Worse Case Scenario

[YayaYiyi 0]

You're adding interesting things...I don't doubt my fiancee's intention. She has a degree as a medical technologists and has worked her adult life. Currently, we communicate at her place of employment which is a hostel owned by the Saudi hospital. I can see I need to speak to a lawyer about this however.

The CR route would be taken because Manila will allow a co-sponsor with this route and will not allow it with a K-1. The safest path for us is having this option since new teachers jobs are not safe since tenure is not acquired till after some time. My fear is wating 8 months for her interview and then I am laid off at the end of a school year. Though I will no doubt find another job since special education is a high needs area, if the timing is off, then we are an entire year behind since we have to start from square one.

And, as a stance to the guys (referencing the bastards comment), my fiancee has a brother whose wife went to Russia to work..she is never coming back to him. She wants to annul things. In the US, she would file for divorce and in my state, it would be 2 years at most if the husband never replied for it to be granted. My ex-wife and I had to wait 1 year even with mutual consent. The US is put down for easy divorce, but look at the situation of my fiancee's brother in Phils. This guy needs closure on things to move on and begin his life. Instead he wallows in his depression, has started drinking more and quite frankly, the laws are perpetuating this.

It is not the financial aspects that I was worried about (though these posts have me thinking), rather, the freedom of being able to leave something that turns bad. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a person to walk away from things when times are tough. My former marriage turned to hell and we tried for 2 years to work it out. It was one of the hardest things in the world to do. I'm just trying to understand the 'ifs' in this. And, there are a lot more 'ifs' if I marry in the Phils.

[Grant PDX 183]

When you marry you follow the laws of the country in which you marry. When you divorce, if you're in the US, you divorce according to the laws of the state where you divorce. Generally, you have to live in a state for at least 6 months to be considered a resident of that state. After that period of time you follow your state's laws. Just because you marry in the Philippines doesn't mean you divorce there.

Worst case, you divorce, she gets custody of any kids, she gets spousal support, you're on the hook forever for the I-864 (if she never leaves the US, never becomes a citizen of the US, and never can show 40 quarters of payments to Social Security). It's not 40 quarters of work, it's 40 quarters of payments into Social Security.

My ex-wife, Filipina, after 5 years of marriage met a guy and ran off with him after knowing him for 3 weeks. There were signs, she's not the norm, I believe, but we had a child together and I adopted her oldest son. We could have had worst case scenario EXCEPT, she had gotten citizenship so I was off the hook, I got custody of both kids so I avoided over $1,500 in monthly child support (and I got to keep our kids who are much better off with me), she felt guilty so we had a quicky divorce and I avoided up to $2,000 per month of spousal support for up to 30 months.

My worst case would have been losing my kids to a household with a convicted felon (her bf), $3,500 in monthly support (more than they make combined), and on the hook for any state support.

Worst case is tough to define for your situation, and most of the above would have happened had she been a citizen born in the US.

If you are simply asking about your ability to divorce, it depends on your home state. If you are still living in the same state as you were when you previously divorced, then you already know the laws.

[YayaYiyi 0]

Thanks Grant,....You nailed it....

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

*** One personal attack removed. ****

[Hank_ 9,174]

Way too much worrying about "what if" and divorce, others have answered that question for you, you "could" get a divorce in whatever state you live in. Every marriage faces this possibility. Everything you do in life is full of "possibilities", good and bad....

Life - IS. Live it.

Edited January 15, 2013 by Hank_

[Tahoma 2,292]

You can go the K-1 route because you have the option of timing her interview for when you have a job, as long as your income exceeds the poverty guidelines for your household size on an annualized basis. When your I-129F petition is approved by the USCIS, your fiancée will have up to a year to get her visa. The U.S. Embassy Manila routinely revalidates I-129F petitions every four months for up to a year. Simply time her interview for when you are working.

The odds of a divorce? With love, you have to take a chance.

Edited January 15, 2013 by Tahoma

[YayaYiyi 0]

OK Hank...I'm just following what your caption says...'Chance favors the prepared man.' If you read what Grant PD wrote, it would be wise for all persons seeking to marry to understand the realities of the negative 'what ifs' Even though it seems I can get a divorce once in the states, the reality is that all of this is based on state law in the United States. By far, it is not cut and dry. I think the most important piece of information that came from this post revolved around the I-864 and the significant financial responsibility of any person signing this document. Further research on my behalf has shown that US courts are holding the I-864 as valid under contract law and are holding signers of this document liable in situations where it is valid to enforce. It is viewed as a prenuptial agreement. Personally, I'm not worried about this because my fiancee has a college degree and I can tell she is not using me as a means to an end of being a citizen or finding someone to take care of her. Hell, once she gets her certification in the US, she'll be able to make more than me. I just wanted to understand my ability to divorce if I married in a country that did not allow a divorce. But, for others jumping into things, they really need to assess the integrity of the person they are engaged to because there are very severe consequences if they are being taken advantage.

