biggish data

This is not true. Many local registrars are outright refusing to accept the Affidavit. They will only accept a CENOMAR or a CEMAR accompanied by a judicially recognized divorce decree.

http://manila.usemba...v/marriage.html

The number of local registrars refusing to accept the affidavit has been growing in the news. You can only acquire a marriage license where you reside. The OP has made it clear his fiance's family won't let her move for the purposes of finding a more cooperative registrar. They won't approve of a K-1 visa either. Personally if I was the OP I would leave my job and enjoy the sun and fun of the Philippines for a few months while I got the marriage sorted out, but I never worry about finding work or being unemployed for months at a time.

1. Although divorce by Filipinos is not recognized in the Philippines; divorce by the foreign spouse of a Filipino is recognized in the Philippines.
2. A person that is not a Filipino citizen cannot get a CENOMAR.
3. He was married and divorced in the USA he is subject to US laws and not the Family Code of the Philippines.
4. Ever since the landmark Supreme Court ruling on Republic vs. Orbecido (G.R. No. 154380, October 5, 2005), recognition of divorce in the Philippines has been defined more clearly.

Under Art. 26 of the Family Code, it is stated:

“Art. 26. All marriages solemnized outside the Philippines, in accordance with the laws in force in the country where they are solemnized, and valid there as such, shall also be valid in this country, except those prohibited under Articles 35(1),(4), (5), (6), 36, 37 and 38.

Where a marriage between a Filipino citizen and a foreigner is validly celebrated and a divorce is thereafter validly obtained abroad by the alien spouse capacitating him or her to remarry, the Filipino spouse shall have capacity to remarry under Philippine law."

It is this second paragraph of Art. 26 that enables a Filipino spouse to remarry once his/her foreigner spouse obtains a divorce.

Alicia V. Sempio-Dy, in her book Handbook on the Family Code of the Philippines, explained the background behind the second paragraph of Art. 26:

“Under the second paragraph of the above Article, where a Filipino is married to a foreigner and the latter thereafter obtains a valid divorce abroad capacitating him or her to remarry, the Filipino spouse shall likewise have the capacity to remarry under the Philippine law.

The provision was not originally approved by the Civil Code Revision Committee but it was presented and approved at a Cabinet meeting after Pres. (Corazon) Aquino had already signed the Family Code as Exec. Order No. 209. Hence, the President promulgated another Executive Order No. 227-amending Art. 26 of the Code by including this provision as a second paragraph therein.

The idea of the amendment is to avoid the absurd situation of a Filipino as being still married to his or her alien spouse, although the latter is no longer married to the Filipino spouse because he or she had obtained a divorce abroad which is recognized by his or her national law.

The amendment will also solve the problem of many Filipino women who, under the Philippines Civil Code, are still considered married to their alien husbands even after the latter have already validly divorced them under their (the husbands) national laws and perhaps have already married again."

I think the OP has already confused the local registrar where his wife resides by telling them that her fiance was married to a Filipina and divorced, and how to clean things up at the NSO. I can see they really know the law if they are telling him he needs a CENOMAR.

Lots of myths about marriage and divorce laws in the Philippines, just remember the Family Code of the Philippines is for citizens of the Philippines.

I had zero problem getting married in the Philippines, lucky I had a local registrar that knew the law and accepted my divorce papers.

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2012-11-25 03:37:00

Thank you but fiancee did goto NSO and I am in system as registered under a previous marriage
outside Philippines. They will not issue a CENOMAR.
We asked NSO they said maybe goto Manila City Hall and ask what to do.
I am not kidding...
Seems NSO do not even know how to deal with there own documents.

You know what I ment NSO not NFO, I just did this year, what your doing, so I speak of from experience.

You have a Marriage Cert on record, "Cenmar", that shows you were married to a Filipino citizen, I have 2 of them on record. Divorce papers show you are divorced. What you need to get a marriage license in the Philippines is not a cenomar, its a Affidavit in Lieu of a Certificate of Legal Capacity to Marry from US Embassy.

Edited by Mimi and Gary, 24 November 2012 - 07:12 PM.

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2012-11-24 19:06:00

THank you all for your advise.

At this point we are at a brick wall.

I have talked to Philippine Embassy Consulate in LA, NSO office and Local Registry officials and no one can give us

an answer or process that will allow us to clear NSO and get married.

It is very disheartening to fiancee, family and myself.

All yourt comments are helpful; but very contradictory, with little exact details. So far I am unable to find a lawyer

in Ozamis City to talk to them. At this point I have no idea whom to contact neither does fiancee or there family.

I was so surprised that NSO gave us such a BS response " go to Manila city hall with divorce decree and marriage certificate and

ask there advise" this from the office that actually manages these same documents.

At this point we have no future and there is nothing more we can do. Family doews not want K1.

and there is nothing left for me to do as I have no one to call to get actual truthful information

on process as it seems both NSO and registry who controil this have no idea and thus we cannot get marriage certificate

from them. Also family said they will not allow her to move to another municipality. This wont fix anything anyways as

NSO records need to be fixed.

Thabnk you

You are making this way more complicated than what it is. Based on personal experience all you need is "Affidavit in Lieu of a Certificate of Legal Capacity to Marry" from US Embassy and citified copies of your divorce papers in order to get a marriage license in the Philippines. The problem is the Local Registrar may interpret the rules different. Normally the Philippines recognizes divorce by a foreigner, the Filipino ex-spouse is the one who needs to have the divorce recognized by Philippine courts in order for her to be free to remarry.

