Possible problem w/ Phil Immigrations during flight..Help!

[David & Kezia 25]

In any case, hassle nga talaga ang DOST scholarship. Tama ka, kung may ibang options, why not? I didn't think it was going to be that much of a hassle for me dahil whether I took the DOST scholarship in college or not, technically ay may kontrata pa ako with DOST nung HS (pisay). Buti na lang at hindi nag trigger yun sa system.. although if needed, I could have scrounged up proof of employment locally in a science-ish field. Yung kapatid kong kaka-graduate lang, tinapos with DOST and oblation.. so doble ang utang nya, so to speak. Gusto sanang mag master's sa Utah, pero dahil andaming churva ng DOST, parang nag-aalangan na tuloy. You really have to weigh the cost of the scholarship!! For some people, it's worth it dahil wala naman silang plano whatsoever na umalis ng Pinas (that was also my case.. malay ko ba na US cit ang mapapangasawa ko, diba?)

I agree, todong todo. Wala sa hinagap ko na amerikano ang mapapangasawa ko or mag-aasawa talaga ako. Kaya marami ang nagulat sa mga friends and family ko na (1)nagkaboyfriend ako, (2)mag-aasawa ako, at mas lalong maraming nagulat na (3)amerikano pala. (Check http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=472808241671 for our story) Everyone knows my personality and my nationalism, pati na rin ang pagiging pihikan ko sa boys despite the fact na karamihan sa mga kabarkada ko ay mga lalaki -- I'm a tomboy. Last year nga, in-offer ako ng isa sa mga clients ko ng fully-sponsored work visa with all expenses including tickets, expenses on paperworks, pati apartment ko dun sa US at may shares pa sa isang company na nasa news dahil out and coming talaga sya sa technology industry at may award pa sa government. Tinanggihan ko yun, tapos it's embarassing dahil dun at dun din pala sa US ang landing ko after a year. Palad nga siguro talaga.

DOST Special Math & Science class din ako nung HS, pero di ko maalalang may kontrata kami nun, kasi sa local highschool lang namin yun at hindi sa Pisay. Di kasi ako pinayagan ng Daddy at Lolo ko na pumunta dun sa Pisay campus na pinasahan ko dahil sobrang layo sa amin at sobrang bata ko daw (10yo) para mahiwalay sa kanila. Kung may contract man yun, di ko na alam at di ko na maalala.

I'm not so sure about the scholarship stuff being "bago" around our time. Matagal nang may scholarship ang DOST, kahit nung NSDB pa sya. My mom was on that scholarship, too, pero dahil jurassic na ang account na yun ay walang record sa NBI. Pero siguro, during our time sila nag-o-overhaul ng system with computerization of records and actually communicating with the other agencies. Dun tayo nasabit. I know some of my teachers in HS (former pisay or DOST scholars din na slightly older than us lang) had problems with their NBI clearances, kaya hindi sa batch natin nag-umpisa ang problems.

As for the DOST Scholarship being new, I'm not talking about the whole thing dahil alam kong maraming scholarship ang DOST. I was just referring to our "Program". Bagong bago lang yun "Program A" (now called RA something) at "Program B" (now called Merit scholarship) nung mga batches natin, kaya malakas pa ang dating nun sa mga parents at sa mga newspaper.

Sa DFA, I had no problems whatsoever. Sa airport, syempre tense ako dahil baka nga may stop order pa ang DOST.. Kahit may visa and ticket and everything na, makalimutan lang nilang i-clear ka sa isang aspeto, problema na! But it all went through with no problems. Ang pinaka-hurdle talaga ay yung DOST-NBI clearance combo, at yung interview sa embassy.

I must say, though.. ang hirap ng kaso mo. Ang dami naman nilang hinihingi na super specific! In my case, dahil wala naman akong termination letter, i THINK ang meron ako ay class cards (na bungi bungi), posibleng tcg (na hindi sa last sem ko with DOST) at form-5 for the semesters when I started paying for tuition (buti na lang pack rat ako, and I had some of those with me!). I remember nung nagpunta ako ng Bicutan, naglabas sila ng giant hardbound notebook, tas dun hinanap yung pangalan ko (feeling San Pedro at the pearly gates! Haha). I think hindi nabigay sa kanila ng Core group ang last set of grades ko kaya technically hindi "terminated" ang status ko sa Bicutan. Parang awol, or waiting for updates or something. So nung pinakita ko yung grades and papers ko, may sinulat lang sa giant notebook, and then balikan ko daw after <x amount of time>. From pick-up ko nung clearance, deretso na ako sa NBI and got my clearance the same day. I'm not worried about whether it's temporary or not. The way I see it, cleared na ako, and if I go back with a US passport, wala nang look-ups sa DOST dbase nyan

