Category: Review

Filipina Fiancee Visa Service Review

Filipina Fiancee Visa
Filipina Fiancee Visa–thumbs up!

I’m happy to announce that Mare Cris’ spousal visa has been approved!

I’m very thankful to the Filipina Fiancee Visa Service for their help with our case and I wanted to write this review as a way of expressing my gratitude.

I have actually known the owner of this company for quite some time since we both have blogs/websites related to the Philippines.  I’ve asked him random questions through the years and he’s always been able to answer them.  I even sought his advice before making the decision to marry here in the Philippines–I just wanted to make sure I wouldn’t have any problems with processing my wife’s visa and moving to the States.

I’ll summarize what the Filipina Fiancee Visa Service does:

1. They make sure all your forms are filled out correctly.  This doesn’t sound like such a big deal unless you’ve seen the paperwork involved.  The government is very strict regarding the forms and one mistake could potentially slow things down.  I didn’t want to take that risk, so I’m glad I had some professional help.  I’m positive I would have filled out a few things incorrectly without their guidance.

2. They guide you through the process.  Here are a few examples:

*We were informed of some extra documentation we would need for a later step and were able to secure it way ahead of time.

*I was able to get any question I had answered within 24 hours via email.  The only reason it took that long is we are in separate time zones (I’m here in the Philippines and they are in the States).

*One time I needed clarification for one of the forms the National Visa Center (NVC) sent to us.  The government’s system relies heavily on computer generated forms and it isn’t always clear what they are asking for (or it wasn’t to me).

*We were confident going into our final interview at the US Embassy because we knew our documents were all in order.

I endorse the Filipina Fiancee Visa Service without hesitation for those who want some professional help with spousal/fiancee visas here in the Philippines.

 

10,000 Hours: The Price of Greatness

Practice isn’t the thing you do once you are good.  It’s the thing you do that makes you good.
-Malcolm Gladwell

A few years ago I read Outliers: The Story of Success, written by Malcolm Gladwell.  It’s a fascinating book, and one concept has stayed with me to this day.

Gladwell begins one particular chapter by discussing a 1990’s study of Berlin’s elite Academy of Music.  Students were divided into three groups: the “stars,” those who were only “good,” and those who were unlikely to play professionally.

They discovered one factor that separated these three groups–practice.  The best players had practiced relentlessly, putting in around 10,000 hours (starting from childhood) before they enrolled in the academy.  Similar patterns were discovered among pianist.  This was surprising–the researchers didn’t find any exceptions (no “naturals” who effortlessly achieved excellence; no “grinds” who put the time in but didn’t make elite status).

The author looks at other examples of this 10,000 hour rule:

*Mozart started writing music at age six, but his greatest work came after he had been composing for twenty years.

*It takes about ten years to become a chess grandmaster.

*Bill Gates was introduced to computers as a teenager (an era when access to computers was extremely rare).  He spent thousands of hours on computer programming before graduating high school.

*The Beatles performed for hours on end in a German club during the early 60’s (sometimes playing eight hours straight, seven days a week).  They were just a mediocre high school band before spending all this time on stage.

The list goes on.

This 10,000 hour rule may surprise you–it did me.  I tend to overestimate the role of “natural talent” and underestimate the role of practice.

It kind of reminds me of the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30).  Each man was given talents by his master.  They had a choice between maximizing or squandering what had been given to them.

Here’s my point:
God has given all of us some kind of gift/talent.  I think we owe it to Him to be excellent–to make the most of whatever He gave us.  But there are no shortcuts to greatness–it’s up to you to invest the necessary time to become great.