JEH*

I heard something about AOS Cases transfered to CSC have no longer interview. How true?

In Obama's administration, do u think the number of people depending on food stamps and public assistance will decrease or even worse?

Just an opinion.

My soon to be wife and I had some fun talk last night on the phone.

She went to complete her medical appt and she mentioned to me that

"She found one" lol

I was confused at first what she was talking about, but she told me

about all the gossip between the women at SLEC hospital who were there

for their medical appts. All of them finding out about each others

case...She told me none of them mentioned love for the reason of

marrying and immigrating to the United States, but some had sincere

and good intention to make their marriages work once they got here.

But then she told me about the "one" She was very young maybe 22, and

giggly. And her words were clear...

"I dont love my fiance, I am just doing this because my parents want

me to go to the United States" hehehe

We had talked about these types many times in our relationship, I am

sure most of you can guess, that I was making sure that I was not

being duped myself. lol

This topic will be very long:

Now for the purposes of this thread, we are going to ASSUME that it is

clear that the Pilipina is using the Americano to get the green card

or U.S. citizenship status. We all know that this is not the case

with all or even most Pilipina women and that the majority of Pilipina

women are sincere and come here to marry and live for life with the

person that petitioned them.

But we do see a common trend that seems to be increasing among many

Pilipina women who are using the K-1 visa to come here, and really

have no intention of staying married. Over the past 5 yrs I have done

a lot of reading on Fil-Am relationships, and while decades ago you

would think that this was the perfect match made in heaven for a lot

of people, we now see that things may be breaking down between the two

groups. American people are changing, becoming a lot more

conservative. Philippine culture has changed immensely. Economic

conditions have proven to be the one thing that really supported the

bond between an American man and Pilipina woman. The man wanted a

faithful loving wife, and the woman wanted a good man who could

provide her a good family life. It’s nothing wrong with this either.

Men seek a woman they can trust, and women seek a man who has the

resources to take care of her and any children that may come along.

In the 70s and 80s it seemed to have worked well. If you look around

America you can see older couples that have succeeded from this era in

marriage. About 5 yrs ago I was in a mall and I saw an old

couple...both of them had to be in their 60s. The man was American,

and his wife Pilipina. What was amazing is that right there in the

mall this older couple was holding hands. Wow, what a good thing to see!

But lets be honest, the new Philippine culture has changed a lot over

the past few decades. Since the bases closed there in 1992, we see

that the culture has changed both for the better, and some for the

worst. The economic conditions seem to be bad in the Philippines,

many people who are from the Philippines are working abroad or have a

family member(s) that are working abroad.

So while the economic status of the Philippines looks bad on the

inside economy, many people inside the Philippines may not be hurting

as bad as it looks on paper. Most money flows from other countries

into the Philippines to support the people. The trend of people

having to leave the Philippines for sake of making money has birthed

all kinds of options to the younger generation inside the country. The

internet has also opened a new door for some Pilipino people to make

money from other countries, and to secure new relationships that may

help them immigrate to the United States and other developed

countries. It has also birthed a new culture of people who use the

internet to create scams, and steal from innocent people who are

seeking real relationships or help them.

This brings me to one particular scammer, that uncommon Pilipina who

sits in the Philippines and wants to leave that country and is willing

to lower herself to do it any way possible. She lives on the internet

like its a job. She may seek only status in a new country and is

willing to use someone to achieve it. She flirts and talks with many

men online at one time, she is fishing for the big catch, and waits

until the right fish catches the hook. She is not really interested

in marriage at all. She just wants to get out of that country any way

she can. Meanwhile while she is fishing, she can use the other

smaller fish to help her have some income there in the Philippines.

Many changes in Philippine culture like this one, has not been caught

on by many American men. Many American men who don’t know much about

the Philippines are easily fooled by the scams in the country. She

may tell you a family member is sick and needs medical help. You have

no way of knowing for sure. Also many of the images that are put

forth of the Pilipina today is falsely tied to the old Pilipina who

was more traditional and who had strong family values. What baffles

me is how so many American men refuse to see that the Philippines has

changed from its more traditional ways. This change took place a long

long time ago.

