ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
PhilippinesAdvice of Parents refused.....

Tony...Mariel's parents fear that their daughter will forget about them and they will lose their support when she goes to the U.S. How much monthly support does Mariel now provide? Perhaps you and Mariel could convince them that their monthly allowance would actually increase if Mariel goes to the U.S. You could get this ball rolling by sending this month's (increased) allowance to them yourself. That might help ease their fear.

 

It might work, but I'd guess it will create future problems. They're already acting entitled, how much worse are they going to be when they start deciding how much money can get picked off the American money trees? How many times have we seen problems here when the family in the Philippines is demanding more money than a couple can afford and creating conflict between husband and wife because she's feeling guilty? I foresee this as a future issue already with her family, why start raising expectations in her family?


CaryhMalePhilippines2014-01-30 12:24:00
PhilippinesAdvice of Parents refused.....

I'm already too far into the K1 process to think about marrying her in the Philippines. I'm loosely planning the flight for April 16 and I really don't want to delay her coming here another year by canceling the K1. Although she's not the quiet type, I seriously doubt she'll play hardball like that to her parents. I've told her to just keep talking to her mother and reassuring her that they will stay in touch and she won't be forgotten about. My fiance is going to let her have her iphone and pocket wifi with the promise that I'll keep them both loaded(within reason) so they can skype. Right now that looks like the only option we have besides rolling the dice at the CFO interview.

 

As has been mentioned, only one parent needs to sign the parental advice. I didn't realize the K-1 is almost complete at this stage. Is there a chance she would go to her father to get it signed, even though her mother objects to her leaving the country? Worse would be to get the mother to sign, because supposedly you're coming to marry her there, and then she goes to the CFO. Unfortunately that option would probably raise some bad blood. I don't understand these parents that put themselves before their daughter's welfare. I'd say roll the dice and go to the CFO. If they don't ask for it, you're golden. If they do, well you're just going to have to do something to get one parent to sign it. They won't reject her outright, they'll ask her to return with the Parental Advise filled out and signed. Also if you have a dated, sworn statement that advice was sought and they refuse to sign, publish notice of the impending marriage in the USA in a local paper, at least three months before the CFO, you've met the letter of the law. When the parents see that, they can sign or continue to not sign, with the realization they are going to create bad feelings between themselves and their daughter and son in law. The value of this is it goes around the direct conflict created by them refusing to sign. 


CaryhMalePhilippines2014-01-30 08:34:00
PhilippinesAdvice of Parents refused.....

Marry her there, then do what the heck you want. I'd say your fiancee could cut them off from the support to, and say it won't come back unless they agree to sign. But I doubt most Filipinas would play that kind of hard ball with their parents. Sounds to me that its not that they don't want you to get married, they just don't want their meal ticket leaving the country and forgetting about them. I know my wife's mother is forever grateful that she didn't forget about her family there when she moved to the USA. It was one of her mother's biggest fears. And that wasn't about money, it was about being in contact and caring about them. How much more fearful would her parents be if they're dependent on her for survival? 

 


CaryhMalePhilippines2014-01-29 09:57:00
PhilippinesPlease Help!!!! Wife needs to do Name Change on Philippine Passport

This will be much easier to handle in your consulate back in the USA. You can do the report of marriage through the mail, and generally they only ask for a signed explanation on why you're delayed in reporting it. The statement, "We didn't realize we needed to until just now", seems to work just fine. Once you've reported the marriage and gotten your copy back from them, you can make a trip down and renew her passport in her married name. You can also report the marriage and renew her passport at the same time. 

 

http://www.newyorkpc...ort-of-marriage

 

All the consulates also do outreach programs to different cities in their areas. Odds are good sometime this year they'll be close to you and you won't even need to make the trip to New York City.

 


Edited by Caryh, 07 February 2014 - 09:32 AM.

CaryhMalePhilippines2014-02-07 09:30:00
PhilippinesCFO Seminar Horror Story

Thanks again for all the advice. She got her certificate. She just was confident and gave straight, to the point answers.

 

I'm really happy for you two. Congrats


CaryhMalePhilippines2013-05-30 07:49:00
PhilippinesDivorce question

@Caryh: Are you suggesting that they file a new petition? (I'm confused coz Skeet's case is so complicated)  So the consulate doesn't really care about the divorce decree being annotated in her Certificate of Marriage?  So this means she only has to show them the divoce decree?

 

I am very interested on what's gonna happen next.

 

I'm just going by what needs to be proved to get a K-1 visa. They are at the stage of proving she was available to marry. Neither party can be married at the time the visa is applied for. If the embassy refuses to acknowledge the presumption of death, but will accept the divorce decree, then they cannot issue a visa, as she was married when the application was sent. 

If the embassy does view it that way, then their only choice is going to be to file a new petition, now that her marriage is dissolved in a manner the embassy will accept. 

 

As it is though, I'm all for Hank's view. They should see how the embassy reacts to a divorce decree issued after the petition is made in conjunction with the presumption of death before the application date. They may get lucky and get through with it. 

No the embassy doesn't care if the divorce is annotated at the NSO. She has that already with the presumption of death and they're rejecting it. The biggest issue on that end is the CFO. And they appear to be accepting divorces issued abroad without annotation as long as they have the divorce decree. But maybe thats on a case by case basis, just as asking for parental advice appears to be. 


CaryhMalePhilippines2014-02-07 15:08:00
PhilippinesDivorce question

I don't know. It just seems to get crazier each day.

 

yes.gif yes.gif yes.gif yes.gif yes.gif

Yes your case is really interesting from an immigration point of view. I'd love to see them say, "well ok, that makes it all good now and we'll accept the assumption of death since he's divorced her now". You best case would have been he divorced her without her knowledge before you filed the petition. Then I'd lay odds that she'd be getting the visa. I truly want to see how they decide this one. I'll be praying its positive. 


