GregwedsAngel

Is 2,100.00 USD enough?

Look below for APPROXIMATION

visa fee $ 131.00

medical (FEE, 2 nights hotels, taxi, foods), 213.35

interview (visa delivery,hotels, foods, taxi) 300.00 (depends on the hotel you stay at and the kind

of food you like to eat)

CFO (fee,taxi) 30.00 (includes taxi and whatever else)

CAR/VAN FROM our place to tacloban 100.00

plane ticket from TACLOBAN TO MANILA 200.00 (try to get promotional tickets from whatever

airline you have there close)

photocopy of diff. forms 20.00

renewing NBI,b-certificate and etc. 50.00 (includes everything like taxi and whatever

else)

and inlucing my one way ticket going to USA 1000.00 (includes everything)

terminal fee 25.00

boarding pass fee 46.00

Your decision... whether your USD 2100 is enough for you...

Any inexpensive ones you found? Please give information... Thanks!

FOR YOUR PAM CHARLIE AND THIS IS FOR FREE. THIS WAS FROM OTHERS BEFORE AS WELL... HAVE FUN!

Folder 1: Legal forms

1. Appointment Letter (Packet 4) and valid ID

(will be shown to the guards before you enter the embassy)

2. DS Forms

(staple 2 sets of DS 156 and DS 157. DS 156K alone)

- Use the DS 157 form that the bank gave you (if the form is still valid: 2006-2008 version) in set A. The validation numbers are at the back of this paper. And a downloaded version in set B. Detach the pink slip or bank receipt from the form. You won't need to submit that.

- Handwritten or typed-up forms are both ok.

- Paste/glue the pictures beforehand.

- In Nationality, put Philippines

- Answer the Do Not Write Below This Line part with your fiance's name, your signature and date. Do not write on anything that pertains to the consul's part his signature and date.

- Do NOT skip any lines. If any of the numbers are not applicable to you, write N/A or None. In number 40, if you yourself have filled out the forms, put SELF and N/A on succeeding lines.

- Failure to do above things will result in more delays. A couple of people have been asked to step aside because their forms were incomplete, and they were put at the back of the line.

3. Identification papers and police clearances

- Applicant's NSO Birth certificate

- Applicant's NBI Clearance

- Applicant's Baptismal Certificate

- Applicant's CENOMAR

- Petitioner's Divorce Decree if divorced

In flexible plastic folders with plastic fillers, color-coded for easy reference as well. Take out the spiral side binders of the plastic folders and in its place. Use bound plastic fillers with button fasteners.

A. Affidavit of support papers in Folder 2

- Notarized Form I-134

- Petitioner's Employment Letter

- 2009 Tax Copies (Tax Transcripts and E-filing)

- 2007-2009 W2 Copies

- Sample Recent Pay Stubs Copies

- Bank letter/statements

- Insurance papers

- Stocks/Bonds, etc.

(Originals should be available for reference)

B. Proof of Meeting and Engagement Documents and Photos in Folder 3

(in flexible plastic folders, stacked back to back)

- Emails and Chat logs/Call Logs

- Immigration Stamped Passport Page

- PAL Receipt for petitioner's credit card

- Itinerary of our trip together from PAL

- Itinerary from the Priceline Travel Agency

- Original Boarding Passes

- Airline Tickets

- Hotel Receipts

- Restaurant Receipts

- Renewed Letter of Intent to Marry - Petitioner's and Applicant's each now addressed to the US Consul in Manila

- Congratulatory messages from friends (cards, facebook, emails etc)

- Applicant's Wedding Dress Design

- More Photos (with Captions) Family first, friends second, officemates third

note: these are examples here only... would vary in your case

C. Other Documents for Proof of Continuous Relationship after meeting and engagement in Folder 4

(in plastic separates)

- Snail mails, cards and postal envelopes and waybills (they vary in sizes and bulky when stacked together)

- Electronic Correspondences (bound in folder, with button fasteners)

---> Sample Yahoo! VIDEO Chats (Screen dump, 7 pages)

---> E-mail Correspondences (5 of his, 5 of mine)

---> Screen Shots of Yahoo! or Skype

---> Sample Yahoo and Skype CHAT Logs (one per month)

***Another NOTE: They do look at all the pictures closely, and may even ask you about them. So be sure you know the stories behind the pictures. Submit the cheesiest ones you can find.

