Philippines

Ned Kelly has lived in the Philippines for three and a half years. While there, he co-authored a book on living in the Philippines for those thinking of retiring, working or studying in that distant archipelago. Here’s an excerpt on how he met his fiancé, Michell.

U.S. citizens may petition their fiance or spouse to join them in the United States. In many cases, the fiance or spouse may have children that wish to accompany or “follow-to-join” them. If the child(ren) is unmarried and young enough, they may qualify to join or follow-to-join.

In the 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 October 21, 2012, however has been updated today.

Once the US Embassy in Manila approved you for US Visa, you have the two options on how you can receive it. You have the option for Home Delivery or Pick Up.

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.

A Birth Certificate from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) is a vital record that establishes the birth of a child. It is an official form that gives details on the time and place of a person’s birth, and his or her name, sex, mother’s name and (usually) father’s name. The word “birth certificate” can refer to either the original document or a certified true copy of or representation of the original record of birth document.

A Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA), is an official record of U.S. citizenship issued to a person under age 18 who was born abroad to United States citizen parent(s) and acquired citizenship at birth. Schools, the Social Security Agency, and other institutions throughout the United States accept it and give it the same credence they give to birth certificates issued by state authorities in the United States.

Many people ask how much cash they can bring into the Philippines. There actually is no limit at all. You can carry all the cash you want as long as you declare anything over US $10000. There is no tax and nobody will take the money away from you (unless you get robbed in the parking lot).

There are two ways to book an interview appointment: through the Embassy call center (Visa Information and Appointment Service) OR by visiting the online appointment website.

Scheduling an appointment through the Embassy call center
To schedule a visa appointment for IV or K petitions, please contact the Manila Visa Information and Appointment Service center hotlines at (632) 976-8500, (632) 976-8501 or (632) 976-8502.

After check-in of applicants at the entry gate applicants will proceed to the Pavilion where they will submit their documents for data entry. Each applicant will receive a number. When you number is called you proceed to the appropriate window for finger scanning. After finger scanning documents including the DS-156 application for a nonimmigrant visa and passport will be returned to you for presentation to the interviewing officer.