ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
PhilippinesBar girl and K1
QUOTE (Jabberwocky @ Jul 28 2008, 02:03 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Yep. How young is he? If he's never been married before, this isn't exactly the best circumstances to finding a life partner. The long distance and cultural differences are enough for a couple to deal with as it is. I hope he'll do the right thing and move on, now matter how much he may love this girl, he'll get over her and eventually realize that he did the right thing. Good luck in helping him figure that out. smile.gif

Not saying I disagree with your rational analysis, but I will say that it is real easy for you and I who have successfully navigated the immigration waters and are now in a loving relationship to tell someone else to "forget about her and move on." Based upon your research, and having gone through the process myself, if the paperwork appears in order, and the girl is "coached-up" (as we all did) for the 5-minute interview, I'd say press-on if it truly is a "love" thing and not a "lust" thing.
BJZagsMalePhilippines2008-07-28 19:31:00
Philippinesmoving to cebu
QUOTE (spikeyflip @ Jan 24 2009, 10:34 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
As for jobs, maybe you can start a business?


Good luck on your adventure. If you can stock-up on enough cash to live, I'd say go for it! What I will never understand is why there is always the perception that starting a business is the "ticket" to a good life in the RP. Running a business is tough, no matter where you are. When over half of new American businesses fail within the year, why is it any different in the RP? What with the economy so tough, both here and there, I personally don't see starting a business as a viable option for most people.
BJZagsMalePhilippines2009-01-25 14:51:00
PhilippinesDone with the AOS interview! but problem with passport
QUOTE (franksonb @ Feb 19 2009, 01:21 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I had my vacation a few weeks ago. no problems with re entry into the USA. passport not yet amended.

Yep, just got back from the RP on Monday, and the immigration officer didn't even ask for the marriage certificate. Just looked at the green card.
BJZagsMalePhilippines2009-02-19 14:11:00
PhilippinesK-1 Visa denied at interview, for meeting at Cherry Blossoms.com
My now-wife and I met initially through FH, and our application was approved Dec. 2006. While I checked "yes" on the international broke box on the re-sent IMBRA paperwork, we didn't make mention of it at all in our paperwork and documentation. All eMails and chats included in the paperwork were from our yahoo or hotmail accounts. Simply told the interviewer that we met online, have met in person three times over the last year, etc. Marriage broker and FH never came up during the interview or paperwork for our K-1 experience.
BJZagsMalePhilippines2008-01-24 10:32:00
PhilippinesAge difference between Filipinas and americans (Poll)
Short Swedish dude: 37
Shorter Filipina: 27
BJZagsMalePhilippines2007-05-24 11:07:00
PhilippinesManila's CFO Seminar
I've only heard of one story where the tales of horror and "scary videos" they played shocked the young filipina enough to call off the engagement. Just tell her to be aware that they will attempt to portray the "worst" side of life abroad, and take it with a grain of salt!
BJZagsMalePhilippines2009-05-21 16:17:00
PhilippinesNot formally engaged yet but...
QUOTE (DobermanGuy @ Jul 5 2009, 03:55 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
She is able to use most all of the money she does make to help her family and she does... From what she tells me, she is saving most all of her money to help them buy a better house there and also helping her sister with tuition.


As others have said, this "might" be a red flag if the helping the family/buy a house scenario is not discussed before the engagement. As she is currently using most of her earnings to help her family, expect this to continue if she finds employment in America. If she does not find work in America, expect that you will have to do this for her. This isn't a bad thing, or a good thing, just comes with the territory. While the loyalty of Filipinos to the family may be vexing to many Americans, this quality is also what makes them the wonderful people they are.
BJZagsMalePhilippines2009-07-07 12:19:00
PhilippinesManila Embassy Visa Class 2006-2007
Time is flying, that's for sure! Just over 2.5 years later, we both are settling full-time into the family thing. Jenalyn got her first job in retail a week after getting her work authorization. She received her drivers license within a year of coming to Pennsylvania. We visited the Philippines last February, the family was so happy to see their little girl. Currently, Jenalyn is enrolled at the local community college to get her dental hygienist certificate. Oh, we also just had a baby boy named MacArthur 3 months ago! Life is crazy great.
BJZagsMalePhilippines2009-09-01 14:19:00
PhilippinesInterview failed....Manila Embassy...
QUOTE (.MythaG- @ Sep 25 2009, 10:26 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
but all immigrant visa is the most posible to pass in interview than non immigrant. right? k1 or tourist visa is still 50 / 50. so i suggets if he really want her fiance to go u.s. marry her in pinas and apply for cr1 or ir1.


