RK_and_Inday

OP - There are large time difference (13+ hrs) between me & my fiance also: no offence taken; we understand the frustrations and empathize. Also, we understand your desire to add variety to the "just talking" aspects of a long distance relationship. So here are a few ideas that I and my fiance have used and do use succesfully to pass the time with each other and for each other in addition to the "regular" phone conversations:

I. Using telephone:

--reading books together. Good choices for us have been those with collections short stories or articles. We will each take a turn reading to each other. We also have found good books or articles on relationship building--initiates a different type of (and constructive) discussion/thoughts. Poetry books/poems also are very good, and can be quite romantic.

--Playing games with each other that work by voice. "20 questions" is good example and we usually use interesting object around or near our respective homes. Leads to some interesting sharing and laughter. You can think of other such games I am sure.

--Playing board type games (e.g., chess, checkers, backgammon). Often requires two boards but sure is fun. Also, playing certain games you can get away with using one board/setup.

--Playing trivia games are quite suitable and is another example of where no game boards are needed.

--Bible study or some other learning topic. We obtained several Q&A guidebooks (reading the topic then answer the questions) for several Bible-oriented topics and for several other subjects as well. Choose some topic you both would like to learn more about. There are literally thousands of possibilities.

--My fiance has started small home business and asks me for input/ideas/planning. This helps us both pass the time in a different kind of way. Plus building income is a bonus!

--I try to be clever/original and take my fiance on audio-based phone dates. For one example, I found pre-recorded sounds of ocean waves, sea gulls, ship horn, and other beach sounds. For the actual date, I "picked up" my fiance at home and we "went" to the beach [me playing the pre-recorded sounds in appropriate order], "walked" along the seashore, "saw" the tidepools and other scenery {I had to describe some], listened to a guy playing guitar on the beach. I also played some romantic songs. And so on. My fiance said it was one of the best dates ever been on!! I also used this same idea once to take my fiance on a helicopter ride over some of my country's famous landmarks and another time to go on a picnic and listen to a concert in the park. Anyway, you get the idea--you just have to be a little creative.

II. Using computer

--webcam (though still talking or chatting still makes huge diffeerence).

--in conjunction with or as alternative to webcam, online games especially that two can play. There are a *ton* of such online games available.

--explore together virtual worlds such as Second Life (see secondlife.com), Kaneva, Entropia Universe, Smallworlds, etcetera

--I have searched internet to find webcams for various places in my country or near my hometown; I send these webcam links to my fiance to enjoy. If you or fiance can find webcam near to your respective residences, one of you can go to the webcam area and wave a hello to the other at pre-appointed time. Kind of corny, I know, but it certainly adds to the variety and fun

--I send weblinks to my fiance which describe and have images/photos of various places around my hometown & area. Helps fiance familiarize with area where will be together hopefully not to long from now.

--with digital camera, take pictures & videos of home town/neighborhood/area & send to fiance

--email, of course. This cuts down on phone costs. Plus can use to exchange recipes, send digital videos, web link topics, anything in addition to the usual "talking"." I have made a virtual vacation for fiance by sending theme location images of certain places. Also, recipe exchange idea can be combined with watch movie at the same time idea which other posters shared. Just make same recipe at respective residences and "share" both a dinner and a movie some evening.

--look up ideas for long distance relationships on the internet. You will find many, many good ideas.

OK, we hope this gives you enough ideas to use and also to inspire some of your own ideas. These ideas have helped me and my fiance endure multiple years of a a very long distance relationship. We hope these ideas will help to reduce some of your frustrations/stresses.

Best Regards,

RK & Inday

To TJ & all other fellow March Filers:

We (RK & Inday) are happy to say that we have now also joined the ranks of March Filers. And yes, indeed, good luck to all of you and to all of us in the journey! Be seeing you around ...

RK & Inday

I suggest using your secure mailing address, as long as it's not a P.O. Box.

Coconuts thank you for reply and continuing assistance--'tis truly appreciated!!

--RK

Coconuts,

Hi. I see you understand what I am asking. Do you have any thoughts/advice regarding my question(s)? Thank you for your time and interest.

RK

If you are having that knd of trouble with your physical address then use mailing address for your forms. It might be an idea of when you fill in Q14 to write an explanation of why this address is different to your mailing address. ... I think you will be fine just explain on a little note attached .

Barbara,

Thank you very, very much for your response, comments, and suggestions. Inday and I are very happy to have joined VisaJourney and be receiving encouraging advice from you and other members! Thank you so much.

RK

To all,

I (RK) am in the process of assembling I-129F and supporting docs for K-1 visa.

USCIS website says address box on forms are considered mailing address. But I have a mailing address which is different than my physical address (place of residence).

So my question is this: if I do keep my mailing address on all docs, letters, forms (e.g. I-129F question #2--"my address"--, cover letters, etc) but still list physical address on I-129F, question #14 [address fiance intends to live] are the different addresses going to cause red flag somewhere in the process or complicate matters? Or should I fill all forms out using physical address* and avoid conflict? Or am I just worrying/overthinking too much?

Am just trying to do everything to "a tee" as advised here so would appreciate your collective voice of experience. Thank you!

RK

**I could recieve mail at physical address but chose not to some time back due to destruction of box by multiple car strikes, mailbox "baseball," and county road equipment collisions all of which is rampant in my locale.

Thanks for the info RK!

Addressing your suggestions line by line...

2. I wondered about this. I was told that the phone number I listed as my fiancee's contact number on the G-325A form shouldn't be changed. Anyone care to enlighten me on this...is changing the contact number a headache for the visa process? ...

