How many days per year may I visit the Philippines? (Merged threads)

[Talako 781]

As I read through this thread there seems to be this odd mixture of confusion and a refusal to listen.

 

All I can say to that is Good Luck.

[Nathan Alden, Sr. 17]

I had a half-hour call with a Philippine visa specialist yesterday. I explained my situation--that I'm a US citizen married to a Philippine citizen and, due to insane immigration timelines here in the US, I've decided to live in the Philippines for a couple of years. I was advised of three things:

• The SRRV minimum age is now 50+ when all published information I could find says 35+
• The Bureau of Immigration is rejecting online marriages--which my wife and I did through Utah County, even though we were both together in the Philippines--as illegitimate for the purposes of 13A issuance
• My wife and I should get remarried in the Philippines and then use that marriage as our "official" marriage for PSA and BI purposes (yes, she actually suggested this)

This was the first time hearing any of this from any source. This leaves me in a tricky bind. I'm already legally married to her through Utah County. Aren't I technically breaking Philippine law by getting remarried there? Given how bureaucratic and incongruous these various Philippine government agencies are, I'm not sure what information to trust. The PSA will apparently honor my online marriage through the Report of Marriage form, but the BI won't. It makes no sense. I'd rather not get married in the Philippines illegally, have some bureaucrat in the BI discover that, and then get my 13A revoked and be banned from the country. I'm also now apparently too young for the SRRV.

 

Has anyone run into this? Is my visa specialist trolling me?

Edited July 4 by Nathan Alden, Sr.

[Carpe Vinum 2,327]

36 minutes ago, Nathan Alden, Sr. said:

I had a half-hour call with a Philippine visa specialist yesterday. I explained my situation--that I'm a US citizen married to a Philippine citizen and, due to insane immigration timelines here in the US, I've decided to live in the Philippines for a couple of years. I was advised of three things:

• The SRRV minimum age is now 50+ when all published information I could find says 35+
• The Bureau of Immigration is rejecting online marriages--which my wife and I did through Utah County, even though we were both together in the Philippines--as illegitimate for the purposes of 13A issuance
• My wife and I should get remarried in the Philippines and then use that marriage as our "official" marriage for PSA and BI purposes (yes, she actually suggested this)

This was the first time hearing any of this from any source. This leaves me in a tricky bind. I'm already legally married to her through Utah County. Aren't I technically breaking Philippine law by getting remarried there? Given how bureaucratic and incongruous these various Philippine government agencies are, I'm not sure what information to trust. The PSA will apparently honor my online marriage through the Report of Marriage form, but the BI won't. It makes no sense. I'd rather not get married in the Philippines illegally, have some bureaucrat in the BI discover that, and then get my 13A revoked and be banned from the country. I'm also now apparently too young for the SRRV.

 

Has anyone run into this? Is my visa specialist trolling me?

They changed the minimum age for the SRRV during Covid because of abuse of Chinese nationals working in illegal POGOs. It is 50+.

 

If you are staying for just a year or two it might be easier just to renew your tourist visa periodically. 

 

 

Edited July 4 by Carpe Vinum

[Nathan Alden, Sr. 17]

I wanted to get the 13A so I could legally get a motorcycle license, legally work, etc., if I wanted to. Plus, it didn't seem that difficult to acquire--at least until now. 😛

[Talako 781]

5 hours ago, Nathan Alden, Sr. said:

I wanted to get the 13A so I could legally get a motorcycle license, legally work, etc., if I wanted to. Plus, it didn't seem that difficult to acquire--at least until now. 😛

On SRRV, yes, they changed the law to 50+.  You can thank the Chinese.

 

You can get a driver's license with a Balikbayan visa.  I was able to.  (Maybe which office, who you know, and the voice of your wallet determines success).   As far as working, you don't want to work here.  Pay is so low that it is not worth your time and effort even as a professional.  As a digital nomad working for an overseas company, then that is possible if you rationalize the technicalities. 

 

I worked on a 13A here, and I gave up.  After changing requirements, a fight with NBI over middle names, and a form requesting 5 things I dislike about my wife (I'm not that frickin stupid), I decided to forego it until I stop traveling and getting a Balikbayan visa becomes an issue.  Then maybe an SRRV at that point.

[top_secret 2,411]

BIR accepts a Philippine Report of Marriage.  In the Philippines they see that as a "PSA Marriage Certificate". (even though it's not a marriage certificate). 

 

"Remarrying in the Philippines" could be catastrophic to your situation in both the US and the Philippines.  DO NOT EVEN CONSIDER IT.  By Philippine law you must both be unmarried before you could marry.  However you are both married.  To each other.  You would have to commit fraud to even sign new marriage documents in the Philippines.  Then you could wind up having to spend years annulling the illegal second marriage to even set things straight with USCIS.  Your online marriage is fine.  Work with that.

 

13a is the wrong visa if you are seeking to stay a few years waiting for your wife's CR1/IR1.  You seeking permanent residence in the Philippines is contradictory to your wife seeking permanent residence in the US.  US domicile is a core requirement to sponsor a spousal visa.  The US citizen  spouse seeking permanent residence overseas tends to contradict that.

 

Balikbayan stamps seem ideal for what you seek.  Fly over, spend a month with your wife,  take a quick trip to Hong Kong, Taipei, Thailand etc.,  return together and you get stamped in for a year.  Super easy.

[powerpuff 6,686]

Another related thread merged. Please keep ALL further questions and updates regarding moving to the Philippines here only. 
 

VJ Moderation 

[Spicy Chickenjoy 14]

3 hours ago, top_secret said:

Balikbayan stamps seem ideal for what you seek.  Fly over, spend a month with your wife,  take a quick trip to Hong Kong, Taipei, Thailand etc.,  return together and you get stamped in for a year.  Super easy.

 

Super easy indeed. Several of us have suggested this to the OP already.

[Skyman 321]

On 6/25/2024 at 10:25 PM, Nathan Alden, Sr. said:

We're actually married. My goal is to immediately apply for the 13(a) visa upon arrival, which means I'd only need to extend my stay for a month or two.

Depends on what country you're from and a couple other factors but for Americans it is usually better to get the 13A in the US before you go to the RP.

[Skyman 321]

I've had a 13A for almost 20 years. I think when I had it 10 years, I was just beginning to save a little money over the BB visa with annual trips with my wife out of the country. 

 

But if you legally want to work here, it's probably the way to go.

[Skyman 321]

On 7/4/2024 at 4:45 PM, top_secret said:

13a is the wrong visa if you are seeking to stay a few years waiting for your wife's CR1/IR1.  You seeking permanent residence in the Philippines is contradictory to your wife seeking permanent residence in the US.  US domicile is a core requirement to sponsor a spousal visa.  The US citizen  spouse seeking permanent residence overseas tends to contradict that.

I've had a 13A about 14 years and I've lived the majority of the last 17 years in the Philippines with my wife who had a US B-2 tourist visa for about 12 years.  I don't know about other visas, but my Philippine status was never a question during the AOS process and she has been an LPR for almost 3 years.  We'll be filing her N-400 in September.