Manila Embassy Interview/Visa Status

[Pinay Wife 47]

Updating to congratulate Scoot & Mirasol (Skeeter211) and to welcome happyinlove to the list.

Legend:

OK - Visa approved

AR - Admin Review/Add'l Docs Required

ME - Military Expedite

AO - Age-Out (Derivative approaching age 21)

Name..................NOA2....MNL REC'D..PACKET...INTERVIEW..MNL CASE#..STATUS..DELIVERED/#OF DAYS/PLACE DLVRD

K1 LIST

01..Wes.............11-02-06..11-17-06..12-29-06..03-20-07..2006-818xxx..OK..May 01/42 days/Dumaguete

02..DeaniWait.......11-28-06..12-19-06..02-27-07..04-04-07..2006-842xxx..OK..Apr 11/07 days/Picked up

03..wthornton.......11-28-06..12-19-06..02-26-07..04-04-07..2006-842xxx..OK..Apr 14/10 days/

04..DocMay..........11-15-06..12-12-06..02-26-07..04-10-07..2006-845xxx..AR..

05..George&Jenny....11-27-06..12-12-06..xx-xx-xx..04-10-07..2006-845xxx..OK..Apr 13/03 days/Cagayan de Oro

06..genlramos.......11-17-06..12-19-06..xx-xx-xx..04-11-07..2006-845xxx..OK..Apr 17/06 days/Pasay City

07..DaveandFleur....10-17-06..12-19-06..02-28-07..04-11-07..2006-845xxx..OK

08..PatientlyWait...12-04-06..12-27-06..02-26-07..04-13-07..2006-852xxx..OK..Apr 26/13 days/Las Pinas

09..Kayz............12-14-06..12-27-06..02-26-07..04-16-07..2006-854xxx..OK..Apr 24/08 days/Manila

10..sanfrancisco....xx-xx-06..xx-xx-xx..xx-xx-xx..04-17-07..2006-8xxxxx..OK

11..supra...........12-07-06..01-08-07..03-03-07..04-18-07..2006-860xxx..OK..Apr 23/05 days/Cebu

12..elmasguapo......12-15-06..01-08-07..xx-xx-xx..04-24-07..2006-xxxxxx......Interview postponed

13..Dean/Gra........12-26-06..01-04-07..02-27-06..04-23-07..2007-503xxx..OK

14..Mike Marivic....01-04-07..01-20-07..02-26-07..04-24-07..2007-508xxx..OK

15..CocoPuff........12-29-06..01-16.07..03-03-07..04-25-07..2007-5xxxxx..OK

16..MarieandBryan...01-10-07..xx-xx-xx..xx-xx-xx..04-27-07..2007-52xxxx..OK

17..Skeeter211......01-17-07..02-27-07..04-02-07..05-03-07..2007-52xxxx..OK

18..chadandlira.....01-25-07..xx-xx-xx..04-02-07..05-09-07..2007-536xxx

19..Honeysweet......02-01-07..02-20-07..xx-xx-xx..05-10-07..2007-540xxx

20..imaskin.........02-07-07..xx-xx-xx..03-30-07..05-24-07..2007-xxxxxx

21..gracy_byron.....02-08-07..02-28-07..xx-xx-xx..05-18-07..2007-xxxxxx

22..chadmides.......02-12-07..xx-xx-xx..xx-xx-xx..05-10-07..2007-547xxx

23..joemaria........02-12-07..02-28-07..xx-xx-xx..05-22-07..2007-55xxx

24..orion44.........02-22-07..xx-xx-xx..xx-xx-xx..06-05-07..2007-xxxxxx

25..David-MaeForev..02-27-07..03-14-07..xx-xx-xx..06-07-07..2007-564xxx

26..JeffK...........03-08-07..xx-xx-xx..xx-xx-xx..06-18-07..2007-573xxx

27..CountryBoy......03-29-07..04-23-07..xx-xx-xx..xx-xx-xx..2007-608xxx

28..trakon2002......04-05-07..xx-xx-xx..xx-xx-xx..xx-xx-xx..2007-xxxxxx

29..happyinlove.....04-14-07..xx-xx-xx..xx-xx-xx..xx-xx-xx..2007-xxxxxx

K3 LIST

01..AnneiyandJacky..11-28-06..xx-xx-xx..02-27-07..04-17-07..2006-685xxx..AR..Co-sponsor

02..dj2004..........11-16-06..12-12-06..02-27-07..04-03-07..2006-839xxx..OK

03..luvbugs4ever....12-14-06..12-21-06..03-02-07..04-16-07..2006-8xxxxx..Interview postponed

04..M&M.............11-20-06..xx-xx-xx..03-02-07..04-16-07..2007-503xxx..CR visa approved.