TIPS in organizing your documents:

1. Make your documents look very presentable and clutter-free. Your organization will make it easy for you and the consul. You may even win some smiles from the grumpiest Filipino interviewers and consuls!

2. Use side tabs for easy reference.

3. Use color-coding, but avoid neons!

4. Use button fasteners, instead of long fasteners.

5. DO NOT stack your papers too thick. They will not pass through the slot. Maximum thickness should be half an inch. And make sure that the stack will be flexible enough, as they will be bent when passing though the slot.

6. DO NOT use hard-bound covers, hard side binders, and thick photo-albums. In fact, drop the idea. You might earn the ire of a grumpy Filipino interviewer if your documents and photos are in hard covers, and you would find yourself taking them out from the binder one at a time.

7. Use paper clips if you don't have plastic separates. Plastic separates are ideal for thick stack of papers like affidavit of support papers (if you don't want to put them in folders), snail mails and cards, identification documents, and other papers that you need to take out in haste.

8. Know where your documents are! Don't mix your proof of relationship documents with the financial documents.

9. Most importantly, your documents should be COMPLETE! Some applicants left the embassy in tears, and were put in AR because they lacked important documents.

Congratulations and have a safe flight! I must agree with what others have been saying about Northwest/Delta. I would never fly Delta operated planes. Nonetheless, have a good one. I am presuming you bought your ticket online hence the Philippine Travel Tax isn't included in there and you have pay it at the terminal before you board.

I must add here that for those who intend to fly out, especially on a one way journey, have a trusted travel agent buy the ticket for you. They usually get better deals having ties with consolidated airfare buyouts. These consolidated airfares get half of what the price seats cost and sell it to independent players at an average of 30% markup. If you insist on buying online try to buy from airline consolidator sites. Expedia, Travelocity, and the usual suspects aren't one of them. Most prices you see online are between 700 to 850 dollars for a one way Phil to US. With travel operators, they can get that at 575 to 650 and FROM better airlines. And oh, with PH travel tax already as well!

So, I suggest you buy from trusted travel operators. There are a lot out there.

Thank u for this INFO. I call the USEM yesterday, and she ask my case # and she check my status, and she said, your visa is APPROVED they just printed it yesterday.. u just wait.. I keep waiting..

thank u... so it means, this is CASE TO CASE.. right? well. I will try again to call the USEM today.. and ask again..

god bless

shiela

Congratulations! It'll be there in no time. Yes it is a case to case basis. Many have thought that the embassy does not conduct further investigation on an applicant. Embassies actually do. Hence the term AP/AR is present in every step of the way of this whole process.

VJ

Hello , who else still waiting for the VISA releasing..

My interview NOVEMBER 06, 2009 ( KEEP WAITING )

My address is here in the HOTEL where i am gonna stay now

But still NO ( 2-3 days with in the MNL ) its not applicable for me,,

Any, idea what is the cause of the delayed??

God bless

YES.. I try to be more patients. One of my friend here in VJ, we have same interview, but she already

get her passport NOV 11, 2009.. ( so i don't understand ) she lives in the province here in MANILA.. :-)

To Sheila and all the others who may have no knowledge of: Approval of visa during the interview is not a guarantee that the embassy will order immediate visa production for you. The guaranteed courier service afforded by AIR21 is only once they have received the VISA and the visa packet from the Embassy itself before they get to deliver it to you. Many do not know that the Embassy conducts further checks before VISA is printed and attached to the approved applicant's passport. The standard length of time for visa release is the day of the interview itself and given to the courier the day after for sending to the applicant. Hence most receive their visas within 2 to 5 days after getting approved. Five days if the interview happened in the end tail of the week. However, should the Embassy have found certain need to investigate more on you, as you are the applicant, then visa production and release is held off. The reason why many of the members here are baffled that their visas would not come as soon as they have expected AFTER the interview. I've known of this from Greg as he had worked with the US Embassy in Italy before for a year.

