Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Philippines	6 month TB treatment	i forgot to ask... if treatment is needed,,, what will be the costs for the medicines ? thanks My Fiancee just completed her DOT. Here are some of my observations/input in addition to Mapletree's... Its In and Out - Go in, take medication, have card signed. Takes no more than 5 - 10 minutes in the DOT office. Be Nice and Courteous - DOT time slots are based on progress of your treatment. Initially you will be grouped in the morning schedule. But if you are nice to them and get to know the staff, you can actually go anytime before the DOT closes. SLEC Closes at 5:00 PM. DOT Closes office closes at 4:30 PM. Take Vitamins eat healthy - TB Medication is indeed hard on a woman's body and she needs to stay healthy indeed. Hormonal Fluctuations - My Fiancee had flawless facial skin prior to DOT. During her treatment she developed BAD acne on her face. It also affected her menstrual cycle. She once missed her period for over 2 months and had to see a doctor who prescribed her Provera. This may or may not happen to her, but be aware of any changes to her body and get checked if you have a need to. Sputum Tests - If its a clear day, Sputum tests are almost always conducted on the roof top. If it rains, GO EARLY and count on staying longer as it is conducted in a smaller area inside and the que is longer. Missing A Day - As mentioned, if you miss a day it will be added on at the end. SLEC/DOT almost never closes. They did have reduced hours of operation in August due to the flood, but they were open briefly. If/When they close for a substantial reason like flooding is always a possibility. You can always call to find out if they are/will close. Hope this helps More or less, Yes like hocking a loogie.	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2012-09-19 09:43:00
Philippines	6 month TB treatment	great feedbacks... i had to laugh when i read the "hocking a loogie" part... Being they are from Cebu with closest relatives in laguna, if we have to go thru the 6 month DOT it will be difficult to coordinate. I'll fly back down there next week for about 20 days and it looks like i will have paperwork to change here so i can make one child a follow on, otherwise id have to get all 4 back thru medical again. we wish this part on no one... but understand the need regards Ed & Loida	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2012-09-19 08:44:00
Philippines	6 month TB treatment	We didnt think to do preventive work because they are all healthy. Tho he does have some asthma and had pneumonia before. its good advice for others for sure thank uuuu Ed & Loida Sorry to hear this, what I did before our medical (me and my 7y/o girl) I had my daughter undergo Nebulizer treatment a week before our medical cuz she got mild asthma and nasal allergies so I got worried that she might not pass her skin test, so I research online and give her different health treatment like strictly veggies and fruits and takes Vitamin C twice a day and drink plenty of liquids so far her TST test turned out 0-cm. as her result (negative)... so I suggest to those who haven't undergo their medical especially with kids to make sure that kid's are healthy enough to undergo their medical (no coughs, no colds, no flu) and not just to jump in for medical cuz your interview is coming. it's really worth if people are more keen regarding to health and medical stuff. so Let's just pray that it will turn out negative.	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2012-09-18 18:39:00
Philippines	6 month TB treatment	Update... Day 1 of sputum test was accomplished today at St L, up on the rooftop. ( Maybe they find that its easier for people to cough up stuff while standing atop a tall building in manila.....bad joke but really... why the rooftop). So, for now,, It's just my Fiancee and her son there this time, as the other children are in Laguna ( a 2 hour ride away). I understand the CDC requirements an also their idiology, tho i dont agree with St Lukes being the "only" accredited institution that can perform this. Maybe not a problem too much for metro Manila VJ members, but when your coming from another island (Cebu), its an overwhelming task, especially when the one who is at issue is a minor. I still have hope that after 2 months he can get clearance. Ed If the kids had the TB vaccine or have ever been exposed to TB it will cause a positive reaction. I think more often than not kids will test positive from the skin test, so it isn't a cause for concern yet. If the results of the xray show any possible signs of TB then they will do an 8 week sputum culture and from that will decide if the child needs to be put on 6 month treatment. I believe if the sputum is done your stepson will not be able to interview until that is complete. I hope someone else can confirm or deny that. I agree that keeping a 14 year from school for 6 months to take medication that could be administered locally is a problem and an indicator that a change in policy is needed. I hope this is a problem you won't have to confront. Edited by Loida and Ed, 17 September 2012 - 09:02 PM.	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2012-09-17 21:01:00