Anyway once the Pilipina achieves finding that man to petition her and

she makes it to the United States via K-1 visa, is when things start

to get tricky. So I am going to inform some of these men as to what I

have seen with my own eyes and what i have heard, and what i know to

be true. Some of it may not make you happy.

The Pilipina who has made it to the United States via K-1 visa and is

now married but she only did it for the sake of a green card or

citizenship status and do not want to be married or stay married, what

are her options? Now I am not saying what she is doing is right, we

all know it's not right. In fact this is fraud. We should be realistic

that this is fraud and is rarely caught, and it is not easy to catch.

But what is her next move after she secures the marriage in the U.S.?

This is where it becomes tricky, but very dangerous.

Most of us have seen this openly discussed right here on the

Internet among Pilipinas giving advice to each other. As one

Pilipina’s post states she commonly says:

“I don’t love my husband. I am worried that I may get deported. How

can I stay in the United States?”

The replies to this post have a major contrast between the American

men, who rarely even reply to these posts and the Pilipina women who

are already in the United States who will give sometimes unethical

advice about how to achieve such goal.

The American men often recommend that she go back to her country and

come back the right way if she has not achieved status yet. But the

Pilipina women will give some very interesting advice that clearly

shows the plan about how a woman can come to the United States using a

K-1 visa for the sake of just getting a green card or citizenship Status.

I have read several posts as to what is often called the 3-D plan as

to how to stay in the United States and leave your marriage. I

realized this was the door that attracts some Pilipinas sitting in the

Philippines who are looking to leave the Philippines and use the

internet to look for a victim, to help them achieve it.

What does the 3-D plan consists of?

The 3-D plan is for the one who wants to come to the U.S. but wants to

not be married, but chooses to use marriage for the sake of getting

here. It can also be used for a Pilipina who honestly came to the

United States to marry but the marriage did not work out, but wants to

stay in the United States. One would question why someone would come

to a foreign country for love, and the love does not work out, why

they would want to stay and not go back to their own country.

How can you really tell the difference? You really don't know which

is the scammer and which is sincere. The 3-D plan consists of

Divorce, Domestic Violence, and Delay. So what does she do when she

gets to the United States and is now ready to move away from her

husband? She has 3 options, at her disposal, and some of them can

prove to be lethal to the victim petitioner:

Divorce

Divorce is the more likely option for most of them. But in order to

get that divorce, they need time in the marriage, and they need to

convince their husbands to divorce them too. While they can file for

divorce, they must have some cause for it. This may cause a serious

volatile situation in the home and marriage and can be dangerous in a

marriage. She could be causing dilemmas and conflict in the home and

conflict between the two of them, soon after she arrives. She could

ignore the spouse, or refuse any intimacy between the two of them. I

have seen this act happen in real life. But the result did not turn

out so well for the Pilipina this time.

Domestic Violence

This one is tricky and is not very likely to be an option for most

Pilipina women. This kind of conflict is not one that feels good to

any Pilipina. But this one is extremely dangerous and can cause

someone to get hurt. While we all know something about DV, we all

know that no man (or woman) should ever hit or abuse someone in a

marriage. Most men understand this from childhood. But there are

some men that hit. There are some women that hit too. But when a man

hits, it’s likely to cause more destruction and pain. So in America

we have strong solid laws that mostly protect women from Domestic

Violence. VAWA laws have been set to protect women in order to

decrease violence between men and women. We need these laws because a

man is much stronger than a woman and can cause more damage in a

physical conflict. But Domestic Violence goes a lot farther in that

one can also be mentally, verbally and emotionally abused by a spouse

as well. So things can get tricky here in a marriage and if someone

is accused of DV, their life can be ruined.