05..Jeff&Boo........12-26-06..01-12-07..02-26-07..04-26-07..2007-5xxxxx

07..CherylandMike...02-05-07..02-26-07..xx-xx-xx..05-16-07..2007-546xxx

08..Robor007........02-06-07..02-26-07..03-30-07..05-15-07..2007-546xxx

IR-1/CR-1

Name.................NOA2.....CASE CMPLT..PACKET..INTERVIEW...MNL CASE#..STATUS

01..dims1...........09-20-06..12-01-06..02-06-07..03-19-07..2006-775xxx..AR..Co-sponsor

02..KimTung.........09-26-06..12-21-06..xx-xx-xx..03-22-07..2006-779xxx..AR..

03..vsmtqhdy........09-25-06..xx-xx-xx..xx-xx-xx..04-20-07..2006-xxxxxx..OK..Apr 27/07 days/Laguna

04..randynrose......09-29-06..02-06-07..03-06-07..04-20-07..2006-xxxxxx..OK

05..Gobruins........12-20-06..04-03-07..xx-xx-xx..05-23-07..2007-50xxxx

06..StarProg........12-28-06..xx-xx-xx..xx-xx-xx..xx-xx-xx..2007-508xxx

07..Robor007........02-06-07..xx-xx-xx..xx-xx-xx..xx-xx-xx..2007-xxxxxx

Edited May 3, 2007 by PatientlyWaiting

[gracy_byron 0]

Hey Everyone! Just stopping by the internet cafe in Manila to tell everyone thanks for the well wishes and prayers. After sitting in the USE for what seemed like an eternity and feeling our stomach turn every time we heard the ding of the number board for a new "victim" number to flash...hehehehe.....we had our turn in the hot seat. We got a little nervous sitting outside the consul officer's cubicle while the previous applicant finished up. I kept hearing some stern questioning coming from inside the rooms around me and my heart was pounding. Then it was our turn.

We went into the room and were greeted warmly by the female consul. We returned the greeting and sat down. I really got nervous when she turned to another worker with some document from the previous case and said that it went with the one they would be referring to the fraud unit. Not a way to start out!

The woman started going through our papers and confirmed through passports that were were indeed the petitioner and beneficiary. She then asked how we met and when did we meet. She asked me how many times I had visited my fiance since we had met and I told her this was my sixth visit. She seemed impressed with that. She then went over the status of both our previous marriages and took Mir's NSO Annulment document. My heart sank to the floor when she asked for a copy of the certificate of finality. I think I previously posted about what I anticipated might be a problem with dates in that document and I feared the worst. We provided the document. Luckily, it turned out to be no problem and the date her annulment was granted by the court was sufficient.

She quickly reviewed our petition packet in her folder by thumbing through and asked for birth certificates of Mir and for her NBI clearance, both of which we provided. She then asked for photographs and we handed over a selection of 6-10 photos from each of my five previous visits. She looked at the first few and then kind of quickly fanned through the rest of them. She then went back to checking documents in the file and finally said, "Well...I think that's about it. You can go ahead and have a seat back outside until your number is called again. I will keep these two documents for photocopying and they will be returned to you at the releasing window. Other than that, you should receive your visa by courier in about 7 days." We both smiled big and thank the woman, then exited to go wait.

We were called for the releasing and went to window #37. The girl gave us back the photocopied documents and then told us to pay Delbros. She gave us a pink slip talking about paying Delbros. Still in shock, I asked the woman, "So there is no AR?" She looked at me like, "Huh?" I restated, "So there will be no administrative review on our case as it stands now." She said, "No." We happily walked on clouds out of the Embassy.

As far as the pre-screener, he was nice, but seemed either new or disorganized....not sure which. He seemed a little nervous. He confirmed our identities and then asked how we met. We told him online and he asked where, so we told him Filipinaheart. Again, my heart sank a little wondering if the IMBRA thingy would creep in, but nothing. He then asked me if this was my second visit. I told him its my 6th and his eyes got wide. He asked, "All for her?" I smiled and said, "Yes, sir. She had to have an annulment of her previous marriage. It's been a long four years wait." He said, "Ohhh....okay.", but then 20 seconds later proceeded to ask for Mir's CENOMAR. Hello??? We explained again that she was married before and that she had an annullment. "Oh, that's right.", he replied.

