Phillipines Passport Married Guidance & Counseling Certificate of Attendance

[Tukaram (Tim)]

My wife already had a passport but just wanted to do a name change. She has no plans of going to the US.  She still needed the CFO seminar. It is given in Manila and Cebu only - terribly inconvenient for most of the country. In Cebu I was not even allowed to enter the building the seminar was in.  Over half the women did not speak Cebuano, but my wife said almost the entire lecture was in Cebuano. So really a big waste of time. Except she got the CFO certificate and was able to change her name on the passport.  They really try to keep things complicated here ha ha. 

 

[bigpearl]

13 hours ago, Northern Lights said:

My fiance and I are getting married this January in the Phillipines. In making future preparations for visa approval she will need a passport ready for that process.

We came across an unknown part to her passport application process which is also causing some confusion. Apparently if a woman is married to a foreign national she needs to attend a counseling seminar by the CFO (Commission of Philipino Overseas) to receive a Guidance and Counseling Certificate of Attendance. The catch is, the CFO reads like you need to have passport first to attend. The department that provides passport reads like you have to have the certificate first. The way we take it that makes any sense is that perhaps you can get passport prior to counseling but the sticker/stamp needs to be given to make the passport usable? So, can't seem to do one with out the other. Also, we have heard that some women were being denied stamp/sticker after  attending.

Anyone have any expeience with this? Is it easier for her to apply for passport first and make any necessary changes later as her name will change with marriage and what not?

Haven't come across this until now when researching the visa process.

First post on forum, thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

The hoops and the hurdles seem alien to us in PH as foreigners no different to my better half learning new things and ways in OZ.

CFO is mandatory for Filipino nationals hooking up with "what appears to be off worlders" and from our experience the passport was in place and was not an issue, suggest passport first as this seems to help with ID and legitimacy/recognition "I am ready to leave the country". We did a partnership visa and while treated no differently to married couples or fiancé visas the process was a pain in the XXXX and involved time and money and from the report after, given by Bengie was a total waste of time but a legal requirement, hoops etc. Good luck mate.

Cheers, Steve.

[Jack Peterson]

1 hour ago, bigpearl said:

Good luck mate.

 he knows that. 

[earthdome]

12 hours ago, Clermont said:

So as not to confuse you, I have split an answer: Have you thought about taking her back on a tourist visa first, less complicated and she will have all the answers for her CFO. Also you didn't mention whether this has been a long term relation or not, no offense. A tourist Visa gives the prospective a chance to see her new life and meet your friends, worth thinking on. 

Getting a tourist visa to the USA is impossible for most filipina's. Why go through the process twice. Once as a tourist, then get denied, the second time as a fiance or spouse. If your filipina was already denied a tourist visa USCIS will be much harder to get through the second time because they will have questions about the motivations of your fiance/spouse.

Clermont, respectfully, you are not from the USA, and some of the information you are providing is not helpful to the OP. It would be better for the OP if those on this forum who are from the USA and have first hand experience answer his questions. It is great that you are active on this forum and willing to help answer others questions.

Edited December 14, 2017 by earthdome

[earthdome]

12 hours ago, Northern Lights said:

Many visa processing companies have good prep advice although this hasn't been listed anywhere yet I have seen.

The process is straight forward enough and there is enough information out there on forums that you really don't need to use the services of a visa processing company. As I mentioned earlier, we did this 3 years ago. We found a great deal of good information on the website Visa Journey.

On an earlier post I said you did CFO after you got her passport with her maiden name. I may be mistaken on that. It could be before. If you go to a DFA office and ask they will give you a list of requirements. That is the best source since information on the internet may be old and the procedure may have changed.

 

[Clermont]

Not going to get into a verbale with you earthdrome: but the suggestion of a tourist Visa was to see whether she liked the US or not, plus give her a better pathway into the US, by complying with her Visa requirements. We all know Visa rules have changed, it's harder to get a loved one into our countries nowadays and they are still changing, it's been three year since you did yours, every path needs exploring, think on that.

The CFO is basically standard information that is required by the PI before they put the sticker of the certificate in her passport.

As far as sticking my beak into Yanky affairs, sorry, I'll refrain from it in the future and not bother researching answers for OP's, good luck. 

[Northern Lights]

Earthdome would be correct on the tourist visa for Filipinas. Immigration in the US is cautious about this with couples. They prefer if you have already began a relationship to use other visa methods if serious about it. Not that you can't, but you could be denied making it a costly endeavour in a few ways.

I'm not sure if I would try to do the whole visa process myself even though I've been a DIY person through out my life. 

And Clermont, things do very from country to country, although I'm always open to information and views from anyone. 

[AlwaysRt]

A US tourist Visa, even for a spouse, is and has been (no change) a near impossibility. So much so that I didn't bother wasting an application fee to try and get one for my wife when I went back to the States earlier this year.

I hear "the" way to go about it is applying for a spouse Visa (permanent resident/immigration visa) which is fairly simple - and fairly fast if you have been here over 6 months. After traveling to the US change your mind about staying and give up the Visa. The next time apply for a tourist Visa which then has a very good chance of being approved for 10 year Visa since she proved she has no intention of overstaying.

[Maxheadspace]

So, Northern Lights, did you get married?  I've seen a lot of suggestions here, but if you're already married then further comment is moot.  If you haven't yet married and you have time to play with, consider a K-1 visa, i.e., a fiance visa.  It's true, getting a tourist visa for a Filipina is challenging, but a K-1 visa is not that difficult.  You just need to show evidence of a continuing relationship, such as described by others on this thread (time-stamped photos, stamps in your passport, email, etc).  Also, with the K-1, your fiance does not need a change of name in the passport (yet), nor does she need any certificate from the Philippines.  The catch with the K-1 visa is that you must marry within 90 days of her arrival in the US, but that doesn't sound like an issue for you.  The CR-1 (spouse) visa and the K-1 (fiance) visa take about the same amount of time to process with the US Government, but if there's a long processing time for the Philippines certificates, the K-1 may be a faster option.  If you are still grappling with this, send me a PM and I'll point you to some resources.

[BKB]

tukaram-tim, Went through the same process as you for the same reason. So I must agree, a total waste of time and money.

Edited March 17, 2018 by Jollygoodfellow
Fixed weird linking