hte minister change our real wedding date when he filed our marriage certificate, and it really bother's us!!!

[zeth77 0]

hi there!

its me again another problem to consult to all vjers member, hope u could give me an answer to this if this will be a problem to my status and what shall we do to this? this is our story, to make it short, we met online on sept, 2008 and then after 3 months he came here dec. 26, 2008 and then we got married DECEMBER 29, 2008 THATS OUR OFFICIAL WEDDING DAY! but before he came here i process all the papers that we need to get a marriage lincense permit here in our place, but we had left one requirments and thats is the legal capacity from the usem so in other words they didnt release the permit coz we still have one requirments left, but the wedding ceremony happen on the date that we set, and that was " DECEMBER 29, 2008 "....... AND WHAT BOTHER US IS THE MINISTER CHANGE OUR WEDDING WHEN HE FILED IT TO THE NSO AND THE DATE INSTEAD OF DECEMBER 29, 2008 HE CHANGE IT TO JANUARY 8, 2009! AND MY HUBBY BACK TO THE STATES AT JANUARY 1, 2009! AND THEN I HAVE ALREADY OUR MARRIAGE CONTRACT FROM THE NSO AND THE WEDDING DATE WAS JANUARY 8, 2009!

DO YOU THINK IT WILL GIVE US A PROBLEM WHEN I HAVE MY INTERVIEW FROM THE USEM? BUT IF THEY GOIN TO QUESTION US ABOUT THIS I WILL TELL THEM THE TRUTH, COZ THE MINISTER SAID HE WILL LOSE HIS LICENSE COZ WE GOT MARRIED EVEN THE REQUIRMENTS IS NOT YET COMPLETE, BUT WE HAD ALREADY LICENSE BUT THEY DIDNT GIVE IT TO US COZ WE STILL HAVE ONE LEFT, WE GET THAT LEGAL CAPACITY AFTER THE WEDDING, COZ IT WAS HOLIDAY WHEN MY HUBBY CAME HERE.

IS ANY ONE HERE WHO CAN GIVE US A COMMENT ABOUT OUR PROBLEM COZ IT REALLY BOTHER US A LOT!!!!

THANKS IN ADVANCE TO ALL WHO WILL GOIN TO GIVE US ADVICES.

MAY GODBLESS US ALL!!!!!

ZETH77

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Moved from AOS forum

Is there a possibility that the Minister will write a statement saying that he performed the wedding service itself while your husband was still in the Philippines on December 29, however due to problems with the paperwork the actual marriage couldn't be registered until January 8th? Your official marriage will still have to be January 8th since you couldn't complete all of the paperwork for the December 29th date, but it would explain the apparent discrepancy of how you got married when your husband had already left the country. If you explain to the Minister that it is for immigration purposes only and not to cause him any problems, he might be willing to help out. Yes, you do need to be truthful at the interview and explain why there are two different dates. You may also wish to get affidavits (sworn statements) from others who witnessed your wedding that the actual ceremony was performed on December 29th and that they witnessed it. Good luck.

Edited July 2, 2009 by Kathryn41

[sojen 0]

hi there!

its me again another problem to consult to all vjers member, hope u could give me an answer to this if this will be a problem to my status and what shall we do to this? this is our story, to make it short, we met online on sept, 2008 and then after 3 months he came here dec. 26, 2008 and then we got married DECEMBER 29, 2008 THATS OUR OFFICIAL WEDDING DAY! but before he came here i process all the papers that we need to get a marriage lincense permit here in our place, but we had left one requirments and thats is the legal capacity from the usem so in other words they didnt release the permit coz we still have one requirments left, but the wedding ceremony happen on the date that we set, and that was " DECEMBER 29, 2008 "....... AND WHAT BOTHER US IS THE MINISTER CHANGE OUR WEDDING WHEN HE FILED IT TO THE NSO AND THE DATE INSTEAD OF DECEMBER 29, 2008 HE CHANGE IT TO JANUARY 8, 2009! AND MY HUBBY BACK TO THE STATES AT JANUARY 1, 2009! AND THEN I HAVE ALREADY OUR MARRIAGE CONTRACT FROM THE NSO AND THE WEDDING DATE WAS JANUARY 8, 2009!

