Latest on Visas per the San Francisco Consulate

[Joey G]

12 minutes ago, Heeb said:

That would be true in most cases but remember we aren’t always dealing with logical or honest people sometimes, this is the international airport where a bullet scam was allowed to operate for quite awhile. Besides I think the S Koreans tried to get in before the new visa requirement, I think the reason for the new requirement to go through the consulate was to filter these people out, so now I’m at the whim of someone who decides if I’m legitimate or not.

Excellent points and probably why the BI at the airport don't trust consulate people who issue visa's... my wife is still scratching her head on the S. Koreans.... we don't know of ANY S. Koreans who are married to Filipina's... and between her and her friends they know over half the country I think 

[Heeb]

6 hours ago, Joey G said:

Excellent points and probably why the BI at the airport don't trust consulate people who issue visa's... my wife is still scratching her head on the S. Koreans.... we don't know of ANY S. Koreans who are married to Filipina's... and between her and her friends they know over half the country I think 

I actually have a niece that's married to a S. Korean, we put her through nursing school but she never passed the board exam, the S. Korean was happy to find an educated Filipina I think, I guess it turned out okay in the end, they have two kids, he owns a successful business, she never paid us back which is a source of discontent for my wife but totally expected by me.

Edited August 24, 2020 by Heeb

[OnMyWay]

22 minutes ago, Heeb said:

I actually have a niece that's married to a S. Korean, we put her through nursing school but she never passed the board exam, the S. Korean was happy to find an educated Filipina I think, I guess it turned out okay in the end, they have two kids, he owns a successful business, she never paid us back which is a source of discontent for my wife but totally expected on by me.

My neighbors in our duplex are a Korean and his Filipina wife.  However, I agree that it is rare.  Koreans usually want to marry Koreans.  In Germany, I dated a Korean girl and she didn't want her parents to know, because I was not Korean.

[Gator]

15 hours ago, Joey G said:

Reading this article... I guess they have good reason...  the knuckleheads from S. Korea were probably up to no good and got caught. Anything is possible... but if your a legitimate spouse and have your paperwork in order I think one would be OK. 

Knuckle heads is correct at least for two of them (see press release below). I wonder if they’re partly the reason for the crackdown. There were  probably others that didn’t make the news. 

PRESS RELEASE 2020 August 19

BI bars 2 Koreans in Mactan airport for faking their marriage to Pinays

MANILA, Philippines - Bureau of Immigration (BI) officers at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) turned away two South Korean nationals who attempted to enter the country by presenting fraudulent copies of certificates of their alleged marriage to Filipinos.

BI Commissioner Jaime Morente also banned the two Koreans, identifed as Shin Bumsik and Woo Jungje, from entering the Philippines by ordering their inclusion in the Immigration blacklist of undesirable aliens.

"Don't trick our officers by presenting bogus marriage certificates because that will not work. You will be turned back to where you came from and can no longer return to our country," Morente warned other foreigners intending to travel to the Philippines.

The BI Chief stressed that possession of an entry visa does not guarantee a foreigner's entry into the country because immigration officers have the lawful mandate and discretion to assess arriving foreigners, inquire about the purpose of their trip, and examine the documents that they presented.

"If you lie and resort to fraud and misrepresentation, you are unfit to be given the privilege to enter our country. You will be excluded and booked on the first available flight back to your port of origin," Morente said.

BI Port Operations Division Acting Chief Grifton Medina said the two South Korean nationals were excluded at the Mactan airport last Monday, 17 August 2020, after they arrived aboard an Aseana Airlines flight from Seoul.

Medina said both passengers, who had tourist visas, presented scanned copies of marriage certificates purportedly showing they are married to Filipinas.

This reportedly aroused the suspicion of the immigration officers on duty who decided to refer the passengers to their supervisors for secondary inspection.

"It was later found that one of them, Shin Bumsik who is only 20 years old, could not have married a Filipina as he had never traveled to the Philippines before," Medina said.
He added that the other Korean, 34-year-old Woo Jungje, was also caught lying as it was discovered that he was out of the country at the time of his alleged marriage in October last year

https://www.immigration.gov.ph/images/News/2020_Yr/08_Aug/2020Aug19_Press.pdf

[Jollygoodfellow]

21 hours ago, Heeb said:

So even after all the hassle of getting a visa I can still get turned away if someone doesn’t like my answers.

If you have everything correct such as marriage papers. Dates in Passports if you were married here etc I see no reason why you will be turned down and it wont be if they dont like your answers it will be that the person entering did not provide whats needed.  If you have been here on a now expired passport or something best to bring the old one with you if its needed to match things up.

As for bullet scam, mostly I think these things are in the past.

[Heeb]

1 hour ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

If you have everything correct such as marriage papers. Dates in Passports if you were married here etc I see no reason why you will be turned down and it wont be if they dont like your answers it will be that the person entering did not provide whats needed.  If you have been here on a now expired passport or something best to bring the old one with you if its needed to match things up.

As for bullet scam, mostly I think these things are in the past.

I was married in San Diego in 1990, I don’t have an original marriage certificate anymore, according to the article Gator posted above, a scanned marriage certificate aroused suspicion.  I will have to dig through all our crap here and find whatever I can to help plead my case if they question me. I wonder why they are worried about a few people sneaking in when we have to go through quarantine in a hotel on arrival, and get tested for covid, they should be happy to have some people spending money in country.

[Jollygoodfellow]

1 hour ago, Heeb said:

I was married in San Diego in 1990, I don’t have an original marriage certificate anymore, according to the article Gator posted above, a scanned marriage certificate aroused suspicion.  I will have to dig through all our crap here and find whatever I can to help plead my case if they question me. I wonder why they are worried about a few people sneaking in when we have to go through quarantine in a hotel on arrival, and get tested for covid, they should be happy to have some people spending money in country.

Well I guess its because any country would stop you at the border if you are illegally entering the country. If they are sneaking in who knows what else they are up to so I think its a normal thing to do. If these people go into quarantine they may disappear carrying a virus and no one will be able to find them because they are not trying to enter to visit Boracay.

Fraud by presenting fake marriage certificates would get you into trouble anywhere. Of Course those with genuine papers wont have an issue. I did not read the full article posted here but seen several in the news and another thing that points to illegal aliens and fraud is some had no record in their passport of being here at a certain time to get married as they were trying to pass it off as.

Conclusion is that with correct and legal papers there is no issue. 

 

[Joey G]

2 hours ago, Heeb said:

I was married in San Diego in 1990, I don’t have an original marriage certificate anymore, according to the article Gator posted above, a scanned marriage certificate aroused suspicion. 

If you're worried about a scanned copy... then get a certified copy mailed to you with a government seal. 

https://arcc.sdcounty.ca.gov/Pages/marriage-certificates.aspx#4

[Gator]

And along with the paperwork / documents I’d also bring some photos of you and your wife together (or print some out if you only have them in digital versions). Old and recent ones. The more paper you can put in front of them, the better off you’ll be. We all know how much they love paper, lol. 

[Heeb]

8 hours ago, Gator said:

And along with the paperwork / documents I’d also bring some photos of you and your wife together (or print some out if you only have them in digital versions). Old and recent ones. The more paper you can put in front of them, the better off you’ll be. We all know how much they love paper, lol. 

Yes I’ll have plenty of paper just in case