HONG-KONG DIVORCE.. WITHOUT ANNULMENT IN PI

[marklovetina 52]

Will a Hong Kong Divorce be accepted in Manila USE?, Legal HK divorce but no annulment in Phil OK for K1?

post Mar 4 2008, 11:42 PM

Post #1

Junior Member

**

Group: Members

Joined: 18-February 08

Filed for: K-1

California Service Center

Local Office: unknown

Country: Philippines

My fiancee lives and working in Hong Kong, and hearing of the problems / difficulties with obtaining an anullment in Philippines, she filed for divorce in Hong Kong. The divorce was completed entirely legally.....But will the US Embassy in Manila grant her K1 Visa with the Hong Kong divorce?

We have already filed and recieved NOA1...any comments or suggestions will be helpful!

have a blessed day!

I wish to thank all of you for your efforts and replies to my original topic / question. Just so all of you are aware, I was eventually able to make contact with the USE in Manila regarding my Phil fiancée’s divorce in Hong Kong. After looking through her regulations, she reported "I have good news for you." then she stated something like...since the marriage would take place in the US (which recognizes HK divorces) she would be considered free to marry and so she could obtain the K1 Visa. She further noted, however, that I could not marry her in Phil and then use a K3 since my fiancée is not free to marry there due to lack of annulment.

It is clear from what I have been able to see, Phil recognizes only annulment between Phil nationals, however, the visa is being offered through the US government at the request of a US citizen and the marriage is to take place under US jurisdiction. It is only for that reason that the USE is able to approve the K1 visa despite her still being legally married in Phil (but I might add, not in most other countries which recognize divorce - for instance she could marry in HK to an HK Citizen).

Also, FYI, the attorney she used in HK reported that she has had other clients who were divorced in HK and then married in the US and were living there legally. I do not know if they filed for K1 in HK or Phil. We are only filing through Phil (Manila) because in addition to the other errors in her documents, her Phil passport is inaccurate. She will need to correct that before going for interview but once she does, she is in danger of being accused of fraud by HK immigration if she returns to HK....she has heard of other domestic helpers who have been jailed for correcting errors years later and then returning to HK on corrected documents only to accused and arrested by HK officials suspecting them of trying to mislead HK about their identity.

Additionally, an attorney I spoke with was able to identify records of proceedings in which the Phil fiancée / spouse was acknowledged to have a divorce but not annulment and it was not looked at as a problem. However, he was so far unable to locate any regulations that directly state the acceptance / rejection of a foreign divorce for Phil citizen.

Finally, due to the fact that Phil will never recognize the divorce we are most likely going to proceed with getting annulment any way....now that we know of a way it can be obtained in under a year (THANK YOU VJer's You are SOOO helpful!) but we will not use it in the K1 process since we have already filed....but unless we can bring her boys over (might be complicated due to ex husband's attitude - not likely to give permission- though one boy is 18) she will have ongoing reasons to at least visit Phil and we want her to be legally safe there.

THanx again and have a blessed day!

Congratulations that finally you found an answer to this difficult issu which we , the other members also learned a lot. The USEM is right, just dont marry in the Philippines since legally, the divorce is not recognized there but the good thing is that it is possible for her to be approved with the divorce decree obtained from Hongkong.

The regulation that directly rejects a foreign divorce for a Phil citizen is in the Family Code of the Philippines itself where it states that the only way to declare a marriage null and void is thru annulment . The difference is that in Divorce, the grounds for it can be anything as long as both parties do not contest while in Philippine annulment, the grounds are exclusive.

I wish you all the best and hopefully, we will see a post here very soon that your lady is already here.

Goodluck and keep us posted.

i saw this quiry and i want to know if this is really true.... hope u can share infos. about this... bcoz if its true then why pinay will undergo an annulment and waste money if its ok in the the us embassy here in manila the divorce decree obtrained in hong-kong...?

