DELTAFOXTROT

40 minutes ago, Simply Newt said:

I have plans to rent a car when we reach our destination in CDO. When we arrive it will be late and I have them dropping vehicle off at airport. Hotel is about and hour away and never thought of using a taxi or a Grab. Should I change my plans and go for a grab instead. It will be after midnight before I am able to head towards the hotel. The rental is priced ok but requires a Hugh deposit. After watching videos of all the traffic and it being my first time there - I am thinking I may lose that deposit because of someone not paying attention.  

Do Not Drive in the Philippines, you are a major target. People will seek you out for an accident for the money, once again do not drive your first time there.  If you have been there for a while and understand the country then drive, but driving is no no for newbie.  If there is an accident you will be at fault no matter what.

Where are flying from in the USA?  How layovers do you have?

On 9/10/2024 at 1:44 PM, AlaMike said:

All of the points that @Spicy Chickenjoy has stated. As for currency exchange, Check the current rate of exchange online before you go. The exchange locations in the airport offer good rates as compared to sending money to yourself then having to pay the exchange rate plus the fees.

Also, make sure if you plan on using your credit cards out of the country, call or go online to let them know you will be using them and the dates of travel. 

If you are 100% sure this going to be your plan (K1). Take all of the K1 paperwork with you. You can go thru the list of things you will need from her, copies of birth certificates, pictures for the application, CENOMAR,  etc. This may help and avoid the expense of sending this to you back in the States.

If you are using taxis be sure they are using the meter, some will tell you a flat rate and it will be many times the actual cost if they were using the meters. Best to download GRAB unless you plan on using Jeepneys or trikes. (My 6' - 280lb frame does not fit well in local transportation).

But most of all...have fun, see the country side, enjoy the great food and hospitality. 

 

I have found the currency rate at the airport in the secured area after arrving to be excellent and they are quick to exchange large amounts.

On 9/10/2024 at 2:13 PM, Edward and Jaycel said:

I can't emphasize enough @AlaMike comment about using either Grab or metered taxis.... I lived in CDO for 13 months and I made the mistake of using a "flat-rate" taxi from the airport there to our condo once and it was 4 times the cost of a metered taxi or Grab trip. In CDO, eat at the Fat Chef restaurant (there's one downtown and one uptown). They have great bulalo!

Metered Taxi will still rip you off.  My last trip I took it from NAIA terminal 3 to US Embassy in Manila at night aroud 10pm and he somehow rigged the meter to say 1500 peso, I have made this trip probably 40 trips and it is around 380 peso on grab or even taxi leaving going to airport. I gave him 500 peso, but looking back I should of given him nothing, he caught me being tired from flight.

They had a kiosk outside the termial that was a grab.

On 9/8/2024 at 8:38 PM, RO_AH said:

Some advice. Dress very casual. Don't wear jewelry. When in public and walking around keep your cell phone put away. When I go I keep a separate wallet from my wallet I use at home. I keep my drivers license and whatever money I will need for the day. I keep my wallet in my front pocket. I always keep my passport where I am staying and never take it out and about. Bring USD with you. Make sure they are nice clean crisp bills because money changers are sometimes picky. You get the best exchange rates by exchanging there and no fees as opposed to sending money to yourself through a remittance service. I have never felt unsafe there but I always understand that I am in a foreign country and some people will target foreigners, so I always try to take these precautions and always stay aware.

 

Don't be nervous about meeting her parents.  Filipinos are probably the most welcoming and friendly people in the world. My 1st trip to the Philippines was a life changing experience, I fell in love with my wife, the country and the people there. I have been there 11x total and my next trip will be permanent.

 

Last, I always recommend a CR1 over K1. I know a lot of people that went the K1 route and wished they did the CR1. I don't know of anyone that went the CR1 route that wished that they did a K1. Whatever route that you choose, make sure that you take lots of pictures and that she has her family and friends in the pictures too. This will be needed for your visa application.

K1 Visa move much much faster, I wouldn't ever recommend a CR1 Visa, it has way too many negatives. And he will only be there for a week.

12 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

I'd say use up your leftover pesos as you can, and tip with U.S. dollars without a second thought.

I haven't gotten pesos in decades, I only take US Dollars. 

Last time I brought peso home they devalued them and made them worthless and I was stuck with a was of old mexican pesos and you they wouldn't accept them.

