Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Philippines	Which passport should I get for our baby?	If I get dual citizenship for our baby when she is born, can I get a US and Filipino passport? How does that work? Is it possible for her to have both? Just trying to get prepaired.... -Phil	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2010-01-11 10:27:00
Philippines	Air 21	What is the latest fee amount for the air 21 service required to pay at the embassy? thanks about 220 PHP	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2010-01-12 15:11:00
Philippines	Visa Renewel	Hello Everyone - Happy New Year! My wife carries a Philippine Visa and it expires in March 2010. We have heard from friends that we will have to travel to Chicago to get this renewed. This doesn't sound correct to me. Does anyone have any idea's or good information that we can follow? Thanks! Please complete your timeline... The Passport will require a trip to the nearest Philippine Consulate. Which for you is in Chicago. Here is the web link to check requirments. http://www.chicagopcg.com/ -Phil	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2010-01-12 15:22:00
Philippines	CFO seminar	thank God i'm done with everything... im done with my seminar at st. mary's yesterday and i got my certificate and sticker from the CFO... Time to start packing!!! Congrats!!!! Safe journey and welcome to America!!! -phil	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2010-01-13 16:22:00
Philippines	Guidance and counseling seminar?	OK, thanks as usual for the info. and help. I really love this forum it's been a terrific help during this whole process. St. Marys is the best place to do this. COMMISSION ON FILIPINOS OVERSEAS ST. MARY EUPHRASIA FOUNDATION. INC.-CENTER FOR OVERSEAS WORKERS Good Shepherds Convent, 1043 AURORA BLVD, 1108 QUEZON CITY -Phil	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2010-01-11 12:25:00
Philippines	Visa envelope	So the staff can peek in and verify who's package it is before it goes out to you... Also to make sure it does not contain anything illegal or conceals an explosive device...	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2010-01-08 09:42:00
Philippines	Ana is here	congrats on everything going well. start taking a look at the aos paperwork. it will make you think the i-129f was a breeze!	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2010-01-12 10:04:00
Philippines	AOS and being "out of status"	Also - the regs cover 'get married within 90 days' - those 90 days are supposed to be tied in to the I-94 expiration date. There is NO REGULATION covering 'when to file for AOS' - there is something between 'suggestion to guideline' that you file AOS as soon as possible after marry, but there is NO REG about it. IMO, it 'seems' that there is 'automatic forgiveness' within 6 months of I-94 expiration date, no additional stuff to file or do. IMO, don't sweat this, ya? But do file as soon as yer able. Caveat - I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV. Dry at low-setting. Wash in Cold water only...	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2010-01-15 10:50:00
Philippines	Cheapest "One Way" ticket	Guys, the virus on http://www.santraphael.com/home.php nearly destroyed my computer. I opened the page up last night, my computer totally locked up and some ridiculous anti-virus spyware blocked me from doing anything and made my operating system fail. Luckily I have a restoration software on my computer to restore it back to the way it was. I'm fortunate to not have lost all my files because of it. What gives? Good save! I got a batch of ####### on my system when using the web site for the Bayview hotel last year. Included a bunch of virus's and malware as well as a DNS hijacker. Had to pull the hard drive and scan on another system, disable my dual core processer and download a bunch of cleaners to finally get it all cleared up. Took me 5 days... -Phil	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2010-01-14 14:15:00
Philippines	Cheapest "One Way" ticket	Rates looked really cheap but I got 2 trojan warnings from my anti-virus when i was on that site... Always best to hit the 'Update' button on your anti-virus and malware protection before doing any international surfing. -Phil	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2010-01-12 10:45:00
Philippines	what is the total cost I need to send Pam?	I think the CFO should be closer to 750... -P Charlie...here is a suggested budget: SLEC medical exam..........................................$213.35.......Php9708 Visa fee at Banco del Oro....................................131.00............5961 Air21 visa delivery fee............................................6.00.............273 CFO seminar and sticker.......................................14.29.............650 Food/restaurants: four trips/seven days in Manila...100.00...........4550 Taxi to get around Manila......................................60.00...........2730 Shopping/manicure/pedicure/waxing/haircut.........100.00...........4550 Going-away party for family.................................100.00...........4550 Pocket money for flight to U.S..............................100.00...........4550 Load: she needs your support................................20.00.............910 Bus fares from province.............................................??...............?? Dental work: less expensive in Pinas............................??...............?? Total..............................................................$844.64.......Php38432 Note: the exchange rate is based on $1:Php45.5...your mileage may vary. ~ Tahoma	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2010-01-13 12:31:00
