loveaboo

It wasn't even that long ago(last summer) that we were getting 48 PHP to a USD. Does anyone else notice that when they send money via Western Union, Money Gram or Xoom that the exchange rate is always a peso lower per dollar than what it actually is? Lately the exchange rate has been 44 PHP to the USD but every time I send on those services it comes out to be about 43.3. What gives?

A weak US Dollar affects us all. I haven't seen any signs of it getting better, either.

If you noticed, the cost of sending money in PhP via Xoom is so much cheaper than sending money in USD. The reason for that is because they are already earning money from the exchange rate since their rate is usually PhP 1 lower than the real exchange rate.

Count us in!!!

Loveaboo's husband's guide to dealing with Tampo.

Caveat... this is only going to work with small infractions only. For the big ones, you are on your own. This isn't going to help.

When she goes into Tampo mode, follow this simple 4 step process.

Step One - Leave her alone! - Give her some time to cool down. Use this quiet time to make yourself useful by doing some housework or other things that will soften her disposition towards you. In the meantime, you can contemplate whatever "infraction" you've committed. (Or alternatively try to figure out what it was you did anyways. )

Step Two - Begin gentle cajoling - Get her to talk to you, and figure out exactly what you did that made her tampo. Usually this will take multiple attempts. Be persistent to the point of being (almost) irritating.

Step Three - Once you've wrung it out of her what you have done, sincerely apologize, re-affirm your love for her, tell her all the things that she wants to hear, etc. We are men, not saints after all.

Step Four - Buy something small but nice that she would like - This will depend on how well you know your wife and the kinds of things she likes. Flowers, chocolate, something special to eat, a small gift to let her know you care. Keep her guessing.

Presto! If you haven't dug yourself into too deep a hole, this should get you out of the dog-house nicely.

By the way, dealing with Tampo is SO much better then what I had to deal with from my ex. I was so tired of all the screaming and fighting. Tampo is positively refreshing in comparison.

Wow, we do have similar timelines, although we did get the AP and EAD end of February. I'm glad (misery loves company) that we're not the only ones in that forgotten box. Keep me posted if you receive anything. Best of luck to all of you!

Count me in!!! I got my EAD and AP last February and my I-485 has been in CSC since January but hasn't been touched...Best of luck to all of us!!!

Hi, I am from Laguna and my husband to be is from CT. We are still praying for the right way

in applying for visa. We would like a visa that can bring me faster in the USA and be together

as lawfully wedded couple.

We thought first for K-1, but we also consider K-3 because we can marry here and it will give

respect for my family, but K-1 seems have priority over K-3 since K-3 have lesser applicants.

I hope you don't me asking for advice. God bless you!

NatJosie

San ka sa Laguna? Taga-San Pablo ako.

Hi, I am from Laguna and my husband to be is from CT. We are still praying for the right way

in applying for visa. We would like a visa that can bring me faster in the USA and be together

as lawfully wedded couple.

We thought first for K-1, but we also consider K-3 because we can marry here and it will give

respect for my family, but K-1 seems have priority over K-3 since K-3 have lesser applicants.

I hope you don't me asking for advice. God bless you!

NatJosie

San ka sa Laguna? Taga-San Pablo ako.

Have a safe trip to your daughter and mom!

Thanks T and A and lostgurl! Much appreciated!

Yeah, the system is totally different over there. I still don't really understand the whole "Phil-Health" thing, you pay a premium and the hospital may give you a discount on the bill? All Doctors are pay as you go, there is no real Medical Insurance in the PH...

There's real medical insurance in the Philippines but they are usually provided by the company you're working for or if you're a dependent of someone working in a certain company. Honestly, medical insurance there is so much better than here in US. I was telling my husband that if I'm working in the Philippines, we won't have to worry about my delivery at all. More often than not, with the medical insurance, combined with Phil-health and I think SSS benefit also (if I'm not mistaken), you will be able to leave the hospital without paying a single cent.

Question lang po for future reference...

If parents got approved for a 10 year multiple entry visa, are they required to purchase a round trip ticket? Or is it OK to purchase a one way ticket only especially if they are not sure when they want to go back? Also, as tourist visa holders, what is the maximum number of days they can stay here in US, if there's such a thing?

Thanks!

I agree to above posts. Money matters should have been discussed before getting married.

