Out of time

[Tahoma 2,292]

First I apoligize, but so frustrating dealing with no aswers, lies and curruption. I have been forced to work away from home for 7 months now. That complicates things greatly. my fiancee is hurting finacially ( company closed and no jobs to be fond, she told she to old) she also having health issues ( nothing serious but problematic)

her cenomar says she still married.

yes we are pursuing the rocognize divorce route, but getting delay after delay after delay, Now judge wants a bribe to add insult.

the other hurdle is I am deploying soon and the time will run out on all options before I return.

I also have the issue of changes in banking that wont allow the transfer of money to her as easy as before and during my deployment will be almost impossible. Do to family issues i can not leave a power of attorny to them. My option was getting her here before I leave, if not no gaurantee what happen to her and her family wont help cuz her previous husband abandon her and they blame her all these years.

Thanks for the info about embassy, hopefully someone has more info that can get us in contact with them direct. so far for 3 months its send emails and of the 15 sent gotten TWO replies and takes weeks for that.

Hi again sparky...

Yup...this process really can be a frustrating experience and a supreme test of your patience. Hang in there. I think you can get a lot of your questions answered here on Visa Journey. I would suggest that post in the Philippines forum so that you can get some better help for your situation. There are many experienced members there who might not see your post here in this forum.

One important thing you could do right now to help yourself is to answer the first five questions in my previous post.

Also, I'm confused about the court process your fiancée is going through. First you said it was an annulment. Then you said it was to recognize her divorce. Which is it? Is it both? Does she have two court cases going on at the same time? They are two very different processes. I believe that a recognition of a foreign divorce is much faster than an annulment. Would you please verify which one she if pursuing.

If you want something done in a hurry in the Philippines, you need to get use to the idea of greasing the wheels. That goes for judges too. If the judge knows that your fiancée is planning to marry a 'Kano, you will need lots of grease.

Another thing, if you are having money transfer issues, you should post a question in the Philippines forum about that. I'm sure someone could help you solve that problem. You would be surprised at how many alternatives there are to send money to your sweetie.

[Pinay Wife 47]

I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to have your fiancée complete her medical and her interview, and then submit the CENOMAR to the Embassy after the Philippines court "recognized" her divorce (or granted an annulment, whichever one applies). Her medical is good for six months or a year, I forget which. I'm not sure if there is any time limit after her interview for her to submit the CENOMAR. I don't think there is any time limit as long as you keep in contact with the Embassy. I believe the Embassy will give your case extensions as long as you contact them regularly. At least, that's my understanding. I hope others will chime in.

Sparky, I'll go with the suggestion of Tahoma. This is the best route to go. Have your fiancee complete her medical and then she should appear for interview. During the interview, she must bring with her (among other things) the CENOMAR/CEMAR, the old marriage contract, the divorce decree and the Petition for Recognition of Divorce duly stamped received by a Philippine court. If you can also send her a copy of your deployment order, that would help in expediting the visa release once the recognition is finalized. The embassy also tends to be lenient with applicants whose petitioners are soldiers about to deploy.

During interview, the consul will recognize that your fiancee is single under US law but not "technically" single under Philippine law. If the consul asks her about this, she must say that she is in the process of having the divorce decree recognized and she can show the Petition for Recognition that was filed in court. She will not be denied the visa but will be given one year to complete the process.

About the bribe money, it is unfortunate that your fiancee's case was raffled to a corrupt judge. Much as I hate to say this, give the judge his "expedite fee" just to get things going, otherwise he will sit on the case. Do not pay more than P5,000. If all goes well, the entire process will take 2-3 months.

Please let us know how it goes. The PI forum members will try to assist you any way we can.

Thank you for your service to our country.

[sparky952 3]

ok another question, what aout getting that clearance stamp after u get visa. I have heard they want Cenomar for getting that stamp

[sparky952 3]

I sthere anyone in the philippines that has even one once of brains. Fiance went to BPI to pay visa fee and the bank took the wrong amount and screwed everything up. now they say sorry money all gone to bad. PLZ what do we do i cannot keep theowing money and time into a country of idiots

[sparky952 3]

Sorry for the drama. I JUST WANT ONE THING TO GO RIGHT!!!! Every single aspect of this process wich is going on two years now has been a nightmare.

I have had to fight every single step. lost paper work, embassy mistakes. courts, atty, and now a bank that is the designated payee doesn't even know how to do it. that is a failure of the Emabssy to assuer that they r able to do the job.

the bank payed wrong amount to visa. they don't know how to process paperwork so we don't know what the embassy got or how to fix. WE NEED HELP BAD!!!! WE NEED A PERSON TO CALL AND HELP US!!!!!!!!! my fiance is so distraught from the constant screw ups!

[sparky952 3]

Finally got a person in the embassy, oops im sorry ur visa in voided and u must fly to manila to fix it at BPI main branch! I am so done with this whole stupid process. Fate is against us... good luck to all hope u find smarter people than i have.

[Tahoma 2,292]

ok another question, what aout getting that clearance stamp after u get visa. I have heard they want Cenomar for getting that stamp

She will need a CFO sticker in her passport in order to leave the Philippines. The CFO may require her to submit a CENOMAR along with their other requirements. She can complete the CFO seminar and get the CFO sticker in her passport when she has finished the court process to recognize her divorce. There are lots of threads about the CFO in the Philippines forum.

[Tahoma 2,292]

As for what to do about paying the wrong visa fee, maybe you should post that question in the Philippines forum because I seem to remember the same thing happened to another member. I'm not sure how they resolved it.

