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thesurestthing · 2 years

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21 September 2022: URGENT Disabled US family overseas in danger of separation and imprisonment in bureaucratic/medical nightmare

TL;DR: Through no fault of our own, we have a little over a month (possibly two) to come up with an estimated 7,000 USD--possibly more--in visa overstay fees, clearance fees, and travel expenses (even though we COULDN'T leave before) or risk possible separation from our daughter and indefinite imprisonment until those fees are paid.

We ( @anexperimentallife, our daughter, and I) are a US family in the Philippines who, through a combination of illness, lockdowns, complicated pregnancy, a mistake on our daughter's birth certificate, and sluggish bureaucracy, have been unable to leave the country with our baby daughter. Now that we've gotten past most of the bureaucratic hurdles raised by both the Philippines and US, we're being charged for involuntarily (and I stress that it was involuntary) overstaying our visas while we waited for them to sort things out. The Philippines jails people who cannot pay their overstay fees indefinitely, until someone pays them. We have no idea what would happen to our daughter if worse comes to worst.

We could have afforded all the fees if not for all the unexpected illnesses, pregnancy complications, and bureaucratic issues, which we already had to spend a heavy chunk of donations on.

We've already gone over 13,000 USD in debt for all this, despite previous donations, and our only income is Rob's disability, since I (Zoey) am not legally allowed to work here.

Here are our donation links. We prefer pay pal donations, because they take the lowest fees, but we can also accept donations through go fund me and ko-fi.

pay pal: https://href.li/?https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=AAPN4HRA9YLA4

ko fi: https://href.li/?https://ko-fi.com/anexperimentallife

go fund me: https://href.li/?https://www.gofundme.com/f/family-riding-out-covid-overseas

Thank you all again, beyond words!

In-depth explanation:

The long version (and story to date): We are an interracial, neurodivergent, disabled US couple in the Philippines (*see below for explanation). Rob got sick, and nearly died, at the very beginning of COVID (March 2020), and had to be hospitalized literally the day the first lockdown started. Unbeknownst to anyone, this would be the start of nearly two years of lockdowns and inter-city travel restrictions that changed sometimes overnight with zero notice. There were occasions when people who were already in the air were not allowed to enter. Even if not for the lockdown, Rob's doctors agreed that his health was too fragile for travel with the possibility of getting COVID again.

A few months later, still under lockdown, and with our visas about to expire, we found out we were having a baby. There were complications that required me (Zoey) to be hospitalized twice during the pregnancy, and Eleanor was delivered by C Section in March of 2021 (still under lockdown). Also, by this time, we were having to pay overstay fees because Rob’s visa had expired.

An error on El’s birth certificate prevented us from registering her as a US citizen, meaning she could not get a passport, meaning that even if we (Rob and Zoey) could leave the country, Eleanor could not come with us. We did not find this out until August 2021, when we were trying to register her with the US embassy. (Again, since travel restrictions changed at times with no notice, we could not take the chance on leaving the country without knowing when or if we'd be allowed back to reunite with our daughter.)

Thus began a bureaucratic fight with the Philippines bureaucracy that took nearly a year’s time, two lawyers--one of whom had to sweat an affidavit that fifteen was a larger number than fourteen--a priest, pediatric vaccination records a pediatrician’s word, a baby book, a newspaper publication of our daughter’s birth, and a favor from a friend, just to get the Philippines to correct her birth certificate. (If you're wondering how hellish the bureaucracy is here, one of our local friends is still officially named "Baby Boy" in his forties, despite years of his best efforts.)

In the middle of our legal battle in October 2021, Rob got COVID (again), nearly died (again), and had to be on an oxygen machine for a month. Shortly afterwards, the left side of his face also became temporarily paralyzed from blood clots, and clots unseated the retina in his right eye–he’s still in treatment, but the doctors aren't sure he will ever fully recover.

In May of 2022, the Philippines finally gave us El’s “corrected” birth certificate (with a different middle name than the one we chose for her, but we couldn’t afford another ten-month legal battle).

After this, I emailed the embassy to be certain that we would have an appointment shortly after submitting all our paperwork and the necessary forms. They emailed back and said yes, we would have an appointment between 3 and 10 business days from the date that they received our paperwork. So we planned our long and expensive trip down to Manila, and once we were there we sent in our paperwork. After a few days we get an email saying that our appointment was scheduled for the END OF AUGUST. This was in June, so they screwed us over majorly. It cost us over 200 USD just to get down to Manila, and over 1300 USD to stay there.

