Get My Filipino Girlfriend To The USA.

(Updated 10 October 2019)

This is a very frequent question here at PhilFAQS.  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.

But All We Really Want Is The Tourist Visa And It’s So Hard To Get.  Please Help

OK, I’ll try.  If you hang around blogs like this or forums that often talk about Filipinos visiting the USA, you would think that B-2 Tourist visas to the USA are virtually impossible to get.

Yet the official State Department records show that the “success rate” for applicants in Manila is in the high 70’s.  Some years it has been very close to 80%.  Really?

So why, then do we hear so many sad stories about being denied?

It Is Really All About The Applicants

We here all the times how you, un-attached Philippine women get denied a visa when their reason to go to the USA is to visit a boyfriend, to meet boyfriend’s family, etc.

The “Holy Grail” of the Tourist Visa Issuance Process is the Intent to Return to the Philippines.

Going to meet a boyfriend or fiance’ or to meet a prospective spouse’s family really says nothing at all about intent to return to the Philippines.  Remev=ber personal promises mean absolutely nothing to the State Department.  The US has thousands upon thousands of TnT (undocumented Filipinos overstaying their visas and “hiding and hiding” in the US).

All of these TnT folks promised faithfully and in writing that they were going to comply with the US law … nd then proceeded to break the law.  You can hardly blame a Consular Officer in the US Embassy for being very cautious with issuing visas to young, unattached women or anyone of any age who seems to be a high-risk candidate to go TnT once inside the borders of the USA.

It’s Also About Attitude

Ever run up against someone who wants something to happen, something to go their way, who has already seemed to decide that things are NOT going to go there way before they even try?  It can be really depressing and exasperating to hear their self-defeating dialog before they try.  “I’m sure I am going to fail”.  Grrr.

Attitude can be a big factor in how someone judges you and how enthused they are about granting a request you have made …like, perhaps, granting you a visa.

Here’s a Video With Some Very Useful Interview Tips

Another Tip I Don’t See Talked About Very Often.

Most Filipinos are able to converse quite well in English.  In fact, many are justifiably proud of their English capabilities, and indeed they should be.

Others, of course, are quite hesitant and uneasy listening to or speaking English.  I’ll never forget the lesson one of my favorite nephews, Sami,  taught me back when he was very young, only 5 or 6.  This boy has always been bright, and like everyone else in my wife’s immediate family, he learned English before he learned Tagalog … so even at 5 or 6 he was pretty darn good with English.

But one day I was trying to explain something about how the car engine worked.  I thought I was keeping it simple enough for an elementary school student to understand but I noticed his eyes were getting kind of “glassy”.

My wife asked him if he understood what I was explaining and he turned to her with a puzzled look on his face and said, “I can’t understand, he is speaking Chinese”.

I Think Many Times Visa Applicants May Feel The Consular Officer Is Speaking Chinese

Fortunately, there is a simple solution.  Thos uncomfortable with spoken English are entitled to request an interpreter for their interview.  If you have any doubts at all, you should … misunderstanding a question could result in you making a wrong answer that would result in disapproval.

It’s your right, exercise it.

Last But Certainly Not Least. My Friends At RapidVisa Provide a Handy Tool

This is a tool, based on the current application process and criteria, that will give a and educated guess as to a person’s chances of getting a US Tourist visa.  Enjoy

B1 B2 Visitor/Tourist Visa Odds of Approval

What else can I tell you about how to Get My Filipino Girlfriend To The USA?