Normally there is a ten-day waiting period before the marriage license is issued by the registrar's office. In some instances the fiancée may apply in advance for the marriage license with the local civil registrar. The American citizen must then obtain the affidavit of legal capacity upon arrival in the Philippines and file it immediately with the civil registrar where the fiancée applied for the marriage license. A marriage license cannot be obtained by a fiancée without presence of the prospective spouse.

Some get confused about the marriage application and the marriage license, marriage applications are applied for all the time in the Philippines by only one of the parties because it may be almost impossible for one of them to travel to apply in person together, they only need to pick up the marriage license together. If one Local Registrar will not do that, then check with another municipality, all you need is a local address to apply for a marriage license.

Don't worry about NFO that is for Filipino citizens.

Edited by Mimi and Gary, 24 November 2012 - 02:50 PM.

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2012-11-24 14:48:00

http://208.184.76.17...ing-family-code

http://www.noodls.co...8E7D2FD8165FE22

http://www.congress...._15/HB04368.pdf

Do you have the link to the new changes?

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2012-11-20 15:53:00

What you are missing, and two people I personally know have encountered, is that once their names are listed on a marriage certificate with the NSO they will continue to appear as married there. When the NSO files the new marriage license the NSO will flag the foreigner as already being married and the new marriage will not be valid. If you are divorced the foreign divorce decree is all that is needed for the Embassy to issue an affidavit of freedom to marry. The Embassy and the civil registrar will generally not look closely to see if the former spouse was Filipino or not as that's not their job. The problem appears when the paperwork finally makes it to the NSO. The NSO typically will not accept a foreign divorce decree without a judiciary signing off on it.

Of the two couples I know that encountered this problem one found out after the fact and was told to seek an annulment because the Filipina was the one that had filed for divorce in the US and the lawyer told him that even though it really wasn't required by the law, the judge could refuse to sign off on the divorce decree because the Filipina was unable to remarry herself. The other paid a lawyer ahead of time to file the proper motion and had the recognized divorce decree in hand when he landed in the Philippines.

Is it possible that some people slip through the NSO and are not flagged? Sure. Is it really a problem to get the divorce decree recognized? No, and it could save people a lot of headaches down the line. All the courts are trying to do is make sure the divorce is a) not initiated by the Filipino citizen and b) legal under the laws of the foreign government.

As I am sure people are going to ask for proof of what I am talking about I will provide a bit of case law.

http://sc.judiciary....2001/138322.htm

The reason this case is at the heart of the matter is because of the first issue brought about from the judgement highlights another case which set the standard.

Oh I see the problem now! You are not aware that the Philipine congress amended the Family Code. It was always easy in mixed marriages for the alien spouse to divorce his Filipino spouse in another county then remarry in the Philippines without having to get the Philippine court to sign off on the divorce. Now I'm sure there were some cases where they owned property or maybe kids involved or other reasons that caused the need to get the Philippine court to approve foreign divorces. In the majority of cases the alien spouse only needed the divorce decree to get a marriage license in the Philippines.

The Supreme ruling you reference which states that a foreign divorce decree be recognized before it can be enforced by the court in the Philippines made in one sided, the alien was free to remarry anywhere, but the Filipino spouse could was not free to remarry unless first getting the foreign divorce recognized in the Philippines, even in the foreign country where the divorce was granted.

This was amended a couple of times and most recent this year. Now marriage in cases where divorce is validly obtained abroad the alien spouse and recognizes divorce obtained by the alien spouse in another country without the need to seek judicial recognition or enforcement of the foreign judicial degree of absolute divorce.

The amended law overturns the 2001 ruling and now make it easier for the Filipino spouse it puts both the alien spouse and the Filipino spouse on equal playing fields. Now if the alien spouse divorces the Filipino spouse in a foreign country all the Filipino spouse needs to send a copy of the divorce to the Philippine embassy in the country where the divorce was obtained. The measure also provides that the registration of the Foreign Judicial Decree of Absolute Divorce in the Civil Registry shall be sufficient enough for the issuance of marriage license.

Some restrictions still apply, like if a Filipino marries another Filipino then later becomes a citizen of a foreign country then divorces his Filipino spouse the new changes would not apply.

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2012-11-20 14:19:00

Which must be recognized by a Philippine court in order to be filed with the NSO. If you are an American Citizen nothing prevents you from getting married nearly anywhere in the world with a US issued divorce decree. However, if you are an American citizen, that has been married in the Philippines or had your marriage registered with a Philippines Embassy or Consulate, you do need to have the divorce decree recognized legally by the courts in the Philippines.

For the vast majority of American citizens that is nothing more than having a lawyer and judge sign off on a few pieces of paper. In some rare cases, most notably when the petitioner of the divorce was the Filipino citizen or the American citizen holds dual citizenship, the courts may NOT recognize the divorce decree and require the marriage be annulled before allowing the US citizen, that according to the NSO is still married locally, to be married again in the Philippines. This does not stop the American citizen from getting married in the US, but will possibly cause problems for their spouse when they resister the new marriage with the NSO because the US Citizen is still listed as being married to their original spouse.

I know this is hard to understand, but the only time you need the Philippines to judicially recognized a foreign divorce is if your a Filipino citizen, or a former Filipino citizen and not a US citizen at the time you were married in the PI, if you were a US citizen at the time you were married in the Philippines then later divorced in the US then you don't need the Philippines to do anything special to recognize your divorce, they already recognize it because your a non-citizen and your not subject to Philippine law concerning divorce. You are free to remarry in the Philippines.

As for as the Filipino spouse it depends if they are still a green card holder, or a US citizen, or a Dual Citizen . This is who would need to have judicial decree in Philippine courts to declare the Filipino spouse qualified to remarry.

