“When one man, for whatever reason, has the opportunity to lead an extraordinary life,
he has no right to keep it to himself” ― Jacques Cousteau
I'm A Legal Resident of the Philippines
I''ve become a legal resident of the Philippines and I didn't even live there yet! Processing my 13A visa in the U.S. before departing for the Philippines was much easier than expected.
BEFORE PARADISE
4/16/20262 min read
I just dozed off into my Saturday afternoon nap when there was a loud knock on the door. I looked out the window and saw a Post Office delivery truck parked in front of the house. The postman was at my door and holding a really large envelope. I knew this had to be my it was my Permanent Resident Visa (series 13A) being delivered from the Philippines Consulate in Chicago. Yeah!
Not this Postman!
Upon opening the package, I found all my original documents, application, and my passport which now included the affixed and glossed over Visa page which proclaimed me to be a "Non-Quota Immigrant." Why it was only a probationary 13A? I'm not sure.
The instructions I received were to report within 30 days upon arrival in the Philippines to the Alien Registration Division of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) in Intramuros, Manila to complete my 13A application process. Once completed, my new Alien Certificate of Registration (ACR Card) valid for 5 years, would be sent by courier from Manila to the local BI office in Calbayog City, Samar within 30 days... supposedly.
13A probationary Visa good for one year!
Then there was another large sealed envelope with the instructions: "Please Do Not open the attached envelope!" The instructions on this envelope were to "Present to the Immigration Officer at the airport" upon my arrival in the Philippines. I'm certain that it is my medical report and chest Xray that I had to submit to the Chicago consulate when I applied for my 13A. Immigration will be the ones to open it, as the instructions stated, but that turned out to be wrong.
I later learned that once I arrived in Manila, and AFTER clearing Customs and Immigration, was I to submit my large envelope with medical documents to the Bureau of Quarantine and International Health Surveillance, which is NOT at the airport. This is where I would be thoroughly evaluated and officially proclaimed to be amongst the living, and receive the endorsement stamp of approval in my passport. Only then could I head to the BI to finish the immigration process.
My original thoughts were that once I arrived in the Philippines, I was not planning to hang around Manila for any length of time because we will have a lot of luggage and some animals with us. And besides, I had an empty hammock waiting for me in Samar. So, when we did arrive, we headed strait to Samar, dropped everything off, got some rest, and returned to Manila a few days later.
Oh well, at least the first part of this process (application) was easy!
(Originally posted june 16th, 2013 - revised 2026)