In the Philippines, the man takes care of all the expenses IF the woman is a stay at home. I think it's the same thing here. That's just sensible since how would you expect the woman to help with the expenses if she doesn't even have a source of income?!? If both are working, they share responsibilities unless the husband is earning so much that he doesn't need his wife's income at all.

With my husband and I, all his is mine and all mine is mine. LOL...Just kidding!!! Seriously though, we've decided that whatever happens, the priorities will always be saving for the rainy days and paying the bills including debts. I don't have a job yet so right now, he's the one in charge of everything. But once I start working, the agreement was for him to take care of all the bills and for me to take care of the savings.

Your married to each other already. You're partners now. Partners share responsibilities with each other. Your goals and priorities should align with each other and you should be helping each other to achieve those.

Finances is not everything in a relationship but it can be a major strain. I don't know if this is the same in all states but what I know is that when you're married, your debt is also her debt and vice versa. You should both work on paying it as soon as you can. Maybe you should explain to her the advantage of being able to pay all debts immediately like there will be less interest charge, thus the amount of interest you'll have to pay could go to savings instead. This thought works for me and my husband. Who wants to pay so much interest when the money could go somewhere else more important?!? Do the Math to her.

Another option which I don't recommend so much because she might take offense: explain to her that helping you with the bills is still cheaper than her renting her own place, paying her own bills and buying her own food. There's no such thing as free lunch.

Lastly, you two can go to a financial counseling if there's such a thing.

Anyways, goodluck!!!

The health care system here sucks and it's ridiculously expensive. I can't believe normal delivery here without insurance could cost $15000. I was telling my husband, in that amount I can already give birth normally 25 times in the Philippines and stay in a nice private hospital room. Also, in the Philippines, if you have a job and your company provides good medical insurance, you can get out of the hospital without paying a single cent. Here that seems to be impossible.

I am also pregnant. My 1st doctor's visit cost us $40 that's because we have a medical insurance. Otherwise we would have ended up paying more. On my 2nd visit, they didn't ask for any payment but their so called "patient's advocate" talked to us about how much we should expect to pay and when and how are we planning to pay. I freaked out when she told us that we'll have to prepare $500+ as doctor's fee and $3000+ hospital's fee. The fees will be higher if there will be a complication (which I hope we won't have to worry about). As early as now we're already starting to save.

I was telling my husband that it would be a lot cheaper if I'll give birth in the Philippines, not to mention that I can enjoy a private room with all amenities already and there will be more people who will take care of me. Oh, it can also be a long vacation for me. However, my husband asked me to give birth here since if I go to Philippines, he can't be with me the whole time because he can't take a long vacation leave from work. I respect his wish because I know he really wants to be with me throughout my pregnancy.

It's difficult to be pregnant, especially if there's a problem like diabetis, much more if she has to worry about finances. I think for now, your best option is to save. Maybe it would make her feel a lot better if she knows you have enough or more than enough money to take care of the medical bills if she'll get pregnant. And as time goes by, your savings will start to build up and she might feel your need to start a family already and realize the effort you're doing to get ready for that family, she might decide to get pregnant again. Goodluck!!!

I think people nowadays tend to stare in general. We are a generation who grew up on television shows that promote gawking and rubber-necking. We slow down to see an accident on the road. Staring is no longer considered rude or a taboo...and most people seem to be unaware they are doing it. I know I've caught myself doing just that.

We don't really mind people staring at us. When we're in the Philippines, my husband was the one who is usually the object of attention. He's the foreigner. There were even women who will hit on him right in front of me. I didn't really mind. Here in US, I think I get more attention than him because I'm the one foreign. LOL!!!

My husband and I are on the same age group. He's 10 inches taller than me but when I'm wearing my 2-inch flip-flops the height difference doesn't look so bad at all. We're also both chubby in Philippines' standard. We haven't heard any bad comments when we're together, usually good. When we're in Boracay we saw a white middle-aged couple approaching us so we decided to ask them to take a picture of us. They did. Before they left, the woman told us that they've been looking at us while we're walking towards them and she was just telling her husband what a lovely couple we are. Similar thing happened here while my husband and I were in the mall. A saleslady asked me where I am from and how I am related to my now hubby. I told her I'm from the Philippines and that the guy was that time my fiance. She was like "Oh you two look good together!". Maybe she just wanted us to buy or whatever. LOL!!!Strangely enough though, my husband's mom blurted the same thing the same day. I was surprised because I knew that she wanted her son to marry a white woman, not a brown one. But coming from her, we took it as a sign of approval!