Thanks for the info! This is solid confirmation na katulad ng Batch 1996 ay di nga tayo listado sa Immigration at sa DFA, kaya di ko na kailangan pang i-worry 'yun. I already renewed my passport 2x without issues, at kalalabas ko lang ng bansa last November without having any hassles at the airport. Yung NBI na lang ang aalahanin ko.

Good luck sa clearance! I know it's stressful and can be quite frustrating. Sana nga ay hindi mo kailanganing magbayad, since hindi ka naman tumuntong ng 3rd year with the scholarship. Pasensya na at wala akong mai-recommend na mapagkakatiwalaang bangko. Hindi rin ako nagkaron ng checking account o credit card dyan. I did have that landbank atm account for DOST dahil required for stipend remittance Baka bigyan ka ng consideration ng landbank if you want to open an account with them, considering it's for DOST, and they have ties?

PS

Naaliw ako at binilhan ka agad ng plane ticket! Excited Matinding pagpilit ko na ako ang bibili ng ticket ko noon dahil ayaw ko rin nung additional stress na may hahabulin pa akong flight deadline. Pero kilig moment. Mas kilig pag nakakuha ka na ng clearance at makakatulog na kayo sa gabi! Hope all goes well!!!

Thanks for the well wishes. Sana nga, di na ako pagbayarin. Kino-compute ko ang interest, 3-4X na yun kung compounding interest ang gagamitin.

As for my the ticket, kilig moment nga, pero stressful pa rin, lalo na dahil he's so positive and encouraging (read: pressuring) that I will be there before New Year. Hindi rin nagbibigay ng leaves ang company nila between Thanksgiving and New Year, pero super ginawan nya ng paraan na libre sya between Dec30-Jan1. Sabi ko nga, either busy sya with work pagdating ko and a few days after (so I can relax and catch up with sleep then clean up the apartment) or idiretso na nya hanggang Jan2 ang leave nya, para di kami stressed sa Jan1 na di pwedeng magpagod at magpuyat dahil may pasok sa sa madaling-araw the next day. I want to experience New Year in Vegas dahil nandun na lang din kami, so I want to go around people watching for two days, without getting drunk ourselves.

Edited November 13, 2010 by David & Kezia

[David & Kezia 25]

I am so glad I found this thread. Ito kasi ang worry ko ngayon. I enjoyed the scholarship for 4 years. Batch 2001 ako, BS Stat. I was able to work for a total of 2 years and 8 months. Bale babayaran ko pa ang remaining plus interest daw na 12%. My dad is willing to lend me money to pay for it, buti na lang nabasa ko dito na pwede pala postdated checks. Mabigat kasi sa bulsa pag minsanan. Punta ako sa DOST next week at magtatanong. Pero kelangan ko pa ng employment letter from one of my previous employees. Di ko na kasi mahanap. Kaka-stress!

Amelie, hindi ko sure kung tinatanggap pa rin hanggang ngayon ang post-dated checks. I just got that advise from an old scholar. Nakalimutan kong itanong 'yan, at parang di ko rin gustong itanong kasi ayokong maisip nila na kaya ko talagang magbayad o magbabayad talaga ako.

I'm getting the checkbook just as an insurance.

Ang official na pambayad dun ay cash, or cash-bond sa GSIS or sa DOST mismo. Punta ka na lang sa website nila for the FAQ, or search ka online for answers.

At least, dahil may service ka na, di na gaanong malaki ang babayaran mo. Frankly, pumasok sa isip ko na mangdaya at magbigay ng Certificate of Employment na galing sa probinsya namin, dahil may mga willing naman magbigay sa akin noon, pero wala sa personality ko ang ganun, at never pa rin akong nangdaya or naging dishonest in my life (not counting the small rebellions against some teachers in highschool where I gave answers to exams to my classmates) at hindi kayang dalhin ng konsensya ko ang magmanufacture ng ganun. Besides, it could also get you into more trouble that you don't want, with two governments. Kaya para doon sa mga nag-iisip at nagsa-suggest, beware and better play everything safe and honest.

