jimmysmitts

Hello!
I just want to share my experience with traveling on an expired green card via cruise ship to anyone who may be doing it too --
I applied to remove the conditions off my green card last December. Like everyone else, the application is somewhere in limbo and I am looking at an 8 month wait for my green card to be renewed. Before finding out about this delay, my husband and I booked a cruise that departed from Baltimore to Bermuda. Naturally, I was worried about being denied boarding or having difficulty entering the US, etc. I was especially worried about NOT being allowed in Bermuda because I hold a passport from the Philippines and would have needed a visa to enter the country.
I am very happy to report that traveling with an expired green card and an extension letter was a breeze! I brought my passport, expired green card, letter of extension, marriage certificate (if needed) and photocopies of my documents. When checking in the cruise ship online, I put the "renewed" dated on my green card (ie. if GC expired 10-2-2011, I put down "10-2-2012"). At port, I showed my passport, green card and letter to the cruise personnel checking us in. She was unsure of what to do, but luckily decided to go to a manager right away. Her manager read the letter, told her to photocopy the document and gave the green signal to continue the check in procedure. I breathed a sigh of relief when she asked for a credit card for the room -- if they wanted our money, they wanted us in! Ironically, we were checking in beside another couple in the same situation as us! The wife had an expired green card and went to get her passport stamped (so she did not have a green card with her). The cruise ship personnel did not know what to do with it. I am unsure how long they ended up in the check in counter, but they did get in the cruise ship!
At port in Bermuda, I had no problems getting in and out of the cruise ship. I only showed my driver's license... they don't even check to see if you are able to officially enter/exit the country. I assume they rely on the cruise ship to do that.
Again, I was extremely worried going home. In fact, we were asked to line up in a different area in the customs section of the port. When we finally got to a customs officer, my expired green card posed no problem. I had the usual finger print check/photo done... and then we were asked to go to an office (I assume it was the port's secondary inspection area) where the customs officer handed my documents to a superior officer. My husband and I got a bit nervous at that point... but after a few minutes, he handed my documents back, said all was good and directed us to the hallway out of the building. Ironically, the same couple with the same situation that checked in at the same time as us, were also in line behind us at customs! I do not know how they fared because we left right after. The entire exit experience was a mere 20 minutes!
So anyway for those of you cruising, no worries, it will all be fine! I made several photocopies of my documents but did not need them at all (we were lucky to be in the cruise ship check in kiosk beside a photocopier, so the cruise ship personnel did it easily). I also brought a copy of our marriage license, but that was not needed as well. Just make sure you have all your original documents (I even brought the one about the biometrics), be clear with what is going on and don't be nervous. And enjoy your travels!
And oh! My husband and I are driving to Toronto on Wednesday so I might be back with my experience crossing the border with the extension letter

Personally I shared all of my finances with my wife and mother before we got married. I told them I was not rich and that everything costs more in the USA (mortgage, food, cars, health insurance). I showed them how much was coming in and how much was going out along with what the money I was saving was going to be used for (wedding and buying a house).
I felt like I was chanting a mantra letting them know I was not rich and that I was not going to instantly make them rich with streams of money and we still had problems with them thinking money grows on trees.
I tried to over communicate with them since I know it is a common problem foreigners who marry filipina have.
Just a note on dealing with mother in-laws a Philippine saying I heard is "husbands come and go but you only get one mother", if she has to choose between you and her mother she is probably going to choose her mother.

No need to renew EAD as long as she has her Green card.

Personally I shared all of my finances with my wife and mother before we got married. I told them I was not rich and that everything costs more in the USA (mortgage, food, cars, health insurance). I showed them how much was coming in and how much was going out along with what the money I was saving was going to be used for (wedding and buying a house).
I felt like I was chanting a mantra letting them know I was not rich and that I was not going to instantly make them rich with streams of money and we still had problems with them thinking money grows on trees.
I tried to over communicate with them since I know it is a common problem foreigners who marry filipina have.
Just a note on dealing with mother in-laws a Philippine saying I heard is "husbands come and go but you only get one mother", if she has to choose between you and her mother she is probably going to choose her mother.

Personally I shared all of my finances with my wife and mother before we got married. I told them I was not rich and that everything costs more in the USA (mortgage, food, cars, health insurance). I showed them how much was coming in and how much was going out along with what the money I was saving was going to be used for (wedding and buying a house).
I felt like I was chanting a mantra letting them know I was not rich and that I was not going to instantly make them rich with streams of money and we still had problems with them thinking money grows on trees.
I tried to over communicate with them since I know it is a common problem foreigners who marry filipina have.
Just a note on dealing with mother in-laws a Philippine saying I heard is "husbands come and go but you only get one mother", if she has to choose between you and her mother she is probably going to choose her mother.

Personally I shared all of my finances with my wife and mother before we got married. I told them I was not rich and that everything costs more in the USA (mortgage, food, cars, health insurance). I showed them how much was coming in and how much was going out along with what the money I was saving was going to be used for (wedding and buying a house).
I felt like I was chanting a mantra letting them know I was not rich and that I was not going to instantly make them rich with streams of money and we still had problems with them thinking money grows on trees.
I tried to over communicate with them since I know it is a common problem foreigners who marry filipina have.
Just a note on dealing with mother in-laws a Philippine saying I heard is "husbands come and go but you only get one mother", if she has to choose between you and her mother she is probably going to choose her mother.

