acquiring a marrige license in the Philippines

[Howie2011 2]

My wife and I were married on December 21, 2011 in the Philippines.

We have applied for a marriage license on January 3rd so we can start her immigration process to the U.S.

I understand this license must come from Manila. We have been waiting 16 days and no license yet. Is this normal?

How long does it usually take?

Thanks,

Howie 2011

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

Moved from " Direct Consular Filing (DCF) General Discussion" as the question is very country specific<li style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 7px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline !important; ">

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

License, or marriage certificate? I believe the license is what you get in order to be lawfully married, before you are married.

THE MARRIAGE APPLICATION PROCESS:

Once the person has the affidavit, he/she can file the application for a marriage license at the office of the local Philippine Civil Registrar of the town or city where one of the parties is a resident. The U.S. citizen applicant will need to present the affidavit, death certificate or divorce decree as mentioned above, U.S. passport, and documentation regarding parental consent or advice if applicable. Marriage applicants who are age 18 to 21 must have parental consent in writing, those age 21 to 25 must have written parental advice (a written indication that the parents are aware of the couple's intent to marry). The revised Family Code of the Philippines, which took effect on August 4, 1988, prohibits marriage for individuals below the age of 18.

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.

The marriage can be performed by a judge, justice of the peace, priest, or minister of religion.

Edited January 20, 2012 by ☼

[Howie2011 2]

I mean certificate, we are already married as of 12/21/2012 Thanks!

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

I mean certificate, we are already married as of 12/21/2012 Thanks!

Congratulations.

You can check any of the locations on this link:

http://www.census.gov.ph/data/civilreg/serbilis_centers.html

Who is responsible to report the marriage event?

The solemnizing officer has the duty to report the marriage to the Office of the Civil Registrar where marriage was solemnized

[jane_smith 2]

I got our marriage certificate from NSO after a month from our wedding.

[Scott and Mhay 57]

the certificate can take as long as 90 days to get depending how quick it got filed with the NSO. If you can have someone take it right away it should take only 30 days. If not, 60 days seems to be the norm.

also remember all your paperwork had to make it's way over the holidays. It might take a little longer than the "norm"

Edited January 21, 2012 by Scott and Mhay

[Howie2011 2]

I got our marriage certificate from NSO after a month from our wedding.

thanks to all , got the certificate yesterday...!!

[Howie2011 2]

Thanks Scott, got it yesterday!

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

FWIW, we were able to submit a Certified True Copy of the Civil Registry's version of our Marriage Contract (Certificate) with the I-130 Petition.