# What do i do



## dlkrepps (Nov 6, 2014)

I am recently married to a Filipina, I am curious as to the best visa option as she doesn't want to immigrate to the US anytime soon. 

Our plans are that she will arrive to assist me in deciding to what to bring and how much of my personal items to the Philippines during a duty free move. Any suggestions as it will be a very temporary stay.

Thanks,
dlkrepps


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## 197649 (Jan 1, 2013)

dlkrepps said:


> I am recently married to a Filipina, I am curious as to the best visa option as she doesn't want to immigrate to the US anytime soon.
> 
> Our plans are that she will arrive to assist me in deciding to what to bring and how much of my personal items to the Philippines during a duty free move. Any suggestions as it will be a very temporary stay.
> 
> ...


You will get lots of responses what kind of visa is dependent on what you want to do. Have you been here before. There may be some things you want to bring that are not readily available here. here is 220. I myself have a 13A permanent visa.


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

*Visa for a visit to the US*



dlkrepps said:


> I am recently married to a Filipina, I am curious as to the best visa option as she doesn't want to immigrate to the US anytime soon.
> 
> Our plans are that she will arrive to assist me in deciding to what to bring and how much of my personal items to the Philippines during a duty free move. Any suggestions as it will be a very temporary stay.
> 
> ...


Congratulations on your marriage and soon to be living in the Philippines. 

I was able to get my Mother in-law a tourist Visa because she owned property in the Philippines, she visited us a couple times while I was stationed in Guam, sure was an expensive hassle I hired a lawyer to do it for me. Another issue that could come up is that if your wife has a passport but it's not her married name it could cause some hold ups or issue's when traveling to the US, hopefully you have time to figure this all out.

Not sure it would be worth the effort for such a short stay in the US, I hope there's an expat that can comment on a duty free move, I found a short cut that lists the requirements for this, if you don't qualify get ready to pay some fee's, I wouldn't ship any vehicles here either unless money is no option for you, it would be smarter to sell off your vehicle and buy one here, it's no fun dealing with any government agency here.

http://www.philippineembassy-usa.org/uploads/pdfs/DutyFreeImportation.pdf

Dlkrepps do you have your non-immigrant quota Visa 13a?


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## jon1 (Mar 18, 2012)

dlkrepps said:


> I am recently married to a Filipina, I am curious as to the best visa option as she doesn't want to immigrate to the US anytime soon.
> 
> Our plans are that she will arrive to assist me in deciding to what to bring and how much of my personal items to the Philippines during a duty free move. Any suggestions as it will be a very temporary stay.
> 
> ...


Here is what I did to get my wife a US B1/B2 Tourist Visa http://www.expatforum.com/expats/ph...430809-oh-joys-bureaucracy-2.html#post5733090 

Good luck with your container shipment. I do not know if you will qualify for duty free as your wife has not really been working abroad but it just may work as you will be eligible for the Balikbayan privalege due to her upon your return. It's not impossible but I have heard of lots of hassles from Customs. Also, as you may be already aware of, the Manila port is bursting at the seams and there are delays in getting things out of port. There are problems with people wanting payoffs to move things. I would try to find a reputable shipper or cargo forwarder in the US to handle this.

While in the US, at a minimum I would obtain a local police clearance and if you have enough time, apply for your 13A visa at one of the Philippine Consulates in the US. Embassy of the Philippines - Consulate Finder Map It will be quicker than getting one in the Philippines and less hassle.

Where are you from in the US?


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

dlkrepps I sold all my stuff a couple months before I left, what ever I couldn't sell I gave away to the a teen trouble help center called the "Boys Ranch", used the money to buy what I needed here, everything went cheap but it added up, sure beats showing up here and the claim I'll need to pay thousands to get it out "Extremely happy customs employee". 

Vehicles even worse, there will be a blue book tax, trouble is they make their own blue book...LOL... and the actual cost of the vehicle will be half of what it cost brand new or if a collectors item, half the going auction market, could be more. 

Two years a customs official was caught driving his Porsche (racing) and shooting, at a couple of college boys, trouble is that the custom officials monthly salary was only 15,000 peso's, so about $350 dollars, he was convicted, only due to his outlandish actions but then again if you can post bail your out of prison, gotta love it here.


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

Just in case you need some short cuts to get your 13a non-immigrant quota visa going, it can take as little as two months to finish, less if you live close to a Philippine Consulate. You'll need to use the Philippine Consulate that services your state, click and go, you can do everything through the mail system, they do take calls and emails. 

Embassy of the Philippines - Consulate Finder Map


I have a quick look see at all the forms and instructions needed but the headers are from the Chicago Philippine Consulate, for some odd reason the forms are standardized but all look similar, the police clearance is actual a certified copy of your police record.

http://www.chicagopcg.com/forms/newimmigrantform.pdf


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## dlkrepps (Nov 6, 2014)

No 13a visa as of yet


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

*13 Non-Immigrant Visa, get it in the US*



dlkrepps said:


> No 13a visa as of yet


Oh boy I'd get that before stepping foot here in the Philippines, it shouldn't take less than 2 months to finish stateside, so many documents are required and they all need to be originals and certified. Can you imagine the costs of getting your needed documents from the states? and then certified by? Still not clear on this yet  the Philippine Consulate that controls your state or the US Embassy they charge $50 a pop and I think you'll need an appointment . Also the transportation and food costs if you live outside Manila, the delays of Bureaucracy here and all sorts of requirements it can take you more than a year to get all your ducks in a row, all this can be avoided by simply getting it done stateside. 

Another note the US passport if it's within one year of expiration, another factor, get a new one, that can be done in as little a two months also, it holds the 13a Non-Immigrant Visa for 10 years before you have to go through that process again.

Balikbayan or Forex box is the the way to go if you have several items you can't live without, cost was $100 - 120 and it didn't matter how heavy the box was (it needs to be tapped with heavy duty tape inside and out, wrapped real well with rope on the outside) it doesn't get taxed and is here in 1-2 months, the Asian stores in your area should have this service.

Since last year when I joined the forum the biggest concern and strain on expats is showing up here and having to start all your non-resident paper work from scratch in the Philippines, what a unneeded hassle and stress, while getting all the requirements also having to extend your Visa in order to stay legal in country. 

I ran into a younger man at McDonald's a couple years back we talked and he mentioned that he's married to a Philippine lady, I asked him if he had is Non-Immigrant Visa requirements finished, his reply to me was, I'm married to a Philippine lady the question seemed to bug him and for good reason, if caught the fee's will need to be paid and if he can't get legal Visa requirements, marriage won't keep him from deportation and possibly black listing for years.

Couple weeks before retiring from the Navy I was sent to a one week course explaining all my benefits and (retired out of Guam) most of the class ended up fielding questions about retiring to the Philippines, the instructor (VA representative) was well rehearsed and familiar with Philippine customs, shipping your household goods and vehicles, basically it all came down to, don't do it... it's gonna cost you more than the goods and vehicles are worth.

Things don't work so smoothly here, this includes phone and email inquiries to government or business, they post all the phone numbers and information but nobody answers, there's no staff to handle calls. 

On lighter note with some simple planing in advance things can be very enjoyable. :eyebrows:


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