Visas

Why Choose the Philippines — Is Malaysia a Better Choice?

16/05/2019 by Dave Starr Leave a Comment

Why Choose the Philippines — Is Malaysia a Better Choice?

(last updated 27 April 2019)

I originally wrote this about 8 years ago. It was in response to a lot of mail I was receiving on the subject of what country was “best” to live in for US expats.

At the time, Malaysia was advertising The Malaysia My Second Home program and many expats wondered how that program compared with what was available to retirees in the Philippines.

Significantly updated and corrected. Only a few things have changed in 8 years, mostly making it even easier to stay in the Philippines.

Why choose the Philippines?

That’s a very good question. Why choose the Philippines instead of the nation of Malaysia for retirement, or just an escape from the western world rat race? [Read more…] about Why Choose the Philippines — Is Malaysia a Better Choice?

Yes, A Filipina Needs a Visa to Enter the USA

27/01/2019 by Dave Starr 2 Comments

Yes, A Filipina Needs a Visa to Enter the USA.

(Updated 27 January 2019)

The title above should be authored by our old friend “Captain Obvious”. Everybody knows that Filipinos ALL need some form of US visa to enter the USA. Or at least everybody “should” know that.

But lately, I’ve been getting more and more irritated by at least one website which “does” know that fact, but persists in spreading false information just to try to get cheap traffic (page views) from Google.

Google, You Should Know Better Too!

We all tend to trust Google a lot. In general, this trust is well placed, but sadly in many areas where there are technical issues inviolved and especially where a simple reading of the publically posted laws and the rules and regulations surrounding the laws is involved, Google falls down badly on the job.

Google is great at telling us which Kardashian has the largest ass. (See: Butts Of The Century: Kardashian-Jenner Sisters!).

But when it comes to important, factual issues, such as ones that are important to 1000,000,000 Filipinos and probably an equal number of Americans and citizens of other countries interested in the subject, Google false flat on its own ass.

Sad performance here, Google.

Go to Google search page or the search feature on your phone or tablet and type in the operative question … does a Filipina need a visa to visit the USA?

The result you get back will look something like this:

does a filipina need a visa to visit the USA

The number one beside the SERP (Search Engine Results) indicates Google thinks this will be the best answer on the whole Internet to your question.

And I have no argument with that choice. It leads you to a reputable website with correct information and answers the question correctly … Yes, she does.

But Google Returns at Least 10 Results For You To Choose From

And just take a look at what Google consistently chooses for position 2 or position 3.

The first time I ever saw this I was flabbergasted. I figured it was an error which would get sorted out.

Well, it has been almost 5 full years now and Google insists on giving the second most prominent space in its search results t this totally false and misleading article. 5 years is enough to time to get the facts straight, Google.

At least in my opinion, anyway.

Here’s how Google ranks my own site, where I have been writing, faithfully and accurately on this subject for more than 15 years now:

Now Number 9 isn’t so bad … after all, it’s on the first page.

But to have a site with the headline US Announces No Visa Policy For Filipinos

Which is, by the way, a totally false statement, apparently written to confuse people and get them to talk about and “share” the article so high in the search rankings just mystifies me.

There is no such thing as a US Non-visa policy for Filipinos, and there is no credible evidence of any such policy happening any time soon.

Google, Here’s Your Chance To Make Things Better.

You Can’t Say You Haven’t Been Told About It

Yes, A Filipina Needs a Visa to Enter the USA.

Does My Filipino Friend Need A Visa To Visit The USA?

04/12/2018 by Dave Starr 2 Comments

Does My Filipino Friend Need A Visa To Visit The USA?

(Updated 2 December 2018)

Well, as some of you already know, the answer to this question is yes, she or he does.

Looking around at many of the articles I have written and others have as well, it seems many articles are starting at too advanced a level.

I should start at the beginning since a majority of my readers are from the USA and my fellow Americans are among the least traveled and most uneducated in the mechanics of international travel on earth.

Now don’t get your knickers in a knot over that last paragraph. If you are already an expert on passports, visas and international travel, great, more power to you. Feel free to move on to the next article then.

But there are plenty of people reading here who only have a vague concept of passports, visas (not the credit card) and international procedures. [Read more…] about Does My Filipino Friend Need A Visa To Visit The USA?

Is Getting Married a Quick Way to the USA?

16/10/2018 by Dave Starr Leave a Comment

Is Getting Married a Quick Way to the USA?

(Updated 16 October 2018)

Here’s a very common question I get here at PhilFAQS … how can a US and a Filipin0 (Phil-Am) couple get together in marriage as quickly and cheaply as possible?

I’ll keep this short and simple and answer this reader’s questions as directly as I can.

If any of you have similar questions which I don’t cover here, feel free to write and ask.

I value all your comments and I appreciate them greatly.

Here are the reader’s questions and my answers, as best I know.

(Please remember, I am not a lawyer, this is NOT legal advice and is my personal opinion only).

Can My Philippine Friend Visit Me in the USA?

20/09/2018 by Dave Starr 36 Comments

US Visitor Visa concerns. Can My Philippine Friend Visit Me in the USA?

(Updated 21 September 2018)

Originally published sometime back. Significantly updated and corrected for my current reader’s information. Thanks for being a reader, by the way.

I have received a lot of queries over the years about the US Visitor Visa (known as a B2 Visa to the US State Department) for Filipinos.

Mainly these questions revolve around the subject of getting a Filipino friend a temporary visitor’s visa allowing them to enter the USA for a short visit.

People want to know, mainly:

How do they (the visas) work,
How much do they cost,
Can my girlfriend get one, etc.
I’ve heard they are very hard to get, and why?

It occurred to me today that I hadn’t written about these issues in some time when I opened an email from a reader here with some specific questions: [Read more…] about Can My Philippine Friend Visit Me in the USA?

Destinations Close To Manila

23/07/2018 by Dave Starr 2 Comments

Destinations Close To Manila.

(Updated 23 July 2018)

I don’t want to drift too far into geography here, but there are some good reasons to think about destinations close to the Philippines.

Reason 1, Onward Travel Tickets:

One common reason is a destination for a required “onward travel” ticket. Technically, everyone entering the Philippines as a tourist must have travel booked back home, or to some other destination, within 30 days of their arrival in the Philippines.

The reason I used the word “technically” above is that although that is the law, Philippine Immigration seldom asks people for proof of onward travel. (but they do, sometimes.)

The agency that almost always asks, though, is the airline you are planning to fly to the Philippines.
[Read more…] about Destinations Close To Manila