DO YOU THINK IT WILL GIVE US A PROBLEM WHEN I HAVE MY INTERVIEW FROM THE USEM? BUT IF THEY GOIN TO QUESTION US ABOUT THIS I WILL TELL THEM THE TRUTH, COZ THE MINISTER SAID HE WILL LOSE HIS LICENSE COZ WE GOT MARRIED EVEN THE REQUIRMENTS IS NOT YET COMPLETE, BUT WE HAD ALREADY LICENSE BUT THEY DIDNT GIVE IT TO US COZ WE STILL HAVE ONE LEFT, WE GET THAT LEGAL CAPACITY AFTER THE WEDDING, COZ IT WAS HOLIDAY WHEN MY HUBBY CAME HERE.

IS ANY ONE HERE WHO CAN GIVE US A COMMENT ABOUT OUR PROBLEM COZ IT REALLY BOTHER US A LOT!!!!

THANKS IN ADVANCE TO ALL WHO WILL GOIN TO GIVE US ADVICES.

MAY GODBLESS US ALL!!!!!

ZETH77

Our wedding was on the 8th of november but we were not able to complete the requirements on time so the our marriage certificate stated 11th of november. So I did make sure that the wedding pictures that I brought on the interview has no dates. You don't need to open this up to the CO, but if he will ask then that's the time you will explain. Kathryn41 has a good suggestion too to back you up.

[Minya's wife 24]

hi there!

its me again another problem to consult to all vjers member, hope u could give me an answer to this if this will be a problem to my status and what shall we do to this? this is our story, to make it short, we met online on sept, 2008 and then after 3 months he came here dec. 26, 2008 and then we got married DECEMBER 29, 2008 THATS OUR OFFICIAL WEDDING DAY! but before he came here i process all the papers that we need to get a marriage lincense permit here in our place, but we had left one requirments and thats is the legal capacity from the usem so in other words they didnt release the permit coz we still have one requirments left, but the wedding ceremony happen on the date that we set, and that was " DECEMBER 29, 2008 "....... AND WHAT BOTHER US IS THE MINISTER CHANGE OUR WEDDING WHEN HE FILED IT TO THE NSO AND THE DATE INSTEAD OF DECEMBER 29, 2008 HE CHANGE IT TO JANUARY 8, 2009! AND MY HUBBY BACK TO THE STATES AT JANUARY 1, 2009! AND THEN I HAVE ALREADY OUR MARRIAGE CONTRACT FROM THE NSO AND THE WEDDING DATE WAS JANUARY 8, 2009!

DO YOU THINK IT WILL GIVE US A PROBLEM WHEN I HAVE MY INTERVIEW FROM THE USEM? BUT IF THEY GOIN TO QUESTION US ABOUT THIS I WILL TELL THEM THE TRUTH, COZ THE MINISTER SAID HE WILL LOSE HIS LICENSE COZ WE GOT MARRIED EVEN THE REQUIRMENTS IS NOT YET COMPLETE, BUT WE HAD ALREADY LICENSE BUT THEY DIDNT GIVE IT TO US COZ WE STILL HAVE ONE LEFT, WE GET THAT LEGAL CAPACITY AFTER THE WEDDING, COZ IT WAS HOLIDAY WHEN MY HUBBY CAME HERE.

IS ANY ONE HERE WHO CAN GIVE US A COMMENT ABOUT OUR PROBLEM COZ IT REALLY BOTHER US A LOT!!!!

THANKS IN ADVANCE TO ALL WHO WILL GOIN TO GIVE US ADVICES.

MAY GODBLESS US ALL!!!!!

ZETH77

Our wedding was on the 8th of november but we were not able to complete the requirements on time so the our marriage certificate stated 11th of november. So I did make sure that the wedding pictures that I brought on the interview has no dates. You don't need to open this up to the CO, but if he will ask then that's the time you will explain. Kathryn41 has a good suggestion too to back you up.

If your marriage certificate states 8th of January, how are you resolving this issue on the I-130 petition...what date have you put on question 8 of the I-130 (Date and Place of marriage)? If you put December 29th, then its incorrect because the certificate states the 8th of January, so USCIS could question that discrepancy before even approving the I-130.

