How To Get My Filipino Girlfriend To The USA

10/10/2019 by Dave Starr Leave a Comment

Get My Filipino Girlfriend To The USA.

(Updated 10 October 2019)

This is a very frequent question here at PholFAQS. There are several different answers, and sadly for couples stuck between the USA and the Philippines, the answers aren’t always easy.

One way that you can get a Filipina friend to the USA is with a US Fiancee’ Visa, commonly known by its form number, K-1.

Another way s marry the girl and then bring her to the US with a US Spousal Visa (Either a CR-1 or IR-1).

The simplest, although often the most difficult way is to get your friend a US B2/B2 Tourist visa.

I’ve written an explanation of these basic visas here:

Tourist or Fiancee’ Or Spouse Visa. Which is Better?

Go ahead and read it now if you haven; already, I’ll wait here for you.

Ways To Stay Long-Term in the Philippines — Part 2

09/10/2019 by Dave Starr Leave a Comment

Ways To Stay Long-Term in the Philippines.

(Updated 9 October 2019)

How long an American citizen (or most other foreigners) can stay in the Philippines is always a popular subject. A while back I wrote an introductory article on this subject where I explained that you can pretty much stay as long as you want to in the Philippines without asking special permission from anyone.

If you haven’t read that you should read it now, because it lays the groundwork for several other more formal ways that a US citizen can live here in the Philippines.

Go ahead and click on the link now, I’ll wait right here for you *smile*.

How long can you stay in the Philippines if you are a US citizen?

Now if you read that article you’ll understand how easy it is for a foreigner to live here but as some readers have commented, renewing a Tourist Visa every two or six months, or going out of the country once a year for a new (free) Balikbayan Privilege Stamp is not really “Permanent Residency”.

I mean, after all, it’s only worked for me for 14 years, so we couldn’t really call it “permanent”, now could we?

You Asked, I Answered … Ways to stay Permanently in the Philippines.

Online Jobs At Home In The Philippines —September 2019

21/09/2019 by Dave Starr Leave a Comment

Online Jobs At Home In The Philippines.

(Updated 22 September 2019)

I’ve written quite a bit about this subject previously.
Two articles with some “meat” in them are here:

Online Jobs At Home In The Philippines

I Can’t Make Money Online in the Philippines, What Am I Doing Wrong?

If you want to read them (and I encourage you to do so if you haven’t seen them before), then go ahead and click on the links, I’ll wait for you here.
[Read more…] about Online Jobs At Home In The Philippines —September 2019

Have You Ever Looked in the Top Right Corner?

05/09/2019 by Dave Starr Leave a Comment

What Top Right Corner is that, Dave?

Umm, this page you are reading right now. Or any page on this site.

I’m asking because I have software that tracks where people have visited, and I notice that two of the absolute least visited pages on this site are the FAQS page (that used to be a commonly understood acronym/abbreviation for “Frequently Asked Questions” and the Best Places Philippines page.

The FAQS page:

In some ways, years ago, I thought this would be the most important and helpful page on this site. Whenever someone would ask a question of common interest … such as say “How Long Can I Stay in the Philippines?” I would enter that question on the FAQS page along with a concise answer.

That’s what having a FAQS section is all about … people can visit there and get answers to their questions without wasting their time and mine in asig the same question over and over again.

I explained it here and even included a link for people to ask additional questions with just a single click.

Here I will list Philippine FAQS (and answers) as they come in. I’ll attempt to put them in some sort of order, but issues and opportunities arrive in random bursts, so many of these Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS) will as well. Got a question you don’t see “Asked and Answered” here already? “Shoot it to me” here: Contact Philly.

Apparently, this was a dumb idea, since no one ever visits or leaves additional questions.

Any suggestion?

The Best Places Philippines Page:

I started this page a long time ago as a place where readers could see “their” place on the Philippines “on the map” so to speak.

Each blue pin on the map, when clicked on, shows the name of the reader who posted it as well as a capsule description as to why this might be the “best place in the Philippines” for you.

So many people have the question in their minds as to where they ought to move to in the Philippines … yet so few ever visit the map and have a look.

It’s a full-fledged link into Google Maps. You can do so much more than just look at some pins on a map.

For example, here’s what you see if you zoom in on my own pin on my home here in Marilao, Bulacan on Luzon.

You Can Learn A Lot About The Philippines With Google Maps

My Place in the Philippines

Also, be sure to go to maps.google.com and try the “satellite view”.

For example, how would traffic be if I left mt home right now to drive to my local SM City Mall?

So what do you think? Why don’t people make more use of the map?

Why Can’t My Filipina Wife Get a Tourist Visa To The USA?

04/09/2019 by Dave Starr 3 Comments

Why Can’t My Filipina Wife Get a Tourist Visa To The USA?

(Updated 4 September 2019)

Updated and corrected to bring it up to date

This question comes up frequently. Often there is a lot of anger attached as a US citizen husband finds out that his lawfully married foreigner spouse can’t get a US B2 Visitor (Tourist) Visa, despite having all paperwork and immigration status documents in order.

