Next question comes from Denny. “What kinds of things can count as strong ties for a tourist visa?” A “strong tie” is anything that you can use to prove to the consular officer that you’re going to return to your home country. That could be a house that you own, could be a great job, […]

So, the next bit of news, this has been a topic for a while, and something that we started to see a lot of denials for at the beginning of the year. Since we do a lot of business with the Philippines with fiance visas and spousal visas, Philippines is one of the few countries […]

The embassy interview is the final step in the fiancee visa application process.  The applicant will need to meet face-to-face with a consular officer, usually at the US Embassy located in the applicant’s home country. The interview generally lasts 15 to 30 minutes and consists of between 5 and 10 questions. The focus of the questions […]

Philippines. This is not a complicated process but it can be very time consuming and may include a few steps or processes that you are not aware of. The original version of this post was made on Oct 21, 2012, however has been updated today. This 4,300+ word article is broken up into several parts as there […]

Hukou is built upon a history of family registries that dates back to the Xia Dynasty (2100 BCE- 1600 BCE). The modern usage takes this and is applied similar to the internal passport system used in the former Soviet Union. This internal passport identifies a person by regional city or village and there work status […]

If you worked in Singapore for 6 months or more from age 16, you definitely need a Police Clearance for your US Embassy Interview. Here’s the instructions on how you get obtain a Singapore Police Clearance. Certificate of Clearance (COC) is issued by the Criminal Investigation Department of Singapore Police Force to CITIZENS OF SINGAPORE […]

New Applications Please have all your original documents and IDs photocopied before going to DFA on your appointment date. General Requirements: Personal appearance Confirmed appointment Birth Certificate (BC) in Security Paper (SECPA) issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) or Certified True Copy (CTC) of BC issued by the Local Civil Registrar (LCR) and duly […]

The United States Embassy in Ankara will implement new fee payment services.  These arrangements will reduce the cost of applying for a U.S. visa. Fee Payment Options Starting Wednesday, December 19, 2012, applicants who wish to pay by cash will pay their visa application fees (MRV fee) in Turkish Lira at AK Bank. For convenience, […]

Philippine Customers: There’s one mandated functions of the NBI is to act as national clearing house of criminal records and other information for use of all prosecuting and law enforcement entities in the Philippines of identification records of all persons without criminal convictions. For a long time the NBI clearance used the paper and ink […]

What is a CENOMAR? It is a certification issued by the PSA stating that a person has not contracted any marriage. Also called a certificate of No Record of Marriage or Certificate of Singleness. A Certificate of No Marriage Record (CENOMAR)  from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) is simply what its name implies. In legal definitions […]