[visacheck 3]

Hi zeth77!

I just have a couple of questions regarding your situation. You said you got married on December 29, 2008, did u sign a marriage contract on that same day? I am leaning towards the assumption that u did not coz like u said... u needed one more requirement from the US embassy right?! If your husband was back in the US on Jan 1, 2009.... when and how did he sign the marriage contract and when did ur husband get the permit from the US embassy? lastly, did your husband already file for I-130? If not, just put january 8, 2009 as ur "official wedding date" since this is whats indicated on your marriage contract. If he already filed for I-130, why did he put december 29, 2008 as your wedding date? unless ofcourse he doesnt know that the minister changed the date on your contract. But then again, he should have known coz he is suppose to sign the marriage contract right?

Im sorry if my post is a little confusing, I am confused with the situation myself. if u can put more details im sure a lot of VJ'ers will be able to give a very good advice.

Dont worry, magagawan ng paraan yan.

[chinese_mutt 11]

hi there!

its me again another problem to consult to all vjers member, hope u could give me an answer to this if this will be a problem to my status and what shall we do to this? this is our story, to make it short, we met online on sept, 2008 and then after 3 months he came here dec. 26, 2008 and then we got married DECEMBER 29, 2008 THATS OUR OFFICIAL WEDDING DAY! but before he came here i process all the papers that we need to get a marriage lincense permit here in our place, but we had left one requirments and thats is the legal capacity from the usem so in other words they didnt release the permit coz we still have one requirments left, but the wedding ceremony happen on the date that we set, and that was " DECEMBER 29, 2008 "....... AND WHAT BOTHER US IS THE MINISTER CHANGE OUR WEDDING WHEN HE FILED IT TO THE NSO AND THE DATE INSTEAD OF DECEMBER 29, 2008 HE CHANGE IT TO JANUARY 8, 2009! AND MY HUBBY BACK TO THE STATES AT JANUARY 1, 2009! AND THEN I HAVE ALREADY OUR MARRIAGE CONTRACT FROM THE NSO AND THE WEDDING DATE WAS JANUARY 8, 2009!

DO YOU THINK IT WILL GIVE US A PROBLEM WHEN I HAVE MY INTERVIEW FROM THE USEM? BUT IF THEY GOIN TO QUESTION US ABOUT THIS I WILL TELL THEM THE TRUTH, COZ THE MINISTER SAID HE WILL LOSE HIS LICENSE COZ WE GOT MARRIED EVEN THE REQUIRMENTS IS NOT YET COMPLETE, BUT WE HAD ALREADY LICENSE BUT THEY DIDNT GIVE IT TO US COZ WE STILL HAVE ONE LEFT, WE GET THAT LEGAL CAPACITY AFTER THE WEDDING, COZ IT WAS HOLIDAY WHEN MY HUBBY CAME HERE.

IS ANY ONE HERE WHO CAN GIVE US A COMMENT ABOUT OUR PROBLEM COZ IT REALLY BOTHER US A LOT!!!!

THANKS IN ADVANCE TO ALL WHO WILL GOIN TO GIVE US ADVICES.

MAY GODBLESS US ALL!!!!!

ZETH77

ZETH77,

I am familiar with your situation.

First off, legally... you will have A LOT of complications at hand in the Philippines if you get this changed in NSO. What your preacher did not tell you is that he "anti-dated" your marriage certificate. That means that you got married EARLIER and you do not have a valid license at the time that you got married. A quick brush up on Philippine law is needed here. (1) marriage license is issued to a couple once they completed the submission of documents, attends a seminar, and waiting period of 10 DAYS for public posting of intent to get married. (2) Invalid Marriage License or Fake Marriage License Invalidates your marriage. It completely voids your marriage for lack of license. (3) there is no remedy for this except you legally get married again.

Now, you won't have any problem with what your preacher did if you weren't going to immigrate to US or other country. You can go about your life and not have NSO correct this issue or file a case against your preacher or get married again. UNFORTUNATELY, you are applying for CR1 spouse visa. Your problem now comes in if the CO manages to match your Marriage Certificate date vs. your husband's departure. This is where the disaster will come in, you might get slapped with willful misrepresentation and fraudulent marriage. I'm sorry but at this point you either wing it or hire a lawyer, file a complaint against your preacher, get married again and refile the entire petition.

