Kawika & Michelle

Hi Folks, Does anyone have any recommendations on apps, books or websites that could help me learn Cebuano/Bisaya/Visaya? Thanks! Kawika

Hence why I said taxes for the IRS & other government agencies & fees for the USCIS. They are already talking in Congress about privatizing the industry because of how bad the government is in general when it comes to doing a job on time & under budget. As you just hinted at that it would likely take even more idiots to learn how to push a button to export a petitioner's IRS data from another US government agency. There will be no movement to streamline & simplify the system until they are forced to do it. Unfortunately we don't have terrorists that can blow things up that will cause them to work together like it has with the CIA, FBI, Homeland security, etc. Government workers don't get paid for good performance...they get paid the same amount regardless of how well or how badly they do their jobs.

Typical way for them to look at it. It's not like we don't pay taxes & fees to even allow the government agencies to exist & waste our time & money.

You would think that in this day in age, one federal government agency would be able to read the data from another one. They could simply ask for permission or just do it when you submit the form and pull that information directly themselves instead of having people gather & print off a bunch of printed documents that they will likely never look at to begin with.

That's the website where you sign up for your interview. This is also the website where you can monitor the available appointments lots & sign up for one IF one becomes available. Calling them directly will likely serve the same purpose as they can only adjust your interview appointment if & when an earlier one becomes available due to a cancellation, re-schedule, etc.

Thanks...we went ahead & decided to forego the wedding in Hawai'i for that reason & a couple of others...so we'll be doing it here in Texas instead with a more full blown ceremony next year in the Philippines so that her family & friends can participate as well.

I haven't reached this step yet...but based off of what the website indicates: https://www.uscis.gov/i-864 Filing Checklist Did you provide the following? For ALL sponsors: A copy of your individual federal income tax return, including W-2s for the most recent tax year, or a statement and/or evidence describing why you were not required to file. Also include a copy of every Form 1099, schedule, and any other evidence of reported income. You may submit this information for the most recent three tax years, pay stubs from the most recent six months, and/or a letter from your employer if you believe any of these items will help you qualify.

I went ahead & took the plunge today to book her flight instead of risking the flight fully booking up or the prices go up even more. I went ahead & purchased the round trip ticket since that was the only way to get the 12:15 pm flight we were trying to get out of Cebu. It was not an option (other than buying the more expensive seats) as a one way ticket. Everything I've researched seems to indicate that the second ticket should be fully refundable minus the associated refund fee ($50 for the ticket I purchased). The refund fee can vary from $50-$200 depending on the ticket you purchase. I'll let everyone know what happens when we request a refund.

Totally understandable...at this point that cost would be the $100 change fee if we had to reschedule to another day.

The best flight for EVA Air from Cebu would be the one that leaves around noon with only one stop in Taipei. The main issue I've been seeing is that EVA Air likes to hide the availability of the Basic Economy seats for that flight for One Way searches but they show up if you search for a Round Trip. The price for that leg on a round trip tends to be less than $700 which is why I was asking earlier about how the refund process works. If it works like I hope it would...I should be able to get the flight I want at the best price if I go through the round trip ticket process...but I want to make sure that the only thing I lose when canceling the second leg of the round trip is the refund fee. If that is the case, then I could secure the flight I want at the best price going this route for just the cost of the refund fee ($50). Otherwise I would have to pay almost $200 more to put her on an earlier flight that would stop over in Manila before following the same route as the preferred flight. Taking the earlier flight would also create the issue of having to put her in a hotel over night in Cebu so that she could make it to the airport on time. On top of all of it is that we have no guarantee that she will get her visa in time for the flight on May 12th. Her interview is on May 4th (Thursday)...so we may be taking a risk that she would even receive her visa in Cebu by the 12th. It basically comes down to whether or not I would like to gamble $100 on the chance that she can be here on Friday night...which for me is worth it. If we pick a later date & she ends up getting her visa prior to May 12th...I would have wished that I would have taken the risk to see her sooner.

If she flies from Cebu to Manila to Taiwan & then to IAH - Houston...would she be going through the Philippine immigration process in Manila? Or would that already happen in Cebu?

Wouldn't a route like this also require the beneficiary to do the immigration process at the first port of entry in the US...so in this scenario they would have to go through the immigration process in Atlanta? So we would need to make sure that the layover on the first port of entry is several hours long just in case their processing takes a lot of time.

Well the way I read their guidance is that if you buy a round trip ticket & then decide to cancel the second part of the trip you will only be refunded the cost of the unused (second ticket) portion of the fare & not just half of the total price you paid for the round trip ticket. I figured that this is in place for situations where the first part of the flight may be more expensive than the second part & they don't want to have to pay half of the value of the total fare & end up losing money in the process. Any refund is also subject to the refund fee which varies by the price of the ticket you purchase. Apparently the more you are willing to pay for a ticket, the lower the refund fee, change fee & cancellation fees become. Those one way costs typically get hidden & are only available as part of a round trip ticket package. I figured that out by doing a few searches over time. I've flown the same route the last two times I was in Cebu...leaving there at 11 am...6+ hour layover in Taiwan...and then arriving in IAH at 11 pm on the same day I left Cebu. That's the route I am planning for her to take as well. Most other routes & carriers seem to add another day to the travel time...

