Australian holiday with my GF

[Dave Hounddriver]

13 hours ago, hk blues said:

they had already sent my wife away to buy a top which they considered more appropriate.

But was it the right color?  I remember Lyn had to wear a certain color, white I think, for the photograph.

[Mike J]

On 9/24/2022 at 10:41 AM, OnMyWay said:

That is only for high risk countries like the Philippines.  I had to do a similar process the first time our family went to NZ.  My wife and step-daughter are Filipinos, while my two younger daughter are U.S. citizens.  The paperwork for my wife and step-daughter was a pain, and my wife's brother (NZ citizen) also had to fill out sponsorship paperwork.  For me and the 2 kids, I think there was just one quick online form to be filled.

That is much better than the U.S.  The applicant has to be interviewed at the Manila embassy and there is a very high denial rate.  The $160 application fee is non-refundable.  I watched a whole family get denied.  You could tell by their faces.

Interesting information at this URL which shows USA refusal rate (2018) for a visitor visa.  Rate of refusal for Philippines is 27.1 percent, lower than what I expected based on what you often hear and read.    Third world/developing countries are definately high on the llst.   Somalia has the highest rate of refusal at 90.2 percent.  

https://qz.com/1696508/what-are-the-chances-of-being-rejected-for-a-tourist-or-business-visa/

[hk blues]

11 hours ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

But was it the right color?  I remember Lyn had to wear a certain color, white I think, for the photograph.

Can't remember the original top but the "replacement" was a stripy effort.  IIRC, the issue was it had no sleeves, or at least not long enough sleeves. 

[KC813]

20 hours ago, Mike J said:

Interesting information at this URL which shows USA refusal rate (2018) for a visitor visa.  Rate of refusal for Philippines is 27.1 percent, lower than what I expected based on what you often hear and read.    Third world/developing countries are definately high on the llst.   Somalia has the highest rate of refusal at 90.2 percent.  

https://qz.com/1696508/what-are-the-chances-of-being-rejected-for-a-tourist-or-business-visa/

What you hear and read for visitor visa denials in Manila my still be close to correct.  I am pretty sure the article you cite uses the world-wide approval/denial rate for Philippine citizens.  I would expect there are many Filipinos residing permanently in developed countries around the world that would have a high approval rate, so that may skew the worldwide denial rate downward.

Anyway, I have never seen US Dept. of State release the Manila visa denial rates broken down by visa type.  Maybe it is out there, but I have not seen it.  I do remember hearing the post in Manila say their nonimmigrant visa approval rate is 70-80%, but that included a large number of work visas with a very high approval rate.

 

 

[Mike J]

57 minutes ago, KC813 said:

What you hear and read for visitor visa denials in Manila my still be close to correct.  I am pretty sure the article you cite uses the world-wide approval/denial rate for Philippine citizens.  I would expect there are many Filipinos residing permanently in developed countries around the world that would have a high approval rate, so that may skew the worldwide denial rate downward.

Anyway, I have never seen US Dept. of State release the Manila visa denial rates broken down by visa type.  Maybe it is out there, but I have not seen it.  I do remember hearing the post in Manila say their nonimmigrant visa approval rate is 70-80%, but that included a large number of work visas with a very high approval rate.

 

 

The article is actually quite specific.   It is the rejection rate for a travel visa into the USA.   The approval rate for work, school, etc. would of course be much higher as the person seeking the visa has to provide supporting evidence from the USA employer or school.   

There was also an interesting note on another US government site about the visa.  It says <snip>A visa allows a foreign citizen to travel to a U.S. port-of-entry (generally an airport) and request permission to enter the United States. A visa does not guarantee entry into the United States.<end snip>  

[Mike J]

On 9/26/2022 at 1:16 AM, Dave Hounddriver said:

But was it the right color?  I remember Lyn had to wear a certain color, white I think, for the photograph.

You may be thinking of the requirement for white or off-white background of the full face photo?   And of course you need to look "natural" so NO SMILE.  After all who is going to be smiling when it is time to have your documents checked after flying for up to 18 hours.  

[OnMyWay]

On 9/22/2022 at 7:54 AM, Colsie said:

All done visa granted. Took about 10 days from submitting the visa application, because I booked the Biometrics appointment  a week into the 14 days allowed.

Can you describe a little bit about the highlighted part?  Looks like we might be doing this in Manila.  We have been to VFS before.

[OnMyWay]

Edited September 30, 2022 by OnMyWay