[Markieboy 104]

If you want something done in a hurry in the Philippines, you need to get use to the idea of greasing the wheels. That goes for judges too. If the judge knows that your fiancée is planning to marry a 'Kano, you will need lots of grease.

Absolutely 100% correct!

It is sad, but true.

About the bribe money, it is unfortunate that your fiancee's case was raffled to a corrupt judge. Much as I hate to say this, give the judge his "expedite fee" just to get things going, otherwise he will sit on the case. Do not pay more than P5,000. If all goes well, the entire process will take 2-3 months.

I sthere anyone in the philippines that has even one once of brains. Fiance went to BPI to pay visa fee and the bank took the wrong amount and screwed everything up. now they say sorry money all gone to bad. PLZ what do we do i cannot keep theowing money and time into a country of idiots

I feel your frustration. It can be extremely frustrating dealing with people in the Philippines...especially, if you're accustomed to the American lifestyle. Believe me, I know.

But after living in the Philippines for years, I've learned that you attract more bees with honey than with vinegar. Your fiancée should know how to make pasipsip (ie sucking up) with people, whether in person or on the phone. It sounds weird to American folk, but in the Philippines, it works wonders. Instead of "fighting" every step of the way, it is best to take a more diplomatic approach with people. Yes, "grease" their wheels, as needed.

Again, this is only my advice and what has worked for me. Feel free to take it or leave it.

Hope other members, from Philippines subforum, can share their experience and insights. Good luck with your case.

[sparky952 3]

Well I understand the greasing the wheels, but many of my problems have been people simply not knowing there jobs and making mistakes. This latest was the bank Manager not knowing how to process the visa fee so he basically made it up despite being shown the instructions my fiancee brought from embassy website. The Embassy basically says OH WELL sorry! U can not file a new visa u must fix this one. There is ONLY one branch in all of Philippines the Emabssy allows to do this so she must travel there. so now my visa will cost well over 600 USD and take Days longer. This is after 2 other delays because people miss filed paper work or simply didn't do paper work for weeks or months at atime.

greasing the wheels does no good for a completely inept society.

The reason we r pushing forward is the enbassy gave us till Aug 11th to complete interview or withdraw petition. I will deploy in 100 days and she must be here in 65 days or don't come. even with greasing the wheels our atty says could take till aug or sept to complete her court petition for regognizing her divorce. because I am deploying I cannot visit her till 30 days after my return next year. Basically only chance we have is to either get a 221g for her cenomar (likely) or get the visa maybe get lucky at cfo (doubtful) or get the visa and in 6 months repay the visa and then bring her here. Other wise its at least 2 plus more years and have to go thru this whole thing again (HELL NO!!!!)

[Tahoma 2,292]

sparky...

I just read another thread on this forum where BPI charged the beneficiary the wrong amount for the K-1 visa. You posted on the thread. On that thread, the beneficiary was still able to complete her interview. At the interview, the Embassy gave her a letter to take to BPI and pay the remaining amount owed for the visa fee. Problem solved. Your fiancée can do the same.

Read the post after your post.

Now all you need to do is to grease the wheels of that judge and also the lawyer!!! 65 days? That may take a lot of grease, but it can still be done. Good luck.

[sparky952 3]

sparky...

I just read another thread on this forum where BPI charged the beneficiary the wrong amount for the K-1 visa. You posted on the thread. On that thread, the beneficiary was still able to complete her interview. At the interview, the Embassy gave her a letter to take to BPI and pay the remaining amount owed for the visa fee. Problem solved. Your fiancée can do the same.

Read the post after your post.

Now all you need to do is to grease the wheels of that judge and also the lawyer!!! 65 days? That may take a lot of grease, but it can still be done. Good luck.

Yes I read that post but when i tried after reading it they told me i have to pay full fee first. No clue what to do know my fiance has literly made herself sick dealing with such inept system.

[Tahoma 2,292]

Yes I read that post but when i tried after reading it they told me i have to pay full fee first. No clue what to do know my fiance has literly made herself sick dealing with such inept system.

I don't know who you talked to about this, but I don't trust what they told you. Since the visa payment system is new and there is so much misinformation out there about it, this is one of those times where I would believe the people here on VJ who have actually gone through the experience.

If I were in your shoes, I would make the interview appointment and have your fiancée attend her interview. If the Embassy sends her to BPI after the interview to pay the balance of the visa fee, then so be it. She will have completed her interview.

Keep in mind that you will print out a confirmation sheet when you make her interview appointment. That confirmation sheet will allow her into the Embassy for her interview.

[sparky952 3]

Ok trying to set interview online. What is CEAC barcode? it asks for it but doesn't tell me what it is.

[Glenn n Bryan 0]

Hello,

I'm so sorry for the late reply. If I haven't seen Tahoma's inquiry in my email I would have not seen this thread. Since, we have been blessed with a journey that went so well, I haven't logged in to Visa Journey lately. However, for the issue at hand, I remember having the same problem with our process. A teller from BPI misinformed us about the cost of the visa, and hence we underpaid the our visa fee. We called the embassy several times of our plight and was given different advice each time. However, what we did was we went ahead and schedule our interview anyway. Inside the embassy, before the interview we let them know about our plight. You can pay the difference of your visa fee inside the embassy. The only drawback is that your fiancee might spend longer time to fix the discrepancy. Once everything is paid and solved, your fiancee can go ahead with her interview. Upon entering the embassy, if they try to tell you to come back and pay somewehere else, insist to them that you spoke a representative and you was informed that you can pay inside the embassy. I believe it is in Window X, is the correct window to pay your fees. All in all, the problem you have right now is fixable. Just continue the normal process for the visa, and pay the difference inside the embassy. Good luck and God Bless.