I-129F Denied

[Tintin and Mike 127]

So, she was married before? Divorce IS illegal in the Philippines and annulments are rare and hard to obtain. If she was married, this is probably the reason for denial, not the age requirement/consent to marry from her parents. It's not illegal, it's not recognized or available.

From what I understand, the USCIS has a lot of form letters it can send out for RFEs. The topic of the form letter you received may have said "Age Requirement" BUT the information in the request should have been obtained.

If there is confusion on an RFE, can the USCIS be contacted for clarification?

Edited October 16, 2012 by Tintin and Mike

[QueenE 174]

He was using divorce as an example to his point, not that his fiancee is divorced

So, she was married before? Divorce IS illegal in the Philippines and annulments are rare and hard to obtain. If she was married, this is probably the reason for denial, not the age requirement/consent to marry from her parents.

From what I understand, the USCIS has a lot of form letters it can send out for RFEs. The topic of the form letter you received may have said "Age Requirement" BUT the information in the request should have been obtained.

If there is confusion on an RFE, can the USCIS be contacted for clarification?

[Bumbero 130]

Thank you both for the clarification.

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

No no. See here's the thing. one of the requirements of the visa is being "free to marry". In the Philippines you need to provide a CENOMAR which shows that they're single. Even if they divorced in another country, they wouldn't be divorced in the Philippines. Which means they're NOT "free to marry" by Philippine law. Which makes them ineligible for a visa.

The same can be said of EVERY country, they have their own laws. You can think it's unfair but you're asking for permission to bring her here, that includes permission from her government.

There is another country (Vietnam I think) that WILL NOT permit it's citizens to marry USC's who are older than a certain age, and who don't earn over a certain amount (a HIGH amount too). Other countries require their permission to leave the country, even just for visits.

In regards to your particular RFE, by Philippine law she is NOT free to marry you (same as if she wasn't actually divorced in her country). That means she CANNOT leave the country to marry you without her first fulfilling the requirements for someone of her age for her country.

You might not think it's fair, but it is the law of her country.

No No my eye.

CENOMAR etcetera has never been a requirement until interview.

I think the OP didn't understand his RFE.

[beejay 125]

No No my eye.

CENOMAR etcetera has never been a requirement until interview.

I think the OP didn't understand his RFE.

Like another poster mentioned I am wondering if the OP included a signed letter of intent to marry from both him and his fiancee.

[Grant PDX 183]

The adjudictors have a certain amount of leeway in approving petitions or doing an RFE or rejecting. I have previously had 2 fiancee petitions approved without letters of intent, others have had RFE's for those. I have never heard of a CENOMAR being requested at CSC but I'd say it might be within the realm of possiblity. Strange for sure, but not unimaginable. I've never filed a separate sheet with a longer "how we met" story, simply completed the box with the pertinent information. Maybe I was lucky, getting an adjudicator who let it slide; maybe I met the requirement and there was no "letting it slide". With my current petition I did submit letters of intent but I still just filled the box for how we met. I believe I submitted enough information to approve my petition. Again, the adjudicators have a fair amount of leeway, so it's possible I may get an RFE even though I submitted more info that I have in my previous approved petitions. There is no way to know what the adjudicator who reviews your case may be thinking, how they see the world, what side of the bed they got up on.

In the OP's case, until he has the denial letter in hand it's not possible to say what is really going on here. It's like trying to reply to an RFE that you haven't received yet. Wait for the letter, everything right now is speculation.

[Tahoma 2,292]

I think the OP didn't understand his RFE.

^^^ Maybe this.

Like another poster mentioned I am wondering if the OP included a signed letter of intent to marry from both him and his fiancee.

^^^ Or, maybe this.

OP...You are correct: Filipino parental consent/parental advice forms have never been required by the USCIS. Also, a CENOMAR has never been required by the USCIS. The only time I saw a consent form included in an I-129F submission was when the beneficiary was 17 years old at the time the petition was filed, and wasn't legal yet to marry in the state where the petitioner lived.

Here's the deal: If the USCIS required a Filipino parental consent form or a Filipino parental advice form, then we'd see bunches of petitions getting RFE's because there are bunches of Filipinos being petitioned who are under 25 years old. That's who the Filipino law applies to...all those under 25 years old regardless of where they want to get married. Where are all those RFE's? I don't see any.