CaryhMalePhilippines2014-02-07 11:52:00
PhilippinesDivorce question

Ya, I hear you. But in her mind and in my mind and the PI's mind, she WAS free to marry. Said so on the COM. So even when she signed her afadavit that she is able to marry, she said so based on the decision of the courts. It's the consulate who says no good because it's become too easy to get the presumptive death. So, we figured that if we find him and make a proper and legitimate divorce it would satisfy. The worst part of any of this is that there's no way to call and talk to someone about this there. Or is there? I'd hate to think we're spinning our tires again only to get nowhere. Any idea on how or who to contact to speak about this?

 

Mike

 

If there's a way to talk with the CO, Hank is the one who'll know the way to get to him/her. I totally get your point of view, in my mind the presumptive death is just a form of divorce they use there because they don't have a legal divorce. Heck the presumptive death is harder to get than a divorce in the USA! But when they've got orders from above, its what they need to follow. Currently you're attempting to meet the requirement of proving her single when the petition was filed. Proving single now doesn't meet the requirement, and the divorce decree dated after the petition was filed just proves she was married when it was filed. 


CaryhMalePhilippines2014-02-07 11:46:00
PhilippinesDivorce question

Caryh, don't forget, it was at the k-1 interview where they told my fiance that they wanted a death certificate for the "presumptive death".  But now that we've found him and he's agreed to file for the divorce here in the states, I thought that would be the magic that would now satisfy the consulate in Manila. And yes, I do know that when she gets her decree that she needs to run that through the courts there so that the government will officially recognize this disolusion of marriage between them. So, we have no problem getting it through the route of the Philippine courts and the NSO, it is the embassy that is the thorn in our sides. They are the ones who didn't want to recognize presumptive death and put the k-1 in a pending status while we supposedly tried to come up with a death certificate. But instead of that, we came up with him. So, isn't this processed divorce decree and newly annotated COM going to be the key to getting the k-1?

At the CFO my fiance gets VIP treatment there because it is her aunt who is the head of the entire department. Although she can't magically make things happen, she does go to the head of the line.

 

So, Caryh, your opening to this particular response has me puzzled. I feel like I missed something somewhere or maybe you forgot about the presumptive death and the pending status of k-1. Let me know what you think.

 

Mike

 

If the embassy is not accepting the presumptive death decree you have an issue with the currently approved petition. You have to be free to marry when filing the petition. If they are not accepting the presumptive death, then she wasn't free to marry when the petition was filed. With the divorce decree, you'll be required to file a new K-1 petition because the divorce decree will be dated after the day the petition was filed. Now maybe someone will have a heart and say well by her country she was free then, and now she is in the USA to, but I rather doubt it.

 

I forgot about the presumptive death decree there. She actually has no need to run the divorce decree through the Philippine system, she already terminated her marriage per their laws.


CaryhMalePhilippines2014-02-07 10:57:00
PhilippinesDivorce question

Wow, you guys here are great. Simply great.

 

Mike

 

While it would be a good thing to get this completed, it is not required for the K-1. The embassy will want to see the divorce papers, as will the CFO, but it is not required if you're going K-1 and marrying in the USA. So you may be a lot closer to completion than you think. 

 

Advantages of getting this process complete, is she will always have that as her marriage of record in the Philippines. She will never be allowed to take your name on the Philippine passport, or report her marriage in the Philippines. This matters a great deal to some people, and not at all to others, who have no intention of maintaining a Phils passport or really having much to do with Phils after marrying in the USA. There are a few spousal benefits in the Philippines to you also, but then you'd have to be wanting to live there for it to matter.  

 

As to the quick no fault divorce here, both parties need to sign the papers, and notarize them, to get the quick no court date divorce. They have to make sure both parties are in agreement. I'm assuming its the same there is the same, so you're going to have a little mailing time to get it completed. I know some people who have divorced here that way and had their decree in a week. I still had a minor child with my ex, so we had to go to court so the judge could make extra sure we're both in agreement. We had the decree about two weeks after that. I'd be getting your K-1 petition in order, and personally would work on getting the divorce recognised in the Philippines while K-1 is processing. Worse case you get some jerk at the CFO demanding it, and at least it will be shortly forthcoming if not complete.


CaryhMalePhilippines2014-02-07 08:30:00
PhilippinesDivorce question

Super duper news if anyone is still keeping up. We found him and got him to contact my fiance via Yahoo Messenger last night and said he is willing to go the United States divorce route. Agrees they should both be set free and allowed to move ahead with their own lives. This is what he wrote to her last night so they haven't actually spoke yet other than that. She wrote him back in order for them to set a time when then can get together on Messenger and discuss face to face how to go about it now.

 

So many of you here have been so helpful and supportive and I really appreciate that. Does anyone know where I can look to actually see how the divorce laws read when it comes to the US citizen divorcing a foreign wife. I want to make sure I'm able to tell this man exactly what the law says. I just can't seem to find exactly what I'm lookiing for. Some of you mentioned that this is possible without the foreign spouse ever coming to the states or without her even having to be notified. Is this something that divorce lawyers should be familiar with or do you think they're going to have to search that themselves. I don't know how common this is.

 

Thanks again for all of your help,

Mike

 

That's great news!!!

Yep state specific. But many states have no fault divorces, where both parties sign the divorce papers and its done quick and fast. In my own state, unless there's children, there isn't even a court date. You file the papers, they send the results in a 1 to 4 weeks.


CaryhMalePhilippines2014-02-06 15:05:00
PhilippinesDivorce question

No, Icebryker. Nothing yet. She called the two phone numbers that I provided her with that Verizon said was an active land line but they were full of it cuz when she called both numbers the recording said that the phone was not a working phone number.