He took our cards we had exchanged. He looked at our photos and got to the Wowowee photos. He seemed to really think that was cool and asked a lot of questions about our visit to the show. We asked if he wanted emails and chat logs, but he told us, "I think we have enough here already." (I took that as a good sign. ) He sent us on our way.

So that's about it. We are so blessed that we were given passage to start a life together in the USA and thank God for that opportunity. Thank you also to those prayers and guidance from the members here. Your assistance was invaluable. Take care and God bless.

Scott and Mirasol (Together4Ever4LIFE!!!!)

C

Congrats guys!

Another couple with a happy ending

Lira your next, I hope all of us will have a happy ending like this with no AR's.

[Pinay Wife 47]

However, I have not paid the visa fee of $100 yet since my passport is in the process of renewal. DS-156 requires the passport details. I will only get to pay the visa fee this Friday. I hope I am not in trouble. Is everything fine?

Please note that DS-157 is the form that will be validated by BPI and not DS-156. BPI has their own supply of DS-157 and they will validate a blank DS-157 hence passport details are not necessary.

Do I need to have second dose of MMR and Varicella here in US?..Some of my friends said YES and other said NO. All I remembered St. Luke told me is I will have my TD here in the US..

In my case, the nurse who handed me my vaccination sheet instructed me to get a second dose of Varicella after 8 weeks and to get my TD shot in the US.

When you go for your TD shot, maybe you can ask the Civil Surgeon to interpret your vaccination record and then he can decide whether you should get a 2nd dose of Varicella.

my fiancee told me that when she was at the CFO, she heard a 20 year old girl there tell some of the other girls that she was just using the 63 yr old guy she was with to get to the states.

I feel sorry for the guy she is marrying. No wonder Manila is considered high fraud.

[joemaria 0]

Hey Everyone! Just stopping by the internet cafe in Manila to tell everyone thanks for the well wishes and prayers. After sitting in the USE for what seemed like an eternity and feeling our stomach turn every time we heard the ding of the number board for a new "victim" number to flash...hehehehe.....we had our turn in the hot seat. We got a little nervous sitting outside the consul officer's cubicle while the previous applicant finished up. I kept hearing some stern questioning coming from inside the rooms around me and my heart was pounding. Then it was our turn.

We went into the room and were greeted warmly by the female consul. We returned the greeting and sat down. I really got nervous when she turned to another worker with some document from the previous case and said that it went with the one they would be referring to the fraud unit. Not a way to start out!

The woman started going through our papers and confirmed through passports that were were indeed the petitioner and beneficiary. She then asked how we met and when did we meet. She asked me how many times I had visited my fiance since we had met and I told her this was my sixth visit. She seemed impressed with that. She then went over the status of both our previous marriages and took Mir's NSO Annulment document. My heart sank to the floor when she asked for a copy of the certificate of finality. I think I previously posted about what I anticipated might be a problem with dates in that document and I feared the worst. We provided the document. Luckily, it turned out to be no problem and the date her annulment was granted by the court was sufficient.

She quickly reviewed our petition packet in her folder by thumbing through and asked for birth certificates of Mir and for her NBI clearance, both of which we provided. She then asked for photographs and we handed over a selection of 6-10 photos from each of my five previous visits. She looked at the first few and then kind of quickly fanned through the rest of them. She then went back to checking documents in the file and finally said, "Well...I think that's about it. You can go ahead and have a seat back outside until your number is called again. I will keep these two documents for photocopying and they will be returned to you at the releasing window. Other than that, you should receive your visa by courier in about 7 days." We both smiled big and thank the woman, then exited to go wait.

We were called for the releasing and went to window #37. The girl gave us back the photocopied documents and then told us to pay Delbros. She gave us a pink slip talking about paying Delbros. Still in shock, I asked the woman, "So there is no AR?" She looked at me like, "Huh?" I restated, "So there will be no administrative review on our case as it stands now." She said, "No." We happily walked on clouds out of the Embassy.

As far as the pre-screener, he was nice, but seemed either new or disorganized....not sure which. He seemed a little nervous. He confirmed our identities and then asked how we met. We told him online and he asked where, so we told him Filipinaheart. Again, my heart sank a little wondering if the IMBRA thingy would creep in, but nothing. He then asked me if this was my second visit. I told him its my 6th and his eyes got wide. He asked, "All for her?" I smiled and said, "Yes, sir. She had to have an annulment of her previous marriage. It's been a long four years wait." He said, "Ohhh....okay.", but then 20 seconds later proceeded to ask for Mir's CENOMAR. Hello??? We explained again that she was married before and that she had an annullment. "Oh, that's right.", he replied.