Finally, I know I was caught up in the emotions of trying to understand the myriad of what ifs. I'm sure there will be another time when I do this on this forum. I just want to say thanks a bunch to all that are giving the facts of what they know...really, that is what I am after and should be the primary posts of people on this site to questions that are seeking facts. I especially want to thank penguin because she has given me great facts on a variety of questions in other posts.

[Caryh 5,206]

BTW its the Philippine Citizen that cannot get their divorce recognized in the Philippines unless the non-Filipino spouse files for the divorce. The rest of the world recognizes it. The Philippines may not allow divorce in their country, but they do have a process to have a foreign issued divorce recognized as long as the Filipino was the respondent and not the petitioner. There are some lawmakers in the Philippines that are trying to pass a law that will allow divorce in their country. Its certainly not a given they will pass a law like that any time soon. As my Philippine Citizen wife says, we allow annulment now, why do we need a divorce law? And she usually supports the more liberal parties in her country.

[Tahoma 2,292]

US courts are holding the I-864 as valid under contract law and are holding signers of this document liable in situations where it is valid to enforce. It is viewed as a prenuptial agreement.

^^^ I believe this is a rare occurrence.

[Hank_ 9,174]

OK Hank...I'm just following what your caption says...'Chance favors the prepared man.' If you read what Grant PD wrote, it would be wise for all persons seeking to marry to understand the realities of the negative 'what ifs' Even though it seems I can get a divorce once in the states, the reality is that all of this is based on state law in the United States. By far, it is not cut and dry. I think the most important piece of information that came from this post revolved around the I-864 and the significant financial responsibility of any person signing this document. Further research on my behalf has shown that US courts are holding the I-864 as valid under contract law and are holding signers of this document liable in situations where it is valid to enforce. It is viewed as a prenuptial agreement. Personally, I'm not worried about this because my fiancee has a college degree and I can tell she is not using me as a means to an end of being a citizen or finding someone to take care of her. Hell, once she gets her certification in the US, she'll be able to make more than me. I just wanted to understand my ability to divorce if I married in a country that did not allow a divorce. But, for others jumping into things, they really need to assess the integrity of the person they are engaged to because there are very severe consequences if they are being taken advantage.

Finally, I know I was caught up in the emotions of trying to understand the myriad of what ifs. I'm sure there will be another time when I do this on this forum. I just want to say thanks a bunch to all that are giving the facts of what they know...really, that is what I am after and should be the primary posts of people on this site to questions that are seeking facts. I especially want to thank penguin because she has given me great facts on a variety of questions in other posts.

Chance Favors The Prepared Mind.

Common sense tells ya that getting a divorce in the United States is fairly simple, and it doesn't matter what country you were married in.

Yes the I-864 is a binding contract, but I like to think the same of marriage.

You are bringing a person from another country into the United States, you are responsible, ya I know there are many that believe "someone" else should be responsible. There is a lot of responsibility with this visa journey.

Life is about faith, and I am not talking religon.

There is no preparation for all the curves life can toss at you.

If one plans their marriage by preparing for a divorce... isn't the course already set? (ya I know lawyers and greed)

[YayaYiyi 0]

Yea, that is one thing I value regarding Enlightenment thinking and that is separation of church and state. I respect others religious opinions to the point where it impacts me personally. I feared it would directly impact me and that was the cause for concern.

[YayaYiyi 0]

^^^ I believe this is a rare occurrence.

http://www.floridabar.org/DIVCOM/JN/JNJournal01.nsf/c0d731e03de9828d852574580042ae7a/2cbe6a52e76636f28525763b00661a63!OpenDocument&Highlight=0,*

[YayaYiyi 0]

Chance Favors The Prepared Mind.

Common sense tells ya that getting a divorce in the United States is fairly simple, and it doesn't matter what country you were married in.

If one plans their marriage by preparing for a divorce... isn't the course already set? (ya I know lawyers and greed)

Common sense and the law are not one and the same

[Hank_ 9,174]

Common sense and the law are not one and the same

Nope... never said they were.

But common sense tells you a wealth of things... if you listen.

[Tahoma 2,292]

US courts are holding the I-864 as valid under contract law and are holding signers of this document liable in situations where it is valid to enforce.

^^^ I believe this is a rare occurrence.

http://www.floridabar.org/DIVCOM/JN/JNJournal01.nsf/c0d731e03de9828d852574580042ae7a/2cbe6a52e76636f28525763b00661a63!OpenDocument&Highlight=0,*

Thank you for providing the link. It was an interesting read. However, keep in mind the source of the article, an immigration attorney who wants your business.

Also, as the article pointed out, while there have been a few cases regarding the I-864, there isn't much case law regarding this issue. It's still something to think about when considering a worst-case scenario.

From your link:

Due to the lack of reported case law, there are many unresolved issues surrounding application of the I-864 to circumstances involving divorced spouses and the obligations of sponsors, as well as the duties owed to governmental and nongovernmental entities providing means-tested public benefits.