Philippines	what is the total cost I need to send Pam?	After she gets the visa there is also a CFO seminar she needs to attend... I think the free for the seminar is P250 pesos... Goodluck Plus another P400 or so for the sticker...	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2010-01-12 15:25:00
Philippines	what is the total cost I need to send Pam?	so what is the total cost for the medical interview visa delivery all that good stuff???? I know I will need to send more since it is a 5 hour bus ride for her and food and all that good stuff . visa delivery is about 230PHP and, I think, the medical is about 11000 PHP give or take a bit... -Phil Edited by PhiLandShiR, 12 January 2010 - 03:08 PM.	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2010-01-12 15:07:00
Philippines	WDC and Maryland Filipinas??	Hi, we live just off I-80 near Iowa City. That's about one hour west of the Mississippi River. We had a wee bit of snow this past night so I don't reccomend driving this way any time soon... -P QUOTE (Mark&Gladys @ Dec 8 2009, 11:09 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hi All, We are looking for Fil/AM couples in the WDC Baltimore area. Are there any local groups active? We would like to network with similar couples and would like to meet some new friends with similar interests? I look forward to hearing from you. We also travel through Iowa and Idaho periodically, so new friends there would be a blessing as well. Happy Holidays!!	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2009-12-09 13:19:00
Philippines	friendster member	Facebook here for both my wife and I. FarmVille rules!! you might want to have a facebook account too...marami kami doon, we can add you there. Edited by PhiLandShiR, 19 January 2010 - 12:41 PM.	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2010-01-19 12:41:00
Philippines	Report of Marriage and Passport Renewal	Chicago might be closer for you...but if you want a new passport you need to apply in person. Will also need various photos and birth certs and marriage licenses and such... -P	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2010-01-19 12:39:00
Philippines	Bound for Oregon	I lived in Bend for about 3 years. Nice little place, you will like it. Tends to be costly though... best have a well paying job... One major drawback is that in the winter time, all the mountain passes close so you are trapped until they can be cleared. Sometimes that took a week or more... There is a small airport just north of Bend, in Redmond, if you really need to get out. A good hospital and good skiing too! The surrounding country is volcanic and the center of town is dominated by a massive cinder cone thats pretty cool... In the summer time things get a bit too... brown... for me, not much rain. If there is a forest fire within 100 miles the air turns blue from the smoke so if you have breathing issues its not pleasant... but then, the same thing happened while I was living in Alaska so I was used to it. Good Luck, safe journey! -Phil Hey guys, Finally heading to Oregon after 3.5 years. Yup, hubby has been doing the jig since he arrived here in the Philippines. I'm moving to Central Oregon in the Bend area, and I was wondering if anybody from VJ is close to where I'll be at. We're leaving for the US on January 25 and it sure would be nice to have someone to keep in touch with when I get there. If you've got tips, advice, or funny stories to share, sure would appreciate any you can throw my way.	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2010-01-06 09:22:00
Philippines	FACEBOOK?	Facebook seems to be very popular these days........especially Mafia Wars Booorrrrrring.....	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2010-01-20 13:29:00
Philippines	Medical Examination Discrepancy (Manila)	Maybe you can get her doctor to provide papers on this matter that she could take with her to the interview?? This way if she is asked, she would have evidence to support her claims. -Phil	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2010-01-21 16:13:00
Philippines	when is best time to go to St Lukes????	Hello everyone ........now that all my stress is gone I think I gave it all to Pam....HEHEHEEHE.....So she would like to know when is the best time to go to St Luke's she is going Monday but she thinks she read that going in the afternoon is better to go there ....is that good advice???? Also in most cases I have read it is a 2 day process but I have also read some people going through it in 1 day??? Is it possible for her to be there for just one day? If so should she go in the morning just in case??? Either way is ok with me because I know she will be staying with her sister so I know she will be there for 2-3 days since it will be the last time she see's her for a while!!! Any advice on this ????? I would agree with the folks who say go in the afternoon. Eat some lunch and arrive at 1:00PM. If she wants to visit her sister give the Friday - Monday option a try. I think her sister could go with her... maybe... not sure on that... Sneek in a snack in a large bag. -Phil	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2010-01-22 10:57:00