Philippines	6 month TB treatment	Hi.... What a messed up day for us here. Im sponsoring my fiancee and her 3 school aged children, all from Cebu. Our interview at the embassy is 3 Oct. Today the two youngest went in to get their tb tests read and the 14 year olds injection area was classified as positive. So off they went to get a xray and they have to come back tomorrow. If Im taking this right,,, ST L's asks for ODT ( Observed daily Treatment) for 6 months.. By then, all 4 medicals will expire, and im sure i will have to redo.. They cant go back to cebu because of St L's ODT policy ? any thoughts ? suggestions? ed	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2012-09-12 23:53:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	NOA1 Recieved	congrats to you both ! That was quick... ( made me even check my email again) LOL	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2012-02-11 21:32:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	24 hours from now...	After a hard day at work, its real nice and refreshing to see this post. The trials we all go through are worth it. We wish you well on your Journey... Nothing but Best Wishes for both your futures Congrats !	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2012-05-26 22:24:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	OMG!!!!!! I129F NOA2 Approved today!!!!!!!	heheheh... Congrats !!!!!! Long awaited and well deserved.. ! OMG!!!! OMG!!!! OMG!!!!! We been waiting for this day to come all year almost everyday checking and is finally here I almost can believe it!!!!! Thank you God!!!!!!!! To y'all still waiting hang in there the day will come!!! God bless all those couples that love eachother so much that can go true this hard test and make their lov even bigger!!	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2012-07-14 14:21:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Intent of marriage	sorry to say but "yes".. It's required paperwork .. Ok so I didn't add a letter of intending to marry in 90 day with my application so now my question is.... Would I get a RFE???	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2012-07-14 14:32:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	VISA in hand!!!!!	this is the "good news of the day" Congrats to you both	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2012-07-24 11:19:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Have our NVC MNL Case Number !!!	"""Thank You""" for the Congrats to everyone ( i know i missed a few out here ) I think the little barangay in Cebu is abuzz with some excitement today. I know of one family for sure. With paperwork for "4" (yesss four) to accomplish (we'll all 5 of us will fly the same time here, when it is time). That said this paperwork has been no easy task and making sure it is 100% accurate has been difficult. We still have some hurdles to manage. The trips to Luzon, accommodations, transportation, passports, the spelling irregularities, school transcripts, immunizations, medical, interviews, the CFO, NSO and I dont know who else are still in our path to finalize this whole process, and were taking it a step at a time ( sometimes three steps LOL). Though weve focused on "us" a lot these past few years, we couldn't have done it without our faith and commitment towards one another. Whereas I was planning early retirement and a simple yet happy life in the islands, I changed our course mid-stream and decided that in the "best interest" of the family that we'll do this process now so that we all can enjoy the benefits of future travels and opportunities many so often don't come to realize in their lives. All of us have our "significant other" on here and for that we are all blessed. If we encounter a roadblock, we will overcome. For us.. Its been faith, determination, focus and our church that has given us the ability to not only persevere but be comfortable in the fact that who we are and who we will be is exactly what we both want. Thanks again everyone Edited by Loida and Ed, 24 July 2012 - 12:25 PM.	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2012-07-24 12:22:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Have our NVC MNL Case Number !!!	i think it is 6 months for manila... im not 100% certain though... we will try and coordinate the scheduling of the medical and interview as close as posible though What is the window for the medical to be valid? Is that an expiration date? Did u recieve your packet yet?	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2012-07-24 11:39:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Have our NVC MNL Case Number !!!	hope things work out for you all i replied to the above and also sent you a PM Oh Really??? Where is my case number? It has been 35 days since my NOA2. Can you tell me why I don't have a case number yet? Edited by Loida and Ed, 24 July 2012 - 10:22 AM.	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2012-07-24 10:20:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Have our NVC MNL Case Number !!!	