While we were in Manila, we finally decided to get an evaluation of Rob’s ingrown and chronically infected big toenails. At this point he had had the nails removed at least 3 times during COVID lockdown in Baguio, and they kept regrowing and becoming infected over a period of two years. During the consultation it was determined the nail bed would need to be cauterized to prevent the nails from becoming ingrown and reinfected. To have this done in a satisfactory medical facility cost us 800 USD. We had to stay in Manila an additional 2 weeks or so following this, and spent another 200 USD to get home.

During the preparation for Rob’s surgery, his blood pressure was alarmingly elevated, so after we got home to Baguio we had him consult with a cardiologist and have made medical and dietary changes to mitigate this. (This is apparently another effect of long COVID.)

His toes were still infected and resisting all the antibiotics that had been tried, so he had to go see an infection specialist and have testing done to make sure his bones weren’t infected. Luckily they weren’t, and after an actual wound culture (which no one had thought to do until after two years of this) and this latest round of heavy duty antibiotics, it is finally cleared up.

That brings us to August 2022, when we went back down to Manila again for our appointment scheduled with the Embassy. Luckily everything went well, we had all the correct documentation, and Eleanor was formally declared a US citizen. It’s been a couple weeks since then and we now have her passport. Rob and I were also able to get married over Zoom through the Utah court system, which is a huge relief for us and something to bring us some joy in this whole mess.

Unfortunately, this is not the end of our ordeal. We still have Eleanor’s immigration fees to pay and we have to secure an exit clearance for each of us before we can leave the country to reset our tourist visas. The hope and the goal is for us to be able to get the SRRV, which may be anywhere from 5,000 to 12,000 USD, which will allow us to stay here without the hassle and expense we’ve been going through, even if there’s another lockdown.

Everyone’s monetary and emotional support through this whole thing has been so wonderful, and we are so grateful to you all. Hopefully we’re able to resolve this soon but even after we get things somewhat settled, we still have an overwhelming amount of credit card debt staring us right in the face.

(* “Why were you in the Philippines to begin with?” After Rob's two adult sons died, he moved to the Philippines both to fulfill a decades-long dream, and to make his disability payments stretch further, as it’s basically impossible to live on in the US. I started talking to him online a few months later, and eventually flew over to be with him. Until COVID, everything was fine here financially--a family of three can easily live on under a thousand USD a month here.

It was only all the bureaucratic and legal hassle stemming from El’s birth certificate error, covid, the national lockdown, and the unexpected medical issues that put us in a tight spot. It’s fairly common for people to move to the Philippines on a tourist visa, renew every two months for 40 dollars until they hit the three year mark, at which point they have to leave the country for a day to reset. Thanks to ever-changing travel restrictions, Rob's health, and then El's stateless status, we were unable to do this.)

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theriverbeyond · 1 year

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thinking more about John and.... at the end of HtN when he was interogating Wake, she wanted him to say her name. "i'll be dammed if i pass up the chance to hear you speak the words" and "they're dead words, a human chain reaching back ten thousand years": Awake Remembrance of These Valiant Dead Kia Hua Ko Te Pai Snap Back to Reality Oops There Goes Gravity.

and then she asks him "how did they make you feel?" and of course, John deflects.

but that's Aotearoa's national anthem in te reo Māori. and as we learn in NtN, John is Maori. that's his anthem. how must have that felt, to John? to hear his own anthem claimed by someone descended from the people who left his earth to die?

#john gaius #awake remembrance of these valiant dead #im thinking abt this bc like #wake might have secrets we dont know abt so maybe she isnt a billionare descendent but like #god if i were john id be so fucking mad that this CHILD this infant this stupid baby has the guts to claim something she has #no context to understand #and of course after 10k years john YOU are the one doing colonialism please look in a mirror etc #john really is just so fucking fascinating #he says he doesnt care. he says it makes him feel sad (pathetic) bordering on funny but. john i dont believe you #john's anger is something we have only really seen once. but. yeah.#tlt thoughts #trb.txt #wake #ejg

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carsonjonesfiance · 1 month

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Accidentally landed on an leftist on YouTube shorts and he had the gall to say “Biden is dragging his feet on loan forgiveness” like… putting aside the millions forgiven, are you not aware that a huge roadblock in his way is the fact that some of his attempts have literally been blocked by the judiciary? There’s a difference between dragging your feet and not running face first into a brick wall.