-Kezia

[gil-n-joy 1]

Thanks for the response Joy!

I'll see if I can find a way to do that too. Manghahagilap ako kung kanino ako makakakahiram ng ganung tseke.

If only I could show up at the interview without that NBI clearance and they'd allow me to go without that NBI clearance, wala siguro akong problema. I never had any problems with DFA and the Immigrations, and I found posts that several from our batchmates (1997) and others also from 1996 haven't had any problems with either, only with NBI, kaya malamang na hindi talaga kami listado dun sa dalawa.

Anong batch ka ba? Ilang sems ba yung sa'yo? I'm just wondering kung magkano kaya ang aabutin ng sa akin, kasi sabi sa Bicutan ay 5 semesters daw ako, although I don't remember being that long in the DOST Physics program. Sinabi pa nga sa akin nung matigil yung scholarship ko na hindi ko daw kailangan magbayad dahil di naman ako umabot ng 3rd year. No one told me then that I should have a clearance or a termination certificate. Wala ring naningil sa akin, kundi baka nabayaran ko yan nung 2004 or 2005 when I still had money. I'm hoping if you could tell me your batch and the number of semesters, maka-estimate ako sa aking babayaran din.

I'm going to UP Diliman today, after my medical (which I hopefully be cleared and have no issues), to get the real story and computation. Di nga lang ako nakatulog kagabi, pati si David, at kawawa naman yung isa dahil nagreport sa trabaho ng walang tulog. I'm still hoping and wishing that my real records would show that I didn't get the money for more than 4 semesters, so I can just get a termination certificate (which is all that the NBI officer said I'd need). And maybe I'll be able to get my NBI clearance, and worry about paying everything later. I have more than a month to worry if I am really listed at the immigration, as long as I get the NBI soon and have it for my Nov 22 interview.

I'm still praying...

:-(

Kezia

I got the DOST-PCIERD scholarship in 2002. I think they covered 4 sem and 2 summer. Never heard of that rule na if 4 sems lang you wont need to reimburse. Well at least in my contract it was clear that if u dont finish you pay. I think in my case maaga pa at di pa umabot sa NBI listing yung kaso ko so NBI was not a problem. I suggest communicate with DOST. Get a clearance from them then clear ur NBI din. Sorry I cant help in that area as I didnt experience that. Good luck. There should be enough time. Believe me, I did all of that in one week before my interview at the embassy. I can relate to the stress. I'm from UP Dil also. Civil engg grad & was finishing MS Water Resources but couldnt complete the thesis thats why I dropped out.

[David & Kezia 25]

I got the DOST-PCIERD scholarship in 2002. I think they covered 4 sem and 2 summer. Never heard of that rule na if 4 sems lang you wont need to reimburse. Well at least in my contract it was clear that if u dont finish you pay. I think in my case maaga pa at di pa umabot sa NBI listing yung kaso ko so NBI was not a problem. I suggest communicate with DOST. Get a clearance from them then clear ur NBI din. Sorry I cant help in that area as I didnt experience that. Good luck. There should be enough time. Believe me, I did all of that in one week before my interview at the embassy. I can relate to the stress. I'm from UP Dil also. Civil engg grad & was finishing MS Water Resources but couldnt complete the thesis thats why I dropped out.

Amazing! Marami palang UP Diliman people dito at DOST pa.

As for the DOST, check my previous posts. Sa Lunes ko pa malalaman ang resulta, and I only have until Thursday for everything else at holiday pa man din sa Tuesday.

Na-accept na pala kita sa FB.

-Kezia

[iya 0]

I agree, todong todo. Wala sa hinagap ko na amerikano ang mapapangasawa ko or mag-aasawa talaga ako. Kaya marami ang nagulat sa mga friends and family ko na (1)nagkaboyfriend ako, (2)mag-aasawa ako, at mas lalong maraming nagulat na (3)amerikano pala. (Check http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=472808241671 for our story) Everyone knows my personality and my nationalism, pati na rin ang pagiging pihikan ko sa boys despite the fact na karamihan sa mga kabarkada ko ay mga lalaki -- I'm a tomboy. Last year nga, in-offer ako ng isa sa mga clients ko ng fully-sponsored work visa with all expenses including tickets, expenses on paperworks, pati apartment ko dun sa US at may shares pa sa isang company na nasa news dahil out and coming talaga sya sa technology industry at may award pa sa government. Tinanggihan ko yun, tapos it's embarassing dahil dun at dun din pala sa US ang landing ko after a year. Palad nga siguro talaga.