Where a marriage between a Filipino citizen and a foreigner is validly celebrated and a divorce is thereafter validly obtained abroad by the alien spouse capacitating him or her to remarry, the Filipino spouse shall have capacity to remarry under Philippine law. Some exceptions to this apply.

As for as US citizens are concerned they treat a divorce to a Filipino citizen just like any divorce to a non-Filipino citizen. You just show all your divorce papers when you file for the marriage application. That is the only time it will come up, and of course at the CFO.

Been there and did all of that, never had a problem.

Edited by Mimi and Gary, 19 November 2012 - 09:10 PM.

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2012-11-19 21:08:00

If he was a U.S. citizen at the time of his marriage, he doesn't need a Philippines court to recognize his divorce, nor does he need to get an annulment. He can request a CENOMAR right now and the NSO will issue him a CEMAR (Advisory on Marriages).

This is correct, the marriage certificate, and the divorce decree "judicial decree" from us court.

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2012-11-19 18:41:00

Exactly as I had to do it, and the same as mentioned above, the clerk/office manager told me that I needed to do X,Y & Z then 10 days waiting and she added some other BS, basicilly making it as hard to do as possible to get the job done in the timing we needed, it is the same as trying to get anything done in the Philippines. There is more red tape than a town full of Santa Clauses, needing to repair their torn red outfits. (the CFO comes to mind) LOL

We ask for a brief meeting with the Mayor, explained we were on a tight schedule, could meet all the document & seminar requirements, but it needed it to done in parallel, he smilled and said that actually the date we wanted to have the ceremony, he was not avalible, but he would marry on a earlier date, and they would give us the signed license when we presented the needed documents, and met the 10 day. He also instructed the clerk to make sure the completed package was given to us to send to the NSO, in a very short time frame after.

Moral of the story just ask, and a few piso's spread around never hurts, like the seminars, I think back them we needed two different ones, first one we just paid the fee, and they gave the Certificate, the second one was pay the fee, and bring them some Ice Cream.

We did invite the Mayor, and his friend to a nice lunch to help us Celebrate, the upcoming marriage, and became best of friends after.

Exactly the way it works in the Philippines, don't matter if your getting a marriage license or doing other business with national, region, or local government tell them what you need and then do what they say you need to do.

I found many years ago no law, rule or regulation is written in stone in the Phills, how they interrupt the laws in different parts of the Phills may differ greatly. Some may think paying a judge a couple of thousand peso's to release a marriage license early is a bribe or it is illegal, this is crazy. Your a visitor in a foreign country all you can do is ask, and then do what they tell you to do. It's their country they know the laws better that a visitor does.

When I was married in the Phills on our planned wedding date the weather forecast called for 100% change of heavy rain and local flooding. Since we were having a outside civil wedding this was bad news, during the pre marriage counseling the judge that was doing the counseling suggested we get married a few days early to avoid getting the wedding and the reception ruined because of the weather. I told him that the 10 day wait would not be up until the 11th of the month and we getting married on the 12th. He said no problem with that, it's just a notice to get anyone a chance to object to the wedding, this is more for locals not real important for a foreigner. He did not ask for a bribe he was happy to allow this.

If you have plenty of time "3 weeks" then by all means follow the family code of the Philippines, but if you are time limited then have your fiancée check with the local government officials, explain the situation and see if anything can be done to speed up the process. In the end if you have get a NSO "CENMAR" (MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE) you will have a legal marriage, this is all the Embassy cares about, not if you waited 10 days.

If anyone has knowledge of someone who had a visa denied, or a marriage declared void because they did not wait for 10 days for the marriage license to be released I would like to hear from them............

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2012-11-19 18:09:00

co-mingling of bank account for visa interview?

hello fellow vjers/kababayans! i need some advice on bank account situation, my wife will be issued an interview soon in the philippines and we need a joint account. i tried enrolling her on my account here in U.S but they said she needs a SSN# which she does not have since shes still in phil. anyone have opinion/ advice on this? do we really need a proof of co-mingling of account in order to pass her interview?? pls i need some answers.... ty in advance

Joint bank account is not necessary unless your living together, but you need extensive documentary evidence from the start of the relationship until the interview. Cards, letters, emails, photographs, "wedding/reception", pictures together with different dates, phone records, chat logs, receipts of money sent, and any other evidence that your relationship is on going. They may or may not look at it, but you need to bring it.

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2012-12-11 21:07:00

I do know how things work here in regards to family law. The OP acknowledged the child is illegitimate and recognized by the father on the NSO records.

I still am amazed that any man could attempt to defend what the OP is trying to do with another man's child. If it was your own child you'd be on this forum screaming until your were blue in the face that your rights as a father were going to be violated.

What makes the child illegitimate is they were not married when the child was born, when the birth was recorded if she put the fathers name on the application then he will be listed on the NSO birth cert as the child's father. She could have put your name there, or she could have left it blank. If the birth cert has the child's last name as the same as the mothers last name then the father did not acknowledge paternity. That means the father has no rights to the child what so ever, legally he is not the father.

In my experience if the man and woman are not living together at the time of the birth and have no plans to live like husband and wife with no future plans to get married the man will not acknowledge paternity. I do know of couples who are not married and have 2 or 3 kids together and live as a family because they cannot afford to get married, the custom in some parts of the Philippines is to be married only in the Catholic church, and to invite family and friends to the wedding and reception. They will wait to get married when they can afford this, in these cases the father will always acknowledge paternity on the record of birth.

Well we can't cut the baby in half, so the mother of the child is the best person to decide what is best for the child. Philippine law gives her this right. Based on the information provided by the OP, and having experience with similar situations like this, I agree with the OP that the father of the child sees this as a way to get some money in his pocket.