Hi.. I followed suggestions by others on VJ and called the NVC Customer service representatives are available to respond to more in-depth inquiries. Tel: (603) 334-0700 Hours: Monday through Friday from 7:00 AM to 12:00 AM (Eastern Time) The woman on the phone asked for my Case Number ( the number on the NOA2) and also asked me to verify beneficiary and petitioners name and dates of birth. We then verified my email address and phone number on file and added her email so communication goes to both of us. I called twice actually, the first time I asked for the wrong thing but the second time i specifically asked if I can get the Manila Case Number assigned and they said not a problem at all. Ed Oh Really??? Where is my case number? It has been 35 days since my NOA2. Can you tell me why I don't have a case number yet?	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2012-07-24 10:18:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Have our NVC MNL Case Number !!!	Congrats to you tooo !!! I see you have one as well: "7-16-2012-Received Manila case number" congrats....	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2012-07-23 20:43:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Have our NVC MNL Case Number !!!	if your ready for the medical, i read u can schedule it, just be sure to have your interview scheduled first within the "window" of time they allow for medical to still be valid Congrats! We are in the same position. We called NVC to get a case number. But apparently we have to wait for the official hard copy of a letter before we go to the medical? Is there any truth to that? thank uuuu Congrats thank uuuu were more excited for sure congrats!	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2012-07-23 17:41:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Have our NVC MNL Case Number !!!	Wow....must be nice for you....I got my NOA2 17 days before you and still do not have a case number. I called the NVC and got it otherwise i would not have heard from them ( hint hint) Feels great, doesn't it! Congrats!! it feels wonderful ConGraTuLaTions thank uuuuu	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2012-07-23 13:05:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Have our NVC MNL Case Number !!!	This is good... very good... I think I can start some processing and scheduling now for the embassy "their is a light at the end of the tunnel"	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2012-07-23 12:23:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	the I-129F 5 month process period.	Our NOA2 arrived about a week before the 5 month mark... Have patients... the CSC will send it to you... Im no genie in a bottle, but i think it will arrive in your mail very soon. Its not a good or a bad thing to take the 5 months, its the service centers normal turn around time. Best Wishes Ed & Loida Good day everyone!!! me and my fiance submitted our petition last March 5, 2012 and to get straight to the point, its almost August 5 and still no sign of what happened to our petition (we always check on the uscis site and its always on the "initial review" stage) 1. what should we do if August 5 (the 5 month process time) passes by and still no response from the service center? (califonia) 2. is it a good thing or bad thing if the process take up to 5 or more months? thank you so much, its so nerve-wracking	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2012-07-24 10:43:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Approved!!	Congrats !!!!!	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2012-07-27 20:53:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	...Approved NOA2.... Hooray	BIG Congrats to you both !!!!!	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2012-08-17 12:21:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	No Noa2 190+ days CSC	180 days out seems long for the CSC... you should have been given some notice right at 150 days ( 5 months). They have been on target... I would call them and check best of Luck !	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2012-08-24 16:56:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	YAY I GOT MY INTERVIEW SCHEDULED	This is a "Happy Topic" for sure... Ours is 03 Oct Yayyyy and congrats all of us ! congrats on ur interview date! Mine's on the 3rd of Oct. When are u going to schedule your medical exams? Edited by Loida and Ed, 04 September 2012 - 10:21 AM.	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2012-09-04 10:19:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	Received visa today	Congrats!!!!! Best wishes on everything... Its news like this that helps motivate us all... It's Good News of the day!!! Ed & Loida	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2012-09-07 11:32:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	k2/k2 issued......yahoooooo!!!!	Thats great news ... Congrats to all of you!!!!!	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2012-09-04 10:10:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	no packets but got nvc number and wants to schedule interview..	