She got someone with the same name as her. Don't worry! They usually say to go back in 2 weeks to get the NBI clearance if there's a hit but your wife can always call the NBI office where she requested it to ask if it's already available. I did the same. I got mine 4 days earlier than the date they told me to come back.

My husband is a loving, caring, responsible and appreciative man. When he wakes up in the morning, he would wrap his arms around, kiss me and whisper "i love you" to me. When he prepares sandwiches, he would make one for me 1st before he makes one for himself no matter how hungry he is. When he goes home for lunch, he always thank me for my effort to prepare a good lunch for him. When he goes home after a long day of work, he's happy to make dinner for us because he knows I don't know much to cook and I do run out of ideas to cook. Before we go to bed, he brings me a glass of water so I can take my monster vitamins and then refill it because he knows I wake up at night thirsty and I don't like getting up to get water. Before he sleeps, he would tuck me in, kiss me and tell me how much he loves me and how grateful he is that I am in his life.

Everyone who knows me always tell me how lucky I am to have him. Some even say either I must have done something really good or I must be a really good daughter to deserve such a wonderful husband.

Do I feel lucky to have him? ABSOLUTELY!!! We're not rich but with him, I feel like I won a billion dollar in lottery.

And to answer the OP's questions:

1. I always believe that we meet people by chance/luck or some say it's destiny. But being with your partner is by choice. To be happy with your choice, you have to use both your heart and your head.

2. Everyone wants to be lucky in love. Not only filipinas go online to find the man of their dreams. There's nothing wrong in looking for "the one" online. Online dating is very common already, even here in US. That's why there are match.com, chemistry.com, and other online dating sites. You'd be surprised that those people who are joining those online dating sites came from different walks of life.

3. How do you define bad Filipinos in US? My definition of bad is those people who harm others, steal from others, etc. Generally speaking, I don't consider illegal immigrants as bad people. Sometimes people do desperate measures to be able to support their families, that includes going to a different country to work a decent job even without legal documents. They risk being caught just to be able to provide for their families. Honestly, I feel sorry for them because our government can't provide them jobs with decent earnings to support their families so they won't have to try their luck somewhere else. They are in a bad spot. And to those Filipinos who marry just for the green card? That is such a shame but I won't be the one to judge them because they have their own reasons and there are always 2 sides in every story and most of the time, people only hear the story of the one claiming to be the victim.

Will I report them? If they are not causing any harm to anyone, I won't. Besides, it's not my job to go after them.

Will they affect my children? Maybe in a positive way. I want my children to be open-minded with what's going on in this world. People don't usually know what they have unless they see what others are missing. In other words, if they won't see the bad, they won't appreciate the good. I'm hoping that when the right time comes, my children would be aware how lucky they are because they don't have to do what those 'bad" people are doing just to survive.

About sending money back home? I don't see anything wrong with that as long as you can afford it. Even before my husband and I decided to get married, he knows that when I was working, I do share my money to my family, NOT because I needed to but because I wanted to. It's my way of saying thank you to them for all the help and support they gave me while I was studying in one of the best universities in the Philippines. It made me happy knowing that I can give something to them after all the sacrifices they've done to help me become the person that I am today. My husband knew also for a fact that I didn't mind giving my last cent to anyone who is in a bad spot and asking for help. Now that I'm here in US. we're married and I don't have a job yet, he enables me to still do those things especially if we have more extra money. He said my being altruistic is one of the many qualities that made him fell in love with me. I don't think he would want me any other way.

My husband is very observant and every time we're out, he notices people staring at both of us or just me. We just smile and they smile back and then they usually just leave us alone after. There are also people who really can't help it and will keep looking every now and then but we don't let them intimidate us. There are very few Filipinos here, so few that you won't see them unless you go to a Filipino store or attend a Filipino mass in another city. Maybe those people staring are just amazed seeing one, especially one with a white man in her arms.

These days my EAD has been finally approved; the last update on the case is from yesterday, and today we've received an e-mail update from USCIS stating that they sent an approval notice ( ?) to my address. Just wondering, does the "notice" contains the actual EAD card, or is it just another useless waste of paper and money? [i won't mention my exasperation about it...] Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences.