However, I did manage to locate a niece of his. A very prominant woman in Las Vegas who he had mentioned to my fiance in some discussions they used to have and how he said that she was a strong influence on him and how he would listen to her as if she were HIS elder. So, I got her phone number and gave it to the fiance. She was actually an easy find. She will try to call that number later in the day today. I told her it might be best to make something like an 8pm call. Long before bed but after dinner. That sort of thing. She will introduce herself and attempt to tell this woman what's what and how come. I wouldn't doubt that she doesn't even know that her uncle was married to a foreign woman. I'd bet money on it. We're hoping that she will be an understanding person and offer us some help after we tell her the story. We're hoping that if she indeed has such an influence on him that maybe she can convince him to do the right thing.

So that's what I have for now. Pins and needles until later.

 

Mike

 

Good luck with that. Is there a reason you haven't attempted to call? I would think a USA call would be easier to make, and certainly cheaper. Or is it just trying to keep a third party out of it as much as possible?


CaryhMalePhilippines2014-01-31 14:01:00
PhilippinesDivorce question
I still don't get this part.  An American citizen who resides in this country, can be declared dead by presumption of death from a country he never lived in?  So just because someone does not answer mail or respond to e-mails, our governmant will considder that cause for a presumption of death?
I could understand if the American actually lived in the Phils and then went missing.  Since the beneficiary is from the Phils and petitions from there are given extra scrutiny, seems like the NVC would see this as a red flag and do a simple search on his ssn to see if he is still alive and where he resides.  I don't think this would ever get to the embassy.
Since the embassy is requiring a death certificate I guess this is a moot point.
 
 
You are right about the US citizen example.  We allow divorce here so it  makes perfect  sense to accept a divorce that occurs in a different country.  The difference is that in the Phils with few exceptions, there is no divorce.  I would search here on VJ for the rules required for divorce in the Phils.

 

If you read the court decree that Mike posted, you'll see it makes the presumption he's dead, but acknowledges he may one day show up. Still it declares the marriage dissolved, and frees her to marry again even if he once again shows up. 

 

As I've mentioned, the USA has these same type of laws to declare someone as presumptively dead. The law as written requires that the "Petitioner and Beneficiary are legally able to marry" not what methods can be used to dissolve a previous marriage. Both parties in this case are legally able to marry in both the Philippines and the USA. The rules being applied here were created by the embassy, and could most likely be overturned with a legal challenge. But that would probably take even longer and cost more than the annulment. The fact that the embassy no longer likes the method chosen to terminate the marriage, does not mean it is not a legal method in both the USA and the Philippines.

 

http://www.straightd...-shows-up-alive

Edgar Sentell, a retired senior vice-president and general counsel of Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company, explains that the presumption of death after the unexplained absence of seven years developed after 1800. Before that, if there was no evidence to the contrary, an absent person was presumed to be living even though he might have been ninety or one hundred years old at the time a question arose. Today, an absent person is presumed to have died if:

  1. he has been missing from his home or usual residence for a period of seven years;
  2. such absence has been continuous and without explanation;
  3. persons most likely to hear from him have heard nothing; and
  4. he cannot be located by diligent search and inquiry.

According to Sentell, almost all the states recognize the presumption, either by statute or judicial recognition of the common law rule. Some states have amended their statutes to lower the seven-year period to five consecutive years, and a few have reduced the period even more--Minnesota and Georgia cut theirs to four.

 

I've actually read the Philippine Family Code numerous times,  so I'm fairly aware of the methods to terminate marriages in the Philippines, and the process of getting a foreign granted divorce recognised. Visa Journey has so many opinions that are based on hearsay which ignore the Family Code, that you're more likely to get the wrong information here on what's legal or not in the Philippines unless you know the right people to listen to.  The Philippine Family code is actually quite an eye opening read on how much detail they go into in order to control names, family relationships, rights of each spouse, responsibilities of each spouse, marriage, children, legitimate and illegitimate kids, etc they literally spell everything out.  


CaryhMalePhilippines2014-01-30 09:59:00
PhilippinesDivorce question

Well, Caryh, that answer is quite simple. She was turned away AT the embassy by the consular at the end of her interview. She simply said, you "HAVE" to provide a death certificate because we don't believe presumptive death anymore. Too many Filipinas have found it too very easy to obtain a presumptive death decree and so now she gave us the almost impossible task of getting a death certificate. This is why we have to try to contact him so desperately. HE will be our fastest route right now if he will do the divorce thing.

 

Wow, that does suck. I guess I can see their point though. Getting the presumption of death is a quicker way to get legal single status than going for an annulment, and often easy to get even when they know the spouse is probably alive somewhere. I guess they prefer the Philippine method of paying experts to lie to the courts in order to get an annulment. Although I can understand them being stricter on this, when the spouse in a USC. Still by the laws of the Philippines, she is now free to marry, regardless of how they dance around not allowing their citizens to divorce, while still letting them dissolve their marriages.

 

 

You're right, I could actually marry her there and we're contemplating that avenue as well. But I'm also thinking that afterwards when we go through the visa process again they will still see that presumption of death with no death certificate and then try to tell us that we are not legally married or some such thing. See? Now they've got me where I'm not even thinking logically cuz I know I just made a dumb statement.

 

Mike

 

I totally get how this is jumping in logical circles.

 


CaryhMalePhilippines2014-01-30 09:21:00
PhilippinesDivorce question

After reading all of these posts, I am confused as to the best option for you.

  If you try for an annulment, wouldn't the Philippine court question the reason since you already have a presumption of death?  This seems like it would make the convoluted anulment process even more time consuming and expensive.

