ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
Philippinesk-1 visa forms

It is interesting that BDO allowed your DS-160. Were you able to print the confirmation page for your DS-160? Did you use the confirmation page at BDO?

After another VJ member submitted the DS-160 online, the USEM emailed her, telling her that K-1ers do not use the new DS-160.


Yes, the printed copy of the Confirmation Page was the one I showed to BDO Corporate Center branch located along Makati Avenue. After I clicked 'send by email' - I received an email confirmation the following day. That DS-160 was a real pain. Took me 4 hrs to accomplish (for myself and my daughter).
yellow_flowerFemalePhilippines2010-06-25 12:34:00
Philippinesk-1 visa forms
Dear Honeybear, when I went to BDO to pay for my K1 visa fee, they asked for a DS-160. When I went for my interview on June 21, 2010 - I showed the same DS-160 form, together with my appointment confirmation at the gate.
When I was inside the Immigration Section, I was informed I need to submit 2 copies of DS-156, a copy of DS-156K, and 2 copies of DS-157. If you can't find it online via US embassy website, try to Google for it. You need a draft to work on prior to your interview. You can secure a copy of the above mentioned forms at the Embassy, but mind you, it would be stressful. Nakaka conscious pa!
yellow_flowerFemalePhilippines2010-06-25 11:37:00
Philippinesgoing to the philippines.a few questions
hi there, having read ur storyline and the subsequent replies of the members here - I do agree that you shouldnt be spending more than US$ 1,000.00 (prevailing exchange rate in Makati banks = US$ 1.00:PhP 44+). your destination is in Butuan City in Mindanao. thats province area. mostly nature, not too much malls.

if you are going to stay with your gf and settle for home cooked meals 75-85% of the time, you should do well. I am from Makati by the way (Brgy Poblacion, just at the back of Rockwell Power Plant Mall). whenever my fiance is here, he settles for home cooked meals. we take turns cooking. I get to show him what Filipinos cook and eat, and he'd show me what he knows to cook and like to eat. apart from the bonding time, twas a way for us to get to know each other very well. I dont bring him though when I go to the marketplace coz I wont be able to bargain for a lower price (people here have this mentality that if your bf is a foreigner it means big bucks). we'd have dinner outside every now and then. he does that to give me a break from cooking, also bcoz he loves to eat at this korean resto. our average expenditure at kaya korean resto in jupiter street, makati city is PhP 1200-1500. but thats fine dining and 2 servings of spicy squid for him haha! my sis who is a programmer and travels a lot says, dinner in a nice resto in Mindanao area shouldnt be more than PhP 700.

the better person to orient you of these things would be your gf coz she is from there.

when my fiance and I were in the get-to-know each other stage, he asked me a lot of questions like: how many are you in the house, how big is your place, how many and what type of elect appliances you have, how much is your elect bill, how much do you spend monthly on food, clothing, leisure etc. he also asked about means of transport (jeep, taxi, bus, LRT, horse drive carriage). he also asked about basic commodities like how much is a kilo of rice, fish (depends on the kind of fish), pork, beef, chicken, veggies. we talked about what we like and dont like to eat. he asked how often I watch a movie in the nearby cinema, what do I do for fun etc. whats the average meal in a fine dining resto, at a corner etc.

while some people claim such questions bother them, it reality these are the typical questions I get at work from expats wanting to set-up their business in the Phils. when I finally realised the questions were aimed at me and not just an economy assessment of the Phils, I emailed him an excel file with a breakdown of my monthly salary with a planning budget from Jan-Dec. thats it, I passed my exam. Hahaha! am not joking, I do plan my life like so. and I carry a print-out of that excel file in my wallet to remind me not to go overboard when I spend.

the bottom line is, if your gf really really loves you, she will do everything and anything to protect you. she'd even tell u hey, dont spend so much. the important thing is we're together.

I do agree that in chatting, you get to know a person. but I do recommend that you meet each first and get to know each other very very well before thinking of getting married. marriage is a life long commitment, it isnt just a piece of paper. if you want to offer marriage because you want to prove to her (and her family) that your intentions are true, then you are not being fair - to yourself and to the girl. get married because it is something that BOTH of you want and because BOTH of you are ready for whatever will come your way.

when I first met D2B in 2006, my family was against the idea (we're not even bf-gf). but I insisted that my parents (especially my mother) meet him, at least to show Filipino hospitality. I gave him a despedida party (seafood buffet) not knowing twas his birthday. overtime, he got closer to my family and believe it or not, he and my mum get along very well. I for one, do not agree in lavish wedding. you are getting married because you want to spend your life with that person. when the two of u fight, are u going to call those 100 guests who attended your wedding to patch you up? NAH!