To the OP check the birth certificate of the child and let us know, if her last name is the same as her mother then the father has no rights to the child, not even visitation, and it would be illegal for him to be in company of the child without written permission from the mother.

Edited by Mimi and Gary, 09 December 2012 - 07:47 PM.

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2012-12-09 19:46:00

You seriously need to do better research.

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According to Atty. Christine Florido of Philippine Legal Counseling:

My sister-in-law supports herself, her son, Mama, Papa, and Lola on less in the province. People learn to make due with what they have and work hard to stretch those resources to their limits.

This attitude of living in the US as being superior to living in the Philippines is beyond racist. It is untrue. The lifestyles between the two are different but one is not superior to the other. There is just as much, if not more, opportunity for the young woman to succeed if her kano boyfriend moved to the Philippines. There are plenty of people that live in the Philippines as well as, or even better than, many middle-class and affluent families do in the US. A foreign woman in the US has to deal with language barriers, racism, and our rather anti-immigrant society; All of which makes it more difficult for her to succeed outside the home until she acclimates or moves to a community that is atypical of normal American culture.

I don't believe I have ever met a woman that didn't claim an ex was anything but a deadbeat, especially when she's talking about him to her new beau. How about you actually do some legwork and hire a local private investigator (a common job here for expats by the way) to find out the truth behind the father's status and financial situation.

How likely is it that this woman doesn't have friends and family that are going to gossip about her kano boyfriend and her future move? I wonder just how the posters on this board would feel if the advice they give just ends up getting this poor woman beaten or killed. Women are murdered here in Manila for far less and the people responsible get away scott-free. A unmarried mother has about the lowest social status of anyone in the Philippines. I've witnessed homeless men treated with better respect. No one is going to come to her aid if something goes wrong without a lot of money being used to buy the influence required. Is the OP ready to start paying for legal bills to get the courts and local officials involved?

In the end, what matters is that, yes, the women can legally move the child outside of the Philippines with the help of the US government providing a visa. The woman has to accept though that she does so at a risk to herself and her child if she ever returns to the Philippines and opens her family up to reprisals, all depending on the resources, tenacity, and spite the father holds over the mother. The OP has to consider all of the legal, financial, and moral implications involved in severing a father from his daughter regardless of legitimacy. I honestly question the veracity of the responses given in this thread if the situations were reversed and a woman wanted to take her daughter from the US and separate a father from his flesh and blood. I find the awful pro-American/anti-Philippine bent on this forum rather disgusting at times.

I lived in the Philippines for about 4 years I know a little bit

. The civil court system is for those who can afford it, most cannot. This father clearly cannot afford to go to court and prove he is the father of the child to get visitation rights, and the woman cannot afford to file suit for support. So that is how the system works for poor people. They agree on visitation and support or they do not.

The way I look at things is, if a father wants to be a part of his kids born out of wedlock life then be the father needs to help support those kids, if he is not willing to do that then he is not much of a father, the mother would be correct in keeping her kids away from a low life like that.

My wife has a 4 year college degree and was a elementary school teacher in the PH making $4800.00 a year, in the US she is going to school to get her teaching certificate here, she has a job as a pre-school kindergarten teacher and she now makes about $20k a year. Talk to her about opportunity in the Philippines.

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2012-12-08 21:41:00

Having complete custody and denying the father his constitutional rights to visitation are two separate things. Yes, the mother can take the child from the Philippines with the assistance of the US government. However what she is doing is sacrificing any life she or her children ( prior to their 18th birthday) may have if they return to the Philippines. It's not uncommon at all for a well respected married man (the father in the OP) to have far more influence in the local community than the mother of an illegitimate child. That translates into hardship for the mother's family if the father wants to rock the boat (which it likely what would happen in this case).

Heaven forbid the father or one of his family members is a Barangay Captain or local official, even worse if they are a member of the local police or militia. I read news reports in the paper here in Manila daily of domestic troubles over visitation and custody that have led to violence and other civil troubles. We are so used to living in the US where your neighbors and their opinions of you don't mean squat and how your reputation is rarely tied to that of your extended family. Here in the Philippines, being blacklisted or harassed by your neighbors because of someone related to you can mean not having a job, being able to eat the next day, or losing access to education. Does the OP's fiance really want to risk the possibility of consequences for her family?

Any American male that takes up with a woman that is so willing to sever a close familial bond had best know he's taking up with a woman that would no doubt do the same thing to him given the opportunity.

You sure do come up with some wild assumptions based on very little information! :rofl:

The OP is planning to file a K2 visa for his fiancee daughter, the biological father does not want the child to go to the US with her mother. The OP asks.... "What's our recourse?"

The correct answer is: Your fiancee does not need the biological father permission to file a K2 visa, or his consent for the mother to take the child out of the Philippines. Do what your doing, try to convince him that his daughters place is with her mother, and the both of them would have a better chance for a good life in the US.

The OP said "They take turns taking care of the baby." He did not say the father is helping to support the child, or the father is providing money for food, shelter, clothing, medical attendance, education and transportation in keeping with the financial capacity of the family. He probably keeps the baby while the mother works and he sits at home all day and drinks tanduay all day! Yeah I can make some wild assumptions also. :lol:

This is the way the fathers constitutional rights to visitation works. It's up the the mother and father of the child to come to a agreement on what visitation will be, and with that comes the duty of the father to provide support for the child. "No support then no visitation". If they cannot come to a written agreement on visitation and support then the father would need to ask the court to decide. The court will allow visitation unless the father if found to be unfit, but they will also order support for the child. I applaud the OP's fiancee for allowing the father to have contact with his daughter, most unwed mothers don't allow this, they end all contact with the former boyfriend.

