Any recent travelers to Manila with expired GC, with extension letter ?

[confusedshoes 193]

I'm visiting family/friends in Manila this year after 3 years being away and aside from wondering how significant the changes that 3 years, a new president plus Covid has done, I'm also wondering what to expect when traveling with an expired I-551 and extension letter. 

 

Anyone here recently visited Manila with the same situation? What was your experience like? How was it on arrival and how was it trying to leave? I also have read about the One Health Pass thing. Anything else to watch out for? 

 

I'm bringing everything with me:

I-551, Expired GC

I-797 NOA, extension letter

Old, expired Ph passport with old K1 visa and CFO stamp

ALL the certificates (marriage, birth for both spouses incl. translations)

Photocopy of report of marriage  (my passport name is still my maiden name- will change it to married name after we get the ROM certificate)

multiple copies of everything

 

I'm also wondering if I can open a joint Ph bank account in my married name without a ROM yet.

[Chancy 6,243]

5 minutes ago, confusedshoes said:

when traveling with an expired I-551 and extension letter.

 

Is your extension letter still valid?

 

[confusedshoes 193]

Yes, I have a valid extension letter. It says my residency is extended for 24 months from the expiration date on the GC so for me (GC expired 2022), that means the extension letter is valid until 2024.

[Rocio0010 5,630]

Hi there!

Disclaimer: I’m not from The Philippines so I can’t answer about One Health Pass. But I’ve recently travelled to Argentina with the expired gc plus the extension letter… the extension letter and gc is only checked when you leave Philippines and again when you land into the US and go through customs. For us, it was super smooth. So much so that a lot of people on tourist visas were being pulled for secondary, but we were done in less than a minute at IAH.

Why are you taking your old passport with the K1 stamp? That will easily confuse them and you. You don’t need that. You’re way past that stage.

You also don’t need the birth certificate of your spouses. Again, you’re way past that stage.

I did take the mc but nobody ever asked for it. I just took it in case things got hairy but they didn’t.

2 hours ago, confusedshoes said:

multiple copies of everything

Not ideal. You’ll be fumbling with documents you won’t need. 
 

Also do you have a current unexpired passport?
 

[Talako 789]

7 hours ago, confusedshoes said:

I'm also wondering if I can open a joint Ph bank account in my married name without a ROM yet.

When my wife changed her name, BPI requested the ROM.  Maybe a marriage certificate is adequate.  You can only try.  We had a copy of the ROM, so it is no issue.  They would not make it a joint account.  I don't have an ACR card, as I am here on a Balikbayan.  

 

That was our experience with my wife's bank.  As you know, bank rules, requirements, and procedures vary by bank, manager, weather, the day of the week, and if you look like you're going to keep and pass large balances in an account. You keep trying branches until you and the bank manager's horoscopes align.

Edited September 8, 2022 by Talako

[confusedshoes 193]

 

13 hours ago, Rocio0010 said:

Why are you taking your old passport with the K1 stamp? That will easily confuse them and you. You don’t need that. You’re way past that stage.

You also don’t need the birth certificate of your spouses. Again, you’re way past that stage.

I did take the mc but nobody ever asked for it. I just took it in case things got hairy but they didn’t.

Not ideal. You’ll be fumbling with documents you won’t need. 
 

Also do you have a current unexpired passport?
 

 

Yes, I have a current unexpired passport, it's the passport number I used when purchasing tickets, and matches my ticket name. Old passport has a different number.

I'm bringing my old passport because it still has valid visas for other countries, it just also has the K1 visa, and a CFO stamp that only makes sense to Filipinos. I'm bringing all documents we can think of for both spouses because we're opening accounts and looking at properties during the trip so in case anything is needed, we'll have it. I always would rather have something than not. Copies of documents have saved me before, too. Specifically when dealing with anything to do with the Philippines. Lol, fumbling with documents is not a problem compared to the hassle when suddenly you're asked to produce more photocopies of the original document you have in front of you and you have to leave the building, go outside to look for a copier because that city hall doesn't allow the public to use their office copier and you realise you don't have coins and the Ate at the copier won't take your large bill. So you go to a different store to buy something that costs enough to break your bill so you can have coins to pay the Ate. And you have the amazing opportunity to wait in line for all these things. True story. 

 

13 hours ago, Rocio0010 said:

Hi there!

Disclaimer: I’m not from The Philippines so I can’t answer about One Health Pass. But I’ve recently travelled to Argentina with the expired gc plus the extension letter… the extension letter and gc is only checked when you leave Philippines and again when you land into the US and go through customs. For us, it was super smooth. So much so that a lot of people on tourist visas were being pulled for secondary, but we were done in less than a minute at IAH.
 

Thanks for your travel experience.. in Argentina.

 

I'm sure you can't say anything about One Health Pass either. The reason I posted in the Philippines forum is because I specifically wanted to hear Philippines-specific experiences (if anyone has any to share, that is). If I had needed more examples from people traveling in other countries like yours, I would have posted elsewhere (but I won't because I've already read enough of those). There are so many things you won't understand, nuances and only people travelling to and from Philippines have insight to. Like, I know I'm probably ok and it will all probably be fine because I have all the documents needed, but you just really never know what else can happen to you depending on the current vibe or phase of the moon affecting Ph immigration/airport workers.