You can call the Embassy however and ask for the status of your VISA.

I understand your frustrations Rob. But before that, I will answer your basic concerns.

1. The SLMCEC Medical Exam required by the US Embassy Manila has to be done AT LEAST A WEEK before the interview.

2. She needs to bring her passport, 2x2 pictures (I think 4 of it), her US Embassy interview confirmation (yes email will do), your NOA2 and the NVC letter hard copy with your case number. Have her photocopy NOA2 and NVC letters. You will need originals for AOS later.

3. Money to pay for the Medical exam 10,000 ++ depending on the dollar FOREX rate of the day.

4. First day of medical she'll be x-rayed, blood and urine tested, interviewed about her immunization history and the doctor will tell her how many immunizations she will get (if she passes the first day test) and then finally the physical exam with a doctor (female as she is female) where she is asked to undress and wear a hospital gown.

5. After that, she will be told to come back the second day at a particular time. They do this naturally to give time for radiologists to read her chest x-ray. They are keen on communicable diseases you know.

6. On the second day, when she gets to the guard, she shows her receipt of the medical fee she paid the day prior and then the guard gets to see his little computer monitor and checks whether she's due for immunization or if she needs her sputum tested. If the guards stamps "IMMUNIZATION" on her receipt, she will then be asked to go to the immunization area and she gets "shot" with the vaccines that she herself has been told by the doctor that interviewed her the day prior. The important thing to really know here is that when your lady love is due for "immunization", this means that she passed the physical examination. That she has no signs of TB and that she would not need any further sputum testing; which sadly delays you time to be together soon.

7. After immunization, she will be told to go down the ground floor and wait for her name to be called to a certain window and voila, a graphic CD of her chest x-ray will be given to her and her immunization record as well. As per results, she has basically passed and all that will be placed inside the visa packet yellow envelop which she will present to the immigration officer at her PORT OF ENTRY by the time she enters the first US territory.

8. She does not need to carry anything out of the SLMCEC except her smile, her sealed CD (she shouldn't open yet) and the immunization document.

She will be told where to go and what to do next all the way. If nothing is clear all she has to do is ask and be assertive about it. She must learn to be assertive! By the way, everything at the US Embassy website on K1 is very clear. She can browse through there if she does not want to ask around here.

You can cut the Plastic off but don't open the yellow/brown Envelope with the corner cut off of it. That envelope is the one you give to the immigration officer in the international Airport in the U.S.A.

The Clear plastic is just to keep it safe. My wife opened the plastic got out her Passport and re-taped it to make sure no one opened the envelope in side.

If someone does open the Yellow or Brown Envelope you have to go back to the Embassy in Manila to have it repackaged and give to you. That is bad because it is time consuming.

Hope this helps you

Rosie and David

Rosie/David, Thank you very much... I will tell him to just re-tape the clear plastic. He was anxious about getting "sacked" because of it. He thought the plastic that sealed it inside the AIR21 plastic that it came in also is NOT to be touched. WHEW! I told him that I tore off the plastic with my visa packet and just carried the yellow packet without any plastic covers any longer inside a hard-cased folder documents holder. But he's adamant so I come to the experts. VJ! THANKS...

there's nothing to worry about the plastic the more important is the yellow envelope

The yellow envelope he says has already a diagonal tear off the one corner but it was covered with a sealed plastic over it. So that means it was just OK that he accidentally "scissored-through" the plastic that seals the whole envelope? Thanks Dianne...

By inane accident, the sealed plastic that covers the yellow envelop has been cut through scissors while retrieving the passport. Not the Air21 plastic but the sealed plastic over the yellow one. I know this can be re-sealed at the embassy. My cousin needs to know the steps how to get this re-sealed at the US embassy Manila. She travels in Saturday, Nov. 7. Does she need to make an appointment for it? Does she need to pay again? How much if so? How long does it take to get re-sealed? etc etc etc... your wisdom is needed...

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!

