I have finally got all the items completed that are required for ones 13a Visa application here in Cebu. Since I did not find any DETAILED information on just what is involved, where one goes, what one needs, how much it costs, and useful snippets of information that eases the process (and hopefully helps make the process a little quicker), I thought I would share some of my findings with you. I have posted in the LinP Yahoo Group 'Files' section a 'zipped' file containing the BUREAU OF IMMIGRATION's - ""NOTICE TO ALL APPLICANTS / PETITIONERS"". This is basically a 'Tick List' of all the requirements that you need to have complied with BEFORE your application can be processed. I have annotated this with some Hints and Tips (in Red). I have also included in the 'Zip' file a sample ""Joint affidavit of legal capacity to contract marriage"" together with ""Joint affidavit of financial capacity and support "". This is only a 'Guideline', I would suggest engaging the services of a B.I. Accredited Representative to represent you as an applicant. Attorney Serafin ABELLON (Tel: 34564444, Mobile:09163261491), is Resident Ombudsman, Bureau of Immigration Cebu, and he can be found upstairs in Special Investigations room of Cebu D.I. and he helped me with my application submission, with his secretary producing the required Affadivit's and Filing my Application. He will represent me as an applicant and help push my application through (I hope!). Time will tell - let you know how it goes.

Does RP withhold a % of your bank interest? Here in US gov does not but AU withholds 10% and New Zealand recently withheld 37% until I got a number # from inland revenue which dropped the withholding to 10%.

Thx for both your emphasis on removing this subject from the simplistic level to a more realistic one. In my opinion, prenuptial agreements can prove to be a quagmire, from convincing your fiancee to agree to signing one, to enforcing its provisions in court after a failed marriage.

I fully agree with those who recommend consulting with an attorney. Premarital agreements are not worth the paper they are written on unless great care is taken in drafting and executing them properly. This is not a ""do-it-yourself"" project. The big problem you face with a fiancee from a country such as the Philippines are the issues of overreaching and duress. A filipina coming to the U.S. to marry a U.S. citizen is likely to be viewed by the Court as very vulnerable and the judge will likely scrutinze the document to determine if it was fair at the time it signed, whether the parties understood what they were signing and whether they had proper legal advice. You should be especially careful that you have FULLY disclosed your assets. You must also be prepared to demonstrate that your fiancee fully understood the document she is signing and its consequences. Probably the best way to convince the Court that you have not overreached is to make sure your fiancee is represented by independent counsel. I know this sounds like a lot of bother, but if you want to execute a document that has a chance of being upheld, you've got to convince the Court that you and your fiancee were playing on a level playing field.

Although Philippines law may allow for recognition of Prenuptials agreements, that would have little bearing on a couple who divorced Stateside if the prenuptial agreement had been executed in the States. Interesting, though, is my recall that the judge (a family friend of my wife) made a big deal of emphasizing during the wedding ceremony that my pre-marital assets were now equally belonging to my new wife, even if we have a subsequent divorce. Although the marriage took place in Makati 11 years ago, I recall thinking, ""Yeah, Judge, try to help her collect her half in California if things don't work out."" Well, things have worked out and my wife seems to have total control of those assets. She just came back from a trip to Las Vegas last night, during which I stayed home with out 9-year-old boy.

That's my wife's name too. :) So, do I understand that it is totally up to the RP gov't to decide about dual citizenship? The US doesn't care one way or the other? Maybe she should delay applying for US citizenship until law goes into effect?

It can't be overemphasized, to consult an attorney about a prenuptial agreement PRIOR to marriage. Each state and jurisdiction is different. In my case there was no conflict or arguement with my fiancee to agree to one and in our jurisdiction she had to have her own attorney. When the time came the court accepted it verbatum and there was little else left to argue over. None of it would have been possible without good legal advice. Without it, prior-owned assets could have been challenged and lost. She did not become a looser, the agreement gave her a ticket back to the RP and a sum to get re-started.