Second, ignorance of the law is not an excuse. I would think that the CO will likewise tell you that once they find out about your marriage date problem. You can cry, you can beg, but in the end they will tell you that your marriage is void ab initio (the marriage did not exist at all) and that a CR1 visa cannot be issued to you due to no marriage. AND I'm sure they are well versed with our marriage laws since they deal with it everyday.

Third, this is why I always ALWAYS advice people not to use "fixers" (in the Philippines) because they would cause a lot of trouble for you and I'm pretty sure you paid expensively for your wedding. I always tell them to go by the law and get married in court by a real judge so the papers would not get all messed up. Unfortunately, your case is way beyond this point already.

I was a law student (San Beda) before I got married and decided to stop to immigrate to US. If you want more details on this and want to contact good lawyers, I can hook you up with someone to help you with this (no fee for me, just friendly Filipino lending another Filipino a helping hand). Send me a PM and I'll give you my contact details.

I am so sorry that you got into this situation. My husband and I almost got into this problem but luckily I took up Family laws in my first year in law school and was not fooled one bit by these "fixers". And trust me, this is not just a common mistake, they deliberately do this to mixed race couples who are in a hurry to get married. Chances are you paid around Php 10-30K for this... and all you got was headached.

Contact me if you need more help.

(To the mods: I suggest you move this thread to Philippine forum. This is a very serious issue and is prevalent in Philippines. Somebody there may have experience and can offer help much better. Just my humble opinion and suggestion)

Edited July 2, 2009 by tngirl21809

[chinese_mutt 11]

Moved from AOS forum

Is there a possibility that the Minister will write a statement saying that he performed the wedding service itself while your husband was still in the Philippines on December 29, however due to problems with the paperwork the actual marriage couldn't be registered until January 8th? Your official marriage will still have to be January 8th since you couldn't complete all of the paperwork for the December 29th date, but it would explain the apparent discrepancy of how you got married when your husband had already left the country. If you explain to the Minister that it is for immigration purposes only and not to cause him any problems, he might be willing to help out. Yes, you do need to be truthful at the interview and explain why there are two different dates. You may also wish to get affidavits (sworn statements) from others who witnessed your wedding that the actual ceremony was performed on December 29th and that they witnessed it. Good luck.

Even if she presents 100,000 affidavits, she did not have a Marriage License to begin with therefore her marriage is VOID AB INITIO.

I'm in no means trying to sound know-it-all or be mean, but PLEASE refrain from giving advice if you do not know the legalities involved.

This is a legal issue and not just a common mistake. As you can see from her post, the preacher KNOWINGLY changed the date of their marriage in the marriage certificate. It is not a typographical error.

I'm sorry, all I'm saying is please do not give advice if you do not know the legal complications involved. I'm not a lawyer, just a law student who took up family laws in my first year in law school. There is so much involved here than just a regular typo error. The preacher can also be sent to jail for falsification of public documents.

[chinese_mutt 11]

hi there!

its me again another problem to consult to all vjers member, hope u could give me an answer to this if this will be a problem to my status and what shall we do to this? this is our story, to make it short, we met online on sept, 2008 and then after 3 months he came here dec. 26, 2008 and then we got married DECEMBER 29, 2008 THATS OUR OFFICIAL WEDDING DAY! but before he came here i process all the papers that we need to get a marriage lincense permit here in our place, but we had left one requirments and thats is the legal capacity from the usem so in other words they didnt release the permit coz we still have one requirments left, but the wedding ceremony happen on the date that we set, and that was " DECEMBER 29, 2008 "....... AND WHAT BOTHER US IS THE MINISTER CHANGE OUR WEDDING WHEN HE FILED IT TO THE NSO AND THE DATE INSTEAD OF DECEMBER 29, 2008 HE CHANGE IT TO JANUARY 8, 2009! AND MY HUBBY BACK TO THE STATES AT JANUARY 1, 2009! AND THEN I HAVE ALREADY OUR MARRIAGE CONTRACT FROM THE NSO AND THE WEDDING DATE WAS JANUARY 8, 2009!