[AMTDP 0]

Hi! You can marry her there in USA but not here in the Philippines. I am annulled and going to marry a USC. I also have a friend who had his divorce there in USA. He was divorced but still need to do something here in the Philippines. He didn't have his annulment here in the Philippines anymore but he submitted a divorce decree in his atty and set a pre-hearing, it's like an annulment but you will not call it "annulment". Read the below statement. tell your fiancee to talk/inquire to a lawyer on what she should do. Goodluck!

What is required for the Filipino spouse divorced by his or her alien spouse in order to remarry is to submit the divorce decree before the National Statistics Office so that it will be recorded in their marriage certificate.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

You really should make an effort to separate what text is your own, and what you've copy/pasted from another post. It's really difficult to tell which part of the situation applies to you.

Ok, here is my (admittedly limited) understanding of divorce and the Philippines.

A foreign divorce CAN be recognized in the Philippines, but only under certain conditions, and only if a Regional Trial Court in the Philippines officially recognizes the divorce.

First, the marriage must have been between a Filipino and a foreign national. Two Filipinos cannot get divorced anywhere in the world, and have that divorce recognized in the Philippines. They will have to get the marriage annulled in the Philippines. An important exception is if one (or both) Filipinos acquire foreign citizenship before the marriage, in which case they are considered a non-Filipino for the purpose of the marriage.

Second, the divorce must be initiated by the foreigner. A Filipino cannot petition for a divorce, and have that divorce recognized in the Philippines. The marriage would have to be annulled in the Philippines. There are exceptions to this requirement, especially if the divorce laws of the foreign country (or state) only recognize divorce by mutual consent (e.g., no fault divorce).

Finally, the divorce must be legally valid in the country in which it was obtained. This is the fact that the Filipino is required to prove at the Regional Trial Court in order to get the divorce recognized. Simply having a foreign divorce decree is not enough, as Philippine courts do not determine the validity of a foreign court document - the Filipino must provide evidence to prove it's valid.

There is a potential risk to the advice you quoted above: If a Filipino gets a foreign divorce, then that divorce probably would be recognized in the US for the purpose of immigration by marriage. However, if the Filipino subsequently goes to the US and gets married without having the marriage legally terminated in the Philippines, then under Philippine law the Filipino is a bigamist, and subject to legal prosecution if they return to the Philippines. Philippine marriage law follows a Filipino wherever they go in the world.

[Ivyhk 0]

I was wondering if you can help me I'm working in HK and separated from my Filipino husband and wanting to get a divorce here in HK, do you think that's possible? also can you PM me please where can I get that and how much it will cost me or approximately when you had yours done? Thank you so much! God Bless!

[angela24 0]

CAN I FILE DIVORCE IN HONGKONG IF I AM MARRIED HERE IN PHILIPPINES? MY FIANCE IS A USC. PLEASE I REALLY NEED HELP..MATAGAL PO ANG ANNULMENT SA PINAS..ANO PO BA DAPAT KONG GAWIN?THANKS! PLS EMAIL ME WHAT TO DO angelabasihan@yahoo.com

[angela24 0]

hi! i need help! can i file a divorce in hong kong even though i don't have any substantial connection there?i talked to a lawyer there through email and he said that i will not be able to get a divorce in hong kong..i am married in philippines and living here but i read on this forum that i can get a divorce in hong kong..but i can't. now,if i really can't file divorce there, sino po dito sa inyo ang makakapag sabi sakin na reliable and fast nga si atty.dimples dulay?how true?kasi po im from manila and if this lawyer is really true that she can do it only 6 months or less than 1 year,i am willing to meet her in davao just to hire her and talk to her personally.pero wala ako ni isang kamag anak doon kaya ayoko ng lokohan since sa manila pa ako manggagaling. i have american fiance in usa,and he wants me to marry over there pero naiinip na kami sa tagal ng annulment dito sa pinas kya sumubok ako kumontak ng lawyer sa hk pero sa kasamaang palad hndi nmn daw pwede..we really like to get married this year and hopefully end of this year. so i really need help sa mga nag hire kay atty.dimples dulay please paki send nmn sa email ko kung totoo ba tlgang kaya nyang mag annulled within 6 months lang..please need ko lang ng help.minsan na kaming naloko ng dati kong lawyer at nag quit ako kaya need ko ngaun ng mapagkakatiwalaang lawyer.paki send nalang po sa email ko ang details angelabasihan@yahoo.com thank you so much and good luck to all of us!