I'd expect the K1 visas to be approved about at the rate of "other" immigrant visas. The non immigrant status of K1 is in name only, since it is expected the beneficiary is coming with the intent to marry in three months and adjust status to permanent resident. As long as the procedures are followed correctly and the required documents are submitted there is no reason NOT to expect your K1 to be approved.
BJZagsMalePhilippines2009-09-25 11:53:00
PhilippinesCheap Airline
Check out: http://www.cheapoair.com/
BJZagsMalePhilippines2009-07-16 10:58:00
PhilippinesResort on Samal Island
Any suggestions for a beach resort on Samal Island (near Davao City) that is nice, yet not overly spendy?
BJZagsMalePhilippines2010-02-08 20:51:00
PhilippinesLIFETIME BAN FOR ADMITTING DRUG USE AT ST. LUKE'S
QUOTE (Mister Fancypants @ Nov 2 2007, 08:59 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Now that makes a hell of a lot more sense. Thanks for the good info. good.gif yes.gif

Problem is, those guidelines in the FAM are read in light of the laws of the beneficiary's country I think. While being busted with small amounts of pot may be a misdemeanor crime in the USA, such an infraction may be a much more severe crime in the RP. There is the truth, and then, there is the "legal truth" -- and any lawyer worth his/her salt will say that.
BJZagsMalePhilippines2007-11-04 11:17:00
PhilippinesI can stay 21 days in the Philippines without a visa. Is that counting the weekend too.

Did you do the report of marriage for NSO and get her passport amended yet? If you enter with your Philippine citizen wife, you can get an authorized stay of 1 year rather than 21 days. Bring your marriage certificate with you in case they ask to see it.


No, never reported to the NSO. She'll go for her US citizenship soon enough, so never saw the need to amend her passport with her married name.
BJZagsMalePhilippines2010-03-17 10:25:00
PhilippinesI can stay 21 days in the Philippines without a visa. Is that counting the weekend too.
In a related vein, I've also booked a trip where I fly out on the 21st day of stay. I was wondering the time involved and steps necessary to get the required "permit" for over-stay. I can just imagine a typhoon delaying my flight by a day and they don't let me out of the country because I'm now on day 22.
BJZagsMalePhilippines2010-03-10 12:28:00
PhilippinesIs Davao city Safe
Agreed. Davao, and even most of Mindanao is safe. I'll be in Davao for a few days with my wife and her parents this June and will feel totally secure. I've traveled from Butuan to Surigao City, and Surigao City to Davao several times and have never one felt in danger. Granted, as in many of the provinces, I 'stuck' out in the crowd and got some looks, but that has never bothered me, just chalked it up to curiosity!
BJZagsMalePhilippines2010-03-29 16:12:00
PhilippinesBaby food avail in the Phil
Thankfully our boy will now accept powered formula that we'll mix with bottled water. We can easily pack enough canisters for three weeks. My only concern was whether we needed to consider packing three-weeks worth of pureed 'solid' food as well.
BJZagsMalePhilippines2010-05-07 15:48:00
PhilippinesBaby food avail in the Phil
The wife and I are traveling back to the Philippines for three weeks with our 11 month-old son. Does anyone know if Gerber (or another brand) pureed baby foods like can be found in an American grocery store are available in the Philippines. I was assuming that stores such as Robinson's or SM would have such items, but would like clarification if possible. Going to their websites did not offer me the answer.
BJZagsMalePhilippines2010-05-07 09:51:00
Philippines2010 Census
White + Filipino
BJZagsMalePhilippines2010-05-14 14:10:00
PhilippinesName change on marriage certificate
I was hoping that someone could point me in the right direction. I'm trying to help my sister-in-law get the name on her marriage certificate changed to match the name on her birth certificate. Does anyone know what form is needed or what agency we must contact? Sounds like whatever must be done must be done in the courts, but I'm not clear on how to start the process.

Thanks.
BJZagsMalePhilippines2010-07-10 21:57:00
PhilippinesShould I Be Concerned ?

Should I be concerned about the the dent in the prop?


This shouldn't be a problem, just buy a new one. Remember, there are money trees growing in almost everyone's back yard in America!
BJZagsMalePhilippines2010-08-02 14:38:00
Philippinestravel warnings
I'm thinking you should be relatively "safe" as your staying on the eastern side of the Province. I've flow into Butuan several times and rode buses North to Surigao. The Muslim "hotspot" I think is primarily on the far-west of the island.
BJZagsMalePhilippines2010-11-02 16:05:00
PhilippinesFilipinos and saving money for retirement

in our culture we do have responsibilities to our parents..
if our parents cant work anymore then we have to help them.. and that's just how it is..


