Applying for Immigrant Visa

Securing immigrant visas for my husband and our 6 year old son is the next step.  To do that we checked out the Philippine Consulate's website: www.chicagopcg.com/services.  Here you find information about things you need to do to acquire visa to travel to the Philippines.  We were also able download and print out the forms to start the process.  We zeroed in on the "non-quota immigrant" visa since I have dual citizenship.

For my husband we have to submit the following:

1. Valid US passport
2. Four (4) passport photographs (2X2)
3. F.A. Form No. 3 (this is your application for immigrant visa) to be accomplished in duplicate.
4. F.A. Form No. 11 (Medical form) to be accomplished in duplicate.
5.  Original Marriage Certificate AND 2 photocopies
6. My Philippine passport OR birth certificate (in this case I am submitting my birth certificate along with 2 copies of it).
7. Police Clearance Certificate from place of residence of the applicant (original and 1 copy)
8. Evidence of financial support, such as bank statement, etc..
9. Notarized Letter of Petition signed by me.  This letter can also be downloaded from the Consulate's website.

For our 6 year old we have to submit the following:

1. Valid US passport.
2. Four (4) passport photographs (2X2)
3. F.A. Form No. 3 to be accomplished in duplicate.
4. F.A. Form No. 11 (Medical form) to be accomplished in duplicate.
5. Original birth certificate of the child and two (2) photocopies thereof.
6. Philippine passport, birth certificate or naturalization papers of parents and two (2) copies thereof.  (In this case I submitted my and my husband's birth certificates and I brought along my naturalization papers just in case).
7. Evidence of financial support, such as bank statements, etc.. executed by parents and accomplished in duplicate.

Since our son is under 18 years old, he doesn't need to submit Police Clearance.

A word of advise:  bring or mail in all your originals.  They are pretty good at mailing them back to you so no need to worry about missing original documents.  They did that to me when I applied for Dual Citizenship.  Everything was returned to me when they mailed my certificate of Dual Citizenship.

So off to Chicago we went to submit the documentations.  This trip also serves as a long-awaited break for my dear hubby who worked long hours all the time.  I am so glad he could finally take a breather.

We stopped at the Illinois Welcome Center before plunging into the crazy Chicago traffic.

We explored the Millennium Park and Chicago's BP Pedestrian Bridge after we visited the Philippine Consulate Office on Michigan Ave.

Just chillaxing by the fountain off of Logan Avenue amidst the busy Farmer's Market.

Had to stop by Chicago's Chinatown to enjoy authentic Asian food.  I've been to Asian stores every city we've been to but I have to admit the stores here are original and, shall I say awesome?


Well, back to the topic on immigrant visa.  Additional requirements that need to be submitted are:

1.  Visa fee of $150.00 per application in cash, bank draft or money order payable to the Philippine   Consulate General.  NO PERSONAL CHECKS ARE ACCEPTED.

2.  Chest X-ray negative in CD. 

3.  Medical results in detail must accompany the medical certificate form. The office does not accept the letter from your doctor stating "the results are negative" from your lab works.  They want the actual print-out of the lab results.  You can easily print this out from your medical chart which you can access by logging on to your account.

If you plan to mail all these documentations you also need to enclose a self-addressed, stamped  Priority/Certified/Express mail envelope or $30.00 for Express mail to cover mailing expenses.

No metered stamps are accepted.

REGARDING THE MEDICAL EXAMINATION OF VISA APPLICANT FORM

Our PCP didn't think my husband needed the chest X-ray so he scribbled a note in the form that said so.  When we submitted everything we were told he had to have one and that it should be in CD form.  So he has to go back to his PCP to get one.

What I'm trying to share here is: just accomplish everything that is required in the form even if your doctor doesn't think it's needed.

We were told as soon as the documents are complete it will only take about a week for the visa to be issued.  They will return everything (original copies and the visa) in the pre-paid envelope.

And oh, before I forget - the medical exams are good for only 6 months if it's more than 6 months you will have to get another medical examination.

I hope you keep following my post and be a part of this journey.  I believe it's going to be an exciting one!