Haha, agree din ako!! Tomboy din ako, at karamihan ng barkada ko ay lalaki. Sa UP lang ako nagkaroon ng girl friends dahil lahat ng barkada ko nasa eng'g, ako nasa mbb. Kabilang lupalop. Sayang, ano? Kung alam mo lang na pagdaraanan mo ito, you could've just taken that client up on the offer! Pero naisip ko rin yan noon.. ibang proseso naman din pag nandito ka na with regards to residency and naturalization.

As for the DOST Scholarship being new, I'm not talking about the whole thing dahil alam kong maraming scholarship ang DOST. I was just referring to our "Program". Bagong bago lang yun "Program A" (now called RA something) at "Program B" (now called Merit scholarship) nung mga batches natin, kaya malakas pa ang dating nun sa mga parents at sa mga newspaper.

And in that case, oo nga. Bagu-bago nga ang program. To be honest, hindi ko na inalam ang differences ng iba't ibang scholarship programs. I guess we took it for granted na ang DOST scholarship ay DOST scholarship. Ayan tuloy, napasubo. Haha. I remember my mom being confident na "walang problema yan kung gusto mong mag-bakasyon abroad. Tignan mo ako!" Pero confident rin sya na hindi ako mag-a-abroad dahil nga sa nationalism. She didn't know I was getting a visa until after I actually got the visa!

Thanks for the well wishes. Sana nga, di na ako pagbayarin. Kino-compute ko ang interest, 3-4X na yun kung compounding interest ang gagamitin.

Ouch talaga yang interest na yan, kaya sabi ko noon, hinding hindi ako magbabayad! Nung natanggal yung scholarship by the end of the second year, I was so relieved. Syempre hindi masaya ang family, not because can't afford, but because tanggal ang "prestige" ng pagkakaroon ng scholarship Sabay eto si kapatid.. iniisip pano magagawan ng paraan yung bond. Anlaki ng hinihingi nila!!

Amelie, hindi ko sure kung tinatanggap pa rin hanggang ngayon ang post-dated checks. I just got that advise from an old scholar. Nakalimutan kong itanong 'yan, at parang di ko rin gustong itanong kasi ayokong maisip nila na kaya ko talagang magbayad o magbabayad talaga ako.

Ako rin, I only read about post-dated checks dito. I mean, it might be an option that they give to people who just can't fork out one lump sum for the bond. Kung kailangan talaga, sana nga open ito. But best ask to make sure! Baka andaming pahirap ng pagdaanan to get a checking account, only to find out may specific requirements pala para maging viable option ang PDCs.

At least, dahil may service ka na, di na gaanong malaki ang babayaran mo. Frankly, pumasok sa isip ko na mangdaya at magbigay ng Certificate of Employment na galing sa probinsya namin, dahil may mga willing naman magbigay sa akin noon, pero wala sa personality ko ang ganun, at never pa rin akong nangdaya or naging dishonest in my life (not counting the small rebellions against some teachers in highschool where I gave answers to exams to my classmates) at hindi kayang dalhin ng konsensya ko ang magmanufacture ng ganun. Besides, it could also get you into more trouble that you don't want, with two governments. Kaya para doon sa mga nag-iisip at nagsa-suggest, beware and better play everything safe and honest.

SUPER agree! Even if you get away with it now, it could come back and haunt you later.. The getting a cert of employment from friends seems to be the easiest (dishonest) alternative for people, just because it seems acceptable in our culture.

I got the DOST-PCIERD scholarship in 2002. I think they covered 4 sem and 2 summer. Never heard of that rule na if 4 sems lang you wont need to reimburse. Well at least in my contract it was clear that if u dont finish you pay. I think in my case maaga pa at di pa umabot sa NBI listing yung kaso ko so NBI was not a problem. I suggest communicate with DOST. Get a clearance from them then clear ur NBI din. Sorry I cant help in that area as I didnt experience that. Good luck. There should be enough time. Believe me, I did all of that in one week before my interview at the embassy. I can relate to the stress. I'm from UP Dil also. Civil engg grad & was finishing MS Water Resources but couldnt complete the thesis thats why I dropped out.