You may have a point on the annulment. I don't totally understand the Philippine Family Code in depth enough to know how the presumption of death decree would affect an annulment.

 

If you go forward with the presumption death, wouldn't the NVC or DOS want to see a death certificate since this is a US citizen?  It is hard to believe that they would accept a presumption of death certificate from a foreign country as proof an American citizen who resides in the US is dead.  As far as the US govt potentially not knowing the marriage in the Phils took place, they will see it on the cenomar.

The USA also has ways to get a presumption of death of a missing spouse. This is nothing new to American law. There is even a recent case in Ohio where a man declared dead, after he ran away from his wife, cannot get his SS benefits because he's been declared dead. And the law in that state does not allow him to be declared alive again. So a walking breathing human is legally dead. In any case the court decree of presumption of death is as good as a death certificate in the USA. Which is why I actually don't believe the embassy will not accept this method of termination of marriage. Its a legal method in both the USA and the Philippines to terminate a marriage.

 

 

Since the marriage took place in the Philippines and since your fiance still resides there as a citizen, I am not sure a divorce decree from the US would nullify the marriage.

Location of marriage does not control location of dissolution of a marriage. If it did, USC would need to return to the county or at least the state they were married in to divorce, and we know that isn't true. Philippine law is very clear on when and how a foreign granted divorce can be recognized as terminating the marriage of a Philippine citizen under their laws. 

 

Even if they did accept that, would they allow you to divorce someone who is dead?

Maybe I am missing something...

In this case, the person who has been declared presumptively dead in the Philippines, would be the one filing for divorce in the USA. No one has declared him dead in the USA.

CaryhMalePhilippines2014-01-29 12:51:00
PhilippinesDivorce question

Mike, I just wanted to ask, have you gotten a 221G for proof she's not married? Where are you in the process?

The Annotated CEMAR clearly shows she is legally able to marry in the Philippines. I've done a bit of searching, and can find no references saying the Embassy no longer accepts that as proof. The NSO is the highest legal authority in the Philippines on if someone is able to get married. I'm seriously wondering if you've got some bad information somewhere, and you're chasing after something that is not needed. There are tons of people that give advice on immigration that do not know what they're talking about, yet speak their opinion as if its fact.

 


CaryhMalePhilippines2014-01-29 11:27:00
PhilippinesDivorce question

icebryker, you're sure right about the added stress part. Stomache stays in knots, ya know? I'm glad you've taken an interest in my dilemma and hopefully some others might learn something from it as well.

 

The latest I have at the moment is that I spoke with my fiance tonight and gave her two phone numbers that I tracked down that are/or were his. Verizon verifies at this moment that they are both working numbers but of course they won't hand out anything else about it. But that much was ok. I actually did find this guy. I tracked him down on a mylife.com page. It has a picture of him on the opening page but to go further would take at least a 3 month subscription. Anyway, I was lucky enough that the page allowed me to right click and "save as". Then tonight, I showed her the picture and the response was, OMG, that's him. Well, ok then. A little closer now. She's going to wait until tomorrow to try the contact because they're busy today burying grandma. Well, poor grandma, made it to 86. But she's gonna try the phone numbers tomorrow and if he'll talk to her then she's gonna try the woe is me routine and let's do the right thing and yada yada and we'll see how that goes. If he doesn't agree to divorce then I told her to ask him if he would then sign annullment papers and we can take the longer route there but at least in the right direction. I'll keep posting here if anyone wants to continue reading. This may turn into a good novella.

 

I appreciate all the concern from everyone here. I really do. At least that much feels good.

 

Mike

 

Where did you run into the annotated CEMAR not being acceptably to the embassy now information? I know this used to work just fine, even knew some people who got K-1's with that document. And yes, it certainly sounds like you have the correct document, and by the laws of the Philippines, she is free to marry. Technically that should meet the standards required by the embassy, as even in the USA presumptive death decree frees someone to marry also. To speed things up, you could marry her there and go the CR-1 route to. Then the CEMAR would show her married to you. 


CaryhMalePhilippines2014-01-29 09:39:00
PhilippinesDivorce question

LOL funny you're telling him pretty much what I was telling him. Only I'm thinking that final step of getting the assumptive death decree has never gone to the NSO to generate the annotated CEMAR. 

 

It cost my husband now 120,000pesos all in all...Actually the lawyer is a brother of his  family friend here in the US...The lawyer that he hire do all the job for me.They even do the submission of the Final Court order to the local Registrar's office on my hometown where the my marriage took place and the local Registrar's office in my hometown submit that to NSO Manila for my Certificate of Marriage annotation.Normal process for that annotation would take months because they have to check it first if its really true.By the way the final court order for annulment is not yet the last stage Mike,you must really make it sure to make her CEMAR annotated,because consul do not accept Final Court order documents really,trust me with this.

They just call me up then that they have the my CEMAR with annotation.And i really get  my own a NSO a copy of my CEMAR with annotation  for the sake of just curiosity if its really the same with what i receive with my attorney,and it is ...

On your case it would be more faster,since you already have the papers of that Presumptive of death,just for additional info,find an attorney that specialized really about annulment/Family Code.

I guess if Iam not mistaken you are given one year by the consul to provide evidence about the termination of his prior marriage right?Read the 221g letter she has been given.I know she is given one year.

Your presumptive of death may stand a chance Mike...did you read my other post on your other post what to do with it?Have you tried the route i told you?

Hope it helps...