Ironically, the U.S. Embassy Manila virtually never asks for a parental consent/parental advice document. Even the CFO, who advertise themselves as the ones who are the consent police, often times don't ask for a parental advice/parental consent form. For those getting married in the Philippines, the Local Civil Registrar is probably the only one who would require a consent/advice form on a regular basis.

It appears the USCIS made a mistake. However, as you now know, you could have prevented a nosebleed by complying with their request.

Edited October 16, 2012 by Tahoma

[Bumbero 130]

However, as you now know, you could have prevented a nosebleed by complying with their request.

I JUST had this expression explained to me. I never got it when my fiancee kept saying "my nose is bleeding". I kept telling her how to stop it!

[TatTot 7]

No no. See here's the thing. one of the requirements of the visa is being "free to marry". In the Philippines you need to provide a CENOMAR which shows that they're single. Even if they divorced in another country, they wouldn't be divorced in the Philippines. Which means they're NOT "free to marry" by Philippine law. Which makes them ineligible for a visa.

The same can be said of EVERY country, they have their own laws. You can think it's unfair but you're asking for permission to bring her here, that includes permission from her government.

There is another country (Vietnam I think) that WILL NOT permit it's citizens to marry USC's who are older than a certain age, and who don't earn over a certain amount (a HIGH amount too). Other countries require their permission to leave the country, even just for visits.

In regards to your particular RFE, by Philippine law she is NOT free to marry you (same as if she wasn't actually divorced in her country). That means she CANNOT leave the country to marry you without her first fulfilling the requirements for someone of her age for her country.

You might not think it's fair, but it is the law of her country.

:thumbs:

[adonian 4]

I have a question for the OP... IF you threw away the RFE, how do you remember the EXACT TEXT Pertaining to Philippine laws?

Among the phrases in the request for evidence letter:

- "According to the Family Code of the Philippines..."

- "Please provide a local civil registered parental consent stating that the beneficiary is free to marry according to Philippines laws."

- "If they do not obtain parental advice the marriage license shall not be issued..." Note: We are not marrying in the Philippines.

Further, in the Philippine Family Law Statute cited in Form I-797E (EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 209, THE FAMILY CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES July 6, 1987) Art. 20 states, "The license shall be valid in any part of the Philippines for a period of one hundred twenty days from the date of issue..." So why would this be required for our marriage in the United States? Are there any domestic jurisdictions that would accept a Philippine marriage license?

Edited October 16, 2012 by adonian

[adonian 4]

disregard my above... I didn't see that she was married already. You should have checked, CENOMAR is IMPORTANT. You sir are out of luck, and I feel for you. You guys have a LOT of hoops to jump through.

I wish you luck.

[Kazulie 132]

disregard my above... I didn't see that she was married already. You should have checked, CENOMAR is IMPORTANT. You sir are out of luck, and I feel for you. You guys have a LOT of hoops to jump through.

I wish you luck.

she was not married before. He was using "divorce" as an example.

[daddy'sgirl 1]

i am 25 years old now and i made sure to send to my fiance a certificate from my parents that they are allowing me to marry, we got our noa2 fast and no rfe so i think it really helped...

[feli114 65]

I could be wrong, but I think the problem is that you didn't return the original RFE paper that they sent. When you get an RFE, you are supposed to send back that paper (ours was blue) along with your response so that it goes with your petition. That could be why you were denied. That RFE paper is coded with your case file number. Sorry you will have to refile. Good luck.

[Nellie&Jason 4]

The adjudictors have a certain amount of leeway in approving petitions or doing an RFE or rejecting. I have previously had 2 fiancee petitions approved without letters of intent, others have had RFE's for those. I have never heard of a CENOMAR being requested at CSC but I'd say it might be within the realm of possiblity. Strange for sure, but not unimaginable. I've never filed a separate sheet with a longer "how we met" story, simply completed the box with the pertinent information. Maybe I was lucky, getting an adjudicatoI

Where is that "How we met" box located? I don't remember filing something like that.... I do remember however that we diligently described all three times that we met face to face witwhin last two years on a separate sheet of paper. Do you think this may be a problem and we will be sent an RFE for that???