Philippines	K2 VISA APPROVAL AFTER ST LUKE'S MEDICAL EXAM SAGA	Congrats on a long jpurney finally completed! Get your CFO for all of you and you are ready to get on the plane!! Welcome to America! -Phil Last Nov 16, 2009, my daughter, son and I went to St Luke's for our medical examinations. We arrived at 9am and it was smooth and orderly. By 4pm, we were informed that my son and I passed the medical examination while my daughter's chest x ray results showed that there was a nodule on her left lung. It was like a deafening bomb that exploded right in front of us! I was shocked at first, but did'nt question the findings at all. The nurse told us that my daughter has to undergo sputum smear tests for the next 3 days. If the smear tests turns positive then my son and I will not be allowed to go for the interview which is scheduled Nov 23. In addition, if it turns positive, my daughter will be required to appear daily at St Luke's for the next six months for her medication. For us who live in Mindanao, the possibility of her staying in Manila for six months while undergoing treatment means very very expensive. Add that to the anxiety and stress that we were going through at that moment. For three mornings, we accompanied her to St. Luke's . She was wearing mask upon entering the premises and joined the other persons doing their sputum specimen production. It was gross and tough but no choice. What we had in mind at that time was that :an early detection and early treatment is for the best of everyone! Three days later, her sputum smear tests turns negative. But it did not end there. The specimen needs to be subjected to culture tests for the next 2 months. We were told that if the culture test turns positive then, my daughter will be required to undergo the DOTS ( six months treatment). If negative, then she will be given a new schedule of interview. My son and I were allowed to attend the interview and got our visas approved. We waited for 2 months and called on Jan 18, 2010 (the scheduled date St Luke's told us to make the call). After making several attempts, we got in touch with St Luke's. We were informed that the culture tests turns negative. We were advised to report to St Luke's on Jan 20 and her interview is scheduled Jan 22 at 830am. St Luke's did not offer any medical explanation on what was the nodule about.The vaccination was administered to her after requiring her to undergo another pregnancy test and requiring us to pay P495. I accompanied my daughter to her interview. The pre screener just asked for the following: 1. Birth certificate 2. NBI clearance 3. Family pictures together. (the pre screener even asked for baptismal pictures but I had not brought one)Good thing, my fiance started visiting us since 2003 to 2010. For the 11 times that he visited us, like a family we have pictures together during the important occasions like Christmas, graduation, Proms, birthdays, children's activities in school and family trips and adventures together. 4. Affidavit of support ( I presented a photocopy of the affidavit of support I submitted last Nov) The consulate officer who speaks tagalog fluently was impressed about the fact that my fiance visited us for 11 times. He asked the following questions: 1. Who is the petitioner? 2. What is his occupation? 2. How many children you have and their ages? I answered "Two, daughter is 19 and son is 17" 3. Where is your son?why is he not with you ? I answered "We already had our interview last Nov and got our visas. 4. Are you married to the father of the children? I answered "We were married and we have an annulment." The consul asked the following question from my daughter: 1. What is your name?age? 2. Why were you not able to attend the interview last Nov? My daughter replied " I waited for the results of of the tests from St Luke's" The consul said "Ok, let me take a look at your case". He went over the medical results. 3. Are you studying? 4. What are your plans when you arrive in the US? He typed on his computer and then said "Congratulations, your visa is approved." We got inside the premises of the US embassy at 710am and left at 12:30pm.	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2010-01-23 13:24:00
Philippines	Planning to Petition my girlfriend?	i'm sure that's no one's business but the op's. so leave it be. I agree. There is nothing wrong with adoption and certainly nothing wrong with a woman who has children. The very idea that she might be 'damaged goods' is ... well... antiquated at best.... -P	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2010-01-12 10:22:00
Philippines	now stuck for processing at the embassy??????	yeah i got yelled at fir it last night!!! lol....we were online together when I posted it!!!!....hehehehehe Good for her!!! well the patience virtue was never bestowed on me!!!...lol thank you all for the words of encouragement!!! Nice thing about the visa process is that now, you get to learn all about patience!!! Give them 3 or 4 days to process your papers an start calling. I found being extremely polite was always a big plus! A thank you and a please covered a lot of ground for me when I was talking to the staff at the embassy. Hang in there!!	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2010-01-19 13:26:00
Philippines	finished day one of medical	ok great !!!! i know she is fine so if she gets the vacinations everything is ok .....as long as they take her passport right? You are on the last legs of this process! Congrats on a long and stressful time is finally nearing completion. -Phil	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2010-01-25 20:27:00
Philippines	DS 230	hello guys,anyway i am done to my medical now but i just noticed my ds 230 # of my poassport the last # was missing but i filled out complete #,wat will i do?can i go back to st. lukes?how come they missed one of it? thank u guys... What is the box number on the DS-230 where you are missing the passport number?? -P Edited by PhiLandShiR, 26 January 2010 - 11:32 AM.	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2010-01-26 11:31:00