Maybe someone knows this... when my wife immigrated to America, there was a small amount of money (a few hundred $) owed to a credit card company in RP that was left unpaid. I actually tried to pay it years ago from America by calling the US phone # for the credit card company, but they said there was utterly no way to pay from the US and that someone would have to do it from RP in person. Too much trouble to bother with! Seems dumb, but anyway the end result is of course that has been left unpaid for several years and as far as the credit card company is concerned, my wife would have just ""disappeared"". Questions: When we eventually return to RP, whether for a visit or more permanently, could anything ""bad"" happen? If the laws resemble the US laws, then I'd presume there's not much bad that could happen other than a credit problem (is there a credit bureau like TRW there??). They don't grab people upon entry for unpaid debts, do they? Is there any ""debtor's prison""? Would the issue simply be irrelevant due to a statue of limitations? Any idea?/p>

I can accept that, though I hardly expect Philippines authorities to enforce such a marriage provision while I am in California. I wish you could have been in the room (a rented hall) when the judge pronounced the ""property now belonging equally to my wife."" I swear that all 120 or so guests stopped breathing to witness the effect on me and I seriously considered stopping the ceremony for clarification. I had just completed a divorce in California a month prior and property settlement issues that were not resolved had created a ""state of war"" between the ""ex"" and me. Fact is, and many of our members may share this experience, I was so cleaned out when all property and support issues were finalized from the first divorce that I could not have survived financially if my new wife had not started earning money in the US. Thanks to her, we recovered pretty well and she now controls 100% of the assets (rather than the 50% promised by the judge).

Why wait? It takes 6-18 months for the citizenship process to be complete, after which she can get her US passport and plan on staying out of the US long as she wants.

NSF checks and maxed-out credit cards may be basis for fraud charges in the Philippines (similar to Mexico, perhaps legacy of Spanish legal system). It's impossible to tell whether your wife would be subject to any legal consequences for the unpaid debt you describe if she returns to the Philippines. I would recommend, however, that you have a trusted relative or agent settle this with the lender before you wife returns

I think if I were you, I'd encourage your wife to become a citizen. She will loose very little by doing so. ""Duel citizenship"" is still a very contraversal issue in the RP and the Senate and Legislature have been haggling over it for a long time. It may happen, but even if it does I don t think your wife would gain or loose very much. Possibly the greatest issue would be in her ability to aquire new property. It will be limited to 1,000 square meters of urban land or 1 hectare of rural land, plenty big for a residence. She could even still run for public office in the RP if she desired. As a US citizen she could retain all of it's privilages, come and go whenever she liked and not have to worry about keeping her permanent residency in the US active.

I am an older member but I am getting all of the post in my outlook express mail box. I change the options to ""no mail"" but it reverts right back when I go back. Some one with your group has fixed it for me in the past but it is back again. Can you fix it again or send my mail to my yahoo adress which is alanmay0@yahoo.com If you need my password to do this email me at alanmay@attbi.com and I will give it to you.

Would getting this fixed be advisable even if we just return for a visit? Keep in mind my wife's last name has changed so the association with her former life may be difficult to make. Funny thing about this is that she has a credit card with that exact same company here in America (company is in both US and RP), so they obviously have no clue she's the same person or they wouldn't have granted the card. While the original balance wasn't very much, I'm concerned that excessive interest rate and late fees would make it painful for us to pay it off even if we can figure out how to pay it off... maybe we can negotiate it down? (""Hey, we'll pay you $500 and that's it... take it or leave it... keep in mind we're not in RP anymore so there's nothing you can do if you decline... etc."

Tried to find answers and couldn't. What is the usual typhoon season in the RP? What is the usual track of these storms? Do they tend to hit the northern islands as direct impact? Naturally there would be exceptions, but if one could be considered as usual or a norm what would it be?

There are exceptions of course, but July through November are considered the prime months for typhoons. There may be several during a year and they will strike all parts of the RP above the 5th latitude.

I have tried and tried to find a complete map of Cebu City. One with streets and of the complete city not one cut off at the edges of town that you can't see the out lines of the few streets on the border of town. You know what I mean, one like the tomas guides in the US. It seems to me all that I can find are incomplete in some way. They either have no street names or they are cut off at the borders. Dose someone know of a map of the city and it's out lying areas. One that shows... say Talisay. I am now experiencing something weird, when I stop typing on the screen it looks like I get some strarge characters on the screen and then the screen shows new type in the characters place that I didn't produce. I noticed the last time I posted a message there was incomplete words and words that I looked up in the dictnary to make sure they were correct and then in the massage some were wrong. IT IS WEIRD!!!!

