Chris and Rosalie

My guess is the US doesn't stamp people out is because it would cost money for little benefit.

In other countries, it seems more like a jobs program and these governments seem to not care if you overstay your visa as long as you pay your fine - they just want the money. In the US, overstaying your visa could get you denied on future visas.

A jobs program is also the only explanation I can see for collecting terminal fees at the airport instead of including them as fees on your ticket.

Looked through my passport and only once was I stamped on entry into the US (I'm a USC). I think it was in Minneapolis. I've also entered in San Francisco and Detroit. So maybe it just depends on the POE. What equipment they have. How they are trained. Local procedures. Etc.

I'm just wondering how much money it costs to get from the airport to the USEM area...and what people here payed. Just want to make sure my fiance has enough money. Also, isn't there a terminal fee at the airport for all flights?

Taxis from the PAL domestic/international terminal area are flat rate and at least triple what it would cost if done strictly by a meter. The rate depends on where you are going but I think I've paid like 500 to get to Malate/Ermita area which is not far from the UME before.

Not sure on the other domestic terminal. I think that has metered taxis but don't remember. Metered taxis will cost under 200 depending on traffic if you can get a driver to go for the metered rate.

The terminal fee for domestic flights is 200.

Actually, I think I received the approval email from the USCIS because I signed up for updates here at this site:

https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/Dashboard.do

Click on the link on the left side that says, "Sign-up for Case Updates". You need the receipt number from the NOA1.

Wee

You don't need the actual paper in hand for anything up until your fiancee enters the country - its listed as a required document at entry but I don't know that the immigration's officer actually asks for it. Still your fiancee should have it.

If you provided your email address on your I-129F, the USCIS will email you when the I-129F is approved. I received the email about a day or two before the NOA2 arrived in the mail. So that may suffice for you to know when it is sent to the NVC.

After that point you need to wait for the letter from the NVC because you need the MNL number on it. Their email inquiry is useless. I sent the inquiry the day after I got the NOA2 in the mail and didn't receive a response until after my fiancee had taken her medical exam at SLMEC. So you would need to call them to get the MNL number and to find out when it is forwarded to the embassy.

Once it is sent to the embassy, you need to wait at least a few days for them to process it before you can make your appointment. To make the appointment you need the MNL number and info from the I-129F: full names, date of births and addresses.

I'm not sure I'd worry too much about it. Unless you received it in the mail the week after you leave, you would likely be back home before you could make the appointment anyways if you are only gone about a month.

just wondering

All of the seminars are run at specific times during the day so one has to be there when it starts.

I've seen mention in the forum that the seminar in Cebu has limited space so doesn't necessarily take everyone that shows up. But I don't know this personally.

The one's in Manila are all walk in and they seem don't seem to limit the number that can attend.

You have a lot less to worry about than I do. I only make 9 dollars an hour for 40 hours a week but I have a reliable co-sponsor.

According to this calculator you make around 171% of the FPL. I thought I've read somewhere on VJ that they only require you to be at 125%.

http://www.safetyweb.org/tools/fplcalc2009.asp

My fiancee didn't receive her packet 3 until after she got back from going for the medical so you don't need it.

It depends on how you sent it and where she lives.

I didn't mail mine out until 10 days before my fiancee was to leave for her interview. However, DHL + local courier got it there in 6 days even though she lives outside of the direct DHL delivery area.

As for the employment letter, I don't know if it will be a problem. The instructions don't explicitly state you have to have one. You just have to provide sufficient evidence that you meet the support requirements. I would think that paystubs and tax returns would be sufficient but it's the consular officer's opinion that matters not mine.

Well, glad DHL works for you, but I am sticking with FedEx!

I tried to use FedEx to send docs to my fiancee in Negros Occidental, but they wouldn't deliver to her city (at least that is what the desk drone claimed). DHL at least subcontracted the delivery to her city to a local courier (and it got there in 5 total days).

FedEx has nicer shipping boxes though.

I've been to Boracay twice.

I've stayed in both the Patio Pacific and the Boracay Regency. I liked the Boracay Regency far more. The Patio Pacific is a 5 minute walk from the beach while with the Boracay Regency you can step right out onto the beach. Both had complimentary breakfasts. The rooms at the Regency are far nicer in my opinion but there was more noise at night (depends on where your room is). As for cost, the Regency costs more.