just as Tintin and Mike recommend	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2012-10-19 11:49:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	To God be the glory	Congrats !!!!!!!!!! great story.. & best wishes to you both !!!!!!! Today marks one of the most memorable day of my life. Fellow VJ members thank you for all your support and for patiently answering all my queries. I'm so thrilled to say that my visa is approved and not only that I made some new friends today and the funny part is two of them will also go in San diego and their fiance's are also in the military. How cool is that? Of course I will not forget the almighty God who is always there for me no matter what and my family who never stop supporting me. Last night I was so afraid because of some military docs that I don't have and thanks to my fiance's chief who helped us out.... and yeah that document save my ####... Before going to the embassy me and my family went to Baclaran Church we pray and lighted up some candles. The feeling is different and I lifted everything to God I know he will guide me. I went at the embassy around 6am and yes! Theres a long line already. Thanks to Kath a friend that is also a member here and we accidentally met at st. Lukes she grab me and let me cut the line. They let us go inside by 7:30 am and sadly they have technical problems that's why I got to finished at 2pm. The pre-screener is quite harsh I must admit I got intimidated by her. She asked for my nbi, BC, cenomar, the rest of my supporting documents. She also asked about my student visa before, it's a good thing that I brought my old passport and the docs for my f1 visa. She interrogated me and asked a lot of things especially about what I did when I went to US before not only that she asked me when and how did me and my fiance met, how many times did he visited me, where did he stay?, what's his job?, etc. We ended our chit chat by her looking at our pictures and saying that we are young couple and my fiance is handsome. *blushed We've waited for so long and time goes by our numbers are not yet to be called until they announced that we should take our lunch first then go back by 12:45pm and when they said go back by 12:45 pm be sure to be there on time coz they will resumed the interview immediately. I saw my number at the board and I proceed to the window that was assigned to me. I said Good afternoon to the consul and he greeted me back he was so cool and easy to talk to, it's like I am just chatting to a friend. He asked me if I've ever been into US, and I said yes and I said to him my student visa journey, the school that I went to, my sponsor. He did asked about our pictures, emails, remittances. He just look at our pictures and when he saw the caption about tagaytay he said that he will go there tomorrow and I told him that he should try bulalo. He even asked me about how did my fiance courted me and what did made me say yes to him. (Awkward) hehehe next, he saw our engagement party pictures and again he did asked me about what happened there. He stamped cancelled to my old visa...smiled at me then he said the magic words. "CONGRATULATIONS" ohhh...hello goose bumps, my inner Goddess is screaming for joy. Hehehehe All in all it was a very tiring, nerve racking but superb feeling until now I can't believed that I am one step closer to be reunited with my hunny bunny.	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2012-10-19 11:19:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	its worth the wait	God Bless and Congrats to you both !!!!!!!	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2012-10-21 00:08:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports	NOA 2 FINALLY!!!!	Congrats !!!!!!   In a simple sentence:  Once the NOA2 is approved it goes off to the NVC who in turn sends it to the USEM Manila where u will get a MNL Case number assigned.   Right now is the "busy" time for you AND your fiancee because you have to make sure you have all the documents from each of you.. Best bet is to follow the K1 instructions from the embassy web site.. The first link are instructions from the embassy's site. They dont send them via mail.     http://photos.state....f2_rtf2_001.pdf       These may help a lot also:   http://www.visajourn...-k1-visa-guide/   http://www.visajourn...ines&cty=Manila       Best Wishes   Ed & Loida	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2013-05-20 10:33:00
Middle East and North Africa	HELP!!!!	my guy interviewed with lady from H*LL She was terrible!! He answered all her questions, but she kept asking him about what schools I attended when I was a child. We had never been asked about that before, and I filled the forms out myself and e-mailed them to him so he would have all my info. I know the papers asked about high school and college, which I filled out and he also told her about, but she would not listen. Then she would not believe that I have no children, because early in our relationship I had temporary custody of my best friends 2 kids. I only had them for about six months, but they are a huge part of my life and I often feel as if they are mine too. When he tried to explain about the temp. custody, she told him she did not care and did not believe him. What is that? She is crazy. She kept him there for nearly 2 hours! everybody else around him were being granted their visas and he was still dealing with the physco!! So now I am at a loss, I have never done any of this before and I have no idea what the next step is. The embassy tells me I have to wait until they send everything back here. My guy tells me he has been talking to others there that have dealt with her too and some have given up, others managed to eventually get their visas. He says that what we need to do is send an