DO YOU THINK IT WILL GIVE US A PROBLEM WHEN I HAVE MY INTERVIEW FROM THE USEM? BUT IF THEY GOIN TO QUESTION US ABOUT THIS I WILL TELL THEM THE TRUTH, COZ THE MINISTER SAID HE WILL LOSE HIS LICENSE COZ WE GOT MARRIED EVEN THE REQUIRMENTS IS NOT YET COMPLETE, BUT WE HAD ALREADY LICENSE BUT THEY DIDNT GIVE IT TO US COZ WE STILL HAVE ONE LEFT, WE GET THAT LEGAL CAPACITY AFTER THE WEDDING, COZ IT WAS HOLIDAY WHEN MY HUBBY CAME HERE.

IS ANY ONE HERE WHO CAN GIVE US A COMMENT ABOUT OUR PROBLEM COZ IT REALLY BOTHER US A LOT!!!!

THANKS IN ADVANCE TO ALL WHO WILL GOIN TO GIVE US ADVICES.

MAY GODBLESS US ALL!!!!!

ZETH77

Our wedding was on the 8th of november but we were not able to complete the requirements on time so the our marriage certificate stated 11th of november. So I did make sure that the wedding pictures that I brought on the interview has no dates. You don't need to open this up to the CO, but if he will ask then that's the time you will explain. Kathryn41 has a good suggestion too to back you up.

If your husband was here on November 11th, then that's probably the reason why you got lucky. BUT again, I would suggest you remarry for legalities sake. You are legally not married. INVALID marriage license (no license) cause your marriage to be void ab initio (as though the marriage did not happen). Be careful you are in a very precarious situation. But that is just my opinion.

Edited July 2, 2009 by tngirl21809

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Moved from K-3 as per recommendation re: better advice available for OP in the Philippines Forum

Looks like tngirl21809 has some very useful information that will be of help.

Edited July 2, 2009 by Kathryn41

[sojen 0]

hi there!

its me again another problem to consult to all vjers member, hope u could give me an answer to this if this will be a problem to my status and what shall we do to this? this is our story, to make it short, we met online on sept, 2008 and then after 3 months he came here dec. 26, 2008 and then we got married DECEMBER 29, 2008 THATS OUR OFFICIAL WEDDING DAY! but before he came here i process all the papers that we need to get a marriage lincense permit here in our place, but we had left one requirments and thats is the legal capacity from the usem so in other words they didnt release the permit coz we still have one requirments left, but the wedding ceremony happen on the date that we set, and that was " DECEMBER 29, 2008 "....... AND WHAT BOTHER US IS THE MINISTER CHANGE OUR WEDDING WHEN HE FILED IT TO THE NSO AND THE DATE INSTEAD OF DECEMBER 29, 2008 HE CHANGE IT TO JANUARY 8, 2009! AND MY HUBBY BACK TO THE STATES AT JANUARY 1, 2009! AND THEN I HAVE ALREADY OUR MARRIAGE CONTRACT FROM THE NSO AND THE WEDDING DATE WAS JANUARY 8, 2009!

DO YOU THINK IT WILL GIVE US A PROBLEM WHEN I HAVE MY INTERVIEW FROM THE USEM? BUT IF THEY GOIN TO QUESTION US ABOUT THIS I WILL TELL THEM THE TRUTH, COZ THE MINISTER SAID HE WILL LOSE HIS LICENSE COZ WE GOT MARRIED EVEN THE REQUIRMENTS IS NOT YET COMPLETE, BUT WE HAD ALREADY LICENSE BUT THEY DIDNT GIVE IT TO US COZ WE STILL HAVE ONE LEFT, WE GET THAT LEGAL CAPACITY AFTER THE WEDDING, COZ IT WAS HOLIDAY WHEN MY HUBBY CAME HERE.

IS ANY ONE HERE WHO CAN GIVE US A COMMENT ABOUT OUR PROBLEM COZ IT REALLY BOTHER US A LOT!!!!

THANKS IN ADVANCE TO ALL WHO WILL GOIN TO GIVE US ADVICES.

MAY GODBLESS US ALL!!!!!