 

 

 


CaryhMalePhilippines2014-01-28 15:22:00
PhilippinesDivorce question

You may be missing a path here Skeeter. The embassy does not even accept the marriage certificates in the Philippines as ultimate proof a couple is married. They require the CEMAR from the NSO to prove a couple is married. Even with an annulment, the court decree does no good, until its been authenticated and the CEMAR annotated to show the marriage was terminated. It may be the decree of assumptive death just needs forwarding to the NSO, where it can be authenticated and the CEMAR annotated to show the marriage is now terminated. It is my understanding, the courts do not do this, its up to the recipient of the court decree to get it through the process at the NSO. No one can prove they are single or married in the Philippines, without either a CENOMAR or CEMAR from the NSO. I'm just wondering if you're making the same assumption of the Philippines system working the same as the USA system, when they are very different in this regard. You may have heard, they will not accept the court decree, and failed to ask the question, what about the annotated CEMAR from the NSO, simply because you didn't know there was such a thing.

 

 

 

Wow, you guys have put so much time and effort into my problem I can't begin to thank you enough and you've fed me a lot of good information.

 

So, to answer a couple of things that "speech" wondered about: In the last couple of days I have been attempting a search on this man. I think I have located his whereabouts in Tampa or that area. In fact I'm fairly positive. My fiance says that if I can locate him in one way or another, either email, facebook or phone number, that she will attempt to make contact with him and basically plead to him for the divorce in Florida. If he agrees then problem solved. If he doesn't then we are back in the small boat ini the middle of the ocean with no sight of land anywhere. So, for the moment I have two phone numbers for her to try.

Oh, further, NO, they have had NO contact over the years. There's been no contact for at least 4 years. So, we will see now what happens with her attempted contact to him. Because the two of you have been so diligent in helping me with your information, no matter good or bad, I will keep you up to date with the occurrances or lack of them as they happen.

     Maybe to stir our pot just a little more, but not sure it matters at this point, is the fact that she has filed and been granted a "presumptive death". And we/she has the paperwork necessary which states that she can remarry legally. The bad news is that the consulate at the visa interview wants a death certificate. They are no longer accepting "presumptive death" in order to obtain a visa. So, you surely can't present a death certificate on someone who isn't dead and this is why we are attempting the route of contacting him and see if he has an ounce of decency to do the right thing. I've already spent so much money by now just to get us to this point, I would even be willing to repay him for his effort in obtaining this divorce. I.E., I would pay him back so that he doesn't even incur a loss. So, there ya have it in a rather large nutshell. This is why, in the beginning of my initial post, I didn't put the story in there because I'm sure I would have made the waters very muddy before anyone could get a good handle on what the problem actually was.

 

    Anyway, the very, very latest update here is that I have tracked this person's name to a page on mylife.com. I was able to download this pic and will show it to her tonight to see if it is him or not. This site charges for membership in order to find out any details about anyone else who is a member so before I join it to get this info I want to check with her to be sure if it's him or not.

 

Mike

 


CaryhMalePhilippines2014-01-28 15:19:00
PhilippinesDivorce question

Your former husband may have gotten a divorce in the USA without you even being aware of it. There are ways of getting divorced in the USA when you don't know where your spouse is. If you knew the county he got divorced in, you could have gotten a copy of the divorce decree and took the easier method. If he never bothered to terminate his marriage, you could get him into big trouble in the USA by bringing the marriage certificate he had signed there, which shows he married without divorcing. 

Many states in the USA have an easy way to divorce when both parties are in agreement. They file together, one acting as the plaintiff and the other as the defendant, but both sign the divorce agreement. If there are no minor children, these divorces can be given out in less than 30 days without ever going into a court. I've known people who have filed this way and been rather surprised to get a divorce decree in the mail in less than a week. If they can get a divorce this way and then get it recognised in the Philippines, it will be much simpler, faster and cheaper than attempting an annulment there. They would be foolish not to try this easier way. It may even be found they're already divorced, and she just needs a copy of the papers. 

 

 

I have fully understand what you say,Caryh...we have the same situation with Mike's gf .My former husband is a US citizen from Cali.We get married at Phil and went along for a little while.He went back to Cali and after some period of time I cannot contact him anymore nor know his whereabouts.I went to an attorney for such matter and told me if i undergo a annulment it will cause me a fortune with all those publications and some other things they have to send in Cali where I know he last reside,with those bunch of blah blah..Lucky for me Facebook is on the go then,i happened to see him on facebook page ,he is already married again .Well,a poor Filipina like me could never really stand a chance of a fair fight,i have no mobility/money to start up any process that could at least give me justice.I end up living married without a husband for 3 years until a chance of hope/luck came.I finally did the annulment.Costly but that is the only way out.

See the issue is when i happen to know that my former husband in the US is married again,how can i complain,i cannot even afford a lawyer nor can't even can afford an airline ticket.I live way far from the capital of the Phil. which is Manila.

That is why I'am asking Mike the one who post his problem,how can he be so sure that the husband of his gf would waste so much time and also money just to divorce her in US?Is she sure she is still living in Florida?Do they still talk to each other?Did she has any contacts with him?

He might be married again now,that she just don't know.

It would be so good to be true if her current husband will help her and exert so much effort to divorce her up.

That is why I'am telling Mike that do the annulment,I also  comment on his past post about that his gf undergo Presumptive of death route on his other post,I told Mike some things to do with that court order his gf has on hand.

Forgive me if i might say things that could hurt someone.

 

 

 


CaryhMalePhilippines2014-01-28 10:57:00
PhilippinesDivorce question

Article 26 requires that the divorce should be obtained abroad by the foreign spouse, not by the Filipino spouse. Some might say that this is unfair, but bear in mind that this is a great improvement from the law prior to Article 26 which did not recognize all divorces. That resulted to a lot of injustices to Filipinos because while their foreign spouses who divorced them could remarry, the Filipino spouses remained imprisoned to their defunct marriage. It was double jeopardy, in a way, because they had been abandoned yet remained imprisoned. So, paragraph 2 of Article 26 was added to the Family Code as an ?equalizer?, so that these Filipino spouses can have the same freedom as their foreign ex-spouses. 