Personally I shared all of my finances with my wife and mother before we got married. I told them I was not rich and that everything costs more in the USA (mortgage, food, cars, health insurance). I showed them how much was coming in and how much was going out along with what the money I was saving was going to be used for (wedding and buying a house).
I felt like I was chanting a mantra letting them know I was not rich and that I was not going to instantly make them rich with streams of money and we still had problems with them thinking money grows on trees.
I tried to over communicate with them since I know it is a common problem foreigners who marry filipina have.
Just a note on dealing with mother in-laws a Philippine saying I heard is "husbands come and go but you only get one mother", if she has to choose between you and her mother she is probably going to choose her mother.

Personally I shared all of my finances with my wife and mother before we got married. I told them I was not rich and that everything costs more in the USA (mortgage, food, cars, health insurance). I showed them how much was coming in and how much was going out along with what the money I was saving was going to be used for (wedding and buying a house).
I felt like I was chanting a mantra letting them know I was not rich and that I was not going to instantly make them rich with streams of money and we still had problems with them thinking money grows on trees.
I tried to over communicate with them since I know it is a common problem foreigners who marry filipina have.
Just a note on dealing with mother in-laws a Philippine saying I heard is "husbands come and go but you only get one mother", if she has to choose between you and her mother she is probably going to choose her mother.

Maybe he's looking for his glasses...

I was thinking virgin islands but I had the same worries about the whole birth certificate and proving US citizenship so we chose to go to south florida instead. Better safe than sorry.

I have some of the same issues. The best thing I can suggest is setting clear expectations in a harsh manner. I say harsh because I have noticed Filipinos will bend you over and take you for all you are worth if you are nice (they will do this with a smile on their face). How? Her family charged beer and household supplies to my hotel account with out my knowledge. I paid it and told them nicely to never do it again. They did.. Then I turned harsh I refused to pay the tab and sat there for 4 hours in the lobby until they paid the tab. Told them if they ever did it again I would inform the hotel staff and have them removed.
I have chosen to give her mother who is a widow a small amount of money for food and groceries to help out. The brother then stopped giving any money to her and told her she would have to get money from me. I called his bluff and stopped sending money and when he asked I told him she is his mother and she can starve for all I care. He started giving her money again.
I am lucky that for the most part I can trust my fiancée with money around her family although she has fallen into the guilt trap with them and I always keep one eye on my bank account (to quote Reagen "trust but verify"). You will need to trust her at some point (you are marrying her) be honest with her about your concerns chances are if she is anything like my fiancée she is ashamed of it and feels stuck.
I also send them information on my finances so that they do not think I am a filthy rich american and I am just being an a-hole. If you do have an abundance of money and her family is not lazy but is struggling and you choose not to help them but instead buy a BMW then you are an a-hole. I love my fiancée and she loves her family seeing her upset over them struggling makes me upset and want to help. Her family members are extremely hard workers and I helped them move rice in the family store and some are school teachers so it is not just a matter of them laying around not working and drinking beer.
Just think of it like this if you do not let them know how much money you have imagine you had a rich uncle that you thought had 100 million dollars and you were working 10 hours a day struggling to support a family on 30k a year. The uncle never gave you money or gifts but knew you were struggling, what would you think of him? Now if you knew your uncle really only had 100k and had monthly expenses of 99k lived modestly and worked 10 hours a day to support his own family you might not think any less of him. (sorry i think a rambled a little on this point)
I also financed a new store for them so they could do more than just rely on me for money but actually have a new revenue stream. I have visited them twice and checked on the store, I also require receipts just to make sure they are following through.
TLDR; You marry a filipina you marry the whole family.. if you are not ok with this leave now.

let me share my opinion about this.. coz me and my fiance had already discussed this.lol
i am a filipina (hardheaded) lol and my fiance is an american (and a hard headed too) lol hehehe..
but what i like about our relationship is we talked and share everything that goes to our mind even if sometimes it will lead us to disagreement coz we dont drop the issue or just keep it in ourselves. we listen,argue,understand and come up with a solution that will be fair to the both of us..
so like for me i explained to ryan that helping our parents is a way of appreciation to our parents for giving us life and oppurtunity to live in this beautiful world.its one of the culture of the filipino(a) to help their parents at all cost.which some or most of the americans dont understand, coz their culture is different from us.
so what i did i told my fiance my plans and said that it is what it is u cant take it away from me i must help my parents,if the time comes that i will be able to get a job im going to help them but it doesnt mean that ill be sending them monthly pension, nope it wont be like that. we come up with a plan which is fair and my fiance agreed with it and that is we will give my parents 2 gifts...
1.) HOUSE =we are going to help them to have a nice and a comfortable house to live in.
2.) BUSINESS = we are going to give them some money for business and they shouLd work on it to make that business profitable where they can get all there daily expenses...and not expect that whenever they need they'll just call us and tell us we need money and there you go we wil be like an atm machine and thats not fun at all and we dont like it.
so a business that is profitable will make us feel good that our money is not wasted and my parents are helping us too and they still have their pride coz they dont just wait for our help they are the one who will work on it.so if the busines will work im sure it will, then good for them coz all the benefits of that business will go to them.
i already discussed it to my parents too, that this what will happen and never to expect and think that my husband to be is rich.. plus im not going to the US for just a vacation and rob all the banks there to send them money lol i am going there to be with the person whom i love so dearly and start a family of our own live a happy married life..
my parents understand and agreed to me..which is good and a relief in my part. so i think its fair to the both sides..
ohh plus i think
its more nice if the filipina will be the one to tell the parents and explained to them this things rather than let your fiance tell them this. coz it will be much nicer, more respectful and the pride of your parents wont be step on...
so me and my fiance are done discussing about this and i know in the near future we wont have this drama anymore.lol
its just a matter of compromising and trying to work things together! a WE and not I..
HAVE A NICE DAY EVERYONE!