I know several single moms in the Philippines, my wife's older sister is one. Believe me it's not easy. Try supporting yourself and a baby on 10,000 PHP a month. To shame a mother for wanting a better life for herself and her baby is shameful. I'm proud of the OP that he is willing to accept his fiancee as being a single mom, and be willing to provide her and the daughter with a family style life, and give them both more opportunity than they would have in a poor country.

Some of you either think that the OP fiancee should leave the daughter in the Philippines, or that the OP should look for another woman that does not have kids, that I find remarkable!

As for anyone being blacklisted most times it is the man who has to leave the area for his own safety, if he does not step up to the plate and give his support, and do the right thing. Having a baby out of wedlock sometimes screws up both peoples lives, but with strong family support things seem to work out in the end. What is important is the mother and child they have the hardest row to hoe, the man.....well he will probably get another girl pregnant, and maybe even get married one day. Maybe he will learn some day if he wants kids then get married and have some..... :lol:

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2012-12-08 02:43:00

We are not lawyers here, we offer an opinion based on what we think we know. My opinion based on many others that had a similar situation of a fiancee with a child born out of wedlock making that child illegitimate the law in the Philippines is very clear. "An illegitimate child is under the sole parental authority of the mother. In the exercise of that authority, she is entitled to keep the child in her company. The Court will not deprive her of custody, absent any imperative cause showing her unfitness to exercise such authority and care."

This is not a unique situation, many women in the Philippines are single moms with kids born out of wedlock, every day at the USEM K1 and K2 visas are issued to women with illegitimate kids. The OP does not need to worry about getting consent from the father. The father cannot stop you from moving his illegitimate child out of the Philippines.

Could the father file court actions to stop the mother moving the child out of the Philippines? Yes i guess so if he had the money, but the rights of the father to his illegitimate child is limited to visitorial rights only, the changes of the father getting a "Hold Departure Order", or "Joint Custody" would be zero.

File your K2 visa application just like many others do, and don't worry about what is right or wrong. The only one that needs to make sure that they are doing with is best for the child is the child mother.

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2012-12-06 17:53:00

My fiancee have a 2 yr old daughter from previous relationship (she was never married). The biological father's name is on the NSO birth cert. and even says not married. They take turns taking care of the baby. He is aware of me & my fiancee's plan in including the baby as part of the K1/K2 application. But the father is determined not to give up the baby to accompany my fiancee. She's trying to be civil with him in the hopes of convincing him it is for the good of the baby in the future. What's our recourse? Any help is welcome. Thanks

Need to check with a lawyer but most times the right over the custody of illegitimate children is vested to the mother. The mother may transfer the child’s residence to another country, if she desires this.

Art. 176. Illegitimate children shall use the surname and shall be under the parental authority of their mother, and shall be entitled to support in conformity with this Code. However, illegitimate children may use surname of their father if their filiation has been expressly recognized by the father through the record of birth appearing in the civil register, or when an admission in a public document or private handwritten instrument is made by the father. Provided, the father has the right to institute an action before the regular courts to prove non-filiation during his lifetime. The legitime of each illegitimate child shall consist of one-half of the legitime of a legitimate child.(As amended by Republic Act 9255, approved February 24,2004.)

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2012-12-06 05:43:00

http://nso.citizense...m.ph/pay/online

Cruch time

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2012-12-14 17:26:00

The Embassy consuls also know that you can't pick up your marriage license until the 11th day after your application. If your travel documents show you were not even in the country at that time you should have applied someone could cause a lot of trouble for you. It sounds like you found a rare spot of luck in a country rife with corruption in the civil offices and no one called you out on it. You are the first person I have heard of that didn't use bribes or favors and successfully bypassed the queue. I do wonder though about how you 'asked the right people'. Did your fiance or someone in her family know someone in the municipality that used their influence to bypass the waiting time? That's the type of favors and nepotism I am talking about as well. Using anything, whether it is money, charm, or influence to bypass the daily bureaucracy is what makes any sort of reform in the Philippines so difficult. Everyone seems to overlook it and expect people to break the rules just to get anything done.

I am curious, did you also manage to bypass the mandatory Family Planning seminar required to apply for the marriage license as well?

Getting around the 10 day waiting period is not the normal process, but it is done sometimes for one reason of another. I know of a few other couples that had to get married early because their timeline would just not work with waiting 10 days after applying for the marriage license, or they decided to get married instead going the K1 visa route on the first meeting. Yes we had the family planning seminar, but that was done a few days before getting married. In my case we were married 3 days early because of weather, a typhoon was arriving on our planned wedding day and would have messed up the outside wedding. The same people who issue the marriage license, are the same people who fill out the papers and report the marriage. Yeah everyone knows everyone there, it is a small municipality. The waiting time sucks, but in the only country in the world that does not allow divorce I can understand this, so reforming this will never happen.

Of course the Philippines is corrupt, if you put money in the right hands, or if you know the right people you can get about anything, just like in the USA.....

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2012-11-15 19:45:00

Precisely the problem with skipping the queue with bribes or favors. I found in my experience that once you are outside Manila it is even worse because they EXPECT you as a kano to pay heavy bribes to bypass the standard procedures. One thing they warn you about now at the US Embassy when you apply for your Affidavit of Freedom to Marry is that the Embassy is receiving a significant number of reports that many municipalities are not accepting the Affidavit as evidence and in effect are blocking local women from marrying US Citizens. An acquaintance of mine encountered this problem and decided a significant bribe was better than going back to Manila for a wedding.

The other problem with getting official documents back-dated is that if the dates don't match up to travel documents you could end up facing a lot of questions during the interview. I doubt anyone wants to admit bribing a government official during their interview.

