APPLYING B-2 VISA FROM THE PHILIPPINES

[Karen84 0]

Hi everyone here in visajourney!!

I am now starting my application for tourist visa here in the philippines and just paid the MRV payment.

I've been reading a lot of posts here that are similar to my case and i find it very helpful for me to start this application.

My fiance and I have been engaged since he visited me here in the philippines last july 2008 and since that time we've planned to apply for K1 or fiancé visa and due to a lot of circumstances we were unable to process the k1 visa.

As what i've read online and on the us embassy website it is important to have strong ties in my country for me to convince them im going back here.

the only ties i can show the consul is my job. I'm a call center agent for 9 months now and im a regular employee there.

is this sufficient enough for me to have them believe that im going back?

2nd question. i wanna know if i should state that my reason for travel in the united states is because i will visit my fiancé for 2 weeks?

with that reason does that give them impression that I have strong ties of over staying there because of him?

3rd question. should i state my reason of traveling to the usa is only for pleasure and visiting my family there, my aunts and uncles and not mention about my fiancé?

please help. i really want to see my fiancé again its been 2 years i haven't seen him and we are also planning to push through our k1 visa after my visit in the us.

thanks for all your support and god bless everyone

Karen

[George & Gina 29]

Hi everyone here in visajourney!!

I am now starting my application for tourist visa here in the philippines and just paid the MRV payment.

I've been reading a lot of posts here that are similar to my case and i find it very helpful for me to start this application.

My fiance and I have been engaged since he visited me here in the philippines last july 2008 and since that time we've planned to apply for K1 or fiancé visa and due to a lot of circumstances we were unable to process the k1 visa.

As what i've read online and on the us embassy website it is important to have strong ties in my country for me to convince them im going back here.

the only ties i can show the consul is my job. I'm a call center agent for 9 months now and im a regular employee there.

is this sufficient enough for me to have them believe that im going back?

2nd question. i wanna know if i should state that my reason for travel in the united states is because i will visit my fiancé for 2 weeks?

with that reason does that give them impression that I have strong ties of over staying there because of him?

3rd question. should i state my reason of traveling to the usa is only for pleasure and visiting my family there, my aunts and uncles and not mention about my fiancé?

please help. i really want to see my fiancé again its been 2 years i haven't seen him and we are also planning to push through our k1 visa after my visit in the us.

thanks for all your support and god bless everyone

Karen

Is there any way he can visit you? From everything I've ever heard, there's very little chance of you getting a tourist visa approved. Being young (under 45) and female is a disadvantage in this situation. Strong ties in your situation would be more like a successful/profitable business venture, a VERY high bank balance, own your own (1.5 - 2 million pesos +) home, etc.

Let's see what input some others might have, you never know.

Good luck.

George

[James and Cynthia 70]

Is there any way he can visit you? From everything I've ever heard, there's very little chance of you getting a tourist visa approved. Being young (under 45) and female is a disadvantage in this situation. Strong ties in your situation would be more like a successful/profitable business venture, a VERY high bank balance, own your own (1.5 - 2 million pesos +) home, etc.

Let's see what input some others might have, you never know.

Good luck.

George

I agree. From everything I've ever read, getting the visitors visa in your situation would be like hitting the lottery. Him visiting you would be the quickest and most probably way to see each other again.

[Karen84 0]

thanks to your reply. i appreciate that a lot. but as a young couple me and my fiance doesn't have enough income or funds for my fiance to visit me here and it seems like it is impossible for me to have a tourist visa. but we have hold on for our love for 2 years now I'm still going to push through the application weather i will be granted with the visa or not as long as I tried and if i get denied then my fiance can come here.

we're going to make it cause god is with us

[Zen Den 18]

Hi everyone here in visajourney!!

I am now starting my application for tourist visa here in the philippines and just paid the MRV payment.

I've been reading a lot of posts here that are similar to my case and i find it very helpful for me to start this application.

My fiance and I have been engaged since he visited me here in the philippines last july 2008 and since that time we've planned to apply for K1 or fiancé visa and due to a lot of circumstances we were unable to process the k1 visa.

As what i've read online and on the us embassy website it is important to have strong ties in my country for me to convince them im going back here.

the only ties i can show the consul is my job. I'm a call center agent for 9 months now and im a regular employee there.

is this sufficient enough for me to have them believe that im going back?

2nd question. i wanna know if i should state that my reason for travel in the united states is because i will visit my fiancé for 2 weeks?

with that reason does that give them impression that I have strong ties of over staying there because of him?