He took our cards we had exchanged. He looked at our photos and got to the Wowowee photos. He seemed to really think that was cool and asked a lot of questions about our visit to the show. We asked if he wanted emails and chat logs, but he told us, "I think we have enough here already." (I took that as a good sign. ) He sent us on our way.

So that's about it. We are so blessed that we were given passage to start a life together in the USA and thank God for that opportunity. Thank you also to those prayers and guidance from the members here. Your assistance was invaluable. Take care and God bless.

Scott and Mirasol (Together4Ever4LIFE!!!!)

Congratulations Scott and Mirasol!

Wow thats a good start for us May Batch...

Thanks for sharing your wonderful interview experience.

[sanfrancisco 0]

hmmm...im a little worried now. i looked at my fiancee's visa and under the annotation it has my name spelled incorrectly. everything for her name to her A# is correct but the only part thats wrong is that in my last name, they transposed a letter. all my paperwork i submitted has my name spelled out correct as her petitioner and all of it was typed out. should we worry about this? or not since all of her information on the visa is correct already.

We are on the same boat here.. I got my visa last thursday and i noticed that my fiancees last name was misspelled in the annotation part too. Instead of his last name having 2 L's, they only put 1 L. Did you have a chance to call embassy already?? What do we need to do??

hey sanfrancisco, i have not had a chance to call the embassy yet. im assuming it will be ok since all of my fiancee's information is correct. i'll let you know if i get a chance to call them. let me know if you get to call them also and what they said. hope it won't be a problem since it's just the annotation part

hmmm...im a little worried now. i looked at my fiancee's visa and under the annotation it has my name spelled incorrectly. everything for her name to her A# is correct but the only part thats wrong is that in my last name, they transposed a letter. all my paperwork i submitted has my name spelled out correct as her petitioner and all of it was typed out. should we worry about this? or not since all of her information on the visa is correct already.

We are on the same boat here.. I got my visa last thursday and i noticed that my fiancees last name was misspelled in the annotation part too. Instead of his last name having 2 L's, they only put 1 L. Did you have a chance to call embassy already?? What do we need to do??

There was a similar case last year and embassy said that as long as the beneficiary’s info was correct, it was okay. But I would second DeanIWait, better for both of you to call embassy to inform them of the mistake and ask them if there is a need for correction. Then please let us know what they say.

sanfranciso, i just called the embassy and as patientlywaiting said, it's ok for the petitioner's name to have a typo. they said that it only needs to be resubmitted to the embassy for correction is if the beneficiary's information is incorrect. what a relief! it took me awhile to call and get through after a couple days of trying and i fly back to the states with my fiancee tomorrow. when she went to the CFO, they asked about the spelling of my last name since it was wrong. they asked her to bring my passport in to prove the spelling of my last name before they would issue her the certificate of attendence, so after i showed them my passport they said it was ok. i suggest having a photocopy of your fiance's passport when you go through the CFO if you haven't already, just in case they ask about the spelling.

hi! thanks for the info. it was such a relief hearing that i dont have to resubmit my visa for corrections.

i actually called US office to check with them and they said it was no big deal as long as its not the beneficiarys info that has an error in it. They said it was not a big deal but they suggested that i call manila embassy just to make sure. Unfortunately, i wasnt able to get hold of a live person from manila..

So, thank you for the information that you have provided. Now i dont have to bother calling them.

VJ has been a great help!

Thank you so much for all the info!

God blesss you all!

Good Luck!

[lethimrace 5]

Congratulations to Scott and Mirasol have a joyful life together.

Good luck to all of us who are May batch

~God speed

[cheermeup 0]

hi ate PW...!thnx for including us in ur lists..goodluck and god bless us all....

[Dean/Gra 0]

Hi Everyone, We picked up our visa at the embassy today and will leave tomorrow morning at 6:40 am. for the US of A.