 

For example, we're the only country I know that will not let a citizen LEAVE the country even if you have a valid foreign work visa for a waiting job offer which probably took $$$ and years of your life to get if you don't have a specific sticker on your passport from some Philippine seminar specific to the type of visa you got. Sometimes the sticker isn't even enough, you also need to have the RECEIPT for the STICKER that's already on your passport, lol.

[confusedshoes 193]

10 hours ago, Talako said:

When my wife changed her name, BPI requested the ROM.  Maybe a marriage certificate is adequate.  You can only try.  We had a copy of the ROM, so it is no issue.  They would not make it a joint account.  I don't have an ACR card, as I am here on a Balikbayan.  

 

That was our experience with my wife's bank.  As you know, bank rules, requirements, and procedures vary by bank, manager, weather, the day of the week, and if you look like you're going to keep and pass large balances in an account. You keep trying branches until you and the bank manager's horoscopes align.

 

Thanks, we'll still try and I'll aim to find a Rat bank manager because supposedly Rat is best friends with Ox (me) LOL.

 

As for the ACR, would you still need that if you have a Ph passport? I figure I might as well ask because I'm eligible for naturalisation soon but I'm planning to keep my Ph citizenship/passport and this might come up. Balikbayan just means you are still Filipino and can come back any time without needing a visa, right (unless you naturalised to a country that needs visas to enter Ph)?

[Chancy 6,243]

2 hours ago, confusedshoes said:

As for the ACR, would you still need that if you have a Ph passport? I figure I might as well ask because I'm eligible for naturalisation soon but I'm planning to keep my Ph citizenship/passport and this might come up. Balikbayan just means you are still Filipino and can come back any time without needing a visa, right (unless you naturalised to a country that needs visas to enter Ph)?

 

ACR is Alien Certificate of Registration, so you wouldn't need one as a PH citizen.  Balikbayan is also the name of a program for PH visa-on-arrival, available to former Filipinos and to immediate family of Filipinos.  A foreigner admitted as Balikbayan means they are allowed to stay in the PH for 1 year.

 

[Carpe Vinum 2,330]

My wife went in March 2022 with expired GC and valid extension letter. No problems at all.

[Talako 789]

8 hours ago, confusedshoes said:

 

Thanks, we'll still try and I'll aim to find a Rat bank manager because supposedly Rat is best friends with Ox (me) LOL.

 

As for the ACR, would you still need that if you have a Ph passport? I figure I might as well ask because I'm eligible for naturalisation soon but I'm planning to keep my Ph citizenship/passport and this might come up. Balikbayan just means you are still Filipino and can come back any time without needing a visa, right (unless you naturalised to a country that needs visas to enter Ph)?

What Chancy said.  You mentioned a joint account, so I was relaying what my issues were as the foreign husband (Balikbayan privilege and no ACR card). They would not apply to you directly.  I should have been more clear.

 

[MarryMe987654 244]

I traveled to the Philippines in March 2022 and returned to the US in June 2022.

 

I have an expired GC and brought my extension letter.

I also brought my CDC vaccine card, my marriage certificate, and my old passport (with CFO) in it, and of course, I also brought a copy of all my original documents, just in case. For good measure, I have also saved a copy of all my important documents at home and in the cloud.

 

At my first departure airport, I was asked for the OneHealthPass reference number at the counter. It took them a good 20 minutes to go over all the rules for traveling to the Philippines and make sure that I met them all. No document-related issues on my way in. Everything was smooth.

 

On my way back, I presented my GC and extension letter to the check-in counter, and then I was asked to get a travel exit pass (no payment needed). No issues at all.

 

I did not take a COVID test prior to going to the airport. It was not required on any of my flights.

 

There is no issue with Philippine immigration. He just looked at my GC and extension letter quickly.

 

Once I landed on US soil, I just readily provided my GC and extension letter. No questions asked. I was let in without any issues.

I did not try to change any of my bank information while I was there. I already had my ROM done 3 years ago but did not bother getting a PSA record of it while I was in the Philippines. I was able to sign up for a national ID with my married name, though.

 

I hope this helps!

 

Edited September 9, 2022 by MarryMe987654

[confusedshoes 193]

2 hours ago, MarryMe987654 said:

I traveled to the Philippines in March 2022 and returned to the US in June 2022.

 

I have an expired GC and brought my extension letter.

I also brought my CDC vaccine card, my marriage certificate, and my old passport (with CFO) in it, and of course, I also brought a copy of all my original documents, just in case. For good measure, I have also saved a copy of all my important documents at home and in the cloud.

 

At my first departure airport, I was asked for the OneHealthPass reference number at the counter. It took them a good 20 minutes to go over all the rules for traveling to the Philippines and make sure that I met them all. No document-related issues on my way in. Everything was smooth.

 

On my way back, I presented my GC and extension letter to the check-in counter, and then I was asked to get a travel exit pass (no payment needed). No issues at all.

 

I did not take a COVID test prior to going to the airport. It was not required on any of my flights.

 

There is no issue with Philippine immigration. He just looked at my GC and extension letter quickly.

 

Once I landed on US soil, I just readily provided my GC and extension letter. No questions asked. I was let in without any issues.

I did not try to change any of my bank information while I was there. I already had my ROM done 3 years ago but did not bother getting a PSA record of it while I was in the Philippines. I was able to sign up for a national ID with my married name, though.

 

I hope this helps!

 

Thank you, I appreciate your detail, it's very comforting.