For most foreigners staying up to 21 days, visas are not required upon entering the country, provided visitors have valid passports and tickets to leave the Philippines. Visas are required only for stateless persons and citizens of countries with which the Philippines have no diplomatic relations. For visitors who are planning to stay up to 59 days, a temporary visitors visa is required, and registration with the Commission on Immigration and Deportation is necessary.
If you enter the country on a 21 days non-visa entry, you can easy extend it for 59 days at any Immigration office spread out all over the country. The cost is around $30-50 depends how speedy you want the paperworks done. Foreigners arriving from an area infected by plague, typhus or yellow fever are required to have valid vaccination and immunization certificates. Holders of Hong Kong and Taiwan passports need special entry permits. Visas and permits may be obtained from Philippine embassies and consulates.
Customs Regulations
Visitors are advised to fill in the Baggage and Currency Declaration Form before arrival to facilitate customs examination. For those with no currency or article to declare, BC Form 117, signed by the custom officer serves as a gate pass.
Foreign currency more than US$3,000 must be declared at the Central Bank of the Philippines counter situated behind the customs examination area. Departing passengers are not allowed to take out foreign currency more than the amount that was brought in and declared. Local currency not exceeding P1,000 can be taken out of the country. Imported items brought in, and not to be taken out again upon leaving, are taxable.
Duty-Free Items
Two bottles (1 liter each) of alcoholic beverages, two reams (400 sticks) of cigarettes and two tins of smoking tobacco are allowed to be brought duty-free into the country.
ALL FOREIGN CONSULATES»
ALL FOREIGN EMBASSIES»
http://www.dfa.gov.ph/protocol/dipconlists.htm»
VISA AND IMMIGRATION INFORMATION
If you have found your true love and wish to bring her to the USA, you have two choices. You can petition her as your fiancée (fiancée visa) or you can marry her in the Philippines and petition her as your wife (Spousal visa). By far the best of these choices is the fiancée visa. A fiancée visa will take 90 days to process. If you marry in the Philippines it will take 12-18 months for your visa process.
 In order to petition your chosen one with a fiancée visa (I-129F), you have to have met the lady in person and have some evidence of a relationship. You should have pictures of the two of you together and should exchange plenty of letters. You should also have proof that you visited the Philippines in the form of airline tickets, hotel bills and the entry stamp in your passport.
When you file INS form I-129F for your fiancée, you should include copies of the proof mentioned above. Once you file, you should receive notice of acceptance from the INS in about 4 weeks. After approval, your paperwork is sent to the State Dept. and then the embassy in Manila that takes another 6 to 7 weeks. Your fiancée is then informed by mail to complete a checklist that includes obtaining a passport, getting a national police clearance from the Philippines, obtaining a copy of her birth certificate and getting an Affidavit of Support from you. This is an INS form that you can get at any INS office (I-134). It requires you to provide proof that you are financially able to support your fiancée and also requires you to guarantee her support. Anyone who makes over $20,000 per year can usually qualify. Once your fiancée has all the items on the checklist, she sends a form provided to the embassy in Manila and they schedule an interview for about 4 weeks later.
Before the interview, your fiancée will be required to undergo a physical examination, chest x-ray and blood test. She should take all the evidence of a relationship between the two of you to the interview including pictures and letters. I warn you now, during the interview the interviewer will read your mail. Yes, your most intimate correspondence will be read by a US Government official so don't say anything you don't want them to read. The most important question your fiancée will be asked is "Why do you want to marry this man?" There is only one correct answer and that is "Because I love him". Assuming your fiancée passes the interview, she will return the next week to get her visa. After that, she has to attend a seminar put on by the Philippine government after which she can get on a plane and fly to your waiting arms.
Once in the USA, you must marry your fiancée within 90 days or put her on a plane back to the Philippines. Once married, you go to the INS and file a "Change of Status" form. The INS will then schedule an interview for the both of you.
If you desire to be married in the Philippines, you must first obtain an "Affidavit of Legal Capacity to Marry", a legal document to satisfy government officials in the Philippines that you can legally marry your intended. To do this, you take your passport, birth certificate and copies of divorce papers to the embassy in Manila or the consulate in Cebu. You must also take your prospective bride, her birth certificate, photo ID and a lot of letters between you to prove that you have established a relationship. You will not receive this unless you have been writing for at least 6 months and have lots of letters to prove it. Anti-immigration sentiment in the USA has caused State Dept officials to be much tougher.
Assuming you pass this hurdle, you apply for a marriage license and can get married 10 days after it is issued. You can apply for the marriage license at the municipal hall of the town where intended lives. Once you get back home, you file INS form I-130 and wait and wait and wait. The procedure is much the same as for the fiancée visa but seems to take a lot longer. I guess the fiancée visa goes faster because it is just a visitors' visa and not an immigrant visa. Your bride will have to make a special trip to Manila to get fingerprinted before they schedule an interview. These fingerprints are sent to the FBI fingerprint center in Washington and ads 6 to 8 weeks to the whole process.
SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES: MARRIAGE IN THE PHILIPPINES: Any foreigner who wishes to marry in the Philippines is required by the Philippine Government to obtain from his/her Embassy a "Certificate of Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage" before filing an application for a marriage license. The Government also accepts an "Affidavit in lieu of a Certificate of Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage." A U.S. citizen may execute this affidavit at the American Embassy in Manila on Tuesday or Thursday mornings, or at the Consular Agency in Cebu. The American must present his/her U.S. passport, and there is a fee of U.S. $55.00 for executing the affidavit. Philippine authorities will not accept any substitute document initiated in the United States.
Execution of the affidavit is a notaries act by the U.S. consular officer and, as such, the consular officer is authorized by Title 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Section 92.9b, to refuse to perform the service if the document in connection with which the notaries act is requested will be used for a purpose patently unlawful, improper, or inimical to the best interests of the United States. Entering into a marriage contract with an alien strictly for the purpose of immigration to the United States for that individual is considered an unlawful act. Section 4221 of Title 22 United States Code provides penalties for individuals who commit perjury in an affidavit taken by a consular officer.
In total, getting married in the Philippines takes about 9 to 15 months longer than petitioning her as your fiancée. Some of these girls want to be married in the Philippines in front of their family and friends. This can be accomplished at some future date after your bride has permanent residence by both of you returning to the Philippines to get married again or just get married in the Philippines and wait.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT FOR U.S. MILITARY PERSONEL: U.S. military personnel should contact their personnel office regarding DOD joint service regulations.
THE MARRIAGE APPLICATION PROCESS: Once an American citizen has obtained from the Embassy an "Affidavit in Lieu of a Certificate of Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage," he/she can file an application for a marriage license at the office of the Philippine Civil Registrar in the town or city where one of the parties is a resident. The U.S. citizen applicant will need to present: (a) the affidavit, (b) divorce decree(s) or death certificate(s) required to verify civil status and legal capacity to contract marriage, (c) U.S. passport, and (d) documentation regarding parental consent or advice, if applicable. (Marriage applicant’s aged 18 to 21 must have written parental consent. Those aged 22 to 24 must have received parental advice.) Philippine law prohibits marriage for individuals under the age of 18. A judge, a minister or other person authorized by the Government of the Philippines can perform the marriage.
Marriage to a U.S. citizen confers neither citizenship nor an automatic eligibility for entry to the United States. An immigrant visa is required for a foreign spouse to live in the United States. Questions about filing an immigrant visa petition to bring a foreign spouse to the United States should be directed to the nearest office of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the State Department’s Visa Office (202) 663-1225 or, while in the Philippines, to the U.S. Embassy immigrant visa unit in Manila.
CHILDREN’S ISSUES: For information on international adoption of children and international parental child abduction, refer to our Internet site at http://travel.state.gov/children's_issues.html or telephone (202) 736-7000.
REGISTRATION/EMBASSY AND CONSULAR AGENCY LOCATION: U.S. citizens living in or visiting the Philippines are encouraged to register with the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Manila, located at 1201 Roxas Boulevard, Manila City; tel. (63-2) 523-1001. The Consular American Citizen Services fax number is (63-2) 522-3242 and the ACS web page is http://usembassy.state.gov/posts/rp1/wwwh3004.html.
The U.S. Consular Agency in Cebu provides limited services for U.S. citizens. The Consular Agency address is: Third Floor, PCI Bank, Gorordo Avenue, Lahug, Cebu City; tel. (63-32) 231-1261.
The loss or theft abroad of a U.S. passport should be reported immediately to local police and to the U.S. Embassy in Manila or the Consular Agency in Cebu. U.S. citizens can refer to the Department of State pamphlet, A Safe Trip Abroad, for ways to promote a more trouble freer journey. The pamphlet is available by mail from the Superintendent of documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402, via the Internet at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs, or via the Bureau of Consular Affairs home page at http://travel.state.gov.
For all your immigration needs, whether it's fiancée or spousal, we recommend EZ-DO-IT Fiancee Kit. It includes: Your guide "Bringing Your Foreign Fiancee Home."
All necessary INS forms for the visa process necessary to get your new bride (or groom) to the United States.
Complete reference list of addresses and phone numbers to INS centers and American Consulates and Embassies abroad.
Your Package Gives You These Fantastic Advantages…
What the INS doesn't tell you that they want. Your guide outlines all of the nuances, no matter what your situation is, to ensure that the package you submit is complete and processed without requests for additional information.
Gives you great advice on such matters as to where to get married and where not to, children and other family members, what information she should have, how long it should take and how long it might take, and much, much more!
This guide is an outstanding reference throughout the entire process and is a must-read, even if you are just considering embarking on the process.
Tells you how to monitor the progress of your application and what to do if you find the INS is ignoring you.
How to expedite the final steps of getting her visa once you have approval.
Just revised in June 2000 to include newly enacted laws and policies. It is absolutely the most current and complete package available today.
You can even contact the author, William Livingston, directly at his office (limitations apply, of course)!
The most useful and complete package available to help ensure your success!
|