3rd question. should i state my reason of traveling to the usa is only for pleasure and visiting my family there, my aunts and uncles and not mention about my fiancé?

please help. i really want to see my fiancé again its been 2 years i haven't seen him and we are also planning to push through our k1 visa after my visit in the us.

thanks for all your support and god bless everyone

Karen

1. having a job is a good proof of ties to your country, but the requirement is a cert of emplyment which will show that you've been in that job for only 9months , could be a problem

2. definitely not a good idea. they will ask a lot of questions and unless you have an acceptable reason why he can't visit you instead (ex, he's very very very sick, hehe)

3. better than no.2 but make sure the address you provide on where you'll be staying is at/near your relatives' and give a very good reason for the visit (ex. cousin getting married and then touring to get your money's worth)

remember, they're already assuming that you will overstay, so give them all the proof beyond reasonable doubt that you won't (ex. real setate, house, car in your name)

your money doesn't have to be in the millions (it's sometimes obviously for show, -recently opened)

question: why doesn't he apply for it now...you could be with him in 6mos or less

[Dancob 1]

I agree with ZEN DEN, mentioning your boyfriend will decrease your chances in getting your visa approved.

The best thing could be pleasure, visiting your relatives, or going for some sort of seminar in your field.

You need to show strong ties to your country, Like bank statements, properties, Title of your car, Etc.

Good luck

[Bluerose001 4]

Hi Karen!

While majority are having a hard time getting a B2 visa, my experience was quite the opposite. I’m one of the few who didn’t encountered any problems gettting it and the interview was a breeze.

I must say that getting the visa is a case to case basis and will all depend upon which side of the bed the consul that will be assigned to you will wake up that morning. So be prepared and pray, of course 

Like you, I was working in the BPO industry but I was working there for 2 ½ years at the time of the interview and I was not an agent.

As Zen Den stated, one of the requirements is the COE so be sure to request your COE from HR, in my case, the consul didn’t ask for it—he just took my word that I’m employed in my company. Be on the safe side though and have your COE at hand.

Being engaged and saying you are visiting your fiancee might put you at a disadvantaged as it would give you more reason to overstay in the US or not come back to the Phils.

Just prepare all the needed requirements as it will give confidence in answering all the questions that the consul will throw at you.

Goodluck!

Bluerose

[Karen84 0]

Hi Karen!

While majority are having a hard time getting a B2 visa, my experience was quite the opposite. I’m one of the few who didn’t encountered any problems gettting it and the interview was a breeze.

I must say that getting the visa is a case to case basis and will all depend upon which side of the bed the consul that will be assigned to you will wake up that morning. So be prepared and pray, of course 

Like you, I was working in the BPO industry but I was working there for 2 ½ years at the time of the interview and I was not an agent.

As Zen Den stated, one of the requirements is the COE so be sure to request your COE from HR, in my case, the consul didn’t ask for it—he just took my word that I’m employed in my company. Be on the safe side though and have your COE at hand.

Being engaged and saying you are visiting your fiancee might put you at a disadvantaged as it would give you more reason to overstay in the US or not come back to the Phils.

Just prepare all the needed requirements as it will give confidence in answering all the questions that the consul will throw at you.

Goodluck!

Bluerose

Hi Bluerose,

thank you for sharing your experience. I just paid the MRV at BPI yesterday but I haven't fill out the ds forms yet. because i wanted to wait and asks opinions such as yours for me to answer the questions why i want to travel in the usa. I'm curious what was your answer with that question during the interview? im torn whether or not i would answer "I want to go to us because i want to have vacation" and if they would question my financial stability and is it safe to say i will shoulder all expenses? but the truth is, it is my fiance who will sponsor the whole trip.

karen

[Zharren Young 32]

Hi everyone here in visajourney!!

I am now starting my application for tourist visa here in the philippines and just paid the MRV payment.

I've been reading a lot of posts here that are similar to my case and i find it very helpful for me to start this application.

My fiance and I have been engaged since he visited me here in the philippines last july 2008 and since that time we've planned to apply for K1 or fiancé visa and due to a lot of circumstances we were unable to process the k1 visa.

As what i've read online and on the us embassy website it is important to have strong ties in my country for me to convince them im going back here.

the only ties i can show the consul is my job. I'm a call center agent for 9 months now and im a regular employee there.

is this sufficient enough for me to have them believe that im going back?

2nd question. i wanna know if i should state that my reason for travel in the united states is because i will visit my fiancé for 2 weeks?

with that reason does that give them impression that I have strong ties of over staying there because of him?

3rd question. should i state my reason of traveling to the usa is only for pleasure and visiting my family there, my aunts and uncles and not mention about my fiancé?

please help. i really want to see my fiancé again its been 2 years i haven't seen him and we are also planning to push through our k1 visa after my visit in the us.

thanks for all your support and god bless everyone

Karen

hello everyone & advance merry christmas!

im just new in this website & just dropping by to the forum and saw this thread and got interested with "Karen's" post. i myself is also thinking of applying for a tourist visa but im scared of being denied. I already did try to apply for a tourist when i was working in bahrain but got denied twice as they said i couldnt stablish a strong ties that would assure me of going back & not staying as an illegal alien in the states. i told them i have a job but they say its not enough as everybody else there has a job, that i dont have any family member there so i should try to apply here in the philippines instead.

now, im back here in the philippines since august of this year, me and my fiance has an application for K1 visa filed last july7th and got our NO1 on july 13th. until now were still waiting. he came to visit me for 2 weeks in november to celebrate our 3rd year anniversary.