[angela24 0]

Will a Hong Kong Divorce be accepted in Manila USE?, Legal HK divorce but no annulment in Phil OK for K1?

post Mar 4 2008, 11:42 PM

Post #1

Junior Member

**

Group: Members

Joined: 18-February 08

Filed for: K-1

California Service Center

Local Office: unknown

Country: Philippines

My fiancee lives and working in Hong Kong, and hearing of the problems / difficulties with obtaining an anullment in Philippines, she filed for divorce in Hong Kong. The divorce was completed entirely legally.....But will the US Embassy in Manila grant her K1 Visa with the Hong Kong divorce?

We have already filed and recieved NOA1...any comments or suggestions will be helpful!

have a blessed day!

I wish to thank all of you for your efforts and replies to my original topic / question. Just so all of you are aware, I was eventually able to make contact with the USE in Manila regarding my Phil fiancée’s divorce in Hong Kong. After looking through her regulations, she reported "I have good news for you." then she stated something like...since the marriage would take place in the US (which recognizes HK divorces) she would be considered free to marry and so she could obtain the K1 Visa. She further noted, however, that I could not marry her in Phil and then use a K3 since my fiancée is not free to marry there due to lack of annulment.

It is clear from what I have been able to see, Phil recognizes only annulment between Phil nationals, however, the visa is being offered through the US government at the request of a US citizen and the marriage is to take place under US jurisdiction. It is only for that reason that the USE is able to approve the K1 visa despite her still being legally married in Phil (but I might add, not in most other countries which recognize divorce - for instance she could marry in HK to an HK Citizen).

Also, FYI, the attorney she used in HK reported that she has had other clients who were divorced in HK and then married in the US and were living there legally. I do not know if they filed for K1 in HK or Phil. We are only filing through Phil (Manila) because in addition to the other errors in her documents, her Phil passport is inaccurate. She will need to correct that before going for interview but once she does, she is in danger of being accused of fraud by HK immigration if she returns to HK....she has heard of other domestic helpers who have been jailed for correcting errors years later and then returning to HK on corrected documents only to accused and arrested by HK officials suspecting them of trying to mislead HK about their identity.

Additionally, an attorney I spoke with was able to identify records of proceedings in which the Phil fiancée / spouse was acknowledged to have a divorce but not annulment and it was not looked at as a problem. However, he was so far unable to locate any regulations that directly state the acceptance / rejection of a foreign divorce for Phil citizen.

Finally, due to the fact that Phil will never recognize the divorce we are most likely going to proceed with getting annulment any way....now that we know of a way it can be obtained in under a year (THANK YOU VJer's You are SOOO helpful!) but we will not use it in the K1 process since we have already filed....but unless we can bring her boys over (might be complicated due to ex husband's attitude - not likely to give permission- though one boy is 18) she will have ongoing reasons to at least visit Phil and we want her to be legally safe there.

THanx again and have a blessed day!

Congratulations that finally you found an answer to this difficult issu which we , the other members also learned a lot. The USEM is right, just dont marry in the Philippines since legally, the divorce is not recognized there but the good thing is that it is possible for her to be approved with the divorce decree obtained from Hongkong.

The regulation that directly rejects a foreign divorce for a Phil citizen is in the Family Code of the Philippines itself where it states that the only way to declare a marriage null and void is thru annulment . The difference is that in Divorce, the grounds for it can be anything as long as both parties do not contest while in Philippine annulment, the grounds are exclusive.

I wish you all the best and hopefully, we will see a post here very soon that your lady is already here.

Goodluck and keep us posted.

i saw this quiry and i want to know if this is really true.... hope u can share infos. about this... bcoz if its true then why pinay will undergo an annulment and waste money if its ok in the the us embassy here in manila the divorce decree obtrained in hong-kong...?