Hindi ko rin alam ang terms ng PCIERD.. I thought the two-year clause was generally in all the DOST contracts, but that was just an assumption based on conversations with other kids (at the time). But since you had it all the way til the end, it's a moot thing, no? I just have to say na ang swerte swerte mo na hindi mo na pinagdaanan ang DOST-NBI hassle! Ang traffic, ang oras, ang stress...

I believe I finished mine within a week. just not the week before my interview! Hindi ko kakayanin ang stress nun.

[David & Kezia 25]

Hay naku! Nakahinga ako ng maluwag. Na-prove na rin nila na 4 semesters lang ako and they didn't count the years separately kaya 2 years lang talaga ako at hindi 3 years. I'm cleared.

Napa-byahe nga lang ako ng biglaan kaninang hapon papuntang Bicutan, and I spent 400+ on the taxi plus tollgate, dahil hinabol ko yung oras dahil holiday bukas. Ayaw kasi pirmahan nung boss nila yung clearance ko na yung CRS printout lang ang attachment, kahit pa sinabi ni Miss Alona na ibibigay ko naman yung TOR ko pagbalik ko dun pagkuha nung clearance ko, kaya ayun, fly kaagad ako. Pinatulan ko na yung gastos sa taxi at sa tollgate, dahil sobrang liit na nyan compared sa babayaran ko kung nagkataon na ginawa nilang 3 years yun.

Ang problema nga lang ay siyempre wala doon ang mga signatories, kaya babalikan ko pa rin ang final clearance ko. Pero nadala ko na kanina ang letter para sa NBI Director at ang letter para sa Immigration, kaya pwede ko nang puntahan sa Wednesday at pasok na ako sa deadlines/schedules ko. Iniisip ko nga lang kung pupuntahan ko pa ang Immigration dahil wala naman siguro ako dun sa listahan nila dahil nakapag-Hongkong na ako nung November 2009, at marami na nga ang mga Batch 1997 na di nga nagka-problema sa Immigration at sa DFA, except for the NBI. Malaki din kasi ang babayaran sa Immigration, nasa 1K+ or 2K+ pa yata 'yun, at 3 days daw ang processing kaya babalikan ko pa.

Any other BATCH 1997 DOST SCHOLARS out there? Pa-share naman ng experience nyo, lalo na sa Immigration at DFA, para mas kampante ako.

Maraming salamat sa lahat for your support, encouragement, and sharing of experiences/wisdom.

I think I can sleep tonight. :-)

-Kezia

[Amelie 2]

Hay naku! Nakahinga ako ng maluwag. Na-prove na rin nila na 4 semesters lang ako and they didn't count the years separately kaya 2 years lang talaga ako at hindi 3 years. I'm cleared.

Awww! Kezia Congrats! I am happy for you!

[gil-n-joy 1]

Hay naku! Nakahinga ako ng maluwag. Na-prove na rin nila na 4 semesters lang ako and they didn't count the years separately kaya 2 years lang talaga ako at hindi 3 years. I'm cleared.

.....

I think I can sleep tonight. :-)

-Kezia

Wow. That's good to hear Kezia. Ang layo ng DOST Bicutan no? Nahirapan din ako pagpunta dun. Pero buti makakahinga ka na ng maluwag..

~Joy

[David & Kezia 25]

Wow. That's good to hear Kezia. Ang layo ng DOST Bicutan no? Nahirapan din ako pagpunta dun. Pero buti makakahinga ka na ng maluwag..

~Joy

Sinabi mo pa... naka-apat na balik na ako doon, at babalik pa uli sa Thursday siguro. The worst experience for me was Friday, na inabot ng around 300 ang taxi bill ko mula sa LRT EDSA na normally ay nasa 70 lang. Super sikip kasi lahat ng kalsada dahil sa mga nag-uuwian at mga trucks, kahit doon mismo sa loob ng tollway, at may nagbanggaan pa at ayaw magbigayan ng mga sasakyan kaya more than 1 hour kaming nakatigil lang sa gitna ng kalsada at super init pa man din ng araw na coming from the west at that time. I spent more than 3 hours on that supposed to be short trip, at muntik akong di umabot sa DOST bago mag-alas-singko (and it would have been a wasted trip).

Pero ngayon, I'm happy and relieved. :-)

-Kezia

[iya 0]

Woo! Congrats, Kezia

Keep us posted! Hopefully it'll be smooth sailing from her on.