CFO... ARE YOU KIDDING ME???

[EWRI6884 0]

My Fiancee just had her CFO experience... Wow, what we thought was JUST going to be a "Good to Know" and "Informative" event turned into partial interrogation on these women.

My Fiancee said that overall they were nice to her but were strict, pushy and sometimes rude to most others. I am NOT sure what this whole CFO thing is really supposed to be but when they start quizing them on my pants size and requesting pictures of us be left with them, it seems to me that its BS... As far as I know (And I may be wrong) CFO is not the convening authority on VISA's and who should and shouldnt depart the country. I COMPLETELY understand what I believed to be the idea behind this program, and that was to... inform the Pinoys traveling abroad and make them completely aware of all their options (A GOOD THING). But when they told my Fiancee that they want to have our picture and she had to go back home to get one for them to keep, I was thinking.. WOW.. do they have that much power? Sounds communist to me...

Sorry for my rant but... We just didnt realize it was going to be like this, kinda thought it was JUST an INFORMATIVE seminar.

[FCH 1]

My Fiancee just had her CFO experience... Wow, what we thought was JUST going to be a "Good to Know" and "Informative" event turned into partial interrogation on these women.

My Fiancee said that overall they were nice to her but were strict, pushy and sometimes rude to most others. I am NOT sure what this whole CFO thing is really supposed to be but when they start quizing them on my pants size and requesting pictures of us be left with them, it seems to me that its BS... As far as I know (And I may be wrong) CFO is not the convening authority on VISA's and who should and shouldnt depart the country. I COMPLETELY understand what I believed to be the idea behind this program, and that was to... inform the Pinoys traveling abroad and make them completely aware of all their options (A GOOD THING). But when they told my Fiancee that they want to have our picture and she had to go back home to get one for them to keep, I was thinking.. WOW.. do they have that much power? Sounds communist to me...

Sorry for my rant but... We just didnt realize it was going to be like this, kinda thought it was JUST an INFORMATIVE seminar.

thats weird. and pissing me off to know they did that.

i think they have abused CFO authority - not that they really have ultimate authority on things.

[smiley888 0]

My Fiancee just had her CFO experience... Wow, what we thought was JUST going to be a "Good to Know" and "Informative" event turned into partial interrogation on these women.

My Fiancee said that overall they were nice to her but were strict, pushy and sometimes rude to most others. I am NOT sure what this whole CFO thing is really supposed to be but when they start quizing them on my pants size and requesting pictures of us be left with them, it seems to me that its BS... As far as I know (And I may be wrong) CFO is not the convening authority on VISA's and who should and shouldnt depart the country. I COMPLETELY understand what I believed to be the idea behind this program, and that was to... inform the Pinoys traveling abroad and make them completely aware of all their options (A GOOD THING). But when they told my Fiancee that they want to have our picture and she had to go back home to get one for them to keep, I was thinking.. WOW.. do they have that much power? Sounds communist to me...

Sorry for my rant but... We just didnt realize it was going to be like this, kinda thought it was JUST an INFORMATIVE seminar.

thats weird. and pissing me off to know they did that.

i think they have abused CFO authority - not that they really have ultimate authority on things.

-- they really keep atleast a picture of the couple together for thei file. but should not be the problem of not giving certificate or stamp coz for me pic is not that important... and i think they did not include the pic as one of the requirement? am not sure coz my friend just told me to bring atleast 1 pic coz they will ask for it so i did, but it sucks if i did not know that i should coz its a 1 1/2hrs from my house to their office.

[Jasman0717 9]

Claudeth had a rough time when she went too but fortunately for her, her mother was with her. She spend about 12 hours at the Cebu office and it was totally exhausting but had to be done, her departure was the following day at noon.

[frostysoftyeaton 6]

Been to CFO too and yes they will ask for a picture but during that time I have no idea about that and good thing we have pictures together on my phone and that is what I've showed them. Yep they are kinda strict when it comes to requirement and what i really don't like about it was when they asked me several questions that to me it's a very insulting question.

[bevs 0]

well most us here really need to have CFO. its always to be nice to be complete and ready, at the end, being wih our loveone is priceless.

[RyaNRiza 1]

The picture is for record purposes. I believe they need to have at least one picture on their file of each applicant to use as reference when/if something happens (good or bad) in the future. I had my CFO in Cebu and it was a great and informative experience. The people who conducted the seminar were very nice.