#these people are so so stupid #also he ends it by saying Biden is going to lose anyway so he should just seize the border for funsies to spite Greg Abbott #because these people do not live in a world with consequences I GUESS #because if Biden loses HMMMMM who will have control of the border if the POTUS seizes it???? hmmmmmmmmmmmmm

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hungwy · 3 months

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i am pretty excited to meet weirdo minnesotans in a few years that dont recognize the new flag because some other submission was better

#i will be one of them. submission F22 was better #a little cheesy but the river bank / lake shore symbolism is too good #moreover more foolproof. what if minnesota finally takes over wisconsin. then our borders are changed and our flag is made stupid

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hraugur · 1 year

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“It’s certainly getting to Enid. The thought of Xavier even trying to flirt with Wednesday makes her nails, claws now dig into her fingers, it makes her stomach tighten and a furious lump moves up her throat, her vision tinting red at the edges.” -there it is again, that funny feeling by @camomile-t this fic has it’s fangs in me gosh darn it

#hraugarts #wednesday #wenclair #enid sinclair #it's the babygirl it's her #camomile-t is a gigachad #(as soon as i made the borders transparent tumblr stopped destroying the quality of this image. fucked up)#stupid ass tumblr fuck you #shes jealous and territorial and get your grubby fuckin mitts off my lady xavier you dumb fuck

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arlo-venn · 3 months

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I said I didn’t want to play

So he got up, came back, and asked if I might like to play with this other one, then 😂

#I love this stupid little man this is why I never get anything done #You’re telling me you would be able to stop throwing his ball????#I should bring this images to my disability hearing #arlo #dogblr #border collie #australian shepherd #handsomedogs

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deadb0dyman · 9 months

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art (by the one and only hansi) for "HAPPY PILLS", upcoming album by utsu-p

not highest resolution, i might edit later if i can find a better img :))

#utsu p #hagane miku #vocaloid #changed the img cause it had a stupid black line on the border from where i cropped it out of the tracklist on twitter lol.

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burin-burin · 1 year

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♡

#shikatema #shikamaru #temari #yubo rim #the white border thing was a last minute decision #in the hopes to cover the stupid hand #ITS JUST SO BAD I GAVE UP TRYING TO MAKE IT LOOK GOOD LMAO

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firefox-official · 1 year

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What are your Warrior Cat hot takes

thunderclan should have claim to sunningrocks. just because the river changed course doesnt mean thunderclan cant keep their territory. that doesnt make any sense. riverclan was gay for that

#wc #ohhh the river is our border #ok? lmfao. sunningrocks was the border at that point. are you stupid #or at least share it. they’re all stupid for not sharing it #sunningrocks wasn’t even a hunting ground and there were snakes there #why didnt they just relax and share #it was like a chillout spot #they coulda smoked weed there

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arceal-doodles · 1 year

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Loooots of twitter doodles

#yes that is my take on nightmare papyrus #yes he has glam #i like to think hes swap paps but bordering on fell #also yes i hc fellswap paps to be a known liar #but he only lies about stupid stuff #and yes my gaster! sans is the BIGGEST DORK EVER #undertale #underswap #fellswap #g!sans #sona #sans #papyrus #twitter doodles #cross sans #nightmare papyrus

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grits-galraisedinthesouth · 5 months

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Colorado Senate Democrat Says U.S. Has 'Obligation' To Fund Ukraine Before Southern Border Agreement

Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) stated that the United States has an “obligation” to fund the war in Ukraine before an agreement can be reached on border funding and a resolution to the record-breaking stream of migrants flowing into the country.

After the House returned to business following a weeks-long battle over the Speaker position, House Republicans advanced a bipartisan funding bill that includes aid for Israel. President Biden has vowed to veto any standalone packages that do not include for Ukraine and called on lawmakers to advance a $100 billion foreign aid package that includes $60 billion in assistance for Ukraine and $10 billion for Israel.

On Sunday, Senator Bennet joined Face The Nation to discuss the ongoing back-and-forth. “I think the really important thing that there is broad bipartisan support for in the Senate right now is that we’ve got to get a recognition that we’ve got to get the Ukraine funding done as part of this package,” Bennet said.

“We’ve got to get the Israel funding done, the humanitarian funding done, and the funding for Southeast Asia as well. There are some Republicans who have said that in order to do that, in order to have that vote, they want to see something done on the border,” he continued. “And I think we have had good conversations over the last several days and before that trying to see if we can get to some sort of solution. I believe of course that the Ukrainian people have earned a vote to support them without a negotiation on the U.S. border, but there are others in the Senate who feel differently, and we’re trying to see if we can get to a solution.”Face The Nation host Margaret Brennan then asked about the growing number of Republicans who have refused to vote for an aid package for Ukraine without an agreement on the border crisis.

Bennet acknowledged that this is the case in the House before claiming that Ukraine has taken back “half of its territory” that was captured by the Russian government and decimated the Black Seat Fleet.

“And now the United States, I think, has an obligation to continue to support them in this fight, not just for Ukraine, but a fight for democracy,” Bennet said. “And I don’t know whether the House will come to the conclusion that that’s enough for them so we’re continuing to see if there’s something we can do on the border. My view is there’s always room to make our immigration system better on behalf of the American people and I hope people of good faith can come together and together and reach a solution.”