Thank you for the info on the 13a visa. I was able to open the ""tick list"" file with no problem but the sample ""Joint affidavit of legal capacity to contract marriage"" together with ""Joint affidavit of financial capacity and support "" do not open properly??

All of a sudden, with no changes to my preferences, I've begun to receive all the LinP posts in my mail box. When I checked my preferences, somehow, they had been changed to allow all messages to be sent to my mail box. I changed it back to the way it was before. I'm crossing my fingers that it will stop the flood!

There is another side to this story. In some states if you have property and substantial savings and after the marriage you do not put her name on the house or the accounts, these are consider your assests before the marriage and will remain yours. The stipulation agreement can transfer these assests and you may have to go to court to defend them but you can keep them. I am proof of that. Just finished a divorce in the Commonwealth of Virginia and assests before the mariage are still mine even after 9 years of marriage (no children). Marriage property laws, divorce and annulment obviously differ from country to country, let alone within USA state to state. When I say ""prenuptial agreements"" are recognize by Philippine Law, I meant that before the marriage celebration, you and your wife (to be) shall execute a document, defining your property relations, maybe to simplify, ""to each his own"". Without it, the judge is right, that after your marriage, what is yours becomes that of your wife, what is that of your wife, becomes yours.

I was married to a lady from the Philippines and she just wanted to get a green card and as soon as she had it poof gone. My attorney told me she could get half of everything I had ( and his bill would take the rest ) So I still would like to be married to a lady from the Philippines and I'm gun shy.

I think your leverage in a US court would be much better if your prenuptial agreement was drawn up in the area you live. Ideally, the agreement should precede the marriage. A prenuptial agreement is not a silver bullet to ensure your assets are protected. In addition, I firmly believe that by expecting or assuming problems, we bring them on. If you are expecting to have a bad experience, you might very well unconsciously set yourself up to be more receptive to such experiences.

I for one can't fathom living on even P300 a day, much less feeding 3, 4, 5 or 6 kids as many do. My Dad only made $5 a day in 1945 at Ford Motor company, but with that he could buy a nice house and a used car at least. Just my two cents worth. Guess what I'm saying is that the average skilled labor in the RP is getting a royal shaft job. And yes I am guitly of only paying P200 a day also. Although that is more than most pay in Tacloban

That is true, but as an indication of relative cost of living (even if most people are not getting minimum) in different areas in RP, it might serve as a good general guideline. By the way, the only info I could find online was Official Minimum for MNL as of Oct 2001 was P250 per day. So I have amended the following:

Yeah...that is how it is. If the Philippine government will say that she can retain her Filipino citizenship after gets her US citizenship then she won't lose her Filipino passport. Actually, you won't have much to lose even if she applies for US citizenship now. My parents are US citizens but they still own property here (in the Philippines) and they come and go every year

This site seems to be mainly populated by Cebu residents, but maybe there are some participants from the north of Manila. My Husband and I are considering a job offer in Poro Point, San Fernando a la Union. His contract would be approximately two years, and it is a very good opportunity for us. We are an adventuresome couple and thoroughly enjoy the Ex-Pat lifestyle. We are currently living in Saipan of the CNMI, which is just north of Guam. We moved to Saipan for my Husband's position, but I was able to find employment in my field after about 6 months. I am a Network Engineer with ten years experience in Information Technology. I am concerned with letting my professional career grind to a halt if we move to the Philippines. It does not seem likely that I would find gainful employment, especially being far north of Manila city. I would love to find out if there is a community of Ex-Pat women near San Fernando. One important lessened I learned in moving oversees is that your friends become your second family. Should I be resigned to being a full-time at home wife, if we take the employment contract (which is not necessarily a bad thing)? We do not have kids yet, so I could not go the full-time mom route right off the bat. Having just moved to Saipan a year and a half ago, it was especially hard adjusting while I was unemployed. My qualifications are excellent it's just there are not a lot of IT jobs here in Saipan. I feel very fortunate to have one of the few. In addition to my own professional concerns, how is life near Poro Point? From the pictures it looks very attractive. Are there good houses to rent, relatively easy food shopping, good communications infrastructure like Internet service? We are a medium level of physically activity couple; we enjoy hiking, running, swimming, and diving. Any tips would be most useful in helping us make our decision.

