About lblampman

Currently Lives:

Citizen of:

Some Forum Posts:

Philippines: Pollution:

I'm one who has problems with the air pollution here. I've been here for 15 months and thought it wouldn't be any big deal; I was wrong. In Washington state in the US I had pollen allergies and during the worst time of year took some OTC medication. After arriving in the Philippines I've had one respiratory issue after another; nothing major but an irritating cough, phlegm, plugged sinuses, sneezing, etc. Basically, for me it's not a healthy environment. I live "in the province" in the Bicol region of southeastern Luzon. Even so (not being in a big city) the air quality is poor. The jeepneys, tricycles, buses spew diesel smoke thick enough to chew on. The 2-stroke motorcycles add their smoke to the mix. The neighbors burn trash and debris everyday (often putrid plastics) and many of them have cook fires everyday. The street-side vendors have their BBQ and cooking fires smoking away. In our small town center area it's terrible and many of the locals hold handkerchiefs up to their noses, some wear surgical-style facemasks, and a lot of motorcycle riders wear bandanas. Adding to ask this mix is the smoke from burning rice fields, that gets so thick at times it's like fog. All this is in a rural agricultural area and every place I've been within a couple of hours of home has been much the same. I'm sure there must be places in the Philippines that have good air quality but that seems to be the exception rather than the norm.

Philippines: USA Green card:

I'll second what sa39561 writes. The purpose of the Green Card is to provide "residence" in the US, if she's not there a majority of the time, she's not "in residence". This is a slippery slope because reentry into the US is solely in the hands of the officer at the port of entry; he or she can admit or deny entry based on what they feel the situation is at the time. Basically, it's impossible to predict what the actual outcome would be. For instance, if you spent 9 months every year in the Philippines and 3 months in the US, she might not be hassled the first time she reentered the US (after the first 9 month absence) but if she left after 3 months in the US, spent another 9 months in the Philippines and returned to the US again, I'm pretty sure (educated guess) that they'd ask her to return her Green Card. Without knowing more of the background or your specific situation the "best" path I can think of would be for her to gain her US citizenship, which she's eligible for now if she's been in the US with you for three years or longer (you said you've been married 4 years but I don't know how much of that time has been in the US). With dual citizenship (US and Filipino) she'll have the option of spending as much time in either country as she wishes. Another option is for her to voluntarily turn in her Green Card when you two decide to move to the Philippines. This sets up a scenario where it should be very easy for her to get a 10-year multiple entry B1 visitor visa to the US. From a consular officer standpoint (the person at the US embassy granting or denying the B1 visa) she would be a very low risk applicant: she's already been given permission to live in the US (Green Card) and she's voluntarily given it up (the USCIS didn't have to "take" if from her), which strongly indicates to the consular officer that she will return to the Philippines when she's supposed to. In other words, she played by the rules before, has been honest, forthright, and proactive, and therefor poses very low risk to overstaying in the US on a B1 visa. Further, if you've established a home in the Philippines, have vehicles, have bank accounts, and you have your Philippine Permanent Residence visa (this is a biggie for the embassy) that further supports her claim that she will not overstay her visa in the US. As long as you don't have plans to stay in the US any longer than 90 days at a time the B1 visa would work fine (and the 90 days can be extended with permission). That said, nothing (as far as being able to visit and/or live in the US) beats a US passport (in fact it's the only document that *guarantees* entry into the US). It also allows easier worldwide travel if that's in your future plans. Les

Philippines: Senior Citizen Card:

trappedinhell, Here is the language from the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010. ******************************************* SEC. 2. Definition of terms. - For purposes of this Act, these terms are defined as follows: (a) Senior citizen or elderly refers to any resident citizen of the Philippines at least sixty (60) years old; *********************************************** That would mean that one must be a citizen (not just a resident) of the Philippines, so it does not apply to foreigners. There is no provision in the rest of the Act to gain qualification any other way (say, through marriage). Les

Philippines: Banking:

redlandchuck, I've used Remitly and Xoom for about 1.5 years now. Both services are generally reliable and fast. However, while the base rate at Remitly is only$3.99 that's only when it's received in PHP (Philippine pesos). And Remitly does make a "little" money on the conversion, they make a fair amount. Typically their rate is a piso below the bank rate, so if you transfer $1000 what you'll lose in the conversion is 1000 pesos, about $21.50. That's why I have a USD and Peso account at the bank. I use Xoom to transfer

Philippines: Most Dependable Bank:

yarswollef, I cannot say which is most dependable but I chose BDO, which at least has been around quite awhile and has lots of branch and ATM locations. I opened a USD account and a Peso account. My branch did ask for my ACR card. There was a lot of paperwork but nothing was difficult. They issued a debit card to me for each account but more specifically they ordered debit cards with the MasterCard logo so that they would work worldwide. My Social Security deposits directly into my US account. Once a month I use Xoom to transfer funds to BDO. That transfer is USD to USD, so no conversion loss. The transfer itself is $7.99 and happens within 5 minutes. Then I go to the bank and transfer funds from my USD account to my Peso account at a much better rate than Xoom (or other services) charge. I've ended up using only my Peso account debit card, the USD debit has never been used. That said, it could be but if I pull funds from the USD account from an ATM I pay a higher conversion rate, so I just move all my monthly USD to my Peso account and use that debit card. I only use the debit card for ATMs and groceries at the supermarket anyway, almost everywhere else requires cash. Les

Philippines: Hello and...:

Hi wts0455 and welcome... Wow, nothing like coming in with the simple questions...LOL. What you asked in a few paragraphs could take pages to answer. Not only that, but as individuals, we each come to the table with a different perspective, so what works for one person doesn't work for another. I'm very optimistic on the Philippines and I love it here. That said, after reading your post I found myself wondering "why?" I'm not getting anything out of your post that makes me understand why the Philippines would be a good choice for you and several things that raise red flags. Of course, perspective and definition is a big factor. As optimistic as I am even I would have to say that "meaningful infrastructure" and "good medical facilities" are not generally the first thing one things of when thinking of the Philippines. In fact, they're rather difficult (and some will say impossible) to find. You also wrote that your main concerns are: safety, security, and good medical care. I can't think of any medium-sized city that will grant you all that (or even most larger ones). When you're looking at populations here something to keep in mind is what is called a city is more like a county in the US, they cover a great deal of area. For instance, I live in a city of 85,000 yet it's downtown area has fewer stores and services than the town of 20,000 I moved from in the US. If drove through my Philippine town in the US I'd guess it to be maybe 10,000 people. What that means is that the few stores and services in town serve 85,000 folks, so the traffic, especially on market days is horrendous. Thankfully, there's no distance to the downtown area so even with it as bad as it is, you can still get through it in 10 to 15 minutes (but I can walk it faster and the bicycles go whizzing by). And the air quality sucks, even though I'm in a farming community. To be honest, I find the Philippines dirty-looking with all the litter, ramshackle buildings, and ragged people that abound; power lines are a rat's nest of confusion; roads are narrow and beat up; even smaller cities (like where I live) are clogged with traffic and people; pollution is rampant and everywhere; diesels cars, trucks, jeepneys, and buses spew thick black smoke; 2-stroke motorcycles spew oil smoke; people burn trash everywhere, including very toxic plastic; the waterways are often clutter with trash and debris; people are friendly but (by western standards) not polite (they'll cut you off in every line, they'll push you aside to get to something they want, they'll never move on the sidewalks, they're not orderly when climbing or descending stairs, they'll look right at you on the highway then pull out anyway, ad infinitum); you'll be targeted by beggars because you're a foreigner; some people will just outright try and scam you because you're a foreigner; in a lot of areas you'll experience rather common power outages and Internet outages; when it rains hard, lots of areas experience flooding; and on and on. As a foreigner you have no real rights in the Philippines and no protection under the law in any meaningful way. That said, I'm living here and I love it but it's not because of the Philippines per se. I'm married to a wonderful Filipina (they do exist!!!), I have two wonderful kids that live with us (7 and 5, a great niece and great nephew), my wife's family is a good one, and I like the weather and natural scenery. I also like the cost of living since I can do more with my income. I've been here long enough now that the "bad" things I used to see have now become my norm. I've become used to what the Philippines is and see it less-and-less from a western perspective. It will never all go away, I spent too many years (62) in the west before coming to the Philippines, so some things will always bug me. As they say, if I knew then what I know now, I might have chosen a different country to move to (I knew I wanted to move away from the US) from a physical living standpoint (I certainly wouldn't give up my wife or our foster kids). I can't believe I just wrote all that because I'm usually on the cheerleader side of things about the3 Philippines but moving here, especially if you have trouble taking off your "western glasses", is very challenging. If I hadn't wanted this so much for my wife I'm not sure I'd have made it past 3 months. From month 3 to about month 6 I really just wanted to be somewhere else. After that I got more settled in and finally to the point where I'm actually comfortable. I'm not trying to "talk you out of" coming to the Philippines; that's for you to decide. However, things are what they are and they're not going to change for those of us foreigners that wish somehow they would. All the "normal" things you're so used to in the US just vanish here. Much of what I was used to in the US I can't even buy in my area (frustrating at first but good for my budget). I make pizza here but I still can't get mozzarella cheese. Or decent jam for toast. And I've never, anywhere, found bandages (Band-Aids). I can't get beef locally (lots of pork and chicken though). Nothing insurmountable, and I have adapted, but it took awhile. Anyway, just some thoughts that maybe will help...or not. I'm sure there will be a lot more information posted here for you. Les

Philippines: ITIN for Filipino Spouse (in the Philippines):

Hi all, I found some information on getting an ITIN for my wife (Filipina) but it's been a few months since it was posted (and things change sometimes). I'd like to know if anyone has fairly recent experience that can relate what the easiest way to accomplish this task is? I know I can send my wife to Angeles City and get it done but that's about 16 hours each way on a bus from our location in southeastern Luzon. Between the bus trip and the processing costs it gets a bit expensive too as well as being a very long trip for my wife (and a long one for me too with a 5 year-0ld and 7 year-old at home...lol). Thanks! Les

Philippines: Living in Manila with my family:

Nycvaz, Thanks for posting! This is a subject that comes up a lot, sometimes a few times a month. In the last few weeks much has been posted about the question you ask. I'd suggest searching the forum a bit for the wealth of information already written here. That said, most here are happy to answer your questions, so if you can't find the info you need, for sure, let us know. Here's one place to start: http://www.expatexchange.com/expat/index.cfm?frmid=275&tpcid=3412428 Les

Philippines: Batangas:

TeeJay4103, Just to clarify... The initial visa stamp at the airport is for 30 days. If you stay longer you need a visa waiver (at almost any BI office) and that's good for 29 days. The combination of the two (initial visa and visa waiver) takes you to 59 days, at which point, if you stay longer you'll need to get an ACR card and choose an extension period (1 month, 2 months, or (in some BI offices) 6 months). Prior to 59 days days, you don't have a choice about time periods or visa extensions (only the 29 day waiver is available). That process is fixed unless you get a tourist visa from a Philippine embassy in your home country prior to leaving for the Philippines. Les

Philippines: Peacekeeper007:

Congrats Peacekeeper! Here's wishing you all the best. Les

Date Joined:

4/27/2016

Total Posts:

200

Posts/Day:

0.58