The Anger Is Fully Justified, In My View

But it doesn’t matter if you are angry, or even if I am angry in support of your position.

In many cases. the Tourist visa just ain’t going to happen. Why?

The US Visa System Just Doesn’t “Fit” the Way Most Expat Families Live

And it’s not likely to change any time soon.

Everything about the US Immigration system is geared to handle two things:

1. Tourists (Temporary Visitors) Who Have No Attachment To The USA

2. Spouses Of US Citizens Who Want To Come To the USA to Establish Legal Residence (Get a Green Card)

There’s Little Room in the Mind f the State Department For Any Other Category

Top 10 Art Schools – 2019

01/09/2019 by Dave Starr Leave a Comment

Top 10 Art Schools – 2018

Top 10 Art Schools – 2017

Art Schools in the Philippines.

(Last updated 1 September 2019)

This was originally published many years ago, but it still gets traffic. Obviously some of you are still searching for answers in this subject. I’m trying to “clean house”. There are well over 1000 articles here on PhilFAQS and I want to “clear out the deadwood”. Should I keep this, update it or send it to the trash?

A lot of people search for and ask me direct questions on Art Schools in the Philippines. Most art school candidates in the US never think of the Philippines when it comes to school but there can be some real advantages to attending school here. The Philippines is a world center of artistic talent, especially in the performing arts area.

I Can’t Make Money Online in the Philippines, What Am I Doing Wrong?

11/08/2019 by Dave Starr Leave a Comment

I Can’t Make Money Online in the Philippines, What Am I Doing Wrong?

2018/01/01 by Philly

Make Money Online in the Philippines,

(Updated 11 August 2019)

A lot of my readers know that I write often about how to make money online in the Philippines.

In general, I don’t have a big preference for making money online over the more traditional methods, but trying to make money with a job in the Philippines, or a “dirt-based” business here in the Philippines is far, far more difficult than making money online.

But a lot of people firmly believe they CAN’T make money online.

Yes You Certainly CAN Make Money Online in the Philippines

Well, I submit that they can make money online in the Philippines or in any other country, but there are two thoughts that get in many people’s way …
[Read more…] about I Can’t Make Money Online in the Philippines, What Am I Doing Wrong?

10 Ways To Make Money In Retirement — Online Updated

10/08/2019 by Dave Starr Leave a Comment

10 Ways To Make Money In Retirement — Online Updated,

(Updated 10 August 2019)

I’m going through old articles about how to Make Money In Retirement from my old Retired Pay blog, deleting some trivia and updating some of the more worthy ones to meet changing times.

I was really struck by this article, written more than 7 years ago … how little seems to have changed … especially the attitude my fellow seniors have about empowering their retirement by learning new things and capitalizing on on-line opportunities. Enjoy.

Ways to Make Money in Retirement

How I Found This Article and Many Others

As I’ve mentioned before I make a lot of use of Google Alerts

(you should set some for yourself and see how valuable this service is)

to find information on things I want to learn about (like Make Money In Retirement) as well as general subjects for the blogs I operate.

This article is from a UK magazine a few summers back.

Still pretty much up to date … and still pretty much behind the times regarding the Internet.

Do they think our brains dry up at age 65 or something?

After 30-odd years of internet use, you’d think they would start to “get it” by now, wouldn’t you?

Read the Make Money In Retirement article if you haven’t already

Read 10 ways to make money in retirement and then come back here and I’ll give you what I feel is the “rest of the story”.
[Read more…] about 10 Ways To Make Money In Retirement — Online Updated

How To Retire in the Philippines With No Money — Part 2

09/08/2019 by Dave Starr Leave a Comment

How To Retire in the Philippines With No Money. Part 2

(Updated 8 August 2019)

Shameless “clickbait” title? Well maybe it is to some people, but read on and you’ll see why I chose it.

You might just find what you have been looking for … a way to retire (or semi-retire) now, to stop “working for the man” … wasting your life away from an hour or more every day commuting … and even to live in a “tropical paradise” … if you want to.

I published another article on this subject recently:

How To Retire in the Philippines With No Money

If you haven’t read it, you should, so we are both on the same page.

Go Ahead, I’ll wait for you right here.

Now Once You Have Read That Article Youll Know You Really Must Have Some Source of Income

So that’s what we are going to start exploring in this series.

How To Retire in the Philippines with $200,000 of Savings

08/08/2019 by Dave Starr 8 Comments

How To Retire in the Philippines with $200,000 of Savings?

(Updated August 8 2019)

Interesting title, eh? If I had $200,000 USD in savings would I even be retired in the Philippines? Would you?

Well, let’s explore so issues and possibilities.

A while back I posted this article about retiring here in the Philippines with NO money. You might want to read that if you haven’t already. Just click on the link, go ahead, I’ll wait for you here:

How To Retire in the Philippines With No Money

As that article says, you absolutely have to have some money to retire in the Philippines, but the actual monthly needs may be very small. [Read more…] about How To Retire in the Philippines with $200,000 of Savings