Thanks for the thumbs up acrossthemiles! I hope it helps the OP and others who are in the same situation.

"The whole Philippine, support thing is totally backwards in my opinion. It seems the parents want their kids cut short their education and get to work and send money. In our culture, the parents want a better life for the children, and are happey when the daughter marries someone that can provide for them. Here it seems thay just want a handout -- very repugnant!"
For one, please don't generalize. Although helping our family members or relatives is deeply embedded in our culture/psyche as Filipinos, each family/individual is different. My Ma does not have a pension or a stable income as a small time organic farmer but she never force me or my brother (we're both adults and have stable jobs) to support her or give her money. She raised us single-handedly when our father abandoned us when we were kids, he never sent alimony or anything. That's why if we ever give our Ma any support which doesn't happen every month (only when we have something to give her,) it is out of love and respect for what she has done/sacrificed to raise us.
Two, help your fiancee educate her parents/family. It is a common misconception among Filipinos that most Americans/Westerners are rich. Help them understand where you're coming from and what you have. Sometimes, they're just concerned you might not be able to support or give their daughter a good life. They just don't know how to express their thoughts. Like the previous posters said, we Filipinos are very relational and family-oriented. We test/measure/equate intentions with material things or external gestures. Gifts or support (money) could mean to your future in-laws a better life, a responsible or generous husband for their daughter.
My fiance (USC) and I have early on talked about financial matters even if it is a very sensitive subject. We've come up with guidelines/compromises. We always try to split the costs in everything. He doesn't (has not) help any of my family and I don't/won't require him to. But he does help me with the fiancee visa expenses and the wedding.
Also, please be reminded that this is a public forum. Anyone can see/read your messages. Try to restrain your emotions, some people might misunderstand what you post here and others might think you are discriminating the Filipino culture/people. We have flaws too, we're not perfect.
If this is a deal-breaker for you, I think it will be best to talk about this matter with the concerned people (fiancee and family) first.

I have some of the same issues. The best thing I can suggest is setting clear expectations in a harsh manner. I say harsh because I have noticed Filipinos will bend you over and take you for all you are worth if you are nice (they will do this with a smile on their face). How? Her family charged beer and household supplies to my hotel account with out my knowledge. I paid it and told them nicely to never do it again. They did.. Then I turned harsh I refused to pay the tab and sat there for 4 hours in the lobby until they paid the tab. Told them if they ever did it again I would inform the hotel staff and have them removed.
I have chosen to give her mother who is a widow a small amount of money for food and groceries to help out. The brother then stopped giving any money to her and told her she would have to get money from me. I called his bluff and stopped sending money and when he asked I told him she is his mother and she can starve for all I care. He started giving her money again.
I am lucky that for the most part I can trust my fiancée with money around her family although she has fallen into the guilt trap with them and I always keep one eye on my bank account (to quote Reagen "trust but verify"). You will need to trust her at some point (you are marrying her) be honest with her about your concerns chances are if she is anything like my fiancée she is ashamed of it and feels stuck.
I also send them information on my finances so that they do not think I am a filthy rich american and I am just being an a-hole. If you do have an abundance of money and her family is not lazy but is struggling and you choose not to help them but instead buy a BMW then you are an a-hole. I love my fiancée and she loves her family seeing her upset over them struggling makes me upset and want to help. Her family members are extremely hard workers and I helped them move rice in the family store and some are school teachers so it is not just a matter of them laying around not working and drinking beer.
Just think of it like this if you do not let them know how much money you have imagine you had a rich uncle that you thought had 100 million dollars and you were working 10 hours a day struggling to support a family on 30k a year. The uncle never gave you money or gifts but knew you were struggling, what would you think of him? Now if you knew your uncle really only had 100k and had monthly expenses of 99k lived modestly and worked 10 hours a day to support his own family you might not think any less of him. (sorry i think a rambled a little on this point)
I also financed a new store for them so they could do more than just rely on me for money but actually have a new revenue stream. I have visited them twice and checked on the store, I also require receipts just to make sure they are following through.
TLDR; You marry a filipina you marry the whole family.. if you are not ok with this leave now.