Sure. You can set it up however you like. As for your income the consulate will consider line 22 of your personal income tax return, PLUS any documented tax exempt income (see below) They do not have any interest in your corporate holdings. UNLESS there is some asset value. Assets can be used 3 to 1 to offset income deficits. $30,000 in assets equals $10,000 in income for the purpose of the Affidavit.

It is entirely up to the consulate if you qualify or not. If this guy that does not know you looks at what you present and does not think it meets the requirements, no visa will be issued. Again, present income rules. If you can change your employment status in 2010 and have check stubs to present it would be much better and easier for you to prove. Your I-134 would state you are currently employed, you would have check stubs and even an employment letter if you want to write yourself one. Smooth sailing.

Unfortunately the tax situation for self employed people does not favor them in this process. Certainly it can be done, I did, but it is much more complicated and difficult to "prove" income. You do not even have to be an employee of ALL your holdings. You just have to have enough income to prove you meet the guidelines. Only SOME of my income is from my own employment, the rest is from self employment and other sources. I only claimed my "employment" income which was more than enough. There is no need to do more than meet the guidelines and not all income or assets needs to be claimed. Most people leave the asset information blank.

the amount you pay in child support is not important for the consulate. What is important is the children will count in your family size. Speaking in terms of the consulate interest, the income you receive to be able to pay the child support is YOUR income. the fact that you have the obligation of child support is not an issue for them. Child support IS supporting the family and that is what they look for. For example, if you pay $3000 per month child support, that ALONE is more than enough to qualify you for a family of 5, even 6 (I have to check exactly) You need to have an income of $36,000 per year to pay $3000 per month child support...that is plenty. They do not CARE that all of it goes to child support (or a mortgage or a car payment or credit card payments) That is INCOME to you which is put into a trust, you just need to document it, I am sure your CPA can somehow. You need to be able to show you have this income which I presume is not included on line 22 as your CPA found a way to avoid paying tax on otherwise non-deductible child support. Good for him, I am all for keeping as much of my earned money as I can. It does not matter if you paid tax on it. There are many forms of tax exempt income...child support for one! They COUNT as income. Tax sheltered write offs, such as this, contributions to IRAs, HSAs, FSAs etc are ALL income and count in addition to what shows on line 22.

Gary here's a scenario:

$20 per hour

2 girls (lives with mother)

Pays child support to each girl

Good? Bad?

Hi and SOS...Can anybody tell me if I can purchase my ticket to Cagayan Del Oro city airport inside the airport in manila...and how much will I pay? thanks ...

www.cebupacificair.com

www.philippineairlines.com

buy online

My wife just found out that her family's house was destroyed by the tropical storm on Saturday. Flood waters from a creek behind it caused the back wall to cave in and the roof subsequently collapsed. Fortunately, all of her family members there were able to climb out through the collapsed roof. However, one of her sisters wasn't there and no one has been able to make contact with her.

Is there any sort of temporary humanitarian visa my wife's family might be eligible to apply for since my wife is a US citizen and her family is now homeless? We'ret just trying to think of realistic ways we can help them.

We were talking the other day about have my mother-in-law and one of my wife's sisters apply for tourist visas to come visit here, but with their house destroyed, there goes any "ties" to Philippines they might have had.

I am surprised why your wife isn't making immediate preparations to go home once the skies over Metro Manila is cleared for planes to land! This is the most honorable thing she could do or do I have to spell it out?

Some others (like me!) have been infatuated with unimaginable love (after other previously disastrous relationship) that we were thinking of living in a fantasy world until we hit a cement wall.....and we completely come to a dead end and all of a sudden we WAKE UP.

Ah LOVE. Indeed it is that rush of infatuated lens of a happy ever after. And yet at the same time, this LOVE all of us pursue with dogged tenacity is irrationally closed-minded to the greatest demand of a long-term fruitful mature relationship. Common sense.

Was it an honest mistake for her to forget whatever that is that escaped Sally's mind in the interview or was it a lack of responsibility, only Sally knows.

They want those primary evidences to see if you and your fiancee had indeed met, within two years of filing for her petition. Boarding passes, passport stamps of entry and exit, credit card receipts among others that show the dates that you allegedly claimed having met in person.