No bribes involved, we just asked the right people if it was possible to get married a few days before the 10 day waiting period was over. Of course the wedding date on the marriage license would need to show you still in the Philippines.

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2012-11-15 14:29:00

Someone must have paid some heavy bribes in that case. Manila City Hall is especially harsh these days in enforcing the 10 day waiting period before you can pick up the license.

If you are planning on a civil marriage in the Philippines you need to make sure you plan enough time. You can do it in the 21 days a tourist visa allows, but it's not much trouble to spend the extra money to apply for a visa extension. Just visit the Bureau of Immigration when you get a chance before your 21 day visa expires and pay P3030 for an additional 38 days.

If however you are planning on a Catholic wedding you will need a LOT more paperwork. You will need Baptismal certificates for you and your fiance, a dispensation from the Bishop if you are not Catholic, and you will have to wait at least three weeks AFTER you have acquired the marriage license for the posting of the banns (you can get married on the fourth week after the banns are posted).

As others have said, once you marry your K-1 application is immediately null and void. You will have to start all over with a CR-1 visa application. The time to complete a CR-1 usually takes around the same time as a K-1.

If your in Manila/Cebu I guess your forced to go by the rules, but little towns where everyone knows everyone, and if your going to have a civil marriage, most times they will bend the rules, they also know that sometimes its hard to do everything on time. So they may be willing to post date the marriage license. Say you get marriage license get married the same week, and then they post date the license to fit the waiting time line......and it's really 11 days not 10.....Its 10 days after you get your license. The day you get the license don't count in the 10 days.

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2012-11-15 00:04:00

http://manila.usemba...v/marriage.html

Was just wondering if anyone can point me in the direction of where I can get information on what I have to do to if I want to her married in pi and want to start with my soon to be wife there?

I don't need advice on "i should get married in usa" or anything like that. We are still deciding what we want to do, I just need to see what I need to do if I go the pi route.

Thank you all.

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2012-11-07 02:45:00

Preparing for IR1/CR1 Interview

Happy holidays!

Currently preparing for the upcoming interview and I just have a few questions...

1. I sent all originals with photocopies to NVC. In the appointment letter from NVC, all documents needed are marked with Y (The required document has been received) and O (The original document has been received and accepted as meeting post requirements). The civil documents sent were the BC, MC, NBI Clearance, CEMAR. Do I still need to bring another set of originals and photocopy to the interview?
2. Recently quit my job and doing freelance research work now, I will be bringing an updated DS-230 to reflect the change in employment info. Should I voluntarily present this or wait to be asked for it?
3. About the photos, I just plan on bringing our wedding album and a photo book from our visits to each other prior to getting married, are these OK?

Thanks in advance!

The DS-230 is for the beneficiary, are you the beneficiary or the petitioner? If you are the beneficiary your changing jobs don't matter that much. I assume you are the petitioner.

We took all originals to interview just in case they misplaced what we sent to NVC. Also got a updated NBI clearance that was not over 3 months old. They know your married by looking at the CENMAR, they do ask to see a few pictures of wedding and reception, but what they really want to know if the relationship after marriage is on going. It depends on the CO but some want to see proof like , phone bills, chat logs, evidence of money being sent to her from you, receipts for the wedding ring, any other evidence that your relationship is on going you should take to the interview. Your wife needs to know things about you, because she may be asked questions about you that a wife should know about her husband, like where do you live, where you work, how long you have worked there, what kind of work do you do, where will she live in the US, will she work in the US, what kind of work will she do, your kids names if you have any, your mothers maiden name, and her age, your birthday, how old are you, have you been married before, how many times, how do you communicate, when was the last time you when to the PH . So prepare her to answer these question, if your work has changed since the application was filed, also send her your most resent pay stubs from you present job, along with a letter from your employer stating your job future and current salary.

The interview is to see if the marriage is real and not for immigration purposes, so be prepared to prove that. If the documents are all correct, then the only burden to prove is a bona fide marriage and on going relationship, and the ability to provide financial support of her after she comes to the USA. I would say you just need to provide proof of income on your present job at the interview, if that is different than on the I-864, you may want to sent her a updated I-864 just in case, but I think they will just use the info off your tax returns to establish family income.

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2012-12-28 00:44:00

Why ?

I love my wife very,very,very much but sometimes she is sooooo strange.

We just finished eating our dinner. Salad, and potato .

Then while I was starting to clean some of the dishes I turned to
Notice my wife pouring maple syrup onto a cold piece of left over
French toast from this morning.

She then folded it like a taco, and ate it over the sink.

Why ?

She is probably starving to death, take her to a Filipino grocery store!

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2012-12-27 23:29:00

Marriage not working out

Divorce in USA, make sure you are the one who files for divorce, that way she can have the foreign divorce recognized in the Philippines. You do not file for annulment, she just needs to have the foreign divorce judicially recognized in the Philippines. This is good for you too, that way both can remarry in the Philippines if the want too.

If you can agree on things, you can get divorce papers on the internet, and file them with your court office yourself and save hundreds.

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2013-01-01 00:58:00

Medical exam prep

For I-130 cases, none of the official government websites say anything about an appointment letter being needed for the medical.

Is the appointment letter actually needed? If so, will it come in email or snail mail?

If you gave NVC yours and your wife's email when you called to get your MNL number or IIN number then they will email the appointment letter to both of you. Print out the appointment letter when you get it, and take that to medical.

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2013-01-08 06:34:00

Christian wedding in the Philippines???

Hi, Me and my wife already married in the U.S by civil ceremony would like to have a church or garden wedding in the Philippines. We are both catholic but catholic wedding has been ruled out because according to our church deacon I the husband was never confirmed and they can not confirm me because i married my wife civilly within 90 days. Anyways we want to go in the Philippines and find someone that can marry us or should i say renew our vows in a larger propper ceremony weather its outside or in a church it doesnt matter. Do they have pastors that do this?