If you are a Philippine national any divorce you file for in another country would not be given recognition by the Philippines. However, if the non citizen, in this case your American husband filed, then it would be recognized as valid in the Philippines.

At least one of you would have to meet your state's residency requirement in order to file.

So,Hank... (Yes the Philippine citizen can petition divorce in the USA doesn't need to be a green card holder or U.S. citizen BUT! the divorce in the USA will only be recognized in the Philippines if petitioned by the FOREIGNER.......

 

Caryh,...i have a doubt on this paragraph of yours...correct me if I'am wrong...:USA requires its residents to keep track of if they're married and to dissolve the marriage before getting married again.I have known lots of US citizen married in the Philippines but ending up getting married again in the US without doing what you call a US track there resident thingy if there married and to dissolved it before getting married again issue. 

 

 

I may have not explain it in a right way of English or may have been wrong in some parts but i guess i have some point.

 

This statement you made is exactly correct "USA requires its residents to keep track of if they're married and to dissolve the marriage before getting married again."

 

Yes in the USA, people are expected to keep track of (remember) they're married, and dissolve their marriage before they can marry again. Marriage is controlled by states in the USA, not the central government. So there is no place to look up if someone is married in the USA, you'd have to check with every county in the country. which is equal to checking with every barangay in your country. Essentially an impossible task. If someone fails to get divorced before remarrying, they can be charged with bigamy. But there is no central location to look up if someone was married or divorced. We need to keep our own records of that information. 

Each state (equal to a province or region) has its own laws controlling marriage and divorce. So the rules to marry or divorce are different all over the country, although they are somewhat similar because of customs. 

Residency is where you make your home. Generally you have to live somewhere for a certain period before you're considered to have gained residency. Most states require you've been a resident for a certain time period, typically 6 months to a year, before you can file for divorce in that state.

If someone were to marry in the Philippines, then come to the USA and marry someone else, they have broken the bigamy law. They can be charged and imprisoned for doing so. But someone would need to find and show proof they're married twice without divorcing before that person would have charges brought against them. The person who usually brings this up is when the two spouses find out they're both married to the same person. 

The USA recognises all marriages that are performed in other countries, and divorces or annulments. An exception to this is some states, do not recognise gay marriage or polygamous marriages (where such things are legal). All someone needs is their marriage certificate or divorce decree to prove that status.


CaryhMalePhilippines2014-01-28 08:52:00
PhilippinesDivorce question

 

Register the foreign marriage in the USA?  Just where is this registration to happen in the USA, we don't have an NSO like in the Phils for such things.  Report of Marriage in the Philippines when you marry in the USA that is a totally different situation.

 

Sounded like a Filipina who doesn't quite understand the system here trying to equate Philippine law with USA law. USA requires its residents to keep track of if they're married and to dissolve the marriage before getting married again. Philippine law attempts to enforce not getting a marriage license if you haven't dissolved the previous marriage.


CaryhMalePhilippines2014-01-27 14:00:00
PhilippinesDivorce question

Let us clear you things out, If you get married in the  Philippines to a US Citizen,it doesn't mean that  automatically your marriage is register in the US,nonetheless if your husband is too good to Register here in the US your marriage/report it.It applies to those who do the journey of K1 visa like me a Filipina .After our marriage here in the US ,our marriage is only Register at the US but not yet at Phil.To do that i will have to report that marriage to any Philippine Consulate here to Register my marriage.So if your asking me if your x husband from Florida can divorce you here while you are there,it will lead you to a question like: Is he known married here with you/or reported that married here?.If not ,how can he divorce you when he is single here?.Did you get what I mean?.He is still single here in US id marriage is not reported here legally.It doesn't mean your married there ,so its automatic you are considered married here in the US,,this is two different thing.

Other thing is he can/you can divorce here in the US if either both of you are citizen or a green card holder and you can pass that divorce  degree in Philippine court to acknowledge your divorce there.

So this is connected to a presumptive of death,Mike I'am telling you there is no short cut way for this process.It will just make it a long way journey.Do the right,safe way..Philippine embassy is so so strict nowadays.Fraud and anomalies are examine under the microscope.

 

 

There is no central registry to report a marriage to in the USA. If some is married in the foreign country, they are married here, so they certainly can divorce in the USA as long as they meet the residency requirements of the state they live in. 


CaryhMalePhilippines2014-01-27 13:00:00
PhilippinesDivorce question

Ooops. Just one more thing popped into my head. You said that after she receives her copies of the divorce papers or the decree part then she files a "petition for recognition of a foreign judgement". Is filing that petition a legal matter like with attorneys and courts or it is just a visiting of some government office and filing that paperwork with them and then waiting until it goes through the NSO?

 

Mike

 

This is a court filing thing with attorney. The court is required to verify that the divorce was given properly by the laws of the location that issued it. So they need the divorce papers and copies of the divorce laws where it was granted. After the court rules on the case, then the court ruling needs to be filed with the NSO so her CEMAR can be annotated to show the marriage was terminated legally. I've heard the court doesn't automatically forward their judgement to the NSO, but her lawyer would need to do this second step. 


CaryhMalePhilippines2014-01-27 12:38:00
PhilippinesApproved..or not?!

Definitely agree with that and what everyone else said.  When I first did the I-129F I probably mis-read the instructions but the part where it asks about my fiance and her kids, I put our baby on there so it's honest and upfront...but being too honest backfired! lol

 

salamat sa diyos!  I will be checking CEAC like a hawk until the visa is issued! happy.png;;

 

 

I totally understand the confusion, and I'm also sure you're not the first to have done so, or the last. 

Congrats on reaching this point though, soon they should be home with you 


CaryhMalePhilippines2014-02-19 12:47:00
PhilippinesApproved..or not?!