I am not sure how much the church fee costs but it shouldnt be more than 3,500 pesos. I read here someone suggested, you go get a fixer. dont u dare if you dun want to get "fixed." google up for Butuan City Hall. if they have an email, you can ask for procedure/guidelines. ah just to let you know, I organized my cousins wedding last Dec 2009. we spent approx 50,000 pesos for 100 guests. can show u her site in Facebook. I still have the budget file with me. if you need, just email me so I could pass to you and give you more tips on how to cut cost. you can give a dream wedding for your girl, just dont invite her entire clan and community! I'll get back to you about marriageable age. I know they raised it. you see, I couldnt marry my ex back then coz of that. he had to get parental consent (thank goodness I didnt get married! LoL)
yellow_flowerFemalePhilippines2010-05-01 07:24:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresImmigration service recommendation please

Hello, I live north of Boston and would like a recommendation of an immigration service. I see many offering this service (especially on this site). I am on a tight budget, so cost is also a factor. I am not sure how important having a local service is. Perhaps it is not. My fiance lives in the Philippines. thanks!


hi 2step,

my name is Julie aka yellow_flower in VJ. pls advise your fiancee to look up the group PRETTY LADIES (VJ members) in Facebook. there are a lot of us there and we guide the newbies on what to do (whether its K1 or CR1). its like a mini visajourney.com but specifically for Filipinas.

OR, you may let me know your fiancee's name in Facebook so I could look her up. don't worry, no charges here. we just want to see a fellow Filipina happy :)

you don't need to spend anything. we'll help you all the way. plus your fiancee will be able to find friends even if she hasn't arrived in US soil yet.

regards!

Julie
Kirksville, Missouri
yellow_flowerFemalePhilippines2011-05-05 08:40:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Proceduresapplying for k1 visa for fiance in Pakistan

I went a did some research of my own. The consulate in Abu Dhabi has varied results. I'm a bit worried. It seems that others from middle eastern counries are put on AP, but females from the Philipines go right on through :blink:

I am so scared!!! I have been obsessing over this all day! My fiance is a Pakistani National, but he was born and raised in the Emirates. He has never spent more than 2 months in Pakistan. Also, we both have previous marriages, I have kids, and I am older than him (only by 5 years). OMG! I am so convinced we will get AP.

Can anyone calm me down? I need sleep and we still have over 2 months until our interview! :(


hi I+H, try to relax. ok?

from what I understand in your thread, AP in Pakistan is no different from the usual K1 visa processing in the Phils. pls don't just rely on the number of successful females from the Philippines that are able to get approved. do review the timeline as well. for example, the average wait for an NOA1 is about 6-8mos. that just NOA1 alone. one has to wait for another month or so before NOA2 arrives. if there's no RFE, good. otherwise, that would constitute another period of waiting. and so on and so forth. so from USCIS to US Embassy in Pakistan, what was your waiting time???

also consider, the size of the embassy in Pakistan and its diplomatic relations. even if the staff is efficient, how much cooperation is it getting from Pakistani government as far as security screening is concerned? with the ongoing terrorist threat, only heaven knows what's going on out there.

by the way, I used to work for an embassy in the Philippines. I was told that my boss who used to handle Administration, also had to handle Consular section in Pakistan coz nobody wants to get posted there! do u have any idea how difficult it is to work in a non-English speaking environment?! goodness gracious... you probably need to do body language.

hey, your already waiting for your visa interview in 2mos time. that's great! some Filipina women don't even know what's going. you know what these Filipinas did to lower down their tension??? they COMMUNICATED and compared notes. to those who did their homework right, bravo! to those who didn't even check their notes, sorry.

my Filipina best friend is a teacher in the Philippines. she was denied K1 the first time due to lack of proof of relationship. we weren't aware of visajourney.com back then. both my friend and her beau are religious, hence they don't have 'sweet' posed pictures. too bad she can't tell the Consul that they had a PhP 500,000.00 mock wedding.

lastly, I wish to inform you that I am a Filipina too and the first time my fiance applied for K1 visa in 2007 - USCIS informed my fiance that our paperwork was LOST. as simple as that! my fiance filed again in 2009. same thing, our paperwork got lost. but this time, we were prepared and re-sent EVERYTHING to USCIS faster than a speeding bullet. I arrived in US soil in Sep 2010.

so if you're still nerve-racked after reading this, you probably need to see a doctor and request for some medication that would make you feel relaxed. kudos! :)
yellow_flowerFemalePhilippines2011-05-05 08:27:00