Thanks for your help!

You are already married in the US, so you will not be getting married in the Philippines. You will just be having ceremony to renew your vows. You can get anyone you like except a catholic priest, they are rules for renewing vows also, similar to getting married in a catholic church. So you can get a pastor of another church like Baptist church, or you can have a mayor, or anyone else you like to perform the ceremony since it will not be a official wedding, and no marriage license required.

The ceremony can be just like a wedding, down to every detail, just you can't be officially married again.

Edited by Mimi and Gary, 09 January 2013 - 05:28 PM.

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2013-01-09 17:26:00

Taxi Fare from Manila Airport?

Add up quickly? Not really. Not in a small city like Metro Manila.

From NAIA to Ermita, you're looking at 3-4k. That's still less than p100.

Unless the prices have gone up in the past few months? I lived and worked in Manila for years.

How long have you guys lived there that got charges p500 for a short ride???

Maybe they moved Ermita, but when I live there it was 11km from NAIA.

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2013-01-10 21:10:00

Taxi Fare from Manila Airport?

Anyone know average Taxi fare from the local Manila airport to the embassy area or Lotus Garden hotel?

Using Tiger Air as airline

Thanks

Give you some advise, taxi rates in manila are among some of the cheapest in the world, but you need to be careful what kind of taxi you jump into. Normal taxi rates the white no aircon taxis with marking is P30Php for the first 1KM then 2.50PHP every 300 meters. The aircon taxis white taxis are 40PHP for the first 1KM then 3.50Php every 300 meters. The Yellow taxis are 70PHP for the first 1KM then 400PHP every 300 meters. The embassy area is about 8 miles from the airport or 12.9KM. If you take a aircon taxi then it will be 40 peso + 11900 meters or 139PHP total about 180PHP "the best possible rate". This is if the taxi takes the shortest route, but depending on traffic this may not be the case, or if there is a lot of waiting time in traffic. So plan on paying from 250Php to 500PHP.

Good advise is to just prepay the taxi at the airport "taxi booth in front of terminal" and get a safe taxi, you will not get ripped off, don't need to argue with the driver getting them to turn on the meter, or getting took on a tour of manila to pad the price. The prepaid price is about 500PHP or about $12.50. If this is your first time to Manila, of if your arriving late at night. Any taxi you get into make sure the diver turns on the meter, if he will not then get out and get another taxi or your bill could be 1000PHP or more.

Edited by Mimi and Gary, 09 January 2013 - 05:10 PM.

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2013-01-09 17:08:00

middle name confusion

i got married at virginia. and my only question is if the middle name matterson the marriage certificate. cos i just wrote DEBRA LOU ROMERO which should be DEBRA LOU LEGASPI ROMERO.
im on a spousal visa. i came here as a j1 student visa

I would not worry about that, It will not affect your AOS. Lots of Filipinas that get married in the US, drop what you call the middle name "mothers maiden name", or simply use a initial for middle name. It will be entirely up to you after your married if you use Romero in your name, some keep the family name as middle name, some drop it. If your marriage certificate is hand written, then add the letter L.

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2013-01-04 04:57:00

CFO

Was this before they closed PRISM and St. Mary's for doing seminars?

First of Sept, 2012

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2013-01-24 10:25:00

CFO

No I didn't see it on the CFO website, someone on here was told by the personnel at CFO that they had to return to the same office.... just repeating it. Yup I know they can get it at the airport (with calling ahead to make sure the person is in the office), it could have been a grumpy or lazy person at that CFO office don't know.

Well it is the Philippines and the rules are whatever they are today! My wife needed the CFO certificate to change her passport to her married name so she went to Cebu for the certificate 3 months before her embassy interview. Then after she received her visa and the day before her flight to the US she got the CFO sticker in Manila. But it would be a good idea to ask when you get the certificate if you can get the sticker at any CFO office after you have visa in hand.

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2013-01-23 21:32:00

CFO sticker at NAIA terminal 3?

It sounds like everyone is saying this but this topic is too much low-hanging fruit for me to hold back.

Don't try to get sticker at airport when you are trying to catch a flight, have paid $1000+ for a ticket, and are ready to leave. Get it done before - swing by the CFO office for the sticker. Funny topic because it's so absurd to go through all this Visa stuff go to airport then not be able to leave because you don't have a stupid little sticker required by PI. Only in phils.

I was told that if you tell the guards at Terminal 1 that you need to go to the CFO office and show them the CFO certification that they will allow you to enter the terminal. But I did not want to take a chance on that with only 1 day before leaving the country, so got the sicker a couple of weeks before time to leave.

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2012-09-13 20:46:00

Favorite Filipino food/dishes

I like some of the baked fish, but that's about it. I have tried just about all the Filipino dishes and don't really like anything. I can eat some, but rather just have a banana sandwich :lol:

. Guess because of my Southern US appetite. Even the lechon baboy is bland compared to Southern hickory smoked BBQ pork. I can eat it after I make up some BBQ sauce, or get some buns and make some BBQ sandwiches.

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2013-01-27 17:10:00

I-130 petition: Do we need NSO marriage certificate?

After your married the local civil registrar reports your marriage to the NSO, then after about 3 weeks you can apply to the NSO for CENMAR, "Certificate of Marriage". This is what you need, and you need about 4 certified copies of this. Also certified copies of Birth Certificate.

Also to change a passport or get a passport in married name you will need to attend the CFO Guidance and Counseling program and get your certificate first before you can apply for a passport. There is no need to get in a hurry, all this takes time, you must wait until you have all the necessary documents before going to CFO. You will need 2 ID's in married name. Postal ID, BC, CENMAR, NBI police clearance showing married name will work.