ZETH77

Our wedding was on the 8th of november but we were not able to complete the requirements on time so the our marriage certificate stated 11th of november. So I did make sure that the wedding pictures that I brought on the interview has no dates. You don't need to open this up to the CO, but if he will ask then that's the time you will explain. Kathryn41 has a good suggestion too to back you up.

If your husband was here on November 11th, then that's probably the reason why you got lucky. BUT again, I would suggest you remarry for legalities sake. You are legally not married. INVALID marriage license (no license) cause your marriage to be void ab initio (as though the marriage did not happen). Be careful you are in a very precarious situation. But that is just my opinion.

[chinese_mutt 11]

i'll check my books again, and consult my friends... i'll see what we can come up with.

[visacheck 3]

Ok now i get it. You got married without your marriage license because you needed the document "Legal capacity to marry" which is required by law. After getting the document from the US embassy and after the holidays, you finally got your marriage license (after the wedding ceremony). That means you and your husband signed your marriage contract before the "date of marriage" was indicated and then submitted to the City Hall or NSO. Like what tngrl21809 said, you must have spent a huge chunk of money to get married without a license or maybe the minister is a family friend. I think you should take tngrl21809's advice. Your marriage is "invalid" coz as of Dec. 29, 2008 you were not licensed to wed.

Maybe if your husband arrived a little earlier or left a couple of days after Jan. 8, 2009.... the solution to your problem would have been easier.

Good Luck Zeth77.

[edp333 9]

I know from experience that City Hall holds the marriage license for 10 working days. Weekends and holidays were not counted for our waiting period.

[Mr.&Mrs.A 0]

Ok Zeth77 I really believe Tngirl 21809 is giving you some excellent advice. Should you try to run this through the US Embassy without getting found out may present more risk then you may think. If they discover this, they could interpret it as fraud! You could run the risk of being barred from ever getting a Visa and I know that would devastate you. So whatever you do give it very careful consideration. Tampering with legal documents can be a serious matter. What really matters here is that you and your fiance together "hand in hand" get on that plane to the USA (legally)

[o0pink0o 3]

tngirl is right I just wanna share you our experience as I think that the problem that we had has "almost" the same prob as yours.

We decided to get married on the second visit of my husband in the PH on July,2006. We got married July 16, 2006 even though we don't have our Marriage License (it was actually still on process as we were waiting on the 10 day waiting period of the Municipal Hall). We had civil ceremony and reception at Max's Restaurant and all my relatives and loved ones were there. We were actually expecting to receive the Marriage License on the day that my husband will go back in the US (he will depart July 24th night time). Apparently, the PH Govt. declared July 24th a holiday (Gloria's SONA or State of the Nation's Address) on the July 23rd. The minister who married us called me on my cellphone and informed us about that on the night of July 23rd and he explained to us that the Municipal Hall can not release our Marriage License due to that holiday. My husband and I was so pissed specially when we can't reschedule his flight. We end up all sad because he needs to leave PH on the 24th plus we weren't legally married.

Feb. 2007, my husband came back to the PH to fix our papers. We end up starting from scratch again. We went to USEM to get Legal Capacity, submitted requirements and fill out Marriage License application and this time we made sure that we have enough time to fix our papers. I know, it cost us bunches of money again but at least we followed the law and we didn't submitted fake papers.

Now, our marriage date in our NSO Marriage Certificate is Feb. 23, 2007 and NOT July 16, 2006. At first I was scared about this confusion as our wedding receipts and wedding gift cards says July 16th and not Feb. 23. I was afraid that the CO might question us about this but my husband told me not to be afraid, just tell the truth and explain what happened. Hubby told me not to be afraid as we NEVER did submitted fake documents and we actually followed the legal way on how to get married. In case the CO ask me about the July 2006, I'll just be honest to them and tell them that it was the date of our wedding ceremony.

I am not trying to scared you or add more pressure on you but I think the CO might raise his/her eyebrows if he/she sees your marriage date. How can the 2 of you get married if your husband is not here in the PH? Your situation is complicated so if I am in your situation, I will hire a lawyer and file a complaint with that minister because of what he did and I don't him to have another victim. In regards with your papers, in case you marriage get nullified because of lack of Marriage License then I'll just take K1 route than CR1 to save money.

I am really wishing you all the best and may the Lord guide your path. I know how you feel as we almost had the same situation.