We had the interview and the CO said we had passed and would be getting a call from the embassy on Thursday. We were traveling in some remote areas visiting some of my friends this time and did not hear from the embassy. We returned to Manila and went to Surigao for a few days to visit more friends and returned on Monday, but the plane was late so we got to the embassy at 3:20 only to find the window closed at 3. Tuesday was labor day for the Philippines so the embassy was closed of course. We then went to the embassy on Wednesday to Window 34, (Visa pickup window) only to be informed that the visa had been approved but not printed. It had been 10 days since the interview and they had not printed the visa. The lady also told us that they had to get something from the US, which seemed like an out and out lie to me. We then went to window X on Wednesday morning to find out the status and the lady told us the visa was ready for pickup at window 34. The lady at window 34 seemed very surprised that we were there as she had not yet called us and could not figure out how we knew the visa was ready.

Anyway we were grateful to get everything completed and will be leaving in about 10 hours.

Dean

BTW, we went to Baguio for a few days. It was horrible. It was the absolute worst pollution I have every encountered. It was 10 times worse than Manila at it worst several years ago. I have been to Baguio before the pollution and it was a beautiful city and a lovely place to visit but if you can't breathe except while holding a handkerchef over your nose it is not so lovely any more.

Surigao on the other hand was absolutely fantastic. Although it is summer and very dry in most of the PI, it rained every day we were there but only rain showers.

Edited May 3, 2007 by Dean/Gra

[Lina 0]

Congrats to you and have a safe trip. :dance:

Hi Everyone, We picked up our visa at the embassy today and will leave tomorrow morning at 6:40 am. for the US of A.

We had the interview and the CO said we had passed and would be getting a call from the embassy on Thursday. We were traveling in some remote areas visiting some of my friends this time and did not hear from the embassy. We returned to Manila and went to Surigao for a few days to visit more friends and returned on Monday, but the plane was late so we got to the embassy at 3:20 only to find the window closed at 3. Tuesday was labor day for the Philippines so the embassy was closed of course. We then went to the embassy on Wednesday to Window 34, (Visa pickup window) only to be informed that the visa had been approved but not printed. It had been 10 days since the interview and they had not printed the visa. The lady also told us that they had to get something from the US, which seemed like an out and out lie to me. We then went to window X on Wednesday morning to find out the status and the lady told us the visa was ready for pickup at window 34. The lady at window 34 seemed very surprised that we were there as she had not yet called us and could not figure out how we knew the visa was ready.

Anyway we were grateful to get everything completed and will be leaving in about 10 hours.

Dean

BTW, we went to Baguio for a few days. It was horrible. It was the absolute worst pollution I have every encountered. It was 10 times worse than Manila at it worst several years ago. I have been to Baguio before the pollution and it was a beautiful city and a lovely place to visit but if you can't breathe except while holding a handkerchef over your nose it is not so lovely any more.

Surigao on the other hand was absolutely fantastic. Although it is summer and very dry in most of the PI, it rained every day we were there but only rain showers.

[Robor007 0]

Hi Everyone, We picked up our visa at the embassy today and will leave tomorrow morning at 6:40 am. for the US of A.

We had the interview and the CO said we had passed and would be getting a call from the embassy on Thursday. We were traveling in some remote areas visiting some of my friends this time and did not hear from the embassy. We returned to Manila and went to Surigao for a few days to visit more friends and returned on Monday, but the plane was late so we got to the embassy at 3:20 only to find the window closed at 3. Tuesday was labor day for the Philippines so the embassy was closed of course. We then went to the embassy on Wednesday to Window 34, (Visa pickup window) only to be informed that the visa had been approved but not printed. It had been 10 days since the interview and they had not printed the visa. The lady also told us that they had to get something from the US, which seemed like an out and out lie to me. We then went to window X on Wednesday morning to find out the status and the lady told us the visa was ready for pickup at window 34. The lady at window 34 seemed very surprised that we were there as she had not yet called us and could not figure out how we knew the visa was ready.

Anyway we were grateful to get everything completed and will be leaving in about 10 hours.

Dean

BTW, we went to Baguio for a few days. It was horrible. It was the absolute worst pollution I have every encountered. It was 10 times worse than Manila at it worst several years ago. I have been to Baguio before the pollution and it was a beautiful city and a lovely place to visit but if you can't breathe except while holding a handkerchef over your nose it is not so lovely any more.

Surigao on the other hand was absolutely fantastic. Although it is summer and very dry in most of the PI, it rained every day we were there but only rain showers.

Hi Dean,

Wow, sounds like you got the run-around there after your approval. Glad everything worked out in the end. Hope you have a safe trip back!

You said Baguio was very polluted. Lina and I were planning to go there while waiting for the visa to be delivered. Is it bad everywhere in Baguio or just certain areas to avoid?