Philippines	question about Plane ticket	hi my mom bought my ticket at agency in Phoenix thru call i heard that there is a law in PI that you should buy your ticket here the agency sent the itinerary for my flight thru email and the agency told my mom that they will sent the hard copy of the ticket tom, my mom will fetch me here and she will bring the plane ticket here, question My mom ask me if there is problem because she bought that in US? ty in advance I did not buy our tickets in PI. We had to pay a fee (tax) when we got to the ticketing counter in Manila but no other problems. -Phil	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2010-01-26 14:21:00
Philippines	? on what to expect at POE, any tips?	when you say open....what about the fact that my fiance's envelope has a huge corner chunk missing. The corner is always clipped so it can be inspected as to contents. An envelope that size could hold a nice bomb...	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2010-01-26 15:21:00
Philippines	? on what to expect at POE, any tips?	Just make sure that the brown envelope from the embassy is not opened, torn or damaged in any way. Mostly its a paperwork matter. No real questions. My SO was asked if she was aware that she only had 90 days to marry and little else... Remember to ask for your X-Ray CD cause its yours to keep. Also fill up the I-94 while on the plane cause it a lot easier than waiting till you get to the Customs desk. Have your embassy packet and passport ready for the officer and say Please and Thank You!! Welcome to America!! -Phil My fiance is due to arrive in the US next week with her K-1 visa. Can anyone tell me what she can expect to happen? Does anyone have any tips that might help us with her working earlier or for her adjustment/change of status. Are there any questions she should ask before she's allowed to leave the customs officials? I'm looking for answers that involve her when she's at the airport. All answers that are related to the future, i'll ask re-ask those questions later. Perhaps i'm asking some questions that can only be handled in the future after the POE. I'm sort-a clueless about what happens during and after the POE.	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2010-01-26 14:18:00
Philippines	Wife Finally got the Visa	CONGRATS!!! I wish you the best on your journey. -Phil QUOTE (calico1 @ Nov 4 2009, 12:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hi Guys, Well as luck would have it the USEM actually sent out the wifes visa package, took 11 days including weekends and holidays..In our case, I thought when we were refused the pink, we had more woes to come, but if ANY of you get a "white slip" after the interview, specifically for NBI aka verification, submit the paper as fast as you can back to USEM..and you will get your visa...hopefully sooner than later. I was expecting to wait weeks, but it was pretty quick...not that every situation is the same. My sincere thanks to all who helped me out when I was out of answers..There is defintely some cool, funky smart people here in VJ....Continued success for all of you still in the journey...God Bless you all..it does take alot of patience...hang in there all..	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2009-11-04 13:35:00
Philippines	pink slip?	If she paid Air21 for delivery I think its a done deal. Its time to work on travel plans I think. Don't forget the CFO!! -Phil QUOTE (mari joe @ Nov 5 2009, 08:02 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> My SO jut completed her interview. The consule said she passed. However she never got a "slip" of any kind. she just sat back down untill her number came up on the board to pay air21 then they gave her a pink paper for a receipt. Can someone explain the "pink slip" or am i missin something. Thanks	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2009-11-05 09:10:00
Philippines	birth cert of children	I would guess not as they are already USC. -P QUOTE (eddie999 @ Nov 6 2009, 04:11 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> it's my husband's interview next month. will embassy still ask/check the bc of our children during interview? me and the children are already u.s. citizen..	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2009-11-06 12:11:00
Philippines	I-134 - Employment Verification Letter	My employer was not contacted. -P QUOTE (Mr.&Mrs.A @ Nov 6 2009, 02:07 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I am preparing the I-134 for the Interview and my employer will supply Letter of employment, but asked if he will now be contacted by USCIS to fill out any forms or answer any questions. I did not know how to answer that. Does anyone know about this? has anyone's employer been contacted? Assistance will be very much appreciated.	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2009-11-06 16:09:00
Philippines	Non-Catholic to marry Catholic Filipina in US	Shirr and I want to renew our vows in the next few years when we get back to the Philippines. I also am hoping that a simple renewal will be able to side step many of the requirements there in the Phils... Not sure if it will work out that way but getting the required 21 days to meet the churches requirements would not be possible for me... -Phil QUOTE (lbounds @ Nov 3 2009, 12:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thanks for people's suggestions. What I meant by "Catholic Chapel" was just a small Catholic church rather than a giant cathedral. Our wedding will be small 15-20 people. We decided to have a civil wedding first when she arrives but we still want to have a marriage ceremony in a Catholic church somewhere nice where we can invite family. I'm hoping that the fact that we will already be married will help us bypass some of the Catholic restrictions and we can just celebrate the ceremony for the family in a Catholic church site without jumping through many hoops. I'm looking around for possible locations now a bit even though we won't be ready for the wedding day until some time next year when she arrives.	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2009-11-03 17:05:00