3 hours ago, WCF said:

 

It is unclear to me the significance of the September 28th date. For example, if you made your appointment over a month ago and it is scheduled October, 1st, does this apply to you, or is it for people making appointments after September 28th?

I am reading it that is starts on the 28th, So if you scheduled before the 28th then you are good.

I don't understand why they would put such a burden on an applicant, We scheduled my wife mother for a Tourist Visa Interview last week, for the September 25th, we beat the deadline if we would try to schedule after the 28th then she would of had to fly to Manila just for biometric and a picture, and then fly back to home and back to Manila for her interview.

I dont' get it, this seems very stupid to me.

20 hours ago, Boiler said:

I think a lot of places now prefer Euros

Never heard of anyone tipping Euros in Cancun, many coming from Europe get either US Dollars or Pesos to tips, same thing with people from Canada they are always asking if it better to get US Dollars or pesos for Cancun on many of the Resort Pages for Cancun on FB.

10 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

Dollars are happily accepted in the Mexican border towns that I've gone to, for payments and tips.

If the people aren't charged a fee for exchanging dollars for pesos, then dollars would be fine.

They take US Dollars all over Cancun, Cancun was designed to attract US Citizens and US Dollars.

I have never heard of currency exchange that charges any fees in my travels.  I always assumed they wanted US Dollars vs a Mexican Pesos.

Just saw this from the US Embassy in Manila that all interviews for immigrant and non immigrant interview will have open a new Visa Application Center near the Mall of Asia. Immigrant and nonimmigrant visa applicants seeking interview appointments starting September 28 will be required to schedule a separate appointment at the VAC for photo capture and fingerprint scanning prior to their interview at the U.S. Embassy on Roxas Boulevard. Scheduling will be done through the new and redesigned online appointment system.

U.S. Embassy to Launch New Visa Application Center, Additional Consular Information Services - U.S. Embassy in the Philippines (usembassy.gov)

1 hour ago, Boiler said:

Ask them?

I don't get back until next month.

I am on a couple Cancun All Inclusive FB pages and I see people talking about if the workers perfer Pesos over US Dollars.

My thought is US Dollar is king.

14 hours ago, Chelmb said:

Hi we got the schedule for interview next month OcT 7 and 25.

 

Thank you 

Good Luck with her interview, I was thinking we would have to wait longer for an appointment

US Embassy in Manila is moving along very quickly with visa interviews

On 9/3/2024 at 8:51 PM, TBoneTX said:

Any tip is a GOOD tip.

Agreed.

But I wonder if the workers perfer Dollars over peso and if they hold them and wait till exchange rates are good to trade them in to maximize the currency value.

23 hours ago, EatBulaga said:

Well you seem to contradict yourself about living in the Philippines to remarry for the sake of contradicting yourself. Can't help you with that.

 

Yes, CR1 also has to removal conditions for the green card so background check for criminal history do matter despite you saying you don't have to disclose criminal history.

 

 

For K1, criminal history does matter in the I-129F and in the I-485. So in both cases, criminal history do matter regardless if you disclose to USCIS or not. So both are contrary to what you said if your intent is to hide the criminal history.

 

And I don't even know what you are talking about no waiver for multiple petitions. USCIS will find out either way.

 

I have no problem with either the pros or cons of the ROM. But you contradicting yourself or saying false statements about criminal history just confuses the issue if not yourself as your posts show.

You made some comment about USCIS will find out if you have have filed a previous petition.

Here is your exact comment  "And if your intent is to  have multiple petitions, USCIS will find them."

USCIS don't care if you have mulitiple petitions, and US EMbassy in Manila Consular officers don't care if you had more than one or two K1 visa.  They are only concerned about your current petition.

My point was a K1 you have to file a waiver for multiple petitions, a CR1 you don't have to file a waiver for multiply petitions. 

You can file as many petitions as you can afford, there is no limt.

23 hours ago, EatBulaga said:

Well you are in the wrong thread.

See the title.

 

Go create your thread.

I like to educate people, for some reason the name change and ROM is pushed from the Philippines government, It is more of a money grab, just like paying extra for CFO and making Philippines citizens pay to exit the country.

I have seen the way the ROM information is worded and it's clear it real purpose.

21 hours ago, jan22 said:

While this is far from the OP’s topic and question, I would like to address a couple of your statements that are not accurate, as they may cause future misunderstandings for others with other topics.