But VAWA laws can also open a door for a devious woman, and

occasionally a scheming man to gain leverage in a marriage and to give

cause to a divorce. My honest opinion, this is the worst and the most

dangerous advice that can be given to a Pilipina who is coming here

and wishes to achieve independence and American citizenship. But if

you look around you can see this advice is freely handed out as a way

to “sneak in.” While most cases of DV are true and genuine, there are

a lot of cases where the spouse (especially women) can provoke or lie

about DV. This causes a highly volatile situation in the home and in

the marriage that can cause someone to get hurt. Even children can be

caught in the crossfire or even used as pawns to achieve the false

accusation of abuse. This can hurt the man greatly who gets falsely

accused of this. Just remember that a pilipina who comes here

strictly for the reasons of gaining citizenship or a green card has

this option open to her, if she gets too desperate it is likely she

may try such a scheme in the marriage. While this is the extreme of

her options, please realize that its there at her disposal. Keep in

mind that DV is not just you hitting her; it means just a tiny

incident that you may have not initiated. It can be a physical or

verbal exchange. It can be spanking your stepchild. It can be a

simple gesture that you called her a name. One visit from the police

to your home can ruin your life. BE CAREFUL! I have seen it with my

own eyes.

It is important that all petitioners (male and female) are aware that

this tactic can be used against them and if so, to immediately remove

and separate themselves from the person that may attempt this. Bottom

line is you have to move away. If she is attempting to intentionally

cause conflict, both of you cannot stay in the same home without any

witnesses there. Even if there are witnesses it is not good for you

both to be in close proximity of one another. If they won’t leave,

you must leave. You are vulnerable to be accused of something that can

destroy your life. I speak to the men mostly on this issue.

Delay

The last option open to this Pilipina is to delay and play the role of

married wife until she gains enough status to guarantee her stay in

the United States. This is the more likely option. If she can bear

living with the man, and is willing to play the role long enough, then

she can achieve better status, and make a divorce look like she gave

an honest try to make it work. Delaying can cause issues for the

petitioners as well, because the investment into the marriage has

settled in a lot more after 2 or 3 years. A divorce may put the

petitioner in the position to may have to pay child support for kids

he may have adopted and even alimony. But if the Pilipina just wants

to be free of the marriage, she may not even seek any of this. Guys

be careful!!!

I am not doing this thread to make petitioners scared, but I think its

important that they think a lot more before they decide to bring the

poor, destitute helpless young pilipina to the United States. You

need to know that she is not out in some field working the crops for

14 hours a day, and barely making enough money to feed her or the

family. While the Philippines is a poor country, it is more likely to

be more of a welfare state, rather than a really poor country. There

is a huge difference between some countries in South Africa and the

Philippines. If you want to see a good example of what the

Philippines is, take a tour of our tough crime neighborhoods and

ghettos here in America. That is mostly what you get in PI.

Comments Please!

well, not just filipinas but also "NIGERS"..say mo?

160-180/week for the two of us..

0r..like what we did, i just photocopied my original marriage certificate reduced the length then include it on the packet

You are not free to marry till April 2009. Immigration requires that you be free to marry when the petition is filed. You should also be aware that a petition filed right after a divorce is a red flag at most posts and filing even before you were free to marry would most likely be seen negatively....

My husband divorced was finalized Jan 14, 2008 and we filed Feb 5, 2008 so far we didnt encounter such problems as far as filing right away after the divorce is concerned. But this is case-to-case basis i guess.

We also had the same situation like yours on our k-1 application but what we did, we waited till the final judgment of the divorce was over and got the DC at hand. That may throw a redflag if you file for k-1 and yet you are not free to marry prior to submission, this is just my own opinion.

Hi everybody, i live here in miami florida, and my fiancee is from cebu philippines, she is 2 months pregnant, and i need to send her money. can anyone tell me what is the best way to send money to the philippines? i would like to do it online if possible.

We use the 10 minutes service of moneygram its cheaper than west union and its reliable too. We've been a customer for over a year now

Sacramento, Calif. – California lawmakers just got a Henry Paulson-like ultimatum from state officials: If they don't act, the state could be forced to suspend road, bridge, and other public-works projects as early as next week. Come March, California will be out of cash for even day-to-day operations.

