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Land Line
Ahhh... That's the one
that looks like this kind of a mess of coiled wires. Still widely used but far
from being the "king" of communication.
If your still using a
regular land line telephone and you get monthly bills then this is what you need
to know about saving your bills and how to properly prepare them for the USCIS
to review during Interview time.
1st.
| Direct Dialing
If you ever call your
loved one in the Philippines direct you will quickly learn that it costs to
much. But if you do this then you will take your phone bill and search for all
the calls you made to the Philippines.
You need to be taking a
yellow high light marker and placing a line across the number and placing a
little side note like the (BELOW EXAMPLE)
Name
Jane Doe
/ Place called Philippines
/ Phone number (63) 9191235555
Then itemize all of these
according to dates and place them in a folder.
2nd.
| Calling Card Services
If you use your land line
but purchase calling cards or online pins and access numbers then here is what
you do.
Save the receipt each
time you purchase from a store or from the internet. If you bought
calling cards from a store, then you will attach the original receipt to that
particular calling card, once the card has been used.
If you purchased a
calling card service provider on-line then what you need to do is print
the receipt that they send you after the transaction is complete. Itemize all of
these according to dates and place them in a folder.
Now if you want to take
it even a step further, you can place a strike through the calling card access
number that shows up on your monthly phone bill and put a little side note
explaining that this was an access number from a calling card that I used to
call the Philippines.
Cell Phone
Using your mobile
phone is pretty much the same as the rules that apply to using a land line
phone. Everything in the above section will still apply to mobile phone calls to
the Philippines.
Just remember to be
careful and exercise caution, because if you do call direct, you might be
slapped hard with a bill that could leave you short for many months.
Often time so many people
tend to get so wrapped up with their loved one on the phone that they totally
forget about the consequences when they go over on their minutes available to
them in their monthly plan and in addition the international dialing will also
get you where it hurts.
Best to always wait until
your nights and weekends are available to you before calling to the Philippines,
because once your on the phone with that special someone, the time melts away
unbelievably fast.
Internet Phone Modems
The internet phone modem
is by far the best deal of all when it comes to cost and service. For many
though it is similar to a landline phone, but offers a much more economical
price each month then any other service out there.
Their are a couple of
well known service providers out there such as Vonage and FTS.
FilAm Immigrations has used both of these services and find FTS to me much
better in monthly cost and service.
Now the only
inconvenience in using either one of these services are, you have to purchase
the internet modem in the USA, and then send it to the Philippines to your
fiancee or spouse, because this is the only way it is going to benefit you.
Now the way to benefit
from this service as far as USCIS proof of an ongoing relationship is concerned,
is for you the one that pays the monthly bill will have access to an online
account which shows you all the calls made to and from that internet modem.
Even though the phone is
set up in your loved ones home within the Philippines it will still have a U.S.
area code and that could be set up by you if you wanted it to be an area code
from your county.
What you would have to do
is first purchase the internet modem and save your receipt. next you will use
FedEx or DHL or even UPS to ship it, so that is another receipt to keep together
with the purchase receipt.
Then once your loved one
in the Philippines receives it, they will need to take a picture holding the
internet modem as away to prove it is with them. that picture along with the
delivery receipt will need to be sent back to you to store in a folder for later
use.
Once you start receiving
monthly hard copy bills you will place those in your folder and each month go
online to print out your itemized calls that show the numbers being called from
the internet modem and calls from you to the internet modem.
 It is a
great device because it offers in coming calls and out going calls. Your monthly
bill for the internet modem if you use FTS will run you about $35.00 a month
for 24/7 service.
If your loved one in the
Philippines doesn't have internet in her house then you might also have to pay
for that also which is around $20.00 per month. It must be a minimum of DSL to
work. If you do go this route then your total monthly bill for her internet and
your internet modem will run you about $55.00 a month.
That's far cheaper than
any other service available, and for those of you who talk to our FilAm
Immigrations office in the Philippines, you will notice how clear the
conversation is. Many client tell us that we sound like we are right next door
to them.
You
just need these three item.
  
For more on the FTS internet modem phone
you can give us a call at
321-574-3779
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How important are those
phone calls that you make to the Philippines?
