I had called the National Visa Center a couple of weeks ago to make sure they received the $380 visa fee. At that time they confirmed that it was received on January 25. It should have been there a little sooner, but as long as they had it in the system I was happy, despite the fact that the lady on the phone was unnecessarily cranky and deliberately rude.
The Merlion is Singapore's mythological protector.
I had expected to have surely received the DS-230 Visa form by the time we returned from Singapore, but was disillusioned. When we got back there was nothing, so I decided to endure the painstaking process of trying to call the NVC.
Considering that they charge a small fortune and do next to nothing, you would expect that they could at least hire an adequate number of operators to answer the telephone. Instead, I had to run up my phone bill calling every 20 minutes for 3 days before I actually got to speak to anyone. The recording says to call back after 6pm for better results, but I've never been able to tell any difference calling at that time, so I just keep dialing for as many days as it takes to reach someone. That is just completely unacceptable, and emailing them is not much better.
After dialing constantly for 3 days, I finally had my call answered by Kira. She was at least friendly, unlike that cranky old witch I got the last time around, but it was still a complete waste of time to talk to her.
A River Taxi shuttles passengers down the Singapore River.
According to Kira, the forms were mailed out sometime the week of January 29th, but she did not know what day, so it could have been January 29th, or it could have been February 3rd, there is just no way to know. If the 29th was the date it was put in the mail, then my guess is that it was misdelivered, because I have mailed boxes 4th class book rate from the U.S, and dozens upon dozens of back and forth packets from here to my dad in Arkansas, and I've never had anything take more than 2 weeks.
Since nothing ever takes more than 2 weeks, and the dates she gave me were already 3 weeks out, I figured why wait any longer, request another form and be done with it. So I asked them to send out another form. She put me on hold for a few minutes and then came back and said that I have to wait at least a month before I can request a new form. Rubbish, I said, the form you said was the week of the 29th either wasn't sent or was lost, or it would have been here by now. All she could say is that she can't help it and to call back in a week or two.
Why must it be so difficult to get a simple form? Why can't they just send it when I request it, considering I've paid for it long ago? Why can't they even email a PDF when the one they send doesn't arrive? Or why can't I just print the one that is on their web site?
It makes no sense to me that they put it on their web site but tell you that you aren't allowed to send that one. It also makes no sense that first they mail a bill, then you mail payment, then they mail a form, then you send it back. That's just retarded. Why not send both at once? Whoever wrote these procedures should not only be fired, but should be held financially accountable for all of the wasted time out of people's lives and the inflated costs that the procedure created.
3 comments:
I understand your frustration as I am going through the same thing, only mine has been closer to two years. I called today to the center and after 35min actually got someone after being hung up on by auto system twice and then learning the trick to get though or at least it seems to work. I wanted to find out if they received the $400 for the ds 230 form and if they sent it out yet. The gentleman said yes they got it and it will be sent out this week, so if it is true of what you said on yours, then I will call back later to see if I get same answer. I agree with you wholeheartedly about the system and how ineffecient it is. I work in a call center as management and we do about 45,000 calls a week with less people and get far more done. At a peak period we may have a 15 wait, but can tell you exactly what is going on. We are international too so I am very disappointed in the system. I wish you the best and will check back to see the time frame it has taken for you and hope mine will be at least that.
Out of curiosity, how did you get a balykbayan stamp in your passport? Can you do this as the spouse of a filipino, or were you able to mark balykbayan on the form when returning from Singapore?
When we went to Singapore, we took our marriage license with us so that we could present it when we returned. If your spouse is with you and you have your marriage license, they will give you the balikbayan stamp. It looks just like the normal stamp, but says balikbayan and has a one year date.
My only problem was with the airport in Singapore. I had bought a round trip from Davao to Singapore and back. When I was coming back, I only had the return ticket. Philippine Immigration requires foreigners entering the country to have an outbound ticket. I had to buy a one way ticket at the airport (about $50) before they checked me in. It was refundable so I just took it back to the local Cebu Pacific office in Davao.
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