The “silly stuff” you mention is included to give people a sense of American culture and wide variety of interests, attitudes, and humor — as we all do in life, the Embassy FB page does not focus solely on “serious” topics.  
 

The Embassy FB page is 100% managed by an American officer.  They will take down any post that appears to be more about domestic issues than foreign affairs related or that has potentially sensitive information, including law enforcement issues.  And, anything with an outside link will be immediately taken down for cybersecurity reasons, as it could introduce a virus into the system.

 

Most importantly, US Embassies DO close for holidays — they close for all US federal holidays and the majority of the local county’s federal holidays, up to a total number allowed per year.  They may be open for a local federal holiday, if it exceeds the annual total allowed.  (They also close for the two days that are the “weekend” for the host country).  There is always a US officer on duty 24/7 for emergencies involving an American citizen (for example, the death of an American citizen, a crime involving a US citizen, etc) when the Embasst is closed.  It was almost certainly the duty officer you spoke with on the phone.  BTW, not all duty officers would have deemed your request an emergency and would have told you to return when the Embassy was open, unless it was almost the last day to get a ballot.

Incorrect for the most part they leave up all posts, Just don't include a link to like a news article and they take those down.

It was like Halloween time when the Embassy was shut down for the Philippines holiday I think they call it All Souls Day, when everyone goes to the graveyards and spends the night.

I was finally able to get someone to come to the front entrance of the US Embassy and finally give me a phone out thru the like the glass door area and the American person told me they had a skeleton staff, but he did take care of my request.  I did have a handful of Philippines Security Gaurd tell me the Embassy was closed for Holiday but as I told them the US embassy never closes.  I did ask the American dude on the phone what happens if something happens to a US Citizen while they had an "Skeleton Crew" and he said they handle that on case by case basis.

I was pretty sure they were gonna accomodate my request at the US Embassy, they take care of US Citizens in the Philippines.

22 hours ago, top_secret said:

The whole issue does not apply much to a foreign spouse.  It is the Filipino Citizen that is required by the Philippine Government to report an overseas marriage.  What the foreign spouse does is not much concern to the Philippine government and they have no jurisdiction over a foreign spouse outside the Philippines.

 

My own opinion is this.  If the neither of you have plans for maintaining significant ties to the Philippines then it probably makes little difference.  If you feel that your marriage is likely to end in divorce then it is very beneficial to the Filipino Citizen spouse NOT to file it.  If either of you ever think of retiring there, having a bank account there, drivers licence, business, property, etc etc etc, it will be an issue that could constantly come up at every dealing with the Philippine Government and it is probably easier just to file it.  Plus, juggling multiple names on multiple travel documents is doable but kind of a hassle.

It not required by the Philippines Government, I think they just want the money to me, seems like just a money grab like making their citizens pay a exit fee to leave the country.

I  don't plan or retiring or having a business, and I got a Driver License already for Philippines. My wife just carries both passport when she enters Philippines, I am not sure which one they use, I was already in Philippines when she came to Philippines last trip.  I usually travel solo to Philippines.

We do make a trip together in June and I will use the balikbayan entry so I won't have to mess with getting visa extensions

My wife just had same issue last week trying to schedule her mother from Philippines, it wouldn't take the number on the reciept. 

After she sent a message to the Feedback she was able to schedule like within a few minutes, right now they have opening for tourist interviews at US Embassy in Manila in about 30 days.

1 hour ago, Chelmb said:

Hello everyone again this is Michelle from US and thank you for answering my question the last time I ask about getting a tourist visa for my daughters and YES we got it so far and they paid the MRV fee Yesterday there ( Philippines) Sept 4, 2024  10 am, and after 4 hrs we try to get a appointment for interview ( ustraveldocs) but it said in the website NOt found the number , and we check all numbers and reciept it's all match in our rcbc reciept.. is this normal to wait longer? 

 

Thank you in advance for your responce whoever ever expirence this.

 

Respectfully

 

Michelle from GA USA 

What did it say if your number isn't found in the instructions? 

Something about send message via forum Feedback, did you do that yet?

55 minutes ago, EatBulaga said:

For someone with "zero plans to live or retire in the Philippines", looks like you are making plans already?

