This CENOMAR insanity

[chrism07023 4]

I still cannot get over how it's now gone past the two week mark since our interview March 27 because we didn't have a CENOMAR, despite the fact that we are married, have an NSO certified marriage contract, have his and her notarized statement of singleness from the very same Embassy that is asking for the CENOMAR, have 3 years of relationship evidence, including enough wedding content to power a small power generating station for a month. And I have to laugh, I call this ludricous embassy number for assistance and the best they can do is parrot the timeframe for when 2go can deliver it (once it's ready), as if that is somehow the focus of the concern versus when the process will complete.

...and when will the process complete? 1 day, 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months, nobody can say for sure.

We had everything we needed and triple checked with an immigration attorney and two other filipinas in our same situation, and nobody said squat about a CENOMAR for a married couple. The embassy's own documentation preparedness web page only mentions CENOMAR in the context of people who have not contracted for marriage...."not contracted"....This is abhorant and pathetic pathetic mess. Tragically, my wife and I, having put so much in the way of material and monetary resources to get to this point, are suffering now needlessly, because we cannot even get so much as a "ballpark, 30,000 foot estimate", which means plane tickets, new residency, trips, everything goes out the window. At the very least, one would think we could at least get a "yes', we have/haven't received the CENOMAR from the NSO" like other people have claimed here to have been told after going thru this same bureaucracy. How is it that they cannot simply have a system that is updated using somethign like a "CENOMAR Received y/n" field in the database?

Man oh man I am going to have a fun time lending my voice to whatever channels here in the states will hear my complaint, starting with my local elected leadership and I'll go from there. Maybe it won't matter, but I'll be darned if I'm going to sit back and do nothign while we wait for another parroting of 2go shipping times.

Edited April 11, 2012 by chrism07023

[RandR333 9]

Chances are that they do not yet have the CENOMAR. We had to wait four weeks for ours, but we were lucky to have gotten our CENOMAR, which is actually called something else for married people, ahead of time. I don't know why your attorney would tell you a CENOMAR wasn't needed when it is listed on the embassy website as a requirement and almost every story here on VJ mentions it.

[chrism07023 4]

Chances are that they do not yet have the CENOMAR. We had to wait four weeks for ours, but we were lucky to have gotten our CENOMAR, which is actually called something else for married people, ahead of time. I don't know why your attorney would tell you a CENOMAR wasn't needed when it is listed on the embassy website as a requirement and almost every story here on VJ mentions it.

Thanks for the feedback! Actually, the one bright spot in this whole affair is the NSO office in Manila where my wife filed her CENOMAR. Per the receipt she received upon filing, we were able to contact an NSO rep directly and confirm it was delivered to Pasay on March 30, about 3 days after filing it. The US Embassy, they told us, would either have picked it up that day or the next business day, putting it in their hands probably around April 2.

I'm not sure which VJ stories you're referring to but I specifically searched for "CENOMAR" and found a modest number of hits, certainly limited information pertaining to the lack of having one.

Here is what the embassy web page says, I quote:

"12. CERTIFICATE OF NO MARRIAGE RECORD (CENOMAR). If you have never contracted marriage, a CENOMAR (Singleness) issued by the National Statistics Office (NSO) and printed on NSO security paper should be submitted. You may call the NSO Information Center at (632) 737-1111 to inquire on securing a CENOMAR or visit their website at" - http://manila.usembassy.gov/wwwh3217.html

As written, it clearly states if one has never contracted for marriage. If you know of anywhere else that says otherwise, whether contradicting this statement or not, please let me know because I have already lodged a formal complaint with the embassy and they are supposedly forwarding the information to the right people.

Also, I'd like to point out that several of the posts I read here concerning the CENOMAR were from couples who were married yet were never asked for one and never submitted one.

[Hank_ 9,174]

No insanity involved, a CENOMAR/CEMAR from NSO is required.... don't have it, don't get approved. The requirements may state a CENOMAR but when requested from NSO and the person is married they will issue a CEMAR instead.

Same answer as you got when you posted this topic before.

[chrism07023 4]

No insanity involved, a CENOMAR/CEMAR from NSO is required.... don't have it, don't get approved. The requirements may state a CENOMAR but when requested from NSO and the person is married they will issue a CEMAR instead.

Same answer as you got when you posted this topic before.

"a CENOMAR/CEMAR from NSO is required..." ...the requirements page states CENOMAR only, and says its for those not contracted in marriage. Again, I'll keep repeating this until I wear out the keys - the web page listing the required documents is factually wrong in this area. Is that important to communicate to others and back to the embassy? Of course it is. If it is required, the embassy should, at the very least, say so clearly and amend the language accordingly.

"The requirements may state a CENOMAR but when requested from NSO and the person is married they will issue a CEMAR instead."

All that's fine. But again, the required documents page states that for those not contracted in marriage...

"Same answer as you got when you posted this topic before."

Thanks for the answer, but it misses the point completely. This is a very easy mistake for others to make (and others have judging on the search results I've found). Clearly, if the required documents page is not accurate in its wording and I can save others time by bringing this to the forefront, I'm happy to do so.

Edited April 12, 2012 by chrism07023

[Hank_ 9,174]

You can nit-pic on the wording all you want and wear out your keyboard even. Hard reality is you give the embassy what they request or not get approved. You know (by now) when a married person goes to request a CENOMAR they will be issued the CEMAR that is needed. Give over it. Thousands of other did not have a issue following the instructions. Jeez!