[~Chad~ 0]

Wow, Lira is next on PW's list, I can't wait, I am taking off work because i know i won't sleep the night before.

[rea 1]

hi everyone!! we're so happy because we got our noa2 yesterday by email !! then after that we realized that we don't know what to do next and so i read this thread being from Philippines..and i have some questions that you guys can help us out:

1. how do we know that our case has been received by NVC? (i've read sheriff uling's signature on post noa2, and am i correct that my fiance(petitioner) should call NVC to know about this?)

2. but how come others got their notice that case has been received by NVC thru email?

3. how do we know our case number that starts with MNL?

4 what does the SO, CFO and AR stands for?

[Dean iWait 0]

Hi Everyone, We picked up our visa at the embassy today and will leave tomorrow morning at 6:40 am. for the US of A.

We had the interview and the CO said we had passed and would be getting a call from the embassy on Thursday. We were traveling in some remote areas visiting some of my friends this time and did not hear from the embassy. We returned to Manila and went to Surigao for a few days to visit more friends and returned on Monday, but the plane was late so we got to the embassy at 3:20 only to find the window closed at 3. Tuesday was labor day for the Philippines so the embassy was closed of course. We then went to the embassy on Wednesday to Window 34, (Visa pickup window) only to be informed that the visa had been approved but not printed. It had been 10 days since the interview and they had not printed the visa. The lady also told us that they had to get something from the US, which seemed like an out and out lie to me. We then went to window X on Wednesday morning to find out the status and the lady told us the visa was ready for pickup at window 34. The lady at window 34 seemed very surprised that we were there as she had not yet called us and could not figure out how we knew the visa was ready.

Anyway we were grateful to get everything completed and will be leaving in about 10 hours.

Dean

BTW, we went to Baguio for a few days. It was horrible. It was the absolute worst pollution I have every encountered. It was 10 times worse than Manila at it worst several years ago. I have been to Baguio before the pollution and it was a beautiful city and a lovely place to visit but if you can't breathe except while holding a handkerchef over your nose it is not so lovely any more.

Surigao on the other hand was absolutely fantastic. Although it is summer and very dry in most of the PI, it rained every day we were there but only rain showers.

Congrats Dean/Gra. You mentioned your plane being late? You have to remember the domestic airlines are on Filipino time. If your flight is scheduled to take off at 1:30 PM that actually means 2:00 PM. I mean, what's the rush?

[jeng 0]

For those who have gone through the medical already...

How does the procedure goes? I am worried right now, my medical is scheduled on may 15 but m planning to have it on the 10th but i noticed a mass on my left neck/lower left ear...i dont want to have it removed as of this moment coz it might create more questions if they see it cut...but if doctors wont check or touch that area...they might not notice it...i think it only came from stress...i had an xray and it was clear....

i need your advice coz i am really sooo worried...

thanks.

[jeng 0]

Hi Everyone, We picked up our visa at the embassy today and will leave tomorrow morning at 6:40 am. for the US of A.

We had the interview and the CO said we had passed and would be getting a call from the embassy on Thursday. We were traveling in some remote areas visiting some of my friends this time and did not hear from the embassy. We returned to Manila and went to Surigao for a few days to visit more friends and returned on Monday, but the plane was late so we got to the embassy at 3:20 only to find the window closed at 3. Tuesday was labor day for the Philippines so the embassy was closed of course. We then went to the embassy on Wednesday to Window 34, (Visa pickup window) only to be informed that the visa had been approved but not printed. It had been 10 days since the interview and they had not printed the visa. The lady also told us that they had to get something from the US, which seemed like an out and out lie to me. We then went to window X on Wednesday morning to find out the status and the lady told us the visa was ready for pickup at window 34. The lady at window 34 seemed very surprised that we were there as she had not yet called us and could not figure out how we knew the visa was ready.

Anyway we were grateful to get everything completed and will be leaving in about 10 hours.

Dean

BTW, we went to Baguio for a few days. It was horrible. It was the absolute worst pollution I have every encountered. It was 10 times worse than Manila at it worst several years ago. I have been to Baguio before the pollution and it was a beautiful city and a lovely place to visit but if you can't breathe except while holding a handkerchef over your nose it is not so lovely any more.

Surigao on the other hand was absolutely fantastic. Although it is summer and very dry in most of the PI, it rained every day we were there but only rain showers.

Congrats to both of you...

thanks for all your advices...

Godbless.