e-mail and cancel this app. and then apply for a new one with all this new info and the letter he was provided and that it would be approved within 4 months. Has anyone else experienced this? What is the right road to travel here? I am very confused and a bit distraught over the whole thing. Any and all advice, comments would be helpful and welcome. Thanks, Becke	becke1	Not Telling	Morocco	2007-07-16 18:10:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	oath taking today	Very Nice... I was privilidged to be invited to one for my friends wife. It was a nice event. Yours brought back the memories Congrats Again thank you, everyone.. here's a short recap on how the ceremony unfolded yesterday.. at 8am, the doors were open to the civic center.. once in, there were 8 stations where you go to turn in your gc.. i was then directed to my seat, and then the last of the long years of waiting begins.. ceremony began at 10am promptly.. we took our oath of allegiance at around 1030am right after all of the 90 countries who's citizens where there for the oath taking were called.. a short video from president obama and then a personal remark from the judge and we were done.. all 900 of us.. it was a good ceremony, one that i would always remember..	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2012-08-30 09:37:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	oath taking today	Congrats to you !	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2012-08-29 13:26:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	passed the interview	Excellent news... Congrats !!!!!!!!	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2012-09-08 17:29:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	Citizen Chinook !!!	Many Congrats to you... !!!!	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2012-09-11 21:03:00
US Citizenship General Discussion	Portland Oregon Field Office	Fiancee flies into Portland for the first time in about 9 hours. (finally).... For sure we will be using the Portland Office. maybe we can share info / knowledge on whats to come Would also like to know.	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2012-11-03 01:28:00
Philippines	reputation	this doesn't sound right at all.	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2012-02-11 16:17:00
Philippines	NOA1 received	Congrats... it is a long wait, but it will go by quickly ... it will give you time to get all the other paperwork in order too Finally, my petitioner received the NOA1 dated May 4, 2012 yesterday, May 10, 2012. Now the start of the "long wait". I pray no RFE. Thank you VJ'ers for being with us.	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2012-05-10 23:01:00
Philippines	Fed Ex for shipping Gift box	Hi Jesse... I dont know if you know about Balik Bayan Boxes... They are a very affordable way to ship items to the philippines... It usually takes 6 weeks, ( or 8 weeks if in places like Cebu. It is door to door service. Its quite affordable ($55-65) per box ( the box is LARGE ) and they do not charge by weight, so the more you stuff in there, the better. You can find this service through a company called LBC. Balik bayan sort of means "return people" in that it allows those working overseas the opportunity to bring their personal proiperty home to the Philippines. Anyone can use it. I would highly recommend this. Regards Ed Hello, I am contemplating using Fed Ex for shipping a gift box to my Fiancé in the Philippines. I know that many people use Fed Ex for shipping Documents and petition paperwork and it seems that most have good experiences regarding that. I am looking for experiences from others that have attempted to ship gift items. I will be shipping 2 pair of women's jeans, and two women's t-shirts, pair of children's shorts/pants, two children's shirts, 2 pair of children's shoes. 2 leapster games (not the leapster device, just the games) digital picture key chain, 3 bottles of children's vitamins. I am considering sending a purse, sunglasses and umbrella that I bought for my sweetheart, designer in nature. The total value that I paid for all the items is about $500. The shipping estimate is around $250. I am just wondering if the items will arrive safely. They are special items that I put a lot of effort into finding for them and I would be really upset if they did not arrive or if items were stolen. So from your experinces did your gift packages arrive to the Philippines unopened, with all items in tact? Any items missing? Any issues regarding paying extra for duty tax? My original plan was to take them with me when I travel back to the Philippines but that may not be until September or November. So it would be nice if they could get these items earlier. Thank you in advance for any advice, Jesse	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2012-05-11 11:21:00
Philippines	CFO announcement and new Schedules	good to know !!!!! my fiancee and her children are in cebu ... thank youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2012-07-07 12:25:00
Philippines	packet 3 and 4 question. K1 phil.	aeheheh thanks! yeah i passed my interview just this morning and im planning to fly to hawaii next 2 weeks impressive timeline and excellent info tool. congrats	Loida and Ed	Male	Philippines	2012-07-12 12:17:00