Here's what it says on their website: To safeguard your rights and interests, refunds applied through the website will only be made to the credit card or bank account originally used for the purchase. After submitting the refund application, when you have the information of original payment amended on the issue of credit card lost or eliminated and so on, please contact your credit card issuing banks for further assistance. If there is any refund value after the value of used portions and refund fee/No Show fee/Booking Service Charge deducted, we'll process your refund back to the original credit card within 7 working days (it should appear on your statement in 1-2 billing cycles). For cash and check purchases, we’ll process your refund within 20 working days after receiving a complete refund request. Refunds for cancellation of unused segments will be calculated with the value of the used segments deducted, rather than half of the original ticket value (Booking Service Charge is non-refundable). It is possible that only the airport tax is refundable after calculation; if so, no refund handling fee and No-Show fee will be charged. This also applies to non-refundable tickets.

Her tentative travel date would be May 12th. One way is $1300+...as part of a round trip ticket I would get that $700+ price for the first part & similar for the second half...which is typically what I've paid in the past $1200ish..I was planning to secure the tickets now instead of waiting until the last minute. Normally the flights I've taken are packed.

If I don't get refunded for the second half of the trip, then it is cheaper to just go with a one way trip...so it would make no sense to purchase a round trip ticket & simply throw away the return ticket. Sorry if that wasn't clear in my question above.

Hey Folks, Hopefully someone has experience with this & can give some guidance or at least shed some light on this in case I am reading this wrong. I was browsing through tickets to fly my fiancé from Cebu to Houston, TX. I will likely use EVA Airways as I have used them for my past two trips to visit her. When browsing the prices I noticed that the price for a ticket is significantly more if you are shopping for a one way ticket as opposed to a round trip ticket. What I am considering is purchasing a round trip ticket & then asking for a refund for the return trip. Based on what I am reading, the refund should be for the value of the unused ticket (return trip) minus a "refund fee". Depending on the class of ticket you purchase, the refund fee varies from $50-200. The difference in the one way ticket versus the round trip ticket (if I can get a refund on the unused ticket) is almost double in price...so the $50 "refund fee" would be more than worth it if this works like I think it should. I don't want to assume that I will just get the refunded amount sent back to my credit card...so I figured I would ask here. I've checked their app to look for a FAQ or anything that would verify that things work as I expect it will...but it isn't particularly clear. I wanted to see if anyone else ever used this method or has a better method that I might be able to use. Thanks! Kawika

@Chancy thanks for the detailed response & link to the thread. At this point we are planning to go the "Follow To Join" route with his mom flying over as soon as she has her visa in hand. I've reached out to the Manila embassy, as it appears that they do not require any children 14 years of younger to attend interviews. It really would be pointless for the interviewer to try to interact with her son at age 4/5. We'll just have to hope that we can work something out with the embassy or get our Advanced Parole expedited to make sure that she/we can go there next summer to bring him home with us. Our wedding is planned for June 10th..so I plan to file everything the following week to get the ball moving.

Too early in the morning for me to figure this one out Where is CDM?

Yep...this was explained to me over the weekend. I was under the impression that we were on the hook for 10 years max...but it could be potentially for life if your partner divorces you & marries someone else and decides to never work or become a citizen.

Sadly...that would seem to be the case. You would think that they would have thought the process through a bit more to allow for situations like ours.

Understood. I've spent time with him on multiple albeit brief occasions (4 trips to the Philippines)...but without us being able to really communicate & with our prior interactions being limited to only interactions with his mom present...I just think that expecting him to be calm & comfortable traveling 20+ hours to the US will probably be too much at this point. The last thing I would want is to be trapped in a plane or in a foreign country on a layover (likely 8 hours or more in Taiwan) with a kid who is crying because he is legitimately scared.

I think the problem here is that wouldn't that family member require some other visa as well...maybe a US tourist visa?

That was what we were originally planning to do before we learned about the "follow to join" option. And based on the timetables for I-130 it could end up taking 2-3 years before he ever is able to join us in the US. That's not something I would ask of my fiancé.

I'd hope that they fact that we went through all the trouble of getting the CFO sticker & both traveled to Costa Rica for our first trip would be a good start to prove that we were both serious from the start. Add in 4 trips to the Philippines over the last year & a half including the last one where I flew my three children with me so that everyone could meet should be more than enough to prove that we have a bona fide relationship...or at least it would prove that I am 100% serious...I guess the only issue the interviewer might have is if he notices something that tells him that she might not be. But I do understand where you are coming from @EatBulaga. I figured they dumbed down the I-134 to make it easier to fill out & meet the requirements of the K1. I imagine that the documentation for the I-485 will be significantly more in depth. I was also enlightened over the weekend that we could be on the hook for life with the I-485. For some reason I thought that was capped at 10 years, but now I understand that is only if she works for 40 quarters.