in our case, were actually been married via double proxy in which is recognized by the US navy & state of montana. the reason why we filed for fiance is becoz USCIS & immigration doesnt recognize proxy marriage.

its been more than 5 months, yet we havent heard anything from them & the last time USCIS updated or touched our case was oct21, since then they seemed to have abandoned our case, no clue how, why and when are they going to do anything or give any reply. my husband as of now is writing a complain about them since they stated that applicants can file a complain if they havent receive any result upon their processing timeline.

now im here in manila, alone & no job as i didnt bother to find one coz we have been expecting USCIS to reply to our case.

its christmas and its been 3xmases that me and my husband being separted, we only get to be together every 5 months for 2 weeks since thats the only leave he can get from the navy.

can someone tell me if theres a way i can or am i possible eligible in applying for tourist visa? i atleast wanted to be with him for the holiday season please help

[Bluerose001 4]

Hi Karen,

I’m a bad liar, its hard for me to lie so when asked what is the purpose of my visit, I blurted out to visit my bf (even though my then bf now husband adviced me to say I’m visiting a “friend”). I did have a sister in Las Vegas but that wasn’t the purpose of my visit so I stated the truth.

The consul did asked if I was engaged and I just said no as that was the truth (my visit was for me to see if I would like living in the US---it would be hard to migrate to another country without really seeing what’s it like there)

Then at the POE (Minneapolis) it was asked to me again.. I found it odd at that time, having asked the same question but it was only later that I realized that being engaged gives it more reason for the one not to go back to the Phils.

As for the financial stability, it wasn’t asked from me (although I was prepared with my bank statements and was prepared to say I will shoulder the expenses), he did asked where I lived (apartment etc) and I answered in my property and was going to show the Title of the property but he said no need, you already passed. Like I said, it was a smooth flowing interview, at the end of it, both the consul and I were laughing.

Again, let me stressed that it will still all depend upon the consul and how well you present your case.There was a consul at window 5 or 6, he was really good looking but geez, of all the people he interviewed he only passed 2, the rest he denied!

Goodluck!

[Karen84 0]

Hi Karen,

I’m a bad liar, its hard for me to lie so when asked what is the purpose of my visit, I blurted out to visit my bf (even though my then bf now husband adviced me to say I’m visiting a “friend”). I did have a sister in Las Vegas but that wasn’t the purpose of my visit so I stated the truth.

The consul did asked if I was engaged and I just said no as that was the truth (my visit was for me to see if I would like living in the US---it would be hard to migrate to another country without really seeing what’s it like there)

Then at the POE (Minneapolis) it was asked to me again.. I found it odd at that time, having asked the same question but it was only later that I realized that being engaged gives it more reason for the one not to go back to the Phils.

As for the financial stability, it wasn’t asked from me (although I was prepared with my bank statements and was prepared to say I will shoulder the expenses), he did asked where I lived (apartment etc) and I answered in my property and was going to show the Title of the property but he said no need, you already passed. Like I said, it was a smooth flowing interview, at the end of it, both the consul and I were laughing.

Again, let me stressed that it will still all depend upon the consul and how well you present your case.There was a consul at window 5 or 6, he was really good looking but geez, of all the people he interviewed he only passed 2, the rest he denied!

Goodluck!

Hey bluerose,

how are you? I haven't been looking at the site lately because of my schedule at work. (you know how hard it is working in a call center lol) i work at night and mostly during the day, i try to have more sleep as i can so i can work effectively and be productive at sales. so working with the visa and having this kind of job at the same time, is very stressful! but thanks for your message! it helps me feel a little relieved knowing that we have the same type of situation here hehehe

I don't have a property so i guess im going to stick with saying the truth that im going to visit the country for vacation and i won't tell them the truth about my fiance. but honestly, i really want to say the truth but my aunt who is in the us right now said, that it would be better to lie.

I am also confused about which should come first. should i call the call center to book for interview? even though i haven't fill out the ds forms yet.

karen

[Bluerose001 4]

I’m good thanks!

Yeah, I do understand how it is in your field.

I did toyed with the idea of giving that reason, too, going to the US to visit my sister

but I haven’t gone anywhere abroad that time (not even Hongkong) that was my first attempt to get out of the country.

Sure, you can go ahead and schedule an interview, you can even fill out the DS form a day before your interview.I scheduled it online rather than calling the call center as it was more convenient and I myself, saw the dates which are open. You can actually change it if you logged back and see an earlier open date than what you scheduled.

Goodluck!

[myvisajourney2010 0]

Hi Karen, I would like to know what happened to your application for Tourist VIsa? Thanks!

[Karen84 0]

Hi Karen, I would like to know what happened to your application for Tourist VIsa? Thanks!

HI there!

Right now I'm still getting my papers ready for my interview on april 19. So hopefully I will get the visa thanks for asking

[bandcrack10 0]

HI there!

Right now I'm still getting my papers ready for my interview on april 19. So hopefully I will get the visa thanks for asking

Hi Karen, any updates?