Edited April 12, 2012 by Hank_Amy

[RandR333 9]

You can nit-pic on the wording all you want and wear out your keyboard even. Hard reality is you give the embassy what they request or not get approved. You know (by now) when a married person goes to request a CENOMAR they will be issued the CEMAR that is needed. Give over it. Thousands of other did not have a issue following the instructions. Jeez!

[chrism07023 4]

You can nit-pic on the wording all you want and wear out your keyboard even. Hard reality is you give the embassy what they request or not get approved. You know (by now) when a married person goes to request a CENOMAR they will be issued the CEMAR that is needed. Give over it. Thousands of other did not have a issue following the instructions. Jeez!

The hard reality is, we had extra time added because the instructions weren't clear. Get over, sure... Complain about, you bet. If you don't like what I'm spouting off about, turn the bleeping channel!

Yeah, totally hilarious.... jeez, what a rough crowd.

[chrism07023 4]

And incidentally, I don't know that "1,000's of others" *didn't* have the same issue and just silently went thru the motions of weeks of waiting after submitting their NSO CENOMAR, CEMAR, whatever the right acronym is. What I *do* know is several others on this site DID have the same problem, going back to 2008. The fact that it's still happening today (I am an example) is evidence that it's time the instructions were cleaned up. Speaking of which, it appears that is exactly what has been done lately, but is still a work in progress (part of the 1-12 requirements are formatted differently and look quickly thrown together). A stale web page is not exactly uncommong, in fact its replete on the net. Unfortunately, this particular page has to do with immigration requirements... the fact that I have copy/pasted the wording which is clearly wrong and I actually get picked on for doing so is sick.

[djames95 3]

And incidentally, I don't know that "1,000's of others" *didn't* have the same issue and just silently went thru the motions of weeks of waiting after submitting their NSO CENOMAR, CEMAR, whatever the right acronym is. What I *do* know is several others on this site DID have the same problem, going back to 2008. The fact that it's still happening today (I am an example) is evidence that it's time the instructions were cleaned up. Speaking of which, it appears that is exactly what has been done lately, but is still a work in progress (part of the 1-12 requirements are formatted differently and look quickly thrown together). A stale web page is not exactly uncommong, in fact its replete on the net. Unfortunately, this particular page has to do with immigration requirements... the fact that I have copy/pasted the wording which is clearly wrong and I actually get picked on for doing so is sick.

It's very simple, any paperwork you turn in originating in the philippines to the embassy, MUST be from the NSO office, or it will NOT be accepted. NOT from an LGU, NOT from a local church or minister!! So if you needed a copy of your proof of marriage, your marriage contract from you Local Government Unit or church or minister is NOT sufficient! It MUST be supplied from the NSO, and your lady would know that, as all offical applications for ANYTHING there require NSO papers!! Also, when applying, NSO WILL issue the correct form, whether CENOMAR or CEMAR! Remember, you aren't in kansas any more toto!! Due diligence is required!

[Hank_ 9,174]

The hard reality is, we had extra time added because the instructions weren't clear. Get over, sure... Complain about, you bet. If you don't like what I'm spouting off about, turn the bleeping channel!

Yeah, totally hilarious.... jeez, what a rough crowd. NOT YET...

Turn the channel? where is the fun in that, the issue isn't at the embassy with its instructions its in the mirror.... yet you carry on. If you had done what was listed in the embassy letter went to NSO and requested the CENOMAR you would have been issued the CEMAR proving you are married you would not have been delayed. Instead you nic-pic on the wording and you don't accept the issue is in the mirror - you didn't do as REQUIRED and request a CENOMAR in the beginning.

[chrism07023 4]

Turn the channel? where is the fun in that, the issue isn't at the embassy with its instructions its in the mirror.... yet you carry on. If you had done what was listed in the embassy letter went to NSO and requested the CENOMAR you would have been issued the CEMAR proving you are married you would not have been delayed. Instead you nic-pic on the wording and you don't accept the issue is in the mirror - you didn't do as REQUIRED and request a CENOMAR in the beginning.

Your facts are wrong. I stated previously that I have an NSO certified marriage contract and it was supplied to the Embassy well before the interview (and brought with us to the interview). It's baffling that someone here, presumably who is interested in the immigration process and presumably in helping people, would so clearly disregard what is a real issue concerning this CENOMAR requirement and the confusion due to the wording on the requirements page, which I posted. It's not nit picking at all, it's a legitimate issue. Look in the mirror? Sure, I see someone very tired due to being put through an excessively draining process fraught with bureaucracy and poor communications.

Glad to know your here looking for fun though...

[chrism07023 4]

It's very simple, any paperwork you turn in originating in the philippines to the embassy, MUST be from the NSO office,

... and it was....

... or it will NOT be accepted. NOT from an LGU, NOT from a local church or minister!! So if you needed a copy of your proof of marriage, your marriage contract from you Local Government Unit or church or minister is NOT sufficient! It MUST be supplied from the NSO,

...and it was...

and your lady would know that, as all offical applications for ANYTHING there require NSO papers!!

..and "my lady" did...

Also, when applying, NSO WILL issue the correct form, whether CENOMAR or CEMAR! Remember, you aren't in kansas any more toto!! Due diligence is required!

I've never been to Kansas. I live in the metro NYC area.

Any more wild assumptions?

[chrism07023 4]

I want to thank the folks who sent me private messages offering suggestions or providing similar stories and guidance.

Edited April 13, 2012 by chrism07023

[GaryKO 49]

I can't say that I know of any married person that was asked to provide a CENOMAR at the interview. I do know of several people who was requested to summit a updated with current date CEMAR before the visa could be issued.