The responsibility to care for the parents is just one obligation children in the RP have. Often, the older brother/sister has the "obligation" of paying for their younger sibling's education as well because the parents can't afford to. This pattern is likely another reason why saving for retirement is difficult.
BJZagsMalePhilippines2010-12-15 11:25:00
PhilippinesFilipinos and saving money for retirement

I mean, do Filipinos just assume they will work forever so no savings is needed?


Just Google the average wage in the RP, and you'll see that day-to-day existence is the norm. I'd bet most would love to save for the future, but cannot. As such, the defacto retirement policy is dependence on sons and daughter.
BJZagsMalePhilippines2010-12-13 15:03:00
Philippinesone meeting..is it enough proof?
The regulation only requires one visit within two years of application. While I visited the RP three times before my now-wife came to USA, I had only visited her once when I actually filed the petition for K-1.
BJZagsMalePhilippines2011-03-23 11:56:00
PhilippinesSending money to your wife's family for hospital expenses

She doesn't want to contribute to the marriage.

WHY IS SHE MARRIED?


Maybe she thinks she is contributing to the marriage, just the definition of 'contribution' between the husband and wife are different. This is a very common problem. There is a house close to ours with a double-garage, with "OURS" over one bay-door, and "HERS" over the other one. There is sometimes an element of truth to these sayings!
BJZagsMalePhilippines2010-11-11 10:36:00
PhilippinesSending money to your wife's family for hospital expenses
The not paying the whole bill is good in theory if there are other members of the family who have cash reserves. If not, than you've just thrown money AT a problem, rather than solving the problem.
BJZagsMalePhilippines2010-10-28 11:33:00
PhilippinesK-1 Petitioner Not Employed but with Sufficient Assets
I'm not sure a sabbatical year is considered "unemployed." In academia, if your truly on sabbatical as a tenured professor, you still receive your salary. At least that's how it works at the University I work for.
BJZagsMalePhilippines2011-03-29 11:52:00
PhilippinesUS Embassy in Manila DNA
Bob, I'm sure there is a totally separate procedure you'll have to go through in the Filipino Court system to "prove" parentage and refute the current birth certificate. I'd image the family courts in the Philippines will take at face-value the mother/father that are written on the birth certificate, and changing this would likely take some doing. Could you give us a thumb-nail version of that process?
BJZagsMalePhilippines2011-03-22 13:52:00
PhilippinesRelationship soon to end

What makes you say that? If she is granted custody, she is free to go anywhere in the world she wants to, subject to the limitations of a visitation agreement.

I'd like to see some supporting documentation for that statement. Even if the mom is granted custody, I would dare say she is not "free" to go anywhere in the world with the child BECAUSE of the visitation agreement. Courts have refused children moving out-of-state, much less out of the country before. If the husband agrees to this move, it's another story.
BJZagsMalePhilippines2011-04-14 10:42:00
PhilippinesLiving in the Philippines
Since a K-1 is in effect an immigration visa, the intent of the recipient would be immigrate to the US. If the to-be spouse is retired and "living" in PHL, that may put the immigration intent in question. That would be the only "red flag" I can think of.
BJZagsMalePhilippines2011-04-26 11:53:00
PhilippinesDealing with the parents

I also feel that it is a bit unfair of her parents to put her in the middle of this right now -- we need to be planning our future and be happy. As another member said, we need to be separate and have a life of our own. I'm sure her parent's influence will be much less when she is here.

Don't be surprised if the "family" influence does not reduce when she is here. The immediate family unit is extremely important in the PHL, and her desire to support this family will never decline, nor should it. That is just a matter of cultural values and norms. Now, the requests coming directly from the family rather than from the Filipina is a bit surprising. In my experience, no self-respecting Filipino(a) would ever come looking for a "handout."
BJZagsMalePhilippines2011-05-19 12:08:00
PhilippinesDealing with the parents

My fiance told me upfront not to send money to relatives back home when we get married. I told him I would be sending my own money to help them. I'd exclude him from helping. It's better that way. I also told my family not to expect alot of stuff from him too.