3&4. ....8. Patience is definitely being observed now...no choice in the matter...not to mention my calling card costs have gone way down.

Thanks again for the reply...here's to hoping things get better soon.

You are welcome. I and Inday are relatively new to the visa journey site and to the visa journey road. Currently just now in the process of assembling all for the I-129F for K-1 visa app. So, take my reply re: G-325A with a grain of salt. My personal thinking is that, yes, I agree it is important to **not** change phone number on G-325A. Therefore, what Inday and I did with phone was this. She just purchased a second SIMM card. The new SIMM card worked better than the other for her and my personal calls. She uses one SIMM card for more business/daily types of things and the other for call of a personal nature. This requires switching out the SIMMS (if have one phone) or finding a second fairly expensive phone (easier). Another person here mentioned YM (Yahoo messenger). Inday and I have also used this fairly successfully. And, yes, bright side is lower phone costs :-). Continuing good luck on your relationship and your own "visa journey!"

RK

P.S. Another item: sometimes Inday would physically move a meter or two during phone call and reception would get better also. Sometimes.

I (RK) and my fiancee (Inday) in Philippines feel your frustration; yes it has not been unusual for my calls from U.S. to her in Philippines to have been routed to a third party or to have not gone through at all. However, she and I have discovered a few things which might be of aid to you:

(1) Yes, as another poster mentioned, calls seem to have more trouble going through when it is raining in Philippines (I will often go to weather web site and check PI weather before calling)

(2) She changed her # and we had more success in avoiding party lines, oddly enough

(3) Often I will hear on the line a recorded message "Customer Not Available" or "All lines busy.." or similar but if I stay on the line, after a few repititions of the recorded message the call will actually eventually go through!

(4) Sometimes multiple dialings (as many as 30+) have been necessary to get through but often eventually succeeds. The redial button on my phone is getting much use!

(5) Add alternative (and lower cost) communication methods: international text messaging, emails, even "snail mail"

(6) I and Inday have had more success with e-mails, although this and alternative communication suggestions can have their own frustrations as well for both of you when even those communications still don't go through or she experiences brown-outs at her locale

(7) Web cams and internet voice coms, have (when it works) been a delightful alternative

(8) From personal experience: a lot of patience added to the mix of suggestions above can go a long way to increasing frequency of communication and reducing some cost and frustration.

Hope some of these suggestions will be successful in reducing some of your frustrations. Good luck!

RK

Raldetta,

Thank you very much for your post, your suggestions, and comments. For myself (RK, the petitioner) and Inday (beneficiary) your post was timely. Over the past few weeks, I and Inday have recently been assembling documents for the I-129F also. Very, very soon am hoping to submit the completed I-129F. So at this point I, too, had been wondering about how to best/properly package/present this form and all the additional documents/evidences. Your post and the comments/replies which your post have inspired have answered many of the very specific questions I soon was also about to ask of members on this site. Again, thank you, and continued good luck is wished to to you on your own "visa journey."

RK

While the Philippines is considered a High Fraud Country there really isn't much need for front loading of the petitions.

What you do need to do is make sure you have all of your official documents (NSO, NBI) done properly (include all previous names etc) and follow the requirements to the tee. As long as you do that and your relationship is real then you won't experience problems at the interview.

If you want specific things to look out for visit the PI regional forum.

Bob and Anna,

Thank you very much for your encouraging replies in this post and your subsequent responses this thread. It is nice and additionally encouraging to hear from those who have already--and successfully--been through the process, especially in regards to the Philippines. All you have written, especially importance to "follow requirements to the tee" is duly noted! We have indeed explored the PI regional forum a little bit but will make sure to continue availing ourselves of the additional information to be found there. Thank you!!!

RK and Inday

Mari/Kadir,

Inday and I thank you very, very much for the obvious time and consideration you have taken to reply to our inquiry. We appreciate you sharing the detail and attention you have paid to your own "visa journey." Your reply has given us a number of very good ideas for both the I-129F petition and, when it arrives, the interview. Again, thank you for sharing so much...it is truly appreciated.

RK and Inday

To Coconuts and all who replied:

We thank you very much for the comments and suggestions which have been very helpful!

RK and Inday

Greetings to All:

My fiancee and I have used info on VisaJourney site to see many past opinions of whether front loading I-129F is good idea or not. Those opinions for various countries/embassies brought up a question or two which we would like to ask experienced and current VisaJourney members:

(1) In your opinions and experiences is front-loading a good idea or not in context of Philippines/Manila embassy?

(2) If you do believe front loading is recommended, what items do you suggest to include (in addition to correspondences, phone bills, photos, and boarding passes which were often mentioned previously)?

We thank you for input on these questions while we are assembling material to include with I-129F.

RK and Inday

To All Who Replied,

Thank you very much for your useful responses. We have found the information very helpful. After researching the K1 process a little bit, we realized we had many questions and, honestly, starting the process feels a little intimidating yet at the same time exciting. I am sure we will have more questions as we go along. Inday and I both thank all of you for helping us at this point; it feels good to know others familiar with the process and are supportive in our endeavor. Looking forward to continuing as members here on VisaJourney.com --RK and Inday

Greetings,

Inday and myself were recently engaged, have started the K1 process, have many questions, and have recently joined the forum. Currently are filling out I-129F. For now, are wondering (1) even though documents may not have to be notarized, would it be a good idea to do so and (2) for documents supporting evidence of meeting within last 2 years, are personal letters from others of help?

Thank you for answer to this question and any other advice any member may be able to provide.

RK and Inday

P.S. Inday's country is Philippines, I am U.S. citizen.