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| Manila, Philippines |  Review on July 7, 2012: |
Brandon+Roslyn
Rating:  | Review Topic: Other Experience
OUR EXPERIENCE WITH CRBA AT MANILA EMBASSY
I noticed that there is no reviews of doing the CRBA here. At least none that I noticed. So here it goes.
Our appointment was actually for 9:30 but we got there at 5:45 because I thought that it was at 6:30. Just a heads up, they DO NOT CARE what appointment time you have for ACS. The guard would let us through the line until 6:30 when they opened the waiting area. The second floor where they do all of the ACS stuff doesn't open until 7:30, so there is no need to rush to the embassy. You will just have to wait for nothing basically. At 7:00 the opened the door for the 2nd floor and let us upstairs. All the CRBA people and a 2000 number. We were 2001. They didnt start calling numbers until 7:30 though, so we waited a little while. Then we got called up pretty much right away. There girl was a nice young Filipina, and asked for all of our documents. She examined everything and made sure all the forms were filled out properly. She gave me back a few of the things I submitted for my "proof of physical presence", dental records and w2's claiming me as a dependent. She said that they "didn't need it". Which I believe means they wont except that kind of stuff, but I had a lot of other proof also, so maybe they will if its all you have. Then, she put everything together and told us to sit and wait for our interview which will be held in room 14. I though "Oh, great. They have a room for us?" lol. Turns out that is just where they do all of the interviews for the CRBA, apparently. There was one girl ahead of us, who was there by herself, so we had to wait for her to finish first. We were finally called in to the room and there was a very nice, bubbly, older white woman with what appeared to be an Irish accent, which I thought was rather strange. She asked how we were and made us swear an oath, then asked me to state my full name, then my wife, and what day we were married. Asked when i first arrived in the Philippines, and if I was involved in missions. Then she said "OK everything here its just perfect! You guys are approved!". The interview lasted about 1 minute. She said, "Sorry for a long wait for such a short interview but everything you had was perfect". I wanted to hoot and holler lol. I was really stressed about the "proof of physical presence" thing because I didnt think I had enough. She said to go to the Air21 counter and give them our info and to expect the CRBA and passport in about 3-4 weeks. It got here in 2!
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #9959