I hear and read this all the time about only using "my own money" and have never understood are bought into this argument. In my mind, there is not really "my own money" in a marriage, only money that has been decided by the couple together to be ear-marked for specific purposes. Now, once the spouse is in America and working, there is obviously more money, so the ear-marked portion to help support the family could increase if desired. The "my money" argument reminds me of the old saying about marriage that there is "our money and her money."
BJZagsMalePhilippines2011-05-19 11:31:00
PhilippinesFilipina wife issues....advice please...

In a relationship the man needs to make the business and financial decision, and the woman should be there to support him. Of course take into consideration your wife's input.


Are you serious? Is this the 1950's? Last time I checked women now have the right to vote, and have even run for President. If I told my wife that since I'm the man I make all the business decisions unilaterally, she'd probably kick me in the hoo-has. While this approach might work if you were living in the RP married to a province girl, I don't see it flying here in the States.
BJZagsMalePhilippines2011-01-21 10:50:00
Philippinescultural differences vs. stereotyping

The times I have had to "put people in their place" because of something they've said or implied or whatever, it was not to change their minds. I don't give a ####### what they think. I just don't want my fiancee/wife and I to have to hear it or experience it.


This here, embodies the biggest problem with the Filipino groups (or any such group) that hang out together in whatever area your from. Just because all these people are from the Philippines, does not make them our friends. There will be "bad apples" in the bunch who will say things because that is what people like to do. Choose your friends carefully, and be aware of those who aren't.
BJZagsMalePhilippines2011-06-30 10:55:00
PhilippinesBeware if you travel alone to the Philippines
In looking around the country and observing some of the obvious problems with the PHL (filth, pollution) and some of the not obvious (corruption, graft, apathy), I've often thought one of the biggest differences between Americans and Filipinos is what they expect of their government. If the government did not at least provide for basic services, in America the public would demand a resolution to the problem. In the PHL, I sense a feeling of acceptance, that this is "just the way it is."
BJZagsMalePhilippines2011-05-18 13:14:00
PhilippinesBeware if you travel alone to the Philippines

Here's an idea - how about all these Filipinos living abroad, work towards social and economic change in their home country where 1/3 of all Filipinos live below the poverty level? Or is just all these poor folk are simply too lazy to pull themselves out of poverty?

When the current PHL Prez and most presidents of the past praise encourage the "hero worship" of the OFW's, I don't see this problem being fixed. Until the mindset is to NOT depend on remittances as a major source of economic growth, nothing will change.
BJZagsMalePhilippines2011-05-16 13:56:00
PhilippinesBeware if you travel alone to the Philippines
For the foreigners having problems in the PHL, it must be your size that makes you such a target for all these "scams" and nonsense. While I am one of the whitest white guys you'll see, I'm smaller than the average Filipino, so they don't see to pay me no mind. I arrive at the airport, pick up my bags, change my money, go outside and hail a metered cab to the hotel. Not once have I had people hassle me, and rarely does anyone even ask to carry my bags. I think I look like I somehow "belong" in the PHL. Hell, one time at the Mall of Asia, the cab driver asks my wife (who is 10 years younger than me) if I am her little brother? #######?

Edited by BJZags, 13 May 2011 - 11:51 AM.

BJZagsMalePhilippines2011-05-13 11:50:00
PhilippinesScams in Manila
It was my experience that the "shady" money changes in Manila/Makati were offering the best exchange rates. Not sure if it can be considered a scam if I get a good deal on my transaction.
BJZagsMalePhilippines2011-06-30 14:31:00
PhilippinesYou Might Be Filipino If Thread
You might be Filipino if . . . your cell phone is always LOW BAT.
BJZagsMalePhilippines2011-07-15 14:06:00
PhilippinesGrass not always greener

I'm sorry, but that's just wrong. Using the children as a manipulative ploy to keep her here is only going to make her hate/resent you even more. Sounds to me like you're on a power trip and she's not letting you toss her around like that. I'd apologize to her and tell her you would not fight her for custody of the children should she choose to go back home, for starters. Better learn a more effective way to deal with conflict than to get into a power struggle, IMO.


Sorry, late to this discussion. DFH, how is stating he doesn't want the kids leaving the US manipulative? That is simply him stating that he doesn't want his kids to live in the PHL thousands of miles from him. Your going to tell me that if (due to a totally unforeseen circumstance) your wife wants to leave you and move back to the PHL, you'd be down with her taking your kids with her? I'd think most dads would want more interaction with their child than an infrequent trip back to the PHL. Child custody is brutal under normal circumstance, but a foreign marriage situation jacks up the tension/difficulties even more.
BJZagsMalePhilippines2011-08-12 13:01:00