am the wife but the thing is i am a filipina.

i'm 35 and my usc husband is 26

I agree I just received my smear test result yesterday and it turned our negative pero i still need to wait for 2 months for the culture result, available daw sya by april 15 but they told me to call on april 22. Sana maging nega din ung result ng culture kse there's an old guy there who told me that his 3 smear test turned out nega tapos slec called him after a week na meron daw nag grow na bacteria so he was under medication na agad and every month daw nag sputum test sya bale 2x a month. haynaku! sana naman mag nega ung result natin sis. goodluck sa atin

Hi im planning to go to SLEC 2nd week of February kasi March 4 pa naman ang interview date ko. Pwede ba na yung email ng appointment ko ang dadalhin ko sa SLEC? Sabi ng US Embassy Call Center Agent ba yun na pwede ko daw makuha ang K packet online.just fill up the forms online daw and print....hindi ko alam ano gagawin ko eh..saka pwede ba na yung NBI Clearance ko yung dating address ko ang inilagay nila instead na present address ko?

Ang ginawa ko pa.nag advance check up na ko sa local hospital last week../.negative naman result ng Xray ko..negative then ako sa hepatitis..at nagpa HIV Test din ako kasi i had blood transfusion noong nagkasakit ako so to make sure na okay yung blood nagpa HIV Test ako 450 pesos ang bayad ko at negative naman ang result.I will bring my result to SLEC if i will undergo medical check up para may basis din sila.

yes sis you can bring ung email appointment letter and if you have records of vaccinations dalhin mo din importante yan. u will still need complete the tests at slec and as long as u dont have a scar in your lungs you're good to go. goodluck

thank you for the info todd and haole.thank you so much godbless

Walang anuman po !

Hint!

Go to the medical after 12:00 noon. You'll beat the morning crowds then.

Don't go on Friday unless don't you mind going back Monday to finish.

I agree