 

For CR1 and K1 paths, you do have to disclose criminal history at some point like on the I-485. And if your intent is to  have multiple petitions, USCIS will find them. Sounds like you are advocating illegal means which are not recommended on Visajourney?

 

I see no benefits to the US citizen for not having an ROM if your intent is a bona fide marriage. If your intent is not a bona fide marriage, then you might find more loopholes having an undocumented cross the Mexican border and seek asylum?

I tried to live in Philippines after a few months I can't wait to leave the Philippines, I get too bored there after a while, so been there done that.

You must not understand the K1 visa application, once you have multiply filings you have to get a waiver when you file a K1 ,this isnt' done on a CR1 to my knowledge, and of course USCIS knows how many times you have filed but they really care nor does the Consular Officers at the Embassy in Manila when you do your visa interview.

Per guidelines on thus website there is no I-485 filing for CR1, it says I-130 and I-130A, I guess you are unaware on K1 petition they ask about your criminal past.

There are many benefits for the US citizen to not file ROM, If you look on your other post you will learn.

The K1 is a very simple process, and I would assume the CR1 is as well,  only reason I am going to Mexico is to be in Cancun.

44 minutes ago, EatBulaga said:

Maybe you didn't understand?

Philippines passport name change requires the ROM.

It is not neccessary to do change name on passport, not required

Seems like no reason to jump thru hoops for that, too easy to just get passport in maiden name once you decide to get dual citizenship from Philippines, you will find about that later in your journey.

On 9/2/2024 at 9:22 PM, jan22 said:

You don’t know the number or topic of inquiries the Embassy gets…most do not come in via Facebook.  The Facebook account serves the entire Embassy and has to address US policy on a variety of topics.  They are unlikely to try to deal with anything involving immigrant visas , as they are very legalistic and case specific, rather than general information that all could use.

 

Whether the person doing the actual posting is an American citizen or not, I can guarantee to you that everything that is posted is reviewed by and cleared by a US officer from the Public Affairs office in the Embassy.

For sure it is cleared by an American, this is the Philippines.  Thankfully last few weeks they are talking about WW2 rememberance and getting student visa to USA.   They will go into a stuff like pride month or silly stuff like the Ber months.

You can tell by the wording and some topics whomever runs the FB page for the US Embassy is non American, If I post something about the current president of the Philippines having an arrest warrant out for him in the USA and put a link it is taken down pretty fast, which is kinda funny.

From what I have seen is getting to an American inside the US embassy is rather difficult, you have to go thru non americans first, even doing a visa interview inside the US Embassy.

A few years ago I tried to go to the US Embassy and get a ballot to vote for the Federal Elections in 2018, the Philippines security gaurd didn't want me to go front entrance and kept telling me the Embassy was closed for holiday, I kept telling them the US embassy never closes.  Finally after ignoring them I got to the front entrance and was told the US Embassy was closed, I called their bluff and the finally handed me a phone thru a window and finally I was able to talk to an  American and they found me a ballot.

I suggest to not mess with a ROM, There isn't much benefit to apply for it, and could be a determent in the future in case you want to get married again in the Philippines.

9 hours ago, EatBulaga said:

One option when not having the ROM is the Philippines spouse can always go back to the Philippines and re-marry easily since she is still single in the Philippines.

 

It's up to the US citizens to determine if that is favorable or not for unforeseen cases like if one gets incapacitated, what keeps her from draining your savings and moving back to the Philippines to start a new life? Then again if this is a far-fetched scenario not worth considering, then no need to continue with this thread?

Or I could go to Philippines and get married if needed, Would be another good thing for not doing a ROM now.

I was under the impression if you do a marriage visa like a CR1 vs a K1 you don't have to disclose criminal history and if you have multiple petitions you don't have to do a waiver. So it could have some benefits for a US Citizen as wel.

I 134 isn't really a required document, it's a non binding document.  US Embassy in Philippines was telling applicants at one time it wasn't ever needed. 

16 minutes ago, top_secret said:

 

BPI ATM's will let you do 20k if you hit "other amount" and then key it in manually.  I never got shut down so far doing two 20k withdrawals back to back.  I haven't tried pushing it past that.  HSBC ATM's might give you 40k but there's not so many of them.   Schwab also gives you some amount of free wire transfers if you are talking big bucks but someone needs a local bank account to receive.

I thought Schwabb had the limit set at $1,000 USD per day, but never confirmed that with Schwabb.