Takes about 3 weeks to get CENMAR, takes about 4 to 6 weeks to get passport.

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2013-01-30 12:10:00

Help with spousal visa answers...

Well I posted here a few months back and it helped alot. My lawyer has what he needs but there is some confusion I need help with.

1. My lawyer says he still needs a street address or house number or PO Bx for the form he is filing out. But she says she lives in a small barangay in the middle of no where really on Oriental Mindoro. She says theres less then 50 families in it. So she has no house number and also her street has no name. The main street does, but not hers since its a small dirt road. Theres also no PO Box. They get their mail (what little they get) by going to some place there and giving them their name.

So what do I tell my lawyer? Does he maybe not understand (since hes american) that not everyone has an address like they do in the USA? I would think if the embassy sees the address she gave me currently the would know there is no street name where she lives. Right?

2.He needs her school dates but the dates she gave me looks like she was in elementary for a year, high school for 4 years. Is that right? 5 years total of school?

3. Lastly he says when I am there I need to bring back a marriage certificate or a certified one. Does that take long? Or like most certified things does it only take a matter of minutes?

THanks for the help! This has been still very stressful, I think the language barrier is playing a role in how hard it is to get across the questions I am asking her. That and the cultural differences such as with the whole "Address" thing.

1. A address where she can receive mail could be where she lives, could be a relative,a friend, her place of work.
2. Philippines changed this over the years, most times it was between 8 and 10 years of school, they just changed it in 2012 to 13 years of school.
3. CENMAR or MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE is available for the NSO about 3 weeks after the local civil registrar reports your marriage. Your wife can mail you a certified copy.

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2013-01-27 17:29:00

Age difference of fiance to fiancee?

Well, in that last paragraph, you completely missed my point. You're 60, so technically you could have had a daughter who would be 40 years old.

Maybe I just follow a different set of morals and standards, but I also try to look at the big picture. My wife is 4.5 years younger, which is nothing. When I retire, she'll be pretty close to retiring too. When I'm old and in a nursing home, I'm not gonna be leaving my 20-something year old wife to take care of the kids by herself. If you think that's OK, then that's your own selfish desire. Just because it's legal, doesn't make it right.

So your high morals and standards does not allow you to marry a much younger woman, but the same morals and standards do allow you travel 8000 miles to find a wife and marry someone from another race and bring Amerasians kids into the world? That would be against lots of peoples morals! The fact that lots of people would not consider a mixed race marriage would keep you from doing so? You don't think men who marry a much younger woman took in to consideration what the future holds for both of them? What would your wife do if you died early? My wife would be very well off, if I died tomorrow or die in a nursing home.

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2013-01-20 17:39:00

K1 options ?

Read their older postings, they had a K-1 denied. The OP is not telling the whole story here.

I see, I did not see a clear reason for denial. If it was failure to establish a bona fide relationship this could be many reasons. Was more common years ago when USEM was more strict for K1 approval, something as simple as the fiancee not being able to answer simple question about the petitioner could mean denial. In that case it was common practice to get married then refile as married. If document fraud the reason then that would be a permanent visa band.

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2013-01-27 16:51:00

K1 options ?

Good day VJ family,

I just wanna ask if there are other option to take if foreign fiance wants to marry here in the Philippines but he cannot take the 10days off to wait for the marriage license to be released?
Is there any option? Thank you and more power

The only option is for the fiancee to go to the local civil registrar and explain the situation, the fiance is out of the country and can only stay a short time when he comes to get married. Ask if she can apply for the marriage license application herself, and her fiance supply his documents by mail or when he arrives. This way the 10 day waiting period can be observed, and everyone is happy.

It is a Myth that both parties must apply for the marriage license, not all civil registrars will allow this but most will, what you need to do is ask. This is done all the time in the Philippines, one party is out of the country, lives in a part of the PH where travel would be a burden, or is a OFW. One person who is getting married appears in person and gets the application form, sends the form to the person out of the country, they sign the form and have it notarized, then mails back form and necessary documents. In the case where one party is a foreigner they will supply certificate of legal capacity to contract marriage when they arrive to pick up the marriage license.

Edited by Mimi and Gary, 27 January 2013 - 03:16 PM.

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2013-01-27 15:14:00

I don't want to lug around a 3L bottle from Manila to Pasil...she wants me to experience riding the bus and I'm thinking it's gonna be a rough trip.

I bought a fifth of JB for about $15 at the BX class 6 and I'll stick it in the suitcase.

Thanks all for the tips.

I should of said 3x1 1iter bottles , think it around $29 for 1 liter bottle, that was JB black. Anyway if you get a chance check out the duty free store, you may see something you need. Of course you can buy just about anything in Manila that you find here is US, but there is a value added tax think about 15%.

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2012-11-02 18:28:00

I bring a ####### load of blowpops and popcorn and it's a hit with everyone.

Yeah I can see all the smiling faces now!

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2012-11-02 14:01:00

Ok, got 8 t-shirts and 3 hats...all with an American theme. One of the hats has a rebel flag, I'll get a kick out of seeing them wear that.

Got about 5 mini assorted Hershey candy bags.

Pangga, you sold me on the UNO cards. I'll let you know how that goes.

And Piglett, I'm gonna get a fifth of whisky tomorrow. Probably Jim Beam because I can't stand JD and I know my fiance doesn't like it also. Even though I'm sure JD is probably recognized more.

You know you can buy JB at the duty free store at Terminal 1, about $76 for 3 liters.

GaryKO

Male

Philippines

2012-11-02 13:58:00