Hi CMB, welcome aboard

As a first step please take a read of the following thread:-


How To Apply For A Fiance(e) Visa

You may find this thread interesting also:-

Fiance(e) Visa or Spouse Visa? Which is best?


Concerning children under fiance(e) visa, here's what UKBA say:-

Entry clearance with a view to settlement may be granted to a minor dependent child of a parent who has been admitted, or is seeking admission, as a
fiancé(e) under paragraphs 290 to 295 of the Rules provided the following additional requirements are met:

the child is under the age of 18, is unmarried and is not leading an independent life nor formed an independent family unit;

the child can and will be maintained and accommodated adequately without recourse to public funds with the parent admitted or being admitted as a fiancé(e)
or proposed civil partner;

there are serious and compelling family or other considerations which make the child's exclusion undesirable;

that suitable arrangements for the child's care have been made;

there is no other person outside the UK who could be reasonably expected to care for the child;

the terms of any custody order relating to the child do not prevent the child being taken to another country with a view to settlement there.

In assessing whether there are serious and compelling considerations (see SET7.9) it would normally be undesirable to exclude a child who had
largely been cared for by the 'fiancé(e) / proposed civil partner parent'.

With regard to another person being able to look after the child, this would include a close family member if there had been a genuine transfer of
responsibility prior to the application. The age and health of the present carer will need to be taken into account in determining whether that person
could be reasonably expected to continue caring for the child.

Please do be aware that major changes to the settlement visa rules are expected to be announced soon.
The best information we have right now is that these changes may be introduced around June 2012.

The major thrust of the changes is to introduce some form of income threshold. There are quite a few threads on this which you can find with a quick search

Regarding Balikbayan boxes I personally use Forex. Others use LBC
There are plenty of threads on that subject and again a quick search will help you.

Hope this helps you