Congrats. Your child should not have been on the I-129F, as she doesn't need a visa or medical. You probably created a bit of confusing by having her on it with no medical included. 


CaryhMalePhilippines2014-02-19 11:44:00
PhilippinesWhy is it so hard to find a good Filipino restaurant?

Americans want real food..not vinegar and meat by products,,I mean those red hot dogs are basicly cancer in a package

why would you eat a RED HOT DOG ESPECIALLY in the USA????tongue_ss.gif

 

Real food like this? 

 

405257_425911204091324_899796739_n.jpg

 

 

Although I agree with you on those red hotdog things. My wife tried some of them we got at the local Phil store here, she won't eat them now either after eating American hotdogs.

 


Edited by Caryh, 14 February 2014 - 12:26 PM.

CaryhMalePhilippines2014-02-14 12:23:00
PhilippinesWhy is it so hard to find a good Filipino restaurant?

There has been many attempts to open a Filipino restaurant in the Twin Cities of Minnesota. I've watched them go under for a number of reasons, most of the time its a cultural thing. First of all, they open when they feel like it. If you're an American and you go somewhere wanting to eat, how many times are you going to return when they're just not open during normal hours. Seriously you never know when they'll be open or not.

 

There's one I go to that is only open for brunch on Sunday. They'll be there maybe three Sundays a month. Sometimes they're not open for three weeks in a row. You need to go to their facebook page to make sure they're open. The food is always good though. They're costs are low, operating out of a cantina in a convenience store whose regular operators are closed on Sundays. They mainly support themselves catering, and have survived doing this brunch two years now. But again their main customers are Filipinos in a state with only 16,000 Filipinos.

 

Another long gone one got really popular in a Minneapolis international market. But again, supposed to be open every day but again they opened when they felt like it. People raved about the taste of the food, but they'd make special trips there to find it constantly not open. Eventually people just stopped going there.

 

Currently we have another in ST Paul. The guy opened his restaurant without bothering to get a license or even meeting any of the health requirements of a restaurant. He is currently just running a catering business to Filipinos now, while he tries to raise the money to meet a legal restaurant's requirements. But even then I doubt he's going to make it. Before he was closed down, he marketed strictly to Filipinos, his FB page for the place is almost always in Tagalog. His food is also hit and miss. Some days its very good, and some days its horrible. Plus he only makes so much food up ahead of time, often running out of food while he's supposed to be open. Or he'll run out of almost everything and just start serving what he does have without even asking if thats what you want. Truly a strange experience even for someone familiar with Filipino ways. 

 

There was an attempt by a New York chef to move to Minneapolis and serve Filipino food in a big way. He opened a fancy place in an expensive area of downtown. He was born and raised in the USA, so I kind of wonder if he didn't truly know Filipino flavors, or if he was just trying to tame them down to Minnesota taste buds, but the food was so bland after one visit I had no desire to ever return. His place was the only Filipino restaurant here that was actually open normal and regular hours. Unfortunately the food just didn't cut it. It looked pretty, but it was expensive and lacking flavor. The place was gone in six months.

 

So from what I see here, the Filipino restaurants want to operate like they're in the Philippines and market to only Filipinos in a city where there just isn't many of them. 

 


CaryhMalePhilippines2014-02-14 11:30:00
Philippinesurgent please help my fiance got strange texts from the usem

 

Lots of ways to "grab" cell numbers.

 

But for sure that was NOT from USEM.

 

But to get the cell number of someone with an upcoming interview at the USA embassy? What percentage of population does that have to be? Send out a few hundred thousand texts to get a hit? Could be someone who knows her, and knows she has an interview coming up. 


CaryhMalePhilippines2014-02-20 10:13:00
Philippinesurgent please help my fiance got strange texts from the usem

 

I would say your fiancée is being scammed... that is not from USEM.  This is not the first text/email I have read about doing ####### like that.... scammer!

 

Report it to the embassy, if it is happening often they will post a NOTICE on the embassy website warning others.

 

It most likely is a scammer, but that does not mean the cell numbers of applicants is not leaking out of the embassy.


CaryhMalePhilippines2014-02-20 10:07:00
Philippinesurgent please help my fiance got strange texts from the usem

 

You can but my guess is they will do nothing. I am sure they do not like somebody impersonating them but what can they do? An embassy employee would never ask for favors in passing an interview, just not goiing to happen...especially since you have no idea or choice who is doing the interview..think about it.
 

 

Its happened and been proved before. I've heard of cases happening in Manila in the past to.

 

http://dailycaller.c...-visas-swindle/


CaryhMalePhilippines2014-02-20 09:46:00
Philippinesurgent please help my fiance got strange texts from the usem

Wow, just in case this is someone in the embassy, it needs to get reported. It could be some employee that accessed the files there. Don't delete the texts, I think someone is going to want to see them.

 


CaryhMalePhilippines2014-02-20 08:20:00
PhilippinesPetiton for recognition of divorce from foreign country

Thank you Caryh. That is exactly the document we have except at the bottom instead of saying "for travel/passport it says "for marriage".


I forgot about that notation they put on them. :blush:
My wife and I have not bothered to get ours yet. She came on a K-1, but we registered the marriage with the consulate so it should be noted now. Although we do have an official copy of our Report of Marriage Contracted Abroad now. Been meaning to get the CEMAR to, just haven't gotten around to it yet.
CaryhMalePhilippines2013-03-08 14:46:00
PhilippinesPetiton for recognition of divorce from foreign country

Hello again. Can someone tell me what the CEMAR document looks like? The document we have from NSO a year or so ago shows my fiancé full name and birth date and search results for marriages . It also list her parents names . There was one result and it was her marriage from 10 years ago. Shows location of marriage and bride/groom names. Is this a CEMAR? if so, then we will just need to get a more recent one . Or will the CEMAR actually say on it somewhere "certificate of marriage"?
Thx


Found an image of a CEMAR for you, sounds like you're describing it correctly though. Sorry, I can't tell you how new of a CEMAR you'll need in Japan.

