Best Posts in Thread: GCQ Philippines Update Today

Exactly and now it makes the difference as to whether or not he and the kids get rice.

 

Yes, it is mandatory to obey the EO as it stands, unchallenged. Somebody in Manila came up with the idea to ban seniors, something that would have been unheard of in Western countries of course, but this is not a Western country. PI seems somewhat American-like but it really is not like America at all. One major difference is that in this country, the culture is such that family and extended family make great effort to watch out for and take care of the senior members of the family units. They have a deep respect for their elders to the point where they are cared for with the same affection (and level of responsibilty) as children.

With expats, the opposite is true. If expats had helpers, they have long since joined their own families. If they had child brides, well they are lucky in at least that one respect lol. The governors obviously were not thinking of expats when they made these carbon copy EO's across the provinces that ban certain groups of people due to age; expats do not vote and the governors risk criticism when they do not do the same as Manila does, expats nothwithstanding. For me, I simply must ignore it which is to say lot because I reaaly do not like ignoring the laws here. But somethimes I have no choice and believe me we have considered the options. I know they aren't going to imprison me, and, the authorities from barangay captain on down know this ban does not properly consider the needs of foreign residents, however, nobody can do anything about it Degamo certainly will not lest he risk unnecessary criticism from above should the numbers of infected go south from here for any reason. I don't know if any members here know the story often told in IBM about Abeline Texas where a car full of people ended up in Abilene Tx because they thought everyone else wanted to go there but they themselves did not. The elder ban is like that. They do it because some guy in Manila started it so they think everyone else wants it that way but most likely, nobody really cares, in particular where it affects expat foreigners.

 

I just got this from the US Embassy. Monday, July 27, 2020
Event: Consular Services and Travel Update

1. PASSPORTS. The U.S. Embassy in Manila is now accepting DS-82 U.S. Passport Renewal Application for Eligible Individuals by mail only. At this time, we are only accepting the DS-82 application. We can only accept applications by mail with accompanying bank draft.

If you have questions you could visit the Embassy page about passport renewal.
https://ph.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/passports/renew-an-adult-10-year-validity-passport/

 

The negative impacts of the changes could easily be reduced by anticipation of the impacts of their decisions ahead of time and make necessary provisions before people are swept under the rug.

As Paul Newman said in the movie, “What we have here is a failure to anticipate” (or something like that).


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If a US citizen needs a passport, it is available at the US Embassy in Manila. Getting to Manila and back is a separate issue, but is not controlled by the Embassy. The Embassy will do an emergency passport if the need to travel is urgent. Routine passport issuance in the Embassy is suspended because the printing facilities in the US are closed due to Covid.
This is a quote from the US Embassy, "Currently, ACS Manila is only able to print temporary or limited emergency passports for U.S. citizens with critical travel needs. If you have urgent travel and need an emergency passport, please email the ACS unit in advance at ACSInfoManila@state.gov in order to get an appointment and apply in person. On the subject line, please write “Emergency passport”."

I would suggest that anyone needing a US passport might want to contact the US Embassy in Manila to explore the options. I don't know if a 3 year deadline to leave the country is considered urgent travel or not.

 

The US embassy stopped issuing passport renewals and is currently under “indefinite suspension”. As time goes on, more and more passports are set to expire and BI cannot issue visas to passports that expire in less than 6 months. They will supposedly only issue temporary passports for emergency travel. But if you are an expat here trying to keep up with your compliance to local immigration laws, the US Embassy does not care. That is your problem.

Yes, issuing passports might cause more risk of covid (I don’t think so but I don’t work there) but they could change a few things. Couldn’t they find a way to do this all online? They could do it but they won’t because it us too much trouble or it dis-employs patronage people in redundant processes etc.. The US Embassy is the one that lacks compassion and it doesn’t give a rip about your problems.

Since the visa expires in March 2021 and you can only get a visa for up to 6 months from passport expiration date (almost ALL countries do this) this is the reason why I talk about the US Embassy difficulties for what must be many people just now coming to a head. For BI purposes, your US passport that expires in March actually expires in September 2020 in terms of issuing visas. And the embassy described it as “indefinite” suspension. No dates, no targets just total shutdown while the staff continues to be paid by our tax dollars of course.

When those passports whose renewals are under indefinite suspension expire and cannot be renewed in the near future, the embassy will create a whole new group of “undocumented” people in the Philippines which is a serious violation here (like deportation or worse). Hope the Embassy gets off their a$$es and decides to cope with the real world again.

In the meantime we not only hope but “count on” our Philippinehosts to show compassion and I am pretty sure they will come through as usual.


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re an attorney i know a good (at least i think so) attorney, a filipino born and educated in the US as i understand it. if he is not a good immigration attorney he would certainly know of one. 09263851087 is attorney nathan's number. he is in bacong just short of dumaguete city limites, located at JP's restaurant. also there is an office two doors up from the local immigration office staffed by two ladies who appear to be very knowledgeable. they probably do not suffer from any retrictions about giving advice. (they do both visa extensions and immigration clearance) so they might know something or advice you cannot get from the official office. i lost 40 pounds on arrival in the phils and my blood pressure immediately went to normal (after being on meds nearly 20 years). i started riding a bicycle to market and made my diet mostly out of the wonderful selection of veggies year round plus apples and a few fruits. little meats or sauces anymore. mostly eat at home, and my blood sugar is now normal. good luck with you immigration issues. lots of the folks here have first hand experience i am sure they will share with you

 

Even more to the economy and giving that Driver that little extra to add in also.ie adds to their wage