Philippines	Non-Catholic to marry Catholic Filipina in US	Yup, religion and politics.... My favorite topics. QUOTE (jom @ Nov 3 2009, 07:41 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Here we go......	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2009-11-03 09:44:00
Philippines	Airport taxes, or fees in U.S domestic flights	If you can show evidence that LAX was NOT your final destination and that Houston is in fact your final destination, you should be able to avoid any baggage check fees. You will need to collect your baggage at LAX after you pass through emigrations. And exit the International Airport. Head down the street about a block to the Departure gates for Domestic flights and recheck your baggage. Do not use the machine services to check you baggage. Speak to an actual person. Show your ticket stubs for the PAL flight and that you just arrived and need to connect to your Houston flight. With luck the ticket agent will pass you on with no problems... If they insist on weighting your bags be very sure they are not over weight. I was caught with a bag that was about 10 pounds over and they wanted to charge me $120 bucks for the bag. If this happens, pull some items from the bag and carry them on. There is no weight checking for carry on bags... I was told by the ticket agent to just grab a pair of blue jeans from the over weight bag and carry them on as that would most likely drop the weight of the bag to below the weight limit. I was able to adjust the weight over to a lighter bag and evened the weight between the 2. Good luck and Welcome to America!!! -Phil QUOTE (Kevin-n-Merlaine @ Nov 6 2009, 09:58 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Most domestic flights here now charge for checked bags. It's usually $20 for the first and $30 for the second...so $50 extra you can probably count on having to pay	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2009-11-06 16:34:00
Philippines	The Perfect Christmas Gift!	I wondered what a Magic Sing was... Now I know... http://www.pangbahay...ing-version-12/ And you can get a Tagalog song chip for it too!! http://www.pangbahay...-chip-9-silver/ Such a deal...	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2009-11-09 13:47:00
Philippines	How did you miss Philippines this comming christmas ?	I spent last Christmas in Philippines as well as New Years. I know Shirr will miss her family and friends from back home. She has asked about New Years already. No firecrackers here in Iowa as they are not legal. I was in Baguio last New Years and it was truly awe inspiring. I have never heard more fireworks in my entire life. For almost an hour the explosions of sky rockets and fire crackers echoed off the mountains. I enjoyed it so much I am sad I will miss it this year. We are already planning to return in a couple of years.	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2009-11-09 09:50:00
Philippines	Medical concerns	Shirr had some minor surgery done as well. She brought her records and showed them to the doctor. The doctor looked at the scar and read the papers and that was all. If your SO has the papers to show the doctor, it explains the scar and its not a problem. -Phil QUOTE (Kevin-n-Merlaine @ Nov 9 2009, 12:04 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Ahh, ok. I'll have her dig up the records. I just finished speaking with her and turns out that St. Lukes was where she had the surgery done so her records would be there anyway. Thanks everyone!!	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2009-11-09 13:36:00
Philippines	Is anyone near Urbiztondo?	Please accept our heartfelt condolences for your loss. Phil n Shirr QUOTE (charlie&pam @ Nov 9 2009, 08:22 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I just recieved bad news this morning that Pam's brother passed away last night (monday in the Phils) is anyone in the area???? I want to know if there is a flower shop to send flowers or is there a certain custom for funerals in the Phil's? what do I do?	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2009-11-09 09:52:00
Philippines	I-134 Copies of Payroll Checks	Now that I think about it.... the pre-screener would not accept our I-134... I sent IRS transcripts and the pre-screen insisted that W2 were required and because Shirr could not provide them, the form was given back to her with instructions to show it to the Counsel if asked... she was never asked... We still have the I-134 with its offical stamp and everything. Someday I expect we will need it so we will hand on to it. -Phil QUOTE (Mr.&Mrs.A @ Nov 9 2009, 11:18 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I will be bringing to the interview copies of about 4 recent paychecks along with an employment verification letter. My employer is a small company and his checks do not have an attachment listing any year-to-date info. I will just make copies of the checks before I deposit them. Does anyone think this will be a problem. All input greatly appreciated.	PhiLandShiR	Female	Philippines	2009-11-10 13:51:00