Posted Image
CaryhMalePhilippines2013-03-08 11:18:00
PhilippinesPetiton for recognition of divorce from foreign country

"front loading" makes sense too. I am getting there. :) That's fine. CEMAR should be simple to get. So glad we do not need the CENOMAR. Only 1 day after joining this site and I am already so much more informed than I have ever been on the subject. We have proven direction now, and that feel good. Thank you all.


I front loaded many things, (after an RFE already occurred), but the CENOMAR/CEMAR wasn't one of them. But given her situation, it sounds like a good plan in your case.
CaryhMalePhilippines2013-03-05 15:54:00
PhilippinesCan We Make Our Own Embassy Appointment to Save Time?

 
I'm not sure why you moved this post? It really is not country specific as you suggest. It has everything to do with the US Embassy and really nothing to do with the Philippine government. I wish you folks would quit moving my stuff.  This is why I get so few responses. Think about it. I am asking if anyone knows if CR-1 applicants can make their own appointments at a U S EMBASSY.  Not the Philippines embassy. I would think this question would apply to all visa applicants that apply for a visa to enter the US regardless what country they are from.



the process at the embassy varies by country. That is why they moved your post. There is no generic USA Embassy, you're dealing with the USA Embassy Manila, they even have their own web site with their own instructions that must be followed. what you would like to do makes sense to me, but many parts of this journey make little sense, yet we ignore jumping thru those hoops to our own detriment.


CaryhMalePhilippines2013-05-01 18:11:00
PhilippinesHow are you adjusting?

She just needs to wear more clothes, or you less. My wife lives under the electric blanket all winter.

 

I like her wearing less clothes devil.gif whistling.gif


CaryhMalePhilippines2013-05-06 14:40:00
PhilippinesHow are you adjusting?

OH and the big adjustments for me

The house is always too darn hot, 79 or 80 degrees. I'm sweating in the depths of winter now.

Her car with zone heating, it feels like I'm standing in the door way of an air conditioned building in the desert, me setting my side at 68 with her side set to 79 or 80.

In my car, its just too darn hot for her sake when she's in it, much like the house.

Asking something and not being heard because she's busy texting in Bisaya or Tagalog. I wait until she's done so she can understand English again.

Gotten so used to getting my nails done, yesterday I napped through the entire process. After I woke up, she asked if it disturbed me because she dug in kind of deep on one of the toenails and my foot moved. I didn't wake up at all wow.gif

Used to eating fish that look back at me, and shrimp, and pig, and duck, what is it with food that looks back at you and Filipinas? 

Another food item, vegetables always get cooked with about 30% pork added. Those are my kind of veggiesdancin5hr.gif

Having the shrine set up in the living room to Jesus and Momma Mary. Don't mess with the shrine, even to put your coffee cup on it for a second, the boss will get upset.cray5ol.gif I knew the shrine was important to her, I said anywhere in our house was OK with me, as this is our, not my home now.

Sleeping above the covers, see house temps in first line. It does go down to a cold by her standards 73 at night. She's under the comforter, and if I get chilly I just move closer to her and feel the heat radiating through the comforter. Seriously its like being near a fire!

 


CaryhMalePhilippines2013-05-06 14:22:00
PhilippinesHow are you adjusting?

A year and half now for us.

I'm fatter, so she calls me tambok, but refuses to let me diet or eat less.

I'm trying to learn how to tune my hearing, English is spoken very soft, so soft it can be hard to hear without close attention. Bisaya or Tagalog are spoken at volumes that can be picked up back home in Davao City.

My nails, finger and toe, are now nicely manicured at all times.

I've become addicted to rice and understand now why Filipinos can be hungry if they don't get rice.

I speak some words in Bisaya or Tagalog so much, that I have to think to speak them in English around Americans.

Dealing with her homesickness was a real pain in the butt. She still gets mild bouts with it, but nothing like that first year.

I've ruined her now I think. She didn't use to be a shopper, now she loves to visit the malls. 

In some things she's been like a duck in water in America, in others she stubbornly refuses to adjust. 

When she got her she loved the washer and drier, now she keeps buying handwash only clothes rofl.gif

I'm happier than a man has a right to be. I can't wait every day for us to get home and be together.

 

 


CaryhMalePhilippines2013-05-06 14:04:00
PhilippinesPetitioning my older sister

Did this actually happen to you? Just curious. Do you think if someone is married and their spouse stays behind that is enough to tie them to a country? I guess the only way to find out is to file for a tourist visa. Maybe being the USC if I write a letter saying we just want her sister to visit, I guarantee she will not overstay and if she does I will tie her up and push her out to sea on a small dingy. They'd have to grant a tourist visa then, maybe I better draw a picture too illustrating it. They like pictures.



Sounds like a planned attempt to use VAWA so the sister is allowed to stay, denied :rofl:

I'm not sure how much weight the put on immediate family. My wife had a friend who tried multiple times to get a tourist visa and was denied every time until she had already spent time working abroad and returned to the Philippines. She had four kids and a husband, plus owned a home there. But her husband was a seaman and often in the USA. Which is why she wanted the visa, as he was an officer on the ship, his wife could travel with if she could get the visa. She finally got it on the fourth attempt.

I've never seen any clear instructions or guide on what will get a tourist visa for a Filipino.

Edited by Caryh, 25 March 2013 - 08:18 PM.

CaryhMalePhilippines2013-03-25 20:18:00