When I went to the Regency, I had lost the confirmation number for the reservation and they could not find it by my name. However, they had a great deal for walkins. It was 50% of the normal cost but I had to pay in cash up front for the 4 nights. So that actually worked out in my favor. You can have them arrange your transfer from the airport to the hotel. They will drive you to the boat and then again to the hotel.

Some airline had a couple of minor accidents at the Caticlan airport this year so PAL Express and Cebu Pacific don't fly in there anymore as they shorten the runway length. Maybe thats changed in the past 3 months but I just had to go through this in September. Book with Seair if you want to fly into Caticlan. I recommend that. Otherwise its a 90+ minute ride on a bus from Kalibo.

Also, stock up on 20/50 peso notes for tips for the porters. You will have a porter per bag and your bags will be carried at the airport to your vehicle to the boat, carried onto the boat and carried off of the boat and then for the bellhop at the hotel so you need lots of small peso notes for tips. I had to tip 100 peso notes sometimes because I didn't have enough small notes.

I was able to make the interview appointment for Rosalie today. First available was December 15th. The petition was forwarded to the embassy on 10/30 and the DHL shipment arrived on 11/5 but when I called on 11/9 they wouldn't let me make the appointment yet because it had not yet been reviewed. When I called today they did let me.

On the phone, they ask you, did she receive her letter yet from the embassy (packet 3). I said I had no idea if she had yet or not (probably not). The she asked me something along the lines of who told me I could call for the appointment and I replied I had been told that I could call and make the appointment as long as it was in their computer system. To which she said, yes, I could. So don't let the question put you off trying to get your appointment if you know DHL has already delivered it.

Hello I need some good advice on the Phillippines. I will visit my fiancee for the first time this December in Manila then to Quezon and later visit her very large family in a far province. A lawyer told me that its hard to file fiancee K-1 visa there how true is that I assumed it would take 6 to 8 months tops pending no mistakes on my behalf and holidays and how the processing center works. please enlighten me.

Its not that difficult. Just read the VJ K1 guide. Its pretty easy to follow. Note down all the things you need to get from your fiancee that you need when you file the I-129F. I had to wait for the signed G-325As, the letter of intent to marry and the passport photos to come in the mail which is slow.

Also does any one know of good hotels and restaurants and thrifty things to do there my fiancee is a country girl but has been in manila a year or so and is not too familiar with these things she is a sort of a home body.

I mostly stay in Makati when I am in Manila but the hotels are a bit higher cost. I've stayed in the Hotel Intercontinental and City Garden. City Garden is cheaper but its farther away from the malls like Glorietta and Greenbelt than the Intercon is. Quality of the rooms was about the same.

As for things to do in Manila, I liked going to Fort Santiago, Manila Cathedral and the Saint Augustin monastary. That's a nice way to spend a day and its cheap (cab fare plus a couple small admission fees). Beyond that, movies are cheap there compared to here. Its about 140 pesos in Manila to go to a movie. There are theaters in all of the malls (Glorietta, Greenbelt, Mall of Asia). Walking around the Mall of Asia and window shopping is also relatively cheap if you can resist buying stuff.

How much is the fees to obtain a passport and the police backround check, vaccinations and other fees and processes to get a K-1 visa out side of the $455.00 processing fee.

I don't remember the passport fee but I gave her about $75 worth of pesos and she was able to pay for it and the travel across the province to the city with the DFA office. The NBI police clearance is cheap. I think the fee is like 115 pesos. She will also need a cenomar and a birth certificate both from the NSO. Those cost a couple hundred pesos each as well. In all my fiancee needed to make like 3 trips until we got it all because the passport, bc & cenomar take a while before they are ready to pick up.

how can I make cheap international calls to the Phillippines. my phone bill is shocking.

who has the best airfares with no booking fees and better flight connections from the new york, new jersey area of the east coast

See if there is an internet cafe with webcams and headsets where your fiancee can go. I chat with my fiancee for about 2 hours a day using skype. Its way better than the phone because you can see her on the screen. Cafes usually aren't much more than 50 pesos per hour and most are cheaper depending on where she lives

THANK YOU for all responses please give me all insider info and tips to survive and bring my baby to me. P.S. anyone know a good cheap service or lawyer to file K-1 visa with to help me expidite the process please let me know.

I suggest not using a lawyer. Following the K1 guide here on VJ is not difficult at all.

Woo hooo! Got the e-mail this afternoon!

Congrats!

I received the NOA2 today as well. Almost the exact same timeline.