Wow really you are very humble person Well if you find yourself gwapo go ahead but honestly I never find you that way at all

Anyway you said im making up things..here's some proof that Im telling the truth...

TCO talks way, way, too much and we all know that a fish is caught when it opens its mouth. Here are some of his fish tales (pantasyadora ang loko)

Fantasy #1 - His Wife is Rich

QUOTE (tallcoolone @ May 5 2009, 11:11 AM)

My wife didn't come from a "poor" place.

Her family is very well educated, Her house in PI is bigger than most houses in USA, it is 3 stories with like 6 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.

Reality Check #1

QUOTE (tallcoolone @ May 5 2008, 02:20 AM)

As far as family goes, She basically has none. Except for her sister and I.

The parents basically abandonded the fiance and sister at very early age, Infant age for my fiance. She was raised by Grandparents since the Grandfather was a lawyer they had better life. The mother lives in another country, and rumor is the father was shot in the head during a robbery while working in gold mine in General Santos.

Fantasy #2 - His Wife is Rich - Again!?

QUOTE (tallcoolone @ May 5 2009, 11:11 AM)

Her immediate family is Lawyers, Doctors, CPA's, they own numerous real estate in Davao area and get a healthy rental income from these.

I don't consider her place poor, Heck I would trade my house for her family house in PI in heartbeat.

They have 3 helpers that live there and take care of all the househould chores..............

Reality Check #2

QUOTE (tallcoolone @ May 5 2008, 11:11 AM)

Grandfather died a few years ago, Her Grandmother whom she and sister was living with died while I was visiting in November 07. So I had to get my fiance an apartment to live in so she could finish college, and I paid for sister to go to Manila area to find work and place to live.

Fiance is finished with college and now I have extra funds for sister.

At least he was nice enough to send his wife to college.

Fantasy #3 - The Cuckoo-Nut One is Rich

QUOTE (tallcoolone @ June 2 2009, 11:29 PM)

I detest people who try to use a bunch of coupons at the store

Only the Poor and Lonely tend to use coupons in USA from my observations

Oh my. So he's caught! So where is this house now? I wonder.

This is an issue of choice of partner. Whereas Filipinas get bashed for being dollar suckers, maligning the good nature of the rest. Shouldn't the question be on the choice of partner the US citizen has chosen for himself as well?

To answer the OPs question. YES you should be concerned. While you feel heroic, as many US citizen partners here feel, for helping out yet there isn't really any heroic feeling at all knowing that you made a bad choice of partner. I say this for the fact that you are already questioning should you be concerned. YES you ought to be. Learning to handle money is highly probable BUT behaviorally difficult to achieve.

Choose someone who has the wherewithal to help you in your life together. By this I mean, character and not money.

I know there is alot of fiancée that gotapproved for k1 visa and I was wondering if there was a detailed forum of what to expect after the noa2 for me and my fiancé..when to schedule appts for medical and interview for Manila embassy...and how to fill the I-134 out..does it have to be notarized?..what do I write for question 11 on the I-134..any help would be appreciated..thanks gus..these forums have been big help

It's all here...

CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE WHO HAD THEIR APPROVALS! It's wonderful to know how "fast" CSC is working. Knowing that is comforting enough. Those who were requested for more evidence, you're just a turn around the NOA2 bend! Congratulations as well!

Congratulations to all who are getting approved. BrianandMerne is right, RFEs are just a way around NOA2 so not to worry to the others! By they way, BrianandMerne, your story is so cool and funny and sweet! Good luck to you!

Your anxiety is all normal really. The uncertainty is the killer. YET, as you are truthful, there goes your assurance. Many on this site say that Philippines is a high fraud country on US visa application and yet, I have yet to read a thread of denials among Filipino applicants on family based visas.

Not to worry Eros! You and your love will be in each others' arms soonest.

Ah ok. Those can be corrected easily

Hugs to you Rhiann. Any guess what it could be about?

There is no question you couldn't answer because he is simply going to ask about YOU and your fiance. Hence, you have nothing to worry. Godspeed.