#I see stupid people #close the border #vote them out

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eerna · 1 year

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It’s so fucking annoying that any time there’s criticism about the show there’s a stupid reply/post in turn that’s like “the writers already said it would be different! adaptations aren’t supposed to be 100% faithful!” as if that means that you can’t say anything bad about it ever. Like the no negativity bs makes me hate it more actually! What are we, kpop stans? 🙄

(I’m a kpop stan so I can say that ok)

Lvdbsvbdsv go off!!! The toxic positivity in this fandom is insanely annoying, and the reason I take care that my posts don't show up in the general tag. I don't mind adaptations changing the source, HBO TLOU just ended this week and it's one of the best adaptations I've ever seen despite going off the beaten path. But the writing still has to be GOOD. It doesn't need to be SAME, it has to BE GOOD. SaB is a bad show even if you haven't read the books. "Stop complaining or we won't get a SoC spinoff" like why would I even want a SoC spinoff that would be the same quality as this????? "They had to speed things up because Netflix cancels everything after 2 seasons" 2 seasons would have been more than enough to wrap up the entire duology or the trilogy, just not both at the same time???? I feel like I dropped into an alternate universe where the ATLA fandom defends M. Night Shyamalan

#eernask #eernanon #eernask talk grishaverse #sab spoilers #it's oky to like bad things. it's okay to have fun. but fighting people who have higher standards for media is simply stupid #dare i say it. bordering on anti intellectualism. ''how DARE you not turn off your brain you are RUINING EVERYONE'S FUN''

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strawberrrylipsart · 4 months

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based on Virtute The Cat Explains Her Departure by The Weakerthans (lyrics and beginner sketch under the cut)

It had something to do with the rain

Leaching loamy dirt

And the way the back lane came alive

Half moon whispered, "Go"

For a while I heard you

Missing steps in the street

And your anger pleading

In an uncertain key

Singing the sound that you found for me

When the winter took the tips of my ears

Found this noisy home

Full of pigeons and places to hide

And when the voices die

I emerged to watch abandoned machines

Waiting for their men to return

I remember the way

I would wait for you

To arrive with kibble

And a box full of beer

How I'd scratch the empties

Desperate to hear

You make the sound that you found for me

After scrapping with the ferals and the tabby

Let you brush my matted fur

How I'd knead into your chest while you were sleeping

Shallow breathing made me purr

But I can't remember the sound that you found for me

I can't remember the sound that you found for me

I can't remember the sound

#the weakerthans #virtute the cat #gouache painting #gouache #i’m really proud of the headboard design (pigeons / cats fighting / half moon) and the quilted border #i also had trouble with the stupid rug but i think it turned out fine

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quicktimeeventfull · 1 year

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the worst death note au i've ever thought of: L and light are both wildly toxic and delusional kpop stans of the kpop artist named beyond birthday

#this is circling through my mind nonstop and getting increasingly stupid the more i think about it #light is toxic in the 'RESPECT MY FAVES I WILL KILL YOU IN REAL LIFE IF YOU IMPLY THEY HAVE EVER DONE ONE WRONG THING' way #L is a hard stan and toxic purely bc of his general personality #and his extensive deductions of beyond's personal life that borders on stalking #beyond looks like a drowned rat but neither of them can see or admit this #persistant and weirdly plausible rumors that he's a serial killer irl #they meet when their whatever-the-equivalent-of-bubble-is notification goes off at the same time #he's not even part of a popular group so L and light's inane fighting is known by the entire fandom #and possibly even by beyond himself #light has a mental breakdown when a dating scandal betwen bb and girl group artist misamisa is revealed #anyway thanks for listening to my bad ideas

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trubluebecca · 8 months

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Another piece accepted into the Meeker Sheepdog Classic art show. I was totally stumped and just started doodling until I got an expression/pose I found interesting. The sheep were only vaguely planned and pretty much only added after I finished the cyno. I went merle because it was the only pattern I hadn't attempted for Meeker yet.

I don't expect last year's second place results, but it's still fun to send them in and my pieces have always sold.

BTW MY COMMISSION QUEUE IS EMPTY!!! If you're looking for some original art, rates are pinned to the top of my blog.

#stupid dog heads #meeker sheepdog classic #border collie

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aelaer · 6 months

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So you don't need a green card to leave the US but you do need it to get back in.

And this is the story of how my mom has been stuck in England two days after she was supposed to leave.

#personal #border control is terrible #you need the green card to get a California real id #why wouldn't it count #so stupid

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