[Michael and Milahjean 0]

My asawa and many others agree that the CFO seminars are far more rigorous than the USEM interview. Although the intent is to inform departing Filipinos of the assistance available to them overseas, it seems to us that they did their absolute best to discourage her departure. The grilling is intense. They ask the same questions several different ways to trip you up.

I sat outside the office in Manila for 4 hours waiting for my asawa to complete her Guidance and Counseling seminar in April 2007. They don't want the foreigner anywhere near the office. I visited with the nearby bank guards and the old lady at her stand out front, and also popped in the small cafe around the corner. I was filthy black after being outside all morning. After that we hopped over to do the Pre-departure seminar at the main office. That was mostly just waiting for the stamp, no big interrogation. The entire process was a full day.

Be very prepared for the CFO seminars. Bring with you everything you had at the USEM. You'll need it.

Good luck to all. We're about to file our I-751 next month, so we can cruise after that for a while with the 10-yr card.

M&M

[jom 4]

Bottomline is, be prepared. I believe if the US government requires a couple to undergo a long and tedious process just to get a fiancee visa, the Philippine government, in the exercise of its sovereignty, also has the right to require the Filipino citizen to undergo whatever process is needed so she will be well informed before embarking a new life in a foreign country.

There is no quick and easy way out

Goodluck!

[ryandgracey 2]

I went to have the seminar before I could renew my passport. Went to CFO from the travel agency with just my documents and my old passport. So my attending the seminar was impromptu. I was not asked to present a single document nor a single photo (I had a couple in my billfold, of course). Was a breeze for me. Attended the afternoon seminar and was left CFO with my certificate before 5pm. I dunno but I had the seminar in August. Perhaps a different set of staff then? Went back to CFO today a little past 1pm to have our passports affixed with the sticker. Was out of there before 3pm.

[tallcoolone 102]

We went to CFO at St. Marys it took 2 total hours, No problems, no requests for pics, etc.

I had heard CFO at PRISM was like a interrogation, so we passed on that place......

[bratikicks 0]

i don't know the reason behind about them asking pictures,but they didn't bother to asked me one....

[gladys 0]

We went to CFO at St. Marys it took 2 total hours, No problems, no requests for pics, etc.

I had heard CFO at PRISM was like a interrogation, so we passed on that place......

Hi I think I saw you in US embassy Manila when I was processing my papers too!! I envy you then coz you're with your honey ( I went there alone).

When I attended the CFO seminar at St. Marys' and had my passport stamped, everything went A-Okay.. I was just wondering who conducted the counseling and and asked the rude questions for those who had bad experiences.

The staff assigned in St Mary's are nice, the lady who showed the videos and also the other lady who conducted the one-on-one interview.

For the FOREIGNER husbands, don't worry about the interview. The people there just want to make sure that Filipina's wants to be with you for the right reasons which is LOVE and not for any other crappy reasons. They present the worst and the best scenarios for Filipinas who married a non- Filipino and made sure that these Filipina's are ready to face a new adventure in their life- being married in a foreign land, that is.

[ronjie 0]

The picture is for record purposes. I believe they need to have at least one picture on their file of each applicant to use as reference when/if something happens (good or bad) in the future. I had my CFO in Cebu and it was a great and informative experience. The people who conducted the seminar were very nice.

yea its great, coz they are not trashing you. they are trashing the foriegn husbands. maybe we should run a picture of the filipina against a data base of "bad girl filipinas". its just a shitty way to start off. its supposed to be about trust and love keeping the picture is like having a mug shot that they can use for future reference. so what do we have to protect us from scammers and all thats bad with the "wrong filipina"

Edited December 12, 2008 by ronjie

[RyaNRiza 1]

yea its great, coz they are not trashing you. they are trashing the foriegn husbands. maybe we should run a picture of the filipina against a data base of "bad girl filipinas". its just a shitty way to start off. its supposed to be about trust and love keeping the picture is like having a mug shot that they can use for future reference. so what do we have to protect us from scammers and all thats bad with the "wrong filipina"

The best way to protect yourselves from scammers is to use your head aside from your heart (common sense ika nga). I don't understand why a piece of picture is such a big deal for some people, huh?

For the FOREIGNER husbands, don't worry about the interview. The people there just want to make sure that Filipina's wants to be with you for the right reasons which is LOVE and not for any other crappy reasons. They present the worst and the best scenarios for Filipinas who married a non- Filipino and made sure that these Filipina's are ready to face a new adventure in their life- being married in a foreign land, that is.

You have a good point there gladys