Stefano

When I got my approval notice, the EAD card was attached to it already.

Got that e-mail too last night, that they have sent the approval letter. I asked the same thing, why not send the card instead? Just being impatient. I know I have to go down to get my SSN and probably more waiting to get it all cleared.

I received my EAD card a week after approval based on USCIS website. It was included in the approval letter. I'm sure you will receive yours soon.

Hi all so we haven't really been hanging out on VJ much, but we joined the December filers after the USCIS lost our first set of paper work. Anyway I digress.

We have a received/priority date on our AOS, EAD & AP of December 22, 2009.

Then received a biometrics appt date for Jan 27, did a walkin on Jan 15.

And have now received our interview date for March 25, 2010

But there are no changes to our case on line and no evidence of EAD or AP yet. Anyone have similar? I thought the EAD would come first.

My EAD and AP were never touched even after biometrics and prior approval. Don't worry.

Nwanyioma and Loveaboo, I'm not in the US yet.. I might be flying by late Feb or Mid March... My POE will be either JFK or Miami FL. I'll keep you guys posted!

Loveaboo, How's the AOS going? That AOS process seems like a puzzle to me now...

Who else is doing AOS now of June Filers?

I'm sure you'll have a smooth entry either way. Have a safe trip!!!

My AOS has been transferred to CSC. Haven't received an RFE and I'm hoping I won't ever. My work permit and advance parole have been approved last Feb. 11. Yay!!! Now, my problem is getting a job here. I'm worried it might be very difficult considering I have no US education and job experience.

Anyways, AOS is just like the I-129F application, only less paperwork. If you need help, please don't hesitate to contact me. I'm not an expert yet about AOS but I'll be glad to help in any way I can.

Something about dreams...

Similar thing happened to me with our EAD.

Amazing, isn't it? I didn't put so much thought about it in the morning because it's just a dream. But hey, that dream is for real and it's a good one, I'm not gonna complain. LOL...Oh, btw, both cases were never touched prior approval that's why I didn't think it would get approved anytime soon.

Similar thing happened to me with our I-129F NOA2 though that time it's not in a form of a dream, it's more of an intuition. I told my fiance back then (now husband) that I'm hoping to get the I-129F approval that day. True enough, after a few minutes, he called me up to tell me that he just received a message saying that the I-129F is approved.

Had a dream last night that my EAD and AP were approved. I just checked it a minute ago and indeed both are already approved, yay! Online status update said that EAD card is ordered as of Feb. 11 and AP was also approved Feb. 11. Yay! USCIS is working!

LOCATION: Norristown, Pennsylvania

Hi sa lahat sali din ako d2 heheh

I arrived here last Oct 21, 2009. Grabe nga lamig. sakit din sa ulo kala ko sa pinas lng ako mgkakamigraine dahil sa sobra init. d2 din pala wala akong ligtas hehhe.

Try mo acupuncture for your migraine. It wouldn't totally cure it but it will lessen the occurrence and the intensity. My husband stopped taking migraine medications since he started with acupuncture. It works for him.

Congrats to those who are set for interview already and those who have their cases transferred to CSC!

I haven't heard anything new about my applications but knowing that there's improvement in others, I'm glad to know that USCIS is really working on the cases. Yay!!!

Hi there, thanks for the response...that will help me a lot on my checklist...a couple of questions if you don't mind..

1. all the documents that my fiancee will be sending to me won't be submitted until the interview...is that right?

2. What are the fees? Can my fiance pay it in the US or should I pay it here in the Philippines?

3. Is there a dress code for the interview?

I really need all the help I can get....thanks again

Welcome!

1. Yes though you have to bring also a copy of NOA2/NVC letter/Interview Appointment Confirmation e-mail during medical exam (bring at least Php10500 for the medical fee payable at SLEC, plus passport and 2x2 photos) but that's just about it.

2. I'm not sure if it's still the same but during my time (October 2009), the fee for visa processing was $131, payable only in Php at BDO branches plus Php200+ for the Air21 delivery of the pasport/visa packet.

3. I don't think there's a dress code. Just make sure you are presentable. Maybe wear a pair of slacks and a decent blouse or something.

Anyways, goodluck!!!

I wish Megan were doing better... For those that didn't see her post... he bailed on her recently before they got married... at least it happened before they tied the knot.

Yes, I hope she's doing better also. I'm sure she'll get through this.