As far as areas, do you want the city or countryside. Many will say stay out of Manila for retirement, expensive and crowded but with much to offer. I have chosen Cebu City as have many others. Davao is also a good choice, an even cheaper than Cebu, but a little off the beaten track for me. Some love the countryside and I did too, for a while. There are many wonderful places to live and a few to stay away from.

I read somewhere that US SS is sending over 200,000 SS checks to the RP and I believe the only SS office located outside of US boarders is in Manila. If I were to have to guess, I'd say that most of the US retiree's in the RP are returning Filipinos.

I would provide the following bit of info concerning cost of living. We have property in San Antonio, Zambales. Which is about an hour north of Subic Bay. The several times that I was in the RP, I noticed that although the prices rose and fell in accordance with the peso, basically, the dollar bought just as much back when as it does now in relationship to food. When you factor in rent, it buys a heck of a lot more. Figure clothing and you come out smelling like a rose. Tailor made for less than half of rack clothes in the states. Transportation is dramatically cheaper. Cable, oh heck it is so cheap I could hook up several homes for the price I pay in the U.S.. On the other side of the coin is gas and other oil products. Definitively close to U.S. prices. In other words, depends strictly on item to be purchased. To put it simply, if I can get along on $950 per month in the RP and have a couple hundred for savings, I'd say I am in fine shape. I have to have about $3200 in the U.S. to accomplish the same. Of course, I don't have a car in the RP and won't be paying my visa account. I would suggest that anyone take a trip to the RP. Go along with your honey to the nearest market (not western supermarket---open air type) and write down the prices of food and other items on a notebook. When you get back to the hotel (or wherever you are staying) add the costs you found (probably in kilos). Divide the Kilos by 2.2 to find the pounds equivalent. Then divide the total costs by 50 (the approx peso rate) and you'll have deciphered the cost in dollars. I don't think you'll find another country to match the RP in cost savings. I know I evaluated this over the course of 30 years and have the figures marked down on a paper. My sources with adjustments and even with minor (or major fluctuations) the dollar definitively buys more.

I have 25+ years experience in Telecoms Industry, and right now this is NOT a good industry to be in. Even if/when I get my 13A Visa and can legally work in the Philippines, I hold little hope for finding a good job here in the Philippines anywhere! Even if I found a job somewhere (even Manila), the pay is likely to be very much less than what I was getting paid by US company when I was based in Hong Kong. I was happy getting less than half that salary to be based in Cebu, now that has gone. Living in Philippines for no salary is not something I want to continue with for long! I think you will have a tough job finding any kind of work - difficult to get a Visa allowing you to work! Still if your husband gets the job and a Visa to go with it, then you can become a 'lady of leisure'. A good way to find female expatriates is to join in Hash House Harriers.

As I have earlier posted, interest earned from any currency deposits in the Philippines is subject to a ""final tax at the rate of 20%"", pursuant to Sec. 24, Para.(B),sub-paragraph (1) of the National Internal Revenue Code, as Amended by Republic Act 8424.

Notwithstanding my being a filipina (woman), I would advise or suggest that before you marry this (next) filipina, you discuss about your property relations during your marriage. You can propose that you wanted a ""regime of separation of property"" during your marriage, where each spouse shall own, dispose of, posses, administer and enjoy his or her own separate estate, without need of the consent of the other. If she agrees, you can ask a lawyer to prepare the document in this respect, which must be executed prior to the celebration of your marriage.

I'd love to hear from members of the board who split their time between the PI and the U.S. I've always thought the ideal retirement scenario would be to live part of the year in the PI and then spend the remainder in the States. That's my dream anyway - having the best of both worlds. I know some of the members are already living that dream. I'd love to hear any comments they may have regarding the pros and cons, and whether they have any advice for those who contemplate following in their footsteps. One matter I am especially curious about is the matter of children. My wife and I would like to adopt a Filipino child when we retire. Moving back and forth, however, might be difficult on a child. Has anyone tried this before?

I'm not sure where the 5 degrees falls, but Davao is outside of the typhoon belt, so that should also apply to General Santos.