A confluence of the national recession and years of legislative budget games is squeezing the Golden State as never before. Although it's not the largest budget gap the state has ever faced, this time it will be harder for California to get help from private lenders. Standard & Poor's now ranks it lower than any other state except Louisiana, which shares the same rating.

The question is: Will lawmakers finally make the tough budget decisions they've put off for so long?

"Because California does have a perennial budget crisis, it's very easy to fall into the 'boy who cried wolf' syndrome," says Dan Schnur, director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at the University of Southern California. "This time the sky is really falling."

The state faces a $28 billion budget shortfall over the next two years. If nothing is done, nearly $5 billion in public-works projects could be halted in little more than a week for lack of bond sales – everything from bridge replacements to a new highway tunnel and billions of dollars' worth of school construction, according to state Treasurer Bill Lockyer.

Already, the state failed to attract enough buyers three weeks ago to sell all of the bonds it had floated, he told state lawmakers Monday. "Expecting investors to purchase our bonds now, when we can't agree on a budget that lenders can rely on, is like expecting someone to buy a stock when they know it's losing value," said Mr. Lockyer.

He and three other state finance officials testified Monday in a rare joint session of the legislature.

The picture worsens next spring if legislators don't pass some plan to increase revenues or cut spending or both. California will run out of operating cash in March, state controller John Chiang told the lawmakers. The recession has severely squeezed state tax revenues.

Normally, the state would borrow to cover any shortfall. But internal revenue sources have already been depleted and outside lenders are less accommodating.

"It's not because of [California's] economy, because it's deep and diverse," says David Hitchcock, primary credit analyst for California with Standard & Poor's. "It's because, financially, they've had budgets that have not proved realistic. They've had large deficits and they've only been able to pay for their budgets through borrowing for the last couple years."

Mr. Chiang said the state may be forced to seek special loans at exorbitant rates or issue IOUs to state workers and vendors, further damaging the California economy.

"Failure is not an option here," said Chiang, referring to the need to align state spending and revenues. "It would take years to recover ... deepening and prolonging the recession."

Bringing the budget back in line will require drastic cuts, significant tax raises, or both. Those options will harm the economy in the short run and cost the state jobs – but so would any delay in taking action, said legislative analyst Mac Taylor.

Not fixing the budget would worsen the state's credit rating, making infrastructure projects even harder to fund.

"It means that the stimulus that we all want won't occur," Lockyer said. "Millions of dollars that would have gone to thousands of private-sector businesses, creating tens of thousands of jobs, will be cut off."

Other states are stuck in similar positions of budget duress, making federal money key to jump-starting their economies, says Stephen Levy, director and senior economist at the Center for the Continuing Study of the California Economy.

Washington could also help California by backstopping state and local bonds with a federal guarantee. That would reassure investors, preventing the freeze-up in infrastructure projects. It would almost certainly cost the federal government nothing, says Mr. Levy. President-elect Obama hasn't advocated this yet, he adds, but his advisers are discussing the option.

Even with federal guarantees for bonds, lawmakers in Sacramento would still have to tackle the budget deficit, notes Levy.

During the joint session, members listened attentively, but their questions and statements afterward didn't reveal much softening of positions. Republicans signaled continued opposition to tax raises, while Democrats stressed they had already countenanced "devastating spending cuts" and some new revenue was needed. Democrats are a few seats shy of a full two-thirds majority needed to pass a budget on their own.

"It's not clear what my colleagues on the other side of the aisle want," said Karen Bass (D), speaker of the state Assembly, who helped organize Monday's joint session.

"I didn't hear anything that was new today," says Sen. Jeff Denham ®. "People around the state would expect us to deal with all of the waste first, get rid of all the bells and whistles."

To that end, he's proposing eliminating a $2 million waste-management board and supports selling state property, like San Quentin prison. He would close tax loopholes but wouldn't name any taxes he thought Republicans would be willing to raise.

"My guess is you can find a small number of Republican votes for additional taxes if there is a trade-off for some job and business incentives," says Mr. Schnur. Possible incentives include scrapping stringent 40-hour workweek regulations and scaling back on the state's ambitious greenhouse-gas targets, he says.

She's right! We had an immigration lawyer during our k-1 process but this time (AOS) i do it myself and so far i didn't meet any problem yet. Just follow the guidelines.

If you have an interview you need to provide evidence on how you have "comingled" your lives... This can come in many forms... joint bank accounts, benneficiary on insurance, joint listing on utilities, etc.... to name just a few

W0w! I thought those documents are only needed when you apply for Lifting Conditional Status to Permanent Residence. Does every AOS Applicants undergo an interview?

i submitted 2 each applications (485, 765, 131), white background, 2x2 size.

texas, louisiana, arkansas and been looking forward to add some more on the list

Hi to all !

Is it okay to use the old signature (maiden name) even if i am already married and using my husband's surname ?

Any opinion will be appreciated.

Not when signing any legal documents..but if your old signature doesn't have any name reflected on it [if its only a symbol] then there's no problem.

But make it sure you are consistent with your signature to avoid future problems.

congrats! :thumbs:

i did the same thing..

Hi mam..it'll be fine, dont worry about it. Different SSA offices have different way of dealing it depending on the knowledge of the person whom you submitted your application. Just go back whenever you received your 2 yr greencard or your working permit, i can't see any problem on that.

I agree its true.

i cant see any reason why would you choose to stay with your freak husband (im sorry). dont wait till he gets to hurt you physically. don't mind what people say about you comin back to philippines coz your life is much more important than what they say against you.

living in Jacksonville, TX

my vaccination record is incomplete when i was having it in st. luke manila for k-1 visa, for the reason time not appropriate. Im living in Jacksonville, Texas but now I'm in Clinton, Arkansas becoz my husband's work is here. Can i have my shots done in here or this will matter on my AOS application, pls help im so confused about this..

Thanks in advance guys.

I CAME HERE THROUGH A K-1 VISA AND I JUST GOT MARRIED LAST MONTH. I NOW START GATHERING INFORMATON ON HOW TO APPLY AOS. I TALKED TO SOME FRIENDS ONLINE ABOUT THIS MATTER BUT WHAT MADE ME CONFUSED IS ABOUT THE MEDICAL EXAMINATION. I'VE DONE THE MEDICAL EXAM THERE IN ST. LUKE MEDICAL CLINIC IN MANILA AS INSTRUCTED IN A FIANCEE VISA APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS. SHOULD I HAVE ANOTHER MEDICAL EXAM HERE IN USA ONCE I APPLY FOR THE ADJUSTMENT OF MY STATUS?

thanks for sharing your idea about this mater..

I just got married last Aug 30 but until now I wasn't able to start my AOS Application yet. I have problem on my recent situation right now.

My husband is a welder contractor and he (we) is/are always on travel in different states in USA. Our permanent physical address is in Jacksonville Texas of which we are only staying there two or three times in a year. Right now we are in Louisiana and next month we will be moving to Arkansas. I really have fear that this situation will affect on my immigration status. I really dont know what to do and I ask my husband about this situation and he said he's going to call the immigration and let them know about our situation, would that be a right idea? Please anybody who are experiencing the same situation like mine or even just close to what i am dealing with now, I am asking for your help on this.

I just got married last Aug 30 but until now I wasn't able to start my AOS Application yet. I have problem on my recent situation right now.

My husband is a welder contractor and he (we) is/are always on travel in different states in USA. Our permanent physical address is in Jacksonville Texas of which we are only staying there two or three times in a year. Right now we are in Louisiana and next month we will be moving to Arkansas. I really have fear that this situation will affect on my immigration status. I really dont know what to do and I ask my husband about this situation and he said he's going to call the immigration and let them know about our situation, would that be a right idea? Please anybody who